Poole, Reginald S.: The cities of Egypt (London, 1882)

■39

Delta. This was in the time when their love of adven-
ture took a fresh direction. They began to be curious
about other lands, their products, and their wonders, and
to seek the aid of older wisdom in the problems of the
universe, to which the wise men turned their thoughts.
Egypt was the nearest of the lands of primitive civilisa-
tion, and to Egypt the Greek philosophers journeyed, to
question the priest^ on the subjects which captivated
their minds. Here, if anywhere, would they find the
tradition of the beginning of history, and even of the
changes of the earth ; here the long record of the move-
ments of the heavenly bodies. Science had flourished
for ages in the Egyptian schools J and Greeks came
there to learn, whose disciples were to return as the
teachers of the Egyptians. The first visitors were pro-
bably mere travellers, and met with a jealous reception.
The priests did not care to tell their secrets to strangers,
who could only speak through interpreters, and without
hesitation asked them deep questions which they had
scarcely ventured to look at even through the veil of
mythological language. The inquirers went much deeper
in speculation than the Egyptians, caring nothing for the
limits set by local religious teaching. And even prac-