The elaborate work of Bunsen on “Egypt’s Place in Universal History” does not aid us much in finding the place of Egyptian religion in universal religion.  It was strictly an ethnic religion, never dreaming of extending itself beyond the borders of the Nile, until long after the conquest of Egypt by the Romans.  Then, indeed, Egyptian temples were welcomed by the large hospitality of Rome, and any traveller may see the ruins of the temple of Serapis[203] at Pozzuoli, and that of Isis at Pompeii.  The gods of Greece, as we have seen, took some hints from Egypt, but the Greek Olympus, with its bright forms, was very different from the mysterious sombre worship of Egypt.

The worship of variety, the recognition of the Divine in nature, the sentiment of wonder before the mystery of the world, the feeling that the Deity is in all life, in all form, in all change as well as in what is permanent and stable,—­this is the best element and the most original part of the Egyptian religion.  So much we can learn from it positively; and negatively, by its entire dissolution, its passing away forever, leaving no knowledge of itself behind, we can learn how empty is any system of faith which is based on concealment and mystery.  All the vast range of Egyptian wisdom has gone, and disappeared from the surface of the earth, for it was only a religion of the priests, who kept the truth to themselves and did not venture to communicate it to the people.  It was only priestcraft, and priestcraft, like all other craft, carries in itself the principle of death.  Only truth is immortal,—­open, frank, manly truth.  Confucius was true; he did not know much, but he told all he knew.  Buddha told all he knew.  Moses told all he heard.  So they and their works continue, being built on faith in men.  But the vast fabric of Egyptian wisdom,—­its deep theologies, its mysterious symbolism, its majestic art, its wonderful science,—­remain only as its mummies remain and as its tombs remain, an enigma exciting and baffling our curiosity, but not adding to our real life.

Chapter VII.

The Gods of Greece.

  Sec. 1.  The Land and the Race. 
  Sec. 2.  Idea and General Character of Greek Religion. 
  Sec. 3.  The Gods of Greece before Homer. 
  Sec. 4.  The Gods of the Poets. 
  Sec. 5.  The Gods of the Artists. 
  Sec. 6.  The Gods of the Philosophers. 
  Sec. 7.  The Worship of Greece. 
  Sec. 8.  The Mysteries.  Orphism. 
  Sec. 9.  Relation of Greek Religion to Christianity.

Sec. 1.  The Land and the Race.

The little promontory and peninsula, famous in the history of mankind as Greece, or Hellas, projects into the Mediterranean Sea from the South of Europe.  It is insignificant on the map, its area being only two thirds as large as that of the State of Maine.  But never was a country better situated in order to develop a new civilization.  A temperate climate, where the vine, olive, and fig ripened with wheat, barley, and flax; a rich alluvial soil, resting on limestone, and contained in a series of valleys, each surrounded by mountains; a position equally remote from excesses of heat and cold, dryness and moisture; and finally, the ever-present neighborhood of the sea,—­constituted a home well fitted for the physical culture of a perfect race of men.