Epidemics. 225 



axis, and to the circumference of the earth's orb at any par- 

 ticular spot from whence it might be taken. 



A rod, or two rods of unequal length, but of very exact pro- 

 portions, and placed at suitable distances from each other, 

 upon a flat, wide, and smooth pavement, and carefully 

 marked year by year and day by day, would in time give all 

 the essential elements whereby the length of each particular 

 day could be ascertained ; but it would be a work of enor- 

 mous labour, and would require many years to rectify and 

 re-rectify slight errors, and a very retentive' memory, in 

 addition to a very large amount of notes of daily measure- 

 ments, and these tried and re-tried year by year till all was 

 reduced to the greatest point of correctness. 



Moreover, to train another as a magus in all the details 

 of his art, and to obtain a perfect mastery of its practice, 

 would require many years of experience before he became an 

 expert; but when an expert, his predictions and calculations 

 would be viewed as from the gods. 



For in those days goodness and kindness were not deemed 

 as godlike, but concealed wisdom, and inexplicable announce- 

 ments and heroic deeds of daring, which were only seen in 

 the dark, were those which raised a man to the estimation of 

 being in contact with divinity. Such men, being at the beck 

 and wink of the king, enabled him to appear before his 

 people as a half deity and some one superhuman, who treated 

 the poorer members of his nation as beasts of burden and as 

 slaves. It is only under such considerations, and having as a 

 king such wealthy men as the kings of ancient Thebes or No, 

 that it is conceivable that the most accomplished masons the 

 world ever saw, possessed of geometrical science, and of instru- 

 ments of the most perfect constructions, would ever attempt 

 so stupendous a work as the Great Pyramid; and nothing less 

 than the King's Royal Command would secure its erection, ac- 

 companied with instructions to found a building which should 



15 



