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operation. Nor did it comport with the Divine wisdom to confine his requisition upon the skill of his people to the mere drudgery of human art. God will have man to serve him with the best powers that he has given. His sanctuary in the midst of them shall be for "glory and for beauty" as well as for utility. Embroidery, sculpture, engraving, art in the most exalted sense of the word, shall also be employed upon it; and it was in these rare and peculiar gifts that Bezaleel and Aholiab probably excelled.

Not only were the Divine communications granted, but the Israelites would avail themselves of the knowledge acquired during their long sojourn among the Egyptians, whose existing monuments show them to have attained a high degree of perfection, and who especially applied the art of design with a profusion unknown perhaps in any other country. Their temples appear to have been crowded with statues, and the walls covered with figures in relief and with hieroglyphic inscriptions. This was the case with the obelisks, the two colossi, and the propyla or truncated pyramids that stood on either side of the entrance to the temple. The gate-posts and lintels were in the same manner covered with devices, and so also were the whole exterior and interior of the sacred edifice, and every pillar, both within and without it, from the floor to the roof and from the gateway to the sanctuary. Gigantic figures in relief, with long columns of inscription in hieroglyphics, meet the eye everywhere. The tombs also were decorated and inscribed in the same manner; and even the smaller objects, which admit of removal, and which have therefore been transferred to the museums of Europe, present the same extraordinary profusion of figures in relief and hieroglyphic

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inscriptions. They abound not only on sarcophagi, mummy cases, and other similar remains, where we naturally expect to find them, but also on earthen cups, brazen vessels, boxes, articles of domestic furniture, etc., as to which the motive for inscribing them is much more difficult of comprehension; yet groups of figures, with long accompanying explanations in hieroglyphics, frequently occur even on these objects.

It is also needful to explain, (in order to convey a correct impression of the extent to which the art of design was applied in ancient Egypt,) that the characters which compose this their system of writing are all the pictorial representations of the heavenly bodies, men, animals, birds, articles of dress, furniture, and other physical objects.

The purpose of the Egyptians in their use of the art of design was very different to that of the Greeks, from whom modern art has been altogether derived. It was not to excite the imagination, but to inform the understanding; not to give pleasure, but to convey facts, that painting and sculpture were employed in Egypt. According to Clement of Alexandria, an Egyptian temple was ypáμua, "a writing;" it addressed itself to the mind in the same manner as a book. And, to proceed with the metaphor, the groups of figures which covered it with their hieroglyphic explanations were the several chapters or sections of which the book was composed. So that it was designed to be a written record of the historical facts which led to its erection, and of the Mythic fables, in conformity to which it was dedicated.

It will usefully illustrate the extent to which this mode of speaking of an Egyptian temple was literal rather than metaphorical, if we give here some account of the devices which were engraved at the entrance, generally on the

propyla, which are two truncated pyramids placed on either side of the gateway. On each of these was designed a gigantic figure of the Pharaoh by whom the temple was built, grasping with his left hand the hair of one or more captives who are kneeling before him, and brandishing a sword or club in his right hand. These captives represent the nations who were conquered in the war, the events of which are detailed on the walls in the interior of the temple, and whose spoils had contributed to its erection, having been consecrated to that use by the conqueror. So that these designs really answer the purpose both of title pages and tables of contents. We subjoin an example, which is the title page to the cave at Ipsambul.

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The four lines immediately above the hero in the act of striking, the second of which is somewhat defaced at the

top, read-" The living good god, the glorious guardian, smiting the south country," (that is, Africa,) "treading down the north country," (that is, Asia; some of the captives he is smiting have the features and complexions of Africans, others of Asiatics: the walls of the temple itself are covered with an immense scene, representing his campaigns in both these continents,) "the victorious king cometh smiting with the sword the boundaries of all the nations of the world." Then follow the names of the hero, "The lord of the world (sun, guardian of justice approved of the sun, Sesostris.) The lord of Egypt, (Ramses, beloved of Amon.") Immediately above his head is Harn-hat, the celestial sun, the symbol of sovereignty. The vulture holding a ring in its claws is the symbol of victory. The two columns immediately under his arm read, "King of an obedient people, the righteous Horns, lord of the sword. Devoted to Seben, (the goddess of victory, the vulture,) living lord of the world, who is in this cave, his glorious habitation." On the left is the god Amon, to whom the cave is dedicated, holding out a sword to Sesostris. Over him is written, "Thus saith Amon-ra, the lord of the thrones of the world, Take thy sword, smite with it; we have given thee to tranquillize the south country, Africa; to conquer the north country, to trample under foot all the evil races of the world; to multiply thy great halls beyond the boundaries of Egypt." Ipsambul is not in Egypt proper. The last phrase is obscure.

The paintings in the tombs have also the same design. They represent supposed facts; the events of the life of the deceased, or the adventures of his soul after death. Clearness of idea, therefore, not pictorial effect, was the primary object of art in Egypt.

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