Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Relation Of Freemasonry To Ancient Egypt.
Second—To insiitute a comparison of the manners , customs and doctrines of the ancient Egyp tians , their Priesthood , Societies and Mystic Brotherhood , with the corresponding paits of what , is known to us as Ancieut Cra ^ t Masonrv .
Third—That , on these massive columns , and in the compound irn ;> ge of the Sphinx , the winged globe , the cartouche * , Iir . es , marks and emblems which so profusely adorn the walls around UP , are to be found the original
symbols of the Craft , as known to our ancient , Brethren of KfJTypt , thoust \ i \ ds of years before Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan , to establish their Kingdom in the promised land of Canaan .
To carry out these propositions it will be necessary to quote largely from well-known authors and authorities on Egyptian history , such as Wilkinson , Rawlinson , Gliddon ,
Brusch Bey aud others , and I mention this to the Brethren now so as to avoid calling attention to those names as I proceed in the lecture .
I will take up the different lines of evidence which modern d scoverics have placed within our reach , and with their w .-sistance end * nvour to trace out the resemblance existing lutvveen the Masonic fraternity of our own times aud the
Mystic fraternities , associations and societies , priestly and otherwise , prior to and contemporary with tho Pharoahs . 1 th . Jl strive to prove to the Brethren that the peculiar i . icans of recognition , the universal language of the Craft ,
by the assistance of which we build and sustain this i ' . insonic structure , and without which it would soon disintegrate , crumble and disappear , were derived from IIKSU emly inhabitants of the valley of the Nile , and that
Ihe olt-repeated axiom iu Freeinasoury , "that it was co-existent with the crea'ion of the world , " will be strengthened and made good when we can go back '' to the remotest periods of conceivable post-diluvian times , when
the I elasgians were yet unborn , tho Greeks , the Persians and , perhaps , the Phoenicians had not been dreamed of , more than fifteen centuries before Troy fell , " and much more than thirteen hundred years before Solomon founded the
Temple of Jerusalem , "till we shall approach the very hour when mankind dwelt together upon tho plains of Shinar , " nges before Abraham lett his native land , Ur of the
Chaldees , to start the movement which was finally to rest upon the sumit of Mount Moriah in the gorgeous and immortal masterpiece of Freemasonry .
And if we can , of which I do not doubt , fiad in this Egyptian history , in this most ancient of profane •¦ coords , corroborative proofs that Masonry lived and iimrished , and was great in the early times when history
had scarce began to write upon her tablets , then wo shall !>; ive still greater cause to be proud of this grand institution , which , though hoary with age , abounds in all its pristine vigour . Of a'l the ancient nations , Egypt is
the one whose history can be traced the furthest back into she beginning of man ' s existence . Aud that the evidence «' . ' iJjyptiau antiquity is the most reliable of all other
ii'Metiriil proofs is duo to the fact that whereas other iiis'ones depend largel y on traditions , translations and retianslatioKH , in which the imagination , feelings , prejudices , limbec , ignorance of the events , have so changed and
d ..-tortt ; d the original facts that they have become totall y nnieluible ; in Egypt we have the original records , the monuments , the stones , the papyrus , upon which in characters now readil y understood are depicted tbe
establishment of her dynasties , the rise and fall of her kings , the battles , the conquests and the conquerors , the days and dates , the months and years , her priests , poets and philosophers , astronomical observations taken almost
when the stars first began to move , important events in the progress of her government and people , and those rt cords marked and carved and sculptured upon imperishable granite at the times of their occurrence by the actors
themselves ; aud now through the work and studies of modern scienti .-ts , those once mysterious and unknown figures , tho ; : e strange and curious hieroglyphics , are as eahil y d * . ciphered , translated and read as a verse of Homer ,
a puge of Aristotle , a problem of Euclid , or a theory of ftewton . 1 am aware that of late much has been spoken and written on these subjects . Brethren have delivered learned and interesting addresses on the mythology of the
ancient Egyptians , the mystic meaning of the numerous figures we see around us , the names of their deities , male and female , how they were worshipped and the peculiar rite * sn far as known of t ' lia Egyptian mysteries ; but 1 atr not cognizant of any 3 erious attempts to connect or to show
Historical Relation Of Freemasonry To Ancient Egypt.
