ly peopled than any other country in Africa, but probably more so than any in the ancient world. Our information upon this point is indeed somewhat scanty, but it is derived from sources of unquestioned credibility. Herodotus, who the more he is understood, the more accurate he is found to be," states that in the reign of Amasis there were said to have been twenty thousand inhabited cities. 112 This may, perhaps, be considered an exaggeration; but what is very observable is, that Diodorus Siculus, who travelled in Egypt four centuries after Herodotus, and whose jealousy of the reputation of his great predecessor made him anxious to discredit his statements, 113 does nevertheless, on this important point, confirm them. For he not only remarks that Egypt was at that time as densely inhabited as any existing country, but he adds, on the authority of records which were then extant, that it was formerly the most populous in the world, having contained, he says, upwards of eighteen thousand cities. 114

These were the only two ancient writers who, from personal knowledge, were well acquainted with the state of Egypt;115 and their testimony is the more valuable because it was evidently drawn from different sources; the information of Herodotus be

Frederick Schlegel (Philos. of Hist. p. 247, London, 1846) truly says, "The deeper and more comprehensive the researches of the moderns have been on ancient history, the more have their regard and esteem for Herodotus increased." His minute information respecting Egypt and Asia Minor is now admitted by all competent geographers; and I may add, that a recent and very able traveller has given some curious proofs of his knowledge even of the western parts of Siberia. See Erman's valuable work, Travels in Siberia, vol. i. pp. 211, 297-301.

112 Επ ̓ Αμάσιος δὲ βασιλέος λέγεται Αἴγυπτος μάλιστα δὴ τότε εὐδαιμο ῆσαι, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῇ χώρῃ γινόμενα, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρης τοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι. καὶ πόλις ἐν αὐτῇ γενέσθαι τὰς ἁπάσας τότε δισμυρίας τὰς οἰκεομένας. Herodot. book. ii. chap. clxxvii. vol. i. pp. 881, 882.

113 Diodorus, who, though an honest and painstaking man, was in every respect inferior to Herodotus, says, impertinently enough, ὅσα μὲν οὖν Ηρόδοτος καί τινες τῶν τὰς Αἰγυπτίων πράξεις συνταξαμένων ἐσχεδιάκασιν, ἑκουσίως προκρίναντες τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ παραδοξολογεῖν, καὶ μύθους πλάττειν ψυχαγωγίας ἕνεκα, παρήσομεν. Biblioth. Hist. book i. chap. lxix. vol. i. p. 207. In other places he alludes to Herodotus in the same tone, without actually mentioning him.

114 Πολυανθρωπία δὲ τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν πολὺ προέσχε πάντων τῶν γνωριζομένων τόπων κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ καθ' ἡμᾶς δὲ οὐδενὸς τῶν ἄλλων δοκεῖ λείπεσθαι. ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀρχαίων χρόνων ἔσχε κώμας ἀξιολόγους, καὶ πόλεις πλείους τῶν μυρίων καὶ ὀκτα κισχιλίων, ὡς ἐν ταῖς ἀναγραφαῖς ὁρᾶν ἐστι κατακεχωρισμένον. Diod. Sic. Biblioth. Hist. book i. chap. xxxi. vol. i. p. 89.

115 Nothwithstanding the positive assertions of M. Matter (Hist. de l'Ecole d'Alexandrie, vol. ii. p. 285; compare Hist. du Gnosticisme, vol. i. p. 48), there is no good evidence for the supposed travels in Egypt of the earlier Greeks, and it is even questionable if Plato ever visited that country. ("Whether he ever was in Egypt is doubtful." Bunsen's Egypt, vol. i. p. 60.) The Romans took little interest in the subject (Bunsen, vol. i. pp. 152-158); and, says M. Bunsen, p. 152, "with Diodorus all systematic inquiry into the history of Egypt ceases, not only on the part of the Greeks, but of the ancients in general." Mr. Leake, in an essay on the Quorra, arrives at the conclusion, that after the time of Ptolemy, the ancients made no additions to their knowledge of African geography. Journal of Geographical Society, vol. ii. p. 9.

