-
Articles/Ads
Article LIGHT OF AGES. Page 1 of 2 Article LIGHT OF AGES. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Light Of Ages.
LIGHT OF AGES .
ANCIENT SCIENCE AND SYSTEMIC RELIGIONS . FROM THE VOICE OP MASONRY .
( Continued from page 149 . ) PART II . —SYMBOLISM OF MASONRY . THE aymbolio terms and vnshmmenis of Masonry refer to philosophic spiritual , moral and religious truth . Some expressions of both superficial and profound significance may first be presented . The word " mystery" means " seoret thing , " and , in conneotion with forms or ceremonies , it signifies " secret rites . " The word
" Mason " is by some said to come from an old Frenoh word meaning " house , " from which ia derived the name of the " builder of walls . " But this Frenoe word had a predecessor , whioh in Latin means an " enclosure . " Farther : it may yet be traced nntil it is the same as an anoient oriental word for Mason , whioh meant " reasoner , " " learner , " and henoe , " a child of light ; " he who best nses the high
power of thought given him by the " Great Arohitect of the Universe . " In Greek this word is that from whioh we derive the term " mathematician . " The word " Amazon " in ancient story , is very suggestive , as are terms nsed in Homer and those whioh were employed in the Amphictyon . The Jewish word meaning " Maaon " means also "faithful . " "Be ye also faithful , " oven as the Father in
heaven—the God of Light and Truth—13 faithful . In the three classes or degrees of the early Christians , those of the third class were called " faithful . " The feasts of the Sts . John in Masonry are the pre-Christian festivals of the summer and winter solstices . The feasts of the ancient Greek calendar were similar . The cnstom of keeping sacred suoh . times , of
celebrating the birth of the sun , and his glorification in mid-snmmer , has extended , virtually nnohanged , from the Ganges in far India , around the world , as the nations wandered westward , till the celestial empire closed the circuit . The varions links of this chain are clearly seen by him whose eyes have been opened—whose mental vision has been illuminated .
The answer to the question— " whence come yon ? ' refers properly to the two Johns , types of the two preceding suns , whioh have passed the meridian . The " Mason " comes from the light that was ; and now , travelling to the East , he goes toward the coming light of the world , the Saviour , Truth and Right incarnate . Deity , in many and widely separated places and countries , and in
varions systems of religion far apart in time , is said to be " The Mighty One . " He acts by " might and by power . " In the Hindu ton . gae " Bnddha " means " celestial man ; " that is , " the sun . " It also means " to know , " " to understand . " The Sanskrit " Maha-Baddha " means "the great Buddha . " " Moha-Bnddhi " means" the great intelligence of Bnddha ; " that is , " very God . " The existence of
this word possessing suoh a meaning in Sanskrit is very significant , because the language is the oldest known well-established form of speech and writing ( though another yet more ancient is suspected by the scholars . ) Through the Indo-Germanic languages the word " maha , " with its meaning " great , " may be traced in the " megns , " of the Greek ; " magus , " " majestas , " " macte , " " magnus , "of the Latin ;
the " majesta , " of the Spanish ; " mnjesti , " of the French ; " macht , " of the German , and " majesty , " of the English . The transformation of the inffable name of the Sanskrit divinity " Maha-boddhi " into a word well known to the enlightened is very plain to those acquainted with linguistic changes . The word , " Solomon " contains , in each of its three syllables , the
name of the sun-god , in as many different languages , or , with as many different nations and peoples . There is the " Sol " of the Latins , the " Om " of India , the " On " of Egypt . As the letters " 0 . M . " or "A . U . M . " ( which is idem smians ) are thought to be the initials of the names of so many manifestations of the deity of India , may not " G . 0 . D . " be the first letters of three
words long since forgotten , which referred to the three-fold character in which tho Author of All was regarded by meditating man , thousands of years ago ? The same is doubtless true of " I . N . E . I . " The word "Jehovah" is equivalent to " existing being , "— " I am that I am ; "that is , "the strength , " " the essence of life , " "the soul of the world , " " the force of the universe . "
The similarity of the words , Jab , Jehovah , Joshua , Jehu , Joseph , John ( and there are two of this name—one for the winter and one for the summer solstice ) , Jesus , James , Jason , Jove , Jupiter , Juno , Janus and Ajax , is very suggestive to those of some knowledge in the comparative study of languages . " Jupiter " comes from " Zeus " and " pater" and means " All-Father . "
The word " Mary " may be essentially the same as " mare , " " the sea , " and the allegory of the morning sun rising from the sea thus would be interpreted " born of a virgin . " In the representations of ancient Hindu ideas of creation may be seen a mass of surging waters , producing from its bosom living beings—and these of great beauty . In ancient languages the word which we represent by the term
" Hiram " meant " raised np , " " living , " " , " " light . " In the Egyptian tongue it meant also " ox , " which was a symbol of strength , and an ox was the zodiacal sign of the month following the vernal equinox , when the new year came on in spring . " Leo , " or " the lion " was , in the zodiac , the symbol of the greatest power , and the sign of the summer solstice—the high noon of the year—when the sun was strongest , and could send to tho earth its
fervent vertical rays . " From this was drawn the simile of the " lion ' s paw , " which became the type of strength . The " lion " is typical of the Bfcrong , the mighty one , by whoso power is raised to glory the year that was dead , and by whose power the searcher after light , the seeker after truth , is raised to anew life of uprightness and—usefulness—to himself first , and then to all tho world . We are told that the lambskin , as a type , was more ancient than
Light Of Ages.
