egradation, as in playing cards, and the whole
exhibits the art in a very rude state. They exhibit little or no
knowledge of anatomy. The colors they used were confined to four--blue,
red, yellow, and green; and of these, the blue and red predominate. The
perfect preservation of the Egyptian paintings for so many ages is to be
attributed to the dryness of a climate where it never rains.

The Egyptian painters and sculptors designed their figures in a style
peculiarly stiff and formal, with the legs invariably closed, except in
some instances in the tombs of the Kings at Thebes, and their arms stuck
to their sides, as if they had consulted no other models than their
bandaged mummies. The reasons why the Egyptians never made any progress
in art till the time of the Greco-Egyptian kings, were their manners and
customs, which prohibited any innovations, and compelled every one to
follow the beaten track of his cast, without the least deviation from
established rules, thus chaining down genius, and the stimulus of
emulation, honor, renown and reward. When Egypt passed under the
dominion of the Ptolemys, she made rapid progress in art, and produced
some excellent painters, sculptors, and architects, though doubtless
they were mostly of Greek origin. It is related of Ptolemy Philopator,
that he sent a hundred architects to rebuild Rhodes, when it was
destroyed by an earthquake. See vol. iii., page 1, of this work.

PAINTING AMONG THE GREEKS.

The origin of Painting in Greece was unknown to Pliny, to whom we are
chiefly indebted for the few fragments of the biography of Greek
artists; he could only obtain his information from Greek writers, of
whom he complains that they have not been very attentive to their
accustomed accuracy. It is certain, however, that the arts were
practiced in Egypt and in the East, many ages before they were known in
Greece, and it is the common opinion that they were introduced into that
country from Egypt and Asia, through the channel of the Phoenecian
traders. It has been a matter of admiration that the Greeks, in the
course of three or four centuries, should have attained such perfection
in every species of art that ennobles the human mind, as oratory,
poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Two things explain
the cause--freedom of action, and certainty of reward. This is
exemplified in the whole history of the arts and sciences. The ancient
eastern nations, among whom the fr