ТНК

GREAT PYRAMID.

OBSERVATORY, TO At В, AND TEMPLE.

BY

RICHARD A. PROCTOR,
[Link] OF " KNn\YLP-l)GK ;"

АГГНОК OF " >A I T UN A NO ITS SVSTHM," " Г Н F. S C N , " " T M F . MIM.N,'

" O I H H H WORLDS THAN OPRS," ЯТС.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

NEW YORK:

R. W O R T H I N G T O N , 770 BROADWAY.

1883.
Fus. 11.—Tbc Cifat I'vraiiiHi Oli т •
 THE

GREAT PYRAMID
 WORKS BY RICHARD A. PROCTOR.

E A S Y S T A R L E S S O N ' S . With Star Maps for Every Night

in the Vear, Drawings NF the Constellations, &c. Crown 8VO. cloth
extra, 6>.
FAMILIAR SCIENCE STUDIES. Crown Svo. cloth extra,
price 7i. FW.
M Y T H S and M A R V E L S of A S T R O N O M Y . Crown Svo.
CLOTH EXTRA, 6s.

PLEASANT WAYS IN SCIENCE, Crown Svo. cloth

EXTRA, 6*.

ROUGH W A Y S M A D E S M O O T H : a Series of Familiar

E S S A Y S ON SCIENTIFIC S U B J E C T S . C R O W N 8 V A . CLOTH E X T R A , 6s.

OUR FLACK AMONG I N F I N I T I E S : a Scries of Essays

CONTRACTING OUR LITTLE A B O D E IN S P A C E anil T I M E WITH THE INFINITIES
A R O U N D LIS. CROWN 8 V O . CLOTH EXTRA, 6s.

T H E E X P A N S E OK H E A V E N : a Series of Essays on the

W O N D E R S OF THE F I R M A M E N T . C R O W N S V O . CLOTH EXTRA, 6s.

SATURN AND ITS SYSTEM. New and Revised Edition,

WITH 13 STEEL P L A T E S . D E M Y 8 V O . CLOTH EXTRA, 105. 6d.

T H E G R E A T P Y R A M I D : Observatory, Tomb, and Temple.

W I T H ILLUSTRATIONS. Crown 8 V O . CLOTH E X T R A , 6s.

M Y S T E R I E S OK T I M E A N D S P A C E . With Illustrations.
C R O W N 8VO. CLOTH E X T R A , -js. 6d.

K E O W E R S OK T H E S K Y . With 54 Illustrations. Crown

8 V O . CLOTH EXTRA, 4 * . Cd.

WAGES AND WANTS OK SCIENCE WORKERS.

C R O W N 8 V O . is. 6*t
* Mr. Procter* of all writers ofour time, fast conforms to Afaitkeiv
Arnolds concretion of a man ofculture; in that he strives to humanise
kn&wledgc ana divest it of whatever is harsh crude, or technical, and so t

makes it a source of haziness and brightness for a///

WESTMINSTER REVIEW.

C H A T T O & W I N D U S , PICCADILLY, W .
 PREFACE.

T H E m y s t e r y of the Great P y r a m i d resides chiefly

in t h i s : that while certainly meant to be a t o m b ,
it was obviously intended to serve as an observa­
tory, though during the lifetime only of its builder,
and w a s also associated with religious observances.
Minor difficulties arise from the consideration of
the other pyramids. In this treatise I show that
there is one theory, which, instead of conflicting
with other theories of the pyramid, combines all
that is sound in them with what has hitherto been
wanting, a valid and sufficient reason (for men who
thought as the builders of the pyramid certainly
did) for erecting structures such as these, at the
cost of vast labour and enormous e x p e n s e . The
theory here a d v a n c e d and discussed s h o w s — ( i ) w h y
the G r e a t P y r a m i d w a s an astronomical observatory
while C h e o p s lived ; (2) w h y it w a s regarded as use-
vi PREFACE.

less as such after his death ; (3) w h y it was worth

his while to build i t ; (4) w h y separate structures
were required for his brother, son, grandson, and
other m e m b e r s o f his family ; (5) w h y it would
naturally be used for his t o m b ; and (6) w h y it
would be the scene of religious observances. All
that is necessary b y w a y of postulate, is that he
and his d y n a s t y believed fully in astronomy as a
means ( 1 ) of predicting the future, and (2) of ruling
the planets, in the sense of selecting right times
for e v e r y action or enterprise. I f there is one
t h i n g certain about Oriental nations in remote
past ages, it is that this belief w a s universally
prevalent.

The remaining portion of the work shows

how potent were those ancient superstitions about
planetary influences—and their bearing first on
Jewish, and later on Christian festivals and cere­
monial.
R I C H A R D A. PROCTOR.
 CONTENTS.
T H E G R E A T P Y R A M I D .

CIlAl'TKR гл., к

I. HISTORY or THE PYRAMIDS . . . . . I

II. T H E RELIGION o r THE G R E A T PYRAMID . 42

III. T H E [Link] OF THE PYRAMIDS . . 7 8

Appendix A. Great Pyramid Measures, and /fistanecs, etc.,

of Sun, Earth, and Moon . . . 1N4

,, B. Excavations at the Pyramids . . . . 191

„ „ A'ote on the Ahre i(>6

THE ORIGIN OF ТИК WKEK 201

SATURN A N D T H E SAIIItATII 01-' T U K J E W S . 243

ASTRONOMY AND TIIK J E W I S H FESTIVALS . 272

THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY 2S7

ASTROLOGY 312
 CHIEF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.
T H E G R E A T P Y R A M I D [Link] . . Frontispiece

H O R I Z O N T A L S E C T I O N O F TIIF. G R E A T P Y R A M I D

T H R O U G H F L O O R O K K I N G ' S C H A M B E R . . To face p. 138

V E R T I C A L S E C T I O N T H R O U G H T H E G R A N D G A L ­

L E R Y „ 1 4 1

V L R T I C A L S E C T I O N .OK T H E G R E A T P Y R A M I D ,

S H O W I N G T H E A S C E N D I N G A N D D E S C E N D I N G

PASSAGES, G R A N D G A L L E R Y , A N D Q U E E N ' S

C H A M B E R „ 155

WOODCUTS IX TEXT.

T L A N O F T H E P Y R A M I D S O K G I I I Z E H . . . . 7 9

S H O W I N G H O W T H E [Link] O F T H E P Y R A M I D PRO­

B A B L Y O B T A I N E D T H E I R B A S E 9 5

V E R T I C A L S E C T I O N OK T H E G R E A T P Y R A M I D . . . 120

SECTIONS O F G R E A T G A L L E R Y , E T C . . . . 130 and 131

 т и н

GREAT PYRAMID.

CHAPTER I.

HISTORY OK T i l К P Y R A M I D S .

Flow subjects of inquiry have proved more per­

p l e x i n g than the question of the purpose for which
the pyramids of E g y p t were built. E v e n in the
remotest a g e s of which w c have historical record,
nothing seems to have been known certainly on
this point. F o r some reason or other, the builders
of the p y r a m i d s concealed the object of these
structures, and this so successfully that not even a
tradition has reached us which purports to have
been handed down from the epoch of the pyra­
mids' construction. W c find, indeed, some e x p l a ­
nations g i v e n b y the earliest historians ; but t h e y
were professedly only hypothetical, like those ad­
vanced in more recent times. Including ancient
and modern theories, w c find a wide range of
В
2 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

choice. Sonic have thought that these buildings

were associated with the religion of the early
E g y p t i a n s ; others have suggested that they were
t o m b s ; others, that they combined the purposes
of tombs and temples, that they were astronomical
observatories, defences against the sands of the
G r e a t Desert, granaries like those made under
Joseph's direction, places of resort during e x c e s ­
sive overflows of the N i l e ; and m a n y other uses
have been suggested for them. B u t none of these
ideas are found on close examination to be tenable
as representing the sole purpose of the pyramids,
and few of them have strong claims to be regarded
as presenting even a chief object of these remark­
able structures. T h e significant and perplexing
history of the three oldest pyramids—the Great
Pyramid of Cheops, Shofo, or Suphis, the pyramid
of Chephrcn, and the pyramid of Mycerinus ; and
the most remarkable of all the facts known re­
specting the pyramids generally, viz. the circum­
stance that one pyramid after another was built
as though each had become useless soon after it
was finished, arc left entirely unexplained b y all
the theories above mentioned, save one only, the
tomb theory', and that docs not afford b y a n y
means a satisfactory explanation o f the circum­
stances,
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 3

I propose to give here a brief account of some

of the most suggestive facts known respecting the
pyramids, and, after considering the difficulties
which beset the theories heretofore advanced, to
indicate a theory (new. so far as I know) which
seems to me to correspond better with the facts
than a n y heretofore advanced ; I s u g g e s t it, how­
ever, rather for consideration than because I
regard it as v e r y convincingly supported b y the
evidence. In fact, to advance a n y theory at
present with confident assurance of its correctness,
would be simply to indicate a v e r y limited ac­
quaintance with the difficulties surrounding the
subject.
L e t us first consider a few of the more striking
facts recorded b y history or tradition, noting, as
w c proceed, whatever ideas they m a y suggest as
to the intended character o f these structures.
It is hardly necessary to say, perhaps, that the
history of the Great Pyramid is o f paramount
importance in this inquiry. Whatever purpose
pyramids were originally intended to subserve
must h a v e been conceived b y the builders of that
pyramid. N e w ideas m a y have been superadded
b y the builders of later pyramids, but it is unlikely
that the original purpose can have been entirely
abandoned. S o m e great purpose there was, which
B 2
4 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

the rulers of ancient E g y p t proposed to fulfil b y

building very massive pyramidal structures on a
particular plan. It is b y inquiring into the history
of the first and most massive of these structures,
and b y e x a m i n i n g its construction, that we shall
have the best chance of finding out what that
great purpose was.
A c c o r d i n g to Herodotus, the kings who built
the pyramids reigned not more than twenty-eight
centuries a g o ; but there can be little doubt that
Herodotus misunderstood the Egyptian priests
from w h o m he derived his information, and that
the real antiquity of the pyramid-kings was far
greater. H e tells us that, according to the E g y p ­
tian priests, C h e o p s ' on ascending the throne
plunged into all manner of wickedness. He
closed the temples, and forbade the E g y p t i a n s to
offer sacrifice, compelling them instead to labour
one and all in his service, viz. in building the Great
Pyramid.' Still following his interpretation of the
E g y p t i a n account, we learn that one hundred thou­
sand men were e m p l o y e d for t w e n t y years in build­
ing the Great Pyramid, and that ten years were
occupied in constructing a causeway b y which to
convey the stones to the place and in c o n v e y i n g
them there. ' C h e o p s reigned fifty years ; and was
succeeded b y his brother Chcphrcn, w h o imitated
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 5

the conduct of his predecessor, built a p y r a m i d —

but smaller than his brother's—and reigned fifty-
six years. T h u s during one hundred and s i x years
the temples were shut and never opened.' More­
over, I lerodotus tells us that ' the E g y p t i a n s so
detested the m e m o r y of these kings, that they do
not much like even to mention their names. Hence
t h e y c o m m o n l y call the p y r a m i d s after Philition, a
shepherd w h o at that time fed his flocks about the
place.' ' A f t e r Chephrcn, Mycerinus, son of C h e o p s ,
ascended the throne. H e reopened the temples,
and allowed the people to resume the practice o f
sacrifice. H e , too, left a pyramid, but much infe­
rior in size to his father's. It is built, for half o f
its height, of the stone of Ethiopia,' or, as P r o ­
fessor S m y t h (whose extracts from Rawlinson's
translation I have here followed) adds, ' e x p e n s i v e
red granite.' ' A f t e r Mycerinus, A s y c h i s ascended
the throne. H e built the eastern g a t e w a y of the
T e m p l e of V u l c a n ( P h t h a ) ; and being desirous of
eclipsing all his predecessors on the throne, left as
a monument of his reign a pyramid of brick.'
T h i s account is so suggestive, as will presently
be shown, that it m a y be well to inquire whether
it can be relied on. N o w , although there can be
no doubt that Herodotus misunderstood the E g y p ­
tians in some matters, and in particular as to the
6 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

chronological order of the dynasties, placing the

pyramid-kings far too late, y e t in other respects he
seems not only to have understood them correctly,
but also to have received a correct account from
them. T h e order of the kings above named cor­
responds with the sequence given b y Manctho,
and also found in monumental and hieroglyphic
records. Manctho gives the names Suphis I.,
Suphis II., and Menchcrcs, instead of Cheops,
Chcphrcn, and Mycerinus ; while, according to the
modern E g y p t o l o g i s t s , Ilcrodotus's Cheops was
Shofo, Shufu, or Koufou ; Chcphren was Shafre,
while he was also called N o u - S h o f o or Noun-
Shufu as the brother of S h o f o ; and Mycerinus
was Menhcrc or Menkerre. Hut the identity of
these kings is not epjestioned. A s t o the true
dates there is much doubt, and it is probable that
the question will long continue open ; but the
determination o f the e x a c t epochs when the
several pyramids were built is not v e r y important
in connection with our present inquiry. W e may,
on the whole, fairly take the points quoted a b o v e
from Herodotus, and proceed to consider the sig­
nificance of the narrative, with sufficient confidence
that in all essential respects it is trustworthy.

T h e r e arc several v e r y strange features in the

account.
 HISTORY OF THi: PYRAMIDS. 7

In the first place, it is manifest that C h e o p s

(to call the first k i n g b y the name most familiar
to the general reader) attached great importance
to the building of his pyramid. It has been said,
and perhaps justly, that it would be more interest­
ing to k n o w the plan of the architect who devised
the pyramid than the purpose of the king w h o
built it. But the t w o things are closely connected.
T h e architect must have satisfied the k i n g that
some highly important purpose in which the k i n g
himself was interested would be subserved b y the
structure. W h e t h e r the k i n g was persuaded to
undertake the work as a matter of duty, or o n l y
to advance his own interests, m a y not be so clear.
B u t that the k i n g was most thoroughly in earnest
about the work is certain. A monarch in those
times would assuredly not have devoted an enor­
mous amount of labour and material to such a
scheme unless he was thoroughly convinced of its
great importance. T h a t the welfare of his people
was not considered b y C h e o p s in building the
Great Pyramid is almost e q u a l l y certain. He
might, indeed, have had a scheme for their good
which cither he did not care to explain to them or
which t h e y could not understand. But the most
natural inference from the narrative is that his
purpose had no reference whatever to their w c l -
8 THE CREAT PYRAMID.

fare. F o r though one could understand his own

subjects hating him while he was all the time
w o r k i n g for their good, it is obvious that his
m e m o r y would not have been hated if some im­
portant good had eventually been gained from his
scheme. M a n y a far-seeing ruler has been hated
while living on account of the v e r y work for which
his m e m o r y has been revered. B u t the m e m o r y o f
C h e o p s and his successors was held in detestation.
M a y we, however, suppose that, though Cheops
had not the welfare of his own people in his
thoughts, his purpose was nevertheless not selfish,
but intended in some w a y to promote the welfare
of the human race ? I s a y his purpose, because,
whoever originated the scheme, C h e o p s carried it
o u t ; it was b y means of his wealth and through
his power that the pyramid was built. T h i s is the
view adopted by Professor Piazzi Smyth and
others, in our own time, and first suggested b y
John T a y l o r . ' W h e r e a s other writers,'says S m y t h ,
' have generally esteemed that the mysterious per­
sons who directed the building of the Great Pyramid
(and to w h o m the E g y p t i a n s , in their traditions,
and for ages afterwards, g a v e an immoral and
even abominable character) must therefore have
been very bad indeed, so that the world at large
has always been fond of standing on, kicking, and
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 9

insulting that tlcad lion, w h o m they really knew

n o t ; he, Mr. John T a y l o r , seeing how religiously
bad the E g y p t i a n s themselves were, was led to
conclude, on the contrary, that those they hated
(and could never sufficiently abuse) might, per­
haps, have been pre-eminently good ; or were, at
all events, of different religions faith from them­
selves.' ' Combining this with certain unmis­
takable historical facts,' Mr. Taylor deduced
reasons for believing that the directors of the
building designed to record in its proportions, and
in its interior features, certain important religious
and scientific truths, not for the people then living,
but for men w h o were to c o m e 4,000 years or so
after.
I consider at length, further on, the evidence
on which this strange theory rests. B u t there
are certain matters connecting it with the above
narrative which must here be noticed. The
mention of the shepherd 1'hilition, w h o fed his
flocks about the place where the Great P y r a m i d
was built, is a singular feature of Ilcrodotus's
narrative. It reads like some strange misin­
terpretation of the story related to him by the
E g y p t i a n priests. It is obvious that if the word
Philition did not represent a people, but a per­
son, this person must have been v e r y eminent
IO THE GREAT PYRAMID.

and distinguished—a shepherd-king, not a mere

shepherd. Rawlinson, in a note on this portion of
the narrative of Herodotus, suggests that Philitis
was probably a shephcrd-princc from Palestine,
perhaps of Philistine descent, ' but so powerful and
domineering, that it m a y be traditions o f his
oppressions in that earlier a g e which, m i x e d up
afterwards in the minds of later E g y p t i a n s with
the evils inflicted on their country by the subse­
quent shepherds of better known dynasties, lent so
much force to their religious hate of Shepherd times
and that name.' S m y t h , somewhat modifying this
view, and considering certain remarks of M a n c t h o
respecting an alleged invasion o f E g y p t b y shep­
herd-kings, ' men of an ignoble race (from the
E g y p t i a n point of view) who had the confidence to
invade our country, and easily subdued it to their
power without a battle,' c o m e s to the conclusion
that some S h c m i t e prince, ' a contemporary of, but
rather older than, the Patriarch A b r a h a m , ' visited
E g y p t at this time, and obtained such influence
over the mind o f C h e o p s as to persuade him t o
erect the pyramid. A c c o r d i n g to S m y t h , the
prince was no other than Melchizcdek, k i n g of
Salem, and the influence he exerted was super­
natural. W i t h such developments of the theory
we need not trouble ourselves. It seems tolerably
 HISTORY OF ТНК 1'Y RAM I IKS. n

clear that certain shepherd-chiefs w h o c a m e t o

Egypt during Cheops's reign were connected in
some w a y with the designing of the Great Pyramid.
It is clear also that they were men o f a different
religion from the E g y p t i a n s , and persuaded C h e o p s
to abandon the religion o f his people. Taylor,
S m y t h , and the Pyramidalists generally, consider
this sufficient t o prove that the pyramid w a s
erected for some purpose connected with religion.
' T h e pyramid,' in fine, s a y s S m y t h , ' was charged
b y God's inspired shepherd-prince, in the begin­
ning of human time, to keep a certain message
secret and inviolable for 4,000 years, and it has
done so ; and in the n e x t thousand years it was to
enunciate that message to all men, with more than
traditional force, more than all the authenticity of
copied manuscripts or reputed history ; and that
part of the pyramid's usefulness is now beginning.'
T h e r e are m a n y very obvious difficulties sur­
rounding this t h e o r y ; a s , for e x a m p l e , (i.) the
absurd waste o f power in setting supernatural
machinery at work 4,000 y e a r s a g o with cumbrous
devices t o record its object, when the same m a ­
chinery, much more simply employed now, would
effect the alleged purpose far more thoroughly ;
(ii.) the enormous amount o f human misery and
its attendant hatreds brought about b y this alleged
12 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

divine s c h e m e ; and (iii.) the futility of an arrange­

ment b y which the pyramid was only to subserve
its purpose when it had lost that perfection o f
shape on which its entire significance depended,
according to the theory itself. But apart from
these, there is a difficulty, nowhere noticed by
S m y t h or his followers, which is fatal, I conceive,
to this theory of the pyramid's purpose. The
second pyramid, though slightly inferior to the
first in size, and probably far inferior in quality of
masonry, is still a structure of enormous dimen­
sions, which must have required m a n y y e a r s of
labour from tens of thousands of workmen. Now,
it seems impossible to explain w h y Chephrcn built
this second pyramid, if wc adopt S m y t h ' s theory
respecting the first pyramid. F o r either Chephrcn
knew the purpose for which the Great Pyramid
was built, or he did not know it. I f he knew that
purpose, and it was that indicated b y S m y t h , then
he also knew that no second pyramid was wanted.
O n that hypothesis, all the labour bestowed on the
second pyramid was wittingly and wilfully wasted.
This, o f course, is incredible. But, on the other
hand, if Chephrcn did not know w h a t was the
purpose for which the Great Pyramid was built,
what reason could Chephrcn have had for build­
ing a pyramid at all ? T h e only answer to this
 tr/STOh'Y OF THE PYRAMIDS

question teems to be that Chcphrcn built the

second pyramid in hopes of finding out w h y his
brother had built the first, and this answer is
simply absurd. It is clear enough that, whatever
purpose C h e o p s had in building the first pyramid,
Chcphrcn must have had a similar purpose in
building the second ; and w c require a theory
which shall at least explain w h y the first pyramid
did not subserve for Chcphrcn the purpose which
it subserved or was meant to subserve for Cheops.
T h e same reasoning m a y be extended to the third
pyramid, to the fourth, and in fine to all the
pyramids, forty or so in number, included under
the general designation o f the P y r a m i d s o f G h i z c h
or Jcezeh. T h e extension of the principle to
p y r a m i d s later than the second is especially im­
portant as showing that the difference of religion
insisted on b y S m y t h has no direct bearing on the
question of the purpose for which the Great
P y r a m i d itself was constructed. F o r Mycerinus
either never left or else returned to the religion of
the E g y p t i a n s . Y e t he also built a pyramid, which,
though far inferior in size to the pyramids built b y
his father and uncle, was still a massive structure,
and relatively more costly even than theirs, be­
cause built of expensive granite. T h e pyramid
built b y A s y c h i s , though smaller still, was remark-
14 THE CREAT PYRAMID.

able as built of brick ; in fact, \vc are expressly

told that A s y c h i s desired to eclipse all his pre­
decessors in such labours, and accordingly left this
brick pyramid as a monument of his reign.
W e arc forced, in fact, to believe that there
was some special relation between the pyramid
and its builder, seeing that each one of these
kings wanted a pyramid of his own. T h i s applies
to the Great Pyramid quite as much as to the
others, despite the superior excellence of that
structure. O r rather, the argument derives its
chief force from the superiority of the Great
Pyramid. If Chephrcn, no longer perhaps having
the assistance of the shepherd-architects in plan­
ning and superintending the work, was unable to
construct a pyramid so perfect and so stately as
his brother's, the v e r y fact that he nevertheless
built a pyramid shows that the Great Pyramid did
not fulfil for Chephrcn the purpose which it ful­
filled for Cheops. Put, if S m y t h ' s theory were
true, the Great Pyramid would have fulfilled finally
and for all men the purpose for which it was built.
Since this was manifestly not the case, that theory
is, I submit, demonstrably erroneous.

It was probably the consideration of this point,

viz. that each k i n g had a pyramid constructed for
himself, which led to the theory that the pyramids
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. \$

were Intended to serve as tombs. Tin's theory was

once v e r y generally entertained. T h u s w c find
H u m b o l d t , in his remarks on A m e r i c a n pyramids,
referring to the t o m b theory o f the Egyptian
p y r a m i d s as though it were open to no question.
' W h e n w c consider,' he says, ' the pyramidical
monuments of E g y p t , of A s i a , and of the N e w
Continent, from the same point of view, w c sec
that, though their form is alike, their destination
was altogether different. T h e group of pyramids
of Ghizeh and at S a k h a r a in E g y p t ; the triangular
pyramid o f the Q u e e n of the Scythians, Zarina,
which was a stadium high and three in circum­
ference, and which was decorated with a colossal
figure ; the fourteen Etruscan pyramids, which arc
said to have been enclosed in the labyrinth of the
king I'orsenna, at C l u s i u m — w e r e reared to serve
as the sepulchres of the illustrious dead. Nothing
is more natural to men than to commemorate the
spot where rest the ashes o f those whose m e m o r y
they cherish, whether it be, as in the infancy of the
race, b y simple mounds of earth, or, in later periods,
b y the towering height o f the tumulus. Those of
the Chinese and of T h i b e t have o n l y a few metres
of elevation. Farther to the west the dimensions
increase ; the tumulus of the k i n g A l y a t t c s , father
of Crcesus, in L y d i a , was six stadia, and that of
 TUE GREAT PYRAMID.

Ninus was more than ten stadia in diameter. In

the north of Europe the sepulchre of the Scandi­
navian king Gormus, and the queen Daneboda,
covered with mounds of earth, arc three hundred
metres broad, and more than thirty high.'
But while we have abundant reason for believ­
ing that in E g y p t , even in the d a y s of C h e o p s
and Chephrcn, e x t r e m e importance was attached
to the character of the place of burial for distin­
guished persons, there is nothing in what is known
respecting earlier E g y p t i a n ideas to suggest the
probability that a n y monarch would have devoted
many years of his subjects' labour, and vast stores
of material, to erect a mass of masonry like the
Great Pyramid, solely to receive his own body
after death. Ear less have we a n y reason for sup­
posing that m a n y monarchs in succession would
do this, each having a separate tomb built for him.
It might have been conceivable, had only the
Great Pyramid been erected, that the structure had
been raised as a mausoleum for all the kings and
princes o f the dynasty. P u t it seems utterly in­
credible that such a building as the Great P y r a m i d
should have been erected for one king's b o d y only
—and that, not in the w a y described b y H u m b o l d t ,
when he speaks of men c o m m e m o r a t i n g the spot
where rest the remains of those whose m e m o r y
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 17

they cherish, but at the e x p e n s e of the k i n g him-

self whose b o d y was to be there deposited, lie-
sides, the first pyramid, the one whose history
must be regarded as most significant of the true
purpose of these buildings, was not built b y an
E g y p t i a n holding in great favour the special reli­
gious ideas of his people, but b y one w h o had
adopted other views, and those not belonging, so
far as can be seen, to a people a m o n g whom
sepulchral rites were held in exceptional regard.
A still stronger objection against the exclu­
sively tombic theory resides in the fact that this
theory gives no account whatever of the character­
istic features of the p y r a m i d s themselves. These
buildings are all, without exception, built on special
astronomical principles. T h e i r square bases are so
placed as to have t w o sides l y i n g cast and west,
and two l y i n g north and south ; or, in other words,
so that their four faces front the four cardinal
points. O n e can imagine no reason w h y a t o m b
should have such a position. It is not, indeed,
easy to understand w h y a n y building at all, e x c e p t
an astronomical observatory, should have such a
position. A temple perhaps devoted to sun-
worship, and generally to the worship o f the
heavenly bodies, might be built in that w a y . For
it is to be noticed that the peculiar figure and
C
18 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

position of the pyramids would bring about the

following r e l a t i o n s : — W h e n the sun rose and set
south o f the cast and west points, or (speaking
generally) between the autumn and the spring
equinoxes, the rays of the rising and setting sun
illuminated the southern face o f the pyramid ;
whereas during the rest of the year—that is, during
the s i x months between the spring and autumn
e q u i n o x e s — t h e rays of the rising and setting sun
illuminated the northern face. A g a i n , all the y e a r
round the sun's rays passed from the eastern to
the western face at solar noon. A n d lastly, during
seven months and a half of each y e a r — n a m e l y , for
three months and three quarters before and after
midsummer—the noon rays of the sun fell on all
four faces of the pyramid ; or, according to a Peru­
vian expression (so S m y t h avers), the sun shone
on the pyramid ' with all his rays.' S u c h condi­
tions as these m i g h t have been regarded as v e r y
suitable for a temple devoted to sun-worship. Yet
the temple theory is as untenable as the tomb
theory. For, in the first place, the pyramid form—
as the pyramids were originally built, with perfectly
smooth slant faces, not terraced into steps, as now,
through the loss of the casing-stones—was entirely
unsuitcd for all the ordinary requirements of a
temple of worship. A n d further, this theory g i v e s
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 19

no explanation of the fact that each k i n g built a

pyramid, and each k i n g only one. Similar diffi­
culties oppose the theory that the pyramids were in­
tended to serve solely as astronomical observatories.
For, while their original figure, however manifestly
astronomical in its relations, w a s quite unsuitcd
for observatory work, it is manifest that if such
had been the purpose of pyramid-building, so soon
as the Great Pyramid had once been built, no
other would be needed. Certainly none o f the
pyramids built afterwards could have subserved
a n y astronomical purpose which the first did not
subserve, or have subserved nearly so well as the
Great P y r a m i d those purposes which that build­
ing m a y be supposed to h a v e fulfilled as an astro­
nomical observatory.
O f the other theories mentioned at the begin­
ning of this paper none seem to merit special
notice, e x c e p t perhaps the theory that the pyra­
mids were made to receive the royal treasures, and
this theory rather because o f the attention it
received from A r a b i a n literati, during the ninth
and tenth centuries, than because o f a n y strong
reasons which can be suggested in its favour.
' Emulating,' s a y s Professor S m y t h , ' the enchanted
tales of B a g d a d , ' the court poets o f A l M a m o u n
(son o f the far-famed I l a r o u n al Raschid) ' d r e w
e 2
20 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

gorgeous pictures of the contents of the pyramid's

interior. . . . A l l the treasures of S h e d d a d Ben
A d the great Antediluvian k i n g o f the earth, with
all his medicines and all his sciences, they declared
were there, told over and over again. Others,
though, were positive that the founder-king was no
other than Saurid Ibn Salhouk, a far greater one
than the o t h e r ; and these last g a v e m a n y more
minute particulars, some of which are at least
interesting to us in the present day, as proving
that, amongst the E g y p t o - A r a b i a n s o f more than a
thousand years a g o the J c c z c h pyramids, headed
b y the grand one, enjoyed a pre-eminence of fame
vastly before all the other pyramids of E g y p t put
t o g e t h e r ; and that if any other is alluded to after
the G r e a t P y r a m i d (which has a l w a y s been the
notable and favourite one, and chiefly was k n o w n
then as the E a s t pyramid), it is cither the second
one at Jeczeh, under the name o f the W e s t p y r a ­
mid ; or the third one, distinguished as the
Coloured pyramid, in allusion to its red granite,
compared with the white limestone casings o f the
other two (which, moreover, from their more near,
but b y no means exact, equality of size, went fre­
quently under the affectionate designation of " the
pair").'
T h e report o f Ibn A b d A l k o k n i , as to what
 HISTORY Of THE PYRAMIDS.

was to be found in each of these three pyramids,

or rather o f what, according to him, was put into
them originally b y K i n g Saurid, runs as follows :
' In the Western pyramid, thirty treasuries filled
with store of riches and utensils, and with signa­
tures made of precious stones, and with instru­
ments of iron and vessels of earth, and with arms
which rust not, and with glass which might be
bended and y e t not broken, and with strange
spells, and with several kinds of alakakirs (magical
precious stones) single and double, and with d e a d l y
poisons, and with other things besides. H e made
also in the E a s t ' (the Great Pyramid) ' divers
celestial spheres and stars, and w h a t t h e y severally
operate in their aspects, and the perfumes which
arc to be used to them, and the books which treat
of these matters. H e put also into the Coloured
pyramid the commentaries of the priests in chests
of black marble, and with every priest a book, in
which the wonders of his profession and of his
actions and of his nature were written, and what
was done in his time, and what is and what shall
be from the beginning o f time to the end of it.'
T h e rest of this worthy's report relates to certain
treasurers placed within these three pyramids to
guard their contents, and (like all or most of what
I have already quoted) was a work of imagination.
22 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

Ibn A b d A l k o k m , in fact, was a roniancist of the

first water.
Perhaps the strongest argument against the
theory tiiat the pyramids were intended as strong­
holds for the concealment of treasure, resides in the
fact that, search being made, no treasure has been
discovered. When the workmen e m p l o y e d by
Caliph A l Mamoun, after encountering manifold
difficulties, at length broke their w a y into the great
ascending passage lending to the so-called K i n g ' s
C h a m b e r , t h e y found ' a right noble apartment,
thirty-four feet long, seventeen broad, and nine­
teen high, o f polished red granite throughout, walls,
floor, and ceiling, in blocks squared and true, and
put together with such exquisite skill that the
joints arc barely discernible to the closest inspec­
tion. B u t where is the treasure—the silver and
the gold, the jewels, medicines, and arms ? These
fanatics look wildly around them, but can see
nothing, not a single dirhem anywhere. They
trim their torches, and carry them again and again
to every part of that rcd-wallcd, flinty hall, but
without a n y better success. N o u g h t but pure
polished red granite, in m i g h t y slabs, looks upon
them from every side. The room is clean,
garnished too, as it were, and, according to the
ideas of its founders, complete and perfectly ready
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. =3

for its visitors so long expected, so long delayed.

B u t the gross minds w h o o c c u p y it now, find it all
barren, and declare that there is nothing whatever
for them in the whole e x t e n t of the apartment
from one end to another ; nothing e x c e p t an
e m p t y stone chest without a lid.'
It is, however, to be noted that wc have no
means of learning what had happened between the
time when the p y r a m i d was built and when C a l i p h
A l M a m o u n ' s w o r k m e n broke their w a y into the
K i n g ' s Chamber. T h e place may, after all, have
contained treasures of some kind ; nor, indeed, is
it incompatible with other theories of the pyramid
to suppose that it was used as a safe receptacle for
treasures. It is certain, however, that this cannot
have been the special purpose for which the p y r a ­
mids were designed. W e should find in such a
purpose no explanation w h a t e v e r o f a n y of the
most stringent difficulties encountered in dealing
with other theories. T h e r e could be no reason
w h y strangers from the E a s t should be at special
pains to instruct an E g y p t i a n monarch how to
hide and g u a r d his treasures. Nor, if the Great
Pyramid had been intended to receive the treasures
of C h e o p s , would Chcphrcn have built another for
his own treasures, which must have included those
gathered b y Cheops. But, apart from this, how
24 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

inconceivably vast must a treasure-hoard be slip*

posed to be, the safe guarding of which would
have repaid the enormous cost of the Great Pyra­
mid in labour and material ! A n d then, w h y
should a mere treasure-house have the character­
istics of an astronomical observatory? Manifestly,
if the pyramids were used at all to receive trea­
sures, it can only have been as an entirely sub­
ordinate though perhaps convenient means of
utilising these gigantic structures.
H a v i n g thus gone through all the suggested
purposes of the pyramids save t w o or three which
clearly do not possess any claim to serious con­
sideration, and not h a v i n g found one which appears
to give a n y sufficient account of the history and
principal features of these buildings, w e must
cither abandon the inquiry or seek for some e x ­
planation quite different from a n y y e t suggested.
L e t us consider what arc the principal points o f
which the true theory of the pyramids should give
an account.
In the first place, the history of the pyramids
shows that the erection of the first great pyramid
was in .ill probability cither suggested to C h e o p s
b y wise men who visited E g y p t from the East, or
else some important information c o n v e y e d to him
b y such visitors caused him to conceive the idea of
 ///STORY OF T/1F. PYRAMIDS.

building the pyramid. In either case we m a y

suppose, as the history indeed suggests, that these
learned men, whoever they m a y have been, re­
mained in E g y p t to superintend the erection of the
structure. It m a y be that the architectural work
was not under their supervision ; in fact, it seems
altogether unlikely that shepherd-rulers would
have much to teach the E g y p t i a n s in the matter
of architecture. B u t the astronomical peculiarities
which form so significant a feature of the Great
P y r a m i d were probably provided for entirely under
the instructions of the shepherd chiefs who had
exerted so strange an influence upon the mind of
K i n g Cheops.
N e x t , it seems clear that self-interest must have
been the predominant reason in the mind of the
E g y p t i a n king for undertaking this stupendous
work. It is true that his change of religion implies
that some higher cause influenced him. But a
ruler w h o could inflict such grievous burdens on
his people, in carrying out his purpose, that for ages
afterwards his name was held in utter detestation,
cannot have been solely or even chiefly influenced
b y religious motives. It affords an ample explana­
tion o f the behaviour o f Cheops, in closing the
temples and forsaking the religion of his country,
to suppose that the advantages which he hoped to
i(, THE GREAT PYRAMID.

Secure b y building the pyramid, depended in some

w a y on his adopting this course. T h e visitors from
the E a s t m a y have refused to give their assistance
on a n y other terms, or m a y have assured him that
the expected benefit could not be obtained if the
pyramid were erected b y idolaters. It is certain,
in any case, that they were opposed to idolatry ;
and w e have thus some means o f inferring who they
were and whence they came. W e know that one
particular branch of one particular race in the E a s t
was characterised b y a most marked hatred o f
idolatry in all its forms. T c r a h and his family, or,
probably, a sect or division of the [Link] people,
w e n t forth from U r o f the C h a l d e c s , t o g o into the
land of Canaan—and the reason w h y they went forth
wc learn from a book of considerable historical inte­
rest (the book of Judith) to have been because ' t h e y
would not worship the gods of their fathers w h o
were in the land of the Chakkeans. T h e Bible
record shows that members o f this branch of the
Chaldsean people visited E g y p t from time to time.
T h e y were shepherds, too, which accords well with
the account of Herodotus above quoted. W c can
well understand that persons of this family would
have resisted all endeavours to secure their
acquiescence in a n y scheme associated with idola­
trous rites. Neither promises nor threats would
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 27

have had much influence on them. It was a dis­

tinguished member of the family, the patriarch
A b r a h a m , w h o said : ' I have lifted up mine hand
unto the L o r d , the most high G o d , the possessor of
heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread
even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take
anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I
have m a d e A b r a m rich.' V a i n would all the
promises and all the threats o f C h e o p s have been
to men of this spirit. S u c h men might help him
in his plans, suggested, as the history shows, b y
teachings of their own, but it must be on their own
conditions, and those conditions would most cer­
tainly include the utter rejection of idolatrous wor­
ship b y the k i n g in whose behalf they worked, as
well as b y all w h o shared in their labours. It
seems probable that t h e y convinced both C h e o p s
and Chcphrcn, that unless these kings g a v e up
idolatry, the purpose, whatever it was, which the
pyramid was erected to promote, would not be
fulfilled. T h e mere fact that the Great Pyramid
was built cither directly at the suggestion of these
visitors, or because t h e y had persuaded C h e o p s of
the truth of some important doctrine, shows that
they must have gained g r e a t influence over his
mind. R a t h e r w e m a y s a y that he must have been
so convinced o f their k n o w l e d g e and power as to
:8 THE GREAT PVR AM IT).

have accepted with unquestioning confidence all

that they told him respecting the particular sub­
j e c t over which they seemed to possess so perfect
a mastery.
B u t having formed the opinion, on grounds
sufficiently assured, that the strangers who visited
E g y p t and superintended the building of the Great
Pyramid came from the land of the C h a l d e a n s , it
is not very difficult to decide what was the subject
respecting which they had such e x a c t information.
T h e y were doubtless learned in all the wisdom of
their [Link] kinsmen. T h e y were masters, in
fact, of the astronomy of their day, a science for
which the C h a l d e a n s had shown from the earliest
ages the most remarkable aptitude. What the
actual e x t e n t of their astronomical k n o w l e d g e m a y
have been it would be difficult to say. But it is
certain, from the e x a c t knowledge which later
Chaldaeans possessed respecting long astronomical
cycles, that astronomical observations must have
been carried on continuously b y that people for
many hundreds of years. It is h i g h l y probable
that the astronomical knowledge of the Chalda:ans
in or long before the d a y s of T c r a h and A b r a h a m
was much more accurate than that possessed b y the
1
Greeks even after the time of Hipparchus. Wc

1
It has been remarked thai, though Hipparchus had the
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 29

sec indeed, in the accurate astronomical adjustment

of the Great Pyramid, that the architects must h a v e
been skilful astronomers and mathematicians ; and
I m a y note here, in passing, how strongly this cir­
cumstance confirms the opinion that the visitors
were [Link]. A l l wc know from Herodotus
and Manetho, all the evidence from the circum­
stances connected with the religion of the pyramid-
kings, and the astronomical evidence given b y the
pyramids themselves, tends to suggest that m e m ­
bers o f that particular branch of the Chaldaean
family which went out from U r o f the C h a l d c c s
because they would not worship the g o d s of the
Chaldaeans, e x t e n d e d their wanderings to E g y p t ,
and eventually superintended the erection of the
Great P y r a m i d so far as astronomical and mathe­
matical relations were concerned.

B u t not only have w c already decided that the

pyramids were not intended solely or chiefly to
subserve the purpose o f astronomical observatories,

enormous advantage of being able to compare his own observations

with those recorded by the [Link], he estimated the length of
the year less correctly than the [Link]. It has been thought
by some that the Chaldrons were acquainted with the true system of
the universe, but I do not know that there are sufficient grounds
for this supposition. Diodorus Siculus and Apollonius Myndius
mention, however, that they were able to predict the return of
comets, and this implies that their observations had been continued
for many centuiies with great care and exactness.
3° THE GREAT PYRAMID.

but it is certain that Cheops would not have been

personally much interested in any astronomical in-
formation which these visitors might be able to
communicate. Unless he saw clearly that some-
thing was to be gained from the lore of his visitors,
he would not have undertaken to erect a n y astro-
nomical buildings at their suggestion, even if he
had cared enough for their k n o w l e d g e to pay any
attention to them whatever. Most probably the
reply C h e o p s would have made to a n y communi-
cations respecting mere astronomy, would have run
much in the style of the reply made b y the T u r k i s h
Cadi, I m a u m A l i Zadè, to a friend of L a y a r d ' s w h o
had apparently bored him about double stars and
comets : ' O h m y soul ! oh m y lamb ! ' said A l i
Zadè, ' s e e k not after the things which concern thee
not. T h o u earnest unto us, and wc welcomed
thee : g o in peace. O f a truth thou hast spoken
many words ; and there is no harm done, for the
speaker is one and the listener is another. After
the fashion of thy people thou hast wandered from
one place to another until thou art h a p p y and con-
tent in none. Listen, oh m y son ! T h e r e is no
wisdom equal unto the belief in G o d ! H e created
the world, and shall wc liken ourselves unto H i m
in seeking to penetrate into the mysteries of His
creation ? Shall we say, Behold this star spinneth
 HISTORY OF THF PYRAMIDS. 31

round that star, and this other star with a tail g o c t h

and c o m c t h in so m a n y y e a r s ! L e t it g o ! He
from whose hand it came will guide and direct it.
B u t thou wilt say unto me, Stand aside, oh man,
for I am more learned than thou art, and have seen
more things. If thou thinkest that thou art in this
respect better than I am, thou art welcome. I
praise G o d that I seek not. that which I require not.
T h o u art learned in the things I care not f o r ; and
as for that which thou hast seen, I defile it. Will
much knowledge create thee a double belly, or wilt
thou seek paradise with thine eyes?' Such,
omitting the references to the Creator, would
probably have been the reply o f C h e o p s to his
visitors, had t h e y only had astronomical facts to
present him with. Or, in the plenitude of his
k i n g l y power, he might have more decisively
rejected their teaching b y removing their heads.

But the shepherd-astronomers had k n o w l e d g e

more attractive to offer than a mere scries of
astronomical discoveries. T h e i r ancestors had
Watched from the centres of their sleeping Hocks
Those radiant Mercuric-, that seemed to move
Tarrying through .ether in perpetual round
Decrees and resolutions of the g o d s ;

and though the visitors of K i n g Cheops had them­

selves rejected the Sabaistic polytheism of their
32 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

kinsmen, they had not rejected the doctrine that

the stars in their courses affect the fortunes o f
men. W e know that a m o n g the Jews, probably
the direct descendants of the shepherd-chiefs w h o
visited Cheops, and certainly close kinsmen of
theirs, and akin to them also in their monotheism,
the belief in astrology was never regarded as a
superstition. In fact, w e can trace v e r y clearly in
the books relating to this people, that they believed
confidently in the influences of the heavenly bodies.
Doubtless the visitors of K i n g C h e o p s shared the
belief of their Chaldrcan kinsmen that astrology
is a true science, ' f o u n d e d ' indeed (as Bacon e x ­
presses their views) ' not in reason and physical
contemplations, but in the direct experience and
observation of past ages.' Joscphus records the
Jewish tradition (though not as a tradition but as
a fact) that ' o u r first father, A d a m , was instructed
in astrology b y divine inspiration,' and that S e t h
so excelled in the science, that, ' foreseeing the
Flood and the destruction of the world thereby, he
engraved the fundamental principles o f his art
(astrology) in hieroglyphical emblems, for the
benefit of after ages, on t w o pillars of brick and
stone.' H e says, farther on, that the Patriarch
A b r a h a m , ' having learned the art in Chalda;a, when
he journeyed into E g y p t taught the E g y p t i a n s the
 HISTORY Of THE PYRAMIDS. 33

sciences o f arithmetic and astrology.' Indeed,

the stranger called Philitis b y Herodotus may, for
aught that appears, have been A b r a h a m himself;
for it is generally agreed that the word Tliilitis
indicated the race and country of the visitors,
regarded b y the E g y p t i a n s as of Philistine descent
and arriving from Palestine. However, I am in
no w a y concerned to show that the shepherd-astro­
nomers w h o induced Cheops to build the Great
P y r a m i d were even contemporaries of A b r a h a m
and Melchizcdek. W h a t seems sufficiently obvious
is all that I care to maintain—namely, that these
shepherd-astronomers were of C h a l d e a n birth and
training, and therefore astrologers, though, unlike
their C h a l d e a n kinsmen, they rejected Sabaism or
star-worship, and taught the belief in one o n l y
Deity.

N o w , if these visitors were astrologers, w h o

persuaded Cheops, and were honestly convinced
themselves, that they could predict the events o f
a n y man's life b y the Chaldaian method of casting
nativities, w c can readily understand m a n y circum­
stances connected with the pyramids which have
hitherto seemed inexplicable. T h e pyramid built
b y a k i n g would no longer be regarded as having
reference to his death and burial, but to his birth
I)
34 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

and life, though after his death it might receive his

body. E a c h k i n g would require to have his own
nativity-pyramid, built with due symbolical refe­
rence to the special celestial influences affecting
his fortunes. E v e r y portion of the work would
have to be carried out under special conditions,
determined according to the mysterious influences
ascribed to the different planets and their varying
positions—
Now high, now low, then hid,
Progressive, retrograde, or standing still.

