.. I never
hunted sacred beasts; I never caught sacred fish; ... I am pure; ... I
have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to the
naked; I have sacrificed to the gods, and offered funeral feasts to
dead." Here we see Egyptian morality: observance of ceremonies,
respect for everything pertaining to the gods, sincerity, honesty, and
beneficence.
THE ARTS
=Industry.=--The Egyptians were the first to practice the arts
necessary to a civilized people. From the first dynasty, 3,000[13]
years B.C., paintings on the tomb exhibit men working, sowing,
harvesting, beating and winnowing grain; we have representations of
herds of cattle, sheep, geese, swine; of persons richly clothed,
processions, feasts where the harp is played--almost the same life
that we behold 3,000 years later. As early as this time the Egyptians
knew how to manipulate gold, silver, bronze; to manufacture arms and
jewels, glass, pottery, and enamel; they wove garments of linen and
wool, and cloths, transparent or embroidered with gold.
=Architecture.=--They were the oldest artists of the world. They
constructed enormous monuments which appear to be eternal, for down to
the present, time has not been able to destroy them.
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