. . The whole valley and delta of the Nile, from the
Catacombs to the sea, was covered with temples, palaces, tombs,
pyramids, and pillars." Every stone was covered with inscriptions.
The state of society in the early days of Egypt approximated very
closely to our modern civilization. Religion consisted in the worship of
one God and the practice of virtue; forty-two commandments prescribed
the duties of men to themselves, their neighbors, their country, and the
Deity; a heaven awaited the good and a hell the vicious; there was a
judgment-day when the hearts of men were weighed:
"He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before his judgment-seat."
Monogamy was the strict rule; not even the kings, in the early days,
were allowed to have more than one wife. The wife's rights of separate
property and her dower were protected by law; she was "the lady of the
house;" she could "buy, sell, and trade on her own account;" in case of
divorce her dowry was to be repaid to her, with interest at a high rate.
The marriage-ceremony embraced an oath not to contract any other
matrimonial alliance. The wife's status was as high in the earliest days
of Egypt as it is now in the most civilized nations of Europe or America.
Pages:
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521