The Great Pyramid.

THE GREAT PYRAMID .

BYBBO . JOHN CHAPMAN , F . B . M . S ., P . PROV . G . D . DEVON . Ii * " * GYPT has been the theatre in which has appeared some of tho most ¦ J wonderful dramas the world has ever seen . It has been the factor that has decided many of the great events of past ages , and at the close of the nineteenth century it still holds a position which is a source of anxiety and is a problem for the statesmen of Europe . Its salubrious climate and

interesting antecedents attract annually many of the most wealthy inhabitants of this and other countries , who generally winter within its genial surroundings . One great attraction it offers to the student of antiquity is the Great Pyramid , with its marvellous proportions and its

inimitable interior passages and compartments , taxing the skill of the most advanced scientist to explain fully the great truths its matchless masonry is intended to reveal . It is the intention of the writer to give somo of the lessons that have been drawn from the deductions gathered from a study of this wonder of the world .

This building , by its deductions , points to the destiny of man upon earth , as recorded in the sacred page of inspiration . Let us approach the subject with caution , regarding the symbolic teaching of the Great Pyramid

in the light of a book of divine revelation ; accepting the measurements of dates , by the inch per year theory , and so carefully marking the marvellous details of the structure , in order that we may gather the important lessons it teaches .

Symbolism reaches back into the remote past , and has impressed the mind of man with truth in the pre-historic age , long before language had developed into a science . In the symbolism therefore of the Great Pyramid , we are led to recognise the antiquity of the building . The symbolic teaching of this noble pile of masonry not only reveals to the student truths

relating to the history of man , as well as his future destiny , but it also opens out some scientific facts , which resolve the doubts of scientists who have laboured long and unsuccessfully at problems which have over-reached their ripened skill . In introducing the leading features which the Great Pyramid reveals , we shall confine ourselves to those that more immediately press upon the region of Science , History , and Prophecy .

Avoiding , as far as possible , any new-fangled crotchet or theory for the sake of novelty , we propose giving the fruit of the researches of the most distinguished scholars upon the subject , believing that more good will be effected by such a course than if we entered upon any wild speculations , or

imitated the erratic gyrations of a fanatical enthusiast , who flies off at a tangent with a fizz and a force that reminds us of a pyrotechnic device , which may strain the attention of the observer in following its course , but which only leaves him a few lurid sparks that mark its premature extinction .

CONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID . In taking up this subject , it will naturally he expected that some statement will be advanced as to the builder of the Great Pyramid , seeing that it is the largest pile of masonry extant . This , however , is a point somewhat open to controversy , as there are no authentic records that can

establish the matter , or place it beyond the region of doubt . Herodotus informs us that it was believed to be the work of Philitis , a Hyksos , or Shepherd King , who , by supernatural power , invaded Egypt , and subdued ifc without a battle , and eventually quitted it by capitulation . There are those who hold that this Hyksos was none other than Melchizedek , who is called

King of Salem , and by some Jerusalem . Whether the information gleaned by Herodotus from the Egyptian priests was worthy of acceptance , or whether they imposed their unreliable traditions upon him , is a matter we

must leave for the reader to decide . Captain B . W . Tracey , B . N ., who has written an admirable work on " A Scriptural View of the Great Pyramid , " in treating this subject , has a paragraph which we consider well worth quoting . He states : " How vain and futile have been the efforts of man to unravel

the secret of its builder ; and this mighty monument stands on the earth , like Melchizedek , without parentage , to all our savants . It is beyond them even to imagine where the science of its architect came from , and all their ideas of it are based on the traditions of Egyptian enmity , which in itself is almost positive proof that it was erected as a witness for good—principally fco

unfold the truth of His Holy Word . " The settlement of thc question as to its builder will not , however , affect the great truths it indicates . Anyone who has studied the construction of the Great Pyramid will not dispute tho fact that it was the work of " the grand Master Masons of the old times , " as stated by Charles Casey in his work on " Philitis . " There have been those

who nevertheless have striven to place the Great Pyramid on the same level as the other Pyramids of Egypt . They say : " Why this above the rest ? Ifc was only built as a mausoleum for the mummied remains of old King Cheops . " Unmistakable evidence answers tho question , and unsetfclos the statement ; but with regard to what it was intended to teach in the latter

days , when its long-concealed passages should be opened to the measuring line or rod of the anxious enquirer after truth , that will form matter for subsequent consideration , and therefore we shall only remark here , with regard to its being placed on a par wifch the ofcher Pyramids , that nothing

can possibly be more remote from truth , or more difficult for tho Pyramid student to accept . It is true the Great Pyramid is in Egypt ; but is nofc of Egypt . Its polished and unlettered stones speak in a language most unequivocal that its exquisitely-worked slabs , by their measurements , point to certain cosmic and ethic truths which cannot in the slightest degree be

The Great Pyramid.

