Upper Egypt is a river flowing through a desert; the banks on each side affording a narrow margin1 of extreme fertility. Rocks of granite2 and hills of sand form, at slight intervals3, through a course of sev-earl hundred miles, a chain of valleys, reaching from the rapids of the Nile to the vicinity of Cairo. In one of these valleys, the broadest and the most picturesque4, about half-way between the cataracts5 and the modern capital, we find the most ancient, the most considerable, and the most celebrated6 of architectural remains7. For indeed no Greek, or Sicilian, or Latin city—Athens, or Agrigentum, or Rome; nor the platforms of Persepolis, nor the columns of Palmyra, can vie for a moment in extent, variety, and sublime8 dimensions, with the ruins of ancient Thebes.
These remains may be classed, generally, in four considerable divisions: two of these great quarters of ruins being situated9 on each side of the river Nile—Karnak and Luxor towards the Red Sea; the Memnonion and Medcenet Habu towards the great Libyan Desert. On this side, also, are the cemeteries10 of the great city—the mummy-caves of Gornou, two miles in extent; above them, excavated11 in the mountains, are the tombs of the queens; and in the adjacent valley of Beban-el-Maluk, the famous tombs of the kings.
The population of the city of a hundred gates now consists of a few Arab families, who form four villages of mud huts, clustered round those gigantic columns and those mighty12 obelisks13, a single one of which is sought for by the greatest sovereigns of Europe for their palaces and museums. Often, indeed, have I seen a whole Arab village rising from the roof of a single Egyptian temple. Dendera is an instance. The population of Gornou, numbering between three and four hundred, resides solely15 in the tombs.
I think that Luxor, from its situation, usually first attracts the notice of the traveller. It is close on the river, and is built on a lofty platform. Its enormous columns are the first specimens16 of that colossal18 genius of the Pharaohs, which the Ptolemies never attempted to rival. The entrance to this temple is through a magnificent propylon;-that is, a portal flanked by massy pyramidal moles19. It is two hundred feet in breadth, and rises nearly sixty feet above the soil. This gate is entirely20 covered with sculpture, commemorating21 the triumph of a conquering monarch22.
On each side of the portal are two colossal statues of red granite, buried in the sand up to their shoulders, but measuring thence, to the top of their crowns, upwards23 of twenty feet. On each side of them, a little in advance, at the time of my visit, were the two most perfect obelisks remaining. One of them is now at Paris;—that famous obelisk14 of Luxor, of which we have heard so much. From the propylon, you pass into a peristyle court,—about two hundred and thirty feet long, by one hundred and seventy—the roof of which was once supported by double rows of columns, many of which now remain: and so on through other pyramidal gates, and courts, and porticoes24, and chambers25, which are, in all probability, of a more ancient date than those first described.
From Luxor you proceed to Karnak, the other great division on this side of the river, through an avenue of sphinxes, considerably27 above a mile in extent, though much broken. All the marvels28 of the world sink before the first entrance into Karnak. It is the Alps-the Andes—of architecture. The obelisks of Luxor may be unrivalled; the sculptures of Medoenet Habu more exquisite29; the colossus of the Memnonion more gigantic; the paintings of the royal tombs more curious and instructive: but criticism ceases before the multifarious wonders of the halls and courts of Karnak, and the mind is open only to one general impression of colossal variety.
I well remember the morning when I stood before the propylon, or chief entrance of Karnak. The silver stars were still shining in the cold blue heaven, that afforded a beautiful relief to the mighty structure, built of a light yellow stone, and quite unstained by the winds of three thousand years. The front of this colossal entrance is very much broader than the front of our cathedral of St. Paul, and its height exceeds that of the Trajan column. It is entirely without sculpture—a rare omission30, and doubtless intended that the unity31 of effect should not be broken. The great door in the centre is sixty-four feet in height.
Through this you pass into colonnaded32 courts, which in any other place would command undivided attention, until you at length arrive in front of a second propylon. Ascending33 a flight of steps, you enter the great hall of Karnak. The area of this hall is nearly fifty-eight thousand square feet, and it has recently been calculated that four such churches as our St. Martin’s-inthe-Fields might stand side by side in this unrivalled chamber26 without occupying the whole space. The roof, formed of single stones—compared with which the masses at Stonehenge would appear almost bricks—has fallen in; but the one hundred and thirty-four colossal columns which supported it, and which are considerably above thirty feet in circumference34, still remain, and with the walls and propyla are completely covered with sculptured forms.
I shall not attempt to describe any other part of Karnak;-the memory aches with the effort. There are many buildings attached to it, larger than most temples; and infinite number of gates and obelisks, and colossi; but the imagination cannot refrain from calling up some sacred or heroic procession, moving from Luxor to Karnak, in melodious35 pomp, through the great avenue of sphinxes, and ranging themselves in groups around the gigantic columns of this sublime structure. What feudal36 splendour, and what Gothic ceremonies; what tilts37 and tournaments, and what ecclesiastical festivals, could rival the vast, the beautiful, and the solemn magnificence of the old Egyptians?
