Nor were these honors limited to their lifetime; the memory of parents and ancestors was revered through succeeding generations; their tombs were maintained with the greatest respect; liturgies were performed by their children, or by priests at their expense; and we have previously seen what advantage was taken of this feeling, in the laws concerning debt. "For of all people" says Diodorus, "the Egyptians retain the highest sense of a favor conferred upon them, deeming it the greatest charm of life to make a suitable return for benefits they have received;" and from the high estimation in which the feeling of gratitude was held among them, even strangers felt a reverence for the character of the Egyptians. Through this impulse, they were induced to solemnize the funeral obsequies of their kings with the enthusiasm described by the historian; and to this he partly attributes the unexampled duration of the Egyptian monarchy. It is only doing justice to the modern Egyptians to say that gratitude is still a distinguishing trait of their character; and this is one of the many qualities inherited by them, for which their predecessors were remarkable; confirming what we have before stated, that the general peculiarities of a people are retained, though a country may be conquered, and nominally peopled by a foreign race. [Page Decoration] DRESS, TOILET AND JEWELRY. We now come to the dress of the Ancients. We shall have to consider those articles of dress used as a protection against the weather, and those prescribed by decency or fashion, also the coverings of the head and the feet, the arrangement of the hair and the ornaments. Unfortunately, the terminology is, in many cases, uncertain. Many points, therefore, must remain undecided. Before entering upon details, we must remark that the dress of the Greeks, compared with modern fashion, was extremely simple and natural. Owing to the warmth of the climate and the taste of the inhabitants, both superfluous and tight articles of dress were dispensed with. Moreover, the body was allowed to develop its natural beauty in vigorous exercise; and in this harmony and beauty of the limbs the Greeks prided themselves, which, of course, reacted favorably on the character of the dress.