DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15#0171
158 THE GREAT PYRAMID.
of care far surpassing that which has ever1 been
given to an astronomical observatory. Common
sense compels us to believe that whether the Great
Pyramid was meant for a tomb or not, its astrono-
mical character was given to it for some purpose
relating to the living king who had it built. (I
suppose Egyptologists are absolutely certain that
the .Great Pyramid was built by one king, and,
therefore, within a few decades of years.)
Now, it is not reasonable to suppose King
Cheops' purpose was simply scientific. We may
fairly take it for granted that the king who ex-
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 day to regulate
religious ceremonials by astronomical observations
conducted with reference only to general religious
relations. To put the matter plainly, the builder
of the Great Pyramid must have thought of himself
first ; next, of his dynasty ; then, perhaps, of the
priesthood (though always with reference to the
bearing of religious ceremonies on the welfare of
himself and his dynasty) ; lastly, of his people, as
1 Even in our own time, though we get greater accuracy in our
observations than Cheops obtained in his pyramid, we have not to
give anything like the same degree of care to the work.
of care far surpassing that which has ever1 been
given to an astronomical observatory. Common
sense compels us to believe that whether the Great
Pyramid was meant for a tomb or not, its astrono-
mical character was given to it for some purpose
relating to the living king who had it built. (I
suppose Egyptologists are absolutely certain that
the .Great Pyramid was built by one king, and,
therefore, within a few decades of years.)
Now, it is not reasonable to suppose King
Cheops' purpose was simply scientific. We may
fairly take it for granted that the king who ex-
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 day to regulate
religious ceremonials by astronomical observations
conducted with reference only to general religious
relations. To put the matter plainly, the builder
of the Great Pyramid must have thought of himself
first ; next, of his dynasty ; then, perhaps, of the
priesthood (though always with reference to the
bearing of religious ceremonies on the welfare of
himself and his dynasty) ; lastly, of his people, as
1 Even in our own time, though we get greater accuracy in our
observations than Cheops obtained in his pyramid, we have not to
give anything like the same degree of care to the work.