Stolen Legacy: The Egyptian Origins of Western Philosophy

By George G. M. James

This seminal work provides a revelatory reframing of the history of philosophy, with significant cultural implications.

In this bold and uncompromising book, George G. M. James argues that the “Greek philosophy” which forms the basis of Western culture actually originated in ancient Egypt. Drawing on careful historical research and a radical rethinking of Greek historical narratives, James asserts that our celebration of the ancient Greeks as the creators of Western civilization and philosophy is misattributed. Instead, he argues, our praise rightfully belongs to the people of Africa. Furthermore, this massive intellectual and cultural theft has helped lend credence to the damaging notion that the entire continent of Africa has contributed nothing to world civilization.

James explores documented connections between celebrated Greek philosophers and the influence of Egyptian thought, proposing other possible links between northern Africa and Greece as well. A seminal work in the history of philosophy, culture, and race in the modern world, Stolen Legacy is a valuable addition to any library.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781648371202

Book preview

Published in 2016 by Echo Point Books & Media

Brattleboro, Vermont

www.EchoPointBooks.com

Stolen Legacy

ISBN: 978-1-62654-334-8 (paperback)

Cover image: Dayr al-Bahri, Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Horemheb, The god Osiris; courtesy of Shutterstock /Everett Art

Cover design by Adrienne Núñez

FOREWORD

It was Herodotus that stated: Almost all the names of the gods came into Greece from Egypt. My inquiries prove that they were derived from a foreign source, and my opinion is that Egypt furnished the greater number...

Besides these which have been here mentioned, there are many other practices whereof I shall speak hereafter, which the Greeks have borrowed from Egypt... (Herodotus, Book II, Sections 50, 51; Cf: 53, 112, 144).

Herodotus, a Greek of the 5th Century B. C. E. is accorded the honor in most reference books, of being The Father of History. This honor is shared with honors, also misplaced, accorded to Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, et al. But with all that in mind, shouldn’t his words carry some weight on today’s campuses? After all, he wrote approximately 2,500 years ago that the early Greeks received their knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from Egypt.

Despite the above quote, a course called Western Civilization is taught on most college campuses. Like the fiction it portrays as history, it might be more aptly named Creative Writing, or even more accurately as The Propaganda of European Intellectual Supremacy as an Ideological Foundation for World Domination.

Stolen Legacy by George G. M. James is a weapon; an ideological weapon. It is the ideal book to refute the Euro-centric myth that the origin of Western philosophy is Greek. The author leaves no stone unturned in proving his thesis. And it was a great ground breaking thesis, originally published in 1954. This book led to a radical reappraisal of a philosophical system long thought to be of European origin. Taken at face value, and taken by the masses for granted, because it was taught in every educational faculty and university, it would have taken a scholar to reveal the concealed truth. Mr. James was that scholar. You won’t be able to find a single Ph. D. who can refute the central thesis of this book. The research is impeccable, the logic concise, and the facts clear.

I first came into knowledge of this book when it first came into this country from England through my Rasta brethren. That was around 1980.1 won’t claim that its message was earthshaking to me. The facts as reported by Herodotus in the opening quote of this review, are not in the book by Mr. James. Many of us knew from other sources the truth of the matter. And for that same reason, most of us did not analyze the Greek philosophers. Mr. James did. People like Herodotus serve as independent collaboration of his thesis. But since most of us don’t read Herodotus or Manetho, Mr. James wrote the book for the layman. You don’t have to be a scholar to read or understand his book. While many of us are in the know, or have knowledge of self, merely find a confirmation in this book, its importance is in its relevance to the layman or the student forced to undergo the orthodox, substandard, mis-edcucational system in this and other countries.

