Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
generously made available by The Internet Archive.)
[Illustration: THE HIEROGLYPHICS ON CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE.
(The central columns were cut by THOTHMES III., the side columns by
RAMESES II. The Inscriptions at the base of each side are much mutilated,
and those on the Pyramidion are not shown in the Plate.)]
BY-PATHS OF BIBLE KNOWLEDGE.
I.
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE:
A HISTORY OF THE LONDON OBELISK,
WITH AN
EXPOSITION OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS.
BY THE REV. JAMES KING, M.A.,
AUTHORIZED LECTURER TO THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
"The Land of Egypt is before thee."--_Gen._ xlvii. 6.
LONDON:
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY,
56, PATERNOSTER ROW, 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD,
AND 164, PICCADILLY.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION 5
I.--THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 9
II.--OBELISKS, AND THE OBELISK FAMILY 17
III.--THE LARGEST STONES OF THE WORLD 27
IV.--THE LONDON OBELISK 36
V.--HOW THE HIEROGLYPHIC LANGUAGE WAS RECOVERED 47
VI.--THE INTERPRETATION OF HIEROGLYPHICS 53
VII.--THOTHMES III. 61
VIII.--THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF THOTHMES III. TRANSLATION OF THE
FIRST SIDE 69
IX.--THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF THOTHMES III. TRANSLATION OF THE
SECOND SIDE 83
X.--THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF THOTHMES III. TRANSLATION OF THE
THIRD SIDE 88
XI.--THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF THOTHMES III. TRANSLATION OF THE
FOURTH SIDE 92
XII.--RAMESES II. 95
XIII.--THE HIEROGLYPHICS OF RAMESES II. 101
XIV.--THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF THE MUMMIES OF THOTHMES III.
AND RAMESES II. AT DEIR-EL-BAHARI 111
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
THOTH 12
OBELISK OF USERTESEN I., STILL STANDING AT HELIOPOLIS 20
OBELISK OF THOTHMES III., AT CONSTANTINOPLE 23
COLOSSAL STATUE OF RAMESES II., AT MEMPHIS 29
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE, AT ALEXANDRIA 38
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE, ON THE THAMES EMBANKMENT 44
THE ROSETTA STONE 48
COLOSSAL HEAD OF THOTHMES III. 67
COLOSSAL HEAD OF RAMESES II. 98
[The illustrations of the obelisk at Constantinople, and of Cleopatra's
Needle on the Embankment, are taken, by the kind permission of Sir Erasmus
Wilson, from his work, "The Egypt of the Past."]
INTRODUCTION.
The London Obelisk, as the monument standing on the Thames Embankment is
now called, is by far the largest quarried stone in England; and the
mysterious-looking characters covering its four faces were carved by
workmen who were contemporaries of Moses and the Israelites during the
time of the Egyptian Bondage. It was set up before the great temple of the
sun at Heliopolis about 1450 B.C., by Thothmes III., who also caused to be
carved the central columns of hieroglyphs on its four sides. The eight
lateral columns were carved by Rameses II. two centuries afterwards. These
two monarchs were the two mightiest of the kings of ancient Egypt.
In 1877 the author passed through the land of Egypt, and became much
interested during the progress of the journey in the study of the
hieroglyphs covering tombs, temples, and obelisks. He was assisted in the
pursuit of Egyptology by examining the excellent collections of Egyptian
antiquities in the Boolak Museum at Cairo, the Louvre at Paris, and the
British Museum. He feels much indebted to Dr. Samuel Birch, the leading
English Egyptologist, for his kind assistance in rendering some obscure
passages on the Obelisk.
This little volume contains a _verbatim_ translation into English, and an
exposition, of the hieroglyphic inscriptions cut by Thothmes III. on the
Obelisk, and an exposition of those inscribed by Rameses II. Dr. Samuel
Birch, the late W. R. Cooper, and other Egyptologists, have translated the
inscription in general terms, but no attempt was made by these learned men
to show the value of each hieroglyph; so that the student could no more
hope to gain from these general translations a knowledge of Egyptology,
than he could hope to gain a knowledge of the Greek language by reading
the English New Testament.
In the march of civilisation, Egypt took the lead of all the nations of
the earth. The Nile Valley is a vast museum of Egyptian antiquities, and
in this sunny vale search must be made for the germs of classical art.
The London Obelisk is interesting to the architect as a specimen of the
masonry of a people accounted as the great builders of the Ancient World.
It is interesting to the antiquary as setting forth the workmanship of
artists who lived in the dim twilight of antiquity. It is interesting to
the Christian because this same venerable monument was known to Moses and
the Children of Israel during their sojourn in the land of Goshen.
The inscription is not of great historical value, but the hieroglyphs are
valuable in setting forth the earliest stages of written language, while
their expressive symbolism enables us to interpret the moral and religious
thoughts of men who lived in the infancy of the world.