I f the work had been intended only to afford

the means of predicting the king's future, the
labour would have been regarded b y the monarch
as well bestowed. But astrology involved much
more than the mere prediction of future events.
Astrologers claimed the power of ruling the
planets—that is, o f course, not of ruling the m o ­
tions of those bodies, but of providing against
evil influences or strengthening good influences
which they supposed the celestial orbs to e x e r t in
particular aspects. T h u s w c can understand that
while the mere basement layers o f the pyramid
would have served for the process o f casting the
royal nativity, with due mystic observances, the
further progress o f building the pyramid would
supply the necessary means and indications for
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 35

ruling the planets most potent in their influence

upon the royal career.
R e m e m b e r i n g the mysterious influence which
astrologers ascribed to special numbers, figures,
positions, and so forth, the care with which the
G r e a t P y r a m i d w a s so proportioned as to indicate
particular astronomical and mathematical relations
is at once explained. T h e four sides of the square
base were carefully placed with reference to the
cardinal points, precisely like the four sides of the
1
ordinary square scheme of nativity. T h e eastern
1
The language of the modern Zadkiels and Raphaels, though
meaningless and absurd in itself, yet, as assuredly derived from the
astrology of the oldest times, may here be quoted. (It certainly was
not invented to give support to the theory I am at present advocat­
ing.) Thus runs the jargon of the tribe : ' In order to illustrate
plainly to the reader what astrologers mean by the " houses of
heaven," it is proper for him to bear in mind the four cardinal
points. The eastern, facing the rising sun, has at its centre the
first grand angle or first house, termed the I loroscope or ascendant.
The northern, opposite the region where the sun is at midnight, or the
(lisp of the lower heaven or nadir, is the Imuni Cccli, and has at its
centre the fourth house. The western, facing the setting sun, has at
its centre the third grand angle or seventh house or descendant. And
lastly, the southern, facing the noonday sun, has at its centre the
astrologer's tenth house, or Mid-heaven, the most powerful angle, or
house of honour.' ' A n d although,' proceeds the modern astrologer,
' we cannot in the ethereal blue discern these lines or terminating
divisions, both reason and experience assure us that they certainly
exist; therefore the astrologer has certain grounds for the choice of
his four angular houses' (out of twelve in all), 'which, resembling
the palpable demonstration they afford, are in the astral science
esteemed the most powerful of the whole.'—Raphael's Manual of
Astrology.
D2
36 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

side faced the A s c e n d a n t , the southern faced the

Mid-heaven, the western faced the Descendant,
and the northern faced the I m u m Cceli. Again,
we can understand that the architects would have
made a circuit of the base correspond in length
with the number of d a y s in the y e a r — a relation
which, according to Prof. 1\ S m y t h , is fulfilled in
this manner, that the four sides contain one hun­
dred times as m a n y p y r a m i d inches as there arc
d a y s in the year. T h e pyramid inch, again, is
itself m y s t i c a l l y connected with astronomical rela­
tions, for its length is equal to the five hundred
millionth part o f the earth's diameter, to a degree
of exactness corresponding well with w h a t w e
might expect Chaldajan astronomers to attain.
Prof. S m y t h , indeed, believes that it w a s e x a c t l y
equal to that proportion of the earth's polar dia­
meter—a view which would correspond with his
theory that the architects of the Great Pyramid
were assisted b y divine inspiration ; but what is
certainly known about the sacred cubit, which con­
tained twenty-five o f these inches, corresponds
better with the diameter which the Chalda;an
astronomers, if t h e y worked very carefully, would
have deduced from observations made in their
own country, on the supposition which they would
naturally have made that the earth is a perfect
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 37

globe, not compressed at the poles. It is not,

indeed, at all certain that the sacred cubit bore a n y
reference to the earth's dimensions ; but this seems
tolerably well made out—that the sacred cubit was
about twenty-five inches in length, and that the
circuit of the p y r a m i d ' s base contained a hundred
inches for every d a y of the year. Relations such
as these arc precisely what wc might e x p e c t to
find in buildings having an astrological signifi­
cance. Similarly, it would correspond well with
the mysticism of astrology that the pyramid
should be so proportioned as to m a k e the height
be the radius of a circle whose circumference would
equal the circuit of the pyramid's base. Again,
that long slant tunnel, leading downwards from
the pyramid's northern face, would at once find
a meaning in this astrological theory. T h e slant
tunnel pointed to the pole-star of Chcops's time
when due north below the true pole of the heavens.
T h i s circumstance had no observational utility. It
could afford no indication of time, because a pole-
star moves very slowly, and the pole-star of
Chcops's d a y must have been in view through that,
tunnel for more than an hour at a time. But,
apart from the mystical significance which an
astrologer would attribute to such a relation, it
m a y be shown that this slant tunnel is precisely
38 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

what the astrologer would require in order to g e t

the horoscope correctly.
A n o t h e r consideration remains to be mentioned
which, while strengthening the astrological theory
of the pyramids, m a y bring us even nearer to the
true aim of those who planned and built these
structures.
It is known that the Chaldaeans from the
earliest times pursued the study of a l c h e m y in
connection with astrology, not hoping to discover
the philosopher's stone b y chemical investigations
alone, but b y carrying out such investigations
under special celestial influence. The hope of
achieving this discovery, b y which he would at
once have had the means of acquiring illimitable
wealth, would of itself account for the fact that
C h e o p s e x p e n d e d so much labour and material in
the erection of the Great Pyramid, seeing that, o f
necessity, success in the search for the philoso­
pher's stone would be a main feature of his
fortunes, and would therefore be astrologically in­
dicated in his nativity-pyramid, or perhaps even
be secured by following mystical observances
proper for ruling his planets.
T h e elixir o f life m a y also have been a m o n g
the objects which the builders of the pyramids
hoped t o discover.
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 39

It m a y be noticed, as a somewhat significant

circumstance, that, in the account given b y Ibn
A b d A l k o k m of the contents of the various p y r a -
mids, those assigned to the Great P y r a m i d relate
entirely to astrology and associated mysteries. It
is, of course, clear that A b d A l k o k m drew largely
on his imagination. Y e t it seems probable that
there was also some basis of tradition for his ideas.
A n d certainly one would suppose that, as he as-
signed a treasurer to the E a s t pyramid (' a statue
of black agate, his e y e s open and shining, sitting
on a throne with a lance'), he would have credited
the building with treasure also, had not some tra-
dition taught otherwise. B u t he says that K i n g
Saurid placed in the East pyramid, not treasures,
but ' d i v e r s celestial spheres and stars, and w h a t
they severally operate in their aspects, and the
perfumes which arc to be used to them, and the
1
books which treat of these matters.'

' Arabian writers give the following account of Egyptian pro-

gress in astrology and the mystical arts : Nacrawasch, the progenitor
of Misraim, was the first Egyptian prince, and the first of the
magicians who excelled in astrology and enchantment. Retiring
into Egypt with his family of eighty persons, he built Essous, the
most ancient city of Egypt, and commenced the first dynasty of
Misraimitish princes, who excelled as cabalista, diviners, and in the
mystic arts generally. The most celebrated of the race were
Nacrasch, who first represented by images the twelve signs of the
zodiac ; Gharnak, who openly described the arts before kept secret ¡
Hersall, who first worshipped idols ; Sehlouk, who worshipped the
4° THE GREAT PYRAMID.

But, after all, it must be admitted that the

strongest evidence in favour of the astrological
theory of the pyramids is to be found in the
circumstance that all other theories seem un­
tenable. T h e pyramids were undoubtedly erected
for some purpose which was regarded b y their
builders as most important. T h i s purpose cer­
tainly related to the personal fortunes of the
k i n g l y builders. It was worth an enormous outlay
of money, labour, and material. T h i s purpose w a s
such, furthermore, that each k i n g required to h a v e
his own pyramid. It was in some w a y associated
with astronomy, for the pyramids are built with
most accurate reference to celestial aspects. It
also had its mathematical and mystical bearings,
seeing that the pyramids exhibit mathematical and
symbolical peculiarities not belonging to their
essentially structural requirements. A n d lastly,
the erection o f the pyramids was in some w a y
connected with the arrival of certain learned per­
sons from Palestine, and presumably of Chaldaean
origin. A l l these circumstances accord well with
the theory I have advanced ; while o n l y some o f

sun ; Saurid (King Saurid of Ibn Abd Alkokm's account), who

erected the first pyramids and invented the magic mirror; and
PharaoS, the last king of the dynasty, whose name was afterwards
-a'ten as a kingly title, as Ca;sar later became a general imperial
title.
 HISTORY OF THE PYRAMIDS. 41

them, and these not the most characteristic, accord

with a n y of the other theories. Moreover, no fact
known respecting the pyramids or their builders is
inconsistent with the astrological theory. O n the
whole, then, if it cannot be regarded as d e m o n ­
strated (in its general bearing, of course, for w c
cannot e x p e c t a n y theory about the p y r a m i d s to
be established in minute details), the astrological
theory m a y fairly be described as h a v i n g a greater
degree o f probability in its favour than any
hitherto advanced.
•2 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

CHAPTER II.

THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID.

D U R I N G the last few y e a r s a new sect has ap­

peared which, though as y e t small in numbers, is
full of zeal and fervour. T h e faith professed b y
this sect m a y be called the religion of the Great
Pyramid, the chief article of their creed being the
doctrine that that remarkable edifice was built for
the purpose of revealing—in the fulness of time,
now nearly accomplished — certain noteworthy
truths to the human race. T h e founder of the
pyramid religion is described b y one o f the present
leaders o f the sect as ' t h e late worthy John T a y l o r ,
of G o w c r Street, L o n d o n ; ' but hitherto the chief
prophets of the new faith have been in this country
Professor S m y t h , A s t r o n o m e r R o y a l for Scotland,
and in France the A b b e M o i g n o . I propose to
e x a m i n e here some of the facts most confidently
urged b y pyramidalists in support of their views.
B u t it will be well first to indicate briefly the
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 43

doctrines o f the new faith. T h e y m a y b e thus

presented:—
T h e Great P y r a m i d w a s erected, it would seem,
under the instructions o f a certain Semitic king,
probably no other than Melchizcdck. B y super­
natural means, t h e architects were instructed t o
0
place the pyramid in latitude 30 north ; to select
for its figure that o f a square pyramid, carefully
oriented ; to e m p l o y for their unit o f length the
sacred cubit corresponding to the 20,000,000th
part o f the earth's polar a x i s ; and to m a k e t h e
side of the square base equal to just so m a n y o f
these sacred cubits a s there are d a y s and parts o f a
d a y in a year. T h e y were further, b y supernatural
help, enabled to square the circle, and symbolised
their v i c t o r y over this problem b y m a k i n g the
pyramid's height bear t o the perimeter of the base
the ratio which the radius o f a circle bears t o the
circumference. Moreover, the great processional
period, in which the earth's a x i s g y r a t e s like that
of some m i g h t y t o p around the perpendicular to
the ecliptic, w a s communicated to the builders with
a degree o f accuracy far e x c e e d i n g that o f the best
modern determinations, and t h e y were instructed
to symbolise that relation in the dimensions o f the
pyramid's base. A value o f the sun's distance
more accurate b y far than m o d e m astronomers have
4+ THE GREAT PYRAMID.

obtained (even since the last transit of Venus) was

imparted to them, and they embodied that dimen­
sion in the height of the pyramid. O t h e r results
which modern science has achieved, but which b y
merely human means the architects o f the p y r a ­
mid could not have obtained, were also supcrnatur-
a l l y communicated to them ; so that the true mean
density of the earth, her true shape, the configura­
tion o f land and water, the mean temperature of
the earth's surface, and so forth, were cither s y m ­
bolised in the Great Pyramid's position, or in the
shape and dimensions o f its exterior and interior.
In the pyramid also were preserved the true,
because supernaturally communicated, standards of
length, area, capacity, weight, density, heat, time,
and money. T h e pyramid also indicated, b y certain
features of its interior structure, that when it was
built the h o l y influences of the Pleiades were
exerted from a most effective position—the meri­
dian through the points where the ecliptic and
equator intersect. A n d as the pyramid thus signi­
ficantly refers to the past, so also it indicates the
future history o f the earth, especially in s h o w i n g
when and where the millennium is to begin.
L a s t l y , the a p e x or crowning stone of the p y r a m i d
w a s no other than the antitype o f that stone of
stumbling and rock of offence, rejected b y builders
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 45

who knew not its true use, until it was finally

placed as the chief stone of the corner. Whence
naturally, ' whosoever shall fall upon i t ' — t h a t is,
upon the pyramid religion—'shall be broken ; but
on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to
powder.'
If w c e x a m i n e the relations actually presented
b y the G r e a t P y r a m i d — i t s geographical position,
dimensions, shape, and internal structure—without
hampering ourselves with the tenets of the new
faith on the one hand, or on the other with any
serious a n x i e t y to disprove them, w c shall find
much to suggest that the builders of the pyramid
were ingenious mathematicians, w h o had made
some progress in astronomy, though not so much
as they had made in the mastery of mechanical
and scientific difficulties.

T h e first point to be noticed is the geographical

position o f the Great Pyramid, so far, at least, as
this position affects the aspect of the heavens,
viewed from the pyramid as from an observatory.
L i t t l e importance, I conceive, can be attached to
purely geographical relations in considering the
pyramid's position. Professor S m y t h notes that the
pyramid is peculiarly placed with respect to the
mouth of the Nile, standing ' a t the southern a p e x
of the Delta-land o f E g y p t . ' T h i s region being
 46 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

shaped like a fan, the pyramid, set at the part cor­

responding to the handle, was, he c o n s i d e r s , ' that
monument pure and undefilcd in its religion through
an idolatrous land, alluded to by Isaiah; the
monument which was both " an altar to the L o r d
in the midst of the land o f E g y p t , and a pillar at
the border thereof," and destined withal to b e c o m e
a witness in the latter days, and before the consum­
mation of all things, to the same L o r d , and to
what H e hath purposed upon mankind.' Still
more fanciful arc some other notes upon the
pyramid's geographical position : as (i.) that there
is more land along the meridian of the pyramid
than on any other all the world round ; (ii.) that
there is more land in the latitude of the pyramid
than in a n y other ; and (iii.) that the pyramid ter­
ritory of L o w e r E g y p t is at the centre of the dry
land habitable b y man all the world over.
It docs not seem to be noticed b y those who
call our attention to these points that such coinci­
dences prove too much. It might be regarded as
not a mere accident that the Great Pyramid stands
at the centre of the arc of shore-line a l o n g which lie
the outlets of the N i l e ; or it might be regarded as
not a mere coincidence that the G r e a t P y r a m i d
stands at the central point of all the habitable land-
surface of the globe ; or again, a n y one of the other
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 47

relations above mentioned might be regarded as

something more than a mere coincidence. But if,
instead o f taking only one or other of these four
relations, w c take all four of them, or even a n y t w o
of them, together, w c must regard peculiarities ot
the earth's configuration as the result of special
design which certainly have not hitherto been so
regarded b y geographers. F o r instance, if it was
b y special design that the pyramid was placed at
the centre o f the N i l e delta, and also b y special
design that the pyramid was placed at the centre
of the land-surface o f the earth, if these t w o rela­
tions arc each so e x a c t l y fulfilled as to render the
idea o f mere accidental coincidence inadmissible,
then it follows, of necessity, that it is through no
merely accidental coincidence that the centre of
the N i l e delta lies at the centre of the land-surface
of the earth ; in other words, the shore-line along
which lie the mouths of the N i l e has been
designedly curved so as to have its centre so
placed. A n d so o f the other relations. T h e very
fact that the four conditions can be fulfilled simul­
taneously is evidence that a coincidence o f the sort
1
m a y result from mere accident. Indeed, the

1
Of course it may be argued that nothing in the world is the
result of mere accident, and some may assert that even matters
which arc commonly regarded as entirely casual have been specially
designed. It would not be easy to draw the precise line dividing
 4 8 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

peculiarity of geographical position which really

seems to have been in the thoughts of the pyramid
architects, introduces y e t a fifth condition which,
b y accident could be fulfilled along with the four
others:
It would seem that the builders of the pyramid
were anxious to place it in latitude 30°, as closely
as their means of observation permitted. L e t us
consider what result t h e y achieved, and the evi­
dence thus afforded respecting their skill and scien­
tific attainments. In our own time, of course, the
astronomer has no difficulty in determining with
great exactness the position of a n y given latitude-
parallel. B u t at the time when the Great P y r a m i d
w a s built it must have been a matter of very serious
difficulty to determine the position of a n y required
latitude-parallel with a great degree of exactitude.
T h e most obvious w a y of dealing with the difficulty
would h a v e been by observing the length o f
shadows thrown b y upright posts at noon in spring
0
and autumn. In latitude 30 north, the sun at
noon in spring (or, to speak precisely, on the d a y of
the vernal equinox) is just twice as far from the
horizon as he is from the point vertically overhead ;

events which all men would regard as to all intents and purposes
accidental from those which some men would regard as results of
s o c i a l providence. But common sense draws a sufficient distinction,
at least for our present purpose.
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 49

and if a pointed post were set e x a c t l y upright at

true noon (supposed to occur at the m o m e n t of the
vernal or autumnal e q u i n o x ) , the shadow of the
post would be e x a c t l y half as long as a line drawn
from the top of the pole to the end of the shadow.
B u t observations based on this principle would have
presented m a n y difficulties to the architects of the
pyramid. T h e sun not being a point of light, but
a globe, the shadow of a pointed rod docs not end
in a well-defined point. T h e moment of true noon,
which is not the same as ordinary or civil noon,
never does agree e x a c t l y with the time of the
vernal or autumnal equinox, and m a y be removed
from it b y a n y interval of time not e x c e e d i n g
twelve hours. A n d there arc m a n y other circum­
stances which would lead astronomers like those
who doubtless presided over the scientific prepara­
tions for building the Great Pyramid, to prefer a
means of determining the latitude depending on
another principle. The stellar heavens would
afford practically unchanging indications for their
purpose. T h e stars b e i n g all carried round the
pole of the heavens, as if they were fixed points in
the interior of a hollow revolving sphere, it be­
comes possible to determine the position of the
pole of the star sphere, even t h o u g h n o bright
conspicuous star actually occupies that point. A n y
5° THE GREAT PYRAMID.

bright star close by the pole is seen to revolve in a

v e r y small circle, whose centre is the pole itself.
Such a star is our present so-called pole-star ; and,
though in the d a y s when the G r e a t P y r a m i d w a s
built, that star w a s not near the pole, another, and
probably a brighter star, l a y near enough to the
1
pole to serve as a pole-star, and to indicate b y its
circling motion the position of the actual pole o f
the heavens. T h i s w a s at that time, and for m a n y
subsequent centuries, the leading star of the great
constellation called the D r a g o n .
T h e pole of the heavens, we know, varies in
position according to the latitude of the observer.
A t the north pole it is e x a c t l y overhead ; at the

1
This star, called Thttban from the Arabian al-Thtibtm, the
Dragon, is now not very bright, being rated at barely above the
fourth magnitude, but it was formerly the brightest star of the con­
stellation, as its name indicates. Bayer also assigned to it the first
letter of the Greek alphabet; though this is not absolutely decisive
evidence that so late as his day it retained its superiority over the
second magnitude stars to which Bayer assigned the second and
third Greek letters. In the year 2790 n . c , or thereabouts, the star
was at its nearest to the true north pole of the heavens, the diameter
of the little circle in which it then moved being considerably less
than one-fourth the apparent diameter of the moon. At that time
the star must have seemed to all ordinary observation an absolutely
fixed centre, round which all the other stars revolved. At the time
when the pyramid was built this star was about sixty times farther
removed from the true pole, revolving in a circle whose apparent
diameter was about seven times as great as the moon's. Yet it
would still be regarded as a very useful pole-star, especially as there
are very few conspicuous stars in its neighbourhood.
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 51

equator the poles of the heavens are both on the

h o r i z o n : and, as the observer travels from the
equator towards the north or south pole o f the
earth, the corresponding pole of the heavens rises
higher and higher above the horizon. In latitude
0
30 north, or one-third of the w a y from the equator
to the pole, the pole of the heavens is raised one-
third of the w a y from the horizon to the point
vertically overhead ; and when this is the case the
0
observer knows that he is in latitude 30 . The
builders of the Great Pyramid, with the almost con­
stantly clear skies of E g y p t , m a y reasonably be
supposed to have adopted this means o f determin­
ing the true position of that thirtieth parallel on
which they appear to have designed to place the
great building they were about to erect.

It so happens that w c have the means o f form­

ing an opinion on the question whether they used
one method or the o t h e r ; whether they e m p l o y e d
the sun or the stars to guide them to the g e o ­
graphical position they required. In fact, were it
not for this circumstance, I should not have
thought it worth while to discuss the qualities o f
cither method. It will presently be seen that the
discussion bears importantly on the opinion w e are
to form of the skill and attainments of the pyra­
mid architects.
52 THE GREAT TV RAM ID.

E v e r y celestial object is raised above its true

position b y the refractive power of our atmosphere,
being most raised when nearest the horizon and least
when nearest the point vertically overhead. This
effect is so marked on bodies close to the horizon
that if the astronomers of the pyramid times had
observed the sun, moon, and stars attentively when
so placed, they could not have failed to discover
the peculiarity. Probably, however, though they
noted the time of rising and setting of the celestial
bodies, they only made instrumental observations
upon them when these bodies were high in the
heavens. If so they remained ignorant of the
1
refractive powers of the air. N o w , if they had
determined the position of the thirtieth parallel of
latitude b y observations of the noonday sun (in
spring or autumn), then since, owing to refraction,
they would have j u d g e d the sun to be higher than
he really was, it follows that they would have
supposed the latitude of any station from which
they observed to be lower than it really was. For
the lower the latitude the higher is the noonday
sun at any given season. Thus, when really in
0
latitude 30 they would have supposed themselves
1
Even that skilful astronomer ilipparchus, who may be justly
called the father of observational astronomy, overlooked this
peculiarity, which rtolcmy would seem to have been the first
to recognise.
THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 53

o
in a latitude lower than 30 , and would have
travelled a little farther north to find the proper
place, as they would have supposed, for erecting
the Great Pyramid. O n the other hand, if t h e y
determined the place from observations of the
movements of stars near the pole of the heavens,
t h e y would m a k e an error of a precisely opposite
nature. For, the higher the latitude the higher is
the pole of the h e a v e n s ; and refraction, therefore,
which apparently raises the pole of the heavens,
gives to a station the appearance of being in a
higher latitude than it really is, so that the observer
would consider he was in latitude 30° north when
in reality somewhat south of that latitude. Wc
have only then to inquire whether the Great P y r a ­
o
mid was set north or south of latitude 30 , to
ascertain whether the pyramid architects observed
the noonday sun or circumpolar stars to determine
their latitude ; a l w a y s assuming (as w c reasonably
m a y ) that those architects did propose to set the
pyramid in that particular latitude, and that they
were able to m a k e v e r y accurate observations o f
the apparent positions of the celestial bodies, but
that they were not acquainted with the refractive
effects of the atmosphere. T h e answer comes in
no doubtful terms. T h e centre o f the G r e a t Pyra­
mid's base lies about one mile and a third south oi
 54 THE CREAT PYRAMID.

the thirtieth parallel of l a t i t u d e ; and from this

position the pole of the heavens, as raised by
refraction, would appear to be v e r y near indeed to
the required position. In fact, if the pyramid had
been set about half a mile still farther south the
pole would have seemed just right.
O f course, such an explanation as I have here
suggested appears altogether heretical to the p y r a -
midalists. A c c o r d i n g to them the pyramid archi­
tects knew perfectly well where the true thirtieth
parallel lay, and knew also all that modern science
has discovered about refraction ; but set the p y r a ­
mid south of the true parallel and north o f the
position where refraction would just have m a d e
the apparent elevation of the pole correct, simply
in order that the pyramid might correspond as
nearly as possible to each of t w o conditions,
whereof both could not be fulfilled at once. The
pyramid would indeed, they say, have been set
even more closely m i d w a y between the true and
0
the apparent parallels of 30 north, but that the
Jcczeh hill on which it is set does not afford a rock
foundation a n y farther north. ' S o v e r y close,'
s a y s Professor S m y t h , ' was the great pyramid
placed to the northern brink o f its hill, that the
e d g e s of the cliff might have broken off under the
terrible pressure had not the builders b a n k e d up
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 55

there, most firmly, the immense mounds of rubbish

which came from their work, and which S t r a b o
looked so particularly for 1,800 years ago, but
could not find. H e r e they were, however, and still
are, utilised in enabling the G r e a t P y r a m i d to stand
on the very utmost verge of its c o m m a n d i n g hill,
within the limits of the tivo required latitudes, as
well as over the centre of the land's physical and
radial formation, and at the same time on the sure
and proverbially wise foundation of rock.'
T h e n e x t circumstance to be noted in the posi­
tion o f the Great P y r a m i d (as of all the pyramids)
is that the sides arc carefully oriented. T h i s , like
the approximation to a particular latitude, must
be regarded as an astronomical rather than a g e o ­
graphical relation. T h e accuracy with which the
orientation has been effected will serve to show
how far the builders had mastered the methods of
astronomical observation b y which orientation was
to be secured. T h e problem was not so simple
as might be supposed b y those w h o are not
acquainted with the w a y in which the cardinal
points arc correctly determined. B y solar obser­
vations, or rather b y the observations of shadows
cast b y vertical shafts before and after noon, the
direction of the meridian, or north and south line,
can theoretically be ascertained. B u t p r o b a b l y in
tfi THE GREAT PYRAMID.

this case, as in determining the latitude, the

builders took the stars for their guide. T h e pole
of the heavens would mark the true north ; and
equally the pole-star, when below or above the
pole, would give the true north, but, of course,
most conveniently when below the pole. N o r is it
difficult to sec how the builders would m a k e use
of the pole-star for this purpose. F r o m the middle
of the northern side of the intended base t h e y
would bore a slant passage tending a l w a y s from
the position of the pole-star at its lower meridional
passage, that star at each successive return to that
position serving to direct their p r o g r e s s ; while its
small range cast and west of the pole, would
enable them most accurately to determine the
star's true mid-point below the p o l e ; that is, the
true north. W h e n t h e y had thus obtained a slant
tunnel pointing truly to the meridian, and had
carried it down to a point nearly below the middle
of the proposed square base, t h e y could, from the
middle o f the base, bore vertically downwards,
until b y rough calculation t h e y were near the
lower end o f the slant tunnel ; or both tunnels
could be made at the same time. T h e n a subter­
ranean chamber would be opened out from the
slant tunnel. T h e vertical boring, which need not
be wider than necessary to allow a plumb-line to
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 57

be suspended d o w n it, would enable the architects

to determine the point vertically below the point
of suspension. T h e slant tunnel would give the
direction of the true north, either from that point
or from a point at some k n o w n small distance cast
1
or west of that point. T h u s , a line from s o m e
ascertained point near the mouth of the vertical
boring to the mouth of the slant tunnel would lie
due north and south, and serve as the required
guide for the orientation o f the pyramid's base.
If this base extended beyond the opening of the
slant tunnel, then, b y continuing this tunnelling
through the base tiers of the pyramid, the means
would be obtained of correcting the orientation.
T h i s , I say, would be the course naturally
suggested to astronomical architects who had
determined the latitude in the manner described
above. It m a y even be described as the only v e r y
accurate method available before the telescope had
been invented. S o that if the a c c u r a c y of the
orientation appears to be greater than could be
obtained by the shadow method, the natural

1
It would only be by a lucky accident, ot course, that the
direction of the slant tunnel's axis and that of the vertical from the
selected central point would lie in the same vertical plane. The
object of the tunnelling would, in fact, 1 « to determine how far
apart the vertical planes through these points lay, and the odds
would be great against the result proving to be zero.
?8 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

inference, even in the absence of corroborative evi­

dence, would be that the stellar method, and no
other, had been employed. N o w , in 1 7 7 9 , Nouct,
b y refined observations, found the error of orienta­
tion measured b y less than 20 minutes of arc,
corresponding roughly to a displacement of the
corners b y about 37^- inches from their true posi­
tion, as supposed to be determined from the
c e n t r e ; or to a displacement of a southern corner
b y 53 inches on an cast and west line from a point
due south of the corresponding northern corner.
T h i s error, for a base length of 9,140 inches, would
not be serious, being only one inch in about five
yards (when estimated in the second w a y ) . Yet
the result is not quite worthy of the praise given
to it b y Professor S m y t h . H e himself, however,
b y much more e x a c t observations, with an e x c e l ­
lent altazimuth, reduced the alleged error from
20 minutes to only 4^, or to 9-40U1S of its formerly
supposed value. T h i s m a d e the total displace­
ment of a southern corner from the true meridian
through the corresponding northern corner, almost
e x a c t l y one foot, or one inch in about twenty-one
y a r d s — a degree of accuracy rendering it practi­
cally certain that some stellar method was used in
orienting the base.

N o w there is a slanting tunnel o c c u p y i n g pre-

 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 59

ciscly the position of the tunnel which should,

according t o this view, have been formed in order
accurately to orient the pyramid's base, assuming
that the time of the building of the pyramid cor­
responded with one of the epochs when the star
0
A l p h a Draconis was distant 3 42' from the pole
of the heavens. In other words, there is a slant
tunnel directed northwards and upwards from a
point d e e p down below the middle o f the pyra­
0
mid's base, and inclined 2 6 if to the horizon, the
elevation of A l p h a Draconis at its lower culmina­
0
tion when 3 4 2 ' from the pole. T h e last epoch
when the star was thus placed was circitcr
2160 l i . C . ; the epoch next before that was 3440 B.C.
Between these t w o w c should have to choose, on
the hypothesis that the slant tunnel was really
directed to that star when the foundations of the
pyramid were laid. F o r the n e x t epoch before the
earlier of the two named was about 28000 l i . C ,
and the pyramid's date cannot have been more
remote than 4000 B.C.
T h e slant tunnel, while a d m i r a b l y fulfilling the
requirements suggested, seems altogether unsuitcd
for a n y other. Its transverse height (that is, its
width in a direction perpendicular to its upper and
lower faces) did not amount to quite four f e e t ; its
breadth was not quite three feet and a half. It
6o THE GREAT PYRAMID.

was, therefore, not well fitted for an entrance pas­

sage to the subterranean chamber immediately
under the apex of the pyramid (with which
chamber it communicates in the manner suggested
b y the above theory). It could not have been
intended to be used for observing meridian transits
of the stars in order to determine sidereal t i m e ;
for close circumpolar stars, b y reason of their slow
motion, are the least suited of all for such a
purpose. A s Professor S m y t h says, in arguing
against this suggested use of the star, ' no observer
in his senses, in a n y e x i s t i n g observatory, when
seeking to obtain the time, would observe the
transit of a circumpolar star for anything else than
to get the direction of the meridian to adjust his
instrument by! ( T h e italics arc his.) It is precisely
such a purpose (the adjustment, however, not of
an instrument, but of the entire structure of the
pyramid itself), that I have suggested for this
remarkable passage — this ' cream-white, stonc-
lincd, long tube,' where it traverses the masonry of
the pyramid, and below that d u g through the solid
rock to a distance o f more than 350 feet.
L e t us n e x t consider the dimensions o f the
o
square base thus carefully placed in latitude 30
north, to the best o f the builders' power, with sides
carefully oriented.
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 61

It seems h i g h l y probable that, whatever special

purpose the pyramid was intended to fulfil, a sub­
ordinate idea of the builders would have been to
represent symbolically, in the proportions of the
building, such mathematical and astronomical rela­
tions as t h e y were acquainted with. F r o m what
w c k n o w b y tradition o f the men of the remote
time when the pyramid was built, and w h a t w c
can infer from the ideas of those w h o inherited,
however remotely, the modes of thought of the
earliest astronomers and mathematicians, w c can
well believe that they would look with supersti­
tious reverence on special figures, proportions,
numbers, and so forth. A p a r t from this, t h e y m a y
have had a quasi-scientific desire to m a k e a lasting
record of their discoveries, and o f the collected
k n o w l e d g e of their time.
It seems altogether possible, then, that the
smaller unit of measurement used b y the builders
of the Great P y r a m i d w a s intended, as Professor
S m y t h thinks, to be equal to the 500,000,000th
part of the earth's diameter, determined from their
gcodctical observations. It was perfectly within
the power o f mechanicians and mathematicians so
experienced as t h e y undoubtedly were—the p y r a ­
mid attests so m u c h — t o measure with considerable
accuracy the length of a degree of latitude. They
 62 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

could not possibly (always setting aside the theory

of divine inspiration) have known anything about
the compression of the earth's globe, and therefore
could not have intended, as Professor S m y t h sup­
poses, to have had the 500,000,000th part of the
earth's polar axis, as distinguished from any other,
for their unit of length. B u t if they made observa­
0
tions in or near latitude 30 north on the sup­
position that the earth is a globe, their probable
error would e x c e e d the difference even between
the earth's polar and equatorial diameters. Both
differences arc largely e x c e e d e d b y the range of
difference a m o n g the estimates of the actual length
of the sacred cubit, supposed to have contained
twenty-five of these smaller units. And again,
the length o f the pyramid base-side, on which
S m y t h bases his own estimate of the sacred cubit,
has been variously estimated, the largest measure
being 9,168 inches, and the lowest 9,100 inches.
T h e fundamental theory of the pyramidalists, that
the sacred cubit w a s e x a c t l y one 20,000,000th part
of the earth's polar diameter, and that the side of
the base contained as m a n y cubits and parts of a
cubit as there are d a y s and parts of a d a y in the
tropical year (or year of seasons), requires that the
length of the side should be 9,140 inches, l y i n g
between the limits indicated, but still so widely
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 63

removed from cither that it would appear v e r y

unsafe to base a theory on the supposition that the
e x a c t length is or was 9,140 inches. I f the mea­
sures 9,168 inches and 9 , 1 1 0 inches were inferior,
and several excellent measures made b y practised
observers ranged around the length 9,140 inches,
the case would be different. B u t the best recent
measures g a v e respectively 9 , 1 1 0 and 9,130 inches;
and S m y t h e x c l a i m s against the unfairness o f S i r
H . J a m e s in taking 9,120 as 'therefore the [pro­
bable] true length of the side of the great pyramid
when perfect,' calling this ' a dishonourable shelving
of the honourable older observers with their larger
results.' T h e only other measures, besides these
two, arc t w o b y Colonel H o w a r d V y s c and b y the
French savants, giving respectively 9,168 and
9 , 1 6 3 4 4 inches. T h e pyramidalists consider 9,140
inches a fair mean value from these four. The
natural inference, however, is, that the pyramid
base is not now in a condition to be satisfactorily
m e a s u r e d ; and assuredly no such reliance can be
placed on the mean value 9,140 inches that, on
the strength of it, w e should believe what otherwise
would be utterly incredible, viz. that the builders
of the Great P y r a m i d knew ' both the size and
shape o f the earth e x a c t l y . ' ' H u m a n l y , or by
h u m a n science, finding it out in that a g e was, of
64 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

course, utterly impossible,' says Professor S m y t h ,

Hut he is so confident of the average value derived
from widely conflicting base measures as to assume-
that this value, not being h u m a n l y discoverable,
was of necessity ' attributable to G o d and to H i s
divine inspiration.' W c m a y agree, in fine, with
S m y t h , that the builders of the pyramid knew the
earth to be a globe ; that t h e y took for their measure
of length the sacred cubit, which, b y their earth
measures, t h e y m a d e v e r y fairly a p p r o x i m a t e to
the 20,000,000th part o f the earth's mean d i a m e t e r ;
but there seems no reason whatever for supposing
(even if the supposition were not antecedently o f
its v e r y nature inadmissible) that they k n e w any­
thing about the compression of the earth, or that
t h e y had measured a degree of latitude in their
1
own place with v e r y wonderful accuracy.

1
It may, perhaps, occur to the reader to inquire what diameter
of the earth, supposed to be a perfect sphere, would be derived from
a degree o'f latitude measured with absolute accuracy near latitude
0
30 . A degree of latitude measured in polar regions would indicate
a diameter greater even than the equatorial ; one measured in
equatorial regions would indicate a diameter less even than the polar.
Near latitude 30° the measurement of a degree of latitude would
indicate a diameter very nearly equal to the true polar diameter of the
earth. In fact, if it could be proved that the builders of the pyramid
used for their unit of length an exact subdivision of the polar
diameter, the inference would be that, while the coincidence itself
was merely accidental, their measurement of a degree of latitude in
their own country had been singularly accurate. 13y an approximate
calculation I find that, taking the earth's compression at 1 j o o , the
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 6j

But here a very singular coincidence m a y be

noticed, or rather is forced upon our notice b y the
pyramidalists, w h o strangely enough recognise in
it fresh evidence o f design, while the unbeliever
finds in it proof that coincidences are no sure
evidence o f design. T h e side o f the pyramid con­
taining 365^ times the sacred cubit o f 25 p y r a m i d
inches, it follows that the diagonal o f the base
contains 12,912 such inches, and the t w o diagonals
together contain 25,824 pyramid inches, or almost
e x a c t l y as m a n y inches as there arc years in the
great precessional period. ' N o one w h a t e v e r
a m o n g s t men,' s a y s Professor S m y t h after record­
ing various estimates o f the precessional period,
' from his own or school knowledge, knew a n y t h i n g
about such a phenomenon, until Ilipparchus, some
1,900 years after the Great Pyramid's foundation,
had a glimpse o f the fact ; and y e t it had been
ruling the heavens for ages, and w a s recorded in
Ghizeh's ancient structure.' T o minds not moved
to most energetic forgctfulncss b y the spirit o f
faith, it would appear that when a square base had

diameter of the earth, estimated from the accurate measurement of

a degree of latitude in the neighbourhood of the Great Pyramid,
would have made the sacred cubit -taken at one 20,000,000th of
the diameter- equal to 24 98 British inches ; a closer approximation
than Professor Smyth's to the estimated mean probable value of the
sacred cubit.
F
6fi THE GREAT PYRAMID.

been decided upon, and its dimensions fixed, with

reference to the earth's diameter and the year, the
diagonals of the square base were determined
also ; and, if it so chanced that t h e y corresponded
with some other perfectly independent relation,
the fact was not to be credited to the architects.
Moreover it is manifest that the closeness of such
a coincidence suggests grave doubts how far other
coincidences can be relied upon as evidence of
design. It seems, for instance, altogether likely
that the architects of the pyramid took the sacred
cubit equal to one 20,ooo,oooth part of the earth's
diameter for their chief unit of length, and in­
tentionally assigned to the side of the pyramid's
square base a length of just so m a n y cubits as
there arc d a y s in the y e a r ; and the closeness o f
the coincidence between the measured length and
that indicated b y this theory strengthens the idea
that this was the builders' purpose. But when w c
find that an even closer coincidence immediately
presents itself, which manifestly is a coincidence
only, the force of the evidence before derived from
mere coincidence is pro tanto shaken. F o r con­
sider what this new coincidence really means. Its
nature m a y be thus indicated : — T a k e the number
of d a y s in the year, multiply that number b y 50,
and increase the result in the same degree that the
THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 67

diagonal of a square e x c e e d s the side—then the

resulting number represents very approximately
the number of years in the great precessional
period. T h e error, according to the best modern
estimates, is about one-575th part of the true
period. T h i s is, of course, a merely accidental
coincidence, for there is no connection whatever in
nature between the earth's period of rotation, the
shape of a square, and the earth's period o f g y r a ­
tion. Y e t this merely accidental coincidence is
very much closer than the other supposed to be
designed could be proved to be. It is clear, then,
that mere coincidence is a very unsafe evidence of
design.
O f course the pyramidalists find a ready reply
to such reasoning. T h e y argue that, in the first
place, it m a y have been b y express design that the
period of the earth's rotation w a s m a d e to bear
this particular relation to the period of gyration in
the m i g h t y precessional m o v e m e n t ; which is much
as though one should say that b y express design
the height of Monte R o s a contains as m a n y feet
as there arc miles in the 6,000th part of the sun's
1
distance. T h e n , they urge, the architects were
1
It is, however, almost impossible to mark any limits to what
may be regarded as evidence of design by a coincidence-hunter. I
quote the following from the late Professor I>e Morgan's Budget of
Paradoxes. Having mentioned that 7 occurs less frequently than
1 2
6S THE GREAT PYRAMID.

not bound to have a square base for the pyramid ;

t h e y might have had an o b l o n g or a triangular
base, and so forth—all which accords v e r y ill with
the enthusiastic language in which the selection
of a square base had on other accounts been
applauded.
N e x t let us consider the height of the pyramid.
A c c o r d i n g to the best m o d e m measurements, it
would seem that the height w h e n the pyra­
mid terminated above in a pointed a p e x , must
have been about 486 feet. A n d from the c o m ­
parison of the best estimates of the base side with
the best estimates o f the height, it seems v e r y
likely indeed that the intention o f the builders w a s
t o m a k e the height bear t o the perimeter of the
base the same ratio which the radius of a circle
bears to the circumference. R e m e m b e r i n g the range

any other digit in the number expressing the ratio of circumference

to diameter of a circle, he proceeds : ' A correspondent of my friend
IMazzi Sni)th notices that 3 is the number of most frequency, and
that 3} is the nearest approximation to it in simple digits. Professor
Smyth, whose work on Egypt is paradox of a very high order,
backed by a great quantity of useful labour, the results of which will
\K made available by those who do not receive the paradoxes, is
inclined to see confirmation for some of his theory in these pheno­
mena.' In passing, I may mention as the most singular of these
accidental digit relations which I have yet noticed, that in the first
110 digits of the square root of 2, the number ^ occurs more than
twice as often as either 5 or 9, which each occur eight times, I and 2
occurring each nine times, and 7 occurring no less than eighteen times,
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 69

of difference in the base measures, it might be sup­

posed that the exactness of the approximation to
this ratio could not be determined very satisfac­
torily. Hut as certain casing stones have been
discovered which indicate with considerable e x a c t ­
ness the slope of the original plane-surfaces o f the
pyramid, the ratio of the height to the side of the
base m a y be regarded as much more satisfactorily
determined than the actual value of either dimen­
sion. O f course the pyramidalists claim a degree
of precision indicating a most accurate k n o w l e d g e
of the ratio between the diameter and the circum­
ference of a circle ; and the angle of the only
casing stone measured being diversely estimated
0
at 51° 50' and 51° 5 2 ] ' , they consider 50 5 1 ' 14-3"
the true value, and infer that the builders regarded
the ratio as 3 1 4 1 5 9 to 1. T h e real fact is, that
the modern estimates of the dimensions of the
casing stones (which, b y the w a y , ought to agree
better if these stones are as well made as stated)
indicate the values 3-1439228 and 3-1396740 for
the r a t i o ; and all w e can s a y is, that the ratio
really used lay probably between these limits,
though it m a y have been outside cither. N o w the
a p p r o x i m a t i o n of either is not r e m a r k a b l y close.
It requires no mathematical k n o w l e d g e at all to
determine the circumference of a circle much mure
 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

exactly. ' I thought it very strange,' wrote a

circlc-squarcr once to D c Morgan (' B u d g e t of
Paradoxes,' p. 3S9), ' t h a t so m a n y great scholars
in all ages should have failed in finding the true
ratio, and have been determined to try myself.'
' I have been informed,'proceeds D c Morgan, ' t h a t
this trial m a k e s the diameter to the circumference
as 64 to 201, g i v i n g the ratio equal to 3 1 4 1 0 6 2 5
exactly. T h e result w a s obtained b y the dis­
coverer in three w e e k s after he first heard of the
existence of the difficulty. T h i s quadrator has
since published a little slip and entered it at
Stationers' H a l l . He says he has done it by
actual m e a s u r e m e n t ; and I hear from a private
source that he uses a disc of twelve inches dia­
meter, which he rolls upon a straight rail.' The
' rolling is a very creditable o n e ; it is as much
below the mark as A r c h i m e d e s was above it. Its
performer is a joiner who evidently k n o w s well
w h a t he is about when he measures ; he is not
wrong b y 1 in 3,000.' S u c h skilful mechanicians
as the builders of the pyramid could have obtained
a closer approximation still b y mere measurement.
Besides, as they were manifestly mathematicians,
such an approximation as was obtained b y A r c h i ­
medes must have been well within their p o w e r ;
and that approximation lies within the limits
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PVR A MID. 71

above indicated. Professor S m y t h remarks that

the ratio was ' a quantity which men in general,
and all human science too, did not begin to trouble
themselves about until long, long ages, languages,
and nations had passed a w a y after the building of
the Great Pyramid ; and after the sealing up, too,
of that grand primeval and prehistoric monument
of the patriarchal a g e of the earth according to
Scripture.' I do not know where the Scripture
records the scaling up of the Great P y r a m i d ; but
it is all but certain that during the very time when
the p y r a m i d was being built astronomical observa­
tions were in progress which, for their interpre­
tation, involved of necessity a continual reference
to the ratio in question. N o one who considers
the wonderful a c c u r a c y with which, nearly two
thousand years before the Christian era, the C h a l -
daians had determined the famous cycle of the
Saros, can doubt that they must have observed the
heavenly bodies for several centuries before they
could have achieved such a success ; and the study
of the motions of the celestial bodies compels
' men to trouble t h e m s e l v e s ' about the famous
ratio of the circumference to the diameter.
W e now c o m e upon a new relation (contained
in the dimensions o f the pyramid as thus deter­
mined) which, b y a strange coincidence, causes the
7t THE GREAT PYRAMID.

height of the pyramid to appear to symbolise the

distance of the sun. T h e r e were $,813 pyramid
inches, or 5,819 British inches, in the height of the
pyramid according to the relations already indi­
cated. N o w , in the sun's distance, according to
an estimate recently adopted and freely used,'
there are 91,400,000 miles, or 5,791 thousand mil­
lions of inches—that is, there arc a p p r o x i m a t e l y as
m a n y thousand millions of inches in the sun's
distance as there arc inches in the height of the
pyramid. If we take the relation as e x a c t wc
should infer for the sun's distance 5,819 thousand
millions of inches, or 91,840,000 miles—an im­
mense improvement on the estimate which for so
m a n y years occupied a place of honour in our
b o o k s of astronomy. Besides, there is strong
reason for believing that, when the results of
recent observations are worked out, the estimated
sun distance will be much nearer this pyramid
value than even to the value 91,400,000 recently
adopted. This result, which one would have
thought so d a m a g i n g to faith in the evidence from
coincidence—nay, quite fatal after the other case in
which a close coincidence had appeared b y merest
1
I have substituted this value in the article 'Astronomy,'of
the British Encychptrdia, for the estimate formerly used, viz.
95,233,055 miles. But there is good reason for believing that
actual distance is nearly 92,000,000 miles.
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 73

accident—is regarded by the pyramidalists as a

perfect triumph for their faith.
-
T h e ) connect it with another coincidence, viz.
that, assuming the height determined in the w a y
already indicated, then it so happens that the
height bears to half a diagonal of the base the ratio
9 to 10. S e e i n g that the perimeter of the base
symbolises the annual motion of the earth round
the sun, while the height represents the radius of a
circle with that perimeter, it follows that the height
should symbolise the sun's distance. ' T h a t line,
further,' says Professor S m y t h (speaking on behalf
of Mr. W . Pctiie, the discoverer of this relation),
' must represent' this radius ' in the proportion of
I to 1,000,000,000' (or tut raised to power tune),
' b e c a u s e a m o n g s t other reasons 10 to 9 is practi­
cally the shape of the G r e a t Pyramid.' For, this
building ' has such an angle at the corners, that for
every ten units its structure advances inwards on
the diagonal o f the base, it practically rises up­
wards, or points to sunshine' (sic) 'by nine. Nine,
too, out of the ten characteristic parts (viz. five-
angles and five sides) being the number of those
parts which the sun shines on in such a shaped
pyramid, in such a latitude near the equator, out o f
a high sky, or, as the Peruvians say, when the sun
sets on the pyramid with all its rays.' T h e coinci-
 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

dcncc itself on which this perverse reasoning rests

is a singular one—singular, that is, as showing how
close an accidental coincidence m a y run. It
amounts to this, that if the number of d a y s in the
y e a r be multiplied b y IOO, and a circle be drawn
with a circumference containing 100 times as m a n y
inches as there arc d a y s in the year, the radius of
the circle will be very nearly one-i,ooo,ooo,oooth
part of the sun's distance. R e m e m b e r i n g that the
pyramid inch is assumed to be one-5oo,ooo,oooth
part of the earth's diameter, w c shall not be far
from the truth in s a y i n g that, as a matter of fact,
the earth b y her orbital motion traverses each d a y
a distance equal to two hundred times her own
diameter. B u t of course this relation is altogether
accidental. It has no real cause in nature.'
S u c h relations show that mere numerical coin-
1
It may be matched by other coincidences as remarkable and as
little the result of the operation of any natural law. Take,for instance,
the following strange relation, introducing the dimensions of the sun
himself, nowhere, so tar as I have yet seen, introduced among pyra­
mid relations, even by pyramidalists : ' If the plane of the ecliptic
were a true surface, and the sun were to commence rolling along
that svirfaee towards the part of the earth's orbit where she is at her
mean distance, while the earth commenced rolling upon the sun
(round one of his great circles), each globe turning round in the same
time—then, by the time the earth had rolled its way once round the
sun, the sun would have almost exactly reached the earth's orbit.
This is only another way of saying that the sun's diameter exceeds
the earth's in almost exactly the same degree that the sun's distance
exceeds the sun's diameter.'
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. ?$

cidcnccs, however close, have little weight as evi­

dence, e x c e p t where they occur in series. Even
then they require to be v e r y cautiously regarded,
seeing that the history of science records m a n y
instances where the apparent law of a series has
been found to be falsified when the theory has
been extended. O f course this reason is not cpioted
in order to throw doubt on the supposition that the
height of the pyramid was intended to symbolise
the sun's distance. T h a t supposition is simply in­
admissible if the hypothesis, according to which the
height was already independently determined in
another way, is admitted. Either hypothesis
m i g h t be admitted were w c not certain that the
sun's distance could not possibly have been k n o w n
to the builders of the pyramid ; or both hypotheses
m a y be rejected ; but to admit both is out of the
question.

Considering the multitude of dimensions of

length, surface, capacity, and position, the great
number of shapes, and the variety of material
e x i s t i n g within the pyramid, and considering,
further, the enormous number of relations (pre­
sented b y modern science) from a m o n g which to
choose, can it be wondered at if fresh coincidences
are being continually recognised ? I f a dimension
will not serve in one w a y , use can be found for it in
/6 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

another ; for instance, if some measure of length

docs not correspond closely with any known dimen­
sion of the earth or of the solar system (an unlikely
supposition), then it can be understood to typify an
interval of time. If, even after trying all possible
changes of that kind, no coincidence shows itself
(which is all but impossible), then all that is needed
to secure a coincidence is that the dimensions should
be manipulated a little.
L e t a single instance suffice to show how the
pyramidalists (with perfect honesty of purpose)
hunt down a coincidence. T h e slant tunnel already
described has a transverse height, once no doubt
uniform, now g i v i n g various measures from 4 7 ' I 4
pyramid inches to 47'32 inches, so that the vertical
height from the known inclination of the tunnel
would be estimated at somewhere between 52(64
inches and 5 2 S 5 . Neither dimension corresponds
very obviously with any measured distance in the
earth or solar system. N o r when we try periods,
areas, & c , does a n y v e r y satisfactory coincidence
present itself. Hut the difficulty is easily turned
into a new proof of design. Putting all the obser­
vations together (says Professor Smyth), ' I
deduced 47*24 pyramid inches to be the transverse
height of the entrance passage ; and computing
from thence with the observed angle of inclination
 THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 77

the vertical height, that came out 5 2 7 6 of the same

inches. B u t the sum o f those t w o heights, or the
height taken up and down, equals 100 inches,
which length, as elsewhere shown, is the general
p y r a m i d linear representation o f a d a y of t w e n t y -
four hours. A n d the mean of the t w o heights, or
the height taken one w a y only, and impartially to
the middle point between them, equals fifty inches ;
which quantity is, therefore, the general pyramid
linear representation of only half a day. In which
case, let us ask what the entrance passage has to do
with half rather than a whole d a y ? '
O n relations such as these—which, if really
intended b y the architect, would imply an utterly
fatuous habit of concealing elaborately what he
desired to s y m b o l i s e — t h e pyramidalists base their
belief that ' a M i g h t y Intelligence did both think
out the plans for it, and compel unwilling and i g n o ­
rant idolaters, in a primal a g e of the world, to work
m i g h t i l y both for the future g l o r y ot the one true
G o d of Revelation, and to establish lasting pro­
phetic testimony touching a further development,
still to take place, of the absolutely Divine Christian
dispensation.'
 78 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

CHAPTER III.

