Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-08-17
The Pyramids of Egypt.

The Pyramids of Egypt have always
had an interest even for the non-scientific.
Many seriously believe that the pyramids
are built of brick; and. still more, that
their original Use was a. toinbs for the
EGYPTIAN kings Mr.. Piazzie Smyth,
however, in recent paper "On the Great
Pyramid of Egypt" combats some of the
favorite ideas of even professcd Egypto-
logists on the subject The history of
architecture dates from the epoch Of the
pyramid builders; and Mr.. Smyth regard,
the Great Pyramid as the oldest monu-
ment in Egypt The other pyramids
were built aiterward-wcrc all similar,
less perfect in mechanical construction.
without science in design. and meretri-
cious in taste. The Great Pyramid Of
Chcops. the first and the largest, is alone
perfect example of architecture, both
in design and execution After 1000
years of schooling, we are unable at the
the present day to rival this stupendous
work. The height Of a building is good
evidence of its stability; but the finest
cdifices we can boast, even in the matter
of height alone, cannot reach the grand
old relics of the Nile st. Paul's has
height of 1922 inches; st. Peters at
Rome, 5.1S4 inches; Strasbourg Cathe
dral 5,6l6 inches; but the Great Pyra
mid is variously computed at between ),
S35 inches. Another idea in connection
with the Great Pyramid is, that it was the
work of successive generations This
theory may explain the pyramids in gen
cral, each layer Of masonry being sup
posed TO answer ot the reign of king
But, with the chief one more exact re
searches have shown it to be different
There is but one style both of building
and quality OF material, from top to bot
toni and from side to side The struc
ture was commenced at the first from
carefully prepared plans. The enormous
subterranean works, which occupied the
workmen ten years, may still he seen, de
scending into the rock far deeper and
farther than those Of amy other pyramid
and the whole structure, occupying TWEEN
ty years of hard work, was finished Nv IL,
founder, and completed according to the
original design. The question of the
Great Pyramid having been built tor the
purpose of tomb is disposed of by Mr.
Smyth i'll very ingenious manner. The
burial chamb of the old Egytian kings
were nothing but whole suits of apart
ments, gorgiously carved and inscribed
with emblems of self glorification. But
it just happens that the one pyramid OF
all, in which is the grandest and most ex-
pensive, we should have expected to have
found the most elaborate of these inscrip-
tions, we find nothing of the sort-noth-
ing but the plane geometrical surfaces OF
exquisite eworkmanship-the stones worked
by grinding processes TO true mathemat-
ical figures, and with their joints cement
ed, but almost inconceivably fine and
close, or no thicker than the vanishing
| thickness of Il sheet of of silver paper.
Another theory among the sdOdRtS has
long been, that the Great Pyramid, as in
Guided among the oldest pyramids OF
Memphis, is founded on aliuvial mud, or
Oil the site of the great valley of the Nile
Mr. Smyth ridicules the idea altogether.
What sinkings and fittings of the Great
Pyramids floors would have taken place
through long agess Would they not,
like the famous walls of Babylon, on
similar soil, have gone down altogether
out of sight, and never even remained to
be measured at allg THE Great Pyra-
mid he says, ''is in reality (and 1 declare
it on the strength of nearly four months
residence at its fooD founded on a COM
pact limestone, at level of about one
hundred feet above the alluvial soil of
Egypt, and to one side of it.
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