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‘‘I believe I saw a giraffe。''
Having invented this system the Egyptians developed it
during thousands of years until they could write anything they
wanted； and they used these ‘‘canned words'' to send messages
to friends； to keep business accounts and to keep a record of the
history of their country； that future generations might benefit
by the mistakes of the past。
THE NILE VALLEY
THE BEGINNING OF CIVILISATION IN THE
VALLEY OF THE NILE
THE history of man is the record of a hungry creature in
search of food。 Wherever food was plentiful； thither man has
travelled to make his home。
The fame of the Valley of the Nile must have spread at
an early date。 From the interior of Africa and from the desert
of Arabia and from the western part of Asia people had
flocked to Egypt to claim their share of the rich farms。
Together these invaders had formed a new race which called
itself ‘‘Remi'' or ‘‘the Men'' just as we sometimes call America
‘‘God's own country。'' They had good reason to be grateful
to a Fate which had carried them to this narrow strip of land。
In the summer of each year the Nile turned the valley into a
shallow lake and when the waters receded all the grainfields
and the pastures were covered with several inches of the most
fertile clay。
In Egypt a kindly river did the work of a million men and
made it possible to feed the teeming population of the first
large cities of which we have any record。 It is true that all
the arable land was not in the valley。 But a complicated
system of small canals and well…sweeps carried water from
the river…level to the top of the highest banks and an even
more intricate system of irrigation trenches spread it throughout
the land。
While man of the prehistoric age had been obliged to spend
sixteen hours out of every twenty…four gathering food for himself
and the members of his tribe； the Egyptian peasant or the
inhabitant of the Egyptian city found himself possessed of a
certain leisure。 He used this spare time to make himself many
things that were merely ornamental and not in the least bit
useful。
More than that。 One day he discovered that his brain was
capable of thinking all kinds of thoughts which had nothing
to do with the problems of eating and sleeping and finding a
home for the children。 The Egyptian began to speculate upon
many strange problems that confronted him。 Where did the
stars come from？ Who made the noise of the thunder which
frightened him so terribly？ Who made the River Nile rise
with such regularity that it was possible to base the calendar
upon the appearance and the disappearance of the annual
floods？ Who was he； himself； a strange little creature surrounded
on all sides by death and sickness and yet happy and
full of laughter？
He asked these many questions and certain people obligingly
stepped forward to answer these inquiries to the best of
their ability。 The Egyptians called them ‘‘priests'' and they
became the guardians of his thoughts and gained great respect
in the community。 They were highly learned men who were
entrusted with the sacred task of keeping the written records。
They understood that it is not good for man to think only of
his immediate advantage in this world and they drew his attention
to the days of the future when his soul would dwell
beyond the mountains of the west and must give an account
of his deeds to Osiris； the mighty God who was the Ruler of
the Living and the Dead and who judged the acts of men
according to their merits。 Indeed； the priests made so much
of that future day in the realm of Isis and Osiris that the
Egyptians began to regard life merely as a short preparation
for the Hereafter and turned the teeming valley of the Nile
into a land devoted to the Dead。
In a strange way； the Egyptians had come to believe that
no soul could enter the realm of Osiris without the possession
of the body which had been its place of residence in this world。
Therefore as soon as a man was dead his relatives took his
corpse and had it embalmed。 For weeks it was soaked in a
solution of natron and then it was filled with pitch。 The
Persian word for pitch was ‘‘Mumiai'' and the embalmed body
was called a ‘‘Mummy。'' It was wrapped in yards and yards
of specially prepared linen and it was placed in a specially
prepared coffin ready to be removed to its final home。 But
an Egyptian grave was a real home where the body was surrounded
by pieces of furniture and musical instruments （to
while away the dreary hours of waiting） and by little statues
of cooks and bakers and barbers （that the occupant of this
dark home might be decently provided with food and need not
go about unshaven）。
Originally these graves had been dug into the rocks of the
western mountains but as the Egyptians moved northward
they were obliged to build their cemeteries in the desert。 The
desert however is full of wild animals and equally wild robbers
and they broke into the graves and disturbed the mummy or
stole the jewelry that had been buried with the body。 To prevent
such unholy desecration the Egyptians used to build small
mounds of stones on top of the graves。 These little mounds
gradually grew in size； because the rich people built higher
mounds than the poor and there was a good deal of competition
to see who could make the highest hill of stones。 The
record was made by King Khufu； whom the Greeks called
Cheops and who lived thirty centuries before our era。 His
mound； which the Greeks called a pyramid （because the
Egyptian word for high was pir…em…us） was over five hundred
feet high。
It covered more than thirteen acres of desert which is three
times as much space as that occupied by the church of St。
Peter； the largest edifice of the Christian world。
During twenty years； over a hundred thousand men were
busy carrying the necessary stones from the other side of the
riverferrying them across the Nile （how they ever managed
to do this； we do not understand）； dragging them in many instances
a long distance across the desert and finally hoisting
them into their correct position。 But so well did the King's
architects and engineers perform their task that the narrow
passage…way which leads to the royal tomb in the heart of the
stone monster has never yet been pushed out of shape by the
weight of those thousands of tons of stone which press upon
it from all sides。
THE STORY OF EGYPT
THE RISE AND FALL OF EGYPT
THE river Nile was a kind friend but occasionally it was
a hard taskmaster。 It taught the people who lived along its
banks the noble art of ‘‘team…work。'' They depended upon
each other to build their irrigation trenches and keep their
dikes in repair。 In this way they learned how to get along
with their neighbours and their mutual…benefit…association quite
easily developed into an organised state。
Then one man grew more powerful than