as medicine, pharmacy, and sanitation were so scientifically developed. Nor is there any description of hospitals as such. There were temples to which the sick may have resorted, and there were "temple women" who were priestesses, but what their duties were is not clear. The position of women in ancient Egypt is supposed to have been extremely good. Those of good family at least enjoyed considerable freedom and dignity, but we learn nothing of any professional career, though social and family conditions then are often compared with those of modern times.
The religion of Egypt inculcated kindliness, justice, and charity, and these precepts were observed by at least some, if not all, the circles of Egyptian life, just as they are today. Hospitality was emphasized in the laws, and women especially were enjoined to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. Their public services were thus probably limited to the alleviation of suffering. The Egyptian religion forbade the dissection of the human body, and thus surgery and anatomy were crippled. Through this, and the growth of extreme formalism, the medical laws of Egypt gradually became extremely rigid and crystallized into a set of fixed codes. With this tendency research and