the Golden Fleece . This name carries our thoughts back to the times far anterior to that when the order of the Golden Fleece was instituted . Is not the story of tho Argosy meroly » free and somewhat poetic presentation of an ancient ritual of tho " lodge f " Tho fam > appeared in tho joyful spriug-timo the youth of the year , and typifies purity aud innocence .
White gloves and many-coloured flowers are sometimes presented to the initiated as typical of the season when the year is yonng . The seed is put into the ground , and there undergoes " putrefaction ; " "it cannot be quickened nnless it die . " Only tho strong snmmer ' s sun , with the powerful " lion ' s paw , " can raise the new plant to full life .
The " sheaf of wheat" symbolizes autumn with its frnitfnlness ; the golden grain hangs by tho stream which separates bounteous harvest from dreary winter . The " woman " or " virgin , " with the " broken column , " the " sprij » of acacia , " and Time behind her with his finger pointing to the heavens—significant of hope—all had boiutifnlly appropriate
explanations in the astronomic allegory of the Egyptians . The branch of acacia then had mystic use similar to that of tho present time . The " obelisk " ia a substitute for the sign of the life-giver , or seed , bearers . The active and the passive principles of nature wore represented by the phallns ( obelisk ) and tho otois , in the ancient systems of worship—as in India—and were held sacred .
Tho " phcenix " is also a symbol of the renewal of life . The same may be said of the sphinx , in India and in Egypt , a wonderful typo of the grand mysteries of nature , in whioh the physical streugth of lower beings is represented in union with the directive force of tho human mind . " Aries " ( sheep ) ia the sign of the vernal equinox ; " capricornus "
( goat ) , is the sign of the winter solstice . From this is drawn tho opposition , in the moral world , of the " sheep " and the " goats . " The " temple , " completed , is figurative of the reign of truth and reason . The word " temple , " comes from the Latin word " tempus , " and this from Greek " temno , " meaning to cut : thus " temple " represents the spaces into whioh the sun , in his apparent progress through
the sky , cuts the celestial circle . Withered flowers and leaves aro the " rubbish " of the " temple ; " that is , of the year . Hiram is also the type of philosophic , moral , religious and political truth . In Spanish lodges , ignorance , falsehood , and unjust ambition are the three vices , or ruffians , against which unceasing warfare is to be made by the " Children of Light . " The chief god of aucient Egypt was
known by tho name of Amman , meaning " hidden , " or " concealed . " He was worshiped in silonce . The words " I hail" are batter understood when traced to their probable origin , a word spelled " hele , " a North European word that means " to conceal . " Tile , " meaning " to put on tiles , " thus signifies " to cover , " " to protect , " " to conceal . " " Freemason" may have been a name given to members of the Order
after the mysteries came under control of architects or buildors . Under Edward III ., of England , "free masons" were those who worked in "free-stone , " in contradistinction to those who worked in other kinds of material . The " crnxansata" is derived from the sign of the sun in Taurus , being the remnant of tho outline of the face of the bull with tho sun between the horns .
