Age of the Pyramids. 337 



us ; but, instead of presenting them in linear series, the writers 

 have placed them in the same line, as if there had been a re- 

 gular succession. This mistake has greatly contributed to mis- 

 lead several modern writers, and to induce them to refer to a 

 very remote epoch the origin of the Egyptian nation. 



The conquest of the shepherd kings abolished all the httle 

 principalities, and subjected Egypt to a single domination. Af- 

 ter the expulsion of the conquerors, the victorious dynasty be- 

 came in its turn sole master, and thenceforward the union be- 

 came definitive. It was by this union that the Egyptian nation 

 became really powerful, and it was after this period alone, that 

 it could undertake great works. The recent discoveries of M. 

 ChampoUion have afforded us an undeniable proof of this. 

 Having found means of reading the names of the sovereigns 

 inscribed in hieroglyphic characters upon the monuments, he 

 has found none anterior to the seventeenth and eighteenth 

 dynasties, that is, to those which expelled the nomadic con- 

 querors ; and it is probable that most of the edifices which bear 

 the names of these princes, and which appear to have been 

 raised in honour of them, were not built until long after their 

 death. 



As, in the deficiency of books, we rest our hopes of obtain- 

 ing some documents upon the monuments, it is of importance 

 to determine their age, at least in a relative manner. This may 

 be done by comparing the style of their architecture, which, 

 .simple and rude in the more ancient times, acquires elegance as 

 we approach those more modern. 



The pyramids, which, however ostentatious, evidently belong- 

 to the infancy of art, are certainly anterior to the columnar edi- 

 fices, and those possessed of elegant proportions. Now, these 

 pyramids, even by Manetho's account, were not built until after 

 the reign of Sesostris, the vanquisher of the shepherds. This 

 much is certain, that they did not exist at the time of the Jew- 

 ish migration, for the Scriptures make no mention of them. It 

 would even seem that, at this period, the Egyptians used brick 

 in their public buildings, as they employed the Jews in manu- 

 facturing them in enormous quantities. Nor did the pyramid.s 

 exist at the time of the migration of Cecrops and Danaus, as 



JANUAKV — MARCH 1830. Y 



