Ethiopia

“ Separated from the surrounding countries by the relief of its plateaux and mountains, Ethiopia also differs from them in its climate, vegetation, fauna, inhabitants, and history. In this vast continent, where the people elsewhere intermingle like the waters of the sea, it rises like a vast highland citadel, constituting a world apart. The Abyssinians have had an historic evolution different from that of the nations surging round the foot of their highlands, like the waves dashing against the cliffs. ”

“ The hands which Ethiopia shall soon stretch out unto God are not mere hands of helplessness and supplication, but rather are they hands of pain and promise; hard, gnarled, and muscled for the world's real work; they are hands of fellowship for the half-submerged masses of a distempered world ”

“ As the years wear by, man's horizon grows wider and wider and the vistas multiply. So it is with Ethiopia. As the nation moves progressively in the accomplishments of the targets set for her political, social and cultural advance, We find Ourselves confronted with yet more tasks, more avenues of effort that demand Our attention. It is within this framework that, thankfully, the wheels of progress have moved and have brought Ethiopia thus far on the path We have chartered for Our country and people since we undertook the responsibility to move Ethiopia forward. ”

“ Son of a fallen dynasty, outcast of a sunken people, upon your breast is a lotus lily, God’s mark to prove your race and descent. You, Ergamenes, shall begin the restoration of Ethiopia. Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His, and He changeth the times and seasons; He removeth kings and countries, and setteth them up again; He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding! He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him! ”

“ Ethiopia is an ancient land and her civilisation is the result of the harmonious alchemy of the past and the present, upon which we confidently build for the future. This heritage is the bedrock of modern Ethiopia. ”

“ But with the Almighty Power of God and with the guidance and mercy of our Blessed Lord we feel that one day Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand, and whether it be at the second coming or before, we shall all sing our Hosannas, shout our praises to God for freedom, for liberty, for life. ”

“ But the Nile does not traverse the whole of Ethiopia, nor alone, nor in a straight line, nor a country which is well inhabited. But Egypt it traverses both alone and entirely, and in a straight line, from the lesser cataract above Syene and Elephantina, (which are the boundaries of Egypt and Ethiopia,) to the mouths by which it discharges itself into the sea. The Ethiopians at present lead for the most part a wandering life, and are destitute of the means of subsistence, on account of the barrenness of the soil, the disadvantages of climate, and their great distance from us. ”

“ The interior of Ethiopia has not been explored by modern adventurers. The antiquarian has made his way into almost every dominion where relics of former greatness have promised to reward him for his toil. But this country, as though she had concealed some precious treasure, meets the traveller on the outskirts of her dominions, with pestilence and death. ”

“ All ideas regarding salvation are thus vague and indefinite; and vain; foolish doctrines have taken entire possession of the shallow thoughts of the Christian of Ethiopia. Born amid falsehood and deceit, cradled in bloodshed, and nursed in the arms of idleness and debauchery, the national character is truly painted in the confession of one of her degenerate sons:—“Whensoever we behold the pleasing ware, we desire to steal it; and we are never in the company of a man whom we dislike, that we do not wish to kill him on the spot.” ”

“ The wheels were turned by oxen, driven by Dinka slaves, who sang vociferous melodies the while, and the water was conveyed to fields distant from the river in the hollow trunks of the doum-tree.
There, where I expected to sail through a wilderness, I found a garden. Ethiopia might become, in other hands, the richest and most productive part of Africa. The people are industrious and peaceable, and deserve better masters. Their dread of the Turks is extreme, and so is their hatred. ”

“ Ethiopia, living in a much poorer land with limited agricultural facilities, held to the old arts and customs, and at the same time lost the best elements of its population to Egypt, absorbing meantime the oncoming and wilder Negro tribes from the south and west. Under the old empire, therefore, Ethiopia remained in comparative poverty, except as some of its tribes invaded Egypt with their handicrafts. ”

“ Ethiopia, blue men's land, had first that name of colour of men. For the sun is nigh, and roasteth and toasteth them. And so the colour of men showeth the strength of the star, for there is continual heat. For all that is under the south pole about the west is full of mountains, and about the middle full of gravel, and in the east side most desert and wilderness: and stretcheth from the west of Atlas toward the east unto the ends of Egypt, and is closed in the south with ocean, and in the north with the river Nile. ”

“ Ethiopia, renowned in distant eras for its stately cities adorned with lofty temples and spacious palaces, and inhabited by learned men, is a sad picture of fallen greatness. Its haughty palaces have crumbled to decay long since, and their sites are occupied by the mud cabins of a savage race, who, only for being Christians, differ very little from their fellow-men who dwell on other parts of this great continent. ”

“ It remains for us to go forth, sons and daughters of Ethiopia, embrace our privileges, obtain the lands, dwell thereon, and become a great nation. Then the heathen will be turned from their idols, and join the true worship: then Ethiopia will stretch her hands unto God, and the islands shall be filled with his glory. Thus shall we be a blessing to all people, and all people will be a blessing to us, and the Lord will prosper us in all things. ”

“ Ethiopia and Ethiopians are labouring today not only for the peace and prosperity of our people, but also, realizing the fundamental common interest which we share with other African people, we have dedicated Ourselves to building a united and a more prosperous Africa. We found that the interest that affects Africa affects also Ethiopia and vice versa, because our destiny with the African Continent is a common one. ”

“ Shall the Nile, which is looked upon by some people as the proper boundary line between Asia and Libya,188 and which extends southward in length more than 10,000 stadia, embracing in its breadth islands which contain populations of above ten thousand men, the largest of these being Meroe, the seat of empire and metropolis of the Ethiopians, be regarded as too insignificant to divide Ethiopia into two parts? ”