traced in any of the other buildings . As in the case of the magicians of Egypt , in tho timo of Moses , they essayed to work by their arts the miracles which Moses effected by the power of the Most High , and in some instances they appeared to succeed ; but that did not disprove the source from whence Moses derived his power , neither do the other Pyramids , by their apparent

similarity , reduce the Great Pyramid to the same level with the rest . The other Pyramids are filled with Egyptian hieroglyphics , but by their construction there is not one single ray of cosmic light emitted , although their builders had tho Great Pyramid placed before them as a pattern or model to work by . Another remarkable feature in connection with its

erection is tho * fact that the sacred and scientific truths taught by this unique building wore concealed from those who had to supply the labour . This will fully explain how it came to pass there should be such a startling dissimilarity between the Great Pyramid and those ofcher buildings that wero subsequently erected . It was an abomination to the Egyptians ; they

understood not its " witnessing" power ; they . very reluctantly worked up those exquisite stono slabs to a point of perfection which they had never seen equalled , and which will be a marvel for the most accomplished " stone squarer " until the ond of time . Tho question that naturally presents itself to the mind , with regard to fche matchless workmanship of the building , is ,

how is it that there never was before , or since , such a splendid specimen of masonry ? The only satisfactory answer is that supplied by the Egyptian priests fco Herodotus ; namely , that " a supernatural power" compelled them to work ; and doubtless the same " power" would also qualify them , and enable them to execute the work in harmony with His Divine

purpose . Perhaps the reader would like to learn how this wonderful pile of masonry was erected . In attempting this task , we must ask you to try and forget a'great deal you have met with concerning the Great Pyramid , in order that you may be able to grapple with the details as they appear . The

historian , the artist , and the philosopher have each alike contributed to the mystification of the subject , and established prejudices that militate against the formation of a true estimate of this marvellous building . In Herodotus we shall find much that is unreliable ; and that which applies to Herodotus is also applicable to Manetho , Diodorus , Pliny , and others . Those

who lived in tho early years of the Great Pyramid ' s history would certainly have better opportunities of arriving at facts connected with its erection . If , however , we come down to the times of Herodotus , who is regarded as " the father of history , " we must not forget that 1725 years stand between him and the erection of the building , although he was the first who gave us any

information on the Pyramid ( gathered no doubt through a very questionable medium ) , so that we have very unsatisfactory data on which to rely , seeing that the tradition of Egyptian priests is not a very safe channel for the transmission of truth . We must , therefore , consult the Great Pyramid itself , if wo intend to arrive at a correct conclusion as to how it was constructed .

An illustration has been published taken from a translation printed in 1761 , and has evidently been sketched by one who accepted the theory of Herodotus , with regard to the size of the blocks of masonry and the general form of construction . A little engineering skill will readily determine if the principle is capable of raising the several blocks of stone to their proper level .

The mode adopted , according to this sketch , is very primitive , but at the same time reflects credit on the ingenuity of its author ; nevertheless , a fatal mistake meets us on the very threshold , ancl that is the fabulous dimensions of the blocks of stone . This fatal error will doubtless have been accepted , by following Herodotus , in lieu o £ a careful inspection of the building . In the

days of Herodotus , the Great Pyramid was m a perfect state of preservation ; the polished white casing stones concealed tho courses of masonry with which it was built , and reached the summit in a point , so that he could not possibly detemiiuo the measurements of the interior , but would depend upon tho testimony of the Egyptian priests ; hence we find him stating that " the

stones are very skilfully cemented , and none of them of less dimensions than thirty feet . " If this description was intended to explain the interior of the building , we cannot wonder at tho artistic mistake that has been made . A fine old German painter , in attempting to describe the Great Pyramid during its course of erection , has given a very highly coloured picture of what he

considers would ba the interesting scene , and although the effort was not so prosaic as the sketch before us , yefc some of fche main features are as far from tho truth as they well can bc . In fche foreground is fche figure of old King Cheops , porchod upon tho back of a huge camel , evidently interested in the construction of the building ; while a dark woollv-headed African ( tho

architect ) mounted on thc Great Pyramid , somo thirty feet high , is gracefully flourishing a plan of the building , which , upon close inspection , the student will find to ho a plan of thc Second Pyramid , and not tho one he is erecting . My friend , Mr . Wynman Dixon , C . E ., vory properly observed , when pointing oufc fcho absurd mistake of tho artist , with regard to the passages , & c , that ifc

was evident thc painter know more of the Second Pyramid than the one he was attempting to pourfcray . Prom this it will readily be understood that the passages and interior construction wero not in harmony with the Great Pyramid . Wo do not propose to deal with the errors that have been propagated hy tho vague imaginations and absurd ideas of artists ; we only wish to note the fact , that false impressions may very often be traced fco the

painter ' s easel . Leaving for the present fche fanciful speculations of both historian and artist , hit us try to grasp the proportions and leading features of this mountain of masonry , and by the application of known rules of science , see if we can arrive at a true knowledge of the general characteristics of thc building . ( To be continued . )