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ology. The story of Osiris, Isis, and Horus has been preserved after a fashion by Plutarch, but the great mesa of the myths has perished. A few, such as the story of the destruction of mankind, have been preserved, but for the most part all that remains is a collection of references to characteristics in the nomenclature of the various gods. But the stories and beliefs on which these appellations rest have disappeared.

The claim for a monotheistic basis of the Egyptian religion rests upon dogmatic assumption or upon phrases and attributions found in divine hymns, prayers or religious texts. But to bear such an interpretation such phrases moat be dislocated from their context. It is also necessary to disregard the fact that each city or province had its special tutelary deity with its 2. Polythe- special circle of subordinate deities,

ism Dorm- and that the triad, or even the ennead, pant. not the individual without peer or companion, was the unit. The development of the religion up to the time of the pyramidtexts in the fifth dynasty is largely a matter of conjecture and debate. Since that time there has been nothing, except the ill-starred attempt of Amenhotep IV., which bears the slightest resemblance to monotheism, and only such expressions as indicate the headship of a particular god in a particular region, or his supremacy over other gods can be adduced in support. The argument in favor of pantheism is more plausible, but that is too abstract an idea to find lodgment with the Egyptian; he was too realistic. The whole question is one of speculation as to what the course of development was in the period preceding the pyramid-texts, that is in the period before, say, 4000 n.c., for these texts show a form of belief in a multitude of gods which remained practically unchanged through thousands of years. The Egyptian idea of divine service was based upon that of human service. As the king had attendants who dressed him and made his toilet, so the gods had priests to perform the same, and a large part of the service consisted in changing the garments of the images. The offerings presented were ostensibly for the nourishment of the god of the temple, but really for the attendants. There does not seem to have been any such thing as a burnt sacrifice, though quarters of beef are portrayed on the tables of offering along with bread, beer, wine, geese, and other viands. In this may lie the reason why the Egyptians regarded the sacrifices of the Hebrews as an abomination (Ex. viii. 26).

The religious texts and books of the Egyptians were quite numerous, the chief place being occupied by the so-called " Book of the Dead." There were several recensions of the text, but no stereotyped form and no recognized sequence or fixed number of chapters. The chief purpose of the

is addressed to a separate deity and contains a statement that the deceased had not committed some specified sin or evil deed. The volume is filled with the names of various deities, places or persona, and is a thesaurus of information with regard to the beliefs of the Egyptians. Underlying it all was a persistent belief in man's immortality which colored and determined many Egyptian religious practises. The pyramids and the rock-hewn tombs are witnesses to this faith. In order to insure the continued existence of the soul, the body must be preserved intact as a refuge for the soul, which was believed to possess the power of independent movement and action. When the body was destroyed the soul ceased to exist, hence the necessity for " everlasting " depositories for the dead and the embalming of the body.

CHARLES RIPLEY GILLETT.

8. Exploration and Excavation: Systematic exploration and excavation and study of the monuments of Egypt began with the Egyptian military campaign of Napoleon in 1798, which was accompanied by a number of competent scientists, artists, and savants, among whom were MM. Jollois and Devilliers, who examined the monuments then accessible. The results were published in memorable form under the auspices of the 1. The First French Academy in Description de

1798-1830. out Ete faites en Jgypte pendant l'expedition de l'armWe franyaise (37 vole., Paris, 1820-1830). These magnificent volumes first acquainted the world with the existing remains of the past civilization of the Nile land. Prosper Jollois' Journal d'un ingEnieur attache a l'expedition

. . 1798-I802, is published by G. Masp6ro in BibliothEque egyptologique (Paris, 1894) and throws a definite light upon the work of these scientists, since most of the sites since excavated with so large results are mentioned in the Journal. Memorable among the material results of the expedition was the Rosette Stone discovered in Aug., 1799, at Rosette, east of Alexandria, i4acribed in hieroglyphic, hieratic, and Greek, which enabled Champollion to begin decipherment and make the first great contributions to Egyptology (see INSCRIPTIONS). Another expedition, under the Tuscan government supported by Charles X. of France and led by the French Champollion and the Italian Rosellini, the latter a professor at Pisa, went out in 1828, studied anew the monuments in the light of Champollion's achievements with the materials of the first expedition, and carried their researches as far as Nubia. Champollion died in 1832, but Roaellini stayed some years, and the results were published in Monuments dell' Egitto a dells Nubia (3 vole. of plates, 8 of text, Pisa, 1832 sqq. ), the French equivalents in Monuments de l'ggypte et de Nubie (4 and 8 vole., Paris, 1835 sqq.).

The next period began in 1832, at first under private enterprise, no great official efforts being made. Among the most notable and useful labors were those of the English engineer F. E. Perring and his associate Col. Howard Vyse, who took accurate measurements of the pyramids, especially those of Gizeh, and ]aid the foundations for all subsequent