hence they very plausibly referred it to celestial agencies. Men are
ever prone to mistake coincidences for causes; and thus it came to pass
that the appearance of that star on the horizon at the rising of the sun
was not only viewed as the signal, but as the cause of the inundations.
Its coming to the desired position might, therefore, be well expected,
and it was soon observed that this took place with regularity at periods
of about 360 days. This was the first determination of the length of the
year. It is worthy of remark, as showing how astronomy and religious
rites were in the beginning connected, that the priests of the
mysterious temple of Philae placed before the tomb of Osiris every
morning 360 vases of milk, each one commemorating one day, thus showing
that the origin of that rite was in those remote ages when it was
thought that the year was 360 days long. It was doubtless such
circumstances that led the Egyptians to the cultivation of historical
habits. In this they differed from the Hindus, who kept no records.

[Sidenote: The philosophy of star-worship.]

The Dog-star Sirius is the most splendid star in the heavens; to the
Egyptian the inundation was the most important event upon earth.
Mistaking a coincidence for a cause, he was led to the belief that when
that brilliant star emerged in the morning from the rays of the sun, and
began to assert its own inherent power, the sympathetic river, moved
thereby, commenced to rise. A false inference like this soon dilated
into a general doctrine; for if one star could in this way manifest a
direct control over the course of terrestrial affairs, why should not
another--indeed, why should not all? Moreover, it could not have escaped
notice that the daily tides of the Red Sea are connected with the
movements and position of the sun and moon, following those luminaries
in the time of their occurrence, and being determined by their
respective position as to amount at spring and at neap. But the
necessary result of such a view is no other than the admission of the
astrological influence of the heavenly bodies; first, as respects
inanimate nature, and then as respects the fortune and fate of men. It
is not until the vast distance of the starry bodies is suspected that
man begins to feel the necessity of a mediator between him and them, and
star-worship passes to its second phase.

To what part of the world could the Egyptian travel without seeing in
the skies the same