THE PROBLEM OF T H E PYRAMIDS.

So far as conditions of the soil, surrounding

country, and so forth, arc concerned, few positions
could surpass that selected for the Great Pyramid
and its companions. The p y r a m i d s of G h i z c h
(fig. i) are situated on a platform o f rock, about
150 feet above the level of the desert. T h e largest
of them, the p y r a m i d of Cheops, stands on an
elevation free all around, insomuch that less sand
has gathered round it than would otherwise have
been the case. H o w admirably suited these p y r a ­
mids arc for obscrving-stations is shown b y the
w a y in which they arc themselves seen from a
distance. It has been remarked b y every one w h o
has seen the pyramids that the sense of sight is
deceived in the attempt to appreciate their distance
and magnitude. ' T h o u g h removed several leagues
from the spectator, t h e y appear t o be close at
hand ; and it is not until he has travelled s o m e
miles in a direct line towards them, that he
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 79

becomes sensible of their vast bulk and also o f the

pure atmosphere through which t h e y arc viewed.'
In all the E g y p t i a n pyramids, there is evidence
ot an astronomical plan. In the Great Pyramid we
find evidence that such a plan was carried out with

in;. 1. PLAN OK I I I K P Y R A M I D S UK C l i u i i l l .

1. Pyramid of Cheops, or Great Pyramid.

2. Pyramid of Chcphrcn, or second pyramid.
3. Pyramid of Mycerinus, or third pyramid.
4. Pyramid of [Link], or fourth pyramid.

great skill, and with an attention to points of

detail which shows that, for some reason or other,
the edifice was required to be most carefully built
in a special astronomical position. It matters
little at this stage of the inquiry whether w c sup-
 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

pose the pyramid w a s erected for astronomical

observation or not. It was certainly constructed
in accordance with astronomical observations o f
great accuracy, and conducted with great skill.
Moreover, it is obvious that to obtain such ac­
curacy, the building was made to serve, while it
w a s being built, the purpose of an astronomical
observatory. Just as the astronomer in our o w n
time uses the instrument he is setting up to adjust
and m a k e e x a c t the position of the masonry on
which it stands, so the builders of the Great P y r a ­
mid used the passages which they made within it
to determine, with the greatest accuracy attainable
b y them, the proper position of each part o f it, up
to the so-called K i n g ' s Chamber, at least, and pro­
b a b l y higher.

So much is certain. E v e r y feature thus far

discovered in the Great P y r a m i d corresponds with
this theory, and s o m e features can be e x p l a i n e d on
no other.
W i t h regard to their astronomical position, it
seems clear that the builders intended to place
0
the G r e a t P y r a m i d precisely in latitude 30 , or, in
other words, in that latitude where the true pole of
the heavens is one-third of the w a y from the
horizon to the point overhead (the zenith), and
where the noon sun at true spring or autumn
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRA.\fIDS. 81

(when the sun rises almost e x a c t l y in the cast, and

sets almost e x a c t l y in the west) is two-thirds o f
the w a y from the horizon to the point overhead.
In an observatory set e x a c t l y in this position,
some of the calculations or geometrical construc­
tions (as the case m a y be) involved in astronomical
problems are considerably simplified. The first
problem in Euclid, for e x a m p l e , b y which a tri­
angle of three equal sides is made, affords the
means of drawing the proper angle at which the
m i d - d a y sun in spring or autumn is raised above
the horizon, and at which the pole of the heavens
is removed from the point overhead. Relations
depending on this a n g l e arc also more readily
calculated, for the very same reason, in fact, that
the angle itself is more readily drawn. And
though the builders of the G r e a t P y r a m i d must
have been advanced far beyond the stage at which
a n y difficulty in dealing directly with other angles
would be involved, y e t they would perceive the
great advantage o f h a v i n g one a m o n g the angles
entering into their problems thus conveniently
chosen. In our time, when b y the use of logarith­
mic and other tables, all calculations are greatly
simplified, and when also astronomers have learned
to recognise that no possible choice of latitude
would simplify their labours (unless an observatory
G
82 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

could be set up at the North Pole itself, which

would be in other respects inconvenient), matters
of this sort arc no longer worth considering, but
to the mathematicians w h o planned the Great
Pyramid they would have possessed extreme
importance.
T o set the centre o f the pyramid's future base
in latitude 30°, t w o methods could be used—the
shadow method, and the pole-star method. If at
noon, at the season when the sun rose due east
and set due west, an upright A c were found to
throw a shadow c D , so proportioned to A C that
A c D would be one-half of an equal-sided triangle,
then, theoretically, the point where this upright
0
was placed would be in latitude 30 . A s a matter
of fact it would not be, because the air, b y bending
the sun's rays, throws the sun apparently some­
what above his true position. A p a r t from this, at
the time of true spring or autumn, the sun does
not seem to rise due cast, or set due west, for he is
raised a b o v e the horizon b y atmospheric refrac­
tion, before he has really reached it in the morning,
and he remains raised above it after he has really
passed below—understanding the word ' r e a l l y ' t o
relate to his actual geometrical diicction. Thus,
at true spring and autumn, the sun rises to the
north of east and sets slightly to the north o f west.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 83

T h e atmospheric refraction is indeed so marked, as

respects these parts of the sun's apparent course,
that it must have been quickly recognised. Pro­
bably, however, it would be regarded as a pecu­
liarity only affecting the sun when close to the
horizon, and would be (correctly) associated with
his apparent change of shape when so situated.
A s t r o n o m e r s would be prevented in this w a y from
using the sun's horizontal position
at a n y season to guide them with
respect to the cardinal points, but
t h e y would still consider the sun,
when raised high above the hori­
zon, as a suitable astronomical l''U.. 2.

index (so to speak), and would have no idea

that even at a height of s i x t y degrees above the
horizon, or seen as in direction i> A, fig. 2, he is seen
appreciably above his true position.
A d o p t i n g this method—the shadow method - to
fix the latitude of the pyramid's base, they would
conceive the sun was s i x t y degrees above the hori­
zon at noon, at true spring or autumn, when in
reality he was somewhat below that elevation.
Or, in other words, they would conceive they were
0
in latitude 30 north, when in reality they were
farther north (the m i d - d a y sun at any season
sinking lower and lower as w e travel farther and
 84 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

farther north). T h e actual amount b y which, sup­

posing their observations e x a c t , they would thus
set this station north of its proper position, would
depend on the refractive qualities of the air in
Egypt. B u t although there is some slight differ­
ence in this respect between E g y p t and Green­
wich, it is but small ; and w e can determine from
the Greenwich refraction tables, within a very
slight limit of error, the amount b y which the
architects of the Great Pyramid would have set
the centre of the base north of latitude 30°, if they
had trusted solely to the shadow method. The
distance would have been as nearly as possible
1,125 yards, or say three furlongs.
Now, if they followed the other method, o b ­
serving the stars around the pole, in order to
determine the elevation of the true pole of the
heavens, they would be in a similar w a y e x p o s e d
to error arising from the effects of atmospheric
refraction. T h e y would proceed probably some­
what in this w i s e : — U s i n g any kind of direction-
lines, they would take the altitude of their polar
star (1) when passing immediately under the pole,
and (2) when passing immediately above the pole.
T h e mean of the altitudes thus obtained would be
the altitude of the true pole of the heavens. Now,
atmospheric refraction affects the stars in the same
 THE PROBLEM OE THE PYRAMIDS. 85

w a y that it affects the sun, and the nearer a star is

to the horizon, the more it is raised b y atmospheric
refraction. T h e pole-star in both its positions—
that is, when passing below the pole, and when
passing above that point—is raised b y refraction,
rather more when below than when a b o v e ; but
the estimated position of the pole itself, raised b y
about the mean of these two effects, is in fact
raised almost e x a c t l y as much as it would be if it
were itself directly observed (that is, if a star occu­
pied the pole itself, instead of merely circling close
round the pole). W e m a y then simplify matters
by leaving out of consideration at present all
questions of the actual pole-star in the time of
the pyramid builders, and simply considering how
far they would have set the pyramid's base in
error, if they had determined their latitude by
observing a star o c c u p y i n g the position of the true
pole of the heavens.
T h e y would have endeavoured to determine
where the pole appears to be raised e x a c t l y thirty
degrees above the horizon. Hut the effect of re­
fraction being to raise every celestial object above
its true position, they would have supposed the
pole to be raised thirty degrees, when in reality it
was less raised than this. In other words, they
0
would have supposed they were in latitude 30 ,
 86 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

when, in reality, they were in some lower latitude,

for the pole of the heavens rises higher and higher
above the horizon as wc pass to higher and higher
latitudes. T h u s they would set their station some­
what to the south of latitude 30°, instead of to the
north, as when they were supposed to have used
the shadow method. Here again wc can find how
far they would set it south of that latitude. Using
the Greenwich refraction table (which is the same
as Bessel's), w e find that they would have made a
much greater error than when using the other
method, simply because they would be observing a
b o d y at an elevation of about thirty degrees only,
whereas in taking the sun's mid-day altitude in
spring or autumn, they would be observing a body
at twice as great an elevation. T h e error would
be, in fact, in this case, about 1 mile 1,51 1 yards.
It seems not at all unlikely that astronomers,
so skilful and ingenious .is the builders of the
pyramid manifestly were, would have e m p l o y e d
both methods. In that case they would certainly
have obtained w i d e l y discrepant results, rough as
their means and methods must unquestionably
have been, compared with modern instruments and
methods. The exact determination from the
shadow plan would have set them 1,125 yards to
the north of the true latitude ; while the e x a c t
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 87

determination from the pole-star method would

have set them 1 mile 1,512 y a r d s south of the true
latitude. W h e t h e r they would thus h a v e been led
to detect the effect of atmospheric refraction on
celestial bodies high above the horizon m a y be
open to question. But certainly they would have
recognised the action of some cause or other,
rendering one or other method, or both methods,
unsatisfactory. If so, and we can scarcely doubt
that this would actually happen (for certainly they
would recognise the theoretical justice of both
methods, and wc can hardly imagine that h a v i n g
two available methods, they would limit their
operations to one method only), they would
scarcely sec any better w a y of proceeding than to
take a position intermediate between the two
which they had thus obtained. S u c h a position
would lie almost e x a c t l y 1,072 yards south of true
latitude 30° north.

Whether the architects of the pyramid of

C h e o p s really proceeded in this w a y or not, it is
certain that they obtained a result corresponding
so well with this that if wc assume they really did
intend to set the base of the p y r a m i d in lati­
0
tude 30 , we find it difficult to persuade ourselves
that they did not follow some such course as I
have just indicated—the coincidence is so close
88 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

considering the nature of the observations involved.

A c c o r d i n g to Professor Piazzi S m y t h , whose obser­
vational labours in relation to the Great Pyramid arc
worthy of all praise, the centre of the base of this
pyramid lies about I mile 568 y a r d s south of the
thirtieth parallel of latitude. T h i s is 944 yards
north o f the position t h e y would have deduced
from the pole-star method ; 1 mile 1,693 y a r d s
south of the position they would have deduced
from the shadow m e t h o d ; and 1,256 y a r d s south
of the mean position between the t w o last named.
T h e position o f the base seems to prove b e y o n d
all possibility of question that the shadow method
was not the method on which sole or chief reliance
was placed, though this method must have been
k n o w n to the builders of the pyramid. It does
not, however, prove that the star method was the
o n l y method followed. A distance of 044 yards
is so small in a matter of this sort that wc might
fairly enough assume that the position of the base
w a s determined b y the pole-star method. If, how­
ever, w c supposed the builders of the pyramid to
have been e x c e e d i n g l y skilful in applying the
methods available to them, w c might not unreason­
a b l y conclude from the position of the pyramid's
base that they used both the shadow method and
the pole-star method, but that, recognising the
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 86

superiority o f the latter, they g a v e greater weight

to the result obtained b y e m p l o y i n g this method.
Supposing, for instance, t h e y applied the pole-star
method three times as often as the shadow method,
and took the mean of all the results thus obtained,
then the deduced position would lie three times as
far from the northern position obtained b y the
shadow method as from the southern position o b ­
tained b y the pole-star method. In this case their
result, if correctly deduced, would have been only
about 1 5 6 y a r d s north o f the actual present
position of the centre of the base.
It is impossible, however, to place the least
reliance on a n y calculation like that made in the
last few lines. B y a posteriori reasoning such as
this one can prove almost anything about the
pyramids. F o r observe, though presented as
a priori reasoning, it is in reality not so, being
based on the observed fact, that the true position
lies more than three times as far from the northerly
limit as from the southern one. N o w , if in a n y
other w a y , not open to exception, w e knew that
the builders of the pyramid used both the sun
method a n d the star method, with perfect observa­
tional accuracy, but without k n o w l e d g e o f the laws
of atmospheric refraction, wc could infer from the
observed position the precise relative weights they
 THE CHEAT PYRAMID.

attached to the two methods. But it is altogether

unsafe, or, to speak plainly, it is in the logical sense
a perfectly vicious manner o f reasoning, to ascer­
tain first such relative weights on an assumption
of this kind, and, having so found them, to assert
that the relation thus detected is a probable one in
itself, and that since, when assumed, it accounts
precisely for the observed position of the pyramid,
therefore the pyramid was posited in that w a y and
no other. It has been by unsound reasoning of
this kind that nine-tenths of the absurdities have
been established on which Mr. T a y l o r and Professor
S m y t h and their followers have established what
m a y be called the p y r a m i d religion.
A l l w e can fairly assume as probable from the
evidence, in so far as that evidence bears on the
results of a priori considerations, is that the
builders o f the G r e a t Pyramid preferred the pole-
star method to the shadow method, as a means of
determining the true position of latitude 30" north.
T h e y seem to have applied this method with great
skill, considering the means at their disposal, if wc
suppose that they took no account whatever of the
influence of refraction. If they took refraction
into account at all, they considerably underrated
its influence.
V'u\7.7.\ S m y t h ' s idea that they k n e w the precise
 THE PROBLEM OE THE PYRAMIDS. 91

position of the thirtieth parallel of latitude, and

also the precise position o f the parallel, where,
o w i n g to refraction, the pole-star would appear to
be thirty degrees above the horizon, and delibe­
rately set the base of the pyramid between these
limits (not e x a c t l y or nearly e x a c t l y half way, but
somewhere between them), cannot be entertained
for a moment b y a n y one not prepared to regard
the whole history of the construction of the pyra­
mid as supernatural. M y argument, let me note
in passing, is not intended for persons w h o take
this particular view of the pyramid, a view on
which reasoning could not v e r y well be brought t o
bear.
If the star method had been used to determine
0
the position of the parallel of 30 north latitude,
we m a y be certain it would be used also to orient
the building. Probably, indeed, the very structures
(temporary, of course) b y which the final observa­
tions for the latitude had been made, would remain
available also for the orientation. T h e s e structures
would consist of uprights so placed that the line
of sight along their extremities (or along a tube
perhaps borne aloft b y them in a slanting posi­
tion) pointed to the pole-star when immediately
below or immediately above the pole. Altogether
the more convenient direction of the t w o would
92 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

be that towards the pole-star when below the pole.

T h e extremities o f these uprights, or the a x i s o f
the upraised tube, would lie in a north-and-south
line considerably inclined to the horizon, because
the pole itself being thirty degrees a b o v e the
horizon, the pole-star, whatever star this might
be, would be high above the horizon even when
e x a c t l y under the pole. N o star far from the pole
would serve to determine the meridian line of the
pyramid's base, or rather the meridian line corre­
sponding to the position of the underground passage
directed towards the pole-star when immediately
under the pole.
A line at right angles to the meridian line thus
obtained would lie due cast and west, and the true
position of the cast-and-west line would probably
be better indicated in this w a y than b y direct
observation o f the sun or stars. If direct observa­
tion were made at all, it would be made not on
the sun in the horizon near the time of spring
and autumn, for the sun's position is then largely
affected b y refraction. T h e sun might be observed
for this purpose during the summer months, at
moments when calculation showed that he should
be due east or west, or crossing what is technically
termed the prime vertical. Possibly [Link]-called
azimuth trenches on the east side of the Great
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 93

Pyramid m a y have been in some w a y associated

with observations of this sort, as the middle trench
is directed considerably to the north of the cast
point, and not far from the direction in which the
sun would rise when about thirty degrees (a favourite
angle with the pyramid architects) past the vernal
equinox. But I lay no stress on this point. The
meridian line obtained from the underground
passage would have given the builders so ready a
means of determining accurately the cast-and-west
lines for the north-and-south edges of the pyra­
mid's base, that any other observations for this
purpose can hardly have been more than sub­
sidiary. T h e y could in the first place set up a
pointed upright, as A 1; in fig. 3, at the middle of
the northern edge of the base, and another shorter
one, C P , so that at one of the epochs, it would not
matter which, an e y e placed as at K would sec the
points c and E in the same straight line as the pole-
star S. T h e n the line I ) 1! would lie north and
south.

T h i s would o n l y be a first rough approximation,

however. T h e builders would require a much more
satisfactory north-and-south line than I ) 1!. At
this stage of proceedings, what could be more
perfect as a method of obtaining the true bearing
of the pole than to d i g a tubular hole into the solid
94 T/fF. GREAT PYRAMID.

rock, a l o n g which tube the pole-star at its lower

culmination should be visible? Perfect stability
would be thus ensured for this fundamental direc­
tion-line. It would be easy to obtain the direction
with great accuracy, even though at first starting
the borings were not quite correctly made. And
the farther the boring was continued d o w n w a r d s
towards the south, the greater the accuracy of the
direction-line thus obtained. O f course there could
be no question whatever in such underground
boring of the advantage o f taking the lower passage
of the pole-star, not the upper. For a line directly
from the star at its upper passage would slant
d o w n w a r d s at an angle of more than thirty degrees
from the horizon, while a line directly from the
star at its lower passage would slant d o w n w a r d s at
an angle of less than thirty degrees ; and the
smaller this angle the less would be the length and
the less the depth of the boring required for any
given horizontal range.

Resides perfect stability, a boring through the

solid rock would present another most important
advantage over any other method of orienting the
base of the pyramid. In the case of an inclined
direction-line above the level of the horizontal base,
there would be the difficulty of determining the
precise position of points under the raised line ; for
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 9$

manifest difficulties would arise in letting fall

plumb-lines from various points along the optical
a x i s of a raised tubing. B u t nothing could be
simpler than the plan b y which the horizontal line
corresponding to the underground tube would be
determined.
T o obtain this, they would bore a slant passage
in the solid rock, as I) G, which should point

Kit,. 3. SHOWING HOW THE B U I L D E R S OK TMK PYRAMID fRORAiiLV

O B T A I N E D TMEIK UASK.

directly to the pole-star s when due north, starting

their boring b y reference to the rough north-and-
south line 1) );, but guiding it as they went on b y
noticing whether the pole-star, when due north,
remained visible a l o n g the passage. But they
would now have to m a k e a selection between its
passage above the pole and its passage below the
pole, In using the uprights D and B, t h e y could
 r/> THE GREAT PYRAMID.

take cither the upper or the lower p a s s a g e ; but the

underground boring could have but one direction,
and they must choose whichever of the two passages
of the star they preferred. A s already remarked they
would take the lower passage, not only as the more
convenient passage for observation, but because the
length of their boring 0 c; would be less, for a given
horizontal range F l>, if the lower passage of the
star s were taken, than it would be for the upper
passage, when its direction would be as ]> G ' .
W h e n they had bored far enough down to have
a sufficient horizontal range F D (the longer this
range, of course, the truer the north-and-south
direction), they would still have to ascertain the
true position of F, the point vertically above G .
F o r this purpose they would get 1 first as truly as
they could from the line l> U prolonged, and would
bore down from V vertically (guiding the boring, of
course, with a plumb-line) until they reached the
space opened out at G. T h e boring F G might be
of very small diameter. N o t i n g where the p l u m b -
line let down from F to G reached the floor of the
space G , they would ascertain how far F lay to the
cast or to the west of its proper position over the
centre of the floor of this space. Correcting the
position of F accordingly, they would have F D the
true north-and-south line.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, 97

T h i s method could give results o f considerable

a c c u r a c y ; and it is the only method, in fact, which
could d o so. W h e n , therefore, w c find that t h e
base of the pyramid is oriented with singular
accuracy, and secondly that just such a boring as
I ) o exists beneath the base o f the pyramid,
running tlircc hundred and fifty feet through the
solid roek on which the pyramid is built, w e cannot
well refuse to believe that the slant passage w a s
bored for this purpose, which it was so well fitted
to subserve, and which has been so well subserved
in some w a y .
In all the p y r a m i d s o f Ghizeh, indeed, there is
such a tunnelling as w c might e x p e c t on almost
any theory o f the relation of the smaller p y r a m i d s
to the great one. B u t the slant tunnel under the
great pyramid is constructed with far greater skill
and care than have been bestowed on the tunnels
under the other pyramids. Its length underground
amounts t o more than 350 feet, so that, viewed
from the bottom, the mouth, about four feet across
from t o p t o b o t t o m on the square, would give a
s k y range of rather less than one-third o f a degree,
or about one-fourth more than the moon's apparent
diameter. B u t o f course there w a s nothing t o
prevent the observers w h o used this tube from
g r e a t l y narrowing these limits b y using diaphragms,

II
 9 3 THE CREAT PYRAMID.

one covering up all the mouth of the tube, e x c e p t

a small opening near the centre, and another cor­
respondingly o c c u p y i n g the lower part of the tube
from which the observation was made.
It seems satisfactorily made out that the object
of the slant tunnel, which runs 350 feet through the
rock on which the pyramid is built, was to observe
the Pole-star of the period at its lower culmination,
to obtain thence the true direction of the north
point. T h e slow motion of a star very near the
pole would cause any error in time, when this
observation was made, to be of v e r y little impor­
tance, though we can understand that even such
observations as these would remind the builders of
the pyramid of the absolute necessity of good time-
measurements and time-observations in astronomi­
cal research.

If this opinion is adopted, and for m y own part

I cannot sec how it can well be questioned, w c
cannot possibly accept the opinion that the slant
tunnel was bored for another purpose solely, or
even chiefly, unless it can be shown that that other
purpose in the. first place was essential to the plans
of the builders, in the second place could be sub­
served in no other w a y so well, and in the third
place w a s manifestly subserved in this w a y to the
knowledge of those w h o made the slant borings.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 99

F i n d i n g this point clearly made out, we can

fairly use the observed direction of the inclined
passage to determine what was the position of the
Pole-star at the time when the foundations of the
great pyramid were laid, and even what that Pole-
star m a y have been. O n this point there has never
been much doubt, though considerable doubt exists
as to the e x a c t epoch when the star occupied the
position in question. A c c o r d i n g to the observa­
tions made by Professor Smyth, the entrance
0
passage has a slope of about 2 6 27', which would
have corresponded, when refraction is taken into
account, to the elevation of the star observed
through the passage, at an angle of about 20° 29'
above the horizon. T h e true latitude of the p y r a ­
0
mid being 2 9 58' 5 1 " , corresponding to an eleva­
tion of the true pole o f the heavens by about
30 ¥ above the horizon, it follows that if Professor
0

S m y t h obtained the true angle for the entrance

passage, the Pole-star must have been about
0
3 3 1 ^ ' from the pole. S m y t h himself considers
that wc ought to infer the angle for the entrance
passage from that of other internal passages,
presently to be mentioned, which he thinks were
manifestly intended to be at the same angle of in­
clination, though directed southwards instead of
northwards. A s s u m i n g this to be the case, though
11 2
loo THE GREAT PYRAMID.

for m y own part I cannot see w h y wc should do so

(most certainly w c have no a priori reason for so
0
doing), we should have 2 6 1 8 ' as about the required
angle of inclination, whence we should g e t about
3° 4 2 ' for the distance of the Pole-star o f the p y r a ­
mid's time from the true pole of the heavens. The
difference m a y seem of very slight importance, and
I note that Professor S m y t h passes it over as if it
really were u n i m p o r t a n t ; but in reality it corre­
sponds to somewhat large time-differences.
In the y e a r 2 1 7 0 B.C., and again (last before
that) in the y e a r 3350 B.C., and also for several
y e a r s on cither side of those dates, a certain bright
star did look down that boring, or, more precisely,
could be seen b y any one who looked up that bor­
ing, when the star was just below the pole in its cir­
cuit round that point. T h e star was a very impor­
tant one a m o n g the old constellations, though it has
since considerably faded in lustre, being no other
than the star A l p h a of the constellation the D r a g o n ,
which formerly w a s the polar constellation. For
hundreds o f y e a r s before and after the dates 3350
and 2 1 7 0 lt.C.,and during the entire interval between
those dates, no other star would at all have suited
the purposes of the builders of the pyramid ; so that
we m a y be tolerably sure this was the star they
employed. Therefore the boring, when first made,
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, lol

must have been directed towards this star. Wc

conclude, then, with considerable confidence, that it
was somewhere about one o f the t w o dates 3350
l i . C , and 2 1 7 0 li.C., that the erection o f the great
pyramid w a s begun. A n d from the researches o f
E g y p t o l o g i s t s it has become all but certain that the
earlier o f these dates is very near the correct epoch.
B u t though the boring thus serves the purpose o f
dating the pyramid, it seems altogether unlikely
that the builders o f the pyramid intended t o record
the pyramid's a g e in this w a y . T h e y could have
done that, if they had wanted to, at once far more
easily and far more e x a c t l y , b y carving a suitable
record in one o f the inner chambers o f the building.
B u t nothing y e t known about the pyramid suggests
that its builder wanted to tell future a g e s a n y t h i n g
whatever. S o far from this, the pyramid was care­
fully planned to reveal nothing. O n l y when men
had first destroyed the casing, n e x t had found their
w a y into the descending passage, and then had, in
the roughest and least skilful manner conceivable
(even so, too, b y an accident), discovered the great
ascending g a l l e r y , were a n y o f the secrets o f this
m i g h t y t o m b revealed—for a t o m b and nothing
else it has been ever since C h e o p s died. T o assert
that all these events l a y within the view o f the
architect w h o seemed so carefully to endeavour to
102 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

render them impossible, is to ask that men should

set their reasoning faculties on one side when the
pyramid is in question. A n d lastly, wc have not a
particle of evidence to show that the builders of the
pyramid had a n y idea that the date of the building
li'ottld he indicated b y the position of the great slant
passages. T h e y m a y have noticed that the Pole-
star w a s slowly c h a n g i n g its position with respect
to the true pole o f the heavens ; and t h e y m a y
even h a v e recognised the rate and direction in which
the Pole-star w a s thus moving. Put it is utterly
unlikely that they could have detected the fact that
the pole of the heavens circles round the pole of the
ecliptic in the mighty prcccssional period of
1
25,920 y e a r s ; and unless t h e y knew this, t h e y

1
If the architect of the great pyramid knew anything about the
great precessional period, then - unless such knowledge was mi­
raculously communicated —the astronomers of the pyramid's lime
must have had evidence which could only have been obtained during
many hundreds of years of exact observation, following of course
on a long period during which comparatively imperfect astronomi­
cal methods were employed. Their astronomy must therefore have
had its origin long before the date commonly assigned to the Flood.
In passing I may remark that in a paper on the pyramid by Abbe
Moigno, that worthy but somewhat credulous ecclesiastic makes a
remark which seems to show that the stability and perfection of the
rjreat pyramid, and therefore the architectural skill acquired by the
Egyptians in the year 2170 B.C. (a date he accepts), proves in some
unexplained way the comparative youth of the human race. T o
most men it would seem that the more perfect men's work at any
given date, the longer must have been the preceding interval during
which men were acquiring the skdl thus displayed. On the con-
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 103

would not know that the position of the slant

passage would tell future generations aught about
the pyramid's date. O n all these accounts ( 1 )
because the builders probably did not care at all
about our k n o w i n g a n y t h i n g on the subject, (2)
because if they did they would not have adopted so
c l u m s y a method, and (3) because there is no reason
for believing, but e v e r y reason for doubting, that
t h e y knew the passage ivould tell future ages the
date of the pyramid's erection, wc must regard as
utterly improbable, if not utterly untenable, the
proposition that the builders had a n y such purpose
in view in constructing the slant passage.
I am therefore somewhat surprised to find Sir
E. Beckett, w h o docs not accept the wild ideas of
the pyramid religionists, nevertheless dwelling, not
on the manifest value of the slant passages to
builders desiring to orient such an edifice as the
great pyramid, but on the idea that those builders
m a y have wanted to record a date for the benefit of
future ages. A f t e r quoting a remark from Mr.
W a c k c r b a r t h ' s amusing review of S m y t h ' s book, to
the effect that the hypothesis about the slant

trary, Ihe pyramids, says Abbe Moigno, ' g i v e the most solemn
contradiction to those who would of set purpose throw back the
origin of man to an indelinite remoteness.' It would have been
well if he had explained how the pyramids do this.
104 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

passage is liable to the objection that, the mouth

of the passage being walled up, it is not easy to
conceive how a star could be observed through it,
B e c k e t t says, ' Certainly not, after it was closed ;
but what has that to do with the question whether
the builders thought fit to indicate the date to a n y ­
one who might in after ages find the passage, b y
reference to the celestial dial, in which the pole of
the earth travels round the pole of the ecliptic in
25,827 years, like the hand o f a clock round the
dial ? ' But in reality there is no more e x t r a v a g a n t
supposition a m o n g all those ideas of the p y r a m i d ­
alists (which B e c k e t t j u s t l y regards as a m o n g the
wildest illustration of ' t h e province of the imagina­
tion in science ') than the notion that this motion o f
the pole of the earth was known to the builders o f
the pyramid, or that, k n o w i n g it, they adopted so
preposterous a method of indicating the date of
their labours.
L e t us return t o the purposes which seem t o
have been actually present in the minds of the
pyramid builders.
H a v i n g d u l y laid down the north-and-south
line F D , in fig. 5, and being thus ready to cut out
from the nearly level face of the solid rock the
corner sockets of the square base, t h e y would have
to choose what size t h e y would give the base. T h i s
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 10;

would be a question d e p e n d i n g partly on the nature

of the ground at their disposal, partly on the e x p e n s e
to which K i n g C h e o p s was prepared to g o . The
question of e x p e n s e probably did not influence him
much ; but it requires only a brief inspection of the
region at his disposal (in the required latitude, and
on a firm rock basis) to sec that the nature of the
ground set definite limits to the base of the build­
ing he proposed to erect. A s Piazzi S m y t h re­
marks, it is set close to the v e r y v e r g e of the
elevated plateau, even dangerously near its edge.
A s s u m i n g the centre of the base determined b y the
latitude observations outside, the limit of the size
of the base was determined at once. A n d apart
from that, the hill country directly to the south of
the great pyramid would not have permitted any
considerable extension in that direction, while on
the east and west of its present position the plateau
does not extend so far north as in the longitude
actually occupied b y the pyramid.
T h e s e considerations probably had quite as
much t o do with the selection of the dimensions o f
the base as a n y that have been hitherto insisted
upon. Sir E . B e c k e t t says, after showing that the
actual size of the base w a s in other respects a con­
venient one (in its numerical relation to previous
measures), the great pyramid ' m u s t be some size,'
too THE GREAT PYRAMID.

b u t ' w h y C h e o p s wanted his pyramid to be a b o u t '

its actual size he docs not profess to know. Y e t , if
the latitude of the centre of the base were really
determined v e r y carefully, it is clear that the
nearest, and in this case the northern, verge of the
rock plateau would limit the size of the base ; and
w c m a y say that the size selected was the largest
which was available, subject to the conditions
respecting latitude. T r u e , the latitude is not cor­
rectly determined ; but wc m a y fairly assume it
was meant to be, and that the actual centre of the
base was supposed b y the builders to lie e x a c t l y in
latitude 30 degrees north.
However, w c m a y admit that the dimensions
adopted were such as the builders considered c o n ­
venient also. I fear S i r E . Beckett's explanation
on this point, simple and commonplace though it is,
is preferable to Professor S m y t h ' s . If, b y the w a y ,
the latter were right, not o n l y in his views, but in
the importance he attaches to them, it would be no
mere facon dc parlcr to say ' I f e a r ; ' for a rather
unpleasant fate awaits all who ' shorten the c u b i t ' as
Sir E . Beckett docs. ' I will not attempt,' says
Professor S m y t h , ' to s a y what the ancient E g y p ­
tians would have t h o u g h t ' of certain ' whose car­
riages,' it seems, ' t r y to stop the w a y of great
pyramid research/ ' for I am horrified to remember
 THE PROBLEM OF TIlF PYRAMIDS, lo;

the Pharaonic pictures of human souls sent back

from heaven to earth, in the bodies of pigs, for far
lighter offences than shortening the national cubit.'
Sir E . B e c k e t t has sought l o shorten the pyramid
cubit, which with S m y t h is ' t h e sacred, H e b r e w
earth-commensurable, anti-Canitc cubit,' a far
heavier offence p r o b a b l y than merely ' shortening
the national cubit.' But after all, it is unfortunately
too true, that if the shorter cubit which B e c k e t t
holds to have been used b y the pyramid builders
was not so used, the pyramid docs its best to sug­
gest that it w a s ; and if B e c k e t t and those w h o
follow him (as I do in this respect) arc wrong, the
p y r a m i d and not t h e y must be blamed. For, apart
from the trifling detail that the H e b r e w cubit of
25 inches is entirely imaginary, 'neither this cubit,
nor a n y multiple of it, is to be found in a single one
of all M r . S m y t h ' s multitude of measurements,
e x c e p t t w o evidently accidental multiples of it in
the diagonals o f two of the four corner sockets in
the rock ; which arc not even square, and could
never have been seen again after the pyramid was
built, if the superstructure had not been broken up
and stolen, which w a s probably the last thing that
C h e o p s or his architect e x p e c t e d . ' B u t of the
other c u b i t , ' the pyramid and the famous marble
" Coffer," in the king's chamber (which was doubt-
»r>8 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

less also Chcops's coffin until his b o d y w a s " rcsur-

rcctioniscd " b y the thieves who first broke into the
pyramid), do contain clear indications.' T h e cubit
referred to is the working cubit of 2o\ inches, or
about a fiftieth of an inch less. F o r a person o f
average height, it is equal to about the distance
from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, plus
a hand's-brcadth, the former distance being the
natural cubit (for a person o f such height). The
natural cubit is as nearly as possible half-a-yard,
and most probably our y a r d measure is derived
from this shorter cubit. T h e working cubit m a y be
regarded as a long half-yard, the double w o r k i n g
cubit or working E g y p t i a n yard measure, so to
speak, being 4 1 ^ inches long.
T h e length of the base-circuit of the great pyra­
mid m a y be most easily remembered b y noticing
that it contains as m a n y w o r k i n g cubits as our mile
contains yards, viz., 1,760; g i v i n g 440 cubits as the
length o f each of the four sides of the base. If
Lincoln's Inn Fields were enlarged to a square
h a v i n g its sides equal to the greatest sides of the
present Fields, the area of this, the l a r g e s t ' square '
in L o n d o n , would be almost e x a c t l y equal to that
of the pyramid's base—or about 1 3 ! acres. The
front of Chelsea Hospital has almost the same
length as a side of the pyramid's base, so also has
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 109

the frontage of the British Museum, including the

houses on either side to Charlotte Street and M o n ­
tague Street. T h e average breadth of the T h a m e s
between Chelsea and L o n d o n Bridge, or, in other
words, the average span of the metropolitan
bridges, is also not v e r y different from the length
of each side of the great pyramid's base. T h e length
measures about 761 feet, or nearly 254 yards. E a c h
side is in fact a furlong of 220 double cubits or
Egyptian yards.
T h e height of the p y r a m i d is equal to seven-
elevenths of the side of the base, or to 280 cubits,
or about 484 feet. T h i s is about 16 feet higher
than the top of S t r a s b u r g Cathedral, 24 feet higher
than S t . Peter's at R o m e , and is about 130 feet
higher than our S t . Paul's.
T h e s e are all the dimensions o f the pyramid's
exterior I here propose to mention. Sir E . B e c k e t t
gives a number of others, some of considerable
interest, but of course all derivable from the fact
that the p y r a m i d has a square base 440 cubits in
the side, and has a height o f 280 cubits. I may
notice, however, in passing, that 1 quite agree with
him in thinking that the special mathematical rela­
tion which the p y r a m i d builders intended to em­
b o d y in the building w a s this, that the area of each
of the four faces should be equal to a square having
 no THE GREAT PYRAMID.

its sides equal to the height of the pyramid.

Herodotus tells us that this was the condition
which the builders adopted ; and this condition is
fulfilled at least as closely as a n y of the other more
or less fanciful relations which have been r e c o g ­
nised b y T a y l o r and his followers.
H a v i n g their base properly oriented, and b e i n g
about to erect the building itself, the architects
would certainly not have closed the mouth of the
slant tunnel pointing northwards, but would have
carried the passage onwards through the basement
layers of the edifice, until these had reached the
height corresponding to the place where the pro-
longation of the passage would meet the slanting
north face of the building. I incline to think that
at this place they would not be content to allow
the north face to remain in steps, but would fit in
casing stones (not necessarily those which would
eventually form the slant surface of the pyramid,
but more probably slanted so as to be perpendi­
cular to the a x i s of the ascending passage). They
would probably cut a square aperture through such
slant stones corresponding to the size of the pas­
sage elsewhere, so as to m a k e the four surfaces o f
the passage perfectly plane from its greatest depth
below the base of the pyramid to its aperture,
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, HI

close to the surface to be formed eventually b y the

casing stones of the pyramid itself.
N o w , in this part of his work, the astronomical
architect could scarcely fail to take into account
the circumstance that the inclined passage, how­
ever convenient as bearing upon a bright star near
the pole when that star was d u e north, was, never­
theless, not coincident in direction with the true
polar a x i s o f the celestial sphere. I cannot but
think he would in some w a y mark the position o f
their true polar axis. A n d the natural w a y o f
marking it would be to indicate where the passage
of his l'ole-star above the pole ceased to be visible
through the slant tube. In other words he would
mark where a line from the middle of the lowest
face o f the inclined passage to the middle o f the
upper edge of the mouth was inclined b y twice
0
the angle 3 4 2 ' to the a x i s o f the passage. To
an e y e placed on the optical a x i s o f the passage,
at this distance from the mouth the middle o f the
upper edge o f the mouth would (quam proximi)
show the place o f the true pole o f the heavens.
It certainly is a singular coincidence that at the
part o f the tube where this condition would be
fulfilled, there is a peculiarity in the construction
of the entrance passage, which has been indeed
112 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

otherwise explained, but I shall leave the reader to

determine whether the other explanation is alto­
gether a likely one. T h e feature is described b y
S m y t h as ' a most singular portion of the passage
— v i z . a place where t w o adjacent wall-joints, simi­
lar, too, on cither side o f the passage, were vertical
or nearly s o ; while every other wall-joint, both
above and below, was rectangular t o the length o f
the passage, and, therefore, largely inclined to the
vertical.' N o w I take the mean of S m y t h ' s deter­
minations o f the transverse height o f the entrance
passage as 47*23 inches (the e x t r e m e values are
47-14 and 47*32), and I find that, from a point on
the floor of the entrance passage, this transverse
height would subtend an angle o f 7° 2 4 ' (the range
of A l p h a Draconis in altitude when on the meri­
dian) at a distance 36365 inches from the trans­
verse mouth of the passage. T a k i n g this distance
from S m y t h ' s scale in Plate xvii. o f his work on
the pyramid (' O u r Inheritance in the Great P y r a ­
m i d ' ) , I find that, if measured along the base o f
the entrance passage from the lowest edge o f the
vertical stone, it falls e x a c t l y upon the spot where
he has marked in the probable outline o f the un­
cased pyramid, while, if measured from the upper
e d g e o f the same stone, it falls just about as far
within the outline of the cased pyramid as w e
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 113

should e x p e c t the outer e d g e of a sloped end

stone to the tunnel to have lain.
It m a y be said that from the floor of the
entrance passage no star could have been seen,
because no e y e could be placed there. But the
builders of the pyramid cannot reasonably be sup­
posed to have been ignorant of the simple pro­
perties of plane mirrors, and b y simply p l a c i n g a
thin piece of polished metal upon the floor at this
spot, and noting where they could sec the star and
the upper e d g e of the tunnel's mouth in contact
b y reflection in this mirror, they could determine
precisely where the star could be seen touching
that edge, b y an e y e placed (were that possible)
precisely in the plane of the floor.
I have said there is another explanation of
this peculiarity in the entrance passage, but I
should rather have said there is another e x p l a n a ­
tion of a line marked on the stone next below the
vertical one. I should imagine this line, which is
nothing more than a mark such ' as might be ruled
with a blunt steel instrument, but b y a master
hand for power, evenness, straightness, and still
more for rcctangularity to the passage axis,' was a
mere sign to show where the upright stone was to
come. B u t Professor S m y t h , w h o gives no e x p l a ­
nation of the upright stone itself, e x c e p t that it
l
M4 THE GREAT PYRAMIP.

seems, from its upright position, to have had ' some­

thing representative of setting up, or preparation
for the erecting of a building,' believes that the
mark is as many inches from the mouth of the
tunnel as there were years between the dispersal of
man and the building of the pyramid ; that thence
downwards to the place where an ascending pas­
sage begins, marks in like manner the number
of years which were to follow before the e x o d u s ;
thence along the ascending passage to the begin­
ning of the great gallery the number of years from
the e x o d u s to the c o m i n g of C h r i s t ; and thence
a l o n g the floor of the grand gallery to its end, the
interval between the first c o m i n g o f Christ and
the second coming, or the end of the world, which it
appears was to have taken place in the y e a r 1 8 8 1 .
It is true not one of these intervals accords with the
dates given b y those w h o arc considered the best
authorities in Biblical matters,--but so much the
worse for the dates.

T o return to the pyramid.

