Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/67

 EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. '■ Those works where man has rivalled nature most, Those Pyramids, that fear no more decay Than waves inflict upon the rockiest coast, Or winds on mountain steeps, and like endurance boast."' I. INFLUENCES. i. Geographical. — The civilization of every country has been, as will be shown, largely determined by its geographical conditions, for the characteristic features of the land in which any race dwells shape their mode of life and thus influence their intellectual culture. On referring to the map (No. 3) it will be seen that Egypt consists of a sandy desert with a strip of fertile country on the banks of the Nile. Egypt was the only nation of the ancient world which had at once easy access to the Northern, or Mediterranean Sea, as well as to the Eastern, or Arabian Sea ; for by way of the Red Sea, Egypt always commanded an access to both these highways. The consequence was that Egypt had outlets lor her own pro- ductions and inlets for those of foreign nations. The possession of the Nile, moreover, was of immense advantage, not only on