Wilkinson, John Gardner: The Architecture Of Ancient Egypt: In Which The Columns Are Arranged In Orders, And The Temples Classified; With Remarks On The Early Progress Of Architecture, Etc.; With A Large Volume Of Plates Ilustrative Of The Subject, And Containing The Various Columns And details, From Actual Measurement (Text) (London, 1850)

2 ARCHITECTUBE OF EGYPT. PART I.

That the various nations of antiquity in Asia,
Egypt, and Greece, had constant communication
with each other, at a very remote period, is well
known; and colonization, the conquests of Egypt
in Asia, and the commerce of Phoenicia, led to a.
direct intercourse between all the countries, bor-
dering on the Eastern end of the Mediterranean.

From the various conventional devices, and the
fabulous animals, portrayed in the most ancient
paintings, and sculptures, of the Greeks, the influ-
ence, and frequently the parentage, of Egyptian art
are sufficiently obvious; and seeing how imitative
all mankind are, no one will reject the conclusion,
that they had the same habit in ancient, as in
modern, times. It was, and still is, the custom of
people to borrow from those, who have attained to
a greater degree of refinement, and civilization,
than themselves ; the nation most advanced in art
led the taste; and though some had sufficient inven-
tion, to alter what they adopted, and to render it
their own, this does not disprove the fact of their
having borrowed the original idea; nor lessen the
importance of ascertaining the source, from whence
it was derived.

While Greece was still in its infancy, Egypt had
long been the leading nation of the world; her
conquests, extending into the heart of Asia, and
Africa, had rendered her name illustrious; she was
noted for her magnificence, her wealth, and her
power; and all acknowledged her pre-eminence in
wisdom, and civilisation. She influenced the early
efforts in art, among contemporary people; many