Of course the idea of suggesting the greatness of the gods by the greatness of the houses that had been built for them, and of regarding the temple as an offering, which became worthy of its object in proportion to its vastness and costliness, could not have been wanting in Egypt. Nor could there have been wanting among the priest class the additional idea that the greatness of the temple is reflected on those who minister in, and direct its services. All this may be readily acknowledged; still such ideas will not justify, or account for the unusual dimensions of these temples, or for the still more unusual dimensions of the stones of which they are constructed. Everything has a reason. And in an especial degree must particulars of this kind, which involved so great an expenditure of time and labour, have had a distinct and sufficient reason; and that could have been no other than the one I have assigned for them. Of course, the vast dimensions of the rock-tombs must be considered in conjunction with the vast dimensions of the temples. What made the rock-tombs of Egypt larger than other rock-tombs made the temples of Egypt larger than other temples: and that was the desire of their excavators and builders to secure a vast expanse of wall-space fit for such mural sculptures, paintings, and inscriptions as we now find upon them. The obelisks, also, come under the same category. They were books, on which were inscribed the particulars those who set them up wished them to record. Herodotus mentions that stelæ and figures, both with inscriptions, were set up by Sesostris (Sethos and Rameses in one) in Syria, Asia Minor, and elsewhere. The object in view here also was, of course, mainly to have something to write upon. Where the commander-in-chief of a modern army would use a gazette, or posters, for his manifestoes, Sesostris inscribed what he had to say to the people of the country on the face of a rock, or upon a statue of himself he had set for that purpose. CHAPTER XXXI. THE WISDOM OF EGYPT, AND ITS FALL. So work the honey-bees, Creatures that by a rule of nature teach The act of order to a peopled kingdom.—SHAKSPEARE.