Egypt is a country of surpassing interest to the Biblical student. From
the early days of patriarchal history down to the discovery in 1883 of the
site of Pithom, a city founded by Rameses II., Egyptian and Israelitish
and Christian history have touched at many points. Abraham visited the
Nile Valley; Joseph, the slave, became lord of the whole country; God's
people suffered there from cruel bondage, but the Lord so delivered them
that "Egypt was glad at their departing;" the rulers of Egypt once and
again ravaged Palestine, and laid Jerusalem under tribute. When, in the
fulness of time, our Saviour appeared to redeem the world by the sacrifice
of Himself, He was carried as a little child into Egypt, and there many of
His earliest and most vivid impressions were received. Thus, from the time
of Abraham, the father of the faithful, to the advent of Jesus, the Lord
and Saviour of all, Egypt is associated with the history of human
redemption.
And although the Obelisk which forms the subject of this volume tells us
in its inscriptions nothing about Abraham, Joseph, or Moses, yet it serves
among other important ends one of great interest. It seems to bring us
into very direct relationship with these men who lived so many generations
ago. The eyes of Moses must have rested many times upon this ancient
monument, old even when first he looked upon it, and read its story of
past greatness; the toiling, suffering Israelites looked upon it, and we
seem to come into a closer fellowship with them as we realize this fact.
The recent wonderful discovery of mummies and Egyptian antiquities, of
which an account is given in this volume, and the excavations now being
carried on at Pithom and Zoan, are exciting much fresh interest in
Egyptian research.
This little volume will have served its end if it interests the reader in
the historical associations of the monument, which he can visit, if he
cares to do so, and by its aid read for himself what it has to tell us of
the men and deeds of a long-distant past.
It also seeks to stimulate wider interest and research into all that the
monuments of Egypt can tell us in confirmation of the historical parts of
the Bible, and of the history of that wondrous country which is prominent
in the forefront of both Old and New Testaments, from the day when "Abram
went down into Egypt to sojourn there," until the day when Joseph "arose
and took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called
My Son."
[Illustration]
CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE.
CHAPTER I.
THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Standing some time ago on the top of the great pyramid, the present writer
gazed with wonder at the wide prospect around. Above Cairo the Nile Valley
is hemmed in on both sides by limestone ridges, which form barriers
between the fertile fields and the barren wastes on either side; and on
the limestone ridge by the edge of the great western desert stand the
pyramids of Egypt. Looking forth from the summit of the pyramid of Cheops
eastwards, the Nile Valley was spread out like a panorama. The distant
horizon was bounded by the Mokattam hills, and near to them rose the lofty
minarets and mosques of Grand Cairo.
The green valley presented a pleasing picture of richness and industry.
Palms, vines, and sycamores beautified the fertile fields; sowers,
reapers, builders, hewers of wood and drawers of water plied their busy
labours, while long lines of camels, donkeys, and oxen moved to and fro,
laden with the rich products of the country. The hum of labour, the
lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep, the song of women, and the merry
laughter of children, spoke of peace and plenty.
Looking towards the west how changed was the scene! The eye rested only on
the barren sands of the vast desert, the great land of a silence unbroken
by the sound of man or beast. Neither animal nor vegetable life exists
there, and the solitude of desolation reigns for ever supreme; so that
while the bountiful fields speak of activity and life, the boundless waste
is a fitting emblem of rest and death.
It is manifest that this striking contrast exercised a strong influence
upon the minds of the ancient Egyptians. To the edge of the silent desert
they carried their dead for burial, and on the rocky platform that forms
the margin of the sandy waste they reared those vast tombs known as the
pyramids. The very configuration of Egypt preached a never-ending sermon,
which intensified the moral feelings of the people, and tended to make the
ancient Egyptians a religious nation.
The ancient Egyptians were a very religious people. The fundamental
doctrine of their religion was the unity of deity, but this unity was
never represented by any outward figure. The attributes of this being were
personified and represented under positive forms. To all those not
initiated into the mysteries of religion, the outward figures came to be
regarded as distinct gods; and thus, in process of time, the doctrine of
divine unity developed into a system of idolatry. Each spiritual
attribute in course of time was represented by some natural object, and in
this way nature worship became a marked characteristic of their mythology.
The sun, the most glorious object of the universe, became the central
object of worship, and occupies a conspicuous position in their religious
system. The various aspects of the sun as it pursued its course across the
sky became so many solar deities. Horus was the youthful sun seen in the
eastern horizon. He is usually represented as holding in one hand the
stylus or iron pen, and in the other, either a notched stick or a tablet.
In the hall of judgment, Thoth was said to stand by the dreadful balance
where souls were weighed against truth. Thoth, with his iron pen, records
on his tablet the result of the weighing in the case of each soul, and
whether or not, when weighed in the balance, it is found wanting.
According to mythology, Thoth was the child of Kneph, the ram-headed god
of Thebes.
Ra or Phra was the mid-day sun; Osiris the declining sun; Tum or Atum the
setting sun; and Amun the sun after it had sunk below the horizon. Ptah, a
god of the first order, worshipped with great magnificence at Memphis,
represented the vivifying power of the sun's rays: hence Ptah is spoken of
as the creative principle, and creator of all living things. Gom, Moui,
and Khons, were the sons of the sun-god, and carried messages to mankind.
