palm groves in Philae, a rocky island in the
Nile near the cataracts of Syene, was begun in this reign, though not
finished till some reigns later. It is still the wonder of travellers,
and by its size and style proves the wealth and good taste of the
priests. But its ornaments are not so simple as those of the older
temples; and the capitals of its columns are varied by the full-blown
papyrus flower of several sizes, its half-opened buds, its closed buds,
and its leaves, and by palm-branches. It seems to have been built on the
site of an older temple which may have 'been overthrown by the Persians.
This island of Philo is the most beautiful spot in Egypt; where the bend
of the river just above the cataracts forms a quiet lake surrounded on
all sides by fantastic cliffs of red granite. Its name is a corruption
from Abu-lakh, the city of the frontier. This temple was one of the
places in which Osiris was said to be buried. None but priests ever set
foot on this sacred island, and no oath was so binding as that sworn in
the name of Him that lies buried in Philae. The statues of the goddess
in the temple were all meant for portraits of the queen Arsinoe. The
priests who dwelt in the cells within the courtyards of the temples of
which we see the remains in this temple at Philae, were there confined
for life to the service of the altar by the double force of religion and
the stone walls. They showed their zeal for their gods by the amount of
want which they were able to endure, and they thought that sitting upon
the ground in idleness, with the knees up to the chin, was one of the
first of religious duties.

[Illustration: 116.jpg TEMPLE OF PHILAE]

The Museum of Alexandria held at this time the highest rank among the
Greek schools, whether for poetry, mathematics, astronomy, or medicine,
the four branches into which it was divided. Its library soon held two
hundred thousand rolls of papyrus; which, however, could hardly have
been equal to ten thousand printed volumes. Many of these were bought by
Philadelphus in Athens and Rhodes; and his copy of Aristotle's works was
bought of the philosopher Nileus, who had been a hearer of that great
man, and afterwards inherited his books through Theophrastus, to whom
they had been left by Aristotle. The books in the museum were of course
all Greek; the Greeks did not study foreign languages, and thought the
Egyptian writings barbarous.

At the head of this library had been Demetrius