sculpture in relief becomes a wearisome repetition of the same
stereotyped religious groups; statuary deteriorates and is rare; above
all, literature declines, undergoing an almost complete eclipse. A
galaxy of literary talent had, as we have seen, clustered about the
reigns of Ramesses II. and Menephthah, under whose encouragement authors
had devoted themselves to history, divinity, practical philosophy,
poetry, epistolary correspondence, novels, travels, legend. From the
time of Ramesses III.--nay, from the time of Seti II.--all is a blank:
"the true poetic inspiration appears to have vanished," literature is
almost dumb; instead of the masterpieces of Pentaour, Kakabu, Nebsenen,
Enna, and others, which even moderns can peruse with pleasure, we have
only documents in which "the dry official tone" prevails--abstracts of
trials, lists of functionaries, tiresome enumerations in the greatest
detail of gifts made to the gods, together with fulsome praises of the
kings, written either by themselves or by others, which we are half
inclined to regret the lapse of ages has spared from destruction. At the
same time morals fall off. Sensuality displays itself in high places.
Intrigue enters the charmed circle of the palace. The monarch himself is
satirized in indecent drawings. Presently, the whole idea of a divinity
hedging in the king departs; and a "thieves' society" is formed for
rifling the royal tombs, and tearing the jewels, with which they have
been buried, from the monarchs' persons. The king's life is aimed at by
conspirators, who do not scruple to use magical arts; priests and high
judicial functionaries are implicated in the proceedings. Altogether,
the old order seems to be changed, the old ideas to be upset; and no
new principles, possessing any vital efficacy, are introduced. Society
gradually settles upon its lees; and without some violent application of
force from without, or some strange upheaval from within, the nation
seems doomed to fall rapidly into decay and dissolution.