as
a celibate amongst the priests. Each man had his wife and his family,
his house, and his comforts of food and fine linen. He indulged in the
usual pastimes and was present at the merriest of feasts. The famous
wise men and magicians, such as Uba-ana of the Westcar Papyrus, had
their wives, their parks, their pleasure-pavilions, and their hosts of
servants. Great dignitaries of the Amon Church, such as Amenhotepsase,
the Second Prophet of Amen in the time of Thutmosis IV., are represented
as feasting with their friends, or driving through Thebes in
richly-decorated chariots drawn by prancing horses, and attended by an
array of servants. A monastic life, or the life of an anchorite, was
held by the Egyptians in scorn; and indeed the state of mind which
produces the monk and the hermit was almost entirely unknown to the
nation in dynastic times. It was only in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods
that asceticism came to be practised; and some have thought that its
introduction into Egypt is to be attributed to the preaching of the
Hindoo missionaries sent from India to the court of the Ptolemies. It is
not really an Egyptian characteristic; and its practice did not last for
more than a few centuries.

The religious teachings of the Egyptians before the Ptolemaic era do not
suggest that the mortification of the flesh was a possible means of
purifying the spirit. An appeal to the senses and to the emotions,
however, was considered as a legitimate method of reaching the soul. The
Egyptians were passionately fond of ceremonial display. Their huge
temples, painted as they were with the most brilliant colours, formed
the setting of processions and ceremonies in which music, rhythmic
motion, and colour were brought to a point of excellence. In honour of
some of the gods dances were conducted; while celebrations, such as the
fantastic Feast of Lamps, were held on the anniversaries of religious
events. In these gorgeously spectacular ceremonies there was no place
for anything sombre or austere, nor could they have been conceived by
any but the most life-loving temperaments.

As in his religious functions, so in his home, the Egyptian regarded
brilliancy and festivity as an edification. When in trouble or
distress, he was wont to relieve his mind as readily by an appeal to the
vanities of this world as by an invocation of the powers of Heaven.
Thus, when King Sneferu, of Dynasty IV., was oppressed with the cares of
state, his counc