Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00300
teeu or eighteen centuries no man until within our day has been able to translate tho records they bear . By aid of the key which Champollion discovered , tho persistent labour of scholars has afc last uncovered tho contents of these records of the past . Many matters of curious interest to Masonic students aro thus freshly brought to our knowledge .
P ATAU . —It may well surprise any ono how closely tho Masonic art was interwoven with religion in tho time of their early dynasties os Enypfc . As early as 4100 n . c , the leading God in their system ofworship , Fatah , was styled " tho Holy Architect Patah ! " In liko technology nnd allusions tho high priest of tho country Avas called " tho Foreman . " In this connection ifc will not excite any surprise to bo told that
amongst tho trees sacred to this holy Architect of tho Universe Avas reckoned at Memphis tho acacia , nor to learn thafc there Avevo two chief feasts to hira in Memphis , viz .: on tho firsfc of the month Tybi and Mechir . The office of " Foreman , " or High Priest of Patah , was filled often by the princes of royal blood . There was also the office of Architect ,
or Master Mason , which demanded tho highest intelligence , and tho trained , skilful hand , and was tho occupation of the noblest men at the king ' s court . " Pharaoh , architects , tho mur-kot , who Avero often of the number of tho King ' s sons , and grandsons , Avoro held in high honour , and the favour of thoir lord gavo them his own daughters out of the Avomen's house as wives . " 1 Brugsch , 47 .
These architects , yoa Avill soon seo , were not mere palace minions or political functionaries performing thoir duties by deputy , but Avere actual Grand Masters of tho arts and points , tools and sciences of tho Craft , and guardians of its rights and privileges . In the Twelfth Dynasty , about 2100 years B . C ., we meet Avith inscriptions of the reign of Usurtasen I ., describing a Council hold in
tho third year of his reign , about building a new Temple to the Sun , at which tho king orders tho work to proceed ; and tho inscription then describes the solemn laying of the corner stone , undertaken by the king himself . In this reign , Mentu Hotep was the chief Architect to the king . In another connection I shall quote his description of tho duties of
his office , and of his own manual skill in the royal art , in which ho evidently took a commendable pride . CORNER STONES . —The laying of tho corner stone of a new public building appears to have embraced a mystic religious appeal to the Holy Architect of the Universe . The Master Masons AA-ere , liko tho land surveyors , members of the priestly caste in the organization of
the Egyptian social system , and tho King was chief of this caste , as well as of the soldier caste . We shall sec , in folIoAving the quotations , that nofc only Avas he by indirection the head and chief of the masons , but that he Avas personally instructed and taught tho art and mystery of the Masouic craft , both in its practical and scientific departments , and presided at the most mystic of their ceremonials . A parchment
acquired at Thebes in 185 S , and now at Berlin , describes an occasion of this sort . 1 Brugsch ( 131 ) in citing it says : " Then ensues , now undertaken by the King himself ( Usnr-tason I . ) , fche solemn laying of fche foundation . " Again , in the reign of that Egyptian hero , Thutmes III . ( p 379 ) , an inscription says : " The King with his own hand conducted tho
solemn festival of the laying of the foundation stone for this monument . " P . 410 , Atnenhotep II . son of Thutmes III ., beautiful and enlarged a temple . " Then the King carried out the festival of the laying of the foundation stone to the honour of all his fathers , when he dedicated it a massive tower gate of hard stone . " In Vol . II . p 37 , Ramses
Miamun , in another inscription , says : " I gavo orders for the building ; I myself laid their foundation stone to build the Avork . " Ramses II . was croAvned with his father at an early age ( 12 years ) . His progress in public employments is thus spoken of : " When thou wast a youth and counted ten full years , all buildings proceeded from thy hands , and tho laying of their foundation stones Avas
performed . " That this ceremony was mystical , and that tho art instruction of the King was practical , will appear by an inscription of Mentu Hotep , chief architect of Usur-tasen I . ( 1 Brugsch , p 140 ) , who also describes himself as a legislator and a judge . Ho distinguishes the
duties of his various stations : — " As chief architect of the King , he promoted the Avors ' aip of the Gods , and instructed tho inhabitants of the country , ' as God orders to be done , ' " Vol . I p 378-9 . Speaking of Thutmes III ., " the King bid more than all his predecessors from the beginning , aud had proved himsely a complete master of tho hol y sciences . "
There is an inscription of this last King on the Temple of Amon Ra . The date , according to 1 Brugsch , is 1600 B . C ., which is about six centuries before King Solomon—which throws strong li ght on the ceremonial of the corner stone . I will observe that , as we understand it , Amon Ra , in ono of his types , was the Sun God , tho centre of tho then popular worship .