ing chiefly collected at Memphis, that of Diodorus at Thebes, 116 And whatever discrepancies there may be between these two accounts, they are both agreed respecting the rapid increase of the people, and the servile condition into which they had fallen. Indeed, the mere appearance of those huge and costly buildings, which are still standing, are a proof of the state of the nation that erected them. To raise structures so stupendous, 117 and yet so useless, 118 there must have been tyranny on the part of the rulers, and slavery on the part of the people. No wealth, however great, no expenditure, however lavish, could meet the expense which would have been incurred, if they had been the work of free men, who received for their labour a fair and honest. reward. 119 But in Egypt, as in India, such considerations were disregarded, because every thing tended to favour the upper ranks of society, and depress the lower. Between the two there was an immense and impassable gap.120 If a member of the industrious classes changed his usual employment, or was known to pay attention to political matters, he was severely punished ;121 and under no circumstances was the possession of land allowed to an agricultural labourer, to a mechanic, or indeed to any one except the king, the clergy, and the army. 122 The people at large were little better than beasts of burden; and all that was

116 See on this some good remarks in Heeren's African Nations, vol. ii. pp. 202207; and as to the difference between the traditions of Thebes and Memphis, see Matter, Histoire de l'Ecole d'Alexandrie, vol. i. p. 7. The power and importance of the two cities fluctuated, both being at different periods the capital. Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii. pp. 54, 55, 244, 445, 446; Vyse on the Pyramids, vol. iii. pp. 27, 100; Sharpe's History of Egypt, vol. i. pp. 9, 19, 24, 34, 167, 185.

Sir John Herschel (Disc. on Natural Philosophy, p. 60) calculates that the great pyramid weighs twelve thousand seven hundred and sixty million pounds. Compare Lyell's Principles of Geology, p. 459, where the still larger estimate of six million tons is given. But according to Perring, the present quantity of masonry is 6,316,000 tons, 82,110,000 cubic feet. See Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii. p. 155, London, 1854, and Vyse on the Pyramids, 1840, vol. ii. p. 113.

118 Many fanciful hypotheses have been put forward as to the purpose for which the pyramids were built; but it is now admitted that they were neither more nor less than tombs for the Egyptian kings! See Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii. pp. xvii. 88, 105, 372, 389; and Sharpe's History of Egypt, vol. i. p. 21.

119 For an estimate of the expense at which one of the pyramids could be built in our time by European workmen, see Vyse on the Pyramids, vol. ii. p. 268. On account, however, of the number of disturbing causes, such calculations have little value.

"If

120 Those who complain that in Europe this interval is still too great, may derive a species of satisfaction from studying the old extra-European civilizations. 121 Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii. pp. 8-9. Nor was any one permitted to meddle with political affairs, or to hold any civil office in the state." any artizan meddled with political affairs, or engaged in any other employment than the one to which he had been brought up, a severe punishment was instantly inflicted upon him." Compare Diod. Sic. Bibliothec. Hist. book i. chap. lxxiv. vol. i. p. 223.

122 Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol, i. p. 263, vol. ii. p. 2; Sharpe's History of Egypt, vol. ii. p. 24.

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123

expected from them was an unremitting and unrequited labour. If they neglected their work, they were flogged; and the same punishment was frequently inflicted upon domestic servants, and even upon women. These and similar regulations were well conceived; they were admirably suited to that vast social system, which, because it was based on despotism, could only be upheld by cruelty. Hence it was that, the industry of the whole nation being at the absolute command of a small part of it, there arose the possibility of rearing those vast edifices, which inconsiderate observers admire as a proof of civilization, 124 but which, in reality, are evidence of a state of things altogether depraved and unhealthy; a state in which the skill and the arts of an imperfect refinement injured those whom they ought to have benefited; so that the very resources which the people had created were turned against the people themselves.

