I shall now treat only of the first period, reserving the two others for the Æras to which they belong.
A.M. 1816. Ant. J.C. 2188.
The Kings of Egypt.—Menes. Historians are unanimously agreed, that Menes was the first king of Egypt. It is pretended, and not without foundation, that he is the same with Misraïm, the son of Cham.
Cham was the second son of Noah. When the family of the latter, after the extravagant attempt of building the tower of Babel, dispersed themselves into different countries, Cham retired to Africa; and it doubtless was he who afterwards was worshipped as a god, under the name of Jupiter Ammon. He had four children, Chus,[404] Misraïm, Phut, and Canaan. Chus settled in Ethiopia, Misraïm in Egypt, which generally is called in Scripture after his name, and by that of Cham,[405] his father; Phut took possession of that part of Africa which lies westward of Egypt; and Canaan, of the country which afterwards bore his name. The Canaanites are certainly the same people who are called almost always Phœnicians by the Greeks, of which foreign name no reason can be given, any more than of the oblivion of the true one.
I return to Misraïm.[406] He is allowed to be the same with Menes, whom all historians declare to be the first king of Egypt, the institutor of the worship of the gods, and of the ceremonies of the sacrifices.
Busiris, some ages after him, built the famous city of Thebes, and made it the seat of his empire. We have elsewhere taken notice of the wealth and magnificence of this city. This prince is not to be confounded with Busiris, so infamous for his cruelties.
Osymandyas. Diodorus gives a very particular description of many magnificent edifices raised by this king;[407] one of [pg 058] which was adorned with sculptures and paintings of exquisite beauty, representing his expedition against the Bactrians, a people of Asia, whom he had invaded with four hundred thousand foot and twenty thousand horse. In another part of the edifice was exhibited an assembly of the judges, whose president wore, on his breast, a picture of Truth, with her eyes shut, and himself was surrounded with books—an emphatic emblem, denoting that judges ought to be perfectly versed in the laws, and impartial in the administration of them.
The king likewise was painted here, offering to the gods gold and silver, which he drew every year from the mines of Egypt, amounting to the sum of sixteen millions.[408]
Not far from hence was seen a magnificent library, the oldest mentioned in history. Its title or inscription on the front was, The office, or treasury, of remedies for the diseases of the soul. Near it were placed statues, representing all the Egyptian gods, to each of whom the king made suitable offerings; by which he seemed to be desirous of informing posterity that his life and reign had been crowned with piety to the gods, and justice to men.
His mausoleum displayed uncommon magnificence; it was encompassed with a circle of gold, a cubit in breadth, and 365 cubits in circumference; each of which showed the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and the rest of the planets. For so early as this king's reign, the Egyptians divided the year into twelve months, each consisting of thirty days; to which they added every year five days and six hours.[409] The spectator did not know which to admire most in this stately monument, whether the richness of its materials, or the genius and industry of the artists.