Tho King Avas assumed to be his son , either in a spiritnal or practical sense ; and " tho divine one " who attends and participates with the King on this act of piety is Amon Ra , himself invisible , though a real presence . The inscription has not been preserved entire ; there are places where the accidents in 3600 years of exposure to tho elements have
obliterated parts of the writing . I shall cite thoso parts which illustrate my subject . 1 Brugsch 384—The King says , " I gave tho order to prepare the cord and pegs , for the laying of tho foundation stones in my presence . Tho advent of the day of tho new moon was fixed for tho festival of the laying of the foundation stone of this memorial . "
After a few now obliterated paragraphs tho inscription proceeds " The God Amnion went thither to celebrate his beatitifnl festivalhe drew near—tho cord and pegs wero ready , then his holiness placed me before him , towards the memorial . And I hegau—then the holiness of this God went further , and the beautiful feast Avaa celebrated fco my lord .
Ar00301
lueti I came forward , yes T , to compline the business of tho laying of tho foundation stone , because , . . . . [ here occur .- ; aiiot ' ic ¦• obliteration ] .... He went out , and the work of tho first stroke of tho ham . mor for too laying of tho foundation stone was to be performed . Thou the holiness of this divine one irislted himself t >> give thc / rst stroke of the hummer .... [ here another lacuna occurs ] ....
" Thero Avas laid in tho foundation stone a document with all the names of the great circle of the ( iods of Thebes , the gods and goddesses , .... and all men rejoiced , "—hero the stone and the inscription break off . This inscription was found by Mnriotto Bey on tho N . W . side of tho Holy of Holies of tho Templo of Karuak , where it is still to bo
seen . Notwithstanding tho vast difference between tho religion of thafc timo and of this , the Mason , Avho as member of tho Grand Lodgo has participated in tho duties of dedication , must feel thafc ho is on familiar ground in reading theso descriptions of tho proceedings of the Craft thirty-six centuries ago .
Doos nofc also the conviction groAV upon him that tho mysticism which Avas attached to tho Craft then is not Avithout its parallel in the Craffc now ? Will ho nofc also bo struck with tho fact that thero was a spccnlativ 3 side to tho Craft afc that time Avhich finds a noble expression in tho spirit of tho duties of Mentu Hotep , tho Chief Architect , to promote the Avorship of God , tho Supremo Architect of
tho Universe , to teach tho Craft Avisdom , and to protect tho poor ? As I have moro to say about Masonry in Egypt later on , I shall resume tho consideration of Corner Stones iu Assyria . Since tho fall of Babylon and Ninoveli , centuries before tho Christian Era , a midnight darkness hung over tho knowledge of their arts , until tho excavatiana of Botta , anil Layard , and Smith exhumed thoir
buried relics , and the researches of Rawlinson and Lonormaut , Smith and others , translated tho language of their public inscriptions and their public and private writing on cylinders . There also , as far back as sixteen or seventeen centuries before the Christian Era , tho masonio art flourished , temples and palaces of stone , Avith carved inscriptions and pictorial descriptions on tho panels of alabaster or marble , indicated that tho Freemason Avas at work hero .
I will remark that in Egypt aud here , tho Masonic Art to which I refer is tho art of tho stouo cutter and stono mason , in tho construction and ornament of stono buildings . Tho mere working in clay , tho nnburnfc or tho burnt bricks and tho moro quarry AVOrking Avero performed in Egypt by prisoners , captives , and slaves under tho cruel vigilance of skilled overseers . Our Craft , held the lofty position duo to its art , science , skill and epitomized knoAvledgo of Geometry , Mechanics aud Mathematics .
Contrast tho Hebrew suffering m tlio plains by On in tho claypits , Avith what the records disclose of tho high social relations of tho stoneworkers ; tho cherished distinctions of the ono , Avith tho groaning tyranny which drove tho other class into tho desert as fugitives ; aud the difference will at once bo manifest . ( To be continued . )
Reviews
REVIEWS
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , "W . C . St . John's Lodge , No . 221 , Bolton . A Short ; History and Extracts from the old Minute Books , together with a list of Members , with
the date of their respective initiation or joining tho Lodge , and other information connected with tho Masonic Fraternity . Compiled by Bro . G . P . Brockbank , Treasnrer and Senior Past Master , P . Prov . Grand S . Deacon East Lancashire , Avith a short Introductory Notice by Bro . W . J . Hughan , Past Grand Deacon of England . 1880 . Bro . Morris , Printer , Oxford Street , Bolton .