This book should be on the reference shelf next to Cheikh Anta Diop’s "African Origin of Civilization," Marcus Garvey’s Philosophy and Opinions, Carter G. Woodson’s Miseducation of the Negro, and Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. I have omitted, intentionally, other books of this genre because, although they might have greater popularity in the mass market, they lack the painstaking and high caliber research of the above named. I cannot too frequently mention that we must apply the most critical examination of our own historical writings, making every effort to be correct in our portrayal of history, and not quickly embrace myths palatable to our deprived egos. Otherwise, the new civilization we are building will be no higher than the one we will displace. If the foundation we build on is held together with a mortar of lies, how long will our house stand; how many generations? Truth will withstand the most critical examination, I always say, and it is a principle I live by. I attacked Mr. James book with a critical examination. It holds through in its main thesis. In his own words the author says: "Had it not been for this drama of Greek philosophy and its actors, the African continent would have had a different reputation, and would have enjoyed a status of respect among the nations of the world. This unfortunate position of the African Continent and its peoples appears to be the result of the misrepresentation upon which the structure of race prejudice has been built, i.e. the historical world opinion that the African Continent is backward, that its people are backward, and that their civilization is also backward." (Page 5).

Because the African origin of revealed philosophy was concealed, many of us rejected our own legacy. I described this book as ground breaking because today, 36 years later, we are still reaping the benefits of Stolen Legacy and its radical challenge to orthodox academia: The Greeks were not the authors of the philosophies they are credited with, but worst, (in the eyes of the Euro-centric Philosophy Departments), it was Africans that were the originators.

This can be linked to showing a rabid Klan member his Great-Great Grandfather’s birth certificate with him described as an African slave. It would change the whole complexion of things for him, but like the university philosophy departments, he’s not going to publish that truth about himself. The publication of Stolen Legacy predated and influenced the later, and now current, "Black Athena: the Afro-Asiatic Roots of Classical Greece, by Martin Bernal, and Thy Kingdom Come," by Shahid M. Allah.

To his credit, the author not only clearly presents and dissects the problem but he offers a solution in the form of a New Philosophy of African Redemption. I don’t know anything about Mr. James, the person, but it is easy to see behind the scholarly text, a subtle, but consistent Garveyite. Many here in the wilderness of North America know of Garveys’ repatriation program of the 1920’s; but how many know that while he left ideological heirs here, it was in his native Jamaica that his scepter was picked up by the Rastafarians who hailed him as a prophet (as indeed he was). This can be reflected in the Rasta slogan of the early 1970’s: Repatriate your mind.

So whether its Repatriate your mind, or have knowledge of self, or as written in the ancient Egyptian temples, Know thyself, the message is the same. Learn why the author says that Africans, ". . . must relinquish from all Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. . . They must abolish all Greek lettered fraternities and sororities from all colored [sic] colleges because they have been a source of promotion of inferiority complex and of education the Black people against themselves. "

This book should be in the family library for the up-and-coming generation before they go to college. It is an ideological weapon tempered to cut through the thickest lies. They stole your legacy. You must reclaim your own.

Prince A. Cuba is the author of Before Adam: The Original Man, Musa And The All Seeing Eye: A History Of Moses. The above is a reprint of a Book Review for Your Black Books Guide, Vol. 1 Number 9, July, 1990.

The author has also written the following pamphlets and articles:

PAMPHLETS

Health Week In New Castle.

Intermarriage.

Published in London, England.

Black People Under Germany.

Published in New York.

The Need of a New Education for the Subject Peoples of the World. Published in Arkansas, U. S. A.

The Probable Causes of Religious Apathy in our Institutions of Higher Learning and the Proposal of a New Naturalism.

Published in Arkansas, U. S. A.

ARTICLES

The Church and the New Mentality.

Religion Is An Inductive and Progressive Science.

The Anti-Classical Wave.

The First Step In Negro Reconstruction.

Know Thyself. (A Series of 12 Articles)

Published in the New York Age and the Zion Quarterly.

The Influence of Mathematics Upon the Mentality and Character of Students.

Published in the Georgia Herald.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

(a) Characteristics of Greek Philosophy;

(b) The Aims of the Book

PART I

CHAPTER I

GREEK PHILOSOPHY IS STOLEN EGYPTIAN PHILOSOPHY

1. The teachings of the Egyptian Mysteries reached other lands centuries before it reached Athens; 2. The authorship of the individual doctrines is extremely doubtful; 3. The chronology of Greek philosophers is mere speculation; 4. The compilation of the history of Greek philosophy was the plan of Aristotle executed by his school.

