Delete The Adjectives

In order
to answer this question, 's words deserve to be read again:

He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didnt see how they got
anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented
toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadnt?

In this context, Jem is enthralled to be in 6th grade. In
particularly he loved the section on the Egyptians. He, therefore, began to even imitate the way
they walked "sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him." 

Whenquestioned him about this, Jem responded by touting the great inventions of the
Egyptians. This is where ' wise words come in. 

Atticus basically tells Scout
to strip down what Jem is saying to it essential meaning. The Egyptians created some important
things that help us even today. In other words, they were inventive. 

Another
way to look at it is by actually taking out the adjectives, as Atticus advises. If we did that,
we would have: paper and embalming. The Egyptians did invent these two.