“ The kingdom of Habbesh, Abyssinia, or Ethiopia, the oldest monarchy in Africa, is a small, highly-elevated, mountainous district, lying in the middle of the north torrid zone, within the limits of the tropical rains, enclosed by forests of enormous extent, a small part of the Red Sea, and unknown, trackless regions. ”

“ Nothing in modern Europe, where such activity now prevails, can compare with what the Eastern and Southern races accomplished thousands of years ago. Ethiopia, now buried in sand and in sleep, was, according to Heeren, the most reliable observer of antiquity in our days, a land of immense commercial enterprise, and wonderful architectural skill and energy. ”

“ Certain parts of Ethiopia are already much better known than any other African region lying beyond the colonies and maritime regions under European influence. Since Bruce's visit, the country has been thoroughly studied by explorers, such as Salt, Riippel, Rochet, Ferret, and Galinier ”

“ Ethiopia, the home of a brilliant ancient civilization, has been an independent state which has existed in continuity for many thousands of years.
The Ethiopian state has existed as a multinational state. Its nationalities and diverse communities have forged a unity through cultural intercourse, migrations, commerce and similar interactions in times of peace as well as in times of war. Therefore, Ethiopia's long history of independence has been the history of the united existence and common struggle of her nationalities. ”

“ The lowlands, ancient political dependencies of the kingdom of Ethiopia, extend east of the Abyssinian mountains towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over an area nearly equal to that of Abyssinia properly so-called. The whole of the region comprised between, the Nile, the Takka steppes, the seacoast from Suakin to Zeila, and the irregidar water-parting between the basins of the Awash, the Blue Nile, the Sobat, and the tributaries of the Indian Ocean, has a superficial area exceeding 240,000 square miles. Its population may be approximately estimated at about 9,000,000. ”

“ From the south coast of Chaldea is Ethiopia, a great country that stretcheth to the end of Egypt. Ethiopia is departed in two principal parts, and that is the East part and the Meridional part. And the folk of that country are black, and more black than in the other part, and they be clept Moors. In Ethiopia be folk that have but one foot, and they go so fast that it is a marvel; and the foot is so large, that it shadoweth all the body against the sun, when they will lie and rest them. ”

“ Source of Inspiration It is a historical fact that Ethiopia's struggle against colonialism and imperialism has been a source of inspiration to all the coloured peoples of the world. This struggle of Ethiopia had earned her the active opposition of all the colonial powers who had systematically followed a policy of containing and isolating Ethiopia from the rest of Africa. ”

“ In this system resides our superiority over all neighbors. The Ethiopians were as numerous as we, but their king himself took care of his own cattle, and beat his own subjects with a club; he knew not how many subjects he had, nor was he able to collect them when our troops invaded his country. There was not a united Ethiopia, but a great crowd of unorganized people. ”

“ I saw the tents of Ethiopia for their iniquity, the curtains of the land of Madian shall be troubled.
Ethiopia. . .the land of the Blacks, and Madian, are here taken for the enemies of God and his people: who shall perish for their iniquity.
3:8. Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the rivers? or was thy wrath upon the rivers? or thy indignation in the sea? Who will ride upon thy horses: and thy chariots are salvation. ”

“ The condition of this people in ancient times is very far from indicating intellectual or moral inferiority. Ethiopia held a conspicuous place among the nations. Her princes were wealthy and powerful, and her people distinguished for integrity and wisdom. Even the proud Grecians evinced respect for Ethiopia, almost amounting to reverence, and derived thence the sublimest portions of their mythology. The popular belief that all the gods made an annual visit to the Ethiopians, shows the high estimation in which they were held ”

“ Through the struggle of her people, Ethiopia has survived and this survival has afforded her the opportunity to bring the weight of her experience to the fforts deployed by the international community in building a world of peace, progress and human understanding. We are gratified that Ethiopia has been able to play a significant role in this search for a better world, a search to which she is committed in her foreign and domestic policies. ”

“ I hope that by the study of the native inscriptions, and the yet living languages, some important results may be obtained. The name Ethiopian with the ancients comprehended much of very various import. The ancient population of the whole Nile valley to Chartûm, and perhaps along the Blue River, as also the tribes in the desert east of the Nile, and the Abyssinians, then probably were more broadly distinguished from the negroes than at present, and belonged to the Caucasian race ”

“ And this father wrote a letter of blessing, and sent it to the King of Ethiopia, and to all the Ethiopians, and blessed them. When that letter reached the country of Ethiopia God removed His anger from them and sent to them His compassion and mercy; and the rain descended upon them, and God removed the famine and the plague and the people rejoiced with great joy. And this is what happened in the days of that king. Salutation to the Patriarch, the son of Torayk, to whose name was added that of the angel Gabriel. Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. ”

“ Since no census has ever been taken in Ethiopia the number of Ethiopians can only be estimated. According to the official data of the Ethiopian government the number of inhabitants of Ethiopia is between 20 and 22 million. It is also difficult to give a reliable estimate of the number of Amharic speakers ”

“ And this abundance of water in the land to the south of Sevēnēh, and still farther south beyond Seba (or Meroë) , might very well have been known to the prophet as a general fact. The land “beyond the rivers of Cush” is the land bounded by the sources of the Nile, i.e., (including Ethiopia itself in the stricter sense of the word) the south land under Ethiopian rule that lay still deeper in the heart of the country, the land of its African auxiliary tribes, whose names (which probably include the later Nubians and Abyssinians) , as given in 2Ch 12:3 ”