A 3rd-century CE account of the Egyptian Priesthood and the lives of its priests by Porphyry in his Abstinence, Book 4
Accounts like these are important for study as the abrahmatrayam had succeeded in entrenching the picture of a universally decadent &+
+and depraved polytheism, with all of its individual ethnic forms having corrupt and decadent priesthoods.
I'll post, when I get time, about the temple rites of the Egyptians, who would impress any H with a basic appreciation of Agamika rites
The refined mannerisms & conduct of Egyptian priests; one can almost visualize our own priests and philosophers of yore with such virtues
The avoidance of foods/drinks produced outside Egypt by the priests, prevalence of meat avoidance, ceremonial and bathing routines
At night, the priests engage their intellects in arithmetic, geometry & the observation of celestial bodies, without heed for base pleasures
One could visualize brAhmaNas similarly spending their nights studying shulbasUtras (geometry) & jyotiSa (observing celestial bodies)+
+the two being part of the six vedANGas: the former being part of the kalpasUtra and the latter an aNGa in itself...
"To sail from Egypt was considered to be one of the most unholy things" LOL--This ought to remind H of something similar...
@indian_idolator You'll also note a description of the brAhmaNas and shramaNas later in the chapter...
@Amit__G +abandonment of AcAra (the prescribed conduct) and shIla (character).
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