But what special purpose had the architect in
view, as he planned the addition of layer after layer
of the pyramidal structure ? S o far as the mere
orienting of the faces of the pyramid was concerned,
he had achieved his purpose so soon as he had
obtained, b y means of the inclined passage, the
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 115

true direction of the north and soutli lines. But

assuming that his purpose was to provide in some
w a y for astronomical observation, a square base
with sides facing the cardinal points would not be
of much use. It would clearly give horizontal
direction-lines, north and south, east and west,
north-cast and south-west, and north-west and
south-east. For if observers
were set at the four corners, A,
li, C, I ) , as in fig. 4, with suitable
uprights, where dots arc shown
at these corners, a line of sight
from ]>'s upright to A's would
be directed towards the south,
from the same upright to li's would be directed
towards the south-west, and from the same to c's
would be directed towards the west. L i n e s of sight
from the other three uprights to each of the re­
maining ones would give the other directions named,
or eight directions in all round the horizon.
T h e o n l y possible w a y in which the pyramid
could have been oriented so accurately as it has
been, was b y stellar observations. O f all observa­
tions for that purpose, those made on the pole-star
of the time would have been the most effective. If
there is a star which the astronomer observes less
than another when using his observatory for that
1 2
n6 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

chief of all purposes to which a great public obser­

vatory, at any rate, can be applied, it is the pole-
star, simply because that star m o v e s so s l o w l y
round its small circle. But for determining the
direction of the true north point (and also for deter­
mining latitude) the pole-star is invaluable. No
astronomer who thinks over the problem at all, can
fail to sec that the builder of the Great Pyramid
would have been driven b y the requirements of his
case to m a k e just such a slant descending passage
as that which opens out (now that the casing-
stones have been removed) on the northern side of
the pyramid, not far above its base. It is equally
certain that such a descending passage would have
been directed to the position of the pole-star when
it w a s due north and at its lowest. T h e position
of the pole-star when e x a c t l y above the pole would
have been just as well suited for determining the
direction of the true north, but the slant passage
would have had to run deeper down into the solid
rock to give the same degree of accuracy, and the
e x t r a labour would have been wasted.
W h e n , after marking the position of the base,
the question of obtaining the true level c a m e to be
considered, only one method effective enough to
give the required accuracy would have been avail­
able—viz, the use of water, flooding the squared
 THE PROBLEM OE THE PYRAMIDS. 117

space cut out in the solid rock. A difficult and

costly task, doubtless, in itself, but a mere nothing
considered with reference to the labour and cost to
which the builders were prepared to g o . F o r this
purpose, the descending passage would have to be
temporarily plugged ; and as soon as the water-
level had been marked at several stations on each
side of the base, the plug could be removed, and the
water run off into the pit which had been e x c a ­
vated underneath. A depth of a few inches o f
water all over the base would have sufficed for this
purpose, but more probably a mere channel all
round the base was prepared.
A f t e r thus orienting the base b y aid of the
pole-star, and levelling it b y using a property of
liquids which was, of course, well k n o w n to them,
the architects would place l a y e r after layer, carry­
ing towards the north the passage for observing the
pole-star, so that as each l a y e r was placed, the
work of orienting, and possibly of levelling, might
be repeated, and an ever-increasing exactitude
secured.
B u t they would k n o w that ere long the direct
pole-star observations would fail them ; for the
passage would presently reach the northern face of
the pyramid. B y again using a well-known pro­
perty of liquids, however, combined with a well-
n8 THE GREAT PYRAMID,

known property of light rays, they would continue

the process o f orienting t o a much greater height.
( W h e n I s a y well-known, I mean well-known to
them : they were manifestly skilful engineers and
architects, and as surely as they were well ac­
quainted with the properties of matter, so surely
must they have been acquainted with the mathe­
matical relations on which the simpler optical
laws depend. Possibly they k n e w laws more
r e c o n d i t e ; but the simpler laws t h e y certainly
knew.) N o w , the plan which would q u i c k l y s u g ­
gest itself to any one k n o w i n g these laws, would be
t o m a k e use of the reflected rays from a star when
the direct rays could no longer be e m p l o y e d . We
know that when a ray from a luminous object is
reflected at a plane surface, the reflected ray and
the incident ray m a k e equal angles with a line per­
pendicular to the surface at the point o f incidence,
and arc also both in the same plane with that per­
pendicular. N o w , w h a t the pyramid architects
wanted was to h a v e a constant means of determin­
ing the direction of north and south—in other
words, a constant k n o w l e d g e of the position of
what modern astronomers call the plane of the
meridian. T h e y had this so long as t h e y could
observe the pole-star when due north, through a
passage opening out within the square layer they
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 119

were adding to the pyramid. W h e n , as their work

continued, this passage opened out in the part of
the sloping side already completed, they could still
determine the meridian plane if they carried up a
passage through the masonry in such a direction as
to contain the rays from the pole-star after reflec­
tion at a horizontal surface, such as that of still
water. F o r a perpendicular to the surface of still
water is directed to the zenith, and the direct and
reflected rays from the star (due north) lie, there­
fore, in the meridian plane which passes through
the north and south points and through the zenith.
N o w this is precisely what the p y r a m i d builders
seem to have done, as is shown in fig. 5, the dimen­
sions of which arc taken from S m y t h ' s book, ' O u r
Inheritance in the Great Pyramid.' A K is the l o n g
slant passage, which for convenience wc m a y call
the descending passage, l! c is an ascending pas­
sage of e x a c t l y the same character, which, therefore,
we might have presumed was intended for a simi­
lar purpose, even if the consideration of the natural
course which intelligent builders would have pur­
sued had not led us to e x p e c t to find precisely such
an ascending passage here. B u t it m a y be asked
how the reflected rays from the star were obtained ?
N o t h i n g could have been simpler. T h e very same
process which had been applied in levelling would
120 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

be all that would be needed here. If the descend­

i n g passage were for a time (a day, or even an hour

LEVEL
j
SEA

Fk;. 5.

would suffice) plugged at B, and water poured in so

as to partially fill the angle thus formed at It, the
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. \l\

surface of that water would reflect the r a y s o f

A l p h a Draconis up the ascending passage li C. T h e
direction for the south line thus indicated could be
marked, and then the p l u g left to slide down to the
subterranean chamber. O n c e a y e a r (supposing
one layer of stones added each year, as L e p s i u s
surmises) would have sufficed for this operation.
N o t only d o w e thus find a natural and perfect
explanation of the circumstance (hitherto u n e x ­
plained) that the ascending passage is inclined at
the same angle to the horizon as the d e s c e n d i n g
passage, but precisely as wc might e x p e c t from a
true theory, we find that other points of difficulty
1
have here thsir explanation. It is obvious that at
B the casing-stones of the descending passage would
have to be very closely set and carefully cemented,
so that the water used, year after year, in obtaining

1
Most pyramidalisis content themselves by assuming, as Sir K.
Beckett puts it, ' that the same angle would probably be used for
both sets of passages, as there MIS no reason for varying it' which
is not exactly an explanation of the relation. Mr. Wackerbarlh
has suggested that the passages were so adjusted for the pur|>ose of
managing a system of balance cars united by ropes from one passage
to another; but this explanation is open, as Iieckett points out, to
the fatal objection that the passages meet at their lowest point, not
at their highest, so that it would be rather a puzzle Mo work out
the mechanical idea.' The reflection explanation is not only open
to no such objections, but involves precisely such an application of
optical laws as we should expect from men as ingenious as the
pyramid builders certainly were.
 122 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

the reflected rays, might not percolate through and

do mischief. N o w , just here, w e find the stones of
the descending passage arranged with greater pre­
cision and made of better material. ' Why,' says
S m y t h — w h o notices everything, but seems a l w a y s
to insist on sonic forced e x p l a n a t i o n — ' why did the
builders change the rectangular joint at that point,
and e x e c u t e such unusual angle as they chose in
place of it, in a better material of stone than else­
where, and y e t with so little desire to call general
attention to it, that they made the joints fine and
close to that degree that they escaped the attention
of all men until 1865 A . D . ? ' ' T h e answer came
from the diagonal joints themselves, in discovering
that the stone between them was opposite to the
butt end of the portcullis of the first ascending pas­
sage, or to the hole whence the prismatic stone of
concealment through 3,000 years, had dropped out
almost before A I Manoun's eyes. Here, therefore,
was a secret sign in the pavement of the entrance
passage, appreciable only to a careful e y e and a
measurement b y angle, but made in such hard
material that it w a s evidently intended to last to
the end of human time with the Great F y r a m i d ,
and has done so thus far.' In other words the
stones were thus carefully fitted that they might be
a sign to Professor Piazzi S m y t h and the p y r a m i d a l -
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 123

ists in 1865, just as the descending and ascending

passages were all to be signs. It m a y show great
want of taste to say that all these features indicate
the builders' plan, and were in no sort intended for
the benefit of remote generations of men belonging
to an alien r a c e ; but it seems a long w a y more
natural.
A t a n y rate, it is certain that men having no
k n o w l e d g e of the telescope, and no means of secur­
ing accuracy of direction as our astronomers do b y
magnifying, would have adopted precisely such
plans as thus far seem most clearly indicated in the
pyramid structure, m a k i n g long passages in solid
materials, and where necessary, c h a n g i n g the lines
of sight b y simple reflection. W h e n w c consider
that this would be their natural course, and that
even minute details of structure (some hitherto un­
explained) correspond with the theory that they
adopted this course, the conclusion seems fair that
1
the theory is a sound one. O f course, it cannot be

1
Albeit, I cannot but think that this ascending passage must
also have been so directed as to show some bright star when due
south. Kor if the passage had only given the meridian plane, but
without permitting the astronomer to observe the southing of any
fixed star, it would have subserved only one-half its purposes as a
meridional instrument. It is to be remembered that, supposing the
ascending passage to have its position determined in the way I have
described, there would I K : nothing to prevent its being also made to
show any fixed star nearly at the same elevation. Kor it could
124 THE GREAT TV RAM ID.

acceptable to pyramidalists, w h o prefer to believe

that the labours <>f the p y r a m i d builders were

readily be enlarged in vertical direction, the floor remaining un­

altered. Since it is nut enlarged until the great gallery is reached
(at a distance of nearly 127 feet from the place where the ascent
begins), it follows, or is at least rendered highly probable, that
some bright star was in view through that ascending passage.
Now, taking the date 2170 B . C . , which Professor Smyth assigns to
the beginning of the Great Pyramid, or even taking any date (as we
fairly may), within a century or so on either side of that date, we
find no bright star which would have l>een visible when due south,
through the ascending passage. I have calculated the position of
that circle among the stars along which lay all the points passing
26° 18' above the horizon when due south, in the latitude of Ghizeh,
2170 years before the Christian era ; and it does not pass near a
single conspicuous star. There is only one fourth magnitude star
which it actually approaches namely, Epsilon Ceti ; and one fifth
magnitud. star, lieta of the Southern Crown. When we remember
that Egyptologists almost without exception assert that the date of
the building of the pyramid must have been more than a thousand
years earlier than 2170 B . C . , and that I'unscu has assigned to Mcncs
the date 36:0 B . C . , while the date 3300 B . C . has been assigned to
Cheops or Suphis on apparently good authority, we are led to
impure whether the other epoch when Alpha Draconis was at
about the right distance from the pole of the heavens may not have
l>cen the true era of the commencement of the Great Pyramid. Now,
the year 3300 B . C . , though a little late, would accord fairly well
with the time when Alpha Draconis was at the proper distance 33°
from the pole of the heavens. If the inclination of the entrance
0
passage is 26 27', as Professor Smyth made it, the exact date for
0
this would be 3390 B . C . ; if 2 6 40', as others made it before his
measurements, the date would be about 3320 B . C . , which would suit
well with the date 3300 B . C . , since a century either way would only
carry the star about a third of 0 degree towards or from the pole.
Now, when wc inquire whether in the year 3300 B . C . any bright
star wimld have lieen visible, at southing, through the ascending
passage, we find that a very bright star indeed, an orb otherwise
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 12;

directed b y architects k n o w i n g all that is now known

in science, and more ; but w e are, at least, saved
from the incongruity of assuming that these w o n -
drously-gifted architects were idiotic enough to
adopt the blundering plan assigned to them—hid­
ing a w a y for preservation their sacred symbolisms
and prophetic teachings, in a building so con
structcd that its interior could only be reached by
being forcibly broken into, and would as a matter
of fact be never properly measured until it had lost
in great part the perfection o f form on which its
value for the supposed purpose depended.
T h i s will appear still more clearly when w e
consider the Great Gallery, which to the astronomer
is the most obviously astronomical part of the
building, but to the pyramidalist is a sort of
' Zadkiel's A l m a n a c ' in stone.
A l l the features thus far have been such as wc
should e x p e c t to find in a massive structure such
as this, intended—for whatever reason—to be very
carefully oriented. T h e y are such, in fact, as could
not but exist in a building oriented so successfully
as the Great Pyramid unequestionably is, unless

remarkable as the nearest of all ihe stars, the brilliant Alpha Ten-
tauri, shone as it crossed the meridian right down that ascending
tube. It is so bright that, viewed through that tube, it must have
been visible to the naked eye, even when southing in full daylight.
126 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

sonic utterly incredible chance had enabled the

builders, b y an imperfect method, to hit acci­
dentally on so perfect an orientation. E v e n then,
in passing from the ground level to higher levels,
t h e y must inevitably have lost the perfection of
their orientation, unless t h e y had had such means
of keeping their work correct as we find they had.
T h i s being so, the chances being practically infinite
against their first obtaining, and afterwards retain­
ing, such accuracy of orientation, without long,
slant passages, such as wc find within the pyramid,
wc arc logically justified in s a y i n g it is certain that
the passages were used in that way, and were
intended originally to subserve that purpose.
T h e case is somewhat altered when w c reach
the point C, where the ascending passage ceases to
be of the same small square section as the descend­
ing one. U p to this point its purpose is obvious.
B u t so far as mere orientation was concerned, there
seems no reason w h y it should not have retained
the same section to a higher level. It is true that
the nearer it approached to the central line, I.
the less effective its direct value ; but certainly this

' This line is not vertically below the vertex, V, but central, in
the sense of 1>eing the vertical line where the horizontal north and
south line from the ascending and descending passages crosses the
east and west plane through the vertex.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. IJ7

value would not be increased b y increasing the

size of the passage, whether in a vertical or a hori­
zontal direction ; and from and after the point C it
is increased in both directions.
N o w , w e arc certain that the builders of the
pyramid wanted to orient it very carefully, simply
because we find that they did so. W e do not
k n o w why t h e y did. But it seems antecedently
unlikely that all they wanted was to g e t the p y r a ­
mid perfectly four-square to the cardinal points.
T h e natural idea is, that being, as w c sec b y their
work they were, astronomers of great skill, t h e y
had an astronomical purpose of some sort. They
had thus far been working with manifest reference
to the meridional plane, just as an astronomer of
our own time would ; and it looks very much, even
from what w e h a v e already seen, as though they
had considered this plane for the same reason
that the modem astronomer considers it — viz.
because this is the plane in which all the heavenly
bodies culminate, or attain the middle and highest
point of their passage from the eastern to the
western horizon. T h e y might have had o n l y a
fancy for e x a c t orientation, though one can hardly
tell why they should. Still, men of different races
have taken strange fancies, and, unlikely though it
seems, this might have been such an one, just as
 US THE GREAT PYRAMID.

the building o f colossal tombs seems to have

been.
A t the point C, however, all doubt ceases. The
astronomical nature of the builders' purpose be­
comes here as clear and certain as already the
astronomical nature of their methods has been.
F o r from here upwards the small ascending pas­
s a g e is changed to one of great height, so as to
command a long vertical space of the heavens,
precisely as a modern astronomer sets his transit
circle to sweep the vertical meridian. T h e floor,
however, of the ascending passage, and even its
sides, arc carried on unchanged in direction, right
up to D , where the central vertical (sec preceding
note) meets the ascending gallery. S o that from
U to D , e x c e p t where the horizontal passage C L to
the so-called Queen's C h a m b e r is carried off, the
floor of ascending passage and g a l l e r y formed a
perfectly uniform slant plane.
A n d here let us pause to inquire—seeing that
the astronomical purpose of the passage is made
manifest—what shape an astronomer, who was
also an architect, would give to the great ascend­
ing slit, as it were, through which the transits of
the heavenly bodies were to be watched. A s an
astronomer, he would like it to be very high and
relatively narrow; but as an architect, he would
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 129

see that the vertical section could not h a v e such a

shape as A B c D in fig. 6 ; for then, not o n l y would
the side walls, A C, B I), be unstable, but the observer
would not be comfortably situated. Y e t , as an
astronomer, he would k n o w that such a shape as
is shown in fig. 7 would be unsuitable. T o men­
tion o n l y one case out of many, supposing he
wanted not o n l y to observe a transit of a h e a v e n l y
b o d y along such a course as / , p , or q q (which,
2 x %

during the short time the b o d y was visible would

be practically a horizontal line), but also b y o b ­
servations on successive nights to determine the
course of a heavenly b o d y on the star sphere a l o n g
a path as r, r , which m i g h t be inclined : then,
2

the slant of the walls would entirely defeat his

purpose. l i e would require, as an astronomer,
that the walls should be absolutely vertical (note
the difference between the paths p p K v q q t v P, P , ,
in fig. 6, and the similarly-lettered paths in fig. 7),
while as an architect he would know that they
must be closer at the top than at the bottom of a
passage so lofty as the Great A s c e n d i n g Gallery.
F ' g - 8, g i v i n g the actual shape of the vertical
section of the Great Gallery, shows how the astro­
nomical architects of the Great Pyramid combined
both qualities. E v e r y part of the walls is abso-
K
130 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

FIG. 6. FIG. 7.
THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMID. 131
A B

FIG. 8.
'32 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

lutcly vertical, and y e t the walls, regarded as

wholes, arc aslant.
If w c had not seen from the beginning the
astronomical plan of the Great Pyramid, and that
such a plan indicated an astronomical purpose, w c
should find, I take it, in this double character o f
the A s c e n d i n g Gallery, proof positive that it w a s
intended for astronomical observations. O n l y an
astronomer would have set the architect such a
problem.
Put it m a y be said, H o w are observers to
be stationed along a slant g a l l e r y such as this,
with smooth and much-inclined floor? Is not the
idea that such an unstable place w a s intended for
e x a c t astronomical observation almost as absurd
as the notion that the top of the p y r a m i d w a s
meant for that purpose ?
Certainly, if a modern astronomer were plan­
ning a slant gallery for transit work he would
arrange for comfortable observation (the only ob­
servation which can be trustworthy).
N o w the ramps, as Professor Piazzi S m y t h
calls them—the l o n g slant stone banks, shown in
section at R and R ' in fig. 8—seem as if they had
some reference to such a purpose. T h e y arc at a
convenient height above the level o f the slant
floor, insomuch that S m y t h pictures his A r a b s
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, 133

leaning on them, stepping on to them, and so

forth. But they would not serve of themselves to
m a k e observations easy. T h e observer has to be
set in the middle of the gallery (at whatever point
of its length he m a y be), and he ought to be
comfortably seated. I think, if I were planning
for his comfort (which means fitness to m a k e g o o d
observations), I should have scats set across from
ramp to ramp. T h e y must be movable, of course :
and if there were not something a l o n g the ramps'
upper surface to hold them, t h e y would slide
down, carrying the observer most uncomfortably
with them. I should, therefore, have holes cut
out along the tops of the ramps at convenient
distances; the holes on one side being e x a c t l y
opposite those on the other. A set of cross
benches should then be made, with projections
corresponding to these holes. Then a bench
could be set wherever it was wanted, or several at
a time, so that different observers might watch the
same transit across different parts of the field of
view, as a l o n g / , p„, q q y v and r, r r F o r some
observations, indeed, such holes would serve y e t
another purpose. B y means o f them, screens
could be set up b y which to diminish the field of
view and m a k e the observations more e x a c t . Or
on such screens, images o f the sun (showing the
»34 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

sun spots, be it remarked) could be thrown through

a small opening on a screen, covering for the time
the mouth of the gallery. F o r such observations
the holes would be c o n v e n i e n t ; for the scats they
would be absolutely essential.
N o w no traces of the scats themselves, with
their projections, cushions, & c , & c , have been
found, or were likely to be found. B u t holes in
the ramps arc there s t i l l ; twenty-eight of them
there were originally in each ramp, though now only
twenty-six remain, owing to the destruction of a
ramp-stone. T h e y arc situated just as they should
be to subserve the purposes I have mentioned—•
that is, at equal distances (of about 5^ fect), and
e a c h hole on the cast side of the gallery is e x a c t l y
opposite the corresponding hole on the left side.
R e g a r d e d as a sort of architectural transit in­
strument, the Great G a l l e r y would, of course, have
to be carried up to a certain height, and there open
out on the level to which the pyramid had then
attained, the sides and top being carried up until
the southernmost end of the gallery was completed
with a vertical section like that shown in fig. 10
(facing p. 138). T h i s would be the ' o b j e c t end ' of
the great observing-tubc. T h e observer might be
a n y w h e r e along the tube, according to the posi­
tion o f the object whose transit was to be observed.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 135

N o w notice that the most important object of

transit observations is to determine the time at
which the objects observed cross the meridian.
Either the observer has to determine at what time
this happens, or, b y noting when it happens, to
ascertain the time ; in one case, k n o w i n g the time,
he learns the position of the celestial object in what
is called right ascension (which m a y be called its
position measured around the celestial sphere in the
direction of its rotation); in the other, k n o w i n g the
position o f the object in right ascension, he learns
the time. B u t whether the observer is doing one
or the other o f these things, he must have a time-
indicator o f some sort. O u r modern astronomer
has his clock, beating seconds with emphatic thuds,
and he notes the particular thuds at or near which
the star crosses the so-called wires in the field of
view (really magnified spider lines). W c m a y be
tolerably certain that the observer in the Grand
Gallery had no such horological instrument. But
he must have had a time-indicator of some sort
(and a g o o d one, w c m a y notice in passing), or the
care shown in the construction of the gallery would
have been in great part wasted.
N o w , w h e n c e could his time-sounds have been
c o n v e y e d t o him but from the upper end of the
gallery ? A time-measure of some sort—probably
136 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

a clepsydra, or water-clock—must h a v e been set

there, and persons appointed to mark the passage
of time in some w a y , and to note also the instants
when the observer or observers in the Great G a l l e r y
signalled the beginning or end of transit across
the gallery's field of view. T h e s e time-indicating
persons, with their instruments, would have occu­
pied the space where now arc the floors of the so-
called A n t e c h a m b e r and King's Chamber—then,
of course, not walled in (or the walls would have
obstructed the view along the gallery). These
persons themselves would not obstruct the view,
unless they c a m e too near the mouth of the gallery.
O r t h e y might be close to the mouth of the g a l l e r y
at its sides, without obstructing the view.
But now, notice that if the place t h e y thus
occupied—the future K i n g ' s C h a m b e r (perhaps, as
the region in or near which all the observations of
the heavenly host in culmination had been made)
— were in the centre o f the square top of the
pyramid as thus far built, they would be very much
in the w a y of other observers, w h o ought to be
stationed at certain special points on this horizontal
top, to observe certain important horizontal lines,
viz. the lines directed to the cardinal points and to
points m i d w a y between these. A n observer w h o
had this task assigned him should o c c u p y the v e r y
 THE PROBLEM OE THE PYRAMIDS. 137

centre of the square top of the, as yet, incomplete

pyramid, so that the middle point of each side would
mark a cardinal point, while the angles of the square
would mark the mid-cardinal points. A l s o this
central point ought not only to c o m m a n d direction-
lines to the angles and bisections of the sides, but
t o be commanded, without obstruction, b y direction-
lines from these points.
T h u s the upper end of the Great A s c e n d i n g
Gallery should not be e x a c t l y at the centre, but
somewhat cither to the west or to the cast of the
centre of the great square summit o f the incomplete
pyramid.
L e t us sec how this matter w a s actually
arranged :—
F i g . 9 shows the incomplete pyramid, as sup­
posed to be viewed from above. T h e four sockets,
[Link]., n.w., «.*?., and s.i\, were supposed, until quite
recently, to mark the e x a c t position of the four base
angles of the p y r a m i d . It turns out, however, that
t h e y arc rather below the level of the real basal
plane of the structure, which is, therefore, somewhat
smaller than had been supposed.
Fig. 9 is, however, chiefly intended to show the
nature of the square platform, which formed the top
of the pyramidal frustum when the level of the floor
of the gallery o f the K i n g ' s C h a m b e r had just been
Fit;. 9. Horizontal Section of the Great Pyramid through floor of King's Chamber.
138 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

reached. W e have a horizontal section of the

pyramid, in fact, taken through the floor of the
K i n g ' s C h a m b e r and A n t e c h a m b e r — t h a t is, through
s l), in the figure on p. 1 2 0 . T h e bottle-shaped
black space, near 0, gives the section of the slant­
ing gallery, beginning on the southern side at its
widest part, reaching a narrower part somewhat to
the north of O, and thereafter narrowing towards
the north, till the section of the uppermost or nar­
rowest part is reached. T h e dotted lines show
where the Grand Gallery and the narrow ascending
passage (ascending for one passing towards the
K i n g ' s Chamber) pass downwards into the structure
of the pyramid : at c is the place where descending
and ascending passages meet. T h e position, also,
of the entrance-hole, forced in b y A l Mamoun, at
about the level of the a n g l e c, is indicated.
A t O is the centre of the square surface, which
then formed the top of the structure. If posts
were placed at the angles n.w., [Link]., s.c, [Link]., and
also at «., c, s., and w., an observer stationed at O
would have the cardinal and the mid-cardinal points
e x a c t l y indicated. N o w the point O is about eight
and a-half paces from the middle of the southern
opening o f the Grand G a l l e r y ; so that, if there
were an assistant observer at 0, he could communi­
cate time signals readily both t o the observers in
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 139

the gallery and to the observer at 0. A l l such

observations as the casting, southing, westing, and
northing of heavenly bodies would belong to the
observer at 0, uprights o f suitable height being
erected at «.,<•., s., and if. H e could also observe
when h e a v e n l y bodies passed the mid-cardinal
directions, ;/.ic, s.w., S.C, and [Link]. It will be
noticed that if wc suppose the Grand G a l l e r y c o m ­
pleted, which would carry it to a height of about
28 feet above the level of the floor at 0, the slant of
the gallery would y e t be such that the observer
at 0, supposing him to observe b y means of an
instrument raised a few feet above the level of the
floor, would be perfectly well able to look along the
horizontal direction-line from O to s.w. (Most of
his observations would, of course, be directed to
points above the horizon.)
B u t I think if I were planning such observations
on the square surface c, s., it'., «., I should wish to
have several observers at work in thus t a k i n g azi­
muths (directions referred to the cardinal points)
and altitudes, just as several transit observers were
manifestly provided for in the construction of the
Grand Gallery.
I should set an observer at «., to observe in
directions «.-«.tc, n.-w., ii.-s. (that is, it.O.), n.-c, and
[Link]. ; another at zv., another at e., and another at
 140 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

s., to observe in the corresponding directions be­

longing to their stations. Observers at n.w., [Link].,
s.c, and [Link]. could also do excellent work. In fact,
between them they could take the horizontal car­
dinal and mid-cardinal directions better than the
observer stationed at 0, though his would be the
best station for general work with the astrolabe.
Y e t again, for observing heavenly bodies at
considerable altitudes, stations nearer to the up­
rights at [Link]., zii., [Link]., & c , would be useful. W h e r e
else could they be so well placed as at the points
a, b, c, d, where the lines zv.s., w.n., e.s., and CM.
intersect the diagonals of the square surface of
the pyramidal structure ? N o t e , also, that these
observing stations would be at convenient distances
from each other. T k c sides of this square surface
would be roughly about 175 paces long, so that
such a distance as [Link]., or a.O would o n l y be about
62 y a r d s (the length of the Grand Gallery being
about 52 yards).
T h u s there would be thirteen observers of
azimuthal directions and altitudes, whose work
would be combined with that of at least seven
transit observers along different parts of the length
of the Great Gallery with its seven transit widths (as
shown b y its section, fig. 8, p. 131). T w e n t y observers
in all (the transit workers provided with the great
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 141

fixed transit instruments in the gallery itself, the

others armed perhaps with astrolabes, armillary
spheres for reference, direction-tubes, or ring-carry­
ing rods) would be able to m a k e observations only
inferior in accuracy to those made in our own time
with telescopic adjuncts.
F i g . 10 is intended to show something of the
structure of the interior of the G r e a t Gallery. The
stones outside are supposed to be seen in section,
only one-fourth of the g a l l e r y being given. For
correct perspective, six or seven more layers of
stone should have been shown below the lowest in
the picture. B u t this would have given to the
illustration an inconvenient shape. It will be seen
that a section of the southern s k y , very convenient
for observation, would be seen from the interior of
the Grand Gallery. T h e central vertical through
this section would (as seen from the middle of a n y
of the cross scats) be the true meridian. B u t the
moment of transit might be equally well observed
b y taking the moments when a star was first seen
(from the middle of a cross scat) on the eastern
e d g e of the vertical s k y space, and when the star
disappeared : the instant m i d w a y between these
would be the true time of transit. B y combining
the observations m a d e b y several ' w a t c h m e n o f
the night,' stationed in different parts of the G r a n d
142 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

Gallery, a very close approximation to true sidereal

time could be obtained.
I apprehend, however, that astronomers who
had shown themselves so ingenious in other respects,
would not have omitted to note the a d v a n t a g e o f
suitably-adjusted screens for special transit obser­
vations ; and it seems to me likely that the l o n g
grooves shown in section at k and № (fig. 8, p . 131)
might have been used in connection with such a pur­
pose, and not merely (though that was probably o n c o f
the objects t h e y were intended to subserve) to carry
a horizontal sliding cross-bar, b y means of which
the altitude of a celestial b o d y at the moment of
transit could be more readily determined. Wc
must not forget that transit observers have to
determine what is called the declination of a star
(its distance from the equator), as well as what is
called the right ascension, or distance measured
parallel to the equator from a certain assigned
point on that circle. F o r this purpose the hori­
zontal lines a d, b b\ & c . (fig. 8), would be useful,
but not sufficient. I incline to think that the
method used to obtain accuracy in observations for
determining declination involved a v e r y practical
use o f the grooves k №. Possibly a horizontal bar
ran from k to U t carrying vertical rods, across
which, at suitable distances, horizontal lines were
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 143

drawn (or, better still, horizontal rods could be slid

t o any required height). T h e horizontal bar could
be slid to a n y convenient position, the vertical rods
adjusted, and at the time o f transit the horizontal
rods could be shifted to such a height as just to
touch a star when seen b y an observer in the g a l l e r y
at the m o m e n t of mid-transit.
If a telescopist in our own time will try to plan
out a method o f determining the declinations and
right ascensions of stars (say, for the purpose of
forming a trustworthy star chart or catalogue),
without using a telescope, b y using such an observ­
ing place as the G r e a t Gallery, he will sec how
much might be done, so far as equatorial and
zodiacal stars were concerned ; and they arc alto­
gether the most important, even now, and were
still more so in the d a y s when the stars in their
courses were supposed to rule the fates of men and
nations.
H o w far the structure of the Grand G a l l e r y
corresponds with the requirements of this theory
can be j u d g e d from the following description given
b y Professor G r e a v e s in 1638 :—' It is,' he says, ' a
very stately piece of work, and not inferior, cither
in respect o f the curiosity of art or richness of
materials, to the most sumptuous and magnificent
b u i l d i n g s ; ' and a little further on he s a y s : ' T h i s
 IJ4 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

gallery, or corridor, or whatever else I m a y call it,

is built of white and polished marble (limestone),
the which is very e v e n l y cut in spacious squares or
tables. O f such materials as is the pavement,
such is the roof and such are the side walls that
flank it; the a u g m e n t a t i o n or knitting o f the
joints is so close, that they are scarcely discernible
to a curious e y e ; and that which adds grace to
the whole structure, though it makes the passage
the more slippery and difficult, is the acclivity or
rising of the ascent. T h e height of this gallery is
26 f e e t ' (Professor S m y t h ' s careful measurements
show the true height to be more nearly 28 feet),
' the breadth of 6-870 feet, of which 3-435 feet arc
to be allowed for the w a y in the midst, which is
set and bounded on both sides with two banks
(like benches) of sleek and polished s t o n e ; each
o f these hath 1 7 1 7 of a foot in breadth, and as
much in depth.' T h e s e measurements arc not
strictly e x a c t . S m y t h made the breadth of the
g a l l e r y above the banks or ramps, as he calls them,
6 feet \o\ i n c h e s ; the space between the ramps,
3 feet 6 i n c h e s ; the ramps nearly about 1 foot
8 ' - inches broad, and nearly 1 foot 9 inches high,
T 4

measured transversely; that is, at right angles t o

the ascending floor.

T h e diversity o f w i d t h which I h a v e indicated

 THE TNOBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, 145

as a desirable feature in a meridional gallery, is a

marked feature o f the actual gallery. ' In the
casting and ranging of the m a r b l e s ' (limestone),
' in both the side walls, there is one piece of archi­
tecture,' s a y s Greaves, ' in my judgment, very
graceful, and that is that all the courses or stones,
which arc but seven (so great arc these stones), do
set and flag over one another about three i n c h e s ;
the bottom of the uppermost course overlapping
the top of the next, and so in order, the rest as
t h e y descend.' T h e faces of these stones are
e x a c t l y v e r t i c a l ; and as the width of the g a l l e r y
diminishes upwards b y about six inches for each
successive course, it follows that the width at the
top is about 3^ feet less than the width, 6 feet
i o | inches, at the bottom, or agrees in fact with
the width of the space between the benches or
ramps. T h u s the s h a d o w of the vertical edges of
the g a l l e r y at solar noon just reached to the edges
of the ramps, the shadow of the n e x t lower vertical
edges falling three inches from the edges higher
up the ramps, those of the n e x t vertical edges
six inches from these edges, still higher up, and so
forth. T h e true hour of the sun's southing could
thus be most accurately determined b y seven sets
of observers placed in different parts of the g a l ­
lery, and near midsummer, when the range of the

L
146 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

shadows would be so far shortened, that a smaller

number of observers o n l y could follow the shadows'
motions ; but in some respects, the observations in
this part of the y e a r could be more readily and
e x a c t l y m a d e than in winter, when the shadow-
spaces of various width would range along the
entire length of the gallery.
Similar remarks would a p p l y to the moon,
which could also be directly observed. The
planets and stars of course could only be observed
directly.
T h e Grand Gallery could be used for the obser­
vation o f a n y celestial b o d y southing higher than
26° 18' a b o v e the horizon ; but not v e r y effectively
for objects passing near the zenith. T h e Pleiades
could be well observed. T h e y southed about
63 J " above the horizon in the y e a r 2140 B.C., or
thereabouts, when they were on the equinoctial
1
colurc. B u t if I am right in t a k i n g the y e a r

1
This date is sometimes given earlier, 1 tit when account is taken
of the proper motion of these stars wc g e l about the dale above
mentioned. I cannot understand how Dr. Ball, Astronomer Royal
for Ireland, has obtained the dale 2248 B . C . , unless he has taken
the proper motion of Alcyone the wrong way. The proper motion
of this star during the last 4,000 years has been such as to increase
the star's distance from the equinoctial colurc ; and therefore, of
course, the actual interval of time since the star was on the colurc is
less than it would be calculated to be if the proper motion were
neglected.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 147

3300 li.C, when A l p h a Ccntauri shone down the

smaller ascending passage in southing, the Pleiades
were about 58° only above the horizon when
southing, and therefore even more favourably o b ­
servable from the great meridional gallery.
In passing I m a y note that at this time, about
3300 years before our era, the equinoctial point
(that is, the point where the sun passes north o f
the equator, a n d the y e a r begins according to the
old manner o f reckoning) w a s m i d w a y between
the horns o f the Bull. S o that then, and then
alone, a poet m i g h t truly speak o f spring as the
time—

Candiclus auratis apcrit quum comibus annum

Taurus,

as V i r g i l incorrectly did (repeating doubtless some

old tradition) a t a later time. Even Professor
Smyth notices t h e necessity that the P y r a m i d
G a l l e r y should correspond in some degree with
such a date. ' For,' s a y s he, ' there have been tra­
ditions for long, whence arising I know not, that
the seven overlappings of the Grand Gallery, so
impressively described b y Professor Greaves, had
something to d o with the Pleiades, those pro­
verbially seven stars o f the primeval world,' only
that he considers the pyramid related to manorial,
US THE GREAT PYRAMID.

not observing astronomy ' of an earlier date than

Virgil.' T h e Pleiades also were not regarded as
belonging to Taurus, but as forming an inde­
pendent star group.
W e have seen that the Great P y r a m i d is so
perfectly oriented as to show that astronomical
observations of great accuracy were made b y its
architects. N o astronomer can doubt this, for the
simple reason that every astronomer knows the
e x c e e d i n g difficulty of the task which the archi­
tects solved so satisfactorily, and that nothing
short of the most careful observation would have
enabled the builders to secure a n y t h i n g like the
accuracy which, as a matter of fact, t h e y did
secure. M a n y , not acquainted with the nature of
the problem, imagine that all the builders had to
d o was to use some of those methods of taking
shadows, as, for instance, at solar noon (which has
to be first determined, be it noticed), or before and
after noon, noting when shadows are equal (which
is not an e x a c t method, and requires considerable
care even to give w h a t it can give—imperfect
orientation), and so forth. B u t to give the accu­
racy which the builders obtained, not only in the
orientation, but in getting the pyramid very close
0
to latitude 30 (which was evidently w h a t they
wanted), o n l y v e r y e x a c t observations would serve.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 149

Indeed, if a modern astronomer, k n o w i n g nothing

about the p y r a m i d , were asked how the t h i n g
could be done without telescopic aid, he would
be apt to s a y that no greater accuracy than (for
instance) T y c h o B r a h e obtained with his g r e a t
quadrant at U r a n i e n b u r g could have been secured.
N o w , the orientation of the G r e a t P y r a m i d a p ­
proaches much closer to e x a c t n e s s than the best
observations b y T y c h o Brahe with that j u s t l y -
1
celebrated instrument.

1
In the first place, many seem quite unaware of the difficulty of
orienting a building like the Great Pyramid with the degree of ac­
curacy with which that building actually has been oriented. One
gravely asks whether (as Narrien long since suggested).! plumb-line,
so hung as to be brought into line with the pole-star, would not
have served as well as the great descending passage. Observe how
all the real difficulties of the problem are overlooked in this in­
genious solution. Wc want to get a long line a line at least 200
yards long—in a north and south position. Wc must fix its two
ends ; and as the pole-star is not available as a point along the line,
wc set our plumb-line at the northern end of the line, and our ob­
serving tulic or hole, or whatever it may be (only it is not a tele­
scope, for wc arc Egyptians of the time of Cheops, and have none),
at the other. The pole-star being at an altitude of 26J degrees,
the plumb-line should be nearly 100 yards long, to be seen (near the
top), coincident with the pole-star, from a station 2 0 O yards away.
That is a tolerably long plumb-line. Then its upper part (thus to
be seen without telescopic aid at night) would be about 260 yards
away. T h e observer's eyesight would have to be tolerably keen.
I am also asked whether a dishful of water would not serve
quite as well as a great mass of water, at the corner where the de­
scending and ascending passages meet, to give the reflected rays
from a star. It would, and so would a thimbleful - j u s t as a thread
of cotton would serve as well as a half-inch rope for the plumb-line
KO THE GREAT PYRAMID.

S e e i n g this, and observing that the ascending

just considered. Hut just in proportion as tlie water surface was

diminished would the difficulty of sicing a star by reflected rays be
increased. The builders had, doubtless, good reason for making
the descending passage about four feet wide and as many high. It
at any rale enabled them to see the pole-star readily, just as the
1
wide field ' of a comet-finder enables the astronomer to bring
a celestial object very easily into view. Whatever reason they had
for thus securing a tolerably large field of view, they would have
precisely the same reason for retaining it undiminished when they
used the reflected instead of the direct rays in observing a star.
Now for this purpose nothing short of the whole breadth of the de­
scending and ascending passages would suffice—in other words, no
dishful or thimbleful of water would have served their purpose.
Then it is asked why the descending passage should be repeated
in the other pyramids when the orientation had already been secured
in the Great Pyramid—manifestly in ignorance of the fact that it
would be far more difficult to take the orientation for one pyramid
from another, than to doit independently. It is also asked whether
the slant descending passages were not obviously meant for the
sliding down of the king's sarcophagus. Sliding the sarcophagus
down that it might afterwards be hauled up the ascending passage !
or if not, what was the ascending passage for? and why was it of
the same cross section as the descending passage? If the sarco­
phagus alone had been in question, wc may be certain that the
pyramid engineers would never have arranged for sliding it down
from the level of the entrance to the descending passage, to the place
where the ascending passage begins, in order afterwards to laise it
by the ascending passage. If they meant to go down to the under­
ground chandler they would not have raised it at all, but let it down
from the level of the pyramid's base. But to say truth, moving the
sarcophagus was a mere nothing compared with the lifting of the
great solid blocks which formed the pyramid's mass. The engineers
who moved these great solid blocks to their places would not have
wanted slant passages at the right friction slope, and all the rest of
it, by which to take the sarcophagus to its place ; nor would they
have provided for unnecessary descents or ascents either, but have
taken the sarcophagus from the outside to its proper level, and sent
it along a level passage.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 151

and descending passages arc just such as the astro­

nomer would m a k e to secure such a result, w c m a y
accept, without doubt, the belief that they were
made for that purpose.
T h e n w c saw that the features of the Great
A s c e n d i n g Gallery were not such as would be
essential, or even desirable, to increase or maintain
the accuracy of the orientation, as layer after layer
was added to the pyramid, but arc precisely such
as would be essential if the pyramid was meant
to subserve (as one, at least, of its objects) the
purpose of an observatory.
B u t persons unfamiliar with astronomy will
say, T h i s Great A s c e n d i n g G a l l e r y would only en­
able astronomers to observe stars when due south,
or nearly so, and only those which, when due
south, were within a certain distance above or
below the point towards which the a x i s of the
Great G a l l e r y is directed. W e r e all the other stars
left unobserved ? A n d again, w c k n o w that the
E g y p t i a n s , like all ancient astronomers, paid great
attention to the rising and setting of the heavenly
bodies, and especially to what was called the helia­
cal rising and setting of the stars. In what w a y
would the Great G a l l e r y help them here ?

N o w , with regard to the first point, w c note

that the chief instrument of e x a c t observation in
152 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

modern observatories, the one which, as it were,

governs all the others, has precisely this q u a l i t y —
it is always directed to the meridian, and has,
indeed, a v e r y much narrower range of view on
either side o f the meridian than the Great G a l l e r y
had. A n d though it is indeed free to range over
the whole arc o f the meridian from the south
horizon point through the point overhead to the
north horizon point, it is mainly e m p l o y e d over
about that range north and south of the celestial
equator which was commanded b y the Great
Gallery. T h e visitor at Greenwich sees the great
equatorial, and imagines that to be the chief o b ­
serving instrument. T h e comparatively unobtru­
sive transit circle seems far less important. But
the time observations, which arc far and a w a y the
most important observations made at Greenwich,
arc all made, or at least all regulated, b y the
transit observations. S o arc the observations for
determining the positions of stars.

W h e n the equatorial is used to m a k e a time

or position observation, it is used as a differential
instrument; it is e m p l o y e d to determine how far
cast or west a star m a y be (theoretically, how
much it differs in right ascension measured by
time) from a n o t h e r ; and again, t o show how far
north or south a star m a y be (theoretically, how
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 153

much it differs in declination) from another, whose

right ascension and declination have already been
determined b y repeated observations with the
transit circle. Similarly, the altitude and azimuth
instrument is used in direct subordination to the
transit circle.
T h e astronomers who observed from the G r e a t
P y r a m i d doubtless m a d e m a n y more observations
off the meridian than on it. T h e y made multi­
tudinous observations of the rising and setting o f
stars, and especially o f their heliacal risings a n d
settings (which last, however, though w c hear so
much o f them, belonged ex necessitate t o but a
very rough class o f observations). T h e y no doubt
often used astrolabes and similar instruments to
determine the positions o f stars, planets, comets,
& c , when off the meridian, with reference to stars
whose places were already determined b y the use
of their great meridional instrument. B u t all those
observations were regulated b y , and derived their
value from, the work done in the G r e a t A s c e n d i n g
Gallery. T h e modern astronomer sees that this
was the o n l y w a y in which e x a c t observations o f
the heavenly bodies all over the star-sphere could
possibly have been made ; and seeing the e x t r e m e
care, the most marvellous pains, which the astro­
nomers o f the G r e a t P y r a m i d took to secure g o o d
Fio. 12. Vertical Section oí' the « rreat Pyramid, -diuwing the Ascending and Descending Passages, Grand Cillery, and
Oueen's Chamber.
«54 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

meridional work, the astronomer recognises in him

a fellow-worker. H e says, with the poet :—

I am as old as Egypt to myself,

liroiher to them that squared the Pyramids :
liy the same stars I watch.

A n d now consider what was this great obser­

vatory o f ancient E g y p t — t h e most perfect ever
made till telescopic art revealed a w a y of e x a c t
observation without those massive structures. A
m i g h t y mass, having a base larger than the square
of Lincoln's Inn, rising b y just fifty layers to a
height of about 142 feet, and presenting towards
the south the appearance shown in fig. I I , where
the mouth of the Great G a l l e r y is seen opening
southwards, and the lines are shown which have
been already indicated as ' observing directions' in
the picture facing p. 138. T h e pyramid observatory
is shown in section in fig. 12. It will be noticed
that the successive layers arc not o f equal thick­
ness. T h e r e arc just fifty between the base and
plane of the floor of the K i n g ' s Chamber. The
direction-lines for the mid-day sun at midsummer,
midwinter, and the equinoxes arc shown ; also the
lines to the t w o stars, A l p h a Draconis and A l p h a
Ccntauri, are given at the subpolar meridional
passage o f the former and the meridional passage
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 155

of the latter, at the date when the descending and

ascending passages thus commanded both these
stars. W i t h i n fifty y e a r s or so on cither side o f
this date, the pyramid must, I should think, h a v e
been built. T h e later date when A l p h a Draconis
w a s at the right distance from the pole, 2 1 7 0 B.C.,'
is absolutely rejected b y E g y p t o l o g i s t s — n o t one
being ready to admit that the date of the P y r a m i d
K i n g can have been anywhere near so late.
T h u s far all has been tolerably plain sailing.
O f the astronomical use and purpose (not quite
the same thing, be it noticed) of the G r e a t G a l l e r y ,
there can be small room for doubt, when w c find
(1) every feature in all the passages and in the
G r e a t Gallery correspond with the requirements o f
the theory, and (2) m a n y features e x p l i c a b l e in no
other w a y .
1
Some may he disposed to reject a change which they may
imagine displaces the Pleiades from the position which Professor
Pia/zi Smyth assigned to that interesting group at the date when
he supposed the pyramid was hudt. Hut there never was the least
real significance in that position. If the mistaken idea entertained
liy many, and repeated by i'lammarion, Haliburlon, and others,
that the Pleiades at their meridian shone down the Great Gallery at
the very time when the pole-star of 2170 B . C . shone down the
descending gallery, had been correct, there might have been some
reason to be struck by the coincidence. But it should hardly be
necessary to tell the reader, what every astronomer knows, that
the Pleiades never did or could shine down the Great Gallery,
and in the year 2170 B . C . were thirty-eight degrecs(') north of that
position.
IS6 THE GREAT TYRAMID.

B u t here our difficulties begin. A s t r o n o m y no

longer lends its aid when w e ask w h y the builder
of the Great Pyramid wanted to have an astro­
nomical observatory as well as a tomb. T o begin
with, I suppose E g y p t o l o g i s t s arc quite clear that a
main purpose o f each pyramid was that it should
serve for a tomb. A n d 1 suppose, further, that this
being so, it was essential that each p y r a m i d , includ­
ing that one which wc have been regarding hitherto
o n l y in its astronomical aspect, should be as nearly
as possible completed before the death o f its future
occupant. T h e r e m a y be, for aught I know, some
reason to believe that in the d a y s of the p y r a m i d s
an E g y p t i a n k i n g might be .able in some w a y to
assure himself of the bona fides of his successors,
and that t h e y would continue the work which he
had begun and more than half completed. But it
is very difficult to imagine that this really was the
case. H u m a n nature must in those d a y s h a v e
resembled pretty closely human nature in our o w n
t i m e ; and it seems as unlikely that a k i n g could
trust in his successors so far as to believe they
would e x p e n d large sums o f m o n e y and a great
amount of labour in completing a work in which
t h e y had no direct or actual interest, as that, sup­
posing he trusted them to this degree, their con­
duct after his death would have justified his
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 157

confidence. T h u s , when w e find that the G r e a t

Pyramid was a c t u a l l y completed in the most care­
ful and perfect manner, w e have v e r y strong reason
for believing it to have been all but c o m p l e t e d
during the lifetime of the king, its builder—if it
was indeed intended for his tomb. I must confess
that the e x c l u s i v e l y tombic theory o f the Great
Pyramid (at least) had a l w a y s seemed to me
utterly incredible, even before I advanced what
seems to mc the o n l y reasonable interpretation o f
its erection. O n e m a y admit that the singular
taste o f the E g y p t i a n kings for monstrous t o m b s
was carried to a preposterous extent, but not to
an e x t e n t quite so preposterous as the e x c l u s i v e l y
tombic theory would require. O f course, w h e n
we sec that the details of the great edifice indicate
unmistakably an astronomical object, which w a s
regarded as of such importance as to justify the
e x t r c m c s t care, our opinion is strengthened that
the pyramid was not solely meant for a tomb.
F o r this would bring in another absurdity, scarcely
less than that involved in the e x c l u s i v e l y tombic
theory of structures so vast, if even they w e r e non-
astronomical—this, namely, that the Egyptian
kings thought the celestial bodies and their move­
ments so especially related to than, that their l o n g
home must be astronomically posited with a degree
158 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

1
of care far surpassing that which has ever been
g i v e n to an astronomical observatory. Common
sense compels us to believe that whether the G r e a t
P y r a m i d was meant for a t o m b or not, its astrono­
mical character was given to it for some purpose
relating to the living k i n g w h o had it built. (I
suppose E g y p t o l o g i s t s are absolutely certain that
the G r e a t Pyramid was built b y one king, and,
therefore, within a few decades of years.)
N o w , it is not reasonable to suppose King
C h e o p s ' purpose was simply scientific. W c may
fairly take it for granted that the k i n g w h o e x ­
pended such vast sums and sacrificed so many
lives to build for himself a tomb, was not a man
taking a disinterested interest in science, or even
ready to help the priests of his d a y to regulate
religious ceremonials b y astronomical observations
conducted with reference only to general religious
relations. T o put the matter plainly, the builder
of the Great Pyramid must have thought of himself
first ; next, of his d y n a s t y ; then, perhaps, of the
priesthood (though a l w a y s with reference to the
bearing of religious ceremonies on the welfare of
himself and his d y n a s t y ) ; lastly, of his people, as

1
Even in our own time, though wc get greater accuracy in our
observations than Cheops obtained in his pyramid, we have not lo
give anything like the same degree of care to the work.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 159

part of his wealth and power. F o r abstract science

he cared not, as m a y be well assured, a single jot.
I do not wish to suggest that C h e o p s was w i c k e d l y
selfish. I have no doubt he was thoroughly per­
suaded that he was carrying out the purpose of his
existence in e x p e n d i n g much treasure and many
lives on his own well-being (both before and after
death). B u t there can be no doubt this was the
real object of his expenditure of time, and wealth,
and human life on the great structure which bears
his name.
Now, our thoughts arc at once turned b y these
considerations to that one sole line along which
astronomy ever has been followed with the hope of
material p r o f i t ; and wc arc led to remember that
if there is one idea which has more strongly taken
possession of the human race than a n y other, or
one which more than any other is associated with
the astronomy of ancient E g y p t , it is the idea that
the stars in their courses rule the fate of men and
nations. We remember that even now, when
science has shown the utter incorrectness of the
ideas that underlie the ancient system of astrology,
this s y s t e m has its influence over millions. Even
now the terms belonging to the system remain
part o f our language. O u r very religion has all its
times and seasons regulated in w a y s derived from
iGo THE GREAT PYRAMID.

the astrological system of old E g y p t . Our Sunday

is the old Chalda:an and E g y p t i a n quarter-month
rest d a y , and the Jewish S a b b a t h is this quarter-
month rest d a y associated with the belief in the
malefic influence of the planet (Saturn), which
formerly ruled the last d a y of the w e e k (still called
1
S a t u r d a y or Saturn's-day). T h e morning and
1
A correspondent of Knowledge touched on the associa­
tion which I mentioned as existing between the Jewish Sabbath (our
Saturday) and Saturn ; labouring, manifestly, under the impression
that the point at issue was the identity of the Roman god Saturn
with the Scandinavian deity assigned to Saturday. But of course
this is not the question at issue. It is not the god Saturn, but
the planet Saturn, which is associated with Saturday. How any
one can reconcile the clear statement of Dion Cassius with the
belief that the days of the week were not associated with the planets
until the twelfth century, passes my comprehension. Dion Cassius
distinctly attributes the invention ol the week to the Egyptians, and
as he wrote a thousand years before the time named, there can be no
question as to the greater antiquity of the week-day names. In the
ancient Brahminical astronomy the days are associated with the same
planets as among the Egyptians. See Mr. Colebrookc's papers in the
Asiatic Researches. Among more familiar discussions of this matter
may be cited Bailly's Astronomic Indicnnc ct Orientate, and Bohlcn's
Das Alte Indien. Dion Cassius refers to the connection between
musical intervals and the planets, showing that probably the old
Egyptian lore which Fythagoras of Samos brought to Greece, in­
cluded the association between the planets and the days of the week;
that, in fact, all three subjects were connected—planets, musical
intervals, and the days of the week. Longfellow thus poetically
renders the views of Egyptian astrologers on these, with them,
mystical matters:—

• Like the astrologers of eld,

In that great vision I beheld
Greater and dce|>cr mysteries.
I saw, with its celestial keys,
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 161

evening sacrifices of the Jews and their new moon

festivals were manifestly astronomical in origin—in
other words astrological (for astronomy was nothing
except as astrology to the old C h a k h x a n s and
Egyptians). T h e Feast of the Passover, however
later associated with other events, w a s derived
from the old astrological observance of the passage
of the sun (the Passing over of the S u n - G o d ) across
the equator, ascendingly; while the Feast of
T a b e r n a c l e s was in like manner ruled b y the pas­
sage of the sun over the equator desccndingly.
O u r calendar rules for Easter and other festivals
would never, w c m a y be well assured, have been
made to depend on the moon, but for their original
derivation from astronomical (that is astrological)
1
ceremonial.

