The World's Progress Part 12

'Put myrrh on thy head, array thyself in fine linen, Anointing thyself with the true wonders of G.o.d.

Adorn thyself with all the beauty thou canst.

With a beaming face celebrate the joyful day and rest not therein For no one can take away his goods with him, Yea, no one returns again, who has gone hence.'"[2]

The men banqueted alone. Dancing and music diverted them during the feast. It was customary to pa.s.s the image of a mummy around at the feast, while words similar to these were repeated: "Look upon this and know, even as it is, so shalt thou be--for all must die." This in no way dampened the pleasures of the night; rather, each sought to enjoy to its fullest capacity the fleeting hours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FACADE OF A HOUSE TOWARD THE STREET. SECOND THEBAN PERIOD.]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Erman: Life in Ancient Egypt, 235.

[2] Erman: Life in Ancient Egypt, 255.

CHAPTER XI.

AGRICULTURE AND CATTLE RAISING.

Owing to the inexhaustible fertility of the Nile valley, fine crops were always forthcoming on the land reached by the annual overflow. The rich mud deposited by the flood left the productive qualities of the soil restored, and it was never necessary to leave the fields lie fallow.

However, the ground had not only to be merely reached by the river waters, but to be saturated, for rain seldom fell and whatever humidity was supplied the growing vegetation, came from the overflow. A system of irrigation brought the water in trenches as near each farm as possible.

From these trenches, thousands of men and boys, employed throughout the country, lifted water in buckets to the higher land, that all the crops might receive sufficient moisture.

As soon as the river receded, all the valley was astir with busy people, getting the ground ready for the grain and other seed. Implements of the farm were crude indeed, and crude they are today. A high official in recent times had a quant.i.ty of agricultural implements, such as are used by the most progressive farmers in America, imported into Egypt and endeavored to encourage the peasants to use them. Not they. What had served the needs of seven thousand years in their valley was deemed sufficient for them, and after some time, the entire outfit had to be sold for old iron.

Pictures in tombs depict many scenes connected with grain production--from the plowing of the soil to the storing of the grain into granaries. From these pictures we are able to outline the daily life of the peasant.

Their plows were crude, wooden implements, which at best did little more than scratch over the soil. Coa.r.s.e clods of earth had to be broken with a sort of wooden hoe. Then the farmer scattered seed over the mellow ground, driving flocks of sheep across the fields to tread it in. Aside from the matter of irrigation, the crops needed little attention until the time for harvest. Then the grain was cut by a sickle, loaded on to donkeys and taken to the thres.h.i.+ng-floor, located near the village. Here in early times it was trodden out by donkeys, driven back and forth over it. Later oxen were in greater favor for thres.h.i.+ng. The grain was freed from chaff by throwing it up into the air rapidly. The grain fell straight down, while the chaff was blown forward. Now it was ready for the "scribes of the granary," who measured it and supervised it while being stored safely away. Sometimes the boats of a n.o.bleman would ply back and forth for weeks together, bringing his heavy yield of millet and barley to his granaries.

One word about the "corn" of Egypt. The Indian corn which we call corn today is a native American product, and was unknown to antiquity. Corn has been used as a common name for all grain. Wheat, barley and millet were the leading grains of Egypt.

Taxes were paid in kind--in produce; so naturally, large quant.i.ties of grain were poured yearly into the coffers of the government. This was stored against times of need which occasionally fell upon Egypt. It was in one of these years when a famine swept over the east that Joseph's brothers came down into the valley to buy grain from government granaries.

Little is known of the vegetables grown in antiquity. Probably many of those common today were raised. Melons were extensively grown; onions and cuc.u.mbers were probably known and the grape vine was extensively cultivated.

Cattle raising was carried to some perfection. The Egyptians understood well the secrets of high breeding and produced especially fine specimens of cows and oxen. Being fond of all animals, they were partial to the ox, symbolic of great strength, and to the cow, sacred to Isis. As the lion, with its strength, has appealed to many people, so the ox was a favorite with the dwellers on the Nile.

The herders made up a cla.s.s by themselves. In the summer they drove the cattle up north, into the marshes, where pasture was good. The average Egyptian looked upon these men with deepest disgust, for they let their hair grow, and wore beards. They lived in portable reed huts. Their lives were quite primitive and they had a general unkempt appearance.

They dressed very little, and their efforts to copy the Egyptian skirt in their stiff matting, afforded the townsman much amus.e.m.e.nt. They spent their idle time weaving papyrus reeds into mats, and wove boats from the same useful plant.

When the fall came, they returned with their herds from the northern marshes. When they reached home, officials came to inspect the flocks.

