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Article THE ANACALYPSIS OF GODFREY HIGGINS. Page 1 of 3 Article THE ANACALYPSIS OF GODFREY HIGGINS. Page 1 of 3 →
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The Anacalypsis Of Godfrey Higgins.
THE ANACALYPSIS OF GODFREY HIGGINS .
IN the November and December numbers of tne Voice of Masonry is a very elaborate review , by Bro . Hughan , of the late Godfrey Higgins ' s " Anacalypsis , an attempt to draw aside the Veil of the Saitic Isis , or an Enquiry into the origin of Languages , Nations and Religions . " This
work was published by Messrs . Longmans and Co . in 1836 , but as only two hundred copies were printed , it has already become very scarce , and when a chance copy is on sale the price demanded is considerably beyond the means of the ordinary student . Thus Bro . Hughan has rightly judged
that a sketch of those portions of it which relate to Freemasonry will be heartily welcomed by the Craft , and , accordingly , we have thought it desirable to give a digest of the two valuable papers he recently contributed to our American Masonic contemporary .
Bro . Hughan begins by noting the learned and abstruse character of the work , and considers this a reason why it is so little known among Masonic students . He then offers a few remarks on the preface , which was written by the
author himself , and in which he explains how he was led to inquire into the subject , and the time he devoted to its study . He then passes at once to Freemasonry , and quotes Bro . Higgins ' s opinion of it to the effect that " the designed effect ot' all Masonic initiation is to render a man more
virtuous—consequently , more happy . A perfect Mason , if such a thing could be , must be a perfect Buddhist , a perfect Jew , a perfect Christian , and a perfect Mohammedan . " Bro . Hughan expresses his perfect agreement with this definition of Freemasonry , and adds : —
" Whilst Freemasonry is unsectarian , its oldest charge under the modern system , forcibly acknowledges the foregoing by declaring that tho fraternity should seek , by the purity of their ovm lives , to demonstrate the superiority of the religion they may profess . " Also .
that a " Mason is particularly bound never to act against the dictates of his conscience . " Were all craftsmen actuated by such motives , we need not fear any opposition to our society from without ; for so long as we are pure within , no other danger can permanently affect us . "
We are then presented with the following interesting extract : — " On the ruins of Mundoro , may be seen various mystic emblems , as the quatre-feuille , the cross , the mystic triangle , the triangle within a triangle , & c . Col . Tod says , ' Among ancient coins and
medals excavated from the ruins of Oojein , and other ancient cities , I possess a perfect series with all the symbolic emblems of the twenty-four Apostles . The compound equilateral triangle is among them ; perhaps there were Masons in those days among the Pali ( i . e ., the Philistines of the Indian Gaza , and of Gaza , a few miles from
Solomon ' s Temple in Western Syria . ) So , my good friend , Col . Tod , you are surprised that there should be Masonic emblems upon the rains of Mundore . . . . But though this may surprise you , it will not surprise his Koyal Highness the Dnke of Sussex , or any Mason of
high degree . But the author is himself a Mason , and that of high degree . He may say no more . Yet ho will venture to add that , though much of the learning of that ancient Order remains , much is lost , and much may yet be recovered . But it is not every Apprentice or Fellow Craft who knows all the secrets of the Order . "
Bro . Higgins , -we are told , was a Boyal Arch Mason , and as he did not penetrate beyond , evidentl y he regards that rank as one of high degree . Then follow two more extracts , both bearing on the subject of Masonry , the first reads thus : —
" Brother Mason , what do you know of Solomon ' s Temple ? Here are the word Almug in Synastrene , and the Masonic emblems in Mundore— the town of Cycles , or Cyclopes , Be assured ihe wood
The Anacalypsis Of Godfrey Higgins.
