Learning and education were so closely limited to a few individuals that the mass of the people were sunk in deepest ignorance. Men could not pursue knowledge for themselves, but had to accept every thing on authority. Hence the inhabitants of Oriental lands remained a conservative folk, slow to abandon their time-honored beliefs and very unwilling to adopt a new custom even when clearly better than the old. This absence of popular education, more than anything else, made Oriental civilization unprogressive. [Illustration: EXCAVATION AT NIPPUR Nippur was the ancient "Calneh in the land of Shinar" (_Genesis_, x, 10) Excavations here were conducted by the University of Pennsylvania during 1889-1900 A.D. The city contained an imposing temple, a library, a school, and even a little museum of antiquities.] STUDIES 1. What was the origin of the "divine right" of kings? 2. Explain what is meant by _despotism_; by _autocracy_. 3. What European state comes nearest to being a pure despotism? What European monarch styles himself as an autocrat? 4. What do the illustrations on pages 38, 43 tell about the pomp of Oriental kings? 5. Why did the existence of numerous slaves in Egypt and Babylonia tend to keep low the wages of free workmen? Why is it true that civilization may be said to have begun "with the cracking of the slave whip"? 6. What light is thrown on the beginnings of money in ancient Egypt by the illustration on page 47? 7. Name some objects which, in place of the metals, are used by primitive peoples as money. 8. Interest in Babylonia was usually at the rate of 20% a year. Why is it so much lower in modern countries? 9. On the map, page 48, indicate the trade routes between eastern and western Asia which met in Mesopotamia. 10. The Phoenicians have been called "the English of antiquity." Can you give any reason for this characterization? 11. Why should the Phoenicians have been called the "colossal peddlers" of the ancient world? 12. What books of the Bible contain the laws of Israel? 13. What reasons can you suggest for the universal worship of the sun? 14. Define _polytheism_ and _monotheism_, giving examples of each. 15. Describe the Egyptian conception of the judgment of the dead (illustration, page 56). 16. How many "books" are there in the Old Testament? 17. What is the Apocrypha? 18. How are the pyramids proof of an advanced civilization among the Egyptians? 19. What is a bas-relief? Select some examples from the illustrations. 20. From what Oriental peoples do we get the oldest true arch? the first coined money? the earliest legal code? the most ancient book? 21. Enumerate the most important contributions to civilization made in Oriental antiquity. FOOTNOTES [1] Webster, _Readings in Ancient History_, chapter 1, "Three Oriental Peoples as Described by Herodotus." [2] See page 25. [3] See page 6. [4] See page 37. [5] For illustrations of Oriental coins see the plate facing page 134. [6] See page 4.