They noted the increase of the stock, all losses and other matters of interest to the owners. Records show that single proprietors sometimes owned as many as 1,300 cows, in addition to other cattle.

Large flocks of sheep were kept, and goats were plentiful. Few pictures of pigs are to be seen, and those only in the New Empire period. The pig was objected to on religious grounds, as unclean.

Their fondness for animals led the Egyptians to receive as many wild animals as possible into their flocks. These were fattened with the cattle. Mention is made of the ibex and antelope being especially valued when they had been fed for awhile with the herds.

Birds were apparently not extensively domesticated. This was not necessary, for the bird-catchers could find any number of ducks and geese in the marshes, fatten them for a time, and supply them without the trouble of raising them. The goose was the favorite bird. Roast goose was a favorite dish and was offered as a delicacy to the G.o.ds.

Pictures even show geese kept as pets, in the place of dogs or monkeys.

While the whole civilization of Egypt was based on its agriculture and its cattle raising, the farmer and herder had no social standing. The tiller of the soil was regarded as an overworked creature who never became prosperous. The land was generally owned by great n.o.blemen of wealth, who themselves received the profit.

"The following sad sketch of the lot of the harvestmen was written by the compiler of a didactic letter, of which many copies are extant, and implies not only a personal opinion, but the general view of this matter: The worm has taken half of the food, the hippopotamus the other half; there were many mice in the fields, the locusts have come down and the cattle have eaten, and the sparrows have stolen. Poor miserable agriculturist! What was left on the thres.h.i.+ng floor thieves made away with.... Then the scribe lands on the bank to receive the harvest, his followers carry sticks and the negroes carry palm rods. They say: 'Give up the corn'--and there is none there. Then they beat him as he lies stretched out and bound to the ground, they throw him into the ca.n.a.l and he sinks down, head under water.... This is, of course, an exaggerated picture, which is purposely overdrawn by the writer, in order to emphasize the striking contrast that he draws in his eulogy of the profession of scribe; in its main features, however, it gives us a very true idea, for the lot of the ancient peasant very much resembled that of the modern fellah. The latter labours and toils without enjoying the results of his own work. He earns a scanty subsistence, and, notwithstanding all his industry, he gains no great renown amongst his countrymen of the towns; the best they can say of him is, that he is worthy to be compared with his own cattle."[1]

ARTISANS AND THEIR CRAFTS.

Countries today can easily import such articles of manufacture as are not produced within their own boundaries. A single household may possess silk made in India, porcelain from China, curtains and laces from Belgium, cutlery from England, and some musical instruments made in Germany. All this was different in antiquity. Egypt long remained isolated. She developed a higher civilization than her neighbors, and what her people required had to be produced for the most part within her borders. It followed naturally that a wide variety of trades and crafts grew up in the limited valley of the Nile. To be sure, during her empire period many lands sent their choicest products as tribute, yet even then, Egyptians held first place in certain arts and crafts.

There was little native wood in the valley. When the conquests of Thutmose I. established relations with Syria, woods were imported to some extent. Mummies have been found encased in the rare cedars of Lebanon. Generally speaking, however, subst.i.tutes had to be found for timber. Light boats were made from reeds, and for the making of larger ones, boatmakers became expert in joining together small pieces of wood, thus forming large boards, strong enough to bear severe strains. For some purposes, cartonage was subst.i.tuted. This was composed of several layers of coa.r.s.e linen glued together. It was used extensively for the manufacture of coffins. In veneering rare woods upon less costly foundations, the Egyptians far surpa.s.sed any modern efforts. Wood carvers reached a high degree of skill in fas.h.i.+oning little statuettes and images from wood, also in carving, with exquisite detail, tiny wooden amulets and ornaments. Handles of knives sometimes display the dexterity of the wood carvers.