Its chords of nir, its frets of lire,

The Samian's great /Kolian lyre,
Rising through all its sevenfold Lars,
From earth unto the fixed stars.
And through the dewy atmosphere,
Not only could I see hut hear
Its wondrous and harmonious strings
In sweet vibration, sphere by sphere ;
From Dian's circle light and near,
Onward to vaster, wider rings,
Where, chanting through his beard of snows
Majestic, mournful Saturn goes,
And down the sunless realms of spare
Reverberate-, the thunder of his bass.'
1
The Jewish people, when they left Egypt after their lonjj
M
¡62 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

W h e n we remember that the astronomy of the

time of C h e o p s was essentially astrology, and
astrology a most important part of religion, w c
begin to sec how the erection of the m i g h t y m a s s
of masonry for astronomical purposes m a y be e x -
plained—or, rather, wc sec how, being certainly
astronomical, it must be explained. Inasmuch as
it is an astronomical building, erected in a time
when astronomy was astrology, it w a s erected for
astrological purposes. It was in this sense a sort
of temple, erected, indeed, for the peculiar benefit
of one man or of a single d y n a s t y ; but as he was
a king in a time when being a k i n g meant a great
deal, what benefited him he doubtless regarded
as a benefit also to his people : in whatever sense
the Great Pyramid had a religious significance with
regard to him, it had also a national religious
significance.

It would have been worth C h e o p s ' w h i l e to have

this great astrological observatory erected, even if

sojourn there, [Link] doubtless become thoroughly accustomed to the

religious observances of the Egyptians (al any rate there is not the
slightest reference even to tiie Sabbath before the sojourn in Egypt),
and were disposed not only to retain these observances, but to
associate with them the Egyptian superstitions. Wc know this, in
fact, from the llible record. Moses could not—no man ever Could —
turn a nation from observances once become part of their very
life, but he could, and did, deprive them of their superstitious
character.
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 163

b y means of it he could learn only what w a s to

happen, the times and seasons which were likely
to be fortunate or unfortunate for him or his race,
and so forth. B u t in his day, as in ours, astrology
claimed not only to read but also to rule the stars.
Astrologers did not pretend that they could
actually regulate the m o v e m e n t s of the h e a v e n l y
bodies, but they claimed that b y careful observa­
tion and study t h e y could show how the best ad­
v a n t a g e could be taken of the g o o d dispositions
of the stars, and their malefic influences be best
avoided. T h e y not only claimed this, but doubt­
less m a n y of them believed it ; and it is quite
certain that those w h o were not astronomers
{i.e. astrologers) were fully persuaded of the truth
of the system which, even when the discovery of
the true nature of the planets has entirely dis­
proved it, retains still its hold upon the minds of
the multitude.

T h e r e is, so far as I can see, no other theory o f

the G r e a t P y r a m i d which even comes near to
g i v i n g a common-sense interpretation of the c o m ­
bined astronomical and sepulchral character of this
wonderful structure. I f it is certain, on the one
hand, that the building was built astronomically,
and was meant for astronomical observation, it is
equally certain that it w a s meant for a t o m b , that
M -
 164 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

it was closed in very soon after the k i n g died for

w h o m it was built, that, in fine, its astronomical
value related to himself alone. A s an astrological
edifice, a gigantic horoscope for him and for him
only, we can understand its purport, much though
w c m a y marvel at the vast expenditure of care,
labour, and treasure at which it was erected.
Granted full faith in astrology (and wc know there
was such faith), it was worth while to build even
such a structure as the Great Pyramid ; just as,
granted the ideas of E g y p t i a n s about burial, we
can understand the erection of so m i g h t y a mass
for a tomb, and all save its special astronomical
character. O f no other theory, I venture to say,
than that which combines these two strange but
most marked characteristics of the Egyptian
mind, can this be said.
I could descant at great length on the value
which the G r e a t Pyramid, when in the condition
represented in fig. 11 (frontispiece) and fig. 12,
must have had for astronomical observation. I
could show how much more e x a c t l y than b y the
use of a n y gnomon, the sun's annual course
around the celestial sphere could be determined
b y observations made from the Great Gallery,
b y noting the shadow of the edges of the upper
opening of the g a l l e r y on t h e sides, the floor,
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 165

and the upper surfaces of the ramps. The

moon's monthly path and its changes could have
been dealt with in the same effective w a y . The
geocentric paths, and thence the true paths, of
the planets could be determined v e r y accurately
b y combining the use of tubes or ring-carrying
rods with the direction-lines determined from the
gallery's sides, floor, & c . The place of every
visible star along the Z o d i a c (astrologically the
most important part of the stellar heavens) could
be most accurately determined. Mad the p y r a m i d
been left in that incomplete, but astronomically
most perfect, form, the edifice might have re­
mained for thousands of years the most im­
portant astronomical structure in the world. Nay,
to this very day it would have retained its
pre-eminence, provided, of course, that its a d v a n ­
tages over other buildings had been d u l y supple­
mented b y modern instrumental and optical i m ­
provements.
Unfortunately, the Great P y r a m i d was erected
solely for selfish purposes. It was to be the tomb
of Cheops, and whatever qualities it had for astro­
nomical observation were to be devoted to his
service only. T h e incalculable aid to the progress
of astronomy which might have been obtained from
this magnificent structure entered in no sort into
166 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

its king-buildcr's plan. Centuries would have been

required to reap even a tithe of the k n o w l e d g e
which might h a v e been derived from pyramid o b ­
servations, and such observations were limited to
a few y e a r s — t w e n t y , thirty, forty, or fifty at the
outside.
N o w , while I am fully conscious that the astro­
logical theory of the Great P y r a m i d is open to
most obvious, and, at the first sight, most over­
w h e l m i n g objections, I venture to say not only
that these arc c o m p l e t e l y met b y what is certainly
known about the pyramid, but that the astrolo­
gical theory (combined, of course, with the tomb
theory) is demonstrably the true explanation
of all that had been mysterious in the Great
Pyramid.
T a k e the chief points which have perplexed
students of the p y r a m i d s generally, and of the
Great Pyramid in particular.
i. G r a n t i n g the most inordinate affection for
large sepulchral abodes, how can w c account for
the a m a z i n g amount of labour, money, and time
bestowed on the Great Pyramid ?
T h e astrological theory at once supplies the
answer. If the builder believed what we k n o w was
actually believed b y all the Oriental nations re­
specting planetary and stellar influences, it w a s
 THE PROBLEAf OF THE PYRAMIDS. 167

worth his while to expend that and more on

the pyramid, to read the stars for his benefit,
and to ' rule ' stars and planets to his advantage.
2. If the pyramids were but vast tombs, w h y
should t h e y be astronomically oriented with e x ­
treme care —to assume for a moment that this is
the only astronomical relation established certainly
respecting them ?
A s t r o l o g y answers this difficulty most satis­
factorily. For astrological study of the heavens,
the pyramid (in its incomplete or truncated condi­
tion) could not be too accurately oriented.
3. Granted that the Great Pyramid w a s for a
time used as an astronomical observatory, and that
its upper square platform w a s used for cardinal
directions in the way shown in fig. 9, what
connection is there between these direction-lines
(the only ones which would naturally arise from
the square form) and astrological relations ?
T h e s e lines remain to this v e r y d a y in use
among astrologers. The accompanying figure,
taken from ' Raphael's A s t r o l o g y ' ( R a p h a e l being
doubtless some S m i t h , or P l o d g c t t , or Iliggin-
botham), represents the ordinary horoscope, and
its relations (now unmeaning) to a horizontal,
carefully-oriented square plane surface, such as the
top of the p y r a m i d was, with just such direction-
168 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

lines as would naturally be used on such a plat­

form : —

Flo. 13.

4. W h y did each k i n g want a tomb of his own ?

W h y should not a larger family mausoleum, one
in which all the e x p e n s e and labour given to all
the p y r a m i d s might have been combined, have
been preferred ?
It m a y be noted here, that, according to some
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 169

traditions, the second pyramid, though somewhat

smaller than the first, and altogether inferior in
design, was begun somewhat earlier. I would
invite special attention to this point. It is one of
those p e r p l e x i n g details which are always best
worth e x a m i n i n g when we want to obtain a true
theory. T h e second pyramid was certainly built
during the reign of the builder of the first or Great
Pyramid. It must have been built, then, with his
sanction, for his brother, Chephrcn, according to
H e r o d o t u s ; Noun-shofo, or Suphis II., according
to the E g y p t i a n records. Enormous quantities o f
stone, of the same quality as the stone used for
the Great Pyramid, were c o n v e y e d to the site of
the second pyramid, during the very time when
the resources of the nation were being largely
t a x e d to g e t the materials for the Great Pyramid
c o n v e y e d to the place appointed for that structure.
It would appear, then, that there was some strong
—in fact, some insuperable—objection to the
building of one great pyramid, larger b y far than
cither the first or second, for both the brothers.
Y e t nothing has ever been learned respecting the
views of the E g y p t i a n s about tombs (save only
w h a t is learned from the p y r a m i d s themselves, if
we assume that t h e y were only built as tombs)
which would suggest that each king wanted a
l7o THE GREAT PYRAMID,

monstrous pyramid sepulchre for himself. I f we

could doubt that C h e o p s valued his brother and
his family very highly, we should find convincing
proof of the fact, in the circumstance that he
allowed enormous sums to be e x p e n d e d on his
brother's pyramid, and a great quantity of labour
to be devoted to its erection, at the time when his
own was in progress at still greater expense, and at
the cost of still greater labour. But if he thus
highly esteemed his brother, and regarding him as
the future ruler of E g y p t , recognised in him the
same almost sacred qualities which the people of
E g y p t taught their rulers to recognise in themselves,
what was to prevent him from combining the
moneys and the labours which were devoted to the
two pyramids in the construction of a single larger
pyramid, which could be m a d e d o u b l y secure,
and more perfectly designed and e x e c u t e d ? Is
a n y t h i n g whatever known respecting either the
E g y p t i a n s or any race of tomb-loving, or rather
corpse-worshipping people, which would lead us
to suppose that a number of costly separate tomb
pyramids would have been preferred to a single,
but far larger, pyramid-mausoleum, which should
receive the bodies of all the members of the family,
or at least of all those of the family who had ruled
in turn over the land ? If wc could imagine for a
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 171

moment that C h e o p s would h a v e objected to such

an arrangement, is it not clear that when he died
his successors would h a v e taken possession of his
pyramid, removing his b o d y perhaps, or not allow­
ing it to be interred there, if the sole or even the
chief purpose for which a pyramid was erected was
that it might serve as a gigantic tomb ?
W e m a y indeed note, as a still more fatal o b ­
jection to the theory that the chief purpose for
which a. pyramid was built was to serve as the
builder's tomb, that it would have been little short
of madness for C h e o p s to devote m a n y years of his
life, enormous sums of money, and the labour of
myriads of his people, to the construction of a
building which might and probably would be
turned after his d e a t h to some purpose quite
different from that for which he intended it. It is
not to be supposed, and indeed history shows it
certainly was not the case, that the dynasties which
ruled over E g y p t were more secure from attack
than those which ruled elsewhere in the East
during those d a y s . C h e o p s cannot have placed
such implicit reliance on his brother Chephren's
g o o d faith as to feel sure that, after his own death,
Chephrcn would c o m p l e t e the pyramid, place
C h e o p s ' b o d y in it, and close up the entrance so
securely that none could find the w a y into the
172 THE GREAT PYRAMID,

chamber where the b o d y was laid. C h e o p s could

not even be certain that Chcphrcn would survive
him, or that his own son, Mycerinus or Menkeres,
would be able to carry out the purpose for which
he (Cheops) had built the pyramid.
A p a r t , then, from that feature of the tomb
theory which seems so strangely to have escaped
notice—the utter wildncss of the idea that even
the most tomb-loving race would build tombs
quite so monstrous as these—we see that there arc
the strongest possible objections against the credi­
bility of the merely tombic theory (to use a word
coined, I imagine, b y Professor Piazzi S m y t h , and
more convenient perhaps than defensible). It
seems clear on the face of things that the p y r a m i d s
must have been intended to serve some useful
purpose during the lifetime of the builder. It is
clear also (all, indeed, save the believers in the
religion of the Great Pyramid, will admit this point)
that each pyramid served some purpose useful to
the builder of the pyramid, and to him only.
Cheops' pyramid was of no use to Chcphrcn,
Chephren's of no use to Mycerinus, and so forth.
Otherwise w e might be sure, even if w c adopted
for a moment the e x c l u s i v e l y tombic theory, that
(hough Chephrcn might have been so honest as
not to borrow his brother's t o m b when C h e o p s was
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 173

departed, or Mycerinus so honest as not to despoil

cither his uncle or his father, y e t a m o n g some of
the builders of the p y r a m i d s such honesty would
have been wanting. It is clear, however, from all
the traditions which have reached us respecting the
pyramids, that no a n x i e t y w a s entertained b y the
builder of a n y pyramid on this score. Cheops
seems t o have been well assured that Chephrcn
would respect his pyramid, and even (at g r e a t e x ­
pense) complete it ; and so of all the rest. There
must, then, have been some special reasons which
rendered the pyramid of each k i n g useless a l t o ­
g e t h e r to his successor.
A s t r o l o g y at once supplies a reason. Dead
kings of one family might sleep with a d v a n t a g e in
a single tomb ; but each man's horoscope must be
k e p t b y itself. E v e n to this day, the astrological
charlatan would not discuss one man's horoscope
on the plan drawn out and used for another man's.
E v e r y t h i n g , according to ancient astrological super­
stition, would have become confused and indistinct.
T h e ruling of the planets would have been imper­
fect and unsatisfactory, if K i n g C h e o p s ' horoscope
platform had been used for Chephrcn, or C h c p h -
ren's for Mycerinus. The religious solemnities
which accompanied astrological observations in the
d a y s when the chief astrologers were high priests,
174 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

would have been rendered nugatory if those per­

formed under suitable conditions for one person
were followed b y others performed under different
conditions for another person.
5. I l o w is it that the pyramid o f Chcphrcn
(Cheops' brother), though about as large, is quite
inferior to the pyramid of Cheops, the pyramid of
Mycerinus (Cheops' son) much smaller, and that
of A s y c h i s (Cheops' grandson) v e r y much smaller,
while l o the younger sons and daughters of C h e o p s
very small pyramids, within the same enclosure as
the Great Pyramid, are assigned ?
T h e astrological answer is obvious. Cheops
not only had full faith in astrology— as, indeed, all
men had in his d a y — b u t his faith w a s so lively
that he put it in practice in a very energetic w a y
for the benefit of himself and dynasty. Chcphrcn
probaby had similar faith. F o r the t w o brothers,
separate pyramids, nearly equal in size, were
made, cither at the c o m m a n d of Cheops alone, or
with such sanction from C h c p h r c n as his (probable)
separate authority required and justified. At tlic
same time, and because his fortunes were obviously
associated in the closest manner with those o f his
father and uncle, C h e o p s (or C h e o p s and Chcphrcn)
would have a pyramid made for Mycerinus, but on
a smaller scale. Probably, the astrology o f those
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 175

d a y s assigned the proper proportion in which the

horoscope-platform for a son should be less than
that for a father. It is noteworthy, at any rate,
that the linear dimensions of the pyramid of
A s y c h i s arc less than those of the pyramid o f
Mycerinus, in just the same degree that these arc
less than the linear dimensions of the pyramid of
Cheops.
6 It is certain that if Mycerinus had built his
own pyramid, he would have erected one larger,
not smaller, than his father's, while A s y c h i s would
have made his pyramid larger y e t ; whereas, as a
mere matter of fact, the pyramid of A s y c h i s is
utterly insignificant in size compared with the
pyramid of Cheops. T h e sides of the bases of
the four p y r a m i d s were roughly as f o l l o w s : — T h e
pyramid of Cheops, 760 f e e t ; that of Chephrcn,
720 f e e t ; that of Mycerinus, 330 f e e t ; that of
Asychis, 160 feet. The pyramid of Cheops
e x c e e d s that of A s y c h i s much more than 1 50 times
in volume. It is not in accordance with what we
know of human nature to suppose that A s y c h i s
would have been content with so insignificant a
version of his grandfather's pyramid. R a t h e r than
that, he would have had no p y r a m i d at all, but
invented some new sepulchral arrangement. Yet
it adds enormously to the difficulties of the pyra-
•76 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

mid problem to suppose that C h e o p s and C h c p h ­

rcn arranged for the erection of all the pyramids,
or, at any rate, that the smaller pyramids were
raised to the horoscope-platform level during their
lifetime.
Here, however, the astrological theory, instead
of encountering, as all other theories do, a new
and serious difficulty, finds fresh support ; for this
arrangement is precisely what wc should e x p e c t
t o find if the G r e a t Pyramid w a s erected to its
observing platform for [Link] observation and
the religious observances associated with them. It
is certain that with the ideas C h e o p s must have
had (on that theory) of the importance of astro­
nomical observations to determine, and partly
govern, his. future, he woultl not have left his sons
without their pyramidal horoscopes. E v e n if w c
suppose he entertained such j e a l o u s y o f his brother
Chcphrcn, as Oriental (and some Occidental)
princes have been known to entertain of their near
kinsfolk and probable successors, that would be
but an additional reason for having his brother's
horoscope-pyramid erected on such a scale as the
.astrologers and priests considered suitable in the
case of such near kinship. For b y means of the
observations made b y the astrological priesthood
from Chcphren's horoscope-platform, C h e o p s could
 THE PROBLEM OE THE PYRAMIDS. 177

learn, according to the astrological doctrines in

which he believed, the future fortunes of his
brother, and even be able to rule the planets in his
own defence, where their configurations seemed
favourable to Chephrcn and threatening to him­
self.
7. But it m a y be urged that, b e y o n d the gene­
ral statement that the pyramids were intended as
the tombs of their respective builders, we learn too
little from ancient writers to form any satisfactory
idea of their object.
It so happens, however, that the only precise
statement handed d o w n to us respecting the use o f
the pyramids —not merely of the Great Pyramid,
but of all the pyramids—accords with the astro­
logical theory in e v e r y detail, and with no other
theory in any degree. F o r wc learn from Proclus
that the pyramids of E g y p t (which, according to
Diodorus, had existed 3,600 y e a r s before his
history was written, about 8 H.C.) terminated above
in a platform, from which the priests made their
celestial observations.
O b s e r v e how much is implied in this short
statement: —
First, all the pyramids had a use independent
of their final purpose as tombs ; a use, therefore,
during the lifetime of their future tenants, and
N
173 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

presumably—one m a y say certainly—relating to

the interests of those persons.
S e c o n d l y , this use was precisely such as ve
have been led to infer with all but absolute
certainty, already, from the study of the Great
Pyramid.
T h i r d l y , the astronomical observations were
m a d e b y priests, and were therefore religious in
character—a description which could only a p p l y
to astronomical observations made for astrological
purposes. In all probability, the priests w h o made
these observations professed a religion differing
little from pure S a b a i s m , or the worship of the
heavenly host. B u t it must be remembered that
astrology was the natural offspring of Sabaism.
Wherever wc find an astronomical priesthood,
there w c find faith in astrology. B u t to say truth,
where a m o n g ancient Oriental nations w a s such
faith w a n t i n g ? T h e Jews had less of it than other
Oriental nations, but they were not free from it.
A s they had all their religious observances regu­
lated b y the h e a v e n l y bodies, so they recognised
the influence of the ' stars in their courses.' If
they believed the heavenly bodies to be for
' s e a s o n s ' (of religious worship), and for ' d a y s and
years,' t h e y believed them also to be for ' signs.'
T h i s also was the view of the ancient C h a l d a a n s .
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 179

' It is evident,' says the late Mr. G e o r g e Smith,

' from the opening of the inscriptions on the first
tablet of the Chaldaean astrology and astronomy,
that the functions of the stars were, according to
the Babylonians, to act not only as regulators of
the seasons and the year, but also to be used as
signs, as in Genesis i. 1 4 ; for in those ages it was
generally believed that the heavenly bodies gave,
b y their appearance and positions, signs of events
which were c o m i n g on the earth.'
In fine, while there is no other theory of the
pyramids generally, and of the Great Pyramid in
particular, which has either positive or negative
evidence in its form, the astrological theory is sup­
ported b y all the known positive evidence ; and
strong though such support is, it derives y e t greater
strength from the utter failure of all other admis­
sible theories to sustain the weight against them.
T h e r e are difficulties in the astrological theory, no
doubt, but t h e y are difficulties arising from our
inability to understand how men ever had such
fulness of faith in astrology as to devote enormous
sums and many years of labour to the pursuit of
astrological researches, even for their own inter­
ests. Y e t w e k n o w in other w a y s that a s t i o l o g y
really was accepted in those d a y s with the fulness
of faith thus implied. W h i l e , however, the only
 i8o THE GREAT PYRAMID.

serious difficulty in the astrological theory thus

disappears when closely e x a m i n e d , the difficulties
in the w a y of all other theories are so great, that,
to all intents and purposes, they are not so much
difficulties as impossibilities.
I do not say that there is nothing surprising in
what is known, when the theory is admitted that
the Great Pyramid was built by Suphis or C h e o p s
in order that astronomical observations might be
continued throughout his life, to determine his
future, to ascertain what epochs were dangerous or
propitious for him, and to note such unusual phe­
nomena a m o n g the celestial bodies as seemed to
bode him good or evil fortune. It docs seem
amazing, despite all we k n o w of the fulness of
faith reposed b y men of old times in the fanciful
doctrines of astrology, that a n y man, no matter
how rich or powerful, should devote m a n y years
of his life, a large portion of his wealth, and the
labours of m a n y myriads of his subjects, to so
chimerical a purpose. It is strange that a building
erected for that purpose should not be capable of
subserving a similar purpose for his successors on
the throne o f E g y p t . S t r a n g e also that he should
have been able to provide in some w a y for the
completion of the building after his death, though
that must have been a work of enormous labour,
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS. 1S1

and very expensive, even though all the materials

had been prepared during his own lifetime.
But I d o assert with considerable confidence
that no other theory has been y e t suggested (and
almost every imaginable theory has been a d v o ­
c a t e d ) which gives the slightest answer to these
chief difficulties in the pyramid problem. The
astrological theory, if accepted, gives indeed an
answer which requires us to believe the k i n g l y
builder of the Great pyramid, and, in less degree,
those w h o with him or after him built the others,
to have been utterly selfish, tyrannical, and super­
stitious—or, in brief, utterly unwise. But unfor­
tunately the study of human nature brings before
us so m a n y illustrations of the existence of such
folly and superstition in as great or even greater
degree, that w e need not for such reasons reject
the astrological theory. O f other theories it m a y
be said that, while not one of them, e x c e p t the
wild theory which attributes the Great P y r a m i d to
divinely instructed architects, presents the builders
more favourably, every one of these theories leaves
the most striking features of the G r e a t Pyramid
entirely unexplained.
L a s t l y , I would note that the pyramids when
rightly viewed must be regarded, not as m o n u ­
ments which should e x c i t e our admiration, but as
i82 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

stupendous records of the length to which tyranny

and selfishness, folly and superstition, lust of power
and greed of wealth, will carry man. Regarded
as works of skill, and as e x a m p l e s of what men
m a y effect b y combined and long-continued labour,
they are indeed marvellous, and in a sense admi­
rable. T h e y will remain in all probability, and
will be scarcely changed, when e v e r y other edifice
at this d a y existing on the surface of the earth
has either crumbled into dust or changed out of
all knowledge. T h e museums and libraries, the
churches and cathedrals, the observatories, the
college buildings and other scholastic edifices of
our time, are not for a moment to be compared
with the Great Pyramid of E g y p t in all that con­
stitutes material importance, strength, or stability.
B u t while the imperishable monuments of old
E g y p t are records of tyranny and selfishness, the
less durable structures of our own a g e arc, in the
main, records of at least the desire to increase the
knowledge, to advance the interests, and to a m e ­
liorate the condition of the human race. N o good
whatever has resulted to man from all the labour,
misery, and expense involved in raising those
mighty structures which seem fitted to endure
while the world itself shall last. T h e y are and
ever have been splendidly worthless. O n the other
 THE PROBLEM OF THE PYRAMIDS, 1S3

band, the less costly works of our own time, while

their very construction has involved g o o d instead
of misery to the lowlier classes, have increased the
k n o w l e d g e and the well-being of mankind. The
g o o d l y seed of the earth, though perishable itself,
germinates, fructifies, and bears other seed, which
will in turn bring forth y e t other and perchance
even better fruits; so the efforts of man to work
good to his fellow-man instead of evil, although
they m a y lead to perishable material results, will
y e t germinate, and fructify, and bear seed, over
an ever-widening field of time, even to untold
generations.
 184

APPENDICES.

A P P E N D I X A.

THE GREAT PYRAMID MEASURES, AND THE DIA­

M E T E R S A N D D I S T A N C E S OK I I I E S U N , E A R T H , A N D
MOON.
I'.Y JOSEril IIAXKMiEIX, ['.K.A.N.

A FEW months ago the results of a partial discussion of

the Great Pyramid measures, given by Professor C.
Piazzi Smyth, in the fourth edition of his work entitled
• Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid,' led me to believe
that the data which had formed the basis of the design
for the pyramid were the diameters and distances of the
sun, earth, and moon, combined with the ratio (V) of the
circumference of a circle to its diameter—a quantity
which forms an important feature in the relations of the
pyramid measures; and, also, that in order to reduce the
results of the astronomical data to magnitudes suitable
for the design and construction of the pyramid, a scale
of one pyramid inch to a length, one-thousandth part
greater than the present English mile, or 63,360 pyramid
inches, had been used by the architect; but as I found
that the values of the diameters and distances given in
various astronomical works, especially those for the
 APPENDIX A. 185

diameter and distance of the sun, would not yield results

agreeing exactly with the pyramid measures, although
they were generally remarkably close approximations, I
was induced to undertake a more extended discussion
and analysis of the measures, with a view to ascertain, if
possible, the exact values which had been employed by
the architect in his reductions, and it thus became
necessary to attempt a solution of the following problem.
Given approximate values of the diameters and distances
of the sun, earth, and moon, to find the values which in
simple combinations will give, with strict exactness, the
various pyramid measures and numbers, the scale for the
reductions being one pyramid inch for a pyramid mile of
63,360 pyramid inches. For some time I had consider­
able difficulty in forming the requisite number of suitable
equations for the complete solution of this problem,
but ultimately succeeded, and obtained the following
values :—
I'yranml Miles KnslUh Milts
s
Diameter 1 if the Sun . . . ^55,93 ^50,79J
2
Equatorial diameter of the Earth 7>9'77 7>9 5'6
Diameter of the Moon . . 2,157-2 2,159-3
M e a n distance of the S u n . . 91,758,800 91,850,558
Mean distance of the M o o n . 238,483 238,721

Let S— distance of the s u n ; Af = distance of the

moon ; s = diameter of the sun ; e — equatorial diameter
of the earth; /// = diameter of the moon. Then the
following equations, in which pyramid miles and inches
are adopted, will show the relations between these num­
bers and the pyramid measures :—
se
i. — = I,000,0005T.
Ill
186 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

It is probably owing to the remarkable relation in the

magnitudes of the three bodies shown by this equation
that the quantity it forms so prominent a feature in the
relations of the pyramid measures.
1
2. -J sir' = 9,131 05 = length of one side of the base
-

of the pyramid.
3. s/s2n= 5 , 8 i 3 ' o i = height of the pyramid.
4. S n
— , 881-59 = length of Grand Gallery.
25,000

5. ' * = 412-13 = length of King's Chamber.

6. vJEzJL =: 5-151,646 = the number which has

1,000
been called the key number to the dimensions of the
King's Chamber, and of the pyramid generally.
- 25,000,000*'
7 S = j L
- ~17 t

8. Mm™

3'V
9- M= • se
9'//6
2S
5.151,646 M - 149-37 = height of ante-chamber.
x <J SMS-K* , . , ,
11. — =36,524-22 = perimeter of base of
250^
the Pyramid.

12. ft&Ms _ ^813*01 _ ] jght of the pyramid.

le

13. = 1,881 '59 = length of Grand Gallery.

75v/SJ/

S n
14. 8 ° ^ ^ — , •, 3 ^length of the King's Chamber.
4 2

Among the equations I obtained during the investi-

 APPENDIX A. 187

[Link] were several which gave a smaller value for the

diameter of the sun ; and as I am not aware that any
sensible difference has ever been observed between the
polar and equatorial diameters, this result seemed ad­
verse to the theory of a connection between the pyramid
measures and the diameters of the three bodies, until it
occurred to me that probably one diameter referred to
the photosphere, and the other to the comparatively dark
and solid or liquid body of the sun. This latter diameter
is 8 5 3 , 7 1 8 pyramid miles, or 2 , 2 2 0 miles less than that
of the photosphere, and the following equations, in
which it is represented by the Greek letter a, will show
its connection with the pyramid measures :—
2
15. —^ = 36,524-20 = perimeter of base.

16. —- = 5,813-01 = height of pyramid,

21

17. — = 1 1 6 2 6 = length of ante-chamber,

1 OOR

18. . - = 412-13.
J
50^ *

, .
9 _. = 1,681-59.
400,OOOC'
V
20. ;, = I,88l 59.

3
IT S i r ,
21. - =51,516.
4,000c'

The length of the earth's polar axis is assumed by

pyramidists to be 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 pyramid inches, or 7 , 8 9 1 - 4 1
pyramid miles of 6 3 , 3 6 0 pyramid inches to the mile, or
7 , 8 9 9 3 0 English miles, while the value derived by Col.
Clarke, from an elaborate discussion of measurements of
iR8 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

arcs of meridian, is 7 , 8 9 9 ' 1 1 English miles—the differ­

ence being, therefore, less than two-tenths of a mile. I
was, therefore, much surprised to find that the pyramid
measures would not yield a less diameter for the earth
than 7 , 8 9 2 ' 5 4 pyramid miles, or more than a mile greater
than the generally-accepted length of the polar diameter.
The question therefore arose—Can this latter length be-
in error to the extent indicated, or is the value I have
obtained connected in any way with some marked fea­
ture of the pyramid? It seemed to be highly impro­
bable, if not impossible, that the results of the calcula­
tions of Eessel, Airy, and Clarke could be in error to the
extent of more than a small fraction of a mile ; and as­
suming, therefore, that the figure of the earth is truly
spheroidal with major axis •= 7 , 7 1 7 7 , and minor axis
= 7 , 8 9 1 - 4 1 pyramidal miles, I calculated the geocentric
latitude in which a diameter will be 7 , 8 9 2 - 5 4 miles, and
found it to be 7 8 ° 2 5 ' 3 3 ' ' ; and, deducting this from
0
9 0 , we have 1 1 ° 34'' 2 7 " . A glance at this result at once
suggested that it was the polar distance of the pyramid
pole star, a Draconis, multiplied by the quantity 7r, and
on dividing I I ° 3 4 ' 2 7 " by v, I obtained 3 " 4 1 ' , which is
a very close approximation to the calculated polar dis­
tance of « Draconis at the time of the building of the
pyramid. Now a section of the earth through the
parallel of latitude marked out in so singular a manner
hits a diameter of 1 , 5 8 3 - 5 4 pyramid miles, or exactly one-
lifth of the earth's equatorial diameter, and an area of
1 , 9 6 9 , 4 6 2 miles, or one twenty-fifth that of a section
through the equator, which is 4 9 , 2 3 6 , 6 0 0 miles. The
occurrence of the pyramid numbers 5 and 25 in connec-
 A PP EN DIX A. 189

tion with the diameter thus indicated in so striking a man­

ner gives a peculiar importance to it, and accordingly I
have found that expressions in which it is a factor can be
formed which give exactly the various pyramid measures.
Thus, representing this diameter by the ('reek letter >/
(eta), we have
S-JT o
22. 1 1 = — =7,892-54.
4,000 x 5 - 1 5 1 , 6 4 6
Sc-
23- >/ = ^r-

2 4 . ^ J L =5151,646.
4,000«

25. ~SB 11,62602 = 100 times length of ante-

chamber.
S
26. ' jy--—— = 36,524-22.
4,000^5-151,646

2
27. ~ ' -'_ s 1 1 1 -795 = height of granite wainscot
100
in ante-chamber.
2 8 . 45o^ =

5 1 5 1 , 6 4 6 4 *OT
S'—\/ 7T M ,
29. , = 1,88159.
400,000//-
30. ^ 5 ' 5 ' , 6 4 6 , = 8 8 |

1001;

.sv
31. =9,131-05.
4'/

32. — = 5,813-01.
2'/

It may be remarked that the diameter 1/ is exactly one

seven-thousandth part greater than the polar diameter,
and that the parallels of latitude in which it occurs
too THE GREAT PYRAMID.

may be regarded as the limits of the habitable portion of

the globe.
The results of my investigation having proved that a
measure corresponding to our English mile, and contain­
ing 63,360 pyramid inches, was used by the architect of
the pyramid, it became a matter of interest to ascertain,
if possible, how it originated, and ultimately I arrived at
the following formula :—

= 17,724-5 miles, which is the cir­

cumference of a circle whose area is 25,000,000 miles, or
equal to the area of a section of the earth through the
parallel of latitude in which the length of a diameter is
equal to the mean of all the earth's diameters (7,904-545
p. miles). This area, expressed in pyramid inches, is
equal to a square, the side of which has a length of
316,800,000 inches, and this, divided by 5,000 = 63,360
inches.
My experience in the development of the theory
which has yielded the results given in this paper has
convinced me that there is no feature of the Great
Pyramid, or relation of its various parts, which cannot
be expressed in terms of the astronomical data I have
used, and in some cases, as I have already shown, two,
three, or more equations can be formed, each containing
one or more factors not in the others, but giving pre­
cisely the same result. It is evident, therefore, that the
builder possessed a far greater amount of mathematical
and astronomical knowledge than it has hitherto been
supposed could possibly have been acquired by the ordi­
nary course of observation and scientific investigation in
 APPENDIX A. 191

the early age of the world when the pyramid was built;
and the fact that the values of the diameters and dis­
tances used by him arc within the limits of the probable
errors of the means of the best astronomical determina­
tions of recent times proves that, so far at least as these
values are concerned, modern science has made no real
advance upon the science known to the builder of the
Great Pyramid 4 , 0 0 0 years ago.

APPENDIX 13.

1
EXCAVATIONS AT THE PYRAMIDS.

[Link] PYRAMIDS. Nt!'. 26, ISSI.

BY \V. M. FLINDERS PETR1E.

D U R I N G the past six weeks excavations have been

carried on by me here, under the authorisation of M.
Maspero, not for obtaining portable antiquities, but for
deciding questions of architecture and measurement.
Many points of interest have been uncovered for the first
time in modern history, though the work was not on a
large scale, and the number of excavators never exceeded
twenty. There have been over 280 holes sunk, varying
from a foot deep to shafts twenty feet deep and trenches
ninety feet long.
A brief notice of the work done may be worth giving
1
Fri.m a letter to tlic Academy,
 19-' THE GREAT PYRAMID.

at once, without waiting for the complete publication of

it, along with my survey of the pyramids (made during
five months of last season), to which, it is a necessary
sequel, for fixing the exact fiducial points of the ancient
constructions.
At the Great Pyramid, the entrance passage has been
cleared enough to examine it throughout, and to enter
the subterranean chamber freely. Some of the loose
gravel in the ' grotto ' of the well has been moved, show­
ing that there is a natural vertical fissure filled with the
gravel. The casing and pavement of the pyramid have
been found in situ, at about the middle of the west, east,
and south sides ; it was already exposed on the north
side, on which alone it has been hitherto known. The
outer edge of the rock-cut bed of the pavement has been
cleared in parts of the sides, and at the north-east and
south-west corners. The great basalt pavement has been
cleared in parts, and the edge of the rock-cut bed of it
has been traced along the north-east and south sides ;
but its junction with the limestone pyramid paving
(which is at the same level) could not be found, as both
are destroyed at that part. The ends of the great trenches
around the basalt pavement have been partly cleared.
The bottom and sides of the east-north-east trench have
been cleared in parts to show the form. No bottom was
found under nine feet of sand in the nortli trench. The
small north-north-cast trench has been cleared in parts
up to its inner end at the basalt paving, where it is much
smaller, and forks into two. The various rock cuttings
and trenches north-east of the pyramid have been cleared
and surveyed, but refilled, as the road passes over them.
 APPENDIX P. '93

A piece of the casing of the pyramid, found near the

base on the west side, has Greek inscriptions, apparently
Tto . . . . Sot . . . . (perhaps Ptolemy V I I I . , as the s
is round); and Markcs K . . . ., over which is ham­
mered roughly . . . m a j . . . in Arabic. Nothing,
besides a few fragments with single letters, had been pre­
viously discovered of the many inscriptions that existed
on the casing.
At the second pyramid the corners have been all
cleared. The site of the edge of the casing has been
found in six places near the corners, and the casing itself
uncovered at the south-west. The edge of the bed of
the pavement has been found on the north and west
sides. The peribolus walls of the pyramid have been
cleared in many parts, showing that they are all carefully
built, and not of ' heaped stone rubbish,' as had been
hitherto supposed. Also, the so-called ' lines of stone
rubbish' on the west side of the pyramid prove to be all
built walls, forming a series of long galleries about sixty
in number, each about too ft. long, 9 ft. wide, and 7 ft.
high, with ends and thresholds of hewn limestone.
They would suffice to house two or three thousand men,
and I can only suppose that they were the workmen's
barracks. Fragments of fine statues in diorite and
alabaster were found here, like those in the temple of
this pyramid. The great bank of chips on the south
side of the cyclopean wall north of the pyramid proves
to have retaining walls built in it to hold up the stuff.
The peribolus wall on the south-south-east of the
pyramid is of fine limestone, of good workmanship, like
most of the tombs of the period. The enormous heaps
o
19+ THE CREAT PYRAMID.

of rubbish south of this wall were slightly cut, and found

to consist of tipped out, stratified, clean chips of lime­
stone, like the rubbish banks of the Great Pyramid, but
inferior stone.
At the third pyramid, the granite casing has been un­
covered at its base in five places near the comers. The
peribolus walls have been cleared in many parts all round,
and found, in every case, not to consist of heaped stones,
but to have carefully-built vertical faces, like the second
pyramid peribolus, but of inferior work ; and the wall on
the south side is better built, and very wide.
The small pyramids have not been cleared for lack of
time, as they are rather deeply buried ; but a part of the
rock-cut bed of pavement of the northern one near the
Great Pyramid was accidentally uncovered close to the
edge of the bed of the basalt pavement.
Though I am obliged to suspend work here at pre­
sent, yet I shall be very glad to receive any suggestions
of points needing examination (addressed to Poste
Restante, Cairo); and, if they arc practicable, I may find
an opportunity for further work two or three months
hence.
When all the paperwork of this survey is finished, we
shall know the sizes and distances of the pyramids within
a quarter of an inch; and there will be fresh soil for
the growth of theories, as the Great Pyramid proves to be
several feet smaller than hitherto supposed, the sockets
not defining the casing at the pavement level, though
defining it, perhaps, at their own respective levels.
 APPENDIX /»'. '95

NOTE ON T H E ABOVE.

With the discovery that the base of the pyramid is

several feet shorter than had been supposed, a number of
relations supposed to connect the Great Pyramid with
astronomy go overboard at a single stroke. Still, the
coincidences remain. Indeed, it only requires that the
pyramid inch should be slightly altered for the relations
to be all once more perfectly fulfilled. What will he done
with the arguments showing the true pyramid inch to be
almost exactly the same as the British inch, and the true
cubit to be twenty-five of these inches, I do not know :
but past experience shows that whatever the precise value
of the pyramid inch, as deduced from these new mea­
sures, may prove to be, will be shown to be just the
value which corresponds most perfectly with what may
be called the pyramid religion. Let us see what is the
nature of the coincidences on which pyramidalists lay so
much stress.
We find that while the pyramid fulfils closely the
relation which Herodotus says it was intended to fulfil,
each slant face being equal in area to the square of the
height, it also very nearly fulfils what Taylor tells us was
the real purpose of the builder, the height being nearly
equal to the radius of a circle having a circumference
equal to the perimeter of the square base; and again, it
almost as closely fulfils another relation, in having the
oa
196 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

slant at the edge very nearly as 9 vertically to 10 horizon­

tally. Now, to the ignorant, it seems as though the close
approximation of the building's proportions to these three
relations proves demonstrably the mathematical skill of
the builders, if not their divine inspiration. As a mat­
ter of fact, however, wc sec from the co-existence of
these three relations, any one of which might as well as
another be the real one which the builders had in view
(were it not certain, from what Herodotus tells us, that
the first only was their building rule), how easy it is to
find such relations if we only look carefully for them,
for two out of the three are certainly accidental. So
that apart from the evidence of Herodotus, we should
be free to reject all three, on the sound plea that since
coincidence can so readily be detected, no reliance
can be placed upon any argument from mere coinci­
dence.
Then, again, according lo the measurements just
negatived, there were exactly as many cubits of 2 5
inches in each side as there are days in the year, or
3 6 , 5 2 4 inches in the circuit of the base. One would
have said that if this were really proved, and if the height
were determined by any one of the three geometrical
rules just indicated, all the dimensions of the Great
Pyramid, as a whole, were determined once for all. Hut
even in the early days of the pyramid religion, the
pyramidalists were not content with this. They found
that the two diagonals of the square base together con­
tained as many inches as there are years in the Great
Precessional Period, and that the height contained as
 APPENDIX B. i97

many inches as there are in the one thousand-millionth

part of the sun's distance ; though, of course, if these rela­
tions really hold, they indicate coincidences, and very
singular ones too, entirely outside of the pyramid. As
thus :—Take one-fourth the number of days in the year,
and double the square of this number ; the square root
of the product equals half the number of years in the
Great Precessional Period. And again, taken 1 0 0 times
the number of days in the year, and reduce the number
thus obtained in the same ratio that the radius is less
than the circumference of a circle ; you will then have a
number equal to the number of inches which there are in
one thousand-millionth part of the sun's distance. These
two relations exist quite independently of the pyramid,
and, so seen, even pyramidalists must admit that they
are but singular numerical coincidences. They have not
a particle of real significance, any more than this one,
which I make pyramidal (by a very transparent device)
merely to show how easy it is to work such things :—
Take the square base of the pyramid, and divide each
side into as many parts as the pyramid has faces. Join
the corresponding divisions of opposite sides of the base
so that the base is divided into sixteen squares. In each
of these squares, save one, place a number (after the
manner of the abomination of desolation to which in our
own post-pyramidal days hath been assigned the name
of the ' Fifteen Puzzle')—then it may be shown that the
number of arrangements which can be made of these
fifteen numbers in the aforesaid sixteen squares is equal
to the number of miles separating our solar system
i8
9
THE GREAT PYRAMID.

from that star which, according to the best Egyptolo­

gical investigations of the date of the Great Pyramid,
shone, at its meridional culmination, directly down
the Great Gallery and its prolongation the ascending
passage.
Then comes my ingenious and (outside the pyramid)
scientific friend, Mr. Baxendcll, who, accepting the pyra­
mid dimensions assigned by Professor Smyth, finds other
relations which they fulfil equally well, showing, of course,
other singular coincidences existing quite independently
of the pyramid. Nay, he finds several independent
coincidences for each dimension, failing, apparently,
to notice that the most remarkable feature of his paper
—the singular closeness of the numerical results—exists
(scarcely in diminished degree), if the pyramid be left
entirely out of the question. Take, for instance, what
I find many regard as singularly impressive, the six
different formula:, by which he gets out i 8 8 r 5 9 as the
number of inches in the length of the Grand Gallery
(which I need hardly say is not known to anything
like this degree of exactitude). They are as follows :—

j7rWlr_ esw* .rWff _ / * 4V y

2

25,000 75 /'57l/
N 400,000^ Vf*2>/~ioV

2 a
4oo,ooo»/ 40o,ooot n

How terrible these formulae appear, in conjunction

with the circumstance, that by taking dates for the Fall,
the Exodus, and the birth of Christ, not quite agreeing
with those approved by recognised theological authorities,
 APPENDIX D. 199

the length of the descending and ascending passages cor­

respond so closely with the intervals between the first and
second and the second and third of those events (years
representing inches), as to compel us to believe that the
Christian dispensation cannot last more years than there
are inches in the Grand Gallery ! Now these formula;,
when analysed, are found to indicate a number of really
curious coincidences between the numbers representing
S, the sun's distance, M the moon's, s the sun's
diameter, c the earth's (equatorial), a the diameter of the
sun's liquid body—quietly assumed, forwc know nothing
about it—r) another terrestrial diameter, and JT the ratio
of the circumference to a diameter of a circle. If the
pyramid had no existence, these curious coincidences
would remain. The fact that they exist, and are in
themselves so singular, shows simply how little value
there is in the argument from mere coincidence. Given
ten or twenty numbers taken at random from different
columns of the ' Times ' newspaper, or the dimensions
of a house, or field, or a piece of furniture, or, in fine,
taken from anywhere we like, it will he found that with a
little patience, any number of coincidences may be found
among the numbers themselves, or connecting them with
any other set of numbers, with the dimensions of the
solar system, with the volumes, diameters, densities, & c ,
of the planets, or, in fine, with whatsoever we please.
One of the best proofs ever given of this is found in the
multitude of relations, independent of the pyramid,
which have turned up while pyramidalists have been en­
deavouring to connect the pyramid with the solar system.
These coincidences are altogether more curious than any
2O0 THE GREAT PYRAMID.

coincidence between the pyramid and astronomical

numbers ; the former arc as close and remarkable as they
are real, the latter, which are only imaginary, have only
been established by the process which schoolboys call
1
fudging'—and now new measures have left the work
to be done all over again.
 201

THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

It may be assumed, with Idelcr, that the week has originated

from the length of the synodic months , , . and that reference to
the planetary series, together with planetary days and hours, belong
to an entirely different period of advanced and speculative culture.—
HUMBOLDT (Cosmos).

I P R o r o s E in this essay to consider how the w e e k

probably had its origin, presenting, as occasion
serves, such subsidiary evidence as can be derived
from history or tradition. U s u a l l y this and kindred
subjects have been dealt with à posteriori. O b s e r v ­
ances, festivals, chronological arrangements, and so
forth, known or recorded to have been adopted b y
various nations, have been examined, and an in­
quiry made into their significance. The result
has not been altogether satisfactory. M a n y inte­
resting facts have been brought to light as research
has proceeded, and several elaborate theories have
been advanced on nearly every point of chronolo­
gical research. A n y one of these theories, e x ­
amined alone, seems to be established almost
b e y o n d dispute b y the number o f facts seemingly
202 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

attesting in its f a v o u r ; but when we find that for

another and y e t another theory a similar array of
facts can be adduced, wc lose faith in all theories
thus supported. A t least those only retain their
belief in a theory of the kind w h o have given so
much care to its preparation that they have had
no time to e x a m i n e the evidence favouring other
theories.
O n the other hand, there is much to be said in
favour o f an d priori method of dealing with
ancient chronological arrangements. Wc know
certainly how the heavens appeared to men of old
t i m e s ; if occasion arise wc can determine readily
and certainly the e x a c t aspect o f the heavens at
a n y given place and t i m e ; w c know g e n e r a l l y
the conditions under which the first observations
of the heavens must h a v e been m a d e ; hence w c
can infer, not unsafely, what particular objects
would have been first noted, or w o u l d have been
early chosen as t i m e - m e a s u r e s ; w h a t difficulties
would have presented themselves as time pro­
ceeded ; and how such difficulties would have been
met.
T h e inquiry, let me remark at the outset, has
an interest other than that depending on chrono­
logical relations. I k n o w of none better suited to
commend to our attention the movements o f the
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 203

h e a v e n l y bodies, which, as Carlylc has remarked, I

think, though t a k i n g place all the time around us,
arc not half-known to most of us. A s civilisation
indeed progresses, the proportion of persons ac­
quainted with the motions of the heavenly bodies
b e c o m e s less and less; both because artificial
measures of time come more generally into use,
and because fewer persons in proportion arc en­
gaged out of doors at night under conditions
making the m o v e m e n t s o f the heavens worth
observing. E v e n the increased interest taken of
late in the study of astronomy has not tended, I
believe, to increase the number who have a familiar
acquaintance with the h e a v e n l y bodies and their
motions. S o soon as a student of astronomy sets
up an observatory, indeed, he is more likely to
forget what he already k n o w s about ordinary
celestial p h e n o m e n a than t o p a y closer attention
to them. I f he wants to observe a particular star
or planet, he docs not turn to the heavens—one
m a y almost s a y indeed, strange t h o u g h it sounds,
that the heavens arc the last place he would think
of looking a t ; he simply sets the circles of his
telescope aright, k n o w i n g that the star or planet
he wants will then be in the field of view. The
telescope is as often as not turned to the object
before the door of the revolving dome has been
204 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

opened—that is, while no part of the s k y is in

view.
It is precisely because in old times matters
must have been entirely different, and familiarity
with astronomical facts much more important to
persons not themselves engaged in the study of
astronomy, that the method of inquiry which I
propose now to pursue respecting the origin of the
w e e k is so full of promise. I f we will but put
ourselves m e n t a l l y in the position of the shepherds
and tillers of the soil in old times, w c can tell
precisely what they were likely to notice, in what
order, and in what w a y .
In the first place, I think, it will appear that
some division of the month analogous to the w e e k
must have been suggested as a measure of time
long before the year. C o m m o n l y the y e a r is taken
as cither the first and most obvious of all timc-
mcasurcs, or else as o n l y second to the d a y . But
in its astronomical aspect the y e a r is not a v e r y
obvious division of time. I am not here speaking,
be it understood, of the e x a c t determination of the
length o f the year. T h a t , of necessity, was a w o r k
requiring much time, and could only have been
successfully achieved b y astronomers o f consider­
able skill. I a m referring to the commonplace
year, the ordinary progression of those celestial
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. -o'3

phenomena which mark the changes of the seasons.