was carved for certain sacred parts of the building , and by Free * masons , too . Probably , all the fourteen Temples of Solomon , of which we read , were partly constructed of this sacred wood , and by Freemasons . " The second is : — " When I wrote the CELTIC DRUIDS , I was not a Mason . It is no
secret ( i . e ., tho Mystic Temple ) , and , as Col . Tod has observed , ia found with other Masonic emblems ; or , probably , the oldest building iu the world , the Cyclopean walla of Muadore . Did Masonry arise during the building of these walls ?**** # Why do the
priest-led monarchs of the continent persecute Masonry ? Is it because they are not entrusted with its secrets ; or , because their priests cannot make it subservient to their base purposes ? All these questions I may ask , gentle reader ; but all I may not answer . "
As regards the question of secrecy , Bro . Higgins , in Bro . Hughan ' s opinion , " ably proves the esoteric character ( as also , of course , exoteric ceremonies for the public ) of all ancient religions , Bro . Higgins declaring that : — " The heads of the church must now see very clearly , if
they were to confess what cannot be denied , that ( if the most learned and respectable fathers of the church are to be believed ) Christianity contained a secret religion , that the populace would not consent to be kept in the dark ,
But whether the secret doctrine be lost or not , it is a fact that it was the faith of the first Christian fathers , admitted by themselves , that there was such a secret doctrine , and before I have done , I will prove it clearly enough . "
Every religion that has any ancient tradition or history at all is examined into in the Anacalypsis , but Bro . Hughan very properly omits , as inadmissible into the pages of a Masonic Magazine , any lengthened notice of this portion of the inquiry . Otherwise , there arc , he thinks , many
objections that might be raised against the views expressed by Bro . Higgins , though , at the same time , he acknowledges " there are hidden springs of wisdom in this singular work which -would be wholly unobserved by the casual reader , but which are most suggestive to the reflective Masonic student . "
Passing to the history of the Knights Templars , Bro . Hughan thinks it impossible to decide now , how far these were connected with the operative Masonic societies of the time , as " we literally know nothing of the craftsmen at the period when the Warlike Knights were in the
ascendancy , and certainly after the persecution of the latter , we have not apparently any evidence that their secret ceremonies were preserved by the Freemasons . " He then quotes the following opinions , by Bro . Higgins , as to the character of the Templars : —
In the persecutions of the Knights Templars , which are known to everybody , a . certain mystification and secrecy may be observed , as if the whole of the charges against them were not brought publicly out . This arose from
various causes . The persecuted were really very religious , and were bound by the most solemn Masonic oaths ( and Masonry was intimately connected with these matters ) not to divulge the secrets of the Order . This caused them to
recant at the stake , when all hope had fled , what they had confessed when on the wheel ; and by this means they endeavoured to make amends for the secrets betrayed , and the oaths involuntarily broken on the rack .
Bro . Higgms , we are told , " considers also , that if the secret mysteries of the Christian religion were told by any traitor , so many false stories were told along with the true ones , that their secrecy is by this means most effectuall y secured—probably like those of the Freemasons . "
Tho cause of the Crusades , in Bro . Higgins ' s opinion , was " the expectation of the Millennium , the desire to be present at Jerusalem at the grand day when the Son of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Anacalypsis Of Godfrey Higgins.
THE ANACALYPSIS OF GODFREY HIGGINS .
IN the November and December numbers of tne Voice of Masonry is a very elaborate review , by Bro . Hughan , of the late Godfrey Higgins ' s " Anacalypsis , an attempt to draw aside the Veil of the Saitic Isis , or an Enquiry into the origin of Languages , Nations and Religions . " This
work was published by Messrs . Longmans and Co . in 1836 , but as only two hundred copies were printed , it has already become very scarce , and when a chance copy is on sale the price demanded is considerably beyond the means of the ordinary student . Thus Bro . Hughan has rightly judged
that a sketch of those portions of it which relate to Freemasonry will be heartily welcomed by the Craft , and , accordingly , we have thought it desirable to give a digest of the two valuable papers he recently contributed to our American Masonic contemporary .
Bro . Hughan begins by noting the learned and abstruse character of the work , and considers this a reason why it is so little known among Masonic students . He then offers a few remarks on the preface , which was written by the
author himself , and in which he explains how he was led to inquire into the subject , and the time he devoted to its study . He then passes at once to Freemasonry , and quotes Bro . Higgins ' s opinion of it to the effect that " the designed effect ot' all Masonic initiation is to render a man more
virtuous—consequently , more happy . A perfect Mason , if such a thing could be , must be a perfect Buddhist , a perfect Jew , a perfect Christian , and a perfect Mohammedan . " Bro . Hughan expresses his perfect agreement with this definition of Freemasonry , and adds : —
" Whilst Freemasonry is unsectarian , its oldest charge under the modern system , forcibly acknowledges the foregoing by declaring that tho fraternity should seek , by the purity of their ovm lives , to demonstrate the superiority of the religion they may profess . " Also .