( Continued from page 374 . ) Book 2 contains tho rules , eighteen in number , for tho government of the Lodgo . Under tho first , Avhich fixes tho day and place of meeting , each member is to pay ono shilling , half to be spent and half to the " fund Tylor , " and " Candles to bo paid out of tho same . " On St . John ' s day , however , the payment by rule 2 is fixed at Three
shillings and sixpence , and even Brethren "Absent on that day Shall pay tho same , Except Sickness or Confinement . " It is next provided that brethren shall not be chosen " by Sonority " to any office in tho Lodge , except they merit it , and that ( rule 4 ) each ono " Shall appear Clean and as Decent as le can , with an Apron , such as is Avorn by Antient Masons . Likewise that Every subscribing Brother shall
wear in his Breast that Mark of distinction that is AA'orn by Antient Masons on the Regular Meeting Nights . " Cursing , and Slewing , and using " unbecoming Language in Diragation of God's name intendedly , " or aggravating a fellow-member so as to disturb the harmony of the Lodge " whilst engaged in thafc most Serious and Solimm" is punishable by a fino of sixpence . Any ono
appearing "Disguised in Liquor is mulct , for tho first offence , "in the sum of sixpence , and for subsequent offences a shilling , to go to the fund For tho Relief of Indegent Brethren . " It does not seem to havo occurred to tho framers of these rules that a bibulous brother who came "Disguised in Liquor" might plead that ho did so , not for the gratification of his appetite , but in order to increase " the fund For the Relief of Indegent Brethren , " and thero aro doubtless many
who would havo regarded this plea as an extenuating circumstance . At least such a . view is justified by later experience , as in the case of the great teetotal advocate Avho attended a great temperance demonstration " Disguised in Liquor , " and explained that he did so solely for tho purpose of giving a practical illustration , of the evil effects of intoxication . Absence Avithout assigning a proper reason rendered the offender
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00300
teeu or eighteen centuries no man until within our day has been able to translate tho records they bear . By aid of the key which Champollion discovered , tho persistent labour of scholars has afc last uncovered tho contents of these records of the past . Many matters of curious interest to Masonic students aro thus freshly brought to our knowledge .
P ATAU . —It may well surprise any ono how closely tho Masonic art was interwoven with religion in tho time of their early dynasties os Enypfc . As early as 4100 n . c , the leading God in their system ofworship , Fatah , was styled " tho Holy Architect Patah ! " In liko technology nnd allusions tho high priest of tho country Avas called " tho Foreman . " In this connection ifc will not excite any surprise to bo told that
amongst tho trees sacred to this holy Architect of tho Universe Avas reckoned at Memphis tho acacia , nor to learn thafc there Avevo two chief feasts to hira in Memphis , viz .: on tho firsfc of the month Tybi and Mechir . The office of " Foreman , " or High Priest of Patah , was filled often by the princes of royal blood . There was also the office of Architect ,
or Master Mason , which demanded tho highest intelligence , and tho trained , skilful hand , and was tho occupation of the noblest men at the king ' s court . " Pharaoh , architects , tho mur-kot , who Avero often of the number of tho King ' s sons , and grandsons , Avoro held in high honour , and the favour of thoir lord gavo them his own daughters out of the Avomen's house as wives . " 1 Brugsch , 47 .
These architects , yoa Avill soon seo , were not mere palace minions or political functionaries performing thoir duties by deputy , but Avere actual Grand Masters of tho arts and points , tools and sciences of tho Craft , and guardians of its rights and privileges . In the Twelfth Dynasty , about 2100 years B . C ., we meet Avith inscriptions of the reign of Usurtasen I ., describing a Council hold in
tho third year of his reign , about building a new Temple to the Sun , at which tho king orders tho work to proceed ; and tho inscription then describes the solemn laying of the corner stone , undertaken by the king himself . In this reign , Mentu Hotep was the chief Architect to the king . In another connection I shall quote his description of tho duties of
his office , and of his own manual skill in the royal art , in which ho evidently took a commendable pride . CORNER STONES . —The laying of tho corner stone of a new public building appears to have embraced a mystic religious appeal to the Holy Architect of the Universe . The Master Masons AA-ere , liko tho land surveyors , members of the priestly caste in the organization of
the Egyptian social system , and tho King was chief of this caste , as well as of the soldier caste . We shall sec , in folIoAving the quotations , that nofc only Avas he by indirection the head and chief of the masons , but that he Avas personally instructed and taught tho art and mystery of the Masouic craft , both in its practical and scientific departments , and presided at the most mystic of their ceremonials . A parchment
acquired at Thebes in 185 S , and now at Berlin , describes an occasion of this sort . 1 Brugsch ( 131 ) in citing it says : " Then ensues , now undertaken by the King himself ( Usnr-tason I . ) , fche solemn laying of fche foundation . " Again , in the reign of that Egyptian hero , Thutmes III . ( p 379 ) , an inscription says : " The King with his own hand conducted tho
solemn festival of the laying of the foundation stone for this monument . " P . 410 , Atnenhotep II . son of Thutmes III ., beautiful and enlarged a temple . " Then the King carried out the festival of the laying of the foundation stone to the honour of all his fathers , when he dedicated it a massive tower gate of hard stone . " In Vol . II . p 37 , Ramses
Miamun , in another inscription , says : " I gavo orders for the building ; I myself laid their foundation stone to build the Avork . " Ramses II . was croAvned with his father at an early age ( 12 years ) . His progress in public employments is thus spoken of : " When thou wast a youth and counted ten full years , all buildings proceeded from thy hands , and tho laying of their foundation stones Avas
performed . " That this ceremony was mystical , and that tho art instruction of the King was practical , will appear by an inscription of Mentu Hotep , chief architect of Usur-tasen I . ( 1 Brugsch , p 140 ) , who also describes himself as a legislator and a judge . Ho distinguishes the
duties of his various stations : — " As chief architect of the King , he promoted the Avors ' aip of the Gods , and instructed tho inhabitants of the country , ' as God orders to be done , ' " Vol . I p 378-9 . Speaking of Thutmes III ., " the King bid more than all his predecessors from the beginning , aud had proved himsely a complete master of tho hol y sciences . "
There is an inscription of this last King on the Temple of Amon Ra . The date , according to 1 Brugsch , is 1600 B . C ., which is about six centuries before King Solomon—which throws strong li ght on the ceremonial of the corner stone . I will observe that , as we understand it , Amon Ra , in ono of his types , was the Sun God , tho centre of tho then popular worship .
Tho King Avas assumed to be his son , either in a spiritnal or practical sense ; and " tho divine one " who attends and participates with the King on this act of piety is Amon Ra , himself invisible , though a real presence . The inscription has not been preserved entire ; there are places where the accidents in 3600 years of exposure to tho elements have
obliterated parts of the writing . I shall cite thoso parts which illustrate my subject . 1 Brugsch 384—The King says , " I gave tho order to prepare the cord and pegs , for the laying of tho foundation stones in my presence . Tho advent of the day of tho new moon was fixed for tho festival of the laying of the foundation stone of this memorial . "
After a few now obliterated paragraphs tho inscription proceeds " The God Amnion went thither to celebrate his beatitifnl festivalhe drew near—tho cord and pegs wero ready , then his holiness placed me before him , towards the memorial . And I hegau—then the holiness of this God went further , and the beautiful feast Avaa celebrated fco my lord .
Ar00301
lueti I came forward , yes T , to compline the business of tho laying of tho foundation stone , because , . . . . [ here occur .- ; aiiot ' ic ¦• obliteration ] .... He went out , and the work of tho first stroke of tho ham . mor for too laying of tho foundation stone was to be performed . Thou the holiness of this divine one irislted himself t >> give thc / rst stroke of the hummer .... [ here another lacuna occurs ] ....
" Thero Avas laid in tho foundation stone a document with all the names of the great circle of the ( iods of Thebes , the gods and goddesses , .... and all men rejoiced , "—hero the stone and the inscription break off . This inscription was found by Mnriotto Bey on tho N . W . side of tho Holy of Holies of tho Templo of Karuak , where it is still to bo
seen . Notwithstanding tho vast difference between tho religion of thafc timo and of this , the Mason , Avho as member of tho Grand Lodgo has participated in tho duties of dedication , must feel thafc ho is on familiar ground in reading theso descriptions of tho proceedings of the Craft thirty-six centuries ago .
Doos nofc also the conviction groAV upon him that tho mysticism which Avas attached to tho Craft then is not Avithout its parallel in the Craffc now ? Will ho nofc also bo struck with tho fact that thero was a spccnlativ 3 side to tho Craft afc that time Avhich finds a noble expression in tho spirit of tho duties of Mentu Hotep , tho Chief Architect , to promote the Avorship of God , tho Supremo Architect of
tho Universe , to teach tho Craft Avisdom , and to protect tho poor ? As I have moro to say about Masonry in Egypt later on , I shall resume tho consideration of Corner Stones iu Assyria . Since tho fall of Babylon and Ninoveli , centuries before tho Christian Era , a midnight darkness hung over tho knowledge of their arts , until tho excavatiana of Botta , anil Layard , and Smith exhumed thoir
buried relics , and the researches of Rawlinson and Lonormaut , Smith and others , translated tho language of their public inscriptions and their public and private writing on cylinders . There also , as far back as sixteen or seventeen centuries before the Christian Era , tho masonio art flourished , temples and palaces of stone , Avith carved inscriptions and pictorial descriptions on tho panels of alabaster or marble , indicated that tho Freemason Avas at work hero .
I will remark that in Egypt aud here , tho Masonic Art to which I refer is tho art of tho stouo cutter and stono mason , in tho construction and ornament of stono buildings . Tho mere working in clay , tho nnburnfc or tho burnt bricks and tho moro quarry AVOrking Avero performed in Egypt by prisoners , captives , and slaves under tho cruel vigilance of skilled overseers . Our Craft , held the lofty position duo to its art , science , skill and epitomized knoAvledgo of Geometry , Mechanics aud Mathematics .
Contrast tho Hebrew suffering m tlio plains by On in tho claypits , Avith what the records disclose of tho high social relations of tho stoneworkers ; tho cherished distinctions of the ono , Avith tho groaning tyranny which drove tho other class into tho desert as fugitives ; aud the difference will at once bo manifest . ( To be continued . )
Reviews
REVIEWS
All Books intended for Review should be addressed to the Editor of The Freemason ' s Chronicle , 23 Great Queen Street , "W . C . St . John's Lodge , No . 221 , Bolton . A Short ; History and Extracts from the old Minute Books , together with a list of Members , with
the date of their respective initiation or joining tho Lodge , and other information connected with tho Masonic Fraternity . Compiled by Bro . G . P . Brockbank , Treasnrer and Senior Past Master , P . Prov . Grand S . Deacon East Lancashire , Avith a short Introductory Notice by Bro . W . J . Hughan , Past Grand Deacon of England . 1880 . Bro . Morris , Printer , Oxford Street , Bolton .
( Continued from page 374 . ) Book 2 contains tho rules , eighteen in number , for tho government of the Lodgo . Under tho first , Avhich fixes tho day and place of meeting , each member is to pay ono shilling , half to be spent and half to the " fund Tylor , " and " Candles to bo paid out of tho same . " On St . John ' s day , however , the payment by rule 2 is fixed at Three
shillings and sixpence , and even Brethren "Absent on that day Shall pay tho same , Except Sickness or Confinement . " It is next provided that brethren shall not be chosen " by Sonority " to any office in tho Lodge , except they merit it , and that ( rule 4 ) each ono " Shall appear Clean and as Decent as le can , with an Apron , such as is Avorn by Antient Masons . Likewise that Every subscribing Brother shall
wear in his Breast that Mark of distinction that is AA'orn by Antient Masons on the Regular Meeting Nights . " Cursing , and Slewing , and using " unbecoming Language in Diragation of God's name intendedly , " or aggravating a fellow-member so as to disturb the harmony of the Lodge " whilst engaged in thafc most Serious and Solimm" is punishable by a fino of sixpence . Any ono
appearing "Disguised in Liquor is mulct , for tho first offence , "in the sum of sixpence , and for subsequent offences a shilling , to go to the fund For tho Relief of Indegent Brethren . " It does not seem to havo occurred to tho framers of these rules that a bibulous brother who came "Disguised in Liquor" might plead that ho did so , not for the gratification of his appetite , but in order to increase " the fund For the Relief of Indegent Brethren , " and thero aro doubtless many
who would havo regarded this plea as an extenuating circumstance . At least such a . view is justified by later experience , as in the case of the great teetotal advocate Avho attended a great temperance demonstration " Disguised in Liquor , " and explained that he did so solely for tho purpose of giving a practical illustration , of the evil effects of intoxication . Absence Avithout assigning a proper reason rendered the offender