ANCIENT EGYPT.*

THE appearance of a new history of ancient Egypt in eight small volumes, whilst Professor Petrie's corresponding work is still in progress—lacking the long-expected third volume—is a sure sign that this most interesting subject has taken hold of a wide range of students outside the narrow circle of specialists. Both histories aim at the presentation of the main facts deduced from the monumental and other records in such a manner that they may be useful to the educated student; that is, to the man who is more or less familiar with the outline of ancient history and is prepared to use his brains in mastering the latest results of research. Neither Professor Petrie nor Mr. Budge appeals to the " general reader," inasmuch as neither possesses the art of presenting the facts of antiquity in an artistic manner, or attempts to win popularity by the least straining of documentary evidence in the direction of dramatic or picturesque effect. Both set before themselves the task of marshalling the clear deductions of this documentary evidence in a plain and matter-of-fact narrative. The result in both canes is dry reading, but there are degrees in dryness. Professor Petrie's first and second volumes, however valuable for reference as a summary of facts, are frankly unreadable as a whole ; Mr. Budge's history, commonplace and often slovenly in composition, and curiously inattentive to the art of grouping and emphasising details, is nevertheless interesting. He hammers out his material with the steady monotony of a blacksmith's sledge, instead of manipulating it with the skill of the jeweller; but the effect of this plodding uncompromising labour is impressive. Detail follows detail, undistinguished and insalient, but each has the mark of verified accuracy, and whilst we are never indulged with those intimate perspectives into the real essence of ancient life and thought which only the creative imagination of the historical artist can give, we are furnished with a mass of solid facts, obviously real and extraordinarily varied, in which, if we have eyes to see, we can picture for ourselves the life and society of which the writer only states the conditions. Mr. Budge provides ample and accurate materials for a history of Egypt, if he does not realise all the functions of an his- torian ; and, using the term in the ordinary sense, without reference to literary or artistic excellence, his new work is the best history of ancient Egypt that has so far appeared in English.

Three qualities of considerable merit in such an under- taking Mr. Budge unquestionably possesses : industry, 'common-sense, and thorough bibliographical equipment. His laboriousness has long been beyond cavil, but these eight 'volumes, crammed with details involving innumerable refer- ences and verifications, are fresh evidence of his zeal. His common-sense, we were going to say, amounts almost to Philistinism, but it were perhaps equally true to call it an ideal of cautious sanity. In Professor Petrie one has to deal with a man of genius, and one is never sure on what wild-goose chase he may be leading us, or whether his truly marvellous intuitions may not finally resolve them- selves into mares' nests. He is far more often right than wrong in his brilliant guesses, but that he does guess can hardly be disputed; it is the privilege of genius. Now, Mr. Budge may be safely trusted never to risk his reputation on an hypothesis, whatever he may do in editing a text. He is prudent and cautious in the highest degree, and in a work such as this—a summary of an immense body of ascertained facts— caution is a cardinal virtue. The manner in which he treats Winckler's supposed Arabian " Musri " and Glaser's " ground- less assumptions" in respect to the age of the inscriptions be- longing to an "hypothetical Minaean Empire," "which probably A rel. Waif of RevPt from the Bad of the Neolithic Period to the Death o:f re Vi ?B.C. so. By E. A. Wallis Budge,Ifeeper of the Egyptian and tsWian nntaquiteee in the 13rItleh Museum. BlusUsted. 8 vole. London: AVIA Paul, Trench, and Co. [Each vol. 3s. ad. net.]

never existed," is an example of his mental attitude, and he is, we think, not too severe upon that great Hebrew scholar, Pro-

fessor Cheyne, for his uncritical adoption of Winckler's theories in the new Encyclopaedia Biblica, on which the Spectator has already expressed no uncertain opinion.

"Much," says Mr. Budge, "has been done in clearing away many of the difficulties and obscurities of tho Massoretie text of the Old Testament by advanced critics like Professor Cheyne himself, but the value of textual criticism also has its limits, and it is self-evident that its usefulness ceases when it casts to the winds all considerations of historical and geographical proba- bilities, and suspects the existence of universal corruption in the Hebrew text. Dr. Winckler's wild theories have already brought discredit upon Assyriology, a fact which is to be deplored, and their adoption and promulgation by Professor Cheyne cannot but increase the number of those who already view with distrust the really good work which has been done by the ablest of the 'higher critics,' and who doubt the genuine progress they have made. The effect upon the lay mind of wild theories thus put forward by irresponsible critics is not hard to foresee, and it is certain that they will not tend to advance the true interests either of Assyri- ology or of the higher criticism' of the Old Testament."

