. The second had the benefit and
advantage of the people for its primary object; it was utilitarian,
beneficent, appealing less to the eye than to the mind, far-sighted in
its aims, and most successful in the results which it effected. The wise
rulers of the time devoted their energies and their resources, not, as
the earlier kings, to piling up undying memorials of themselves in the
shape of monuments that "reached to heaven," but to useful works, to the
excavation of wells and reservoirs, the making of roads, the
encouragement of commerce, and the development of the vast agricultural
wealth of the country. They also diligently guarded the frontiers,
chastised aggressive tribes, and checked invasion by the establishment
of strong fortresses in positions of importance. They patronized art,
employing themselves in building temples rather than tombs, and adorned
their temples not only with reliefs and statues, but also with the novel
architectural embellishment of the obelisk, a delicate form, and one
especially suited to the country.

The founder of the "twelfth dynasty," Amenemhat I., deserves a few words
of description. He found Thebes in a state of anarchy; civil war raged
on every side; all the traditions of the past were forgotten; noble
fought against noble; the poor were oppressed; life and property were
alike insecure; "there was stability of fortune neither for the ignorant
nor for the learned man." One night, after he had lain down to sleep, he
found himself attacked in his bed-chamber; the clang of arms sounded
near at hand. Starting from his couch, he seized his own weapons and
struck out; when lo! his assailants fled; detected in their attempt to
assassinate him, they dared not offer any resistance, thus showing
themselves alike treacherous and cowardly. Amenemhat, having once taken
arms, did not lay them down till he had defeated every rival, and so
fought his way to the crown. Once acknowledged as king, he ruled with
moderation and equity; he "gave to the humble, and made the weak to
live;" he "caused the afflicted to cease from their afflictions, and
their cries to be heard no more;" he brought it to pass that none
hungered or thirsted in the land; he gave such orders to his servants
as continually increased the love of his people towards him. At the same
time, he was an energetic warrior. He "stood on the boundaries of the
land, to keep watch on its borders," personally leading his soldiers to
battle, ar