As it is written " the Word ( Logos ) was God , " so wbon tho sun-god went down—was lost—the " word " was said to be "lost . " Both were again found at the return of tho snn from night , and from tho darkness of deep winter . The " ninth arch" is the ninth sign of the zodiac , counting from the vernal equinox , when the sun begins to go np to rebuild the
glorious temple of tho new year , whose ornaments should be flowers and fruits . In the Book of tho Law it is written , " Destroy this temple , and in three days I will raise it np . " Compare the expression with the astronomic history of tho year . The English word " lodge" is represented in Frenoh by "loge , " in Spanish by " logia , " and probably is derived from the Greek term " Logos . "
To " work" in lodge is to teach and learn truth , to prepare to practise virtue ; the word " virtus " has its root in a Latin word which means " man , " in the noblest sense of the term . Wages , in the material view , are " corn , wine , and oil ; " that is , the produce of the earth enriched by man ' s labour , but in the higher , the intellectual meaning , to " earn Master's wages" is to earn the right to enjoy those things which truth brings—to become better , more worthy
men . The " Master ' s Word " is the name of him who is the essence of Light , Truth and Eight , by whose aid the mystical dead is raised to a new life . Among the implements of Masonry which have a deep and symbolic meaning besides the one that appears ou the surface , the following
are chosen as illustrations : The " compasses , " describing from a central point the circle—an emblem of eternity—become a symbol of divinity . The " delta " is the first letter of the name of Deity , with the ancient , as its synomym is with many modern nations . It is a type of the Eternal , the AU-Powerfnl , tho Self-Existent . _ Tho material world is typified by the " square , " in form , in opposition to
force , symbolized by the " triangle . " The " square " is also a symbol of humanity , as the " delta , " or " triangle , " typifies Deity . Tho operative " square" is virtually the same as the " square" inform . Inasmuch as the " delta , " the " triangle , " and the " compasses " aro essentially the same , to raise first one point , then the ether , signifies that the divineor higher portion of our nature should increase in
, power and rule over the baser tendencies . This is the real , tho practical "journey towards the East" for men of modern times . The two " triangles , " or " deltas" intertwined , are the ancient symbols for the union of the two principles or forces , active and passive male and female , pervading tho universe . The two triangles
, of black and white , interlaced , typify tho mingling of the two apparent powers , darkness aud light , in nature ; and of error and truth , ignorance and wisdom , evil and good , throughout human life . The " triangle " and the " square " together form the " pyramid "seen in the shape of the apron . In this manner the " pyramid " shows
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Light Of Ages.
LIGHT OF AGES .
ANCIENT SCIENCE AND SYSTEMIC RELIGIONS . FROM THE VOICE OP MASONRY .
( Continued from page 149 . ) PART II . —SYMBOLISM OF MASONRY . THE aymbolio terms and vnshmmenis of Masonry refer to philosophic spiritual , moral and religious truth . Some expressions of both superficial and profound significance may first be presented . The word " mystery" means " seoret thing , " and , in conneotion with forms or ceremonies , it signifies " secret rites . " The word
" Mason " is by some said to come from an old Frenoh word meaning " house , " from which ia derived the name of the " builder of walls . " But this Frenoe word had a predecessor , whioh in Latin means an " enclosure . " Farther : it may yet be traced nntil it is the same as an anoient oriental word for Mason , whioh meant " reasoner , " " learner , " and henoe , " a child of light ; " he who best nses the high
power of thought given him by the " Great Arohitect of the Universe . " In Greek this word is that from whioh we derive the term " mathematician . " The word " Amazon " in ancient story , is very suggestive , as are terms nsed in Homer and those whioh were employed in the Amphictyon . The Jewish word meaning " Maaon " means also "faithful . " "Be ye also faithful , " oven as the Father in
heaven—the God of Light and Truth—13 faithful . In the three classes or degrees of the early Christians , those of the third class were called " faithful . " The feasts of the Sts . John in Masonry are the pre-Christian festivals of the summer and winter solstices . The feasts of the ancient Greek calendar were similar . The cnstom of keeping sacred suoh . times , of
celebrating the birth of the sun , and his glorification in mid-snmmer , has extended , virtually nnohanged , from the Ganges in far India , around the world , as the nations wandered westward , till the celestial empire closed the circuit . The varions links of this chain are clearly seen by him whose eyes have been opened—whose mental vision has been illuminated .
The answer to the question— " whence come yon ? ' refers properly to the two Johns , types of the two preceding suns , whioh have passed the meridian . The " Mason " comes from the light that was ; and now , travelling to the East , he goes toward the coming light of the world , the Saviour , Truth and Right incarnate . Deity , in many and widely separated places and countries , and in
varions systems of religion far apart in time , is said to be " The Mighty One . " He acts by " might and by power . " In the Hindu ton . gae " Bnddha " means " celestial man ; " that is , " the sun . " It also means " to know , " " to understand . " The Sanskrit " Maha-Baddha " means "the great Buddha . " " Moha-Bnddhi " means" the great intelligence of Bnddha ; " that is , " very God . " The existence of
this word possessing suoh a meaning in Sanskrit is very significant , because the language is the oldest known well-established form of speech and writing ( though another yet more ancient is suspected by the scholars . ) Through the Indo-Germanic languages the word " maha , " with its meaning " great , " may be traced in the " megns , " of the Greek ; " magus , " " majestas , " " macte , " " magnus , "of the Latin ;
the " majesta , " of the Spanish ; " mnjesti , " of the French ; " macht , " of the German , and " majesty , " of the English . The transformation of the inffable name of the Sanskrit divinity " Maha-boddhi " into a word well known to the enlightened is very plain to those acquainted with linguistic changes . The word , " Solomon " contains , in each of its three syllables , the