That in such a society as this, much regard should be paid to human suffering, it would indeed be idle to expect. 125 Still, we are startled by the reckless prodigality with which, in Egypt, the upper classes squandered away the labour and the lives of the people. In this respect, as the monuments yet remaining abundantly prove, they stand alone and without a rival. We may form some idea of the almost incredible waste, when we hear that two thousand men were occupied for three years in carrying a single stone from Elephantine to Sais; 126 that the Canal of the Red Sea alone, cost the lives of a hundred and twenty thousand Egyptians;127 and that to build one of the pyramids required

123 Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii. pp. 41, 42, vol. iii. p. 69, vol. iv. p. 131. Compare Ammianus Marcellinus, in Hamilton's Egyptiaca, p. 309. 124 Vyse on the Pyramids, vol. i. p. 61, vol. ii. p. 92.

175"Ein König ahmte den andern nach, oder suchte ihn zu übertreffen; indess das gutmüthige Volk seine Lebenstage am Baue dieser Monumente verzehren musste. So entstanden wahrscheinlich die Pyramiden und Obelisken Ægyptens. Nur in den ältesten Zeiten wurden sie gebauet: denn die spätere Zeit und jede Nation, die ein nützlicher Gewerbe treiben lernte, bauete keine Pyramiden mehr. Weit gefehlt also, dass Pyramiden ein Kennzeichen von der Glückseligkeit und Aufklärung des alten Egyptens seyn sollten, sind sie ein unwidersprechliches Denkmal von dem Aberglauben und der Gedankenlosigkeit sowohl der Armen, die da baueten, als der Ehr geizigen, die den Bau befahlen." Herder's Ideen zur Geschichte, vol. iii. pp. 103, 104: see also p. 293, and some admirable remarks in Volney's Voyage en Egypte, vol. i. pp. 240, 241. Even M. Bunsen, notwithstanding his admiration, says of one of the pyramids, "the misery of the people, already grievously oppressed, was aggravated by the construction of this gigantic building..... The bones of the oppressors of the people who for two whole generations harassed hundreds of thousands from day to day," &c. Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii. p. 176, a learned and enthusiastic work.

126 Καὶ τοῦτο ἐκόμιζον μὲν ἐπ ̓ ἔτεα τρία, δισχίλιοι δέ οἱ προσετετάχατο ἄνδρες aywyées. Herodot. book ii. chap. clxxv. vol. i. p. 879. On the enormous weight of the stones which the Egyptians sometimes carried, see Bunsen's Egypt, vol. i. p. 879; and as to the machines employed, and the use of inclined roads for the transit, zee Vyse on the Pyramids, vol. i. p. 197, vol. iii. pp. 14, 38.

127 Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 70: but this learned writer is un willing to believe a statement so adverse to his favourite Egyptians. It is likely

the labour of three hundred and sixty thousand men for twenty years, 128

If, passing from the history of Asia and Africa, we now turn to the New World, we shall meet with fresh proof of the accuracy of the preceding views. The only parts of America which before the arrival of the Europeans were in some degree civilized, were Mexico and Peru;129 to which may probably be added that long and narrow tract which stretches from the south of Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama. In this latter country, which is now known as Central America, the inhabitants, aided by the fertility of the soil, 130 seem to have worked out for themselves a certain amount of knowledge; since the ruins still extant, prove the possession of a mechanical and architectural skill too considerable to be acquired by any nation entirely barbarous. 131 Beyond this, nothing is known of their history; but the accounts we have of such buildings as Copan, Palenque, and Uxmal, make it highly probable that Central America was the ancient seat of a civilization, in all essential points similar to those of India and Egypt; that is to say, similar to them in respect to the unequal distribution of wealth and power, and the thraldom in which the great body of the people consequently remained. 132

enough that there is some exaggeration; still no one can dispute the fact of an enormous and unprincipled waste of human life.

128 Τριάκοντα μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἓξ μυριάδες ἀνδρῶν, ὥς φασι, ταῖς τῶν ἔργων λειτουργίαις προσήδρευσαν, τὸ δὲ πᾶν κατασκεύασμα τέλος ἔσχε μόγις ἐτῶν εἴκοσι διελθόντων. Diod. Sic. Bibliothec. Hist. book i. chap. lxiii. vol. i. p. 188.

129

"When compared with other parts of the New World, Mexico and Peru may be considered as polished states." History of America, book vii. in Robertson's Works, p. 904. See to the same effect, Journal of Geograph. Society, vol. v. p. 355. 130 Compare Squier's Central America, vol. i. pp. 34, 244, 358, 421, vol. ii. p. 307, with Journal of Geograph. Society, vol. iii. p. 59, vol. viii. pp. 319, 323.

is Mr. Squier (Central America, vol. ii. p. 68), who explored Nicaragua, says of the statues, "the material, in every case, is a black basalt, of great hardness, which, with the best of modern tools, can only be cut with difficulty." Mr. Stephens (Central America, vol. ii. p. 355) found at Palenque "elegant specimens of art and models for study." See also vol. iii. pp. 276, 389, 406, vol. iv. p. 293. Of the` paintings at Chichen he says (vol. iv. p. 311), "they exhibit a freedom of touch which could only be the result of discipline and training under masters." At Copan (vol. i. p. 151), "it would be impossible, with the best instruments of modern times, to cut stones more perfectly." And at Uxmal (vol. ii. p. 431), "throughout, the laying and polishing of the stones are as perfect as under the rules of the best modern masonry." Our knowledge of Central America is almost entirely derived from these two writers; and although the work of Mr. Stephens is much the more minute, Mr. Squier says (vol. ii. p. 306), what I believe is quite true, that until the appearance of his own book in 1853, the monuments in Nicaragua were entirely unknown. Short descriptions of the remains in Guatemala and Yucatan will be found in Larenaudière's Mexique et Guatemala, pp. 308-327, and in Journal of Geograph. Society, vol. iii. pp. 60-63.

132 See the remarks on Yucatan in Prichard's Physical History of Mankind, vol. V. p. 348: "a great and industrious, though perhaps, as the writer above cited (Gallatin) observes, an enslaved population. Splendid temples and palaces attest the power of the priests and nobles, while as usual no trace remains of the huts in which dwelt the mass of the nation."

But although the evidence from which we might estimate the former condition of Central America is almost entirely lost,133 we are more fortunate in regard to the histories of Mexico and Peru. There are still existing considerable and authentic materials, from which we may form an opinion on the ancient state of those two countries, and on the nature and extent of their civilization. Before, however, entering upon this subject, it will be convenient to point out what those physical laws were which determined the localities of American civilization; or, in other words, why it was that in these countries alone, society should have been organized into a fixed and settled system, while the rest of the New World was peopled by wild and ignorant barbarians. Such an inquiry will be found highly interesting, as affording further proof of the extraordinary, and indeed irresistible, force with which the powers of Nature have controlled the fortunes of Man.

The first circumstance by which we must be struck, is that in America, as in Asia and Africa, all the original civilizations were seated in hot countries; the whole of Peru proper being within the southern tropic, the whole of Central America and Mexico within the northern tropic. How the heat of the climate operated on the social and political arrangements of India and Egypt, I have attempted to examine; and it has, I trust, been proved that the result was brought about by diminishing the wants and requirements of the people, and thus producing a very unequal distribution of wealth and power. But, besides this, there is another way in which the average temperature of a country affects its civilization, and the discussion of which I have reserved for the present moment, because it may be more clearly illustrated in America than elsewhere. Indeed, in the New World, the scale on which Nature works, being much larger than in the Old, and her forces being more overpowering, it is evident that her operations on mankind may be studied with greater advantage than in countries where she is weaker, and where, therefore, the consequences of her movements are less conspicuous.

If the reader will bear in mind the immense influence which an abundant national food has been shown to exercise, he will

133 Dr. M'Culloh (Researches concerning the Aboriginal History of America, pp. 272-340) has collected from the Spanish writers some meagre statements respecting the early condition of Central America; but of its social state and history, properly so called, nothing is known; nor is it even certain to what family of nations the inhabitants belonged, though a recent author can find "la civilisation guatemalienne ou misteco-zapotèque et mayaquiche, vivante pour nous encore dans les ruines de Mitla et de Palenque.' Mexique et Guatemala par Larenaudière, p. 8, Paris, 1843. Dr. Prichard, too, refers the ruins in Central America to "the Mayan race: Prichard on Ethnology, in Report of British Association for 1847, p. 252. But the evidence for these and similar statements is very unsatisfactory.

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