The estates, empires, & principallities of the world Represented by ye description of countries, maners of inhabitants, riches of prouinces, forces, gouernment, religion; and the princes that haue gouerned in euery estate. With the begin[n]ing of all militarie and religious orders. Translated out of French by Edw: Grimstone, sargeant at armes.

¶ The Manners of the auncient.

THe Aegyptians haue beene alwaies very ingenious and wittie; so as Macrobius calles Aegypt the mother of arts; for that the inhabitants of this countrie haue inuented Geometrie, Arithmaticke, Physicke, and other arts. They were first of all giuen to the obseruation of the stars, to Negromancie, and Sorcerie.

[ C] They were the first of all which inuented the names of twelue gods, and which did erect Altars, Idolls, and Temples, and who set the figures of beasts in their statues: the which shewes plainely, that vndoubtedly they tooke their beginning from the Aethio∣pians, who first of all brought all these things into the world, as Diodorus Sicilus re∣ports.

The women of Aegypt did in old time vse the trade of merchandise, keepe tauernes, and did all offices belonging to men; whereas their husbands were idle, and kept their houses, and if there were any burdens to be borne, the men set them vpon their heads, and the women vpon their shoulders. The men sate downe to make water, and the wo∣men on the other side stood right vp; they went to do their businesse in their houses, and [ D] did feast it in the open streets.

No woman of Aegypt might be a priest in the Temple of any of their gods or god∣desses. And as for the Aegyptians they were neuer consecrated to any particular god, but to all together. They had a soueraigne Bishop chosen from among the priests, who at his decease left his sonne to succeed him in his dignitie and soueraigne priesthood. The legi∣timate children, according to the law of the countrie, did not refuse to nourish their pa∣rents, wherunto they were not forced, wheras the women were constrained, if by chance they were vnwilling thereunto.

There haue beene many other people whose custome hath beene in mourning and lamenting for the dead, to couer their heads with dyrt, & to suffer their beards and haire [ E] to grow: but the Aegyptians did poule their haire, and cut their beards, and did knead paste with their hands and feet, and some say that they first of all brought in circumcisi∣on among men. It is the opinion of auncient Greeke authors, who were ignorant of the sacred historie of the Iewes.

They did write from the right hand to the left, like vnto the Hebrewes, Arabians, Turkes, and Persians. The women did carrie but one single roabe, and the men, as more delicate and effeminate, had two. They vsed also two kinds of letters, the one was sacred, and the other common and allowed to all men: but this latter was drawen from the Ethyopians. The priests were bound to shaue all their bodie euery three daies, to the end they might not carrie any filthinesse into the temple and sacrifice. They did weare gar∣ments [ F] of linnen cloth new washed, white and cleane, saying, that they did cut the fore∣skin to be more neat, and that it was more seemely to be without filthinesse, than in any other sort whatsoeuer. They had shooes made of a certaine wood which they call papier.

They did not sow any beanes in Aegypt, neither was it lawfull for any one of them to eat any if by chance they were brought thither from any other countrie: yea the

priests were forbidden to looke on them, for that they held an opinion that this kind of [ A] pulse was impure. Their custome was to wash themselues dayly in cold water, many times thrice a day, and twice in the night. The Aegyptian sacrificers did neuer eat the heads of any beasts that had beene sacrificed, but they did first curse them with strange execrations, and with cruell and abhominable words, then they sold them to the first stranger that came, or if they found no merchant to buy them, then they cast them into the riuer of Nile.

All the Aegyptians did sacrifice oxen, bulls, and calues: but is was forbidden to sacri∣fice any kine or heyfers; for that they were dedicated to the goddesse Isis, to whom they bare a particular honour. They did liue of drie bread and vsed beere, for that they had [ B] no wine growing: they did also eat fish sometimes raw, and sometimes dried in the Sunne, or salted, and in their pickle. They did also eat foule raw and salted, and the richest among them did eat quailes, and mallards, the which they held for their greatest dainties.

