Identifier: egyptitsmonument00hich (find matches)
Title: Egypt and its monuments
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Hichens, Robert Smythe, 1864-1950
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, Century Co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
ery perfect face of a determined and handsome man.In the court, upon a pedestal, stands a big bird, andnear it is another bird, or rather half of a bird, leaningforward, and much defaced. And in this great court-yard there are swarms of living birds twittering in thesunshine. Through the doorway between the towersone sees a glimpse of a native village with the cupolasof a mosque. I stood and looked at the cupolas for a moment.Then I turned, and forgot for a time the life of theworld without—that men, perhaps, were praying be-neath those cupolas, or praising the Moslems God.For when I turned, I felt, as I have said, as if all theworship of the world must be concentrated here.Standing far down the open court, in the full sunshine,I could see into the first hypostyle hall, but beyondonly a darkness—a darkness which led me on, inwhich the further chambers of the house divine werehidden. As I went on slowly, the perfection of theplan of the dead architects was gradually revealed to i88
Text Appearing After Image:
EDFU me, when the darkness gave up its secrets ; when I sawnot clearly, but dimly, the long way between the col-umns, the noble columns themselves, the gradual, slightupward slope,—graduated by genius ; there is no otherword,—which led to the sanctuary, seen at last as alittle darkness, in which all the mystery of worship,and of the silent desires of men, was surely con-centrated, and kept by the stone forever. Even thesuccession of the darknesses, like shadows growingdeeper and deeper, seemed planned by some great artistin the management of light, and so of shadow effects.The perfection of form is in Edfu, impossible to de-scribe, impossible not to feel. The tremendous effectit has—an effect upon the soul—is created by a com-bination of shapes, of proportions, of different levels,of different heights, by consummate graduation. Andthese shapes, proportions, different levels, and heights,are seen in dimness. Not that jeweled dimness oneloves in Gothic cathedrals, but the heavy

Note About Images