Even greater, perhaps, was their success in metal work. Bronze was commonly used for articles of every day use. Iron was known and was reserved more especially for weapons of warfare and for some kinds of knives. For a time, silver was more highly valued than gold, being more rare. Later it was found in greater quant.i.ties, and took rank with gold, or had even less value. Statues of the G.o.ds were made commonly in bronze, although many were fas.h.i.+oned from gold. The goldsmith was a person of good social standing. He made statues of the G.o.ds to adorn the temples and he cut and set jewels for royalty. The number of precious stones was quite extensive in Egypt. Diamonds, rubies and sapphires were seemingly unknown, but amethysts, emeralds, garnets, agates, jasper and lapis lazuli were available. The Egyptians, both men and women, were very fond of personal adornments, and jewelry was worn in profusion by the wealthy and to some extent by all. Amber, turquoise, coral and pearls were popular. Every man wore a seal ring--and this not merely as an ornament. Letters and doc.u.ments were never signed in these ages--rather, one affixed his seal. The n.o.ble wore a costly ring; the citizen of humble position, one of slight value, but every one who expected to transact any business or carry on any correspondence wore a seal ring of some kind. Women, to the same extent, wore necklaces. Most elaborate ones have been discovered in the tombs of royalty; very simple ones adorned the necks of the humbler women, yet none was so poor as to lack a necklace altogether. Bracelets, anklets, hair combs and ornaments, amulets, chains, and scarabs were greatly in demand, and the goldsmiths of ancient Egypt attained great originality, skill and perfection in his art. So constant being the demand for inexpensive jewelry, remarkable skill was reached in imitating precious stones in gla.s.s. Indeed, it is difficult for experts today to determine in some cases whether the stone be real or imitated.

In gla.s.s work, the Egyptians preferred colored gla.s.s to the clear.

Whatever gla.s.s utensils remain are invariably colored. Blue was a favorite color. Thin layers of gla.s.s were used sometimes to decorate coffins. Blown gla.s.s was not made in early times, statements to the contrary notwithstanding. Pictures once supposed to represent gla.s.s blowers at work are now understood to depict one stage of metal working.

Pottery was never brought to any high mark by the Nile dwellers. Clay utensils were used for only the most ordinary purposes, and the jars, bowls, and vases which remain give evidence of poor material having been used in the first place, indifferent labor in the next place, poor fire and little skill in ornamentation. These indifferent results were satisfactory enough for the commonest uses and for anything more, something in metal appears to have been demanded.

Hunting being a favorite pastime, and cattle raising carried on to such a wide extent, Egypt became rich in skins. The skins of rarer animals were never shorn of the natural hair. This was dressed and used for coverings of couches and chairs--for s.h.i.+elds and even garments. Skins of cattle were made into leather and worked up into sandals, straps and ap.r.o.ns for workmen. Pictures of boats are shown with leather sails, and leather was used for manifold purposes.

The extensive use of linen for clothing necessitated a large production of flax. Those who wove--mostly women, in spite of Herodotus to the contrary--attained a high skill and dexterity in their work. Linen was generally kept white, and was frequently made so thin and sheer that the outlines of the body were visible through it.

Of the condition and life of the average artisan, we know that he was allowed to hold no office under the government and had no political rights whatever. Every man was obliged by law to have some calling and to follow it, nor could he work at trades other than his own. This insured good work--always exacted by the Egyptians from their workmen who often received but meager food and no wages. Probably the highly prized work of the goldsmith was well paid. The Egyptians frequently paid for their goods in kind.

Large numbers of laborers belonged to the state or the temples, and they were provided only the bare necessities of life. Some of these men knew how to chisel the hard granite which almost defies the strong steel of today; others could decorate tombs with animated scenes which still today retain their original colors. All these men lived in wretched poverty, in little mud huts, and often had to besiege their overseers for bread. It appears to have been customary to give these workmen their monthly rations at the beginning of the month. Probably the supply was scanty at best, and the hungry laborers made heavy inroads upon it during the first few days. Ere twenty days had pa.s.sed they were often entirely out of meal for bread, to say nothing of oil and other necessities. Only a threat to appeal to the king would at times bring the needed food. The workmen maintained that the officers withheld from them their dues, only to add it to their own personal stores--a claim that was no doubt well founded, and needs no better proof than the granting of more food to those who united and ceased to work until supplies were forthcoming.

MARKETS.

For an understanding of the old Egyptian market we can do no better than read the description worked out by Maspero from scenes still existing in the tombs:

"We ... suddenly emerge into the full suns.h.i.+ne of a noisy little square, where a market is being held. Sheep, geese, goats, a.s.ses, large-horned oxen, scattered in unequal groups in the center, are awaiting a purchaser. Peasants, fishermen, small retail dealers, squat several deep in front of the houses, displaying before them, in great rush baskets or on low tables, loaves of pastry, fruit, vegetables, fish, meat raw or cooked, jewels, perfumes, stuffs, all the necessities and all the superfluities of Egyptian life.

"The customers stroll past and leisurely examine the quality of the commodities offered for sale; each carries something of his own manufacture in his hand--a new tool, some shoes, a mat, or a small box full of rings of copper, silver, even of gold, of the weight of an _outnou_ (a little over two ounces), which he proposes to barter for the objects he requires. Two customers stop at the same moment in front of a fellah, who exhibits onions and wheat in front of a basket. Instead of money, the first holds two necklets of gla.s.s or of many colored earthenware, the second a round fan with a wooden handle, and one of those triangular ventilators which the cooks use to quicken the fire.