Whenas they met at any feast, and the banquet ended, some brought in a dead bodie made of wood, or otherwise exceedingly well represented being about two fadomes long, which figure was shewed to euery one that assisted at the feast, saying, eat, and drinke, and behold this; for hauing liued at thine ease, thou shalt be like vnto him after thy death. Whenas young men met with any that were more aduanced with age, they went out of the way to let them passe, and seeing them to come into any assemblie, they [ C] did rise to giue them place: and whenas they encountred in the streets, they saluted one another without any speech, stretching forth their hands, and bending downe vnto their knees. They did weare garments of linnen cloth fringed at their sleeues, the which they called Calasires, casting white cloakes vpon them to couer them: for they were forbid∣den to weare garments of wooll whenas they entred into their temples, neither durst they burie them with any dead bodie.

They were very sober, for they did neuer set any thing vpon the table, but a peece of veale and a goose, and there was a certaine measure of wine appointed for euery one, to the end they should not fill their bellies more than were fit, nor drinke vntill they were drunke. [ D]

Their kings carried themselues so mildly vnto their subiects, as they did winne the hearts and loue of all men; so as not onely the priests, but all others were more care∣full of the preseruation and the prosperitie of their king, than of themselues, their wiues, and children. Whenas the king died, it was a pittifull thing to see their generall lamentation, tearing their garments, and shutting vp their Temples, going neither to faires nor markets, nor solemnising any feast, defiling their heads with dyrt, for the space of two moneths, and twelue daies, carrying a linnen cloth bound about their armes, and in this manner twice a day there met two or three hundred men and women to re∣new their mournings and complaints, singing in verse the vertues and holie life of their king who was dead. [ E]

During all this time, they did not eat any meat that was roasted, and they did ab∣staine from wine, and from all kinds of daintie meates. They did not wash nor an∣noint themselues, neither did they lie in any bed, nor had the companie of their wiues, but during all this time they went and lamented very much for their king, as if their owne children had beene dead. During all this time, they prepared the funerall pompe, and the last day, the bodie was carried before the doore, and to the entrie of the Tombe or Sepuchre, where they did repeat an Abridgement or Sommarie of the life and actions of the deceased king, and then it was lawfull for euery man to accuse him.

The sacrificers did also assist in that place, and did commend the forepassed life of him, [ F] whose bodie lay exposed to the view of the people; who allowed that which was com∣mendable with clapping of their hands & great acclamations, reiecting with a trouble∣some noise, those things which displeased them in the discourse of his life. This hath of∣ten bin the cause that many kings whom the people hated, and wose actions were distast∣full

[ A] vnto them, hearing the discourse made, were depriued of the honour of their obse∣quies, and the pompo accustomed at the funeralls of kings. And this feare caused many of them to liue justly, for that they were assured the people would not faile to dishonour them, and denie their bodies these last offices.

Finally, the Aegyptians haue beene the most superstitious, or rather the most ridicu∣lous of all the Idolaters, for that not content with the statues or images of men, they haue worshipped beasts both aliue and dead, as Cats, Dogges, Rats, Sparrow-hawkes, Goats, Wolues, Crocodiles, and a great number of other beasts. And they were so void of shame to make publique profession of this follie and beastlinesse, as contrariwise they [ B] held it worthie of praise and honour, whenas they practised this villanous Idolatrie. They carried the figures and representations of these beasts about their townes and villages, shewing them a farre off as their preseruing gods, which they should honour. Whenas any one of these gods of the Aegyptians died, they put it into a faire lynnen cloth, salting it with great cries and lamentations, and beating their brests strangely; then annointing it with the juyce of Cedar, and other precious and arromaticall drugges, they interred it in a certaine place appointed to that effect, to the end that the dead carcase should not sodenly dissolue. If any man did kill any one of these beasts, there was no meanes to saue his life, for that the people flocking together, did murther him most cruelly, neuer expe∣cting how justice would determine or censure of him: The feare which many had to be thus ill entreated, made them whenas they saw any one of these beasts dead, to flie farre [ C] from it, deepely lamenting this losse, and making it knowne that it came not by any fault of his.

The charge of feeding these beastly gods was giuen to men of qualitie, who carried themselues carefully, and entertained them with great charges, for that their food was a kind of delicat drinke made of a certaine graine, and broth composed of wheat flower, and they had also for these beasts, other meats made with milke, and besides that, they did set before them geese, both boyled and roasted, to satisfie them. They gaue to them that liued, raw flesh, and birds taken with nets or otherwise, and to be short, they imployed much money, and a great deale of toyle, to entertaine them.

