Ancient sources claimed Egypt as the original home of geometry.
Though biographies of Pythagoras were all fragmentary , secondhand and therefore unreliable , all agreed upon this point: that Pythagoras had acquired much of his learning in the East .
Arguments had long ranged over whether the proportions of the Great Pyramid were deliberate or purely fortuitous. The pyramid's height stands in a precise pi relationship to the perimeter of the base . P i (3.141 6 . . . ) i s the transcendental that defines the ratio between the diameter of a circle and its circumference.
At the same time, pi is related to another, more interesting, irrational , phi , the socalled Golden Section . I t had been observed — an d ignored by Egyptologist s — tha t not only the Great Pyramid but the other pyramids as well made use of different
phi relationships in their construction .
Schwaller d e Lubic z therefor e se t out t o discover whether or
not ph i relationship s wer e buil t into th e Temple of Luxor. If
this coul d b e prove n beyon d doubt, i t would corroborate these
fragmentary ancien t source s an d forc e a reconsideration of the
extent o f ancien t knowledge . I f i t coul d b e show n tha t th e
Egyptians possesse d advance d mathematica l an d scientifi c
knowledge, i t would not only prov e — a s man y suspected —
that th e famou s Gree k intellectua l flowerin g wa s bu t a pal e
and degenerat e shadow of what had been know n previously ; it
might als o hel p substantiat e th e legen d persisting throughout
history, an d widesprea d amon g th e peopl e o f th e world , tha t
great civilisation s ha d existe d i n th e distan t pas t eve n befor e
Egypt.
In seein g th e Templ e o f Luxo r a s a n Egyptia n Parthenon ,
Schwaller d e Lubic z was seein g mor e tha n a n exercis e i n har mony
and proportio n for its own sake . Aesthetic s played a secondary
rol e i n th e sacre d architectur e o f th e past . Th e Greek
Parthenon wa s buil t t o th e virgi n Athen a (parthenos mean s
virgin i n Greek) .
The symbolis m o f th e virgi n i s widesprea d an d extremely
complex, an d i t operates upon many levels. Bu t it s fundamental
metaphysica l significanc e i s th e creatio n ex nihilo — th e
universe create d ou t o f nothing , ou t o f th e void .
For al l it s analytical success, science in 193 7 was no closer to
a solution t o th e mystery of creation than in Newton's day. But
a lifetime' s stud y o f mathematic s — an d particularl y th e
mathematics o f number, harmony and proportion — had convinced
Schwalle r d e Lubic z tha t howeve r distorted and diffuse
the teaching s o f Pythagora s ha d become , i n thei r pur e form
they hel d th e ke y t o thi s ultimat e mystery . H e wa s als o con vinced
tha t ancien t civilisation s possesse d thi s knowledge ,
which the y transmitte d i n th e form o f myth — accounting for
the strikin g similaritie s o f myth s th e worl d over , i n cultures
completely isolate d fro m eac h othe r i n spac e an d time .
Central t o all thes e interlinked themes was tha t curious irra tional,
phi , th e Golde n Section . Schwalle r d e Lubic z believed
that i f ancien t Egyp t possessed knowledg e o f ultimate causes,
that knowledg e woul d b e writte n int o thei r temple s no t in
explicit texts , bu t i n harmony , proportion , myt h an d symbol.
Schwaller d e Lubicz' s firs t ste p towar d th e recover y o f thi s
putative los t knowledge was a study of the dimensions and proportions
o f th e Temple o f Luxo r t o fin d out i f significant and
deliberate us e o f measur e reveale d itself . Schwalle r d e Lubicz
set ou t t o loo k fo r phi .
It was soo n apparen t that his insight had been accurate. But
the subtlet y an d refinemen t wit h whic h measur e an d proportion
were employed demande d a commensurat e refinemen t of
technique on th e par t o f Schwalle r d e Lubicz and his team. In
the end , th e tas k occupie d fiftee n year s o n th e sit e a t Luxor .
Although Schwalle r d e Lubic z se t out knowing more or less
what h e wa s lookin g for , hi s interpretatio n doe s no t brin g in
measure and proportion in order to support a preconceived the ory.
Rather , th e measure s and proportions impose d th e inter pretation.
I t i s als o wort h mentionin g tha t al l measure s and
data wer e supervise d an d checke d b y qualifie d professionals :
by Alexandre Varille, a young Egyptologist who was won over
to th e Symbolis t approac h earl y o n an d who , i n effect , threw
over a saf e caree r i n Egyptolog y t o ac t a s spokesma n fo r
Schwaller d e Lubicz ; an d by Clement Robichon , a n architect,
chief o f excavation s fo r th e Frenc h Egyptologica l delegation
in Cairo .
Schwaller d e Lubic z claime d tha t Egyptia n civilizatio n wa s
based upo n profoun d an d precis e knowledg e o f th e mysteries
of Creation. Th e Symbolis t interpretatio n support s thi s claim
with tw o kind s o f evidence ; th e firs t linguistic , th e secon d
mathematical. I n Egyp t languag e an d mathematic s wer e sim ply
two aspects of a single scheme. But in order to satisfactorily
explain an d describ e thi s scheme Schwaller de Lubicz found it
necessary t o trea t linguistic s an d mathematic s separately .