Literature

Egyptian. Egyptian literature consists wholly of inscriptions on monuments, and of manuscripts written on papyrus, found in mummy cases and in the ruins of temples. The discoveries of the last century have been extensive in this line, and scholars, by patient labor and skillful guessing, have interpreted many of these ancient works. To any except the enthusiastic Egyptologist, however, they are somewhat disappointing. They seem hardly more than a jumble of disjointed sentences arranged without regard for system. The inscriptions on monuments and temples are quite uniform in character and devoid of interest except to the scholar. The papyri are of more importance. They are:

1. RELIGIOUS WRITINGS. Among these the Ritual or Book of the Dead is of first importance. Many copies of this book have been found in tombs. Evidently it was intended as a guide for the soul in its journey to the "Hall of Judgment." These manuscripts are beautiful in execution, but are full of discrepancies and errors of copyists. The Book of the Lower Hemisphere is of similar character. A few hymns have been found which display some little literary style. 2. HISTORICAL WRITINGS. The histories are not of great value. They are devoted usually to the praises of some ruler. 3. LETTERS. Many of these are of great interest for the light they throw on Egyptian life. 4. FICTION. The two most important works are The Tale of Two Brothers and The Romance of Setna. 5. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 6. EPICS. The epics are perhaps the most important of all from a literary point of view. There are two, Pentaur and Mohan, which have been called respectively the Egyptian Iliad and the Egyptian Odyssey. 7. FABLES AND SATIRICAL WRITINGS. In these all classes are caricatured, not even the kings escaping.

As to modern Egyptian literature, little can be said. An Arabic university at Cairo has been for many years the chief seat of learning. Numerous schools existed during the eighteenth century, but European domination has checked the diffusion of knowledge. Arabic is the literary language. Dialects have greatly affected the pure Arabic, however, and the language of newspapers and periodicals is a mixture by no means of a literary character.

See Book Of The Dead; Mythology