A s W h c w e l l well remarks of the year, the repeti­
tion of similar circumstances at equal intervals is
less manifest in this case (than in that of the clay),
and, the intervals being much longer, some exertion
of m e m o r y becomes requisite in order that the
recurrence m a y be perceived. A child might easily
be persuaded that successive years were of unequal
length ; or, if the summer were cold, and the
spring and autumn warm, might be made to be­
lieve, if all w h o spoke in its hearing agreed to
support the delusion, that one y e a r was two. Of
course the recurrence of events characterising the
natural y e a r is far too obvious to have been over­
looked even before men began to observe the
h e a v e n l y bodies at all. T h e tiller o f the soil must
observe the right time to plant seeds of various
kinds that t h e y m a y receive the right proportion
of the summer's h e a t ; the herdsman could not but
note the times when his flocks and herds brought
forth their y o u n g . B u t no definite w a y of noting
the progress of the y e a r b y the movements of the
1
sun or s t a r s would probably have suggested itself
until some time after the moon's motions had been

1
There arc many reasons for believing, as I may one <lay lake
an opportunity of showing, that the year was first measured hy
the stars, not by the sun.
 206 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

used as means o f measuring time. T h e lunar

changes, on the other hand, are v e r y striking and
o b v i o u s ; they can be readily watched, and they
are marked b y easily determinable stages. ' It
appears more e a s y , ' s a y s W h c w c l l , ' a n d in earlier
stages o f civilisation (it was) more common, to
count time b y moons than b y years.'
It has indeed been suggested that the moon's
use as a measurer o f time w a s from the earliest
a g e s so obvious that the Greek words men for
month, mate for moon (less common, however,
than sclent), and the L a t i n mensis for month,
should be associated with the L a t i n verb lo measure
(mctior, mensus sum, & c ) . Cicero s a y s that months
were called menses, ' q u i a mensa spatia conficiunt',
because t h e y complete measured spaces. Other
etymologists, s a y s W h c w c l l , connect these words
' with the H e b r e w manah, t o m e a s u r e ' N o t e also
the measure o f value, maneh,—' twenty shekels,
fivc-and-twenty shekels, fifteen shekels shall be
y o u r maneh, or mna' ( E z c k . x l v . 12). A g a i n , the
name manna is given to the food found in the
desert, b y some interpreted ' a portion.' T h e word
mote, or mna, in the warning, Mate, tekcl, pharcs,
was translated ' numbered.' W i t h the same word
is connected t h e A r a b i c Al-manac, or Al manach.
W h e w e l l points out that ' if w e are to attempt t o
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 207

ascend to the earlier conditions o f language, w c

must conceive it probable that men would have a
name for a most conspicuous object, the moon,
before they would have a verb denoting the v e r y
abstract and general notion, to measure.' T h i s is
t r u e ; but it does not follow that the moon m a y
not have received a name i m p l y i n g her quality as
a measurer long after she was first named. For
the idea of using the moon as a measurer of time
must as certainly have followed the conception of
the abstract idea of measurement, as this concep­
tion must have followed the recognition of the
moon as an object of observation. It is note­
worthy, indeed, that in the G r e e k the moon has
t w o names—one, more usual, scleuc, from which
the L a t i n s derived the name luua; the other,
mene, certainly connected with men, for month. It
seems almost certain that they, and those from
whom they derived the usage, had come to regard
the moon's quality as a timc-mcasurcr as distinct
from her quality as an ornament of the night. To
this second term for the moon W h e w c l l ' s remark
does not apply, or rather, his remark suggests the
true explanation to be that v e r y derivation of the
words mene, mensis, month, moon, & c . , ' from a word
1
To these may lie added the Sanskrit m&sa, the Zend mao, the
Persian mah, the Gothic main, the Erse mios, and the Lithuanian
micini.
208 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

signifying ' to measure,' which he oppugns. Even

if this view be rejected, w e m a y y e t regard the
words signifying mensuration (measurement and
numbering) as derived from a name for the moon,
months, & c . — a circumstance which would indicate
the recognised character of the moon as a timc-
measurcr even more significantly than the converse
derivation.
It is noteworthy that of all the phenomena
obvious to observation, the motions of the moon
arc those which most directly suggest the idea of
measurement. T h e earth's rotation on her a x i s is
in reality much more uniform than the moon's
circling motion around the earth ; but to ordinary
observation the recurrence of d a y and night seems
rather to suggest the idea of inequality than that
of the uniform subdivision of time. For the
lengths of d a y and night arc seldom equal to each
other, and arc constantly varying. The daily
motions of the fixed stars arc more uniform than
the moon's, and, if carefully noted, afford an
almost perfect uniformity of time-measurement.
B u t instruments o f some kind arc necessary to
show that this is the case. T h e moon, on the
other hand, measures off time in an obvious and
striking manner, and, to ordinary observation, with
perfect uniformity. In measuring time, the moon
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 209

suggests also the idea of numerical measurement.

A n d measures of length, surface, volume, and so
forth, could more readily have been derived in
ancient times from the moon's motions than in a n y
other manner. In precisely the same w a y that now,
in Great Britain, all our measures,' without e x c e p ­
tion, are derived from the daily motion of the
stars, so in old times the more obvious motions
of the moon could have been used, and were pro­
b a b l y used, to give the measures required in those
days.
1
Even our measures of the value of money depend on the ob­
served motions of the stars. As I pointed out in my essay ' Our
Chief Timepiece Losing T i m e ' (light Science fur Leisure //ems),
' when wc come to impure closely into the question of a sovereign's
intrinsic value, we find ourselves led to the diurnal motion of the
stars by no very long or intricate path.' l'or a sovereign is a coin
containing so many grains of gold mixed with so many grains of
alloy. A grain is the weight of such and such a volume of a certain
standard substance that is, so many cubic inches, or parts of a
cubic inch, of that substance. An inch is determined as a certain
fraction of the length of a pendulum vibrating seconds in the latitude
of London. A second is a certain portion of a mean solar day, anil
is practically determined by a reference to what is called a sidereal
day —the interval, namely, between the successive passages by the
same star across the celestial meridian of any fixed place. This
interval is assumed to be constant, and is in fact very nearly so.
Strangely enough, the moon, the older measure of time, is, by her
attraction on the waters of this earth, constantly lending to modify
this nearly constant quantity the earth's rotation. Kor the rtsist-
ance of the tidal wave acts as a break, constantly retarding the
earth's turning motion —though so slowly, that 1,500 millions of
years would be required to lengthen the terrestrial day by one full
hour.

P
2 I O THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

If, then, the names o f the ' moon,' ' months,'

and so forth, were not originally derived from the
idea of measurement, it is nevertheless certain that
the moon must, from the very earliest times, have
been regarded as par excellence, the measurer. T h e
a priori reasons for e x p e c t i n g that the moon's
name, or one o f her names, would be thus derived,
seem t o m c t o a d d greatly t o the probability of
this derivation, which has been inferred from the
actual co-cxistcncc of such names as mate for the
moon ; men, mensis, & c . (sec previous note), for
the month ; mna, maneh, mensus (root mens) for
measurement.
T h e circling motion of the moon round the
earth b e i n g noted from the v e r y earliest time, it is
certain that, v e r y soon after, men would think o f
subdividing the moon's circuit. T h e nights when
there w a s no moon would be distinguished in a
very marked w a y from those in which the moon
was full, or nearly so, and thus the lunar month
would be obviously marked off into t w o halves,
each about a fortnight in length. S o m e t h i n g ana­
logous to this first subdivision is to b e recognised
in a circumstance which I m a y one d a y have t o
deal with more at length, the subdivision o f the
year into t w o halves—one in which the Pleiades
were above the horizon a r d visible at sunset, the
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 211

other when they were below the horizon. There

would be the bright half and the dark half of the
month (so far as the nights were c o n c e r n e d ) ; and
it must be remembered that these would not be
unimportant distinctions to the men of old time,
nor mere matters of scientific observation. T o the
shepherd the distinction between a moonlit and a
moonless night must have been very noteworthy.
A l l his cares would be doubled when the moon
was not shining, all lightened when she w a s nearly
full. A poet in our time singing the glories o f
the moonlit night might be apt to forget the value
of the light to the h e r d s m a n ; but in old times
this must have been the chief thought in connec­
tion with such a night. T h u s w c find Homer, after
describing the b e a u t y of a moonlight night, in a
noble passage (mis-translated b y Pope, but nobly
rendered b y T e n n y s o n ) , closing his description
with the w o r d s —

The shepherd gladdens in his heart.

W e can well understand, indeed, that, according to

tradition, the first astronomers in e v e r y nation
were shepherds.
It might seem at a first view that the division
of the months into t w o parts would be most con­
veniently marked b y the moon ( i ) c o m i n g to full,
r 2
212 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

and (2) disappearing. B u t apart from the c o n ­

sideration just mentioned, showing the probability
that the first division would be into the bright half
and the dark half, it is easily seen that neither the
full phase, nor what is called technically ' n e w ' (in
reality the absolute disappearance of the moon),
could be conveniently determined with a n y t h i n g
like precision. T h e moon looks full a d a y or t w o
before and a d a y or two after she really is full.
T h e time of the moon's c o m i n g to the same part
of the s k y as the sun, again, though it can be in­
ferred b y noting when she first disappeared and
when she first reappeared, is not obviously indi­
cated,—or, which is the essential point, so mani­
fested as to afford, at the time, an indication o f the
moon's reaching that special stage o f her progress.
I f a clock were so constructed that time were in­
dicated b y the rotation of a g l o b e half white half
black, and so situated that the observer could not
be certain when the white side was fully turned
towards him, it is certain he would not observe
that phase for determining time e x a c t l y . I f he
were not only uncertain when the black side w a s
fully turned towards him, but could not ascertain
this at all until some little time after the white side
began to come into view again on one side (having
disappeared on the other shortly before), he would
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 213

be still less likely to observe the black phase as an

epoch.
I f w e consider what the owner of such a time­
piece would be apt to do, or rather would be
certain to do, w e shall not be long in doubt as to
the course which the shepherds of old time would
have followed. T h e only phases which such a
clock would show with a n y t h i n g like precision
would be those t w o in which one half the g l o b e
e x a c t l y would be white and the other black. Not
o n l y would either of these be a perfectly definite
phase marked u n m i s t a k a b l y b y the straightness of
the separating line between black and white, but
also the rate of change would at these times be
most rapid. T h e middle of the separating line,
or terminator in the moon's case, is at all times
travelling athwart the face of our satellite, but
most q u i c k l y when crossing the middle of her disc.
A p a r t , then, from the consideration already m e n ­
tioned, which would lead the first observers to
divide the month into a dark and a light half, the
aspect of the moon's face so varied before their
eyes as to suggest, or, one m a y say, to force upon
them, the plan of dividing her course at the
quarters, when she is half full increasing and half
full diminishing.
L e t us pause for a moment to see whether this
214 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK'.

first result, to which w c have been led b y purely

a priori considerations, accords with a n y evidence
from tradition. W c might very well fail to find
such evidence, simply because all the earlier and
less precise w a y s of dividing time (of which this
certainly would be one), g i v i n g way, as they must
inevitably do, to more e x a c t timc-mcasurcrs, might
leave no trace whatever o f their existence. It is,
therefore, the more remarkable and in a sense
fortunate, that in two cases w c find clear evidence
of the division of the lunar month into two halves,
and in the precise manner above indicated. Max
Müller, remarking on the week, says that he has
found no trace o f a n y such division in the ancient
V c d i c literature of the Hindoos, but the month is
divided into t w o according to the moon the clear
1
half and the obscure half. (Flammarion, from
whom I take the reference to M a x Müller, says, * the
clear half from new to full, and the obscure half
from full to n e w ; ' but this is manifestly incorrect,

' It is noteworthy that in the Assyrian tablets lately deciphered

by Mr. G. Smith (which are copies of Babylonian originals older
probably than the books of J o b and Genesis), wc find in the account
of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, from which the account
in Genesis was probably abridged, special reference to the moon's
change from the horned to the gibbous phase—'At the beginning
of the month, at the rising of the night, his horns arc breaking
through, and shine on the heaven ; on the ninth day to a circle he
begins to swell.'
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 215

the half of the month from new to full having

neither more nor less light b y night than the half
from full to new.) A similar division has been
found a m o n g the A z t e c s .
T h e n e x t step would naturally be the division
of each half, the bright and the dark half, into two
equal parts. In fact, this would be done at the
same time, in most cases (that is, a m o n g most
nations), that the month was divided into two.
T h e division at half fidl increasing and half full
decreasing would be the more e x a c t ; but once
made would afford the means of determining the
times of ' full' and ' new.' D u r i n g the first few
months after men had noticed closely the times of
half full, they would perceive that between fourteen
and fifteen d a y s separated these times, so that
' full' and ' n e w ' came about seven d a y s after the
times of half-moon.
A l l this would be comparatively rough work.
Herdsmen, and perhaps the tillers of the soil in
harvest time, would perceive that the lunar month,
their ordinary measure of time, w a s naturally divi­
sible into four quarters, t w o epochs (the half-moons)
limiting which were neatly defined, while the inter­
mediate t w o could be easily inferred. T h e y would
fall into the habit of dividing the months into
quarters in this rough w a y long before they began
2l6 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

to look for some connection between the length of

the month and of the day, precisely as men (later,
no doubt) divided the year roughly into four
seasons, and the seasons into months, long before
they had formed precise notions as to the number
of months in years and seasons. W c shall sec
presently that in each case, so soon as they tried
to connect two measures of time—the month and
d a y in one case, the y e a r and month in the other—
similar difficulties presented themselves. W e shall
sec also that while similar w a y s of meeting these
difficulties naturally occurred to men, these natural
methods o f dealing with the difficulties were those
actually followed in one case certainly, and (to
show which is the object of the present paper)
most probably in the other also.
Men, at least those who were given to the habit
of enumeration, would have found out that there-
arc some 2o£ d a y s in each lunar month, not long
after t h e y had regarded the month as divided into
four parts, and long before t h e y had thought of
connecting months and d a y s together. After a
while, however, the occasion of some such connec­
tion would arise. It might arise in m a n y different
ways. T h e most l i k e l y occasion, perhaps, would
be the necessity of apportioning w o r k to those
employed as herdsmen or in tilling the soil. They
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK, 217

would be e n g a g e d probably (.so soon as the simplest

of all e n g a g e m e n t s , b y the d a y , required some
extension) b y the month. In fact, one m a y say
that certainly the hiring of labourers for agricul­
tural and pastoral work must have been b y the
1
month almost from the beginning.
B u t from the b e g i n n i n g of hiring also, it must
have b e c o m e necessary to measure the month b y
days. H e r d s m e n and labourers could not have
had their terms of labour defined b y the actual
observation of the lunar phases, though these
1
The earliest record we have of hiring is that contained in
Genesis, chap. xxix. We read there that Jacob ' abode with Laban
the space of a month' serving him without wages. Then Laban
said to Jacob, ' Because thou art my brother, shouldst thou there­
fore serve me for nought ? tell me, what shall thy wages be? ' At
this time, it is worth noting, the number seven had come to be re­
garded as convenient in hiring, for Jacob said, ' I will serve thee
seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. . . . And Jacob
served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few
days, for the love he had to her.' It is obvious that the length of
service was regarded by the narrator as a special proof of Jacob's
love for Rachel. For an ordinary wage a man would work seven
days ; for his love Jacob worked seven years. That this was so is
shown by Lallan's calling the term a week. After giving Leah in­
stead of Rachel, he says, ' Fulfil her week, and we will give thee
this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven
other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week.' The week
must have been a customary term of engagement long before this,
or it would not be thus spoken of. Servants (the herdsmen of
Abram's cattle, and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle) are mentioned
somewhat earlier. The word ' w e e k ' is not used earlier than in
the passage just quoted ; and there is no reference to a weekly day
of rest before the Exodus.
2i8 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

might have shown them, in a rough sort of w a y ,

how their term of labour was passing on.
T h u s , at length, a month of clays and its sub­
divisions must have come into use. T h e subdivi­
sions would almost certainly correspond with the
quarters already indicated ; and the week of seven
d a y s is the nearest approach in an e x a c t number
of d a y s to the quarter of a month. T o u r periods
of eight d a y s exceed a lunar month b y two and
a-half d a y s ; while four periods o f seven days
e x c e e d a lunar month b y only one and a-half days.
N o w there would be two distinct w a y s in which
the division of the month into four w e e k s might
be arranged.
First, the month might be taken as a constant
measure of time, and four weeks, of seven d a y s
each, suitably placed in each month, so that the
extra d a y and a-half, or (nearly enough) three d a y s
in t w o months, could be intercalated. T h u s in
one month a d a y could be left out at the time of
new moon, and in the n e x t two days, one d a y
alternating with two in successive m o n t h s : if the
remaining part of each month were divided into
four equal parts of seven d a y s in each, the arrange­
ment would correspond closely enough with the
progress o f the months to serve for a considerable
time before fresh intercalation was required. Two
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 219

lunar months would thus be counted as fifty-nine

days, falling ^.,ort of the truth b y one hour, twenty-
eight minutes, and nearly eight seconds. O n four
lunar months the difference would be nearly three
hours, and in thirty-two lunar months nearly one
day. S o that if in the first month two d a y s , in
the second one, in the third two, in the fourth one,
and so on—in the thirty-first two, and in the thirty-
second tivo (instead of one), were intercalated, the
total error in those thirty-two months, or about
t w o y e a r s and five calendar months of our present
time, would be only about half-an-hour.
W c find traces of a former arrangement b y
which the time of new moon w a s separated, as
it were, from the rest of the lunar month. The
occurrence of new moon marked in most of the old
systems "a time o f rest and religious worship, pro­
bably, almost certainly, arising originally from the
worship of the h e a v e n l y bodies as deities. B u t the
chronological arrangements, probably connected
with this usage at first, have left few traces of their
existence. T h e usage presents manifest imperfec­
tions as part of a chronological system, and must
soon have been abandoned b y the more skilful of
those w h o sought a m o n g the celestial bodies for
the means of measuring time. T h e Greeks adopted
such an arrangement as I have a b o v e indicated.
i2o THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK',

' T h e last d a y of each lunar month,' W h c w c l l says,

* w a s called b y them " the old and new," as belong­
ing to both the waning and the reappearing moon,
and their festivals and sacrifices, as determined b y
the calendar, were conceived to be necessarily con­
nected with the same periods of the cycles of the
sun and moon.' ' T h e laws and oracles,' s a y s G c -
minus, * which directed that they should in sacri­
fices observe three things, months, d a y s , and years,
were so understood.' W i t h this permission, a cor­
rect s y s t e m o f intercalation became a religious
duty. A r a t u s , in a passage quoted b y Geminus,
s a y s o f the m o o n —

As still her shifting visage changing turns,

By her wc count the monthly round of morns.

B u t the religious d u t y of properly intercalating a

d a y e v e r y thirty-two months, to correct for the
difference between t w o lunar months and fifty-nine
days, would seem not to have been properly at­
tended to, for A r i s t o p h a n e s in the ' C l o u d s ' m a k e s
the moon complain t h u s : —

CHORUS OF CLOUDS,

The moon by us to you her greeting sends,

But bids us say that she's an ill-used moon,
And takes it much amiss that you should still
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 221

Shuffle her days, and turn them topsy-turvy ;

And that the gods, who know- their feast-days well,
By your false count arc sent home suppcrlcss,
And scold and storm at her for your neglect.

T h e second usage would be the more conve­

nient. Perceiving, as they would b y this time have
done, that the lunar month docs not contain an
e x a c t number of days, or of half-days, men would
recognise the usclcssncss of a t t e m p t i n g to use a n y
subdivision o f the month, month b y month, and
would simply take the w e e k of seven d a y s as the
nearest approach to the convenient subdivision, the
quarter-month, and let that period run on con­
tinually, without concerning themselves with the
fact that each new month began on a different d a y
of the week. In fact, this corresponds precisely
with what has been done in the case o f the year.
T h e necessity of adopting some arrangement
for periodical rest would render the division of time
into short periods of unvarying length desirable.
A n d , as herdsmen and labourers were early engaged
b y the lunar month, and afterwards b y its sub­
division the quarter-month, it is v e r y probable that
the beginning o f each month would first be chosen
as a suitable time for a rest, while later one d a y
in each w e e k would be taken as a rest day. This
would not be b y a n y means inconsistent with the
222 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK'.

belief that from very early times a religious signi­

ficance was given to the monthly and w e e k l y
resting d a y s . A l m o s t every observance o f times,
and seasons, and d a y s had its first origin, most
probably, in agricultural and pastoral customs. It
was only after a long period had elapsed that
arrangements, originally adopted as convenient,
became so sanctioned b y l o n g habit that a religious
meaning was attached to them. A s s u r e d l y , what­
ever opinion m a y be formed about the S a b b a t h
rest, o n l y one can be formed about the ' new moon '
rest. That certainly had its origin in the lunar
motions and their relation to the convenience and
habits o f outdoor workers. I t seems altogether
reasonable, apart from the evidence a priori and d
posteriori in favour o f the conclusion, to adopt a
similar explanation o f the w e e k l y rest, constantly
associated as w c find it with the rest at the time o f
new moon.
T h i s explanation implies that the w e e k would
almost certainly be adopted as a measure of time
b y every nation which paid a n y attention to the
subject o f timc-mcasurcmcnt. N o w w e k n o w that
no trace o f the w e e k exists a m o n g the records o f
some nations, while in others the w e e k w a s at
least o n l y a subordinate time-measure. Among
the earlier E g y p t i a n s the month was divided into
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 223

periods of ten d a y s each, and hitherto no direct

evidence has been found to show that a seven-day
1
period was used b y them. T h e Chinese divided
the month similarly. A m o n g the Babylonians the
month w a s divided into periods of five d a y s , s i x
such periods in each month, and also into weeks of
seven d a y s . T h e same double arrangement w a s
adopted b y the Hebrews.
It is easy to show, however, that the division of
the month into six equal or nearly equal parts,
five d a y s in each, w a s not arrived at in a similar
w a y to the division into four parts, and was a later
method. W c have seen how the quarters of the
lunar orbit arc determined at 'half-full,' b y the
boundary between the light and dark half crossing
the middle of the moon's disc. Content at first to
determine this ocularly, observers would after a
time devise simply methods of m a k i n g more e x a c t
determinations. S u c h devices as Ferguson, the
self-taught Scottish peasant, e m p l o y e d to deter­
mine the positions of the stars, would be likely to
occur to the Chaldacan shepherds in old times.
That, astronomer (for he well merits the name,

1
Laplace asserts of the Egyptians that they used a period of
seven days ; but he misunderstood the account given by Dion Cassius,
who referred to the astronomers of the Alexandrian school, not to
the ancient Egyptians.
 224 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

when wc consider under what disadvantages he

achieved success) constructed a frame across which
slender threads could be shifted, so that their inter­
sections should coincide with the apparent places
of stars. A frame similarly constructed might be
m a d e to carry four such threads forming a square,
which properly placed would just seem to enclose
the moon's disc, while a fifth thread parallel to two
sides of the square and m i d w a y ' between them
could be made to coincide with the straight e d g e
of the half-moon,—and thus the e x a c t time of half-
moon could be easily determined. N o w when the
separating line or arc between light and darkness
fell otherwise, the fifth thread might be m a d e to
show e x a c t l y how far across this separating arc
(that is, its middle point) had travelled, and thence
how far the month had p r o g r e s s e d , — / / the observer
had some little k n o w l e d g e of trigonometry. I f he
had no such k n o w l e d g e , but were acquainted only
with the simpler geometrical relations of lines and
circles, there would only be two other cases, besides
that of the half-moon, with which he could deal b y
this simple method, or some modification of it.
W h e n the middle point of the arc between light
and darkness has travelled e x a c t l y one-fourth of
the w a y across the moon's disc, the moon has g o n e
one-third of the w a y from ' new ' to ' full.' When
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 225

that middle point has travelled exactly three-

fourths of the w a y across, the moon has g o n e t w o -
thirds o f the w a y from ' n e w ' to ' full.' Either
stage can be determined almost as easily with the
frame and threads, or some such contrivance, as
the time of half-moon, and similarly of the cor­
responding stages from 'full' to 'new.' Thus,
including new and full, w c have six stages in the
moon's complete circuit. S h e starts from ' new ; '
when she has g o n e one-sixth of the w a y round, the
advancing arc of light has travelled one-fourth of
the w a y across her disc ; when she has gone t w o -
sixths round, it has travelled three-fourths of the
w a y across : then comes ' full,' corresponding to
half-way round ; then, at four-sixths of the w a y
round, the receding e d g e is one-fourth of the w a y
b a c k across the moon's d i s c ; at five-sixths it is
three-fourths o f the w a y back ; and lastly she c o m ­
pletes her circuit at ' n e w ' again. E a c h stage o f
her journey lasts one-sixth of a lunar m o n t h ; or
five days, less about two hours. T h u s five d a y s
more nearly represents one of these stages than a
w e e k represents a quarter o f a lunar month. For
a w e e k falls short of a quarter of a month by more
than nine hours, while five d a y s e x c e e d s a sixth of
a month b y rather less than t w o hours. Moreover,
while s i x periods of five d a y s e x c e e d a month b y
V.
 226 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

less than half-a-day, four weeks fall short of a month

1
b y more than a d a y and a-half.
W e can v e r y well understand, then, that the
division o f the lunar month into six parts, each o f
five d a y s , or into three parts, each of ten d a y s ,
should have been early suggested b y astronomers,
as an improvement on the comparatively rough
division o f the month into four equal parts. Wc
can equally understand that where the latter method
had been long in use, where it had become con­
nected with the s y s t e m o f hiring (one d a y ' s rest
being allowed in each quarter-month), and espe­
c i a l l y where it had b e c o m e associated with religious
observances, the new method would be stoutly
resisted. I t would seem that a contest between
advocates of a five d a y s ' period and those of a
seven d a y s ' period arose in e a r l y times, and w a s
carried on with considerable bitterness. T h e r e arc
those w h o find in the G r e a t P y r a m i d o f E g y p t the
record of such a struggle, and evidence that finally
the seven d a y s ' period came t o be distinguished, as
a sacred time-measure, from the five d a y s ' period,

1
The five days' period lias as great an advantage over the week
in more exactly dividing the year, as it has in dividing the month,
since, while fifty-two weeks fall short of a year by nearly a day and
a-quarter, seventy-three periods of five days only fall short of a year
by a quarter of a day. But the number 52 has the great advantage
Over 73 of being subdivisible into four thirteens.
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 2'2J

which was regarded doubtless as a profane though

perhaps a more e x a c t and scientific subdivision. In
the Jewish religious system, however, both sub­
divisions appear.
A singular piece of evidence has quite recently
been obtained respecting the w e e k of the B a b y ­
lonians, which, while illustrating what I have above-
shown about the w e e k and the five d a y s ' period,
seems to afford some explanation of the w e e k of
weeks. S o far as I know, it has not been considered
in this particular light before. W c learn from Pro­
fessor S a y c c that the B a b y l o n i a n s called the 7th,
14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th d a y s of each month
sabbaiu, or d a y of rest. Here clearly the 7th, 14th,
21st, and 28th correspond to the same d a y of the
w e e k ; but how does the 19th fall into the scries ?
It appears to m c — t h o u g h I must admit that I
only m a k e a guess in the matter, k n o w i n g of no
independent evidence to favour the idea—that the
19th d a y of a month b e c a m e a d a y of rest as being
the forty-ninth d a y from the beginning of the pre­
ceding month. It was, in fact, from the preceding
month, the seventh seventh day, or the sabbath of
sabbaths. S o to regard it, however,—that is, to
m a k e the 19th d a y of one month the forty-ninth
from the beginning of the preceding,—it is neces­
sary that the length of the month should be regarded
0. 2
228 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

as thirty d a y s (the difference between forty-nine

d a y s and nineteen).
W h i l e in any nation the month and its sub­
divisions would thus, in all probability, be dealt
with,—the w e e k almost inevitably becoming, for a
while at least, a measure of time, and in most cases
remaining so long in use as to obtain an unshaken
hold on the people from the mere effect of custom,
—another w a y of dealing with the moon's motions
would certainly have been recognised.
W a t c h i n g the moon, night after night, men
would soon perceive that she travels a m o n g the
stars. It is not e a s y to determine, from a priori
considerations, at what particular stage of observa­
tional progress the stars, which are scattered over
the background on which the heavenly bodies
travel, would be specially noticed as objects likely
to help men in the measurement of time, the deter­
mination of seasons, and so forth. O n the whole it
seems likely that the observation of the stars for
this purpose would come rather later than the first
rough determinations of the year, and therefore
considerably later (if the above reasoning is just)
than the determination of the month. T h e suita­
bility of the stars for m a n y purposes connected
with the measurement of time is not a circumstance
which obtrudes itself on the attention. Many
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 229

years might well pass before men w o u l d notice

that at the same season of the y e a r the same stars
arc seen at corresponding hours of the n i g h t ; for
this is less striking than the regular variation of the
sun's altitude, & c , as the y e a r progresses. This
would be true even if w c assumed that from the
beginning certain marked star groups were recog­
nised and remembered at each return to particular
positions on the sky. B u t it is unlikely that this
happened until long after such rough observations
as I have described above had made considerable
progress. T h e r e is only one group of stars respect­
ing which a n y exception can p r o b a b l y be made,—
viz. the Pleiades, a group which, being both con­
spicuous and unique in the heavens, must very early
have been recognised and remembered. P u t even
in the case of the Pleiades (though almost certainly
it w a s the first known star group, while most
p r o b a b l y it was the object which led to the first
precise determination of the year's length) a con­
siderable time must have passed before the regular
return of the group, at times corresponding to par­
ticular parts of the y e a r of seasons, w a s recognised
b y shepherds and tillers of the soil. Certainly the
moon's motions must have been earlier noted.

S o soon, however, as men had begun to study

the fixed stars, to g r o u p them into constellations,
23o THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

and to watch the motions o f these groups athwart

the heavens, hour b y hour, and (at the same hour)
night b y night, they would note with interest the
motions of their special timc-mcasurer, the moon,
amongst the stars.
T h e y would find first that the moon circuits
the stellar heavens a l w a y s in the same direction,
namely, from west to cast, or in the direction con­
trary to that o f the apparent diurnal motion w h i c h
she shares with all the celestial bodies. A v e r y few
months would show that, speaking generally, the
moon keeps to one track round the heavens ; but
possibly, even in so short a time, close observers
would perceive that she had slightly deviated from
the course she at first pursued. A f t e r a time this
would be clearly seen, and probably the observers
of those d a y s m a y have supposed for a while that
the moon, g e t t i n g farther and farther from her
original track, would eventually travel on a quite
different path. B u t with the further progress o f
time, she would be found slowly to return to it.
A n d in the course of m a n y years it would be
found that her path lies a l w a y s , not in a certain
track round the celestial sphere, but in a certain
zone or band, some t w e n t y moon-breadths w i d e —
to which no doubt a special name would be given.
It was in reality the mid-zone of the present
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 2\i

zodiac, which is about thirty-five moon-breadths

wide. T h e central track of the moon's zone, which
m a y be called the lunar zodiac, is in reality the
track of the sun round the heavens. But the recog­
nition of the moon's zone would long precede cither
the determination of the sun's path a m o n g the stars
or that of the zodiac or planetary highway. The
distinction between the sun and moon in this
respect is well indicated in Job's w o r d s , ' If I beheld
the sun when it shincd, or the moon w a l k i n g in
brightness,'—the brightness of the sun preventing
man from determining his real course till astro­
n o m y as a science had made considerable progress :
whereas the track of the moon a m o n g the stars is
obvious to every one who watches the moon, cither
from night to night or even for a few hours on a n y
one night. T h e motions of the planets, again, and
indeed the v e r y recognition of these wandering
stars, belong to an astronomy much more advanced
than that which wc have been here dealing with.
W a t c h i n g the moon's progress a l o n g her zone
of the stellar heavens night after night, the o b ­
servers would perceive that she completes the
circuit in less than a month. Before m a n y months
had passed they would have determined the period
of these circuits as b e t w e e n twenty-seven and
twenty-eight days. It is very likely that at first,
232 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

while their estimate o f the true period was as y e t

inexact, they would suppose that it lasted e x a c t l y
four weeks. W e must remember that the natural
idea of the early observers would be that the
motions of the various celestial bodies did in reality
synchronise in some w a y ; though how those m o ­
tions synchronised might not easily be discovered.
T h e y would suppose, and as a matter of fact w e
k n o w they did suppose, that the sun and moon
and stars were m a d e to be for signs and seasons,
and for d a y s and months and years. T o imagine
that the celestial machinery contrived for man's
special benefit was in a n y sense imperfect would
have appeared very wicked. T h e y would thus be
somewhat in the position of a person for w h o m a
c l o c k m a k c r had constructed a v e r y elaborate and
ingenious clock, showing a number of relations, as
the progress o f the day, the hour, the minute, the
second, the years, the months, the seasons, the
tides, and so forth, but with no explanation of the
various dials. T h e owner o f the clock would be
persuaded that all the various motions indicated on
the dials were intended for his special enlighten­
ment, though he would be unable for a l o n g time
to m a k e out their meaning, or might fail altogether.
S o the first observers of the heavens must have
been thoroughly assured that the m o v e m e n t s o f
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 233

the sun, moon, planets, and stars were for measures

of time, and therefore synchronised (though in long
periods) with each other. W e recognise a wider
system (a nobler scheme, one might say, if this
did not i m p l y a degree o f k n o w l e d g e which w e do
not really possess) in the actual motions of the
celestial bodies. B u t with the men of old times it
was different.
Most probably, then, perceiving that the moon
completes her circuit of the stellar heavens in a d a y
or t w o less than a lunar month, they would sup­
pose that it was this motion which the moon c o m ­
pletes in t w e n t y - e i g h t days. N o r would they
detect the error of this view so readily as the
student of modern astronomy might suppose. The
practice of carrying on cycle after c y c l e till a
great number have been completed in order to
ascertain the true length of the cycle, obvious
though it now appears to us, would not be at all
an obvious resource to the first observers of the
heavens. O f course, if this method had been c m -
ployed, it would soon have shown that the moon's
circuit of the stellar heavens is accomplished in
less than twenty-eight d a y s . T h e excess of two-
thirds o f a d a y in each circuit would mount up to
m a n y d a y s in m a n y circuits, and would then be
recognised,—while after v e r y m a n y months the
2U THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

e x a c t value of the excess would be determined.

T h i s , however, is a process belonging to much later
times than those w c arc considering. Watching
the moon's motions a m o n g the stars during one
lunation, the observer, unless very careful, would
note nothing to suggest that she is travelling round
at the rate of more than a complete circuit in
twenty-eight d a y s . If he divided her zone into
twenty-eight equal parts, corresponding to her daily
journey, and as soon as she first appeared as a new
moon began to watch her progress through such of
these twenty-eight divisions as were visible at the
time (those on the sun's side of the heavens would
of course not be visible), she would seem to travel
across one division in twenty-four hours v e r y nearly.
A s she herself obliterates from view all but the
brighter stars, it would be all the more difficult to
recognise the slight discrepancy actually existing,—
the fact really being that she requires only t w e n t y -
three hours and about t w e n t y - s i x minutes to tra­
verse a station, a discrepancy large enough in time,
but corresponding to very little progress on the
moon's part a m o n g the stars. T h e n in the n e x t
month the observation would simply be repeated,
no comparison being m a d e between the moon's
position a m o n g the stars when first seen in one
month and that which she had attained when last
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 235

seen in the preceding month. I f this were d o n e —

and this seems the natural w a y of observing the
moon's motions a m o n g the stars when astronomy
was y e t but y o u n g — t h e discrepancy between the
period o f circuit and four w e e k s would long remain
undetected. S o long as this w a s the case, the
moon's r o a d w a y a m o n g the stars would be divided
into t w e n t y - e i g h t d a i l y portions.
A c c o r d i n g l y , w c find, in the early astronomy of
nearly all nations, a lunar zodiac divided into
t w e n t y - e i g h t constellations or lunar mansions. T h e
Chinese called the zodiac the Y e l l o w W a y , and
divided it into twenty-eight nakshatras. These
divisions or mansions were not neatly or precisely
defined, but, precisely as w c should e x p e c t from
the comparative roughness of a system of astro­
n o m y in which alone t h e y could appear at all, were
irregular divisions, straggling far on cither side of
the ecliptic, which should be the central circle o f
the lunar roadway a m o n g the stars. T h e mansions
were named from the brightest stars in each ; and
w c arc told that the sixteenth mansion w a s named
Vichaca, from a star in the Northern C r o w n , a con­
stellation almost as distant from the ecliptic as the
horizon is from a point half-way towards the point
overhead.
A similar division of the older zodiac was
236 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

adopted b y E g y p t i a n , A r a b i a n , Persian, and Indian

astronomers. T h e Siamese, however, only reck­
oned twenty-seven, with from time to time an e x t r a
one, called Abigitccn, or the intercalary mansion.
It would appear, however, from some statements
in their books, that t h e y had t w e n t y - e i g h t lunar
constellations for certain classes of observation.
Probably, therefore, the use of twenty-seven, with
an occasional intercalary mansion, belonged to a
later period of their astronomical system, when
more careful observations than the earlier had shown
them that the moon circuits the stellar heavens in
abrjut twenty-seven and one-third d a y s .
It is important to observe that astronomers
were thus apt to change their usage, dropping cither
wholly or in great part the use of arrangements
found to be imperfect. For, noting this, w c shall
have less difficulty in understanding how the
twenty-eight lunar mansions of the older astronomy
gave place entirely a m o n g the Chaldaeans to the
twelve signs of the zodiac—that is, the parts of the
zodiac traversed d a y b y d a y b y the moon g a v e
place to the parts of the zodiac traversed month b y
month b y the sun. Because the Chaldacan astro­
nomy has not the twenty-eight lunar mansions, it
is commonly assumed that this w a y of dividing the
zodiac was never used b y them. B u t this conclusion
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 237
cannot safely be adopted. O n the contrary, what wc
have already ascertained respecting the Chaldnjan
use of the week, besides what w c should naturally
infer from d priori considerations, suggests that in
the first instance they, like other nations, divided
the zodiac into t w e n t y - e i g h t parts ; but that later,
recognising the inaccuracy of this arrangement,
t h e y abandoned it, a n d adopted the solar zodiacal
signs.
T h i s corresponds closely with what the Persian
astronomers arc k n o w n t o have done. W e read
t h a t ' the twenty-eight divisions a m o n g the Persians
(of which it m a y be noticed that the second was
formed b y the Pleiades, a n d called Pcrvis) soon
g a v e w a y to the twelve, the names o f which,
recorded in the works of Zoroaster, and therefore
not less ancient than he, were not quite the same
as those now used. T h e y were the L a m b , the
Bull, the T w i n s , the C r a b , the L i o n , the E a r o f
Corn, the Balance, the Scorpion, the B o w , the S e a
Goat, the W a t e r i n g Pot, and the Fishes. The
Chinese also formed a set of twelve zodiacal signs,
which t h e y named the Mouse, the C o w , the T i g e r ,
the Hare, the D r a g o n , the Serpent, the Horse, the
Sheep, the M o n k e y , the Cock, the D o g , and the
Pig.
It appears to me not unlikely that the change
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

from lunar to solar astronomy, from the use of the

month and w e e k as chief measures of time to the
more difficult but much more scientific method of
e m p l o y i n g the year for this purpose, was the
occasion of much ceremonial observance among
the Chaldscan astronomers. Probably elaborate
preparations were made for the change, and a
special time chosen for it. W c should e x p e c t to
find that this time would have v e r y direct reference
to the Pleiades, which must have been the y e a r -
measuring constellation as certainly as the moon
had earlier been the time-measuring orb. It has
long seemed to me that it is to this great change,
which certainly took place, and must have been a
most important epoch in astronomy, that we must
refer those features of ancient astronomy which
have c o m m o n l y been regarded as pointing to the
origin of the science itself. I cannot regard it as a
reasonable, still less as a probable assumption, that
astronomy sprung full formed into being, as the
ordinary theories on this subject would imply.
Great progress must have been made, and men
carefully trained in mathematical as well as ob­
servational astronomy must for centuries have
studied the subject, before it b e c a m e possible to
decide upon those fundamental principles and
methods which have existed from the d a y s of the
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK'. =39

Chaldaian astronomers even until now. A s to the

epoch o f the real beginning of astronomy, then, w e
have, in m y opinion, no means o f j u d g i n g . The
epoch to which w c really can point with some
degree o f certainty—- the y e a r 2 1 7 0 B.C., or there­
abouts—must belong, not to the infancy of astro­
nomy, b u t to an era when the science had made
considerable progress.
I have said that wc should e x p e c t to find the
introduction o f the new astronomy, the rejection
of the ivcek as an astronomical period in favour o f
the year, to be marked b y some celestial event
having special reference to the Pleiades, the y e a r -
measuring star-group. W h e t h e r the A priori con­
sideration here indicated is valid or not, m a y
perhaps be doubtful; but it is certain the epoch
above mentioned is related to the Pleiades in a
quite unmistakable manner. F o r at that epoch,
quam proximc, through the effects o f that m i g h t y
gyrational m o v e m e n t o f the earth which causes
what is termed the precession of the equinoxes,
the star A l c y o n e , the brightest o f the Pleiades and
nearly central in the group, w a s carried t o such a
position that when the spring began the sun and
A l c y o n e rose to their highest in the southern skies
at the same instant o f time.
B e this, however, as it m a y , it seems abun-
2Ao THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

d a n t l y clear that quite early in the progress o f

astronomy, tlic more scientific and observant must
have recognised the unfitness of the w e e k as an
astronomical measure of time. W i t h the disap­
pearance of the w e e k from astronomical systems
(the lunar ' q u a r t e r s ' being retained, however) the
w e e k m a y be considered to have become what it
now is for ourselves, a civil and in some sense a
religious time-measure. T h a t it should retain its
position in this character was to be expected, if wc
consider the firm hold which civil measures once
established obtain a m o n g the generality of men,
and the still greater constancy with which men
retain religious observances. A struggle probably
took place between astronomers and the priest­
hood when first the solar zodiac came into use
instead of the lunar stations, and when an effort
was made t o g e t rid of the w e e k as a measure of
time. T h i s seems to me to be indicated b y m a n y
passages in certain more or less mythological
records of the race through w h o m (directly) the
w e e k has descended to us. B u t this part of the
subject introduces questions which cannot be satis­
factorily dealt with without a profound study o f
those records in their mythological sense, and a
thorough investigation o f philological relations in­
volved in the subject. S u c h researches, accom-
 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK. 241

panied b y the careful discussion of all such astro­

nomical relations as were found to be involved,
would, I feel satisfied, be richly rewarded. More
light will be thrown on the ancient systems o f
astronomy and astrology b y the careful s t u d y of
some of the Jewish Scriptures, and clearer light
will be thrown on the meaning of these books b y
the consideration of astronomical and astrological
relations associated with them, than has heretofore
been supposed. T h e k e y to much that was myste­
rious in the older systems of religion has been
found in the consideration that to man as first he
rose a b o v e the condition of savagery, the grander
objects and processes o f nature—earth, sea, and
sky, clouds and rain, winds and storms, the earth­
q u a k e and the volcano, but, above and beyond all,
the h e a v e n l y bodies with their stately movements,
their i n e x t r i c a b l y intermingled periods, their m y s ­
tical s y m b o l i s m s — a l l these must have appeared as
themselves divine, until a nobler conception pre­
sented them as but parts of a higher and more
mysterious W h o l e . In all the ancient systems of
religion w e have begun to recognise the myths
which had their birth in those first natural concep­
tions of the Child-man. T o this rule the ancient
religious s y s t e m of the H e b r e w race was no e x c e p ­
tion ; but from their Chaldaean ancestors they d c -

R
242 THE ORIGIN OF THE WEEK.

rived a nature-worship relating more directly to

the heavenly bodies than that o f nations living
under less constant skies, and to w h o m other phe­
nomena were not less important, and therefore not
less significant of power, than the phenomena of
the starry heavens. S o soon as wc thus recognise
that H e b r e w m y t h s would, o f necessity, be more
essentially astronomical than those of other na­
tions, w c perceive that the H e b r e w race was not
unlike other early races in h a v i n g no m y t h o l o g y ,
as M a x Miillcr thought, but possessed a m y t h o ­
l o g y less simply and readily interpreted than that
of other nations.
 SATURN AND THE SABBATH OF
THE JEWS.

