Ta Eithta.

It was of bright green , and charged with a golden eagle ; a component part of the cherubim , denoting wisdom and sublimity ; which emblem was afterwards adopted as the insignia of Egypt , of Rome , France , Prussia , Russia , and other European nations , and I think we have heard of one or two in America . There is no doubt that this device wa 3 the proper and appropriate decoration of tho standard of the 4 th

grand division . The word Dan signifies judging , Dan shall jndge his people ; " but whether it was tho special banner of Dan admits of some dispute . Universal history ( from Reyherns ) attributes to Dan a banner with an eagle bearing a serpent in his talons . Somoof the Rabbins g ive Dan a serpent only— " Dan shall be a serpent in the way . " The tribe of Dan were remarkable for defeating their enemies by policy

rather than by force . of which there are many instances in the Bible , and some give Dau a serpent only as emblematical of their way . A serpent accursed of God . Do Loutherbonrg gives Dan a serpent only in his Banners of the Tribes . And so it is depioted on tho title page of Barker's Bible , which , I mentioned before , is nearly two centuries and a half old ( 1634 ) . The prophet Ezekiel indicates an eagle ( hut

people ignore the prophets in these latter days ) . The Rev . David Jodd thinks that Dan ' s standard was a lion ' s whelp , " Dan is a lion ' s whelp , " " ho shall leap from Bashan . " And tho learned Rabbi ( who firmly believes that the Ethiopians are the descendants of Dan ) , noticed in Africa , among the emblems of the tribes , on their breast plates , forehead pieces , instruments of music and banners—a lion ' s

whelp . Others again ( and this angnst Chapter too , apparently ) adopt the device of a serpent , biting the heels of a horse ; because Jacob prophesied " Dan shall be a serpent by the way , " " an adder in the path , " that biteth tho horse ' s heels ; so that the rider " shall fall backward . " I am afraid that this is a forced misappropriation of Holy Writ . The balance of testimony seems to mo to be in favour of

the eagle . As this tribe were the ringleaders of idolatry—tbe first who apostatised from God ( soon after the death of Joshua ) ;—the Romans ( those latitudinarian idolaters ) , who worshipped the gods of all nations , in their teeming Pantheon , at once appropriated the puissant Eagle of Dan , and planted his symbol ( abominable in the sight of God ) on the holy porch of the temple of Jerusalem .

Prince Pagiel unfurled tho purple banner of Asher , which bore a tree or a cup ( according to Barker ' s Bible ) . The banner of the Prince of Ahira of the tribe of Napthali was blue , and designated b y a hind : a hind let loose . The tribe of Asher were frnitfnl and prolific , and inherited a tract in tho Holy Land , which produced the necessaries of life in abundance , also the choicest fruits , viz ., Mount Carmel .

The tribe of Napthali were a spirited and free people , fruitful , and had a prodigious increase ; for , from the four sons of Napthali , whom he took down into Egypt , proceeded upwards of 50 , 000 descendants , when they were emancipated . Their portion was in Upper Galilee . At this late hour I shall only very briefly draw yonr at tention to the mystical symbols and inscriptions of the third illustration ;

prominently showing a magnificent ancient stone archway , the entrance into the sacred mysteries of Masonry , in its greatest and widest acceptation—the Rites of those who are proficients in the Mystical Teaching of True Christianity . The higher the neophyte rises , the greater will be the degree of light which he may hope to obtain . This Picture appears to me to be designed to- set forth ( symbolically

and historically ) some of the aspects presented in tbe higher developments of Masonry ; and especially the close and influential relation of the two Great Orders of The Temple and of St . John , both to Masonry , and to outside Christianity . It cannot be necessary to point out to the advanced Masonic student that even in the Royal Arch there are significant traces of Christianity , pure and simple , in

some of the passwords and symbols ; such as palpably refute those libellous imputations of Infidelity so offensively thrown out against ns by some of the Roman Chemarim . As to such unjust imputations , I shall say no more than this—Ejice foras— " Set . them aside . " They should " all pass by ns as the idle wind , which we regard not . " At the top of all in this Picture , over the Crown , is the sacred word

