PREFACE.

In order to form an accurate opinion of the manners of an ancient people, it is of paramount importance to inquire into their origin and history, and to trace the progress of those steps which gradually led to their improvement and civilisation. To judge impartially of their character, we must examine the comparative state of other neighbouring and contemporary nations, and measure it by the standard of the era in which they lived. We should also bear in mind the general habits of that portion of the globe whence they derived their origin, or which they inhabited, and, in contemplating the customs of an Eastern people, avoid as much as possible the invidious comparison of European and Oriental manners. Many of those laws or customs which are wise and beneficial to society in one part of the world, are deemed superfluous, and even injurious, in another; and the same system, which by some is looked upon as indispensable for their welfare and happiness, would

be rejected by others, as incompatible with the feelings of an independent spirit.

The necessity of discrimination on this point. must, therefore, be evident to every one, who considers the subject with a view to truth and impartiality; and, in order to enable the reader to form a just opinion of the character of the Egyptians, I commence the present work with a brief account of the general history and early advancement of that ancient state. But if, as must necessarily be the case, this account is deficient and unsatisfactory, I plead as my excuse the scanty means of information afforded either by the writers of antiquity, or by monumental record; and trust that the reader will indulgently consider the difficulties which present themselves in so intricate a question.

If, too, in the date assigned for the accession of Menes, and the era of the 18th dynasty, as well as some other points of chronology, I differ from the learned Professor Rosellini, it should be remembered that many doubts and discrepancies occur both in chronology and the details of events, even in what is considered the known history of other nations.

It would doubtless be satisfactory both to the reader and themselves, if all writers on the subject of hieroglyphics, and of ancient Egypt, were agreed, and if all their investigations were attended with the same results; but, since a diversity

of opinion on a difficult question has a tendency to elicit truth, and finally to establish accurate and impartial evidence, we may cease to regret that it prevails at the commencement of these inquiries. And, indeed, it is highly satisfactory to find that the researches of Dr. Young, Champollion, Rosellini, Major Felix, and my own, have, in most instances, led to similar conclusions.

Professor Rosellini is a man of erudition and a gentleman, and one whose enthusiastic endeavours, stimulated by great perseverance, are tempered by judgment, and that modesty which is the characteristic of real merit. To be engaged in the same pursuits with him must, therefore, be highly satisfactory, from the persuasion that, however we may differ on some questions, our opposite opinions will be maintained with those feelings which ought to actuate men who labour in the same field, and for the same object.

Egyptian history, and the manners of one of the most ancient nations, cannot but be interesting to every one; and so intimately connected are they with the scriptural accounts of the Israelites, and the events of succeeding ages relative to Judæa, that the name of Egypt need only be mentioned to recall the early impressions we have received from the study of the Bible.

Another striking result derived from the examination of Egyptian history, is the conviction, that, at the most remote period into which we have

been able to penetrate, civilised communities already existed, and society possessed all the features of later ages. We have been enabled, with a sufficient degree of precision, to fix the bondage of the Israelites and the arrival of Joseph; and though these events took place at an age when nations are generally supposed to have been in their infancy, and in a state of barbarism, yet we perceive that the Egyptians had then arrived at as perfect a degree of civilisation as at any subsequent period of their history. They had the same arts, the same manners and customs, the same style of architecture, and were in the same advanced state of refinement, as in the reign of Remeses II.; and no very remarkable changes took place, even in ever varying taste, between the accession of the first Osirtasen and the death of that conqueror, who was the last monarch of the 18th dynasty. What high antiquity does this assign to civilisation! The most remote point, to which we can see, opens with a nation possessing all the arts of civilised life already matured; and though penetrating so far into the early history of the world, we find that the infancy of the Egyptian state is placed considerably beyond our reach. And, if Egypt presents no other attractions, the certainty of its being the oldest state, of which we have any positive and tangible records, must awaken feelings of interest, to which no contemplative mind can remain indifferent.