A Panorama of the World

Excerpt from A Panorama of the World: An Historical Review of the Social, Political and Industrial Condition of the People of All Nations It has not been well determined by ethnologists to what family of men the ancient Egyptians belonged. It is clear, however, that they are to be classified with the Ruddy peoples rather than with the Black, or Ethiopian, family. But if we cross the Mediterranean to the Cyclades and the peninsula of Hellas, we shall come into contact with a better known and more familiar aspect of national life. Doubtless the old Greeks derived a considerable part of their industrial history, as well as their letters and arts, from the people of Egypt; but they were certainly of a different race and genius. Of them it may be truthfully said that they present the most intellectual, if not the most rational, form of human existence ever yet manifested on our globe. It is to be regretted that the pen of history and the harp of the bard have been so exclusively concerned to depict the intellectual and artistic life of the Greeks, and so neglectful of their industrial career. The same remark may apply to the story of nearly all the ancient peoples. The common life of man was neglected for the glamour and glory of its heroic aspects; and the writer of to-day is many times obliged to grope in uncertainty, in his endeavor to delineate the social and industrial condition of the ancient peoples. Nevertheless, much is known respect ing the forms of labor which were practiced among the graeco-italic races; and it is believed that to this important branch of the subject full justice has been done by the authors, in the chapters devoted to this branch of the inquiry. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.