In these we notice the rays personified. Pasht, literally a lioness, the
goddess with the lioness head, was the female personification of the sun's
rays.
The moon also as well as the sun was worshipped, and lunar deities
received divine adoration as well as solar deities.
[Illustration: THOTH.]
Thoth, the reputed inventor of hieroglyphs and the recorder of human
actions, was a human deity, and represented both the light moon and the
dark moon. He is also called Har and Haremakhu--the Harmachis of Greek
writers--and is the personification of the vigorous young sun, the
conqueror of night, who each morning rose triumphant from the realms of
darkness. He was the son of Isis and Osiris, and is the avenger of his
father. Horus appears piercing with his spear the monster Seth or Typho,
the malignant principle of darkness who had swallowed up the setting sun.
The parable of the sun rising was designed to teach the great religious
lesson of the final triumph of spiritual light over darkness, and the
ultimate victory of life over death. Horus is represented at the
coronation of kings, and, together with Seth, places the double crown upon
the royal head, saying: "Put this cap upon your head, like your father
Amen-Ra." Princes are distinguished by a lock of hair hanging from the
side of the head, which lock is emblematic of a son. This lock was worn in
imitation of Horus, who, from his strong filial affection, was a model son
for princes, and a pattern of royal virtue. The sphinx is thought to be a
type of Horus, and the obelisks also seem to have been dedicated, for the
most part, to the rising sun.
There were also sky divinities, and these were all feminine. Nu was the
blue mid-day sky, while Neit was the dark sky of night. Hathor or Athor,
the "Queen of Love," the Egyptian Venus, represented the evening sky.
There were other deities and objects of worship not so easily classified.
Hapi was the personification of the river Nile. Anubis, the jackal-headed
deity, was the friend and guardian of the souls of good men. Thmei or Ma,
the goddess of truth, introduced departed souls into the hall of judgment.
Amenti, the great western desert, in course of time was applied to the
unknown world beyond the desert. Through the wilderness of Amenti departed
spirits had to pass on their way to the judgment hall. In this desert were
four evil spirits, enemies of the human soul, who endeavoured to delude
the journeying spirits by drawing them aside from the way that led to the
abode of the gods. On many papyri, and on the walls of tombs, scenes of
the final judgment are frequently depicted. Horus is seen conducting the
departed spirits to the regions of Amenti; a monstrous dog, resembling
Cerberus of classic fable, is guardian of the judgment hall. Near to the
gates stand the dreadful scales of justice. On one side of the scales
stands Thoth, the recorder of human actions, with a tablet in his hand,
ready to make a record of the sentence passed on each soul. Anubis is the
director of the weights; in one scale he places the heart of the deceased,
and in the other a figure of the goddess of truth. If on being weighed the
heart is found wanting, then Osiris, the judge of the dead, lowers his
sceptre in token of condemnation, and pronounces judgment against the
soul, condemned to return to earth under the form of a pig. Whereupon the
soul is placed in a boat and conveyed through Amenti under charge of two
monkeys. If the deeds done in the flesh entitle the soul to enter the
mansions of the blest, then Horus, taking the tablet from Thoth,
introduces the good spirit into the presence of Osiris, who, with crook
and flagellum in his hands, and attended by his sister Isis, with
overspreading wings, sits on a throne rising from the midst of the waters.
The approved soul is then admitted to the mansions of the blest.
To this belief in a future life, the custom among the Egyptians of
embalming the dead was due. Each man as he died hoped to be among those
who, after living for three thousand years with Osiris, would return to
earth and re-enter their old bodies. So they took steps to ensure the
preservation of the body against the ravages of time, and entombed them in
massive sarcophagi and in splendid sepulchres. So well did they ensure
this end that when, a few months ago, human eyes looked upon the face of
Thothmes III., more than three thousand years after his body had been
embalmed, it was only the sudden crumbling away of the form on exposure to
the air, that recalled to the remembrance of the onlookers the many ages
that had passed since men last saw that face.
It is with the worship of the sun that the obelisk now on the Embankment
is associated, as it stood for many ages before one of the great temples
at Heliopolis, the Biblical On.
Impressive as this ancient Egyptian religious life was, it cannot be
compared for a moment, judged even on the earthly standard of its moral
power, to the monotheism and the religious life afterwards revealed to the
Hebrews, when emancipated from Egyptian bondage. The religion first made
known through God's intercourse with the Patriarchs, continued by Moses
and the Prophets, and culminating in the incarnation and death of Christ
the Lord, lacks much of the outward splendour and magnificence of the
Egyptian religion, but satisfies infinitely better the hearts of weary
sinful men. The Egyptian worship and religious life testify to a constant
degradation in the popular idea of the gods and in the moral life of their
worshippers. The worship and religious life of which the God of the
Hebrews is the centre, tends ever more and more to lead men in that "path
of the just, which is as the shining light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day."[1] Now in Christ Jesus those that once "were far
off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."[2] "The times of ignorance" are
now past, and God "commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:
inasmuch as He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world
in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained."[3]
[Illustration]