which so many conditions of health depend, and with which we are so imperfectly acquainted.

The cure of diseases was also attributed by the Egyptians to Exvotos offered in the temples. They consisted of various kinds. Some persons promised a certain sum for the maintenance of the sacred animals; or whatever might propitiate the deity; and after the cure had been effected, they frequently suspended a model of the restored part, in the temple; and ears, eyes, distorted arms, and other members, were dedicated as memorials of their gratitude and superstition.

481.

1. Ivory hand, in Mr. Salt's Collection. 2. Stone tablet, dedicated to Amunre, for the recovery of a complaint in the ear; found at Thebes. 3. An ear of terra cotta in my possession, from Thebes.

Sometimes travellers, who happened to pass by a temple, inscribed a votive sentence on the walls, to indicate their respect for the deity, and solicit his protection during their journey; the complete formula of which contained the adoration (proskunéma) of the writer, with the assurance that he had been mindful of his wife, his family, and friends; and the reader of the inscription was sometimes included in a share of the blessings it solicited. The date of the king's reign and the day of the month were also added, with the profession and parentage of the writer. The complete formula of one proskunéma was as follows: "The adoration of Caius Capitolinus, son of Flavius Julius, of the fifth

troop of Theban horse, to the goddess Isis, with ten thousand names. And I have been mindful of (or have made an adoration for) all those who love me, and my consort, and children, and all my household, and for him who reads this. In the year 12 of the emperor Tiberius Cæsar, the 15 of Paüni."

The Egyptians, according to Pliny, claimed the honour of having invented the art of curing diseases. Indeed, the study of medicine and surgery appears to have commenced at a very early period in Egypt, since Athothes, the second king of the country, is stated to have written upon the subject of anatomy; and the schools of Alexandria continued till a late period to enjoy the reputation, and display the skill, they had inherited from their predecessors. Hermes was said to have written six books on medicine, the first of which related to anatomy; and the various recipes, known to have been beneficial, were recorded, with their peculiar cases, in the memoirs of physic, inscribed among the laws deposited in the principal temples.

The embalmers were probably members of the medical profession, and the Bible states that "the physicians embalmed" Jacob.

482.

Funeral Boat, or Baris.

Thebes.

P. Tomb at Sakkara, arched with stone, of the time of Psammitichus, or Psamatik, II., whose name occurs on the roof to the left, and in other places.

CESSIONS-TRIALS OF THE DEAD-SACRED LAKE - BURIAL - EMBALMING
SARCOPHAGI
PAPYRI, &c.

THE great care of the Egyptians was directed to their condition after death; that last state towards which their present life was only the pilgrimage; and they were taught to consider their abode here merely as an "inn " upon the road. They looked forward to being received into the company of that Being, who represented the Divine Goodness, if pronounced worthy at the great judgment

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day; and the privilege of being called by his name was the fulfilment of all their wishes. Every one was then the same; allwere equally noble ;" there was no distinction of rank beyond the tomb; and though their actions might be remembered on earth with gratitude and esteem, no king or conqueror was greater than the humblest man after death; nor were any honours given to them as heroes. And if ceremonies were performed to the deceased, they were not in honour of a man translated to the order of the gods, but of that particular portion of the divine essence which constituted the soul of each individual, and returned to the Deity after death. Every one, therefore, whose virtuous life entitled him to admission into the regions of the blessed, was supposed to be again united to the Deity, of whom he was an emanation; and, with the emblem of Thmei, purporting that he was judged or justified, he received the holy name of Osiris. His body was so bound up as to resemble the mysterious ruler of Amenti or Hades; it bore some of the emblems peculiar to him; and the beard, of a form which belonged exclusively to the gods, was given to the deceased in token of his having assumed the character of that deity. (See above, p. 329.)

483. Services performed to the dead by one of the family. Here it is a son. The principal part of the offering consists of onions. (See Vol. i., p. 324.)

Thebes.

1

Offerings were also made to the god Osiris himself, after the burial, in the name of the deceased; and certain services or liturgies were performed for him by the priests, at the expense of the family; their number depending upon their means, or the respect they were inclined to pay to the memory of their parent. If the sons or relations were of the priestly order, they had the

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4

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484. The members of the family present when the services were performed.

Thebes.

privilege of officiating on these occasions; and the members of the family had permission, and were perhaps frequently expected,

to be present, whether the services were performed by strangers, or by relations of the deceased. The ceremonies consisted of a sacrifice, similar to those offered in the temples, vowed for the deceased to one or more gods (as Osiris, Anubis, and others connected with Amenti): incense and libation were also presented; and a prayer was sometimes read, the relations and friends being present as mourners. They even joined their A woman embracing, and weep- prayers to those of the priest; and, Thebes. embracing the mummied body, and bathing its feet with their tears, they uttered those expressions of

485.

LIC

ing before, her husband's mummy.