On the other hand, when theories are supported by sound evidence, Mr. Budge fearlessly adopts them. For instance, he accepts M. Naville's view as to the route of the Exodus by way of Lake Timsah, as well as his identification of Pithom ; and, rather to our surprise we confess, lie even falls in with Sir Norman Lockyer's theory of the reconstruction of Egyptian temples, as indicated by their orientation, though he must be aware that the observations of this distinguished astronomer

left room for much verification. The theory is merely referred to in these volumes, no doubt because the author felt that it is still undeveloped. When Dr. Mahler fixes the data of the Exodus by a solar eclipse from Talmudic data, Mr. Budge becomes critical ; and probably he would not agree to all the

hypotheses advanced in that brilliant and fascinating book, The Dawn of Astronomy. An example of hie sweeping con- demnation of fanciful views is seen in the following obiter dictum :—" The hieroglyphic inscriptions of the race to which

the Kheta belonged, which have been called ' Hittite,' and which are declared to have been ' read' and ' translated,' have not as yet been deciphered, and all deductions based upon such 'readings' and ' translations' are worthless for archaeological purposes." Poor Colonel Gender ! and—with an impassable difference—poor Professor Sayce, who is practically ignored in the present work, though his attitude towards the higher criticism should command the writer's sympathy.

Though Mr. Budge is not afraid now and again to take up arms against German scholars, like Winckler, Glaser, Muller, as a rule he is strongly under their influence. As we have said, his bibliographical equipment is a remarkable feature of his work. He has the latest discoveries, corrections, and results of all the Egyptologists of Europe at his finger-tips, and it is a worthy quality that be is frequently ready to defer his judgment to that of a greater authority. He is particularly deferential to that encyclopaedic Egyptologist, the late Hein- rich Brugsch, and he uses Wiedemann constantly, whilst fully alive to the valuable work of the French Mission Archoologique.

Indeed, a special value of this history consists in the presenta- tion of the divergent conclusions of the leading scholars of Europe on difficult points, and in the ample references to

their works. Mr. Budge usually prefers to cite an undoubted European authority, rather than give his ipse (licit, though

here and there, as we have seen, he rune a-tilt against an extravagant theory in all the heat of battle.

We have read all the eight volumes with interest, but from the nature of the case the interest diminishes. The later history of Egypt cannot compare in mystery or wonder with the earlier, and Mr. Budge is no specialist on the Ptolemaic period, where he has been anticipated by Struck and Mahaffy. Such an entangled sentence (unhappily far from unique) as " Ptolemy II. first married Arsinoe, in Egyptian Arsenat, the daughter of Lysimachus, King of Thrace, who had married the sister of Ptolemy II., also called Arsine this lady was banished to Upper Egypt on a charge of con- spiracy, and then Ptolemy II., her husband Lysimachus having in the meantime died, married his own sister Arsine,"—seems to indicate hasty writing. The first volume,

dealing with the Neolithic and Archaic periods, is of the greatest interest of all, for it contains a complete and orderly account of the series of extraordinary discoveries made in the

past few years by de Morgan, Amelineau, and Petrie, which carry our knowledge of ancient Egypt far beyond the dynastic period, and show us the early indigenous, if not aboriginal, in- habitants of the Nile Valley before the invasion of the dynastic conquerors ; and also reveal the existence of many Kings who reigned before Mena, the first King of the traditional list. Mr. Budge adduces a good deal of valuable evidence on the Neolithic period, but is cautious as to committing himself to the evidence of a Palaeolithic age in Egypt. though he appears to think Sir John Evans's dictum sufficiently authoritative. He traverses some of Professor Petrie's views as to the " New Race," which is now generally admitted not to have been "Libyan," as its discoverer first classed it. "The earlier predynastic Egyptians sprang from one of the indigenous non-Negroid races of north-east Africa, whilst the Egyptians p of history were a people whose parents on the one side were originally of African, and on the other side of Asiatic origin." On this early period Mr. Budge's history is the latest and most complete anthority, and many who would not care to read the later annals will find this first volume of surpassing fascination. From first to last, however, the history has the living reality of a work written at first hand by a scholar who spends his life face to face with the monuments of the people whose development and decay he traces in minute and authentic detail.