the close association of ancient Mascnry with the men that descended Mount Ararat with Noah , and who afterwards , passing from Asia into Africa along the valley of the Nile , were the progenitors of that extraordinary race who for
many centuries were foremost in art , scioace and civilisation of all existing nations . But to establish and make good the claim of this Fraternity to an antiquity coeval with the creation itself , there must be shown an affinit y
with those early dwellers on the banks of the mighty river , upon whose bosom floated the frail vessel containing the infant Moses , aud in sight of whose yellow waters stand
those stupendous monuments , from whose summits uuknown ages look down upon the degenerate race that now people those famous localities .
We will digress a few moments from the direct line of our discourso and ask your attention to some explanation relating to the manucr in which tho darkness that had so long enveloped Egyp tian history was dissipated , and the key found to open tho door of hieroglyphical knowledge .
For many centuries those singular characters have remained as a sealed book . Volumes bad been written , the learned and scientific of all nations had given time and study , historians had sought for an exit out of the
perplexing labyrinths , but still they groped m vain . When Napoleon landed in Egypt , in 1798 , he had with him a corps of scientific men , for the purpose of studying the architecture , monuments and inscriptions on the tombs of the
country . Upon the return of the expedition there was published , at the expense of the French government , a great work ou Egyptology . It was tbe result of the labour of those French savants , and was the first real progress towards a
true knowledge of the hieroglyphical characters , that had so long baffled science . I believe the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia has a copy of this great work in their library , and it is probably the only copy in the United
States . But , valuable as was the information contained in those magnificent volumes , still it was only general , and related more to the pyramids , obelisks , sphinxes , drawings
made from tombs , and remains of temples as they lie scattered over the country ; but the meaning of this unique language , the translation of those mystic signs , still remained in obscurity .
In the meantime the scientists of France , Germany and England were busy in examining a broken stone , which fortunate circumstances had brought to light , and which ultimately proved to be the key to the long sought explanation . A French officer of engineers , named
Bouchard , in August 1799 , while engaged in digging the foundations of Fort St . Julieu , on the Nile , near a place called Rosetta , discovered a " block of black basalt , " about three feet long , two feet five inches wide and twelve inches thick .
On the upper face of the Rosetta stone were three separate inscriptions , two in the Egyptian language and the third in the Greek .
The first or uppermost inscription was in hieroglyphics ; the second was iu " enchoral " or " writing of the people of Egypt ; " tho third , in Greek , was a translation of the hieroglyphics , and also of the second , or " writing of the people . "
This invaluable relic was captured by the English , and is now in the British Museum , in London . The discovery of this "broken stone , " mutilated and disfigured as it was , marked a new era in Egyptology . It was the light
breaking forth after a long continuance of storm and darkness . Like the new world , that rose up out of the sea to gladden the weary eyes of Christopher Columbus and bis iucredulous followers , so did this discovery open up the long buried treasures of Egyptian history .
Egyptologists all over tho world at once set to work to decipher the inscriptions . Plaster casks were made and sent to all the scientific institutions , and the learned men
of tho day struggled and fought over this new-found treasure with all the professional ferocity doctors display over a new discovery in anasthetics , or an audacious
operation in surgery . Finally ifc was agreed that the inscription on the stone referred " to the coronation of Epiphanes , which took place at Memphis , iu the mouth of March , 196 years before Christ , " or more than two thousaud years ago .
I wonld like to give tho translation to tho Brethren ; but it would bo going too far from the subject proper of our -I . ' , „ 1 „^ n tki ' n iui-omrn » + Vir >» - ikntmlmm ., „ f 4 . | ,: discourse 1 statehoweverthat the solution of this
. may , , . •vent problem , the dissipation of this Egyptian darkness " that had covered the country for so many centuries
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Historical Relation Of Freemasonry To Ancient Egypt.