'Here is a beautiful necklet which will please you, this is what you want,' cries the former; whilst the latter urges, 'Here is a fan and a ventilator.' However, the fellah, quite overcome by this double attack, methodically proceeds to first seize a string of beads for closer examination. 'Let me see it, that I may fix a price.' The one asks too much, the other too little; from concession to concession they finally come to terms, and settle the number of onions or the weight of corn which the necklet or fan may be worth. Elsewhere it is a question of bartering a pair of sandals or a row of enamelled beads for some perfume. 'Here,' urges the buyer, 'is a very strong pair of shoes.' But the seller does not require shoes for the moment, so he offers one of his small pots in exchange for a row of beads. 'It is delicious when a few drops are poured out,' he explains, with a persuasive air. A woman thrusts under the nose of a kneeling individual two jars, probably containing some ointment of her own manufacture. 'Here,' she cries, 'it smells sweet enough to entice thee.' Behind this group two men are discussing the value of a packet of fish-hooks; a woman, box in hand, is a vendor of bracelets and necklets; another woman endeavors to obtain a reduction upon the price of a fish, which is being dressed before her.

"When it is a question of a large animal, or of objects of considerable value, the accounts become intricate. For instance, Ahmosou sells a bull for a mat, five measures of honey, eleven measures of oil, and seven objects of different kinds. Now, imagine the calculations which must have been made before he succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng such a complicated balance.... The mat was estimated at 25 outnou, the honey at 4, the oil at 10, and so on, the whole weighing 119 outnou, which is not too dear for a beast in good condition. This custom of payment by one of the usual metals is so convenient, and dispenses with so many calculations, that it has been adopted even for the minor transactions of daily life.

The butcher, the baker, the corn-chandler, all the small tradesmen prefer exchange for metal, which is of small compa.s.s and does not spoil, to exchange for objects, often bulky in size, which is liable to deteriorate if kept too long in the house. A pair of ducks is worth a quarter of an outnou in copper; a fan, a quarter; a bronze razor is worth a whole outnou; a pickaxe, two; a goat, two; an ox-head, half an outnou in silver; a leather bottle of fine wine, three outnou of gold....

"Two or three commercial streets or bazaars open from the other side of the square, and the crowd hastens towards them when it leaves the market. Nearly their whole length is filled with stalls and shops, in which not only Egypt, but the majority of the oriental nations display their most varied productions. Beautifully ornamented stuffs from Syria, Phoenician or Hitt.i.te jewellery, scented woods and gums from Punt and the Holy Lands; lapis and embroideries from Babylon; coral, gold, iron, tin and amber from the far-distant countries beyond the seas, are found scattered pell-mell amongst the native fine linen, jewels, gla.s.s-work and furniture. The shop is usually independent from the rest of the house, and is let separately. It is a small, square room, often a simple shed, widely open in front, and closed every evening by means of wooden shutters, held in place by cross-bars with one or two mats, one or two low stools, some shelves fixed to the wall, which hold the goods; perhaps behind the shop are one or two carefully closed rooms where the most valuable objects are stored. Most of the tradesmen are also manufacturers. They have apprentices or workmen who work for them, and they join them during the intervals between their sales.... Artisans of the same trade have usually a natural tendency to collect together, to dwell side by side in the same place--blacksmiths with blacksmiths, curriers with curriers, goldsmiths with goldsmiths, forming a small city in which objects of the same kind only are found."[2]

THE BUSINESS OF WAR.

It would be misleading to speak of the profession of war in Egypt, for the Egyptians were essentially unwarlike. In early times they lived in their isolated valley, and the nature of the country on either side of them was not such as to tempt them to reach out to conquer it. When Nubian and nomadic tribes stole their cattle and otherwise molested their outlying districts, it was a comparatively simple matter to repulse them and reduce their number. Such raids were not regular military campaigns--far from it. They were expeditions of plunder and pillage. "I have carried off their women and captured their men; for I marched to their well; I slew their oxen, cut down their corn and set fire to it." Thus did one pharaoh record his victory on a monument raised to commemorate it. War with tribes of this strength was not likely to elevate the military standard of Egypt.

Contact with the Hyksos during the Middle Empire taught the Nile dwellers more of warfare than they had previously known. By superior use of arms these Asiatics were able to take possession of the land, which they held until, from the struggling feudal n.o.bles, a ruler came forth, strong enough to establish himself and collect an army. By adopting the method of battle practised by the enemy, the Hyksos were at last driven from the valley, and were pursued far beyond their former borders.