And as the Cretan labyrinth of old,
With wand'ring ways, and many a winding fold,
Involv'd the weary feet without redress,
In a round error, which deny'd recess:
Not far from thence he grav'd the wond'rous maze;
A thousand doors, a thousand winding ways
Sect. IV. The Lake of Mœris.—The noblest and most wonderful of all the structures or works of the kings of Egypt, was the lake of Mœris: accordingly, Herodotus considers it as vastly superior to the pyramids and labyrinth.[280] As Egypt was more or less fruitful in proportion to the inundations of the Nile; and as in these floods, the too great or too little rise of the waters was equally fatal to the lands, king Mœris, to prevent these two inconveniences, and to correct, as far as lay in his power, the irregularities of the Nile, thought proper to call art to the assistance of nature; and so caused the lake to be dug, which afterwards went by his name. This lake was in circumference about three thousand six hundred stadia, that is, about one hundred and eighty French leagues, and three hundred feet deep.[281] Two pyramids, on each of which was placed a colossal statue, seated on a throne, raised their heads to the height of three hundred feet, in the midst of the lake, whilst their foundations took up the same space under the water; a proof that they were erected before the cavity was filled, and a [pg 010] demonstration that a lake of such vast extent was the work of man's hands, in one prince's reign. This is what several historians have related concerning the lake Mœris, on the testimony of the inhabitants of the country. And M. Bossuet, the bishop of Meaux, in his discourse on universal history, relates the whole as fact. For my part, I will confess that I do not see the least probability in it. Is it possible to conceive, that a lake of a hundred and eighty leagues in circumference, could have been dug in the reign of one prince? In what manner, and where, could the earth taken from it be conveyed? What should prompt the Egyptians to lose the surface of so much land? By what arts could they fill this vast tract with the superfluous waters of the Nile? Many other objections might be made. In my opinion, therefore, we ought to follow Pomponius Mela, an ancient geographer; especially as his account is confirmed by several modern travellers. According to that author, this lake is but twenty thousand paces; that is, seven or eight French leagues in circumference. Mœris, aliquando campus, nunc lacus, viginti millia passuum in circuitu patens.[282]
This lake had a communication with the Nile, by a great canal, more than four leagues long,[283] and fifty feet broad. Great sluices either opened or shut the canal and lake, as there was occasion.
The charge of opening or shutting them amounted to fifty talents, that is, fifty thousand French crowns.[284] The fishing of this lake brought the monarch immense sums; but its chief utility related to the overflowing of the Nile. When it rose too high, and was like to be attended with fatal consequences, the sluices were opened; and the waters, having a free passage into the lake, covered the lands no longer than was necessary to enrich them. On the contrary, when the inundation was too low, and threatened a famine, a sufficient quantity of water, by the help of drains, was let out of the lake, to water the lands. In this manner the irregularities of the Nile were corrected; and Strabo remarks, that, in his time, under Petronius, a governor of Egypt, when the inundation of the Nile was twelve cubits, a very great plenty ensued; and even when it [pg 011] rose but to eight cubits, the dearth was scarce felt in the country; doubtless because the waters of the lake made up for those of the inundation, by the help of canals and drains.
Sect. V. The Inundations of the Nile.—The Nile is the greatest wonder of Egypt. As it seldom rains there, this river, which waters the whole country by its regular inundations, supplies that defect, by bringing, as a yearly tribute, the rains of other countries; which made a poet say ingeniously, “the Egyptian pastures, how great soever the drought may be, never implore Jupiter for rain:”