n. But in 1832 the curious Egyptian
astronomy was studied, and it appeared that the sun and moon were so
placed on the Zodiac to mark the beginning of the year there; and the
dividing line fenced off one half of the sky under the care of the sun,
while the other was placed under the moon's patronage. Then it was
discovered that the positions of the stars were represented by the
pictures of the gods whose names they bore--Jupiter, Saturn, etc.--and
by calculating the places of these pictures back, it was found that this
Zodiac represented their places in the year of our Lord 37; the year of
the birth of Nero, a great temple-builder and repairer. Finally,
Champollion learned to read the hieroglyphics, and the names, surnames,
and titles of the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and Domitian were
found on the temple of Denderah; and on the portico of the temple of
Esneh, which had been declared to be a few thousand years older than
that of Denderah, were found the names of Claudius and Antoninus Pius;
while the whole workmanship and style of building have satisfied all
antiquarians that these buildings were erected during the declining days
of art in the Roman Empire. The Roman title, _autocrat_, engraved on
the Zodiac itself, attests its antiquity to be not quite two thousand,
instead of seventeen thousand years.

But, not satisfied with merely demolishing the batteries of Infidelity,
astronomy has been employed to ascertain the dates of numbers of events
recorded on Egyptian monuments to have happened to one or other of the
Pharaohs, "beloved of Ammon, and brother of the sun," when such a star
was in such a position. Mr. Poole has spent years in gathering such
inscriptions, and in calculating the dates thus furnished. The
astronomer royal, at Greenwich, Mr. Airy, has reviewed the calculations,
and finds them correct. Wilkinson, the great Egyptologist, agrees with
their conclusions. And the result is, that _the astronomical chronology
of the Egyptian monuments sustains the Bible chronology_.[220] Geology
comes forward to confirm the testimony of her elder sister, and assures
us, that the alleged vast antiquity of the Egyptian monuments is
impossible, as it is not more than 5,000 years since the soil of Egypt
first appeared above water, as a muddy morass.[221] The learned Adrian
Balbo thus sums up the whole question: "No monument, either astronomical
or historical, has yet been able to prove the books of Moses false; _but