Anderson, Robert

Robert Anderson studied Classics and Egyptology at Cambridge, England. During his time there the library of the music department was next door to that of Egyptology. This involved much lingering in the former and slow progress towards the latter. Eventually the music librarian, who was a good friend of the founder and editor of Record News, claimed that this visitor from other disciplines knew more about Bach than anyone else he had come across in Cambridge, where he had also started conducting. The result was a suggestion that he might like to review for the magazine, and possibly become its assistant editor. The offer proved timely, as Coptic research had just reached a natural conclusion, with translation into English of the life and writings of the Egyptian monk, St. Shenoute, a project since published.

The title of this book comes from ancient Egypt. Much advice for the New Kingdom schoolboy has survived. He was recommended above all to set his heart on books (or rather papyrus rolls). Alternatives were dismal. He might take to wine, women, and song, beating time on his paunch, tumbling finally into the gutter.