Crossing the river to Western Thebes, we arrive at two seated colossi, one of which is the famous musical statue of Memnon. It is fine to see him still seated on his throne, dignified38 and serene39, on the plain of Thebes. This colossus is fifty feet in height; and its base is covered with inscriptions40 of Greek and Roman travellers, vouching41 that they had listened to the wild sunrise melody. This statue and its remaining companion, though now isolated42 in their situation, were once part of an enormous temple, the ruins of which yet remain, and the plan of which may yet be traced.
The Memnonion itself is now near at hand. In the colossal Caryatides we recognise the vast genius that excavated the rocks of Ipsambul, and supported a cavern43 temple upon the heads of giants. From the Memnonion came the statue that is now in the British Museum. But this figure, though a fine specimen17 of Egyptian sculpture, sinks, so far as magnitude is concerned, into insignificance44, when compared with the statue of the supposed Sesostris, which, broken off at the waist, now lies prostrate45 in the precincts of the sanctuary46. This is, probably, the most huge colossus that the Egyptians ever constructed. The fragment is of red granite, and of admirable workmanship. Unfortunately, the face is entirely obliterated47. It lies upon its back, and in its fall has destroyed all the temple within reach. It measures more than sixty feet round the shoulders, the breadth of the instep is nearly seven feet, and the hieroglyphical48 figures engraven on the arm are large enough for a man to walk in.
Perhaps the most interesting group of ruins at Thebes is the quarter of Medoenet Habu, for here, among other vast remains, is that of a palace; and it is curious, among other domestic subjects, that we find represented on the walls, in a very admirable style, a Pharaoh playing chess with his queen. It is these domestic details that render also the sepulchres of Thebes so interesting. The arts of the Egyptians must be studied in their tombs; and to learn how this remarkable49 people lived, we must frequent their burial-places. A curious instance of this is, that, in a tomb near Beni-hassan, we learn by what process the Egyptians procured50 from the distant quarries51 of Nubia those masses of granite with which they raised the columns of Karnak and the obelisks of Luxor.
If I were called upon to describe in a word the principal and primary characteristic of Egyptian architecture, I should at once say Imagination, as Grace is the characteristic of the architecture of the Greeks. Thus, when the Ptolemies assumed the sceptre of the Pharaohs, they blended the delicate taste of Ionia t with the rich invention of the Nile, and produced Philoe, Dendera, and Edfou. It is from the Pharaohs, however, that you must seek for the vast and the gigantic: the pyramid, the propylon, the colossus, the catacomb, the obelisk, and the sphinx.
It was in the early part of the year of the invasion of Syria by the Egyptians, some eight years gone, that I first visited Thebes. My barque was stowed against the bank of the river, near the Memnonion; the last beam of the sun, before it sunk behind the Libyan hills, quivered on the columns of Luxor; the Nubian crew, after their long and laborious52 voyage, were dispersed53 on shore; and I was myself reposing54 in the shade, almost unattended, when a Turk, well mounted, and followed by his pipe-bearer, and the retinue55 that accompanies an Oriental of condition, descended56 from the hills which contain the tombs of the queens, and approached the boat. I was surprised, on advancing to welcome him, to be hailed in my native tongue; and pleased, at such a moment and in such a place, to find a countryman. While we smoked the pipe of salutation, he told me that he had lived at Thebes for nearly ten years, studying the antiquities57, the history, and the manners of its ancient inhabitants. I availed myself of his invitation to his residence, and, accompanying him, I found that I was a visitor in a tomb, and yet by no means a gloomy dwelling-place. A platform, carved in the mountain, was surrounded by a mud wall and tower, to protect it from hostile Arabs. A couple of gazelles played in this front court, while we, reposing on a divan58, arranged round the first chamber of the tomb, were favoured with a most commanding view of the valley outspread beneath. There were several inner chambers, separated from each other by hangings of scarlet59 cloth. Many apartments in the Albany have I seen not half as pleasant and convenient. I found a library, and instruments of art and science; a companion full of knowledge, profound in Oriental manners, and thoroughly60 master of the subject which naturally then most interested me. Our repast was strictly61 Eastern, but the unusual convenience of forks was not wanting, and my host told me that they were the very ones that he had used at Exeter College. I shall never forget that first day at Thebes, and this my first interview with one then unknown to fame, but whom the world has since recognised—the learned, the ingenious, and amiable62 Mr. Wilkinson.
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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cemeteries
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| n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 ) | |
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excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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obelisks
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| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
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obelisk
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| n.方尖塔 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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moles
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| 防波堤( mole的名词复数 )； 鼹鼠； 痣； 间谍 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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commemorating
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 ) | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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porticoes
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| n.柱廊，（有圆柱的）门廊( portico的名词复数 ) | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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colonnaded
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| adj.有列柱的，有柱廊的 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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melodious
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| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
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feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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tilts
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| （意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 ) | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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vouching
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| n.（复核付款凭单等）核单v.保证( vouch的现在分词 )；担保；确定；确定地说 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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hieroglyphical
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| n.象形文字，象形文字的文章 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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quarries
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| n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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