x Introduction
rupture in an Anglo-French entente and the fall of M.
Thiers, just as Turkey caused a rupture in a later Anglo-
French entente and the fall of Mr. Lloyd George. But
the uprisal of Turkey was clearly a retarded national
renascence. To what force are we to attribute the up-
heaval caused a century ago by the Egyptian expansion ?
For there was no Egyptian national consciousness inspir-
ing the campaigns of Mehemet AH. The establishment
of Egypt as an independent State by an alien adven-
turer compels us to believe that there is a force of
nationality that can do its work before there is any
national consciousness.
A first difficulty, therefore, in writing an account of
Modern Egypt is knowing where to start. Nearly all
national movements—for example, those of Turkey,
Greece, Ireland, and other modern nations—begin with
a renascence of the national language, legends, and
literature. This, in time, leads to a political rebellion
against the alien authority or ancien regime. But Modern
Egypt has no language, no literature, no legends of its
own. The art of Ancient Egypt may possibly survive
vestigially in Modern Egypt. Certainly designs and
decorations may be seen in the Muski that look like
degenerate descendants of those in the Museum. For
example, the designs of the arabesques in lattice-work
balconies can be seen on Pharaonic works of art, and
one of these balconies is represented on a tomb of
Amenophis IV. of the sixteenth century B.C. But a
similar connection has never been traced in the litera-
ture. Maspero once heard a tale being told in a village
that he recognised as a Pharaonic theme. Investigating
its origin with creditable caution, he traced it back to a
small girl who had got it out of one of his own transla-
tions in a school primer.