I N one of the most striking passages of his ' S t u d y

of Sociology,' Herbert Spencer considers what
might be said of our age ' b y an independent ob­
server living in the far future, supposing his state­
ments translated into our cumbrous language.'
"'In some respects," s a y s the future observer,
" their code of conduct seems not to h a v e advanced
beyond, but to have gone back from the code of a
still more ancient people from w h o m their creed
w a s derived . . . T h e relations o f their creed to
the creed of this ancient people are indeed difficult
to understand. . . . N o t only did they, in the l a w
of retaliation, outdo the Jews, instead of o b e y i n g
the quite opposite principle of the teacher t h e y
worshipped as divine, but they obeyed the Jewish
law, and disobeyed their divine teacher in other
w a y s , — a s in the rigid observance o f e v e r y seventh
day, w h i c h he had deliberately discountenanced.
. . . T h e i r substantial adhesion to the creed t h e y
R 2
244 SATURN AND THE

professedly repudiated, w a s clearly demonstrated

b y this, that in each of their temples t h e y fixed
up in some conspicuous place the T e n C o m m a n d ­
ments of the Jewish religion, while t h e y rarely, if
ever, fixed up the two Christian Commandments
given instead of them. A n d yet," s a y s the reporter,
after dilating on these strange facts, " though the
E n g l i s h were greatly given to missionary enter­
prises of all kinds, and though I sought diligently
a m o n g the records of these, I could find no trace
of a society for converting the English people from
Judaism to Christianity.'"
I t is, indeed, a strange circumstance that Chris­
tian teachings in our time respecting the observ­
ance of each seventh d a y should be at variance,
not o n l y with what is known of the origin of the
observance of S u n d a y , as distinguished from the
S a b b a t h of the Jews, but even more emphatically
with the teachings of Christ, both as to the purpose
of a d a y of rest, and as to the manner in which the
poor should be considered. O u r S u n d a y is in fact,
if not in origin, the S a b b a t h of the Jews, not the
Lord's D a y of the A p o s t l e s ; it is regarded, not as
a d a y set apart to refresh those w h o toil, but as
though man were made for its o b s e r v a n c e ; while
the s o u l - w e a r y i n g d o o m of the d a y is so ordered
as to affect chicflv the poorer classes, w h o w a n t
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 24$

rest from work and a n x i e t y , not rest from the

routine of social amusements, which arc unknown
to them. But although the thoroughly non-Chris­
tian nature of our seventh d a y is remarkable in a
country professedly Christian, and although it is
a serious misfortune for us that an arrangement
which might be most beneficial to the w o r k i n g
classes is rendered mischievous b y the w a y in
which it is carried out, I certainly have no purpose
here to dis:uss the v e x e d question of S u n d a y ob­
servance. T h e r e arc some points, however, s u g ­
gested b y Spencer's reference to the origin of our
w e e k l y resting day, which arc even more curious
than those on which he touches. W c take our law
of w e e k l y rest from M o s e s ; we practically follow
Jewish observances in this m a t t e r : but in this,
e x c e p t in so far as the contrast between Judaism
and Christianity is concerned, there is nothing in­
congruous. F o r the Jewish nation was of old the
sole Eastern nation whose priesthood taught the
worship of one G o d , and resisted the tendency of
the people to worship the gods of other nations.
B u t the real origin of the Jewish S a b b a t h was far
more singular. T h e observance was derived from
an E g y p t i a n , and primarily from a Chalda:an
source. Moreover, an astrological origin m a y be
recognised in the p r a c t i c e ; rest being enjoined
246 SATURN AND THE

b y E g y p t i a n priests on the seventh d a y , simply

because they regarded that d a y as a dies infaustus,
when it w a s unlucky to undertake a n y work.
It needs no v e r y elaborate reasoning to prove
that the Jewish observance o f the S a b b a t h began
during the sojourn in E g y p t . Without entering
into the difficult question o f the authorship and
date o f the Pentateuch, we can perceive that the
history o f A b r a h a m , Isaac, and Jacob, in the E l o -
histic portion o f the narrative, is introductory t o
the account o f the Jews' sojourn in E g y p t and
e x o d u s thence under their skilful and prudent
commander, Moses. It is incredible that the
person w h o combined these t w o accounts into one
history, including an e x a c t record o f the rules for
observing festivals, should have failed to add some
reference to the seventh d a y o f rest when quoting
(from the Elohist) the ordinances which A b r a h a m
and the other patriarchs were so carefully enjoined
to obey, if it really had been a point o f d u t y in
patriarchal times t o keep holy the seventh d a y .
In every injunction t o the Israelites after they left
E g y p t , the d u t y o f keeping the S a b b a t h is strongly
dwelt upon. I t not only became from this time
one o f the commandments, but ' a sign between
the L o r d and the children o f Israel for ever.' In
the patriarchal times, on the contrary, w e find n o
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 247

mention of i t : the test of righteousness was the

worship of one G o d — t h e God of A b r a h a m , Isaac,
and Jacob. In the book o f Job, again, no refer­
ence whatever is made to the observance of the
S a b b a t h ; and this is the more remarkable because
Job makes ' s o l e m n protestation of his i n t e g r i t y '
in several duties. H e claims integrity in the
worship of G o d : ' If I beheld the sun when it
shincd,' he says, ' o r the moon w a l k i n g in bright­
ness, and m y heart hath been secretly enticed,
or m y mouth hath kissed m y h a n d ' (the token
o f worship), ' this also were an iniquity to be
punished b y the j u d g e : for I should have denied
the G o d that is above.' But he says no word
about the observance which, after the exodus, is so
specially associated with the worship of God.
It is, indeed, somewhat singular that the ob
scrvancc of the S a b b a t h should be derived from
far remoter times, b y those w h o insist on the literal
exactness of the Bible record, seeing that the Bible
distinctly assigns the e x o d u s from E g y p t as the
epoch when the observance had its origin. For
Moses, in solemnly reminding all Israel of the
covenant of Horcb, s a y s :—
'Remember that thou wast a servant in the
land of E g y p t , and that the L o r d thy G o d brought
thee out thence, through a m i g h t y hand and b y a
248 SATURN AND THE

stretched-out arm : therefore the L o r d t h y G o d

commanded thee to k e e p the Sabbath-day.' —
(Dcut. v. 15.)
A n d these words o c c u p y the position in the
Fourth C o m m a n d m e n t which, in E x o d u s x x . 1 1 ,
is occupied b y the words, ' F o r in six d a y s the
L o r d made heaven and earth,' & c .
A s s i g n i n g the origin of the first Jewish observ­
ance of the S a b b a t h to the time of the e x o d u s ,
w e arc forced to the conclusion that the custom of
k e e p i n g each seventh d a y as a d a y of rest was
derived from the people a m o n g s t w h o m the J e w s
had been sojourning more than t w o hundred years.
It is unreasonable to suppose that Moses w o u l d
have added to the almost overwhelming difficulties
which he had to encounter in dealing with the
obstinate people he led from E g y p t , the task of
establishing a new festival. S u c h a task is at all
times difficult, but at the time of the e x o d u s it
would have been hopeless to undertake it. The
people were continually rebelling against Moses,
because he sought to turn them from the worship
of the gods of E g y p t , in w h o m they were disposed
to trust. It was no time to establish a new festi­
val, unless one could be devised which should cor­
respond with the customs t h e y had learned in
Egypt Moses would seem indeed to have pursued a
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 249

1
course of compromise. O p p o s i n g manfully the wor­
ship of the E g y p t i a n gods, he adopted, nevertheless,
E g y p t i a n ceremonies and festivals, only so far modi­
fying them that (as he explained them) t h e y ceased
to be associated with the worship of false g o d s .
W e have also historical evidence as to the non-
Jewish origin of the observance o f the seventh d a y ,
as decisive of the arguments I h a v e been consider­
ing. For Philo Judaeus, Joscphus, C l e m e n t of
A l e x a n d r i a , and others, speak plainly of the w e e k
as not o f Jewish origin, but c o m m o n to all the
Oriental nations. I do not wish, however, to m a k e
use of such evidence here, important though it i s —
or rather because it is so important that it could
not properly be dealt with in the space available to
1
There is a passage in Jeremiah which, as it seems to me, can­
not otherwise be reconciled with the Pentateuch —viz. chapter vii.
21-23, where he says, ' T h u s saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of
Israel ; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and cat flesh.
For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day
that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt
offerings or sacrifices ; but this thing commanded I them, saying,
Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people ;
and walk ye in all the way that I have commanded you, that it may
be well unto you.' It seems plainly intimated here that (in Jere­
miah's opinion, at any rate) the ordinances relating to burnt-offerings
and sacrifices on the Sabbath and new moons were not commanded
by God, however plainly the account in the Pentateuch may seem
to suggest the contrary; and the two accounts can scarcely be re­
conciled except by supposing that the Mosaic laws on these points
were intended to regulate and also to sanction an observance not
originally instituted by Moses.
2SO SATURN AND THE

me. I wish to consider only the evidence which

lies directly before us in the Bible pages, combin­
ing it with the astronomical relations which arc
involved in the question. F o r it is to an astrono­
mical or rather an astrological interpretation that
w c arc led, so soon as wc recognise the non-Jewish
origin o f the S a b b a t h . B e y o n d all doubt, the w e e k
is an astronomical period, and that in a twofold
sense ; it is first a rough sub-division of the lunar
month, and in the second place it is a period
derived directly from the number of celestial bodies
known to ancient astronomers as moving upon the
sphere of the fixed stars.
T h e astronomical origin of the S a b b a t h is shown
b y the Mosaic laws as to festivals, illustrated b y
occasional passages in other parts of the Bible. In
the 28th chapter of Numbers w c find four forms of
sacrifice to be offered at regular intervals—first,
the continual burnt-offering to be made at sunrise
and at sunset (these epochs, be it noted, being
important in the astrological system of the E g y p ­
tians) ; secondly, the offering on the S a b b a t h ;
thirdly, the offering in the time of the new moon ;
and fourthly, the offering at the luni-solar festival
of the Passover. T h a t is, wc have daily, w e e k l y ,
monthly, and y e a r l y offerings. A n attempt has
been m a d e to show that in the beginning of the
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 251

Mosaic rule the months were not lunar ; but, apart

from all other evidence, repeated references to
' Sabbaths and new m o o n s ' negative this view,
and show that, as S p e n c e r (Rit. iii. 1) maintains,
the H e b r e w s began their month when the new
moon first appeared. It is also clear from the
nature of the offerings made, that the festival o f
the new moon was held in equal esteem with the
S a b b a t h ; and although the observances were dif­
ferent, y e t both days were strictly religious in
character. For when the S h u n a m m i t c w o m a n said
to her husband that she would ' run to the man of
God,' he answers (supposing she went to hear the
sacred books read), ' Wherefore wilt thou g o to
him t o - d a y ? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath.'
A n d again, the new moon resembled the S a b b a t h
in being a d a y when sale was prohibited. 'Hear
this,' s a y s A m o s , ' 0 y e that swallow up the needy,
even to m a k e the poor of the land to fail, saying,
W h e n will the new moon be gone, that wc m a y
sell corn ? and the Sabbath, that wc m a y set forth
wheat ? ' It seems also, as T h i n has pointed out,
that servile w o r k was prohibited, for w e read
(1 S a m u e l x x . 18, 19) that Jonathan said to D a v i d ,
' T o - m o r r o w is the new moon and thou shalt be
missed, because t h y scat will be empty. And
when thou hast s t a y e d three d a y s , then thou shalt
2?2 SATURN AND THE

g o down quickly, and come to the place where thou

didst hide thyself when the business was in hand', or,
as in the U o u a y translation, ' in the d a y when it is
1
lawful to w o r k . '
W e h a v e evidence equally clear to show that
the seven d a y s of the week were connected with the
seven planets, that is, with the seven celestial bodies
which appear to move a m o n g the stars. It w a s b y
no mere accidental a g r e e m e n t between the number
of the d a y s and the number of planets that so m a n y
of the Oriental nations were led to name the d a y s
of the week after the planets. T h e arrangement
o f the nomenclature is indeed so peculiar that a
c o m m o n origin for the practice must be admitted,
when w c find the same arrangement adopted b y
1
Tirin also asserts that the Jews observed the lunar system, and
that their months consisted of 29 and 30 days alternately (29J, days,
within about three-quarters of an hour, lieing the length of the
mean lunar month). Hence the feast of the new moon came to be
called the thirtieth Sabbath, that is, the Sabbath of the thirtieth
day. Thus Horace (Sat. I. ix.) * Hodic triccsima sabbata : vin' tu
Curtis Judceis o p p e d c r e ? ' Macrobius mentions that the Greeks,
Romans, Egyptians, Arabians, & c , worshipped the moon (Sat. I.
x v . ) ? and it is probable that despite the care of Moses on this
point, the Jews were prone to return to the moon-worship, whence
the feast of the new moon had its origin. We must not, however,
infer this from the passage in Jeremiah vii. 17, 18, ' Sccst thou not
what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ?
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven,
and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods.' For the queen of
heaven is Athor, parent of the universe.
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 253

nations otherwise diverse in character and habits.

Moreover, the arrangement is manifestly associated
with S a b a i s m on the one hand, and with astrological
superstitions on the o t h e r ; and w c find the clearest
evidence in the Bible not only that S a b a i s m and
astrology were k n o w n to the Jews, but that Moses
had e x t r e m e difficulty in separating the observances
he enjoined (or permitted ?) from the worship of
the H o s t of H e a v e n . H e was learned, w c know,
in all the wisdom of the E g y p t i a n s ( A c t s vii. 22), and
therefore he must have k n o w n those astronomical
facts, and have been familiar with those astrolo­
gical superstitions, which the Chalda:ans had i m ­
parted to the E g y p t i a n s of the d a y s of the
1
Pharaohs. It is noteworthy, too, that the first
difficulties he met with in the e x o d u s arose from
the wish o f the Jews to return t o Sabaism. This
is not manifest in the original narrative ; but the
real meaning of the account is evident from the
following passage ( A c t s vii. 40), where Stephen,
s p e a k i n g o f Moses, says, ' T h i s is he . . . w h o m
our fathers would not o b e y , but thrust him from
1
H e showed considerable skill, if Dr. Bekc was right, in his
application of such knowledge (combined with special knowledge
acquired during his stay in Midian), so that his people should cross
a part of the Gulf of Suez during an exceptionally low tide. For
though the Egyptians may have been acquainted with the general
tidal motion in the Red Sea, it may well be believed that the army
of Pharaoh would be less familiar than Moses with local peculiari­
ties affecting (in his time) the movements of that sea.
 2
54 SATURN AND THE

them, and in their hearts turned back again into

E g y p t , s a y i n g unto A a r o n , M a k e us g o d s t o g o
before us ; for as for this Moses, which brought us
out of the land of E g y p t , wc w o t not what is
b e c o m e of him. A n d they m a d e a calf in those
days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced
in the works of their own hands. T h e n G o d turned,
and g a v e them up to worship the host of heaven ;
as it is written in the b o o k o f the prophets . . .
Y c took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star
of y o u r god R c m p h a n , figures which y c m a d e to
1
worship t h e m . '

1
This passage, and the passage from Amos, to which the proto-
martyr refers, arc curious in connection with the special subject of
this paper, as indicated by its title. For where Stephen says
Rcmphan, Amos says Chiun. Now it is maintained by Grotiusthat
Rcmphan is the same as Rimmon, whom Naaman worshipped, and
Kimmon or Remmon signifies ' elevated' (lit. a pomegranate), and
is understood by Grotius to refer to Saturn, the highest of the planets.
(The student of astronomy will remember Galileo's anagram on the
words ' Allissimum planelam tergeminutn oiservavi.*) Now Chiun,
which denotes a ' pedestal,' is considered to be equivalent in this
place to Chevan, or Kcvan, the Saturn of the Arabians. (Park-
hurst mentions that the Peruvians worshipped Choun.) Moloch, of
course, signifies king. Ilccausc children were sacrificed to Moloch,
Bonfrcrc considers this god to be the same as Saturn, described as
devouring his own children. If so, the words ' tabernacle of Moloch
and the star of Rcmphan' relate lo the same special form of
Sabaism—that, namely, which assigned to Saturn the chief place
among the star-gods. I must remark, however, that this point is
by no means essential for the main argument of this paper, which is
in reality based on the unquestioned fact that amongst all the nations
which used the week as a division of time, the seventh day was
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 255

N o w I might pass from what has here been

shown, to the direct inference that the Sabbath
corresponded with the d a y which Oriental S a b a i s m
consecrated to the planet Saturn ; because wc have
the clearest possible evidence that all nations which
adopted the w e e k as a measure o f time named the
seven d a y s after the same planets. B u t I prefer, at
some risk of appearing to w e a k e n the argument
b y introducing matters less certain, to consider the
evidence w c have as to the position o f the g o d
corresponding to the L a t i n Saturn in the A s s y r i a n
mythology.
M a n y years since, C o l o n e l (then Major) R a w l i n -
son, in a paper read before the Royal Asiatic
Society, referring to an inscription beginning,
' This the P a l a c e o f Sardanapalus, the humble
worshipper of Assarach,' made the following
remarks:—
' T h e r e can be no doubt,' he said ( I quote from
a report not professing to be verbatim), ' that this
A s s a r a c h was the Nisroch mentioned in Scripture,
in whose temple Sennacherib was slain. l i e was
most p r o b a b l y the deified father of the tribes, the
A s s u r of the Bible. T h i s A s s a r a c h was styled in

associated with the planet Saturn. It is necessary to call attention

to this point, because not unfrcquently it happens that some sub­
sidiary matter, such as t h a f touched on in this note, is dealt with as
though the whole question at issue turned upon it.
256 SATURN AND THE

all the inscriptions as the king, the father, and the

ruler of the gods, thus answering to the Grei k
g o d , Chronos, or Saturn, in A s s y r i o - H c l l c n i c m y ­
thology.'
A g a i n L a y a r d , s p e a k i n g of A s s y r i a n m y t h o l o g y ,
says:—
' A l l wc can now venture to infer is that the
A s s y r i a n s worshipped one supreme G o d as the
great national deity, under whose immediate and
special protection they lived, and their empire e x ­
isted. T h e name o f this god appears to have been
A s s h u r , as nearly as can be determined at present
from the inscriptions. It was identified with that
o f the empire itself, a l w a y s called " the country o f
Asshur." W i t h A s s h u r , but apparently far inferior
to him in the celestial hierarchy, although called
the great gods, were associated twelve other deities.
. . . T h e s e twelve g o d s m a y have presided over
the twelve months o f the year.'—(Nineveh and
Babylon, p . 637.)
In a note, L a y a r d refers to doubts expressed
b y Colonel Rawlinson respecting the identity o f
A s s h u r and Nisroch, presumably removed b y R a w -
linson's later reading of the inscription referred to
above. H e remarks that this supreme g o d w a s
represented sometimes under a triune f o r m ; and
•generally, if not a l w a y s , typified b y a w i n g e d
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 257

figure in a circle.' Plate X I I I . of m y treatise on

Saturn shows how these t w o descriptions arc re­
concilable ; for there arc shown in it t w o figures o f
Nisroch, both winged and within a ring, but one
1
only triune.
A m o n g s t the twelve great g o d s were included
six corresponding to the remaining planets, though
doubts exist as to the g o d s associated with the dif­
ferent celestial bodies. It seems probable that S h a -
mash corresponded with the S u n ; Ishtar ( A s t a r t c or
2
A s h t a r ) with the M o o n ; B e l with Jupiter, M c r o -
1
I do not here dwell on the curious coincidence —if, indeed,
Chaldxan astronomers had not discovered the ring of Saturn that
they showed the god corresponding within a ring, and triple.
Galileo's first view of Saturn, w ith feeble telescopic (lower, showed
the planet as triple (tergeminus) ; and very moderate optical know­
ledge, such indeed as we may fairly infer from the presence of
optical instruments among Assyrian remains, might have led to the
discovery of Saturn's ring and Jupiter's moons. (Bel, the Assyrian
Jupiter, was represented sometimes with four star-tipped wings.)
But it is possible that these arc mere coincidences. Saturn would
naturally come to be regarded as the God of Time, on account of
his slow motion round the ecliptic ; and thus the ring (a natural
emblem of time) might be expected to appear in figures of the god
corresponding to this planet. It is curious, however, that the ring
is fiat, and proportioned like Saturn's.
* Layard associates Bel, ' the father of the great gods,' with
Saturn, and Mylitta, the consort of Bel, with Venus, but without
giving any reasons, and probably merely as a guess. He elsewhere
remarks, however, that from Baal came the Belus of the Greeks,
who was confounded with our own Zeus or Jupiter, and apart from
the clear evidence associating Nisroch with Saturn, the evidence
connecting Bel with Jupiter is tolerably satisfactory. The point is
not important, however, in relation to the subject of this paper.
S
 258 SATURN AND THE

dach with M a r s ; M y l i t t a with V e n u s ; and N c b o

with Mercury. But the question would only be o f
importance in its bearing on m y present subject,
if wc k n e w the A s s y r i a n timc-mcasurcmcnt, and
especially their arrangement of the d a y s of the
week. Since w e have to pass to other sources of
information on this point, the only really important
fact in the A s s y r i a n m y t h o l o g y , for our purpose,
is the nearly certain one that their supreme god
A s s h u r or Nisroch corresponded to the ' h i g h e s t '
or outermost planet Saturn. H e w a s also the
T i m e G o d , thus corresponding to Chronos. B u t it
is necessary to notice here that m y t h o l o g i c a l rela­
tions must to some degree be separated from astro­
logical considerations, in dealing with the connec­
tion between various A s s y r i o - C h a l d a ; a n deities and
the planets. F o r instance, it is important in
m y t h o l o g y to observe that the Greek god Chronos
and the L a t i n g o d Saturn are unlike in m a n y of
their attributes, y e t the association between the
planet Saturn and the A s s y r i a n deity Nisroch is
not on that account brought into question, a l ­
though w e can o n l y connect Nisroch with Saturn
b y means o f the c o m m o n relation o f both t o
Chronos.

On etymological grounds, Yav, the fifth of the great gods, may per­
haps he associated with Zeus, identical with the Sanscrit Dyaus, and
the l a t i n r o o t ' Jov ; ' also with Yahvch, the tribal god of the Jews.
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 259

M a n y circumstances point to the Chaldaean

origin of E g y p t i a n astronomy. The Egyptian
zodiac corresponded vvitli the D o d c c a t c m o r i a of
the Chaldaeans, and though some of the Chaldaean
constellations were modified in E g y p t i a n temples,
y e t sufficient general resemblance exists between

the E g y p t i a n arrangement and that which other

nations derived from the Chaldaeans, t o show the
real origin of the figures which adorn E g y p t i a n
1
zodiac temples. T h e a r g u m e n t derived from
1 :
In an essay on the ' Shield of Achilles {Light Science for
Leisure Hours, first series), I called attention, seven years ago, to
the probability that the description of the Shield, a manifest inter­
polation, related originally to a zodiac temple, erected by star-
worshippers long before Homer's time. Some of the Egyptian
zodiac temples exist to this day, though probably they belong to a
much later date, and were only copies (more or less perfect) of the
ancient [Link].-an temples. That Homer, if he had visited such a
temple, and had composed a poem descriptive of its sculptured
dome, would have ' worked i n ' that description if he saw the
opportunity when singing the Iliad, all Homeric students will be
reaily to admit. Like every improvisatorc, the glorious old minstrel
knew the advantage of the rest afforded by an occasional change
from invention to recitation. In so using it, he appears to have
pruned the description considerably ; for in the Shield of Hercules
(manifestly taken from the same Homeric poem, though sometimes
attributed to Hcsiod) we find, along with much almost identical
matter, several passages which arc omitted from the Achillean de­
scription. Very curious evidence of the nature of the original
poem is found in one of these passages. In a zodiac temple, the
constellation of the Dragon (whatever the age of the temple) would
occupy the boss or centre of the dome, for the north pole of the
zodiac falls in the middle of that constellation. Now in the Shield
of Hercults—

s 2
2<5o SATURN AND THE

astrological fancies is even stronger, for the whole

system of astrological divination is so artificial and
peculiar that it must of necessity be ascribed to
one nation. T o find the system prevailing a m o n g
a n y people is of itself a sufficient proof that they
were taught b y that nation. N o r can any question
arise as to the nation which invented the system.
T h e E g y p t i a n s themselves admitted the superi­
ority of the Chaldaean astrologers, and the com­
mon consent of all the Oriental nations accorded
with this view. W c know that in R o m e , although
A r m e n i a n s , E g y p t i a n s , and Jews were consulted
as astronomers, Chaldrcans were held to be the
most proficient. ' Chaldpcis scd major crit fiducia,'
says Juvenal, of the R o m a n ladies w h o consulted
fortune-tellers: ' quicquid D i x c r i t astrologus, cre­
dent a fontc rclatis A m m o n i s , ' — whatever the
Chaldaean astrologers may say, they trust as
though it came from Jupiter A m m o n . Another
argument in favour of the Chalda:an origin o f
astronomy and astrology is derived from the fact

' The scaly horror of a dragon coil'd

Full in the central field, unspeakable
With eyes oblique retorted, that aslant
1
Shot gleaming (lame.

(The very attitude, l>e it noted, of the Dragon of the Star sphere.)
There is much more evidence of this kind to which, for want of
space, I cannot here refer.
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 261

that the systems of astronomy taught in E g y p t ,

B a b y l o n , Persepolis, and elsewhere, do not corre­
spond with the latitude of these p l a c e s ; but this
argument (which I have considered at some length
in A p p e n d i x A . to m y treatise on Saturn) need
not detain us here. It is sufficient to observe that
in E g y p t the astrological system was early received
and t a u g h t : —
' E g y p t , ' says a modern writer, ' a country noted
for the loveliness of its nights, might well be the
supporter of such a system. . . . T o each planet
was attributed a mystic influence, and to every
h e a v e n l y b o d y a supernatural agency, and all the
stars that g e m the s k y were supposed to e x e r t an
influence over the birth, and life, and destiny o f
man ; hence arose the casting of nativities, prayers,
incantations, and sacrifices, — of which w e have
traces even to the present d a y in those professors
of astrology and divination, the gipsies, whose very
name links them with the ancient country of such
1
arts.'
O n e of the cardinal principles of astrology was
t h i s : that every hour and e v e r y d a y is ruled b y its
proper planet. N o w , in the ancient Egyptian

1
This may be questioned. It is said, however, that when the
gipsies first made their appearance in Western Europe, about the
year 1 4 1 5 , their leader called himself Duke of Lower Egypt.
2Ô2 SATURN AND TUE

astronomy there were seven planets ; two, the sun

and moon, circling round the earth, the rest circling
round the sun. T h e period of circulation was
apparently taken as the measure of each planet's
dignity, probably because it was j u d g e d that the
distance corresponded to the period. W c know
that some harmonious relation between the distances
and periods was supposed to exist. When Kepler
discovered the actual law, he conceived that he had
in reality found out the mystery of Egyptian
astronomy, or, as he expressed it, that he had
'stolen the golden vases of the Egyptians'
W h e t h e r they had clear ideas as to the nature of
this relation or not, it is certain that they arranged
the planets in order (beginning with the planet of
longest period) as follows :—

1. Saturn. 5. V e n u s .
2. Jupiter. 6. Mercury.
3. Mars. 7. T h e Moon.
4. T h e Sun.

T h e hours were devoted in continuous succession

to these bodies ; and as there were twenty-four
hours in each Chaldaean or E g y p t i a n day, it follows
that with whatever planet the d a y began, the c y c l e
of seven planets (beginning with that one) w a s
repeated three times, m a k i n g twenty-one hours,
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 263

and then the first three planets of the c y c l e c o m ­

pleted the twenty-four hours, so that the fourth
planet of the cycle (so begun) ruled the first hour
of the n e x t d a y Suppose, for instance, the first
hour of a n y d a y was ruled b y the Sun—the cycle
for the d a y would therefore be the S u n , V e n u s ,
Mercury, the M o o n , Saturn, Jupiter, and M a r s ,
which, repeated three times, would g i v e twenty-one
hours ; the twenty-second, twenty-third, and
twenty-fourth hours would be ruled respectively
b y the S u n , V e n u s , and Mercury, and the first
hour of the n e x t d a y would be ruled b y the
Moon. Proceeding in the same w a y through this
second day, we find that the first hour of the third
d a y would be ruled b y Mars. T h e first hour of the
fourth d a y would be ruled b y Mercury ; the first
hour of the fifth d a y b y Jupiter ; of the sixth b y
V e n u s ; and o f the seventh b y Saturn. T h e seven
d a y s in order, being assigned to the planet ruling
their first hour, would therefore b e —

1. T h e Sun's d a y ( S u n d a y ) .
2. T h e Moon's d a y (Monday, Lundi).
3. Mars's d a y (Tuesday, Mardi).
4. Mercury's d a y ( W e d n e s d a y , Mercrcdi).
5. Jupiter's d a y (Thursday, Jeudi).
6. V e n u s ' s d a y (Friday, V e n e r i s dies, V c n d r e d i ) .
7. Saturn's d a y ( S a t u r d a y ; Ital. il S a b b a t o ) .
2Ö4 SATURN AND THE

D i o n Cassius, who wrote in the third century of

our era, gives this explanation of the nature of the
E g y p t i a n w e e k and of the method in which the
arrangement was derived from their s y s t e m of
astronomy. It is a noteworthy point that neither
the Greeks nor R o m a n s in his time used the week,
which w a s a period of strictly Oriental origin.
T h e R o m a n s only adopted the w e e k in the time of
Theodosius, towards the close of the fourth century,
and the Greeks divided the month into periods o f
ten d a y s ; so that, for the origin of the arrange­
ment connecting the d a y s o f the w e e k with the
planets, w e must look to the source indicated b y
Dion Cassius. It is a curious illustration of the
w a y in which traditions are handed down, not only
from generation to generation, but from nation to
nation, that the L a t i n and Western nations receiving
the week along with the doctrines of Christianity,
should nevertheless have adopted the nomenclature
in use a m o n g astrologers. It is impossible to say
how w i d e l y the superstitions of astrology had
spread, or how d e e p l y they had penetrated, for the
practices of astrologers were carried on in secret,
wherever S a b a i s m w a s rejected as a form of
religion ; but that in some mysterious w a y these
superstitions spread a m o n g nations professing faith
in one G o d , and that even to this d a y they arc
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 265

secretly accepted ¡11 M a h o m e t a n and even Christian

communities, cannot be disputed. H o w much
more must such superstitions have affected the
Jews, led out b y Moses from the very temple of
astrology ? K n o w i n g what we do of the influence
of such superstitions in our own time, can wc
wonder if three thousand years a g o Moses found
it difficult to dispossess his followers of their belief
in ' the host of heaven,' or if, a few generations
later, even the reputed prophetess D e b o r a h should
have been found proclaiming t h a t ' the stars in their
1
courses ' had fought against the enemies of Israel ?

1
Wc arc apt to overlook the Pagan origin of many ideas referred
to in the bible, as well as of many ceremonies which Moses at least
permitted, if he did not enjoin. The description of the Ark of the
Covenant, of the method of sacrifices, of the priestly vestments, & c ,
indicate in the clearest manner an Egyptian or Assyrian origin.
The cherubim, for instance figures which united, as Calmel has
shown, the body of the lion or ox with the wings of an eagle - are
common in Assyrian sculptures. The oracle of the temple dillered
only from some of the chambers of Nimrod and Khorsabad, in the
substitution of ' p a l m trees' for the sacred tree of Assyrian sculp-
tures, and open flowers for the Assyrian tulip-shaped ornament.
Layard (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 643) states further that ' in the
Assyrian halls, the winged human-headed bulls were on the side of
the wall, and their wings, like those of the cherubim, " touched one
another in the midst of the house." The dimensions of these figures
were in some cases nearly the same—namely, fifteen feet square.
The doors were also carved with cherubim and palm trees, and open
flowers, and thus, with the other parts of the building, corresponded
with those of the Assyrian palaces. On the walls at Nineveh, the
only addition appears to have been the introduction of the human
form and the image of the king, which were an abomination to the
266 SATURN AND THE

T h a t the E g y p t i a n s dedicated the seventh d a y

of the week to the outermost or highest planet,
Saturn, is certain ; and it is presumable that this
d a y was a d a y of rest in E g y p t . It is not known,
however, whether this was ordained in honour o f

Jews. The pomegranates and lilies of Solomon's temple must have

been nearly identical with the usual Assyrian ornament, in which
— and particularly at Khorsahad- the pomegranate frequently takes
the place of the tulip and the cone.' After quoting the description
given by Josephus of the interior of one of Solomon's houses, which
even more closely corresponds with and illustrates the chambers in
the palace of Nineveh, Layard makes the following remark : ' T o
complete the analogy between the two edifices, it would appear that
Solomon was seven years building the temple, and Sennacherib
about the same time building his great palace at Kouyunjik.' The
introduction into the Ark of figures so remarkable as the cherubim
can hardly l>c otherwise explained than by assuming that these
figures corrcs]>ondcd with some objects which the Jews during their
stay in Egypt had learned to associate with religious ceremonies.
That the Egyptians used such figures, placing them at the entrance
of their temples, is certain. Neither can it be doubted that the
setting of dishes, spoons, bowls, shewbread, & c , on the table within
the Ark, was derived from Egyptian ceremonials, though direct
evidence on these points is not (so far as I know) available. We
know, however, that meats of all kinds were set before Baal (see
Apocrypha, Bel and the Dragon). The remarkable breast-plate
worn by the Jewish high priest was derived directly from the
Egyptians. In the often-repeated picture of judgment the deceased
1
Egyptian is seen conducted by the god Honrs, while Anubis
places on one of the balances a vase supposed to contain his good
actions, and in the other is the emblem of truth, a representation of
Thmei, the goddess of Truth, which was also worn on the judicial
breast-plate.' Wilkinson, in his Manners and Customs of the
Ancient Eg)>ptiins, shows that the Hebrew Thummim is a plural
form of the word Thmei. The symbolism of the breast-plate is
referred to in the Apocrypha, Book of Wisdom, lxviii. 24.
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 267

the chief planet—that is, their supreme d e i t y — o r

because it was held unlucky to work on that d a y .
It b y no means follows from the fact that Nisroch,
or his E g y p t i a n representative, was the chief deity,
that he w a s therefore regarded as a beneficent
ruler. R a t h e r w h a t w c k n o w o f Oriental super­
stitions would lead us to infer that the chief deity
in a system of several g o d s was one to be propi­
tiated. A n d , indeed, the little w e k n o w of E g y p ­
tian m y t h o l o g y suggests that the beneficent g o d s
were those corresponding to the sun and m o o n —
later represented b y Osiris and Isis (deities, how­
ever, which had other interpretations). Saturn,
t h o u g h superior to the sun and moon, not o n l y
in the sense in which modern astronomers use the
term superior, but also in the power attributed to
him, was probably a maleficent if not a malignant
deity. W c m a y infer this from the qualities
attributed to him b y astrologers—' I f Saturn be
predominant in a n y man's nativity, and cause
melancholy in his temperature,' says Burton, in
his ' A n a t o m y o f Melancholy,' ' t h e n he shall be
very austere, sullen, churlish, black of colour,
profound in his cogitations, full of cares, miseries,
and discontents, sad and fearful, a l w a y s silent and
solitary.' W e m a y not unreasonably conclude,
therefore, that cither rest w a s enjoined on Saturn's
 268 SATURN AND THE

d a y as a religious observance to propitiate this

powerful but g l o o m y god, or else because bad
fortune was e x p e c t e d to attend any enterprise
begun on the d a y over which Saturn bore s w a y .
T h e evil influence, as well as the g r e a t power
attributed to Saturn, are indicated in the well-
k n o w n lines of C h a u c e r : —

. . . Quod Saturne,
My cors, that hath so wide for to turne,
I lath more power than wot any man ;
* » # # »
I do vengeaunce and pleine correction
While I dwell in the signc of the Icon ;
* # # # *
Min ben also the maladies colde,
The darke tresons, and the castes olde ;
My loking is the fader of pestilence.

It is, however, possible that the idea of rest on the

d a y dedicated to Saturn m3y have been suggested
to E g y p t i a n astrologers and priests b y the slow
motion of the planet in his orbit, w h e r e b y the
circuit of the ecliptic is only completed in about
twenty-nine years.
H o w e v e r this m a y be, wc know certainly that
on the S a b b a t h of the Jews rest w a s enjoined for
a different reason. Moses adopted the E g y p t i a n
week, and allowed the practice of a w e e k l y day
of rest to continue. But in order that t h e people
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 269

w h o m he led and instructed might not fall into the

worship of the host of heaven, he associated the
observance of the seventh d a y with the worship
of that one G o d in w h o m he enjoined them to
believe, the G o d o f their forefathers, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. S o far as appears from the
Bible narrative, there is no scriptural objection to
this view. On the contrary, strong scriptural
reasons exist for accepting it. I f the account of
the creation given in the first chapter of Genesis
could be accepted as literally e x a c t , it neverthe­
less would not follow that the seventh d a y of rest
was enjoined before the time of the exodus. A n d w e
have seen that the Bible account itself assigns the
departure from E g y p t as a reason for the observ­
ance, so that whatever view w e form respecting
the real origin of the seventh d a y of rest, we have
no choice as to the time we must assign for the
commencement of its observance by the Jews,
unless D e u t e r o n o m y v. be rejected as not even
historically trustworthy.
N o t h i n g , therefore, that I have shown in this
paper need be regarded as necessarily opposed to
the faith of those w h o h o n e s t l y believe in the
literal e x a c t n e s s of the reason assigned in E x o d u s
x x x i . 17 for the observance of the S a b b a t h of the
Jews. S u c h persons m a y accept the w e e k as o f
270 SATURN AND THE

Pagan origin, and the original observance of

Saturn's d a y as of astrological significance, while
believing in the reason given b y Moses for the
adoption of the practice b y his followers, that ' in
six d a y s the L o r d made heaven and earth, and
on the seventh day l i e rested and was refreshed.'
( T h e idea of rest, accepted literally, accords neither
better nor worse with the conception of an
A l m i g h t y Creator, than the idea o f work.) But
it seems to me that those w h o thus regard the
Jewish S a b b a t h as a divinely instituted compro­
mise between the worship of the seven planets as
g o d s , and the worship of one only God the
Creator of all things, m a y y e t find in what I have
here shown a new reason for Christianising our
seventh d a y of rest, even if wc must still continue
to miscall it the S a b b a t h . S i n c e it was permis­
sible for Moses to adopt a Pagan practice (to
sanction, if not to sanctify, a superstition), it m a y
well be believed that the greater than Moses was
entitled to change the mode of observance of the
seventh d a y o f rest. W c k n o w that in Christ's
time the S a b b a t h (of its very nature a convenient
ceremonial substitute for true religion) had b e c o m e
a hideous tyranny ; nay, that many, w a n t i n g real
goodness, were eager to prove their virtue b y in­
flicting the S a b b a t h on those w h o most needed
 SABBATH OF THE JEWS. 271

' to rest and be refreshed' on that d a y . Whether

in the obedience to the teaching o f Christ, w h o
(wc learn) rebuked those hypocrites, all this has
been changed in our time, is a point which m a y be
left to the reflection of the reader.
 272

ASTRONOMY AND THE JEWISH

FESTIVALS.

IN the essay on the ' Origin of the W e e k , ' I

have shown that so soon as a people began to
rise above the s a v a g e state, and to require some
means of measuring time-periods other than the
d a y and the year (if, indeed, the y e a r ever was
even roughly measured until long after the month
and week had been used as timc-mcasurcs),
they must have used the moon for this purpose,
and must soon after have been led to divide
time into periods of seven days. It is no mere
accident that all the nations of antiquity used
the w e e k of seven d a y s as a measure of time,
though some, later, e m p l o y e d the astronomically
more e x a c t division of time into periods of five
and ten d a y s . T h e moon naturally suggests b y
her movements precisely this division of time into
periods o f seven days, though a more careful study
of her motions suggests the division of the lunar
month into s i x periods of five d a y s each, rather
 ASTRONOMY AND JEWISH FESTIVALS. 273

than into four periods of seven d a y s each. N o r is

it a mere accident that in one of the books of that
little library of H e b r e w w o r k s wc call the O l d
T e s t a m e n t , w e find as the v e r y earliest division of
time used for the hiring of labour the w e e k of
seven d a y s . E v e n those nations, if a n y such there
were (which I doubt), who did not in the beginning
of their existence worship either the sun or the
moon, or both, and often the other heavenly bodies
as well, y e t adopted the belief that the sun and
moon and stars were set in the heavens for signs,
and for seasons, and for d a y s and years. A n d as
I have shown, all the names for the moon which do
not refer to her light, indicate her use as a timc-
1
mcasurcr. I m a y also repeat here, that the times
of half-moon alone would be observed with any
exactitude, the time of full, like the time of new
moon, not being determinable with anything like
the same degree of accuracy. Moreover, I have
shown that soon after the use of the month and its
quarters for measuring time had been commenced,
it would be found necessary to e m p l o y successive
1
This is true of nearly all the Indo-European languages, though
in some, as in Greek, we have two names for the moon, one relating
to her brightness, the other to her time-measuring use ; while in
some, as in Latin, the latter name has disappeared, save as it re­
mains in derivations as mensis, the month, the connection of which
word with mensuration was noticed even by the Romans, as by
Cicero and others.
T
274 ASTRONOMY AND

weeks of seven d a y s without reference to their

agreement or not with the four quarters of succes­
sive lunar months. In other words, since the w e e k
and the month are not e x a c t l y synchronous, it
would be found necessary to use them separately,
just as the lunar month and the y e a r not being
synchronous have had to be used separately, and
as, in like manner, the d a y not being synchronous
with cither the lunar month or the year, has
had to be used apart from them, though all four
periods, day, week, month, and year, are associated
together.
In the essay on the Jewish Sabbath I have
shown how the seven d a y s came to be associated
with the seven planets. T h e twenty-four hours of
each d a y were devoted to those planets in the
order of their supposed distance from the earth,—
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury,
and the Moon. T h e outermost planet, Saturn,
which also travels in the longest period, was re­
garded in this arrangement as of chief dignity, as
encompassing in his movement all the rest, Jupiter
as of higher dignity than Mars, and so forth.
Moreover, to the outermost planet, partly because
of Saturn's g l o o m y aspect, partly because a m o n g
half-savage races the powers of evil are a l w a y s
more respected than the powers that work for good,
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS.

a maleficent influence was attributed. N o w , if w c

assign to the successive hours of a d a y the planets
as above-named, beginning with Saturn on the d a y
assigned to that powerful deity, it will be found
that the last hour of that d a y will be assigned to
Mars,—the lesser infortirne, as Saturn was the
greater infortunc of the old system of astrology,—
and the first hour of the n e x t d a y to the n e x t
1
planet, the Sun, the d a y following S a t u r d a y would
thus be S u n d a y . T h e last hour of S u n d a y would
fall to Mercury, and the first of the n e x t to the
M o o n ; so M o n d a y , the Moon's day, follows S u n ­
d a y . T h e n e x t d a y would be the d a y of Mars, w h o ,
in the Scandinavian theology, is represented by
T u i s c o ; so T u i s c o ' s day, or T u e s d a y (Mardi), fol­
lows M o n d a y . Then, by following the same
system, w e come to M e r c u r y ' s d a y (Mcrcrcdi),
W o d e n ' s d a y , or W e d n e s d a y ; n e x t to Jupiter's
day, Jove's d a y (Jeudi), T h o r ' s day, or T h u r s d a y ;
to V e n u s ' s d a y , V e n d r e d i (Veneris dies), F r e y a ' s
day, or F r i d a y , and so to S a t u r d a y again. That
the d a y devoted to the most evil and most power­
ful of all the deities of the S a b d a n s should be set
apart—first as one on which it w a s unlucky to work,
and afterwards as one on which it was held to be

1
The sun and moon were both regarded as planets by astrologers,
who, it must be remembered, were of old the only astronomers.
I 2
2;6 ASTRONOMY AND

sinful to w o r k — w a s but the natural outcome of the

superstitious belief that the planets were gods rul­
1
ing the fates of men and nations. It is, however,
obvious that the Jews, or rather those from w h o m
they derived their special religious observances,
were taught to find a worthier motive for their S a b ­
bath rest. Y e t , of the connection between the
Jewish and the astrologic and sabaistic Sabbath,
there could be no manner of doubt, even were there
not the evidence now to be considered, which indi­
cates that all the Jewish festivals and fasts were of
astronomical origin.
It must, in the first place, be obvious to any one
w h o considers the matter with the least degree of
attention, that the Jewish ceremonial worship, with
all its complicated arrangements, must have been
in existence long before the exodus. N o reasoning
mind can for a moment imagine that such a
system could have been devised in a lifetime, or a
generation, far less during such a period as that in

1
In like manner the day of Venus, Friday, was a day for marry­
ing and giving in marriage ; and though our modem customs make
the day of marriage the day also for starling on a journey (even that,
however, showing evidence of astronomical origin, in its customary
length as the ' moon of honey'), it was the reverse in ancient times,
so that Friday would be of all days in the week the one regarded as
least suited for starting on a journey. Wc see some trace of this
association in Deuteronomy, chap. xx. v. 7, ' What man is there
that hath betrothed a wife ? let him go and return unto his house.'
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 277

which the Jewish people were wandering between

E g y p t and Palestine—assuming the description of
the e x o d u s to be in its outlines true, however mani­
festly i n e x a c t in details. B u t w e are not left to
infer this, from the obvious considerations suggested
b y experience as the origin of ceremonial observ­
ances a m o n g other people. T h e r e is abundant
evidence to show that the Jewish ceremonial system
was derived cither directly from the A s s y r i a n s (who
m a y h a v e received it still earlier from Hindoo
sources), or, more probably, from A s s y r i a through
the E g y p t i a n s . A s I have pointed out at p p . 265,
2 6 6 , ' the description of the A r k of the Covenant, o f
the method of sacrifices, of the priestly ornaments,
& c , indicates in the clearest manner an E g y p t i a n
or A s s y r i a n origin.'
A n d now let us e x a m i n e the Jewish sacrifices
offered up at various feasts and fasts, or otherwise
at stated times. W e m a y conveniently follow the
account given in the B o o k of Numbers, chaps,
x x v i i i . and x x i x . , though the reader will do well to
consult also Leviticus, chaps, xxiii., x x v . , & c , and
D e u t e r o n o m y , chaps, x v . and x v i . T h e s e accounts,
though probably written b y different persons, and
at w i d e l y different times, agree substantially
together—and, indeed, would seem to have passed
under revision b y one person (before the time o f
 278 ASTRONOMY AND

E z r a the scribe. S e c the B o o k o f Nchemiah, chap,

viii.).
A t the very outset, w e find evidence that the
sacrifices were not originally offered to the
A l m i g h t y Being, w h o works in a n d through all
things, but were devised as parts o f a system o f
nature worship (primarily, it would seem, a system
o f S u n worship). F o r w e read, ' T h e L o r d spake
unto Moses, saying, C o m m a n d the children o f
Israel, and s a y unto them, M y offering and m y
bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet
savour unto me, shall y c observe to offer unto me
in their d u e season.' T h e conception that the
savour o f cooked flesh could be sweet to an
A l m i g h t y , All-wise, and Omnipotent Being, belongs
as completely t o the childhood o f religion as docs
the idea that such a B e i n g could under a n y condi­
tions need the rest and refreshment mentioned in
E x o d u s , chap. x x x i . v. 1 7 . T h e use o f fire also in
sacrificial observances belongs essentially to S u n
worship and the associated system of Fire
worship.
T h e first sacrifice is the daily sacrifice, or the
continual burnt offering. ' T h i s is the offering
made b y fire which y e shall offer unto the L o r d :
t w o lambs o f the first y e a r without spot d a y b y
day, for a continual burnt offering; the o n e l a m b
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 279

shalt thou offer in the morning-, and the other l a m b

shalt thou offer at even.' Flour and oil also were
offered for the continual burnt offering. T h e r e was
also, precisely as in P a g a n sacrifices, a libation —
' In the h o l y place shalt thou cause the strong wine
to be poured unto the L o r d for a drink offering.'
W c have here manifestly those sacrifices to the
rising and setting sun which formed so charac­
teristic a feature of Sun worship.
S e c o n d l y , on the Sabbath-day, besides the c o n ­
tinual burnt offering,there were offered ' t w o lambs
of the first year without spot, and t w o tenth deals of
flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil and the
drink offering thereof.' T h i s m a y be regarded as
partly derived from sacrifices originally offered to
Saturn ; partly from the worship of the moon, which
certainly was not unknown to the Jewish people.
In fact, it is noteworthy that in the B o o k of Job,
where no mention whatever is made of the S a b ­
bath and S a b b a t h rest, the worship of the sun
and moon is referred to in terms i m p l y i n g that
it was c o m m o n in Job's time, though Job himself
had risen superior to the superstitions of Sabaism.
(See p. 248, &c.) Moreover, it is evident from the
various reasons assigned for keeping the Sabbath
holy, that the observance had originally belonged
t o another cult than that in which the lawgivers
28o ASTRONOMY AND

of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy en­

deavoured to train the Jewish people. In L e ­
viticus x x i i i . they were simply told that the
d a y is an holy convocation, the S a b b a t h of the
L o r d ; just as in chap. x x v . t h e y were told that
the seventh y e a r was a S a b b a t h for the Lord, and
that the jubilee was to be h o l y unto them. In
E x o d u s x x i i . 11 t h e y were told that the day
w a s to be kept h o l y because the All-powerful G o d
rested on the seventh day. In D e u t e r o n o m y v.
14 they were told that G o d commanded them to
keep the S a b b a t h d a y because H e had brought
t h e m out o f the land o f E g y p t ' through a m i g h t y
hand, and b y a strctched-out arm.'
In passing, it m a y be noticed that the A s s y r i a n
tablets indicate a w e e k l y resting-day, called the
Sabbat, but it was of much earlier date than the
Jewish, belonging to the time before the w e e k and
the month had been separated. T h u s , the 7th,
14th, 21 st, and 28th d a y s of each month were d a y s
of S a b b a t , or rest, and also the 19th day, or the
49th d a y from the beginning of the previous month,
so that this 19th, or mid-month rest, corresponded
to the Jewish ' w e e k of weeks.'
In the third place, sacrifices were offered in the
beginning o f the months, that is, at the time o f new
moon.
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 281

S o far as the offerings at the feast of the new

moon were concerned, wc might infer that the
S a b b a t h of the new moon was originally held to
be more important than the w e e k - d a y S a b b a t h .
Instead of two lambs, as at the w e e k l y Sabbath,
there were offered at the feast of the new moon
two y o u n g bullocks, and one ram, and seven l a m b s ;
instead of t w o tenth deals of flour, fifteen tenth
d e a l s ; instead of half a hin of wine, more than
t w o hins were offered at the monthly Sabbath.
E v e n if w c take into account the greater frequency
of w e e k l y S a b b a t h s (in about the proportion of 59
t o 14), w c still find that the monthly offerings
taken throughout the year, or throughout a number
of years, considerably surpassed the w e e k l y of­
ferings.
W c c o m e n e x t to the two most important festi­
vals of the Jewish y e a r — t h e feast of the passovcr,
and the feast of tabernacles—on the fifteenth d a y s
of the first and of the second months respec­
tively.
W e might safely infer, that these t w o feasts
were astronomical from the circumstance that one
is assigned to the time when the sun crosses
the equator from south to north, and the other to
the time when he crosses the equator from north to
south, in other words, to the times o f the spring
282 ASTRONOMY AND

and autumn equinox. W e should be confirmed in

this opinion in remembering that a m o n g other
nations these epochs had been regarded as o f espe­
cial significance, and that where Sabaistic worship,
and S u n worship, in particular, had prevailed (and
there have been few races which h a v e not at o n e
time or other adopted these forms o f worship), the
1
time o f E a s t e r and the corresponding autumn's
epoch had been times o f ceremonial observance
long before, and long after, the feast o f the pass-
over and the feast of tabernacles had been regu­
lated b y the Jewish lawgivers. B u t there is also
evidence of the astronomical character o f these
t w o festivals in the nature of the sacrifices offered
on these occasions. It w a s no mere accident that
during the seven d a y s of unleavened bread, at the
time o f the passovcr, the d a i l y sacrifice w a s t h e
same as for the feast o f the new moon, e x c e p t that
in addition to t h e ' t w o y o u n g bullocks, one ram,
and seven lambs,' ' o n e g o a t ' was offered ' for a sin
offering,' t o m a k e an atonement for the people. S o
also during the eight d a y s o f the feast o f taber­
nacles, t w o rams and fourteen lambs were offered
every d a y , b u t on the other d a y s , in succession,
thirteen bullocks, twelve, eleven, and so forth,
thirteen (as eminent Jewish writers h a v e pointed