* IV 2—a Greek word signifying Light ; the apt emblem of Purit y and Life , representing the Beauty , the Power , and the Wisdom of Almighty God . Below it , appropriately resting upon the sceptre and the sword , stands the Imperial ( Cross-surmounted Crown ) with this Latin text—at once words of warning and of encouragement : " Tene quod habes , nt nemo accipiat coronam tuam . "— " Hold fast what you

have , that no man may take your crown . " In the corner of the picture , to the left , is a sealed or locked book ( the S . V . ) , and over it are these letters : Q . E . D . A . L . E . S . S . E . ?—that is ( from Revelations no doubt ) "Quis est dignus aperire librum , et solvere signacnla ejus ? " " Who is worthy to open this Book , and to undo its fastenings , or seals ?" A , pregnant and weighty question , M . E ., E . C , and C ; a covert

rebuke to many rash and ignorant persons—ever ready to meddle with what they can neither understand nor appreciate . Below the S . V . are the words of St . John— " Sed ego flebam mnltnm , "" But I wept much " ( to think the Book should remain sealed ); and that is the humble state of mind which is always sure to be rewarded , for to him ( St . John ) we are told the knowledge of that Sealed Book

was then immediately revealed . The singular position of the Two Great Orders , of the Temple and of St . John—as claimed and exercised according to the ancient theories of Masonry , in that cburchlike system , to which the H . R . A . was , of old , unquestionably the magnificent entrance—is emphatically typified by two antique golden keys crossed ; the Latin text being : "We openand no man shuts :

, We shut , and no man opens . " Below the S . V . are two swords ( the Temple and the O . S . J . ) now broken to pieces ; although once the Great Master of Both might Himself have said—as He did of two other swords when they were shown to Him— " They are enough . " Above these broken swords—significantly portraying the weak ,

disunited , and shattered condition of the two ( once sovereign ) Orders at the present day—is the motto , " Olim fortiores "— " They were stronger once . " And below the broken swords is the record of a regretful cry over such separation and disunion— " Usque quo Domine Dens ?"—0 Lord God , how long ? " On the opposite side , or right hand of the picture , is a curtain drawn : typical of the veiled truths of

Ta Eithta.

Red Masonry . And on this curtain are the letters W . I . D . II . D . S . S . V . — "Was ist , dass hinter diesen Schloier sich verbirgt ? " *— "What is it that lies hid behind the veil ? " Tho answer is glanced at by tho emblem of the Fish upon the curtain , tx ^ us : —Irjo -ouj Xptoros & eov Tios SwTTjp . The designer of the sketch has ( below tho crown already mentioned ) introduced a hand pointing downwards—the hand being , as yon are

aware , an old emblem of tho Deityf—designating these words , iSou a \ Ao ai )) i . tiov— " Behold , another Sign . " What is that sign ? The Great Arch to Masoury broken and in clanger of falling , because two of its great Keystones havo fallen . The safety of the Arch is obvionsly imperilled , and its strength and symmetrical beauty destroyed ; it is , you Avill observe , only kept from tumbling into utter ruin by a clumsy

and nn-Masonic contrivance , or substitute for the two joint K . S . which should properly surmonnt the Royal Arch . The very door can now hardly be kept closed . It has been forced open , and is only kept at all in its place by the Chains of Obligation . The lamentable and unexpected fall of the Glorious O . T . S . has , yon see , brokon up the solid stone door-step to tho Grand Masouic Edifice ; aud lying near

that more palpable fracture is the other dislodged K . S ., representing tho renowned Order of St . John of Jerusalem , resting still , however , as it lias fallen , npon the Infeel—the Gospel of the New Testament . On the K . S . of tho Temple is a mark known to the Initiated ; aud on the K . S . of St . John is tbe gracious Word JOHN in Arabic—tho language of learning and science in the Ages of Darkness , now happily

passed away . Bear with me , M . E ., E . C , and C , for a very little longer , and I have done . At the base of the Picture , below the Mystic Archway , is a text by which the designer has ( as I conceive ) earnestly bnt indirectly declared his strong conviction of the desirability of raising once more tho two K . S . to their original position of utility and importanco ; providing so that every portion of the edifice may stand firm ; compactly fitted , and joined together in knowledge ,

strength , and love—in fine , that the whole system of Masonry may be re-established upon its ancient basis . For the Temple and its Great Sister Order of Jerusalem were ( as every Student of History and of Masonry knows ) closely and inseparably connected with Saint John . This text at the basement is in Arabic , and it presents to ns the fifth and sixth verses of the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel " And the Light shineth in Darkness , and the Darkness comprehended it not . There was a man sent from God whose name was JOHN . "

The last text I have to mention will be found in the centre of the Picture , below the rnde wooden beam , clumsily supporting the Broken Arch . It is ( as you will observe ) in Greek . It runs as followsand with it I will end my Lecture : — " And this is the Testimony of the Holy One and the True . "

( A D O N A I ) This Text is in Hebrew , in the ancient characters . [ From " L'Histoire et L'Origine de la Maconnerie en Angleterre , Ac ]