that a " Mason is particularly bound never to act against the dictates of his conscience . " Were all craftsmen actuated by such motives , we need not fear any opposition to our society from without ; for so long as we are pure within , no other danger can permanently affect us . "
We are then presented with the following interesting extract : — " On the ruins of Mundoro , may be seen various mystic emblems , as the quatre-feuille , the cross , the mystic triangle , the triangle within a triangle , & c . Col . Tod says , ' Among ancient coins and
medals excavated from the ruins of Oojein , and other ancient cities , I possess a perfect series with all the symbolic emblems of the twenty-four Apostles . The compound equilateral triangle is among them ; perhaps there were Masons in those days among the Pali ( i . e ., the Philistines of the Indian Gaza , and of Gaza , a few miles from
Solomon ' s Temple in Western Syria . ) So , my good friend , Col . Tod , you are surprised that there should be Masonic emblems upon the rains of Mundore . . . . But though this may surprise you , it will not surprise his Koyal Highness the Dnke of Sussex , or any Mason of
high degree . But the author is himself a Mason , and that of high degree . He may say no more . Yet ho will venture to add that , though much of the learning of that ancient Order remains , much is lost , and much may yet be recovered . But it is not every Apprentice or Fellow Craft who knows all the secrets of the Order . "
Bro . Higgins , -we are told , was a Boyal Arch Mason , and as he did not penetrate beyond , evidentl y he regards that rank as one of high degree . Then follow two more extracts , both bearing on the subject of Masonry , the first reads thus : —
" Brother Mason , what do you know of Solomon ' s Temple ? Here are the word Almug in Synastrene , and the Masonic emblems in Mundore— the town of Cycles , or Cyclopes , Be assured ihe wood
The Anacalypsis Of Godfrey Higgins.
was carved for certain sacred parts of the building , and by Free * masons , too . Probably , all the fourteen Temples of Solomon , of which we read , were partly constructed of this sacred wood , and by Freemasons . " The second is : — " When I wrote the CELTIC DRUIDS , I was not a Mason . It is no
secret ( i . e ., tho Mystic Temple ) , and , as Col . Tod has observed , ia found with other Masonic emblems ; or , probably , the oldest building iu the world , the Cyclopean walla of Muadore . Did Masonry arise during the building of these walls ?**** # Why do the
priest-led monarchs of the continent persecute Masonry ? Is it because they are not entrusted with its secrets ; or , because their priests cannot make it subservient to their base purposes ? All these questions I may ask , gentle reader ; but all I may not answer . "
As regards the question of secrecy , Bro . Higgins , in Bro . Hughan ' s opinion , " ably proves the esoteric character ( as also , of course , exoteric ceremonies for the public ) of all ancient religions , Bro . Higgins declaring that : — " The heads of the church must now see very clearly , if
they were to confess what cannot be denied , that ( if the most learned and respectable fathers of the church are to be believed ) Christianity contained a secret religion , that the populace would not consent to be kept in the dark ,
But whether the secret doctrine be lost or not , it is a fact that it was the faith of the first Christian fathers , admitted by themselves , that there was such a secret doctrine , and before I have done , I will prove it clearly enough . "
Every religion that has any ancient tradition or history at all is examined into in the Anacalypsis , but Bro . Hughan very properly omits , as inadmissible into the pages of a Masonic Magazine , any lengthened notice of this portion of the inquiry . Otherwise , there arc , he thinks , many
objections that might be raised against the views expressed by Bro . Higgins , though , at the same time , he acknowledges " there are hidden springs of wisdom in this singular work which -would be wholly unobserved by the casual reader , but which are most suggestive to the reflective Masonic student . "
Passing to the history of the Knights Templars , Bro . Hughan thinks it impossible to decide now , how far these were connected with the operative Masonic societies of the time , as " we literally know nothing of the craftsmen at the period when the Warlike Knights were in the
ascendancy , and certainly after the persecution of the latter , we have not apparently any evidence that their secret ceremonies were preserved by the Freemasons . " He then quotes the following opinions , by Bro . Higgins , as to the character of the Templars : —
In the persecutions of the Knights Templars , which are known to everybody , a . certain mystification and secrecy may be observed , as if the whole of the charges against them were not brought publicly out . This arose from
various causes . The persecuted were really very religious , and were bound by the most solemn Masonic oaths ( and Masonry was intimately connected with these matters ) not to divulge the secrets of the Order . This caused them to
recant at the stake , when all hope had fled , what they had confessed when on the wheel ; and by this means they endeavoured to make amends for the secrets betrayed , and the oaths involuntarily broken on the rack .
Bro . Higgms , we are told , " considers also , that if the secret mysteries of the Christian religion were told by any traitor , so many false stories were told along with the true ones , that their secrecy is by this means most effectuall y secured—probably like those of the Freemasons . "
Tho cause of the Crusades , in Bro . Higgins ' s opinion , was " the expectation of the Millennium , the desire to be present at Jerusalem at the grand day when the Son of