1
The very word signifies uprising.
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 283

out) being the nearest whole number to the number

of lunar months in a year.
It is noteworthy that even in the d a y of the
first fruits, the one festival not directly of astro­
nomical origin (though indirectly so, as a seasonal
festival), the offerings were the same as at the feast
of the new moon—viz. two bullocks, one ram, and
seven lambs, ' one kid of the g o a t s ' being added,
' to m a k e an a t o n e m e n t ' for the people.
N o w the feast of the passover, and the feast
of tabernacles, corresponding thus e x a c t l y with
the t w o solar passovcrs, the nodal passages of the
equator,—whatever subsequent interpretation was
given b y the Jewish lawgivers to one (at least) o f
their festivals,—wc arc justified in recognising the
real origin of both in the Sabaistic system o f
worship, from which the whole system of Jewish
ceremonial was manifestly derived. It is to be ob­
served that each part of the evidence strengthens
the r e s t ; wc might be in doubt (though for m y
own part, after studying the subject in the light of
k n o w n astronomical facts, I cannot m y s e l f enter­
tain a n y doubt) as to the astronomical origin of
S a b b a t h observance, if wc did not find it associ­
ated, on the one hand, with the manifestly astro­
nomical observances at the time o f sunrise and
sunset, and, on the other, with the manifestly astro-
284 ASTRONOMY AND

nomical festival of the new moon. B u t when w c

find, in addition, that the t w o principal annual
festivals of the Jews (the only remaining festivals
e x c e p t the seasonal feast o f the first fruits) corre­
sponded with the t w o most marked epochs of the
y e a r — t h e passages o f the sun across the equator
at the time of the vernal and autumnal e q u i n o x —
wc find it altogether impossible to resist the in­
ference, that the entire s y s t e m o f sacrificial observ­
ance was based on astronomical considerations.
But wc can infer more than this. S e e i n g that
these festivals remained religious festivals, even
when the Jews had been taught no longer to
worship the host of heaven, w e perceive that t h e y
must originally also have been not simply astro­
nomical but religious. T h e y could therefore have
been nothing, as first devised, but Sabaistic observ­
ances, for S a b a i s m is the only form of religion
which is based solely on astronomical principles.
W c can understand, then, the great difficulty
experienced b y the Jewish lawgivers in w e a n i n g
the Jews from the worship of the sun, moon, and
stars, for the whole sacrificial system of the Jews
shows us that in preceding times the people had
been imbued with Sabaistic ideas.
T h e r e arc some w h o g o much farther than this,
finding in festivals supposed to be peculiarly
 THE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 2S5

Christian (which Easter, be it observed, is not) an

astronomical significance. T h u s , Osiris, Mithra,
Bacchus, and Chrishna arc represented as h a v i n g
been born on D e c e m b e r 25 (or rather at the
moment o f midnight, between Christmas E v e and
Christmas D a y ) in a cave or stable. N o w , although
at the present time the o n l y peculiarity of this part
of the y e a r is, that it corresponds with the time
when the sun is just beginning to rise above his
lowest mid-winter descent below the equator, y e t
at the time when the zodiac was first formed, to
which time probably the m y t h s in question m a y
be referred, the constellation V i r g o had just risen
1
above the eastern h o r i z o n while the sun was en­
tering the constellation Capricorn, which also bore
the name o f the A u g c a s . It is singular also, as
showing how our modern festivals have been
dated according to these old Sabaistic ideas, that
A u g u s t 8, which w a s about the time when the sign
V i r g o is lost in the sun's light, is the date assigned
b y the Catholic Church to the festival of the A s ­
sumption of the V i r g i n , while the N a t i v i t y of the
Virgin is assigned to S e p t e m b e r 8, which followed

1
In reality, the sign Virgo had just so risen, meaning hy that
the 30 degrees of the ecliptic preceding the autumnal equinoctial
point, where the sign Libra—the Scales —begins, or what is techni­
cally called the first point of Libra.
286 ASTRONOMY AND JEWISH FESTIVALS.

the epoch when the middle of the sign of V i r g o

passes the sun b y just the s a m e interval as that b y
which Christmas D a y followed the mid-winter sol­
stice. H o w e v e r , it would take us too far to follow
out all the analogies which have been traced be*
tween solar m y t h s and the fasts and festivals o f
the modern calendar. M a n y of these are very doubt­
ful, and some are more than doubtful, whereas no
d o u b t whatever seems to rest on the astronomical
origin o f the Jewish sacrificial observances.
 28;

THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

I T is rather singular that t w o of our small wars

with Africa, those with the A s h a n t c c s and the
Zulus, should have presented an illustration of the
influence which the observance of special d a y s m a y
have on human conduct. In one case a foolish
superstition was involved, in the other what m a n y
regard as a most w e i g h t y religious duty. It is
worth noticing that the superstition prevailed,—
the religious d u t y was for the time being set on
one side.
A t a rather critical epoch in the A s h a n t c c war,
when it was a matter of e x t r e m e importance that
certain military stores should be forwarded to the
British a r m y with as little delay as possible, it so
chanced that all preparations for loading the ship
which was to c o n v e y those stores were completed
late on T h u r s d a y night. In the ordinary course of
things the ship would have sailed early on Friday
morning. But it is well known that sailors have a
superstitious objection against beginning a journey
288 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

on a Friday. It is even whispered that this idiotic

superstition is not limited to ordinary seamen, but
is entertained b y m a n y a m o n g their officers w h o
might be expected to have more sense. Whether
at the A d m i r a l t y such nonsensical notions arc
believed in, I do not know. But certain it is that
the stores so much required were not despatched
until the Saturday, though the d e l a y involved the
risk of serious mischief to the British forces in
Ashantcc. I do not say that the delay was unwise
on the part o f the authorities, assuming a l w a y s that
it was not directly based on the foolish superstition
about F r i d a y sailing. S o long as sailors are
ignorant enough and silly enough to believe in
such superstitions, their folly must be taken into
account as one of the factors which their officers
and those y e t higher in authority h a v e to deal with.
It might p r o b a b l y have been far more mischievous
to have despatched the ship on Friday, with a dis­
heartened crew, than it was to lose twenty-four
precious hours for the sake of encouraging those
gallant but feeble-minded simpletons. W h e t h e r it
was for this reason that the ship was d e l a y e d , or
because (as some have said) the F r i d a y superstition
e x t e n d s to the quarter-deck and farther y e t , certain
it is that this superstition was allowed to prevail,
and a g r e a t nation waited in the midst of hurried
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 2S.1

military preparations till a dies iufciusta should be

overpast.
Five years passed, and again the British nation
was engaged in hurried preparations for war against
African savages. E v e r y hour w a s o f importance,
for reinforcements and military stores were to be
sent in all haste to save Natal from the warriors o f
Cetywayo. A n d now another ' d a y ' t o which a
widespread opinion attaches special significance is
reached before the preparations can be completed.
U p t o S a t u r d a y night the work of preparation has
gone busily forward. B u t the morrow is Sunday,
on which, according to the teaching of nine-tenths
of our clergy and the professions at a n y rate of
ninety-nine hundredths of our people, we should do
' no manner of work.' W h a t the people from whom
that law is ostensibly derived would have done
under such circumstances wc m a y partly infer from
the well-known episode in the history o f the M a c ­
cabees. I f a thousand Jews, including m a n y fight­
ing men, would allow themselves to be slain rather
than d o work on the S a b b a t h - d a y b y which their
lives might have been saved,' we can understand
that they would have interrupted on the S a b b a t h -
d a y such work as fitting ships, collecting stores,
& c . (which our military and naval folk had in hand
1
Maccabees, liouk I. chap. ii. 32-39,
20o THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

at the time I am writing about) and would only-

have resumed work when the S a b b a t h was fairly
over. O u r authorities did not so a c t ; t h e y acted,
to say truth, far more sensibly. T h e y regarded the
work of preparation as a labour of necessity. Its
object was not, indeed, precisely to save life, as in a
case which a certain Jewish teacher considered : for
unquestionably the military and naval preparations
made when the news of the disaster in Zululand
reached England would grievously have disap­
pointed expectation if they had not resulted in the
destruction of m a n y more lives than they saved.
But if such preparations have to be made, they
cannot be made too quickly. S t o p p i n g them on the
S u n d a y would have been straining out an e x c e e d ­
ingly small gnat after several most monstrous camels
had been swallowed. W h a t e v e r the considerations
m a y have been which influenced the Government,
certain it is that the religious observance was for
the time being set on one side as ' n o t convenient,'
and the work of preparation was pushed on as busily
through the S u n d a y as on the S a t u r d a y which
preceded and on the M o n d a y which followed it.
It is possible that during the discussions likely
to take place before long on the question of open­
ing our museums, art galleries, and so forth on
Sundays, w e m a y hear something more of the
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 201

sensible decision of the Government to omit for

awhile the observance of S u n d a y when warlike
preparations were in progress. It m a y occur to
our lawmakers that possibly if S u n d a y m a y be
used as a d a y for preparing weapons whereby the
bodies of men m a y be conveniently destroyed, it
m a y almost as righteously be used as a d a y on
which the minds o f men m a y b e conveniently
nourished and instructed. I have not told the two
stories, however, which illustrate so strikingly the
relative positions assigned b y the authorities to
superstitious and to religious observances, for the
purpose of enforcing a n y argument in favour of
freeing the S u n d a y , but simply as a convenient w a y
of introducing some considerations respecting the
S u n d a y of Christianity and the S a b b a t h of Judaism
which are w o r t h y of attention in the approaching
discussions on S u n d a y observance. T h e r e is not
much of novelty in the points I shall have to
advance on this subject, but a useful purpose m a y
be subserved b y bringing together within the com­
pass of a single essay arguments and considerations
heretofore advanced in lengthy treatises, or even
scattered through several volumes.
The idea commonly entertained respecting
S u n d a y is, that from the time of the A p o s t l e s or
thereabouts, the observance of the Jewish S a b b a t h
U 3
 292 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

—the seventh d a y in the w e e k — w a s replaced b y

the observance of the L o r d ' s d a y — t h e first in the
week. A s we still retain a m o n g the C o m m a n d ­
ments that one which specially refers to the seventh
day, it must be assumed that the Church teaches
the observance in our time of one d a y in the w e e k
in the manner appointed for the Jewish Sabbath,
and also considers that the people require no special
information as to the manner in which the seventh
d a y has been replaced b y the first. A t least, this
w a y of viewing the matter reduces to a minimum
the inherent absurdity of teaching one law while
another law is to be practised. The absurdity,
even when thus reduced to a minimum, remains, in
the j u d g m e n t of all w h o arc acquainted with the
facts, a monstrous one ; but it would be far more
monstrous if it were to be assumed that, as respects
even the manner of observance as well as respects
the d a y to be observed, the law thus constantly re­
peated amongst us has been a b r o g a t e d ; or again,
if it were assumed that the laity really understood
how incorrect is the notion on which t h e y for the
most part base their observance of Sunday.
A brief sketch of the gradual displacement of
the Jewish S a b b a t h b y the Christian S u n d a y will
show how the question rests so far as the authority
and action o f the Church are concerned.
 THE HISTORY OF SUN DA Y. 2<)3

W c do not find in any writer during the first

five centuries of the Christian era, or in a n y eccle­
siastical or civil public document, the slightest hint
of a transfer of the obligations indicated in the
Fourth C o m m a n d m e n t from the S a b b a t h - d a y to
the S u n d a y . Both d a y s were observed as d a y s of
worship and as d a y s of rest. T h e author of the
' Constitutions ' says that Peter and Paul ordered
that servants should work on five d a y s in the week,
and rest on the S a b b a t h in m e m o r y of the Creation,
and on the Lord's d a y in m e m o r y of the Resurrec­
tion. T h e Council of L a o d i c c a (363 A.D.) orders
Christians to work on the Sabbath, g i v i n g preference
to the L o r d ' s day, and if possible resting on i t ; but
they are to be accursed if they keep it in the Jewish
fashion. A n d Augustine, Bishop of H i p p o Regius,
so far from taking the Fourth C o m m a n d m e n t as
the basis of S u n d a y observance, says that to fast on
S u n d a y as on the S a b b a t h ' is a grave scandal.'
E v e n regarded apart from its imagined relation
to the Fourth C o m m a n d m e n t , S u n d a y during the
first centuries of the Christian era was not observed
as S u n d a y now is. It was originally a d a y to be
observed only b y those who wished to observe it.
It was to be observed, if at all, as a d a y of gladness.
Tertullian condemned as unlawful not only S u n d a y
fasting, but the use of a kneeling posture in S u n d a y
294 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

services. ' D i e D o m i n i c o . ' h e says, 'jejunium nefas

ducimus vcl de geniculis adorare.'
T h e first law which forbade work of a n y sort
on S u n d a y was passed b y that most Christian and
e x e m p l a r y emperor, Constantino (321 A.D.). For
reasons best known to himself he allowed field
labourers to work on S u n d a y s , but city people,
artisans, and j u d g e s were enjoined to rest on ' the
venerable D a y of the Sun.' T h i s was a high c o m ­
pliment to the Christian religion, for Constantinc
was thus e x t e n d i n g to S u n d a y the suspension o f
business which heretofore had only been customary
on civil festivals, including his own birthday, which
he had probably regarded, and continued to regard,
as far more ' v e n e r a b l e ' than a n y d a y of merely
religious significance. T h a t the law was intended
to be civil, not religious, is confirmed b y the edict
of T h c o d o s i u s (386 A.D.), in which S u n d a y and
other Christian festivals arc set apart, in c o m p a n y
with the d a y s of the founding of R o m e and C o n ­
stantinople, the d a y s of the birth and accession of
the emperors, and the traditional festivals of
heathen R o m e , as d a y s on which no business w a s
to be transacted.

Until this time no law had been passed which

tended directly to prohibit amusements on S u n d a y ,
or indeed on the S a b b a t h either. B u t the edict o f
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 295

T h c o d o s i u s prohibited not o n l y secular business,

but theatrical amusements, horse racing, and the
baiting of animals. A few y e a r s later the C o u n c i l
of C a r t h a g e expressed in a canon regret that the
multitude preferred flocking to the circus than to
the church on S u n d a y s . A t length, in 425, T h c o ­
dosius the Y o u n g e r issued a prohibition against
S u n d a y work and S u n d a y sports, which w a s e x ­
panded forty-four y e a r s later into the famous law
of L e o and A n t h c m i u s , ordaining that on S u n d a y
' no office of the law should be e x e c u t e d , no persons
s u m m o n e d or arrested as sureties, no pleading or
j u d g m e n t take place, and that also there should be
no theatrical shows, or g a m e s in the circus, or
baiting o f wild beasts.'
S u c h was the beginning of S u n d a y observance,
t h o u g h time w a s required to d e v e l o p fully the
S u n d a y as now known.
In the time of L e o the Philosopher (889-910)
S u n d a y field-work, which had hitherto been per­
mitted as a work o f necessity—for nature does not
observe a n y S a b b a t h rest—was forbidden b y an
imperial law. A t h e l s t a n c , E d g a r , and C a n u t e for­
b a d e all S u n d a y t r a d i n g s ; and it appears from one
of E d g a r ' s laws that in those d a y s S u n d a y w a s held
to begin at three o'clock on S a t u r d a y afternoon,
and t o continue till d a w n on M o n d a y . S o o n after,
 296 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

hunting on S u n d a y was forbidden. In the reign o f

Richard II., tennis, football, gambling, and putting
the stone, were included a m o n g forbidden S u n d a y
amusements. A t t e m p t s were made at this time to
enforce the laws for closing all shops on S u n d a y s ,
especially barbers' shops; for then, as now,
barbers were great offenders against S u n d a y laws
—whether because beards will continue to g r o w
during S a t u r d a y night and S u n d a y morning, or for
some other as y e t undetermined reason, I do not
know. Eustace, A b b o t of F l a y , in 1201, main­
tained the d u t y of observing S u n d a y most s t r i c t l y ;
and he was able ( p r o b a b l y as a reward for his great
virtues, and especially, it should seem, his great
veracity) to put in documentary evidence on this
point in the form of a letter from Christ, miracu­
lously ' delivered ' on the altar of St. S i m e o n at
G o l g o t h a : b y this letter all kinds of work were
forbidden from three on S a t u r d a y until M o n d a y
morning.
' It is said also,' says a writer in the ' W e s t ­
minster R e v i e w ' (who puts one of the following
stories so delicately that I cannot do better than
4
follow him), that certain miraculous penalties
visited those w h o paid no heed to this prohibition.
O n e w o m a n w e a v i n g after three o'clock on Satur­
d a y w a s struck with the dead palsy ; whilst another,
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 297

who had put some paste into an oven, when she

thought it was baked found it paste still. A man,
too, m a d e a c a k e during the forbidden hours, from
which blood flowed when he began to cat it on
S u n d a y ; and an unfortunate Jew of T e w k e s b u r y ,
who fell on the S a b b a t h into a place from which
extrication was difficult, and had scruples about
letting himself be drawn out on that day, whilst
the D u k e of Gloucester had similar scruples about
drawing him out on S u n d a y , was dead when they
came to his assistance on Monday.'
T h e D u k e of Gloucester's scruples show him to
have been a man of very delicate conscience (of
course wc arc not to imagine the possibility that
the unfortunate Jew might have been a creditor of
h i s ) ; manifestly, he would have been shocked if
a n y one had advanced the easy doctrine that a
man, having an o x or a sheep fallen into a pit,
might without sin take it out on the S a b b a t h - d a y .
But as in the d a y s of the Christianised Roman
emperors the laws for the observance o f S u n d a y
were placed on the same footing only as those
relating to the observance of imperial birthdays
and P a g a n festivals, so in the d a y s before the R e ­
formation S u n d a y was placed on no higher a level
than was assigned to saints' days.
' S u n d a y , ' says the 'Westminster' reviewer
2QS THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

very truly, ' was as h o l y as the deposition of S t .

Wulfstan, or the d a y of S t . L a w r e n c e the Martyr,
but no m o r e ; so that if (as, historically, it seems
w c must do) we ascribe the binding authority of
S u n d a y to the institution of the Church, w c arc
equally bound to observe the numerous saints'
d a y s , which have e x a c t l y the same authority and
g r e w up in e x a c t l y the same w a y . If, for instance,
tennis and football arc wrong on S u n d a y , they arc
equally wrong upon any of the saints' d a y s to
which the A c t of Richard II. applied. F o r the
canons and statutes upon which our statute is based
did not take S u n d a y exclusively under their pro­
tection ; and if w c a c k n o w l e d g e their authority at
all, w c must a c k n o w l e d g e it in toto. W c have no
right to elect which of the holy d a y s created b y
the Church w e shall retain and which wc shall dis­
card ; for, if w c discard some, w h y should wc not
discard all ? A t least, w e must be prepared with
reasons for our preference ; and, it is submitted, no
good reasons can be g i v e n . It is useless to appeal
to what the Reformation did ; the question is, H a d
it a n y grounds for what it did ? If it a c k n o w l e d g e d
no sanction for the saints' days, what sanction
remains for S u n d a y ? T h e sanction o n l y o f subse­
quent statutes.'
But let us pass on to the time of the Reformation,
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 299

and sec whether—though w e can obtain no means

of separating one set of holidays sanctioned b y the
Church from another equally sanctioned—we m a y
not find the S u n d a y o f our time sanctioned b y the
special approval of the Reformation. In other
words, though we cannot logically deduce our S u n ­
d a y observances from the authority of the Church
before the Reformation, w c m a y find that at the
time of the Reformation it w a s thought well to
establish such S u n d a y observances as at present
exist, and thus, for want of older and perhaps
better authority, wc m a y be able to take the au­
thority of the Reformed Church.
B u t we find no help whatever in this direction.
T h e teaching of the Reformers was as definitely
opposed as it could be to the teaching of modern
Sabbatarians. S a i d Luther, ' If anywhere any one
sets up the observance of S u n d a y on a Jewish
foundation, then I order y o u to work on it, to ride
on it, to dance on it, to do anything which shall
remove the encroachments on Christian liberty.'
In the A u g s b u r g Confession, again, the Protestants
say, ' T h o s e who j u d g e that, in place of the
S a b b a t h , the L o r d ' s d a y was instituted as a d a y to
be necessarily observed, do greatly err. Scripture
abrogated the S a b b a t h , and teaches that the
Mosaic ceremonies m a y be omitted now that the
 -too THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

Gospel is revealed.' A s to the Reformation in

E n g l a n d , it is c o m m a n d e d in the twenty-fourth in­
junction of E d w a r d V I . that the Iioly day be wholly
given to God, in hearing His Word read and taught,
and in private and public prayers ; but parishioners
arc to be instructed that it is lawful in harvest-time
to labour on holy and festival days, and to save
that which God has sent, and that ' if, for any
scrupulosity or grudge of conscience, men should
supcrstitiously abstain from w o r k i n g on those days,
then they would grievously offend and displease
God.' ( W h a t a comfort it must have been to the
preachers of those times to know so well what G o d
wanted men to d o ! ) A g a i n , in 5 and 6 E d w a r d
V I . , cap. 3, S u n d a y is specially included among
holy d a y s , respecting which section 6 specifies that
it shall be lawful for every husbandman, labourer,
fisherman, and all and every other person or per­
sons of a n y estate, degree, or condition (upon the
d a y s before mentioned), at harvest or a n y other
time, when necessity shall so require, to labour,
ride, fish, or work any kind of work, at their free
will or pleasure.' C r a n m c r speaks of S u n d a y and
other holy d a y s as ' mere appointments of the
magistrates,' which he considers, however, to be a
sufficient reason for their observance. But, as the
writer in the ' W e s t m i n s t e r Review,' from whose
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 301

excellent paper on ' S u n d a y and L e n t ' the above

account of the Reformers' views has been abridged,
remarks justly, the most striking exposition of the
Reformation doctrine is T y n d a l c ' s answer to Sir T .
Morc's dialogue, where he says :—
' A s for the S a b b a t h , we be lords over the
Sabbath, and m a y y e t change it into M o n d a y , or
into any other day, as wc see need, or m a y m a k e
every tenth d a y h o l y d a y only as wc sec cause w h y .
W c m a y m a k e t w o every w e e k if it were expedient,
and one not enough to teach the people. Neither
was there any cause to change it from the Satur­
day, but to put a difference between ourselves and
the J e w s ; neither need w c any holy d a y at all, if
the people might be taught without it.'
Y e t , before long, the S u n d a y of our time began
to grow out of the more reasonable (though in one
sense less logical) S u n d a y of the early Reformers.
T h e Puritans, even in the time of Elizabeth, began
t o be as superstitious about S u n d a y observance as
the Catholics had been in the time of Richard I I . ;
and after a time the Reformation, which had in the
first instance repudiated as too Judaised the S u n ­
d a y of the Catholics, adopted a method of S u n d a y
observance which even surpassed in strictness the
old rabbinical observance of the Sabbath.
' E v e n Elizabeth,' says the ' W e s t m i n s t e r ' re-
302 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY,

viewer, ' w a s prevailed upon b y the magistrates ot

L o n d o n to interdict plays and g a m e s on S u n d a y
within the liberties of the city. T h e Reformers
were in advance of their age, and, in some respects,
of our own. But Puritanism rapidly got the better
of them. It is recorded that it was preached in
Somersetshire that to throw a ball on the S a b b a t h
was as great a sin as to kill a man ; in Norfolk,
that to m a k e a feast or a w e d d i n g dinner on S u n ­
d a y was as great a sin as for a father to cut his
child's throat with a knife ; in Suffolk, that to ring
more bells than one w a s a crime equivalent to
1
murder. T h e n came, in 1595. Nicholas Bounde's
great work on Sabbatarianism, which began a con­
troversy that has never since ended. F e w books
arc to be compared with his for their permanent
influence on our social life. O u r own S u n d a y has
much more of Boundc in it than of T y n d a l c or
C r a n m c r ; and the S c o t c h S a b b a t h itself is really
due to Boundc, not to Calvin or K n o x . For, as

1
Fuller, Book ix. s. 8, 22. It will hardly he believed, but
within the last few years views as ludicrous in one aspect and as
horrible in another have been promulgated respecting Sunday ob­
servance. A foolish clergyman, at a meeting when the question of
playing cricket upon the village green on Sunday afternoons had
been discussed, got up with great warmth to express his conviction
that in God's eyes there was no difference between the man who
could thus break the Fourth Commandment and one who broke the
Sixth.
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 303

D r . H c s s c y has clearly shown, Sabbatarianism in

Scotland w a s not so much the work o f the last-
named Reformers as o f the English Puritans ; and
he mentions an existing tradition that K n o x , being
one d a y on a visit to Calvin, found that w o r t h y
theologian e n g a g e d in a g a m e o f bowls.'
T h a t the English Puritans, and not the Scotch
Reformers, were the inventors of the rigidest forms
of Sabbatarianism, is further shown b y the results
of English Puritanism where it worked unchecked.
Detestable as the Scotch S u n d a y is (not detestable, be
it understood, because of its unreasonable character,
but because o f the mischief that it has worked and
continues t o work), the N e w E n g l a n d S u n d a y w a s
even more abominable. In the twenty-eighth
article of the c o d e drawn up f o r N c w h a v c n in 1656
w c find the following article, which for folk w h o
had fled from the abuse o f authority is sufficiently
severe :—' W h o s o e v e r shall profane the L o r d ' s d a y ,
or a n y part o f it, b y w o r k or sport, shall be
punished b y fine or corporally. P u t if the court,
b y clear evidence, find that the sin w a s proudly,
presumptuously, and with a high hand committed
against the c o m m a n d and authority of the blessed
G o d , such person therein despising and reproaching
the L o r d shall be put to death.' T h e thirty-eighth
article is rather ridiculous than atrocious, like the
3 o4 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

twenty-eighth. It runs simply, ' If a n y man shall

kiss his wife, or wife her husband, on the L o r d ' s
d a y , the party in fault shall be punished at the
discretion of the court of magistrates ;' and as the
magistrates were of the same k i d n e y as the law­
makers, it will be conceived what ' p u n i s h m e n t at
their discretion signified,' for discretion they had
none, neither did they know what mercy or justice
meant.
It is, indeed, clear that very early after the
Reformation the Puritans in the old country itself
were beginning to observe S u n d a y as dismally as
the S c o t c h now do. T h u s , in 1635, or thereabouts,
D r . H e y l i n found occasion to rebuke the g l o o m y
asceticism of some rigid Puritans : ' People,' he says,
* should not be so superstitiously fearful (of breaking
the Sabbath) that they dare not kindle a fire, or dress
meat, or visit their neighbours, sit at their own door,
or w a l k abroad, no, nor so much as talk with one
another, e x c e p t it be—in the poet's words—

Of God, grace, and ordinances.

As if they were in heavenly trances.

In Scotland, only a few years later, the strict

observance of S u n d a y had begun to be regarded
as a matter for the attention of the magistrates.
In 1644 the six sessions forbade all w a l k i n g in the
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 305

streets on S u n d a y after the noonday sermon. In

1645 the magistrates were ordered to cause E n g l i s h
soldiers to l a y hold of both old and y o u n g w h o m
they might find in the streets cither before or
after the sermon. In 1650 the magistrates of
Edinburgh ordered that the city gates should be
closed from 10 P.M. on S a t u r d a y till 4 A . M . on
M o n d a y , e x c e p t for one hour in the morning and
one in the evening for the watering of horses.
A b o u t the same time Margaret Dickson, a widow,
had to p a y two marks for having ' spits and roasts
at the fire in time of sermon.'
Such being, in brief, the history of the steps b y
which the S u n d a y observance of our time has
come into existence, it remains that wc should con­
sider what actual authority we have for modern
Sabbatarianism, regarded as a religious question.
N o one will care to take the Puritans of the seven­
teenth century as the sole or the chief authority for
keeping S u n d a y h o l y after a stricter fashion than
that in which the Jews held that the Sabbath
should be observed. F o r the S a b b a t h was a d a y
of abstinence from labour, not of abstinence from
amusement. I f the Puritans had simply said the
S u n d a y shall be our S a b b a t h , and shall be observed
in all respects even as the S a b b a t h of the Jews was
observed, w e could understand their position as
x
3 o6 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

authorities in this matter. W c should still have to

regard them as absolutely the only authorities we
have for Judaising S u n d a y ; but w c might at least
understand that m a n y would consider the ob­
servance of one d a y in seven as ordained b y a
higher authority, by the highest indeed of all con­
ceivable authorities. W e must believe, however, if
we regard the Puritans as our sufficient guide in
this matter, that not only were they right in insist­
ing on S u n d a y as a substitute for the Jewish
S a b b a t h , but also in assigning a number of new
Sabbath regulations, such as the Jews, and the
teacher, whoever he m a y have been, from w h o m
the Jews received their S a b b a t h laws, had never
thought of enjoining. N o one, I should imagine,
considers the Puritans of sufficient authority to
countenance teachings of this sort. T h e most
outspoken a m o n g them, those w h o exerted greatest
influence, were as ignorant as they were bigoted, as
cruel as they were crafty—the last men in the
world from w h o m a cultured people would care to
take their religious observances.

B u t if w c d o take the Puritans as our autho­

rities in this matter, w e ought in all reason to
t a k e their views as they stood. W c have no right,
if t h e y really were commissioned to lay down the
law for us in such matters, to accept a part o f
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 307

their teaching and reject the rest. T h e punishment

for S u n d a y labour, presumptuously and with a high
hand carried on, should be death now, as the Puri­
tans (when free from the trammels of civil control)
taught in the seventeenth century that it should
be. T h e kissing of a wife b y her husband, or of
a husband b y a wife on S u n d a y , should still be
an offence punishable at civil law. A n d now, as
t w o thousand years ago, soldiery or police should
be enjoined to allow none to remain in the streets
either before or after the hours of noonday service.
B u t if wc do not accept the Puritans as autho­
rity, w c find equal difficulty when w c turn to the
Catholic Church in prc-Reformation times. I f that
Church really had power to bind and loose men
with regard to S u n d a y observance, then w c should
p a y the same respect to that Church's ordinances
about saints' d a y s and other Church h o l i d a y s ;
apart a l w a y s from the fact that for several cen­
turies the Catholic Church enjoined no such strict
observance of S u n d a y s as afterwards she insisted
upon.
A similar difficulty is met with if, g o i n g farther
back, w c take Constantine as our authority. We
have the same authority for the observance of
Constantine's birthday and the kalends of January.
W h a t e v e r reason m a y be used to show that C o n -
X 2
 30.1 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

stantine w a s a sufficient authority in one matter,

establishes his authority in the other also.
B u t lastly, if we g o b a c k to Moses, and reject­
ing the opinion of those who considered in old
times that the Jewish S a b b a t h was abrogated, and
the opinion also of those others w h o considered
that the Christian S u n d a y should not resemble the
Jewish Sabbath, whether this last were abrogated
or not, adopt the opinion that the Fourth Com­
mandment should now be understood as transferred
from the S a b b a t h to S u n d a y , how does the matter
then s t a n d ? H a v e w c a n y reason for selecting
this one special d a y from a m o n g all the other days
that Moses commanded the people to observe ?
If wc are to hold, at least with regard to the
S a b b a t h , that not one jot or tittle of the law of
Moses has passed away, how can w e escape the
obligation of observing other days and other
seasons about which the Mosaic law w a s equally
definite ? M o s e s said, ' S i x d a y s shalt thou do t h y
work, and in the seventh d a y thou shalt rest;'
but he also said, ' S i x years thou shalt sow thy
land, but the seventh y e a r thou shalt let it rest and
be still.' A r e w c to keep this law o f the seventh
year or the law of the y e a r of jubilee, as well as
the law of the seventh d a y ?

Y e t once more, w e k n o w that Moses com-

 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 3°9

mantled the people to observe the festival of the

N e w Moon, and this festival should be observed
b y us now, if the law of Moses is really to be
regarded as of authority over us. S o far as w e can
j u d g e from the sacrifices respectively appointed
for this festival and the Sabbath-day, the former
was held to be of at least equal importance with
the latter. O n the S a b b a t h - d a y the sacrifices were
' two lambs of the first year without spot, and two
tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled
with oil, and the drink offering thereof: this is the
burnt offering of every Sabbath, beside the con­
tinual burnt offering and his drink offering.' On
the feast of the N e w Moon, ' in the beginnings of
y o u r months, y e shall offer,' says the Mosaic law,
'a burnt offering unto the Lord ; t w o y o u n g
bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first
y e a r without s p o t ; and three tenth deals of flour
for a meat offering, mingled with oil, for one
bullock ; and t w o tenth deals of flour for a meat
offering, mingled with oil, for one ram ; and a
several tenth deal of flour, mingled with oil, for a
meat offering unto one l a m b ; for a burnt offering
of a sweet savour, a sacrifice made b y fire unto the
Lord. A n d their drink offerings shall be half an
hin of wine unto a bullock, and the third part o f
an hin unto a ram, and a fourth part of an hin
3io THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY.

unto a Iamb : this is the burnt offering of every

month throughout the months of the year. And
one kid of the goats for a sin offering unto the
L o r d shall be offered, beside the continual burnt
offering and his drink offering.' The continual
burnt offering mentioned here, and in the descrip­
tion of the S a b b a t h offering, is the morning sacri­
fice, all these ceremonies, daily, weekly, monthly,
and the y e a r l y sacrifice of the Passover, being
survivals of the practices of the star-worshipping
ancestors o f the Jews. Indeed, if w c accept the
Jewish law of the Sabbath, w c ought not only to
accept with it the festival of the N e w Moon, and
other festivals (the Passover wc have very little
modified), but the principle of sacrifices, offerings
of meat and drink to G o d , or to a god supposed to
care for such things, and moreover, the recog­
nition of the heavenly bodies as deities, which,
however skilfully disguised b y Moses and other
Jewish lawgivers, in reality underlies the entire
ceremonial system of the Jewish religion.
T h e n also the observance of S u n d a y , if really
based on the Fourth C o m m a n d m e n t , should corre­
spond more closely than is actually the case with
the observance o f the Jewish S a b b a t h . I t corre­
sponds too closely, in m a n y respects, already with
Sabbath observance. But the correspondence
 THE HISTORY OF SUNDAY. 3"

should be e x a c t if the S u n d a y really has replaced

the S a b b a t h . I wonder, indeed, that some of the
superstitious abuses of the Jewish S a b b a t h should
not have c o m m e n d e d themselves ere this to the
modern Sabbatarian, so closely docs their spirit
accord with that in which he urges the observance
of the L o r d ' s d a y . T h e Dorithcans, for instance,
t a k i n g the precept of Moses, ' A b i d e y c every man
in his place,' interpreted it to mean that e v e r y man
should remain throughout the S a b b a t h d a y in
whatever attitude he chanced to b e in on the
Sabbath m o r n i n g : ' I f he was sitting, he must
continue t o s i t ; if lying, he must continue to lie
down.' ' T h e rabbinical doctors,' w c arc told, ' met
this b y s a y i n g that as a man's place was 2,000
cubits all round him, he did not break the Mosaical
c o m m a n d provided he kept himself within that
distance. T h e rabbins were unrivalled in such
sophistry. They invented thirty-nine negative
precepts relative to the Sabbath; for instance,
people were not to w a l k on the grass, for w a l k i n g
on it would bruise it, and such bruising amounted
t o a kind of threshing. S h o e s without nails might
be b o r n e ; but shoes with nails were a burthen.'
A n d so forth.
 312

ASTROLOGY.

WE arc apt to speak of astrology as though it

were an altogether contemptible superstition, and
to contemplate with pity those who believed in it
in old t i m e s ; and yet, if w e consider the matter
aright, wc must concede, I think, that of all the
errors into which men have fallen in their desire to
penetrate into futurity, astrology is the most
respectable, one m a y even say the most reasonable.
Indeed, all other methods of divination of which I
have ever heard arc not worthy to be mentioned in
c o m p a n y with astrology, which, delusion though
it was, had y e t a foundation in thoughts well
w o r t h y of consideration. T h e heavenly bodies do
rule the fates of men and nations in the most un­
mistakable manner, seeing that without the c o n ­
trolling and beneficent influences of the chief
a m o n g these orbs—the sun—every living creature
on the earth must perish. T h e ancients perceived
that the moon has so potent an influence on our
world, that the waters of the ocean rise and fall in
unison with her apparent circling motion round
 ASTROLOGY. 3'3

the earth. S e e i n g that two a m o n g the orbs which

move upon the unchanging d o m e of tire star-
sphere are thus potent in terrestrial influences, was
it not natural that the other moving bodies known
to the ancients should b e thought to possess also
their special powers ? T h e moon, seemingly less
important than the sun, not merely b y reason of
her less degree o f splendour, but also because she
perforins her circuit of the star-sphere in a shorter
interval of time, was seen to possess a powerful
influence, but still an influence far less important
than that exerted b y the sun, or rather than the
m a n y influences manifestly emanating from him.
B u t other bodies travelled in y e t wider circuits if
their distances could be inferred from their periods
of revolution. W a s it not reasonable to suppose
that the influences e x e r t e d b y those slowly m o v i n g
bodies might be even more potent than those of
the sun himself? Mars circling round the star-
sphere in a period nearly twice as great as the
sun's, Jupiter in twelve years, and Saturn in
twenty-nine, might well be thought to be rulers of
superior dignity to the sun, though less glorious in
a p p e a r a n c e ; and since no obvious direct effects
arc produced b y them as they change in position,
it w a s natural to attribute to them influences more
subtle, but not the less potent.
314 ASTROLOGY.

Thus was conceived the thought that the

fortunes of every man born into the world depend
on the position of the various planets at the
m o m e n t of his birth. A n d if there w a s something
artificial in the rules b y which various influences
were assigned to particular planets, or to particular
aspects of the planets, it must be remembered that
the system o f astrology w a s formed g r a d u a l l y and
perhaps tentatively. S o m e influences m a y have
been inferred from observed events, the fate of this
or that k i n g or chief guiding astrologers in assign­
ing particular influences to such planetary aspects
as were presented at the time of his nativity.
Others m a y have been invented, and afterwards
have found general acceptance because confirmed
b y some curious coincidences. In the long run,
indeed, a n y scries of experimental predictions
must have led to some very surprising fulfilments,
that is, to fulfilments which would have been e x ­
c e e d i n g l y surprising if the corresponding predic­
tions had been the only ones made b y astrologers.
S u c h instances, carefully collected, m a y at first
have been used solely to improve the system of
prediction. T h e astrologer m a y have been careful
to separate the fulfilled from the unfulfilled pre­
dictions, and thus to establish a safe rule. F o r it
must be remembered that, admitting the car-
 ASTROLOGY. 3'5

dinal principle of astrology, the astrologer had

e v e r y reason to believe that he could experi­
mentally determine a true method of prediction.
If the planets really rule the fate of each man,
then w c h a v e o n l y to calculate their position at
the k n o w n time of any man's birth, and to consider
his fortunes, to have facts whence to infer the
manner in which their influence is exerted. The
study of one man's life would of course be alto­
gether insufficient. B u t when the fortunes of m a n y
men were studied in this w a y , the astrologer
(always supposing his first supposition right) would
h a v e materials from which to form a system o f
prediction.
G o a step farther. S e l e c t a b o d y of the ablest
men in a country, and let them carry out continuous
studies of the heavens, carefully calculate nativities
for e v e r y person of note, or even for e v e r y soul born
in their country, and compare the events of each per­
son's life with the planetary relations presented at his
birth. It is manifest that a trustworthy system of
prediction would, in the long run, be deduced b y
them, if astrology have a n y real basis in fact.
I do not s a y that astrologers a l w a y s proceeded
in this experimental manner. D o u b t l e s s in those
d a y s , as now, men of science were variously con­
stituted, some b e i n g disposed to trust chiefly to
316 ASTROLOGY.

observation, while others were ready to generalise,

and y e t others evolved theories from the depths of
their moral consciousness. Indeed, what wc k n o w
of the development of astrology in later times, as
well as the w a y in which other modes of divination
have sprung into existence, shows that the natural
tendency of astrologers would be to invent systems
rather than to establish them b y careful and l o n g -
continued observation. Within a v e r y few y e a r s
of the discovery of the spots on the sun a tolerably
complete system of divination was founded upon
the appearance, formation, and motions of these
objects. Certainly this system was not based on
observation, nor will any one suppose that the rules
for ' reading the hand ' had an observational origin,
or that fortune-telling b y means o f cards was
derived from a careful comparison of the result of
shuffling, cutting, and dealing, with the future
fortunes of those for whose enlightenment these
important processes were performed.
B u t w e must not forget that astrology was
originally a science, though a false one. Grant
the truth o f its cardinal idea, and it had e v e r y right
to this position. N o office could be more im­
portant than that o f the astrologer, no services
could be more useful than those he was capable of
rendering according to his own belief as well as
 ASTROLOGY. 3'7

that of those w h o e m p l o y e d him. It is only

necessary to mention the history of astrology to
perceive the estimation in which it was held in
ancient times.
A s to the e x t r e m e antiquity of astrology it is
perhaps needless to speak ; indeed, its origin is so
remote that w e have only imperfect traditions re­
specting its earliest developments. Y e t it m a y be
worth while to mention some of these traditions,
seeing that, whether true or not, t h e y show clearly
enough the great antiquity attributed to astrology,
even in times which to ourselves appear remote.
Philo asserts that T e r a h , the father of A b r a h a m ,
was skilled in all that relates to astrology ; and,
according to Joscphus, the Chaldncan Bcrosus
attributed to A b r a h a m a profound k n o w l e d g e of
arithmetic, astrology, and astronomy, in which
sciences he instructed the E g y p t i a n s . Diodorus
Siculus s a y s that the Hcliadoe, or children of the
sun (that is, men from the East), excelled all other
men in k n o w l e d g e , particularly in the k n o w l e d g e
of the stars. O n e o f this race, named A c t i s (a ray),
built Ilcliopolis, and named it after his father, the
sun. Thenceforward the Egyptians cultivated
astrology with so much assiduity as to be con­
sidered its inventors. O n the other hand Tatius
s a y s that the E g y p t i a n s taught the Chaldaeans
 ASTROLOGY.
3>*

astrology. T h e people of T h c b a i s , according to

Diodorus Siculus, claimed the power of predicting
every future event with the utmost c e r t a i n t y ; t h e y
also asserted that they were of all races the most
ancient.
However, wc have, both in E g y p t and in
A s s y r i a , records far more satisfactory than these
conflicting statements to prove the great antiquity
of astrology, and the importance attached to it
when it w a s regarded as a science. T h e Great
P y r a m i d in E g y p t w a s unquestionably an astro­
nomical, that is (for in the science of the ancients
the two terms arc convertible) an astrological
1
building. T h e Birs Nimroud, supposed to be
built on the ruins of the tower of Babel, was also
built for astrologers. T h e forms of these buildings
testify to the astronomical purposes for which t h e y
were erected. T h e Great P y r a m i d , like the inferior
buildings copied from it, was most carefully
oriented, that is, the four sides were built facing
e x a c t l y north, south, cast, and west. T h e astro­
nomical use o f this arrangement is manifest. By
1
Every brick hitherto removed from this edifice licars the
stamp of King Nebuchadnezzar. It affords a wonderful idea of the
extent and grandeur of the buildings raised by the tyrants of old
limes, that the ruins of a single building on the site of Babylon
(Rich's Kasr) has ' for ages l>ccn the mine from which the builders
of cities rising after the fall of Babylon have obtained their
materials.'— Layard's Niwvch.
 ASTROLOGY. 3«9

looking along cither of the t w o long straight sides

lying east and west the astronomer could tell the
true cast or west points of the horizon, and deter­
1
mine when the sun rose in the east e x a c t l y , or set
e x a c t l y in the west. B y looking along the straight
sides l y i n g north and south, the astronomer could
tell when the sun, or a n y other celestial body, was
in the meridian. Proclus informs us that the p y r a ­
mids terminated at the top in a platform, on which
the priests m a d e their celestial observations.
The figure of the Babylonian temple of
astronomy w a s p r o b a b l y different, though it is
possible that N e b u c h a d n e z z a r altogether modified
the proportions of the original temple. W e may
infer the nature o f the earlier use of such temples
from later usages. W e learn from Diodorus Siculus
that, in the midst of B a b y l o n , a great temple w a s
1
A good story is told about the rising of the sun in the east, the
point of the joke being different, perhaps, to astronomers than to
others : - A certain baron was noted for never replying directly, even
to the simplest questions, and a wager was laid that, if he were
asked whether the sun rises in the cast and sets in the west, he
would not answer directly, even though told of the wager. The
question was put, and he began—'The terms east and west, gentle­
men, are conventional, but admitting that ;' the rest of the
reply was lost, the wager being won, which was all the inquirers
cared for. If this worthy had answered simply ' Y e s , ' t h e wager
would have been lost, but the reply would not have been correct;
for the sun never has risen in the east and set in the west, exactly,
at any place or on any day since the world began. If the sun rises
due east on any day, he does not set due west, and vict vend.
 3-° ASTROLOGY.

erected b y Scmiramis, and dedicated to Belus or

Jupiter, ' a n d that on its roof or summit the C h a l ­
daean astronomers contemplated, and e x a c t l y noted,
the risings and settings of the stars.'
I f wc consider the manner in which the study
of science, for its own sake, has a l w a y s been viewed
by Oriental nations, w c must admit that these
great buildings, and these elaborate and costly ar­
rangements for continued observation, were not
intended to advance the science of astronomy.
O n l y the hope that results of e x t r e m e value would
be obtained b y observing the heavenly bodies could
h a v e led the monarchs of A s s y r i a and of O l d e r
E g y p t to m a k e such lavish provision of m o n e y and
labour for the erection and maintenance of astro­
nomical observatories. S o that, apart from the
evidence w e have of the astrological object o f
celestial observations in ancient times, wc find in
the v e r y nature of the buildings erected for o b ­
serving the stars the clearest proof that men in
those times hoped to gain results of great value
from such work. N o w , w c k n o w that neither the
improvement of navigation nor increased exactness
in the surveying of the earth was aimed at b y
those w h o built those ancient o b s e r v a t o r i e s : the
o n l y conceivable object they can have had w a s the
discovery of a perfectly trustworthy s y s t e m of pre-
 ASTROLOGY. 321

diction from the s t u d y of the motions of the

h e a v e n l y bodies. That this was their object is
shown with equal clearness b y the fact that such a
system, according to their belief, was deduced from
these observations, and was for a g e s accepted
without question.
Closely associated with astrological superstitions
was the widespread form of religion called S a b a i s m ,
or the worship of the host of heaven (Sabaoth).
It is not e a s y to determine whether the worship o f
the sun, moon, and planets preceded or followed
the s t u d y of the heavens as a means o f divination
It is probable that the t w o forms of superstition
sprang simultaneously into e x i s t e n c e . T h e shep­
herds of Chaldaea, w h o —

Watched from the centres of their sleeping lloeks

Those radiant Mercuries, that seemed to move,
Carrying through ;ether in perpetual round,
Decrees and resolutions of the gods,

can hardly have regarded the planetary movements

as indicating, without believing that those m o v e ­
ments actually influenced, the fate of men and
nations; in other words, the idea of planetary
power must from the v e r y beginning, it would seem,
have been associated with the idea of the signifi­
cance of planetary motions. Be this as it may, it
V
 3=2 ASTROLOGY.

is certain that in the earliest times o f which w e

have any historical record, belief in astrology was
associated with the worship of the host of heaven.
In the Bible record w e find the teachers and rulers
of the Jewish nation compelled continually to
struggle against the t e n d e n c y of that people to
follow surrounding nations in forsaking the worship
of the God of S a b a o t h for the worship of Sabaoth,
turning from the Creator to the creature. They
would seem even, as the o n l y means of diverting
the people from the worship of those false gods, to
have adopted all the s y m b o l s of Sabaism, explain­
ing them, however, with sole reference to the G o d
of Sabaoth. Moses adopted, in this w a y , the four
forms of sacrifice to which the Jewish people had
b e c o m e accustomed in E g y p t — t h e offerings to the
rising and setting sun ( N u m b e r s x x v i i i . 3, 4) ; the
offerings on the d a y dedicated to the planet
Saturn, chief of the seven star-gods (Numbers
x x v i i i . 9 ) ; the offerings to the new moon ( N u m ­
bers x x v i i i . 1 1 ) ; and the offerings for the luni-solar
festival belonging to the first month of the sun's
annual circuit of the zodiacal constellations ( N u m ­
bers x x v i i i . 16, 17). A l l these offerings were in a
sense sanctified b y the manner in which he enjoined
them, and the new meaning he attached to them ;
but that the original offerings were Sabaistic is
 ASTROLOGY.

scarcely open to question. T h e tenacity, indeed,

with which astrological ceremonies and supersti­
tions have maintained their position, even a m o n g
nations utterly rejecting star-worship, and even in
times when astronomy has altogether dispossessed
astrology, indicates how wide and deep must have
been the influence of those superstitions in remoter
ages. E v e n now the hope on which astrological
superstitions were based, the hope that we m a y one
d a y learn to lift the veil concealing the future from
our view, has not been altogether abandoned. The
wiser reject it as a superstition, but even the wisest
have at one time or other felt its delusive in­
fluence.

LONDON : PRINTKD BY

RVOTT1SWOODK AND CO., NIW-STRF.F.T SOCARU

AND PARLIAMENT STRELT