n
writing was obtained through means of the Rosetta stone, the
opportunity for a large addition to the history of Egypt was made.
Strange as it may seem, these ancient people had written romances and
fairy tales; one especially to be mentioned {182} is the common
_Cinderella and the Glass Slipper_, written more than thirteen
centuries B.C. But in addition to these were published documents,
private letters, fables, epics, and autobiographies, and treatises on
astronomy, medicine, history, and scientific subjects.

The Babylonians and Assyrians developed the cuneiform method of
writing. They had no paper, but made their inscriptions on clay
tablets and cylinders. These were set away in rooms called libraries.
The discovery of the great library of Ashur-bani-pal, of Nineveh,
revealed the highest perfection of this ancient method of recording
events.

The art of Egypt was manifested in the dressing of precious stones, the
weaving of fine fabrics, and fine work in gold ornaments. Sculpture
and painting were practically unknown as arts, although the use of
colors was practised to a considerable extent. Artistic energy was
worked out in the making of the tombs of kings, the obelisks, the
monuments, the sphinxes, and the pyramids. It was a conception of the
massive in artistic expression. In Babylon and Nineveh, especially the
latter, the work of sculpture in carving the celebrated winged bulls
gives evidence of the attempt to picture power and strength rather than
beauty. Doubtless the Babylonians developed artistic taste in the
manufacture of jewelry out of precious stones and gold.

_The Beginnings of Science Were Strong in Egypt, Weak in Babylon_.--The
greatest expression of the Egyptian learning was found in science. The
work in astronomy began at a very early date from a practical
standpoint. The rising of the Nile occurred at a certain time
annually, coinciding with the time of the rise of the Dog-star, which
led these people to imagine that they stood in the relation of effect
and cause, and from these simple data began the study of astronomy.
The Egyptians, by the study of the movement of the stars, were enabled
to determine the length of the sidereal year, which they divided into
twelve months, of thirty days each, adding five days to complete the
year. This is the calendar which was {183} introduced from Egypt into
the Roman Empire by Julius Caesar. It was revised by Pope Gregory XIII
in 1582, and has