there were found in his treasury seventy-four myriads of talents. These circumstances, together with the costly structures which they erected, the mighty works they were engaged in, and the economy and establishment of their government, must raise in us a high idea of the affluence and power which this knowing people were possessed of, while they were their own masters. Such were the Egyptians in their better days;

Τα δε πολλα και ολβια ταύτα λελειπται

all these happy circumstances have been a long time at an end. Egypt, in the midst of its prosperity, was doomed to a fatal change. It was to become ' a base kingdom and for above two thousand years it has been the basest of kingdoms: neither in all that vast interval of time has there been once a prince of

that nation.

The antiquity of this kingdom may be seen by its founders Ham and Mizraim; by whose names the country was of old called, nor are they obliterated at this day. Plutarch tells us that the priests of Egypt in the mysteries of Isis called their country Chemia. Hesychius terms it Hermochemia, and

• 191,166,6661. 138. 4d. Sec Arbuthnot's Tables. p. 192. Ezekiel. 29. v. 14, 15.-30. v. 13.

ETI THE Aiyo@tos-Xnμiæ xæR@on. De Is. et Osir. Herodotus says, est de Xoupię wodis peyaλn ropu te OnSaïxe. lib. 2. cap. 9. He

says it was the antient name: 'Eguoxnμios yn, ǹ Aiyuaτος το προτερον έτως εκαλείτο. Stephanus gives it the name of 7 Misore or Mysora; the meaning of which is obvious. In respect to its extent; the Greeks describe it under three large and principal divisions, that comprehend lower Egypt, upper Egypt, and a third that was uppermost of all; which extended to Phile and Syene. These were termed ǹ xaτw, navw, κατω,

speaks of the people called Chemmitæ, ibid. of a nome of that name, ibid. and of an island called Chemmis near the city Butus in lower Egypt. cap. 156. All which is analogous to the land of Ham in the Scriptures. LXX. Interpretes-Cham transtulerunt, pro eo quod est Ham, a quo et Ægyptus usque hodie Ægyptiorum linguá Ham dicitur. Hieron. Quæst. in Genes.

1 Zonaras. vol. 1. p. 21. Μεσρεμ δε Μεσραίων προπατωρ εγένετο. Ούτω δε καλενται Αιγυπτιοι, και ἡ της Αιγυπίο χωρα Μεσρην ονομαζε TAL. Urbs Fostat est ipsamet Metzr, sic dicta a Mezram filio Cam, fili Noë, cui pax. Geograph. Nubiensis. p. 97. "Aujourd'huy "les Juifs l'appellent encore Mizraim: mais les Arabes et les "Turcs luy donnent de Mitzir ou Mitzri; combien que Leon asseure, que les Juifs l'appellent Mezraim, et les Arabes "Mezré; et les habitans l'appellent El Quiber. Les Syriens "nomment les Egyptiens gophtes, et les Mahometans d'Egypt "les Chrestiens du mesme pays El Hibt, et El Kupti, ou Kupti "sans article, au lieu de Gupti ou Egupti; et les Ethiopiens appellent les mesme Giptu ou Gibetu." Davity. p. 256.

The

same author says of Cairo; "Les Arabes l'appellent aujourd'huy "Mazar ou Mezir; les Armeniens Massar; les Chaldeens Al "Chabir, et les Hebreux Mithraim, de mesme que l' Egypte." p. 267.

and Я avrατn xwga. Great mistakes have ensued from not rightly understanding the meaning of these terms for they are always relative to the true situation of the country, and the course of the river ; which descends from the higher lands to the lower, till it loses itself in the sea. Delta therefore, that was situated among the branches of the Nile, was esteemed the lowest of all. * Καλείται δε κοινως ή περι

τάτες της ποταμες χωρα κατω.

It is observable that, from the confines of Ethiopia downward, Egypt is for a long way very narrow; being bounded on each side with mountains, between which the river descends: and, according to the determination of most geographers of antiquity, it separates Africa from Asia; and more particularly Lybia from Arabia. Here was the general boundary of the two great continents. This however is greatly disapproved of by Herodotus. He objects to the decision of those people, who attribute part of Egypt to one country, and part to another. He therefore varies in some degree from this disposition; and makes Egypt itself the boundary between the regions that it borders upon. The country by this means is intermediate, and ascribed to neither. 9 Ov

* Ptol. Geogr. Edit. Bertii. lib. 4.

Lib. 2. cap. 17. This is the opinion of Herodotus; but he is not followed in it: επερχεται δε ὁ Νείλος, επεάν πληθυη, ου μόνον το Δελτα, αλλά και τα Λιβυκε τι λεγομενο χωριό είναι, και το Αραβία εποχή.

γαρ δη ὁ Νείλος γε εςι κατα τέτον τον λογον ὁ την Ασίην κρίζων τη Λιβύη.ερισμα δε Ασίη και Λιβύη οίδαμεν εδεν εον ορθῳ λόγῳ, ει μη της Αιγυπτιων ερες. Whether Herodotus was aware that any ill consequences would arise from the other way of proceeding, I know not; but it is certain some obscurity has ensued. As long as the river was single, it might well serve to determine the countries on each side: but, when it was branched out into many streams, it became difficult to say to which part of the world the intermediate provinces were to be assigned. Therefore some have referred them to Lybia, others to Arabia, without any just reason to determine them: which has induced many people to alter their true position; and to transfer them in their maps to those countries, imagining that such was their situation. But this, being only a matter of reference, should not have affected the real order and disposition of those states. How Egypt was situated and bounded, we are very clearly informed by Leo Africanus: Ægyptus, clarissima regio, ab occidente desertis Barca, Libya, ac Numidia clauditur; ab oriente desertis, quæ Egypto et Mari Rubro interjacent. The account of Strabo is agreeable to the foregoing: Αίγυπτος-από μεν των αρκτων αλιμένῳ παραλια και

Herod. lib. 2. cap. 19. Αίγυπτος έμερος τη Λιβύη. lib. 2. cap. 65.

1 Vol. 2. p. 1174. Kas is certainly wanting" with deserts

πελάγει των Αιγυπτιῳ φρερεμενη" απο δε της έω και της ἑσπέρας, ερήμοις (και) ορετι, τοις τε Διβυκοις και τοις Αραβίοις, ώσπερ εφαμεν.

The whole extent of this country from north to south was computed to be about six hundred miles and consisted, as I before observed, of three principal divisions; and those subdivided into smaller provinces, called by the Greeks Nouo, but by the natives Tabir. The number of them has been computed to have been thirty-six; Η δεκα μεν ἡ Θηβαϊς, δέκα δ ̓ ἡ εν τῷ Δελτα, ἑκκαιδεκα δ ̓ ἡ μεταξύ. 12 Diodorus makes the same distribution. But of this we can have no certainty, on account of the disagreement that is found among writers upon this subject, who add and diminish too arbitrarily. Pliny takes notice of this inconsistency, and mentions some particulars. "Quidam ex his aliqua nomina permutant, et substituunt alios nomos, ut Heroopoliten, Crocodilopoliten. In short, wherever there was a city, the Grecians added a nome;

14

"and with mountains." The lower parts were bounded with deserts, the upper with mountains. Without this the force and precision of the writer is lost.

Strabo, vol. 2. p. 1155.

12 Την δε χωραν ἅπασαν εις ἓξ και τριακονία μέρη

lib. 1. pag. 35.

13 Nat. Hist. lib. 5. cap. 9.

διελων [Σέσοωσις.]

14 Strubo mentions nomes that never existed. He has one near the Red Sea called the Phagroriopolitan, which was quite imaginary.