Next came the river Nile which tempered the heat of the day and brought
rich deposits of clay to refresh the fields and make them fertile.

Then there was the kindly Moon which at night rowed her little boat
across the arch of heaven and there was Thunder and there was Lightning
and there were any number of things which could make life happy or
miserable according to their pleasure and desire.

Ancient man, entirely at the mercy of these forces of nature, could not
get rid of them as easily as we do when we plant lightning rods upon our
houses or build reservoirs which keep us alive during the summer months
when there is no rain.

On the contrary they formed an intimate part of his daily life--they
accompanied him from the moment he was put into his cradle until the day
that his body was prepared for eternal rest.

Neither could he imagine that such vast and powerful phenomena as a bolt
of lightning or the flood of a river were mere impersonal things. Some
one--somewhere--must be their master and must direct them as the
engineer directs his engine or a captain steers his ship.

A God-in-Chief was therefore created, like the commanding general of an
army.

A number of lower officers were placed at his disposal.

Within their own territory each one could act independently.

In grave matters, however, which affected the happiness of all the