Second—To insiitute a comparison of the manners , customs and doctrines of the ancient Egyp tians , their Priesthood , Societies and Mystic Brotherhood , with the corresponding paits of what , is known to us as Ancieut Cra ^ t Masonrv .
Third—That , on these massive columns , and in the compound irn ;> ge of the Sphinx , the winged globe , the cartouche * , Iir . es , marks and emblems which so profusely adorn the walls around UP , are to be found the original
symbols of the Craft , as known to our ancient , Brethren of KfJTypt , thoust \ i \ ds of years before Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan , to establish their Kingdom in the promised land of Canaan .
To carry out these propositions it will be necessary to quote largely from well-known authors and authorities on Egyptian history , such as Wilkinson , Rawlinson , Gliddon ,
Brusch Bey aud others , and I mention this to the Brethren now so as to avoid calling attention to those names as I proceed in the lecture .
I will take up the different lines of evidence which modern d scoverics have placed within our reach , and with their w .-sistance end * nvour to trace out the resemblance existing lutvveen the Masonic fraternity of our own times aud the
Mystic fraternities , associations and societies , priestly and otherwise , prior to and contemporary with tho Pharoahs . 1 th . Jl strive to prove to the Brethren that the peculiar i . icans of recognition , the universal language of the Craft ,
by the assistance of which we build and sustain this i ' . insonic structure , and without which it would soon disintegrate , crumble and disappear , were derived from IIKSU emly inhabitants of the valley of the Nile , and that
Ihe olt-repeated axiom iu Freeinasoury , "that it was co-existent with the crea'ion of the world , " will be strengthened and made good when we can go back '' to the remotest periods of conceivable post-diluvian times , when
the I elasgians were yet unborn , tho Greeks , the Persians and , perhaps , the Phoenicians had not been dreamed of , more than fifteen centuries before Troy fell , " and much more than thirteen hundred years before Solomon founded the
Temple of Jerusalem , "till we shall approach the very hour when mankind dwelt together upon tho plains of Shinar , " nges before Abraham lett his native land , Ur of the
Chaldees , to start the movement which was finally to rest upon the sumit of Mount Moriah in the gorgeous and immortal masterpiece of Freemasonry .
And if we can , of which I do not doubt , fiad in this Egyptian history , in this most ancient of profane •¦ coords , corroborative proofs that Masonry lived and iimrished , and was great in the early times when history
had scarce began to write upon her tablets , then wo shall !>; ive still greater cause to be proud of this grand institution , which , though hoary with age , abounds in all its pristine vigour . Of a'l the ancient nations , Egypt is
the one whose history can be traced the furthest back into she beginning of man ' s existence . Aud that the evidence «' . ' iJjyptiau antiquity is the most reliable of all other
ii'Metiriil proofs is duo to the fact that whereas other iiis'ones depend largel y on traditions , translations and retianslatioKH , in which the imagination , feelings , prejudices , limbec , ignorance of the events , have so changed and
d ..-tortt ; d the original facts that they have become totall y nnieluible ; in Egypt we have the original records , the monuments , the stones , the papyrus , upon which in characters now readil y understood are depicted tbe
establishment of her dynasties , the rise and fall of her kings , the battles , the conquests and the conquerors , the days and dates , the months and years , her priests , poets and philosophers , astronomical observations taken almost
when the stars first began to move , important events in the progress of her government and people , and those rt cords marked and carved and sculptured upon imperishable granite at the times of their occurrence by the actors
themselves ; aud now through the work and studies of modern scienti .-ts , those once mysterious and unknown figures , tho ; : e strange and curious hieroglyphics , are as eahil y d * . ciphered , translated and read as a verse of Homer ,
a puge of Aristotle , a problem of Euclid , or a theory of ftewton . 1 am aware that of late much has been spoken and written on these subjects . Brethren have delivered learned and interesting addresses on the mythology of the
ancient Egyptians , the mystic meaning of the numerous figures we see around us , the names of their deities , male and female , how they were worshipped and the peculiar rite * sn far as known of t ' lia Egyptian mysteries ; but 1 atr not cognizant of any 3 erious attempts to connect or to show
Historical Relation Of Freemasonry To Ancient Egypt.
