The Elements of the Egyptian Wisdom [antikvár]

. '11 -i. !.' Iii' ^ W'S f-i; I It ; Introduction Egypt still exerts a powerful hold on the imagination. The Tutankhamun Exhibition, which toured the world, drew crowds who patiently waited hour after hour to look upon the face of the hoy-king. Sadly for many, the death mask of Tutankhamun has become a cliché, the sole symbol of a society obsessed with the afterlife. There is no doubt that Egypt continues to fascinate. Like Carter we see 'beautiful things' and we wonder about the guiding spirit of a civilization so foreign, so unfamiliar and yet so spectacular in its achievements. We are puzzled by Egypt's many gods. We are curious about the Egyptian mummy and mesmerized by the possibility of Egyptian magic. We are awed by the magnificence of Egypt. We are perplexed as we search in vain for the single key which might unlock its raison d'etre. If we are to comprehend the moving Egyptian spirit, we have to suspend disbelief, as we would to understand any great drama. The Egyptian civilization was indeed a living drama. Its temples were the setting for sacred enactment which bound god, king and people. Its state rituals were cosmic pageants, its Mysteries were silent secrets. The players in this story were the divine intermediaries, the officials both sacred and profane, the builders and artisans and of course the gods. Let us then suspend disbelief as the curtain rises on the land of Khem. If we are even to touch upon the essential Egyptian spirit, we need to abandon twentieth-century conceptions. We have