was known to Ameres and the few who, like him, had been
admitted to the inmost mysteries of the Egyptian religion. The rest
of the population in Egypt worshiped in truth and in faith the
animal-headed gods and the animals sacred to them; and yet as to these
animals there was no consensus of opinion. In one nome or division of
the kingdom the crocodile was sacred; in another he was regarded with
dislike, and the ichneumon, that was supposed to be his destroyer, was
deified. In one the goat was worshiped, and in another eaten for food;
and so it was throughout the whole of the list of sacred animals,
which were regarded with reverence or indifference according to the
gods who were looked upon as the special tutelary deities of the nome.

It was the opinion of Ameres that the knowledge, confined only to the
initiated, should be more widely disseminated, and, without wishing to
extend it at present to the ignorant masses of the peasantry and
laborers, he thought that all the educated and intelligent classes of
Egypt should be admitted to an understanding of the real nature of the
gods they worshiped and the inner truths of their religion. He was
willing to admit that the process must be gradual, and that it would
be necessary to enlarge gradually the circle of the initiated. His
proposals were nevertheless received with dismay and horror by his
colleagues. They asserted that to allow others besides the higher
priesthood to become aware of the deep mysteries of their religion
would be attended with terrible consequences.

In the first place, it would shake entirely the respect and reverence
in which the priesthood were held, and would annihilate their
influence. The temples would be deserted, and, losing the faith which
they now so steadfastly held in the gods, people would soon cease to
have any religion at all. "There are no people," they urged, "on the
face of the earth so moral, so contented, so happy, and so easily
ruled as the Egyptians; but what would they be did you destroy all
their beliefs, and launch them upon a sea of doubt and speculation! No
longer would they look up to those who have so long been their guides
and teachers, and whom they regard as possessing a knowledge and
wisdom infinitely beyond theirs. They would accuse us of having
deceived them, and in their blind fury destroy alike the gods and
their ministers. The idea of such a thing is horrible."

Ameres was silenced, though not convinced. He felt,