the close association of ancient Mascnry with the men that descended Mount Ararat with Noah , and who afterwards , passing from Asia into Africa along the valley of the Nile , were the progenitors of that extraordinary race who for
many centuries were foremost in art , scioace and civilisation of all existing nations . But to establish and make good the claim of this Fraternity to an antiquity coeval with the creation itself , there must be shown an affinit y
with those early dwellers on the banks of the mighty river , upon whose bosom floated the frail vessel containing the infant Moses , aud in sight of whose yellow waters stand
those stupendous monuments , from whose summits uuknown ages look down upon the degenerate race that now people those famous localities .
We will digress a few moments from the direct line of our discourso and ask your attention to some explanation relating to the manucr in which tho darkness that had so long enveloped Egyp tian history was dissipated , and the key found to open tho door of hieroglyphical knowledge .
For many centuries those singular characters have remained as a sealed book . Volumes bad been written , the learned and scientific of all nations had given time and study , historians had sought for an exit out of the
perplexing labyrinths , but still they groped m vain . When Napoleon landed in Egypt , in 1798 , he had with him a corps of scientific men , for the purpose of studying the architecture , monuments and inscriptions on the tombs of the
country . Upon the return of the expedition there was published , at the expense of the French government , a great work ou Egyptology . It was tbe result of the labour of those French savants , and was the first real progress towards a
true knowledge of the hieroglyphical characters , that had so long baffled science . I believe the Carpenters' Company of Philadelphia has a copy of this great work in their library , and it is probably the only copy in the United
States . But , valuable as was the information contained in those magnificent volumes , still it was only general , and related more to the pyramids , obelisks , sphinxes , drawings
made from tombs , and remains of temples as they lie scattered over the country ; but the meaning of this unique language , the translation of those mystic signs , still remained in obscurity .
In the meantime the scientists of France , Germany and England were busy in examining a broken stone , which fortunate circumstances had brought to light , and which ultimately proved to be the key to the long sought explanation . A French officer of engineers , named
Bouchard , in August 1799 , while engaged in digging the foundations of Fort St . Julieu , on the Nile , near a place called Rosetta , discovered a " block of black basalt , " about three feet long , two feet five inches wide and twelve inches thick .
On the upper face of the Rosetta stone were three separate inscriptions , two in the Egyptian language and the third in the Greek .
The first or uppermost inscription was in hieroglyphics ; the second was iu " enchoral " or " writing of the people of Egypt ; " tho third , in Greek , was a translation of the hieroglyphics , and also of the second , or " writing of the people . "
This invaluable relic was captured by the English , and is now in the British Museum , in London . The discovery of this "broken stone , " mutilated and disfigured as it was , marked a new era in Egyptology . It was the light
breaking forth after a long continuance of storm and darkness . Like the new world , that rose up out of the sea to gladden the weary eyes of Christopher Columbus and bis iucredulous followers , so did this discovery open up the long buried treasures of Egyptian history .
Egyptologists all over tho world at once set to work to decipher the inscriptions . Plaster casks were made and sent to all the scientific institutions , and the learned men
of tho day struggled and fought over this new-found treasure with all the professional ferocity doctors display over a new discovery in anasthetics , or an audacious
operation in surgery . Finally ifc was agreed that the inscription on the stone referred " to the coronation of Epiphanes , which took place at Memphis , iu the mouth of March , 196 years before Christ , " or more than two thousaud years ago .
I wonld like to give tho translation to tho Brethren ; but it would bo going too far from the subject proper of our -I . ' , „ 1 „^ n tki ' n iui-omrn » + Vir >» - ikntmlmm ., „ f 4 . | ,: discourse 1 statehoweverthat the solution of this
. may , , . •vent problem , the dissipation of this Egyptian darkness " that had covered the country for so many centuries