[ D] They were so foolish, as seeing these beasts to die, they wept, and mourned heauily, with shews of contrition, as if their children had beene deceased, and they did interre them with much charge and state: so as in the time of Ptolome, surnamed Lagus king of Aegypt, an oxe being dead at Memphys of meere age, he that had the charge to feed him, spent in his funeralls a great summe of money which he had receiued for his feeding; and moreouer, he borrowed of the king fiftie talents of siluer to furnish the charge of these ridiculous obsequies.

As for the honours which they performed to dead men, the Aegyptians did also exceed in that charge, for as soone as any one was dead, the friends and kinsfolkes of the decea∣sed comming together, couered their heads with dyrt, and went about the towne lamen∣ting [ E] and weeping continually, vntill the bodie were interred. During this time, they ne∣uer washed themselues as of custome, neither did they drinke any wine, nor eat any deli∣cat thing, and the apparell which they vsed, was of small value. Their interments were of three sorts or kinds, the one sumptuous, the second meane, and the third of small im∣portance. In the first, they imployed a talent of siluer: in the second, twentie mynes: and the third was performed with so little charge, as it deserues not to be spoken of. They that had the charge of funeralls, as being borne and bred vp to it from their youth, carried the rolls of their charges, to enquire of the parents of the deceased, how much they would spend, and when they had agreed vpon the price, they deliuered the bodie, to the end that the preparations of the obsequies might be made according to their agreement. First, [ F] the Register or Scribe, hauing layed the bodie vpon the bare ground, did marke vpon the hip, how farre they should launce or cut the bodie vpon the left side. He that had charge to make the incision, taking an Aethiopian stone, did launce the dead bodie, and then fled sodenly and speedily away, being followed by the assistants, who cursed him, and threw stones at him, as if he had committed some crime, for that they were of opinion

that he which had thus opened the bodie of any man, had some secret hatred against the [ A] deceased. They that did embalme the bodie, were held amongst them for men of note and esteeme, and might frequent the Temples, and conuerse with the sacrificing Priests. Whenas these were neere vnto the bodie, they did open all the bowells, except the heart, and the kidneys; and sodenly another washt that place with Phenetian wine, into the which they did put odoriferous things; then they did first annoint the bodie with the juyce of Cedar, and then with diuers arromaticall things for the space of a moneth, or more: and not content to haue embalmed it after this sort, they made an infusion of Myrhe, Synamon, and other spices, as well to preserue the bodie long from corruption, as also to giue it a good smell. [ B]

The bodie being embalmed after this manner, they deliuered it vnto his kinsfolkes, hauing first so placed euerie part and member of the bodie, euen the eye browes, as it might be taken for a sleeping man. After this, they began the discourse of his life from his infancie, and related his pieties towards the gods, his knowledge, the innocencie of his manners; then comming to his perfect age, his religion, his justice, his integritie, his continencie, and his wisdome. Which done, they did call vpon the infernall gods, en∣treating them to place the dead bodie in the ranke of the happie. The people made an∣swer to those prayers, much commending the dead, as he that enioyed the happinesse of fortun at soules. Euerie man did interre his dead bodie in his owne Sepulchre: As for such as had no particular place, they put them in their houses in the strongest walls there was, setting the coffin right vp, and walling it with masons worke, to the end that the suc∣cessours [ C] growing rich, and performing their dutie in paying what was due for the decea∣sed, they might haue meanes to interre it honourably.

Whenas they borrowed any money, they were accustomed to lay the bodies of their kinsfolks in pawne; and if they failed to redeeme them, it was a great infamie vnto them; and moreouer, they themselues were depriued of buriall.

To conclude this discourse, the Aegyptians held themselues to be all gentlemen, and were in former times verie slouthfull, delicat, inconstant, braggers, great talkers, and of little truth in their discourses. They were naturally proud, furious, and more fitter for mutinies and innouasions than to execute any thing well. They were injurious, and no∣thing [ D] valiant, ignorant of the lawes, and aboue all, could not endure the commaund of strangers. They were so subiect to mutinies and seditions, and to suffer themselues to be transported, as they haue raised great combustions for verie light causes.