Description of Egypt

 

Egypt

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Egypt History

Description of Egypt

Description of Egypt

Historical Preface – Beginning of the original text of the historial preface of the 1809 edition, written by M. Fourier.

Egypt, situated between Africa and Asia, and within easy reach of Europe, occupies the centre of the ancient continent.
This land offers but ???; she is is motherland of the arts and preserves numerous monuments to them; her principal temples and the palaces which her kings used to inhabit exist to this day, although the least ancient of these edifices were constructed before the Trojan War. Homer, Lycurgus, Solon, Pythagoras and Plato all came to Egypt to study science, religion and law.
Alexander founded an opulent town there, which for a long time benefited from the commercial empire, ???. ???
No other considerable power has formed, in the West or in Asia, that has cast its regard upon Egypt or that has viewed Egypt as theirs for the taking. All the important events that have had an influence on morals – commere and the politics of the empires – have brought war to the banks of the Nile. One can point out that the Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Arabs and the Ottomans all settled in this province as soon as theyy had been ??? the contemporary peoples.
Religion had previsouly inspired our kings, giving them thhe desire to capture Egypt. Several crusader princes and Pope Innocent III, whose political talents governed Europe, had endeavoured to carry out this project. One of the ministers who knew best the diverse interests of the Christian States, Cardinal Ximenès, had renewed it. Ferdinand the Catholic, Emmanuel, Henri VII, who reigned with such wisdom and brilliance, came together on the same plan. The famous Leibnitz, ???, had for a long time dealt with the subject and had offered Louis XIV a lengthly work, which remained unedited, in which he detailed the advantages associated with this conquest.
Bossuet was at the same time writing about universal history and, after having recalled the first institutions and the splendour of Egypt, he added these remarkable words: « Now that the name of the King penetrates the least known parts of the world, and that this prince ??? the research that he had carried out on the most beautiful works of nature and of art, would it not be a worthy object of this noble curiosity to discover the beauties that Thebaid houses in its dessert and to enrich our architecture of inventions of Egypt! » The wish of this illustrious man was fulfilled during the length of a memorable war of which Egypt suddenly became the theatre. We remember the impression made, all around Europe, of the amazing news of the French expedition in the Orient. While Italy rang out noisily of its triumphs, ???. This big project, pondered on in silence, was prepared with so much activity and secrecy, that the anxious vigilance of our enemies was mistaken; they learnt, almost at the same time, that it had been conceived, embarked upon and executed. It was brought about by the necessity to guarantee our commerce, constantly undermined by the beys and ??? to reconcile ourselves with the Ottoman court, by offering it, ???, a rise in revenues and in authority. ???we could have hoped for a happy outcome, as the success had been particularly favourable to the common interests of the two allied nations. The establishment and cooperation of a European power would change almost suddenly the state of Egypt.
This land, which passed on its knowledge to so many nations, today finds itself plunged in barbary; the more it is favourised by its geographical situation and by the extreme fertility of the land, the more it needs the kind deeds of the laws and of the arts.
Category : Egypt History
items Date : 01/10/2009
Author of items : Senakht