CHAPTER II

SO-CALLED GREEK PHILOSOPHY WAS ALIEN TO THE GREEKS AND THEIR CONDITIONS OF LIFE

The period of Greek philosophy (640-322 B.C.) was a period of internal and external wars and was unsuitable for producing philosophers.

CHAPTER III

GREEK PHILOSOPHY WAS THE OFFSPRING OF THE EGYPTIAN MYSTERY SYSTEM

1. The Egyptian theory of salvation became the purpose of Greek philosophy; 2. Circumstances of identity between the Egyptian and Greek systems are shown; 3. The abolition of Greek philosophy with the Egyptian Mysteries identifies them; 4. How the African Continent gave its culture to the Western World.

CHAPTER IV

THE EGYPTIANS EDUCATED THE GREEKS

1. The effects of the Persian Conquest; 2. The effects of the Conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great; 3. The Egyptians were the first to civilize the Greeks; 4. Alexander visits the Oracle of Ammon in the Oasis of Siwah.

CHAPTER V

THE PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS AND THE TEACHINGS ASCRIBED TO THEM

1. The earlier Ionion philosophers and their doctrines; 2. Pythagoras and his doctrines; 3. The Eleatic philosophers and their doctrines 4. The later Ionion philosophers and their doctrines; 5. Summary of conclusions concerning the Pre-Socratic philosophers and the history of the Four Qualities and Four Elements. (a) The doctrines of the early Ionic, the Eleatic and the later Ionic philosophers and Pythagoras are traced to their Egyptian origin; (b) The doctrine or the Four Qualities and Four Elements is traced to its Egyptian origin; (c) Plagiarism shown to be a common practice among the Greek philosophers who borrowed from one another but chiefly from Pythagoras who obtained his ideas from the Egyptians; (d) The doctrine of the Atom by Democritus is traced to its Egyptian origin, as well as his large number of books. He taught nothing new.

CHAPTER VI

THE ATHENIAN PHILOSOPHERS

1. SOCRATES

1. His Life: (a) Date and place of birth; (b) His economic status and personality; (c) His trial and death; (d) Crito’s attempt to smuggle him out of prison; (e) Phaedo describes the final scene before his death.

2. Doctrines: The doctrines of (a) The Nous; (b) The Supreme Good; (c) Opposites and harmony; (d) The immortality of the soul and (e) Self knowledge.

3. Summary of Conclusions: (a) The doctrines of Socrates are traced to their Egyptian origin, as he taught nothing new; (b) The importance of the farewell conversation of Socrates with his pupils and friends is set forth.

2. PLATO

(I) His early life; (II) His travels and academy; (III) His disputed writings; (IV) His doctrines.

1. The theory of ideas and its application to natural phenomena including (a) the real and unreal; (b) the Nous and (c) creation. 2. The ethical doctrines concerning (a) the highest good; (b) definition of virtue and; (c) the cardinal virtues. 3. The doctrine of the Ideal state whose attributes are compared with the attributes of the soul and justice. (V) Summary of Conclusions: (a) The doctrines of Plato are traced to their Egyptian origin, as he taught nothing new; (b) Magic is shown to be the key to the interpretation of ancient religion and philosophy; (c) The authorship of his books is disputed by modern scholars, and ancient historians deny his authorship of the Republic and Timeas; (d) The allegory of the charioteer and winged steeds is traced to its Egyptian origin.

3. ARISTOTLE

(I) (a) His early life and training; (b) His own list of books; (c) Other list of books; (II) Doctrines; (III) Summary of Conclusions. A The doctrines are traced to their Egyptian origin, as he taught nothing new; B (1) The library of Alexandria was the true source of Aristotle’s large numbers of books; (2) The lack of uniformity between the list of books points to doubtful authorship; C The discrepancies and doubts in this life.

CHAPTER VII

THE CURRICULUM OF THE EGYPTIAN MYSTERY SYSTEM

1. The education of Egyptian Priests according to their Orders; 2. The education of the Egyptian Priests in: (a) The Seven Liberal Arts; (b) Secret systems of languages and mathematical symbolism; (c) Magic. 3. A comparison of the curriculum of the Egyptian Mystery System with the list of books said to be drawn up by Aristotle himself.

CHAPTER VIII

THE MEMPHITE THEOLOGY IS THE BASIS OF ALL IMPORTANT DOCTRINES OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY

1. (a) The history, description and complete text of the Memphite Theology are given and the subject matter is divided into three parts; (b) The text of the first part is followed by the philosophy which the first part teaches; (c) The text of the second part is followed by the philosophy which the second part teaches; (d) The text of the third part is followed by the philosophy which the third part teaches.

2. The Memphite Theology is shown to be the source of modern scientific knowledge; (a) The identity of the creation of the Ennead with the Nebular Hypothesis and; (b) The identity of the Sun God Atom with the atom of Science.

3. The Memphite Theology opens great possibilities for modern scientific research: (a) The Greek concept of the atom is shown to be erroneous; (b) With the new interpretation of the atom the Memphite Theology provides a vast field of scientific secrets yet to be discovered

PART II

CHAPTER IX

SOCIAL REFORMATION THROUGH THE NEW PHILOSOPHY OF AFRICAN REDEMPTION

1. SOCIAL REFORMATION

1. The knowledge that the African Continent gave civilization the Arts and Sciences, Religion and Philosophy is destined to produce a change in the mentality both of the White and Blade people. 2. There are three persons in the drama of Greek philosophy: (a) Alexander the Great; (b) Aristotle’s School and; (c) The Ancient Roman Government who are responsible for a false tradition about Africa and the social plight of its peoples; (3) Both the White and Black people are common victims of a false tradition about Africa and this fact makes both races partners in the solution of the problem of racial reformation. (4) The methods suggested for racial reformation: (a) Reeducation of both groups by world wide dissemination of Africa’s contribution to civilization; (b) The abandonment of the false worship of Greek intellect; (c) Special attention must be given to the re-education of missionaries and a constant demand made for a change in missionary policy.

2. THE NEW PHILOSOPHY OF AFRICAN REDEMPTION

1. A statement and explanation of the new philosophy of African Redemption are made; 2. Black people must cultivate methods of counteraction against: (a) The false worship of Greek intellect; (b) Missionary literature and exhibition and; (c) must demand a change in missionary policy.

Appendix

Notes

Index

INTRODUCTION

CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY

The term Greek philosophy, to begin with is a misnomer, for there is no such philosophy in existence. The ancient Egyptians had developed a very complex religious system, called the Mysteries, which was also the first system of salvation.

As such, it regarded the human body as a prison house of the soul, which could be liberated from its bodily impediments, through the disciplines of the Arts and Sciences, and advanced from the level of a mortal to that of a God. This was the notion of the summum bonum or greatest good, to which all men must aspire, and it also became the basis of all ethical concepts. The Egyptian Mystery System was also a Secret Order, and membership was gained by initiation and a pledge to secrecy. The teaching was graded and delivered orally to the Neophyte; and under these circumstances of secrecy, the Egyptians developed secret systems of writing and teaching, and forbade their Initiates from writing what they had learnt.

After nearly five thousand years of prohibition against the Greeks, they were permitted to enter Egypt for the purpose of their education. First through the Persian invasion and secondly through the invasion of Alexander the Great From the sixth century B.C. therefore to the death of Aristotle (322 B. C.) the Greeks made the best of their chance to learn all they could about Egyptian culture; most students received instructions directly from the Egyptian Priests, but after the invasion by Alexander the Great, the Royal temples and libraries were plundered and pillaged, and Aristotle’s school converted the library at Alexandria into a research centre. There is no wonder then, that the production of the unusually large number of books ascribed to Aristotle has proved a physical impossibility, for any single man within a life time.

The history of Aristotle’s life, has done him far more harm than good, since it carefully avoids any statement relating to his visit to Egypt, either on his own account or in company with Alexander the Great, when he invaded Egypt. This silence of history at once throws doubt upon the life and achievements of Aristotle. He is said to have spent twenty years under the tutorship of Plato, who is regarded as a Philosopher, yet he

Reviews for Stolen Legacy

[Syandene Jahia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating exposition of truth that was inverted to become a lie