File:Egypt and its monuments (1908) (14590557557).jpg

Identifier: egyptitsmonument00hich (find matches)
Title: Egypt and its monuments
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Hichens, Robert Smythe, 1864-1950
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Century Co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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er of prayers, Osiris the sun who will not be con-quered by night, but eternally rises again, and so is thesymbol of the resurrection of the soul. It is said thatSet, the power of Evil, tore the body of Osiris intofourteen fragments and scattered them over the land.But multitudes of worshipers of Osiris believed himburied near Abydos and, like those who loved thesweet songs of Hafiz, they desired to be buried nearhim whom they adored; and so this place became aplace of the dead, a place of many prayers, a whiteplace of many longings. I was glad to be alone there. The guardian left mein perfect peace. I happily forgot him. I sat down inthe shadow of a column upon its mighty projectingbase. The sky was blinding blue. Great bees hummed,like bourdons, through the silence, deepening the al-most heavy calm. These columns, architraves, door-ways, how mighty, how grandly strong they were!And yet soon I began to be aware that even here,where surely one should read only the Book of the Dead, 38
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§s^3r; ABYDOS or bend down to the hot ground to Hsten if perchanceone might hear the dead themselves murmuring overthe chapters of Beatification far down in their hiddentombs, there was a Hghtness, a gentle gaiety of life, asin the tomb of Thi. The effect of solidity was im-mense. These columns bulged, almost like great fruitsswollen out by their heady strength of blood. Theytowered up in crowds. The heavy roof, broken inplaces most mercifully to show squares and oblongs ofthat perfect, calling blue, was like a frowning brow.And yet I was with grace, with gentleness, with light-ness, because in the place of the dead I was again withthe happy, living walls. Above me, on the roof, therewas a gleam of palest blue, like the blue I have some-times seen at morning on the Ionian sea just where itmeets the shore. The double rows of gigantic columnsstretched away, tall almost as forest trees, to right ofme and to left, and were shut in by massive walls,strong as the walls of a fortress. And o

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