
The influence of Egyptian beliefs and religion, and literature, and arts and crafts on the civilization of other nations can hardly be overestimated. In one of the least known periods of the world's history the Egyptian proclaimed the deathlessness of the human soul, and Egypt has rightly been named the 'land of immortality'.
Excerpt:
From the Introduction
IN ancient times the land that is now called Egypt was called by the people, then inhabiting that part of Africa, "Kam," a word that means "black" or "dark-colored" and referred to the dark color of the muddy soil in their land. To the Hebrews this name was known as "Khàm" or "Ham" and in the Bible the Egyptians are referred to as "Sons of Ham" or "Children of Ham."
These people had a God called "Ptah" to whom they raised a temple--the temple was called "He-Ka-ptah" or House of "Ka"--of "Ptah." This name, that was in the beginning confined to "Memphis," gradually spread to other parts of the Nile Valley, and by degrees the whole country became known as "HeKapath," to other people with whom these people had contact.
The Greeks changed the name into "Aiguptos" and the Romans changed it into "Aegyptus," so from these names we get the name in its present form--"Egypt,"
To what race do the Egyptians belong? On this subject Prof. James Breasted in his "History of Egypt" writes the following:
"On the now bare and windswept desert plateau, through which the Nile has hollowed its channel, there once dwelt a race of men. Plenteous rains, now no longer known there, rendered it a fertile and productive region. The geological changes which have since made the country almost rainless, denuded it of vegetation and soil, and made it for the most part uninhabitable, took place many thousands of years before the beginning of the Egyptian civilization, which we are to study; but the prehistoric race, who before these changes peopled the plateau, left behind them as the sole memorial of their existence vast numbers of rude flint implements, now lying scattered about the surface of the present desert exposed by denudation.
"These men of the paleolithic age were the first inhabitants of whom we have any knowledge in Egypt. They cannot be connected in any way with the historic or prehistoric civilization of the Egyptians and they fall exclusively within the province of the geologist and anthropologist. The forefathers of the people with whom we shall have to deal were related to the Libyans or North Africans on the one hand, and on the other to the peoples of eastern Africa, now known as the Galla, Somali, Bega and other tribes.
EGYPT has been called the "Father of History and the Mother of Civilization" and well may she be called both for her influence upon the ancient world must have been great.
Thales, the founder of Greek philosophy, was a student of Egyptian thought and investigated all of their theories of the universe as well as their ideas about the gods. Herodotus, a Greek historian who visited Egypt about 450 B.C., has given a vivid description of the country and people, at that time and about 8 B.C. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek traveler, wandered up and down the bank of the Nile and he, like Herodotus, gives in his book a description of the country and the people. By far the most interesting, as well as accurate, account is given by Strabo, the great geographer of Greece, who was a contemporary of Diodorus. About 90 A.D., Plutarch wrote his celebrated treatise on Isis and Osiris, a work that Egyptologists today consider a most accurate presentation of the ideals and traditions of ancient Egypt.
In speaking of the sources for the historical material pertaining to the ancient Egyptian, Auguste Mariette in his short history said: "First and foremost in value and in quantity are the Egyptian monuments themselves: the temples, palaces, tombs, statues, and inscriptions.
These have supreme authority, because they have the advantage of being the incontestable evidence of the events which they record. They have not long enjoyed this distinction, as the secret of the mysterious writing with which they are covered was, until lately, lost; and it was difficult to see in these relies of antiquity anything more than lifeless stones, devoid of interest. But about eighty-five years ago there appeared, in the person of Champollion, a true genius, who succeeded, by his keen insight, in throwing the most unexpected light upon the darkness of the Egyptian script. Through him these old monuments, so long silent, caused their voices to be heard; by him was the veil torn asunder, and the Egypt of bygone days, so renowned for her wisdom and power, stood revealed to the modern world.
No longer are the monuments objects of hopeless curiosity, rather are they books of stone wherein may be read, in legible writing, the history of the nation with which they were contemporaneous.
"Next to the monuments in importance comes the Greek history of Egypt, written by Manetho, an Egyptian priest, about B.C. 250; and were the book itself in existence, we could have no more trustworthy guide. Egyptian by birth and priest by profession, Manetho, besides being instructed in all the mysteries of his religion, must have also been conversant with foreign literature, for he was a Greek scholar, and equal to the task of writing a complete history of his own country in that language. If only we had that book today it would be a priceless treasure; but the work of the Egyptian priest perished, along with many others, in the great wreck of ancient literature, the burning of the great library at Alexandria, and all we possess of it are a few fragments preserved in the pages of subsequent historians."
CONTENTS
The Egyptian Religion
Chapter I The Story of Egypt
The Beginning of Egyptian History
Beginning of Dynastic History
Manetho--The Egyptian Historian On The Dynasties
The Dynasties of Ancient Egypt
Principal Kings
Thothmes III of The Eighteenth Dynasty
Rameses II of The Nineteenth Dynasty
Chapter II Religion of Ancient Egypt
The Gods of Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian View of Future Life
The Worship of Animals In Ancient Egypt
The Groups of Gods
Gods In Human Form
Sun and Sky Gods
Chapter III The Ptah-Hotep and The Ke'gemni
The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep (The God Ptah Is Satisfied)
The Instruction of Ke'gemni (Ke'gemni--I Have Found A Soul)
The Instructions Of Amenemhe'et (The God Amon Is First)
Chapter IV The "Book of The Dead"
The Three Recensions
Selections From The "Book of The Dead"
A Hymn To The Setting Sun
Hymn and Litany To Osiris
Opening The Mouth of Osiris
Soul and Body
Of Evil Recollections
Of Not Sailing To The East
Of Being Nigh Unto Thoth
Of Being Nigh Unto Thoth
Of Bringing A Boat Along In Heaven
Of Protecting The Boat of Ra
On Going Into The Boat of Ra
Of Knowing The Souls of The East
Of Sekhet-Hetepet
Of Knowing The Souls of Pe
Of The Swallow
Transformation Into A Lotus
Transformation Into A Lotus
Transformation Into Ptah
Of Performing Transformations
Coming Forth By Day
The Chapter of Bringing Charms To Osiris
The Chapter of Memory
The Chapter of Giving A Heart To Osiris
Litany
Hymn To Ra
Chapter V Hermes Trismegistus
The Origin of All Things
(39) Horus Demands How Royal Souls Are Born
The Virgin of The World
The Virgin of The World--II
Chapter VI Egyptian Magic
Antiquity of Egyptian Magic.
The Wandering Spirit.
Coercing the Gods.
Egyptian Occultism and Symbolism
Chapter VII The Vision of Hermes
Chapter VIII The Story of The Book of Thoth
Softcover, 8" x 10¾", 145+ pages
Perfect-Bound - Large Print 14 point font