Myths and Marvels of Astronomy
Oxford was the place indicated, and the disaster nothing more serious
than some slight scrape with the authorities of Christchurch. But
princes never get into scrapes with college dons. Probably some one or
other of the 'hair-breadth 'scapes' chronicled by the reporters of his
travels in India was the event indicated by the ominous position of
Saturn in Capricorn.
A remarkable list of characteristics were derived by Zadkiel from the
positions of the various planets and signs in the twelve houses of the
'royal native.' Some, of course, were indicated in more ways than one,
which will explain the parenthetical notes in the following alphabetical
table which Professor Miller has been at the pains to draw up from
Zadkiel's predictions. The prince was to be 'acute, affectionate,
amiable, amorous, austere, avaricious, beneficent, benevolent, brave,
brilliant, calculated for government' (a quality which may be understood
two ways), 'candid, careful of his person, careless, compassionate,
courteous (twice over), delighting in eloquence, discreet, envious, fond
of glory, fond of learning, fond of music, fond of poetry, fond of
sports, fond of the arts and sciences, frank, full of expedients,
generous (three times), gracious, honourable, hostile to crime,
impervious, ingenious, inoffensive, joyous, just (twice), laborious,
liberal, lofty, magnanimous, modest, noble, not easy to be understood
(!), parsimonious, pious (twice), profound in opinion, prone to regret
his acts, prudent, rash, religious, reverent, self-confident, sincere,
singular in mode of thinking, strong, temperate, unreserved, unsteady,
valuable in friendship, variable, versatile, violent, volatile, wily,
and worthy.' Zadkiel concludes thus:--'The square of Saturn to the moon
will add to the gloomy side of the picture, and give a tinge of
melancholy at times to the native's character, and also a disposition to
look at the dark side of things, and lead him to despondency; nor will
he be at all of a sanguine character, but cool and calculating, though
occasionally rash. Yet, all things considered, though firm and sometimes
positive in opinion, this royal native, if he live to mount the throne,
will sway the sceptre of these realms in moderation and justice, and be
a pious and benevolent man, and a merciful sovereign.' Fortunately, the
time has long since passed when swaying the sceptre of these realms had
any but a figurative meaning, or when Englishmen who obeyed their
country's laws depended on the mercy of any man, or when even bad
citizens were judged by princes. But we still prefer that princes should
be well-mannered gentlemen, and therefore it is sincerely to be hoped
that Zadkiel's prediction, so far as it relates to piety and
benevolence, may be fulfilled, should this 'royal native' live to mount
the throne. As for mercy, it is a goodly quality even in these days and
in this country; for if the law no longer tolerates cruelty to men, even
on the part of princes, who once had prescribed rights in that
direction, there are still some cruel, nay brutal sports in which 'royal
natives' might sometimes be tempted to take part. Wherefore let us hope
that, even in regard to mercy, the predictions of astrologers respecting
this 'royal native' may be fulfilled.
Passing however, from trivialities, let us consider the lessons which
the history of astrology teaches us respecting the human mind, its
powers and weaknesses. It has been well remarked by Whewell that for
many ages 'mysticism in its various forms was a leading character both
of the common mind and the speculations of the most intelligent and
profound reasoners.' Thus mysticism was the opposite of that habit of
thought which science requires, 'namely, clear ideas, distinctly
employed to connect well-ascertained facts; inasmuch as the ideas in
which it dealt were vague and unstable, and the temper in which they
were contemplated was an urgent and aspiring enthusiasm, which could not
submit to a calm conference with experience upon even terms.' We have
seen what has been the history of one particular form of the mysticism
of ancient and mediaeval ages. If we had followed the history of alchemy,
magic, and other forms of mysticism, we should have seen similar
results. True science has gradually dispossessed science falsely so
called, until now none but the weaker minds hold by the tenets formerly
almost universally adopted. In mere numbers, believers in the ancient
superstitions may be by no means insignificant; but they no longer have
any influence. It has become a matter of shame to pay any attention to
what those few say or do who not merely hold but proclaim the ancient
faith in these matters. We can also see why this has been. In old times
enthusiasm usurped the place of reason in these cases; but opinions so
formed and so retained could not maintain their ground in the presence
of reasoning and experience. So soon as intelligent and thoughtful men
perceived that facts were against the supposed mysterious influences of
the stars, the asserted powers of magicians, the pretended knowledge of
alchemists, the false teachings of magic, alchemy, and astrology, were
rejected. The lesson thus learned respecting erroneous doctrines which
were once widely prevalent has its application in our time, when, though
the influence of those teachings has passed away, other doctrines
formerly associated with them still hold their ground. Men in old times,
influenced by erroneous teachings, wasted their time and energies in
idle questionings of the stars, vain efforts to find Arcana of
mysterious power, and to acquire magical authority over the elements. Is
it altogether clear that in these our times men are not hampered,
prevented to some degree from doing all the good they might do in the
short life-time allotted to them, by doctrines of another kind? Is there
in our day no undue sacrifice of present good in idle questionings? is
there no tendency to trust in a vain fetishism to prevent or remove
evils which energy could avert or remedy? The time will come, in my
belief, when the waste of those energies which in these days are devoted
(not merely with the sanction, but the high approval, of some of the
best among us) to idle aims, will be deplored as regretfully--but, alas,
as idly--as the wasted speculations and labours of those whom Whewell
has justly called the most intelligent and profound reasoners of the
'stationary age' of science. The words with which Whewell closes his
chapter on the 'Mysticism of the Middle Ages' have their application to
the mysticism of the nineteenth century:--'Experience collects her
stores in vain, or ceases to collect them, when she can only pour them
into the flimsy folds of the lap of Mysticism, who is, in truth, so much
absorbed in looking for the treasures which are to fall from the skies,
that she heeds little how scantily she obtains, or how loosely she
holds, such riches as she might find beside her.'
II.
_THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT PYRAMID._
During the last few years a new sect has appeared which, though as yet
small in numbers, is full of zeal and fervour. The faith professed by
this sect may 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. The
founder of the pyramid religion is described by one of the present
leaders of the sect as 'the late worthy John Taylor, of Gower Street,
London;' but hitherto the chief prophets of the new faith have been in
this country Professor Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and in
France the Abbe Moigno. I propose to examine here some of the facts most
confidently urged by pyramidalists in support of their views.
But it will be well first to indicate briefly the doctrines of the new
faith. They may be thus presented:
The great pyramid was erected, it would seem, under the instructions of
a certain Semitic king, probably no other than Melchizedek. By
supernatural means, the architects were instructed to place the pyramid
in latitude 30 deg. north; to select for its figure that of a square
pyramid, carefully oriented; to employ for their unit of length the
sacred cubit corresponding to the 20,000,000th part of the earth's
polar axis; and to make the side of the square base equal to just so
many of these sacred cubits as there are days and parts of a day in a
year. They were further, by supernatural help, enabled to square the
circle, and symbolised their victory over this problem by making the
pyramid's height bear to the perimeter of the base the ratio which the
radius of a circle bears to the circumference. Moreover, the great
precessional period, in which the earth's axis gyrates like that of some
mighty top around the perpendicular to the ecliptic, was communicated to
the builders with a degree of accuracy far exceeding that of the best
modern determinations, and they were instructed to symbolise that
relation in the dimensions of the pyramid's base. A value of the sun's
distance more accurate by far than modern astronomers have obtained
(even since the recent transit) was imparted to them, and they embodied
that dimension in the height of the pyramid. Other results which modern
science has achieved, but which by merely human means the architects of
the pyramid could not have obtained, were also supernaturally
communicated to them; so that the true mean density of the earth, her
true shape, the configuration of land and water, the mean temperature of
the earth's surface, and so forth, were either symbolised in the great
pyramid's position, or in the shape and dimensions of 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. The pyramid also indicated, by
certain features of its interior structure, that when it was built the
holy influences of the Pleiades were exerted from a most effective
position--the meridian, through the points where the ecliptic and
equator intersect. And as the pyramid thus significantly refers to the
past, so also it indicates the future history of the earth, especially
in showing when and where the millennium is to begin. Lastly, the apex
or crowning stone of the pyramid was no other than the antitype of that
stone of stumbling and rock of offence, rejected by builders who knew
not its true use, until it was finally placed as the chief stone of the
corner. Whence naturally, 'whosoever shall fall upon it'--that is, upon
the pyramid religion--'shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall
it will grind him to powder.'
If we examine the relations actually presented by the great pyramid--its
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 anxiety to disprove
them, we shall find much to suggest that the builders of the pyramid
were ingenious mathematicians, who had made some progress in astronomy,
though not so much as they had made in the mastery of mechanical and
scientific difficulties.
The first point to be noticed is the geographical position of the great
pyramid, so far, at least, as this position affects the aspect of the
heavens, viewed from the pyramid as from an observatory. Little
importance, I conceive, can be attached to purely geographical relations
in considering the pyramid's position. Professor Smyth notes that the
pyramid is peculiarly placed with respect to the mouth of the Nile,
standing 'at the southern apex of the Delta-land of Egypt.' This region