308 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
in schools and societies to attain to a knowledge of nature by obser- 
vation and measure, and when the Greeks sowed the first seeds of 
those methods which have since developed into the giant tree of 
modern science — that is, in the ages of 600 b.c. or 500 b.c. — their 
greatest philosopher concluded the sun to be hardly more than 
10 or 12 miles from the surface of the earth. But they increased 
that estimate, as their science advanced, to 14,000 miles in 50 
years ; and to 5 millions of miles in 200 years more. At that 
point, however, knowledge remained stationary for 1800 years, and 
continued perfectly satisfied with the truth of that result, — until 
Kepler showed, in 1620 a.d., that the distance was more nearly 
26 millions of miles ; and La Caille, in 1750 a.d., that it was nearly 
78 millions of miles; and the transit of Venus, in 1769, that it was 
95 millions of miles. 
This last determination was, however, over the truth, and sub- 
sequent measures have been reducing the quantity again ; but at 
the same time oscillating, sometimes on one side and sometimes on 
the other, of a mean quantity nearly 92 millions of miles in length. 
Now this quantity — which modern science seems to be approach- 
ing only, but has not yet definitely arrived at, or settled for society, 
and is not likely to be able to do so until the next good transit of 
Venus, in 1882 a.d. — is the quantity marked off for the sun’s dis- 
tance in the Great Pyramid of Jeezeh, by the ancient architect or 
designer thereof, and in so early a period of the world as to have 
been 1600 years before the very embryotic commencement of Greek, 
or any other known human, science ; or at a time when it was per- 
fectly impossible for any man then living, to have had any means 
at all sufficient to solve the problem even approximately ! 
How, then, was it solved? and whence came that marvellously 
accurate physical knowledge, perfect, apparently, at its very out- 
set, and in a building which has lived through all historic times of 
all nations and peoples, but never been known to possess those 
scientific details before, not even by the Egyptians themselves? 
This great question much occupies Mr Petrie, after having de- 
tailed clearly a large quantity of numerical and other particulars 
connected with the establishment of all the positive and material 
facts of the case ; and his solution leads him ultimately to some 
interesting correlations with certain portions of Scripture exegesis. 
