God which was worshipped as the Destroyer or Regenerator, and which
in its earlier conception was the same as the Great Mother Cybele. These
priests were frequently obliged to officiate in a nude state, and during
the ceremony should it appear that the symbols with which they came in
contact had appealed to other than their highest emotions, they were
immediately stoned by the people.(54)

54) Sonnerat, Voyage aux Indes, i., 311.

The identity of the religions of India and Egypt has been noted in an
earlier portion of this work. Wilford, in his dissertations upon Egypt
and the Nile, says that in a conversation which he had with some learned
Brahmins, upon describing to them the form and peculiarities of the
Great Pyramid, they told him that "it was a temple appropriated to the
worship of Padma Devi." The true Coptic name of these edifices is Pire
Honc, which signifies a sunbeam. Padma Devi means the lotus, or the
Deity of generation.

It is thought by many writers that these gigantic structures were
erected by the Cushite conquerors of Egypt, who invaded and civilized
the country, as emblems of the female Deity whom they worshipped.
Certainly the magnitude of these monuments and the ingenuity displayed
in their construction indicate the intelligence of their builders and
the exalted character of the Deity adored. The Great Pyramid is in
the form of a square, each side of whose base is seven hundred and
fifty-five feet, and covers an area of nearly fourteen acres. An able
writer in describing the pyramids says that the first thing which
impresses one is the uniform precision and systematic design apparent in
their architecture. They all have their sides accurately adapted to the
four cardinal points.

"In six of them which have been opened, the principal passage preserves
the same inclination of 26 degrees to the horizon, being directed toward
the polar star.... Their obliquity being so adjusted as to make the
north side coincide with the obliquity of the sun's rays at the summer's
solstice, has, combined with the former particulars, led some to suppose
they were solely intended for astronomical uses; and certainly, if not
altogether true, it bespeaks, at all events, an intimate acquaintance
with astronomical rules, as well as a due regard to the principles of
geometry. Others have fancied them intended for sepulchres; and as the
Egyptians, taught by their ancient Chaldean victors, connected astronomy
with t