Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt

by George Williams Peckham

LECTURE I THE NATURE AND THE STATE IN THEIR IMPRESSION ON RELIGION-EARLIEST SYSTEMS THE recovery of the history of the nearer Orient in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphic and Babylonian cuneiform brought with it many unexpected revelations, but none more impressive than the length of the development disclosed. In Babylonia, however, the constant influx of foreign population resulted in frequent and violent interruption of the development of civilization. In Egypt, on the other hand, the isolation of the lower Nile valley permitted a development never seriously arrested by permanent immigrations for over three thousand years. We find here an opportunity like that which the zoologist is constantly seeking in what he calls "unbroken series," such as that of the horse developing in several millions of years from a creature little larger than a rabbit to our modern domestic horse. In all the categories of human language, arts, government, society,

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I; COMPARISON BETWEEN THE FREE AND THE SLAVE STTES; IT is not our intention in this chapter to enter into an; elaborate ethnographical essay, to establish peculiarities; of difference, mental, moral, and physical, in the great; family of man Neither is it our design to launch into n; philosophical disquisition on the laws and principles of; light and darkness, with a view of educing any additional; evidence of the fact, that as a general rule, the rays of; the sun are more fructifying and congenial than the shades; of night Nor yet is it our purpose, by writing a formal; treati~e on ethics, to draw a broad line of distinction between; right and wrong, to point out the propriety of morality; and its advantages over immorality, nor to waste; time in pressing a universally admitted truism-that virtue; is preferable to vice Self

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion, Egyptology, Egypt

438 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1972

Reviews

[George Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a very readable book regardless of its age and subject. But its greatness is found in an amazing lesson from history. Mr. Breasted effectively demonstrates how priestly literalism - driven by greed - undermined the development of a very precocious system of ethics that began in the Middle Kingdom by turning the wrongly named "Books of the Dead" into the equivalent of cosmic "get out of jail free cards" very similar to the infamous Papal Indulgences. A deep awareness of how this came about is essential to the ability to recognize the development of such nefarious trends in our own society. This book should be an essential part of the overall reading list of all public school systems. Moreover, it should be included in the dreaded, mandatory classes that tend to be the most feared by every undergraduate and that usually include the word "symposium" in their titles. The quality of his writing and the extraordinarily concise manner with which he covers such a broad and complex subject make this work a trenchant example of an important lesson of history, of amazing clarity of thought, and of the brilliant use of the English language.

[Venusian Vampire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great nook, written in a simple to understand language and explaining everything really well. Highly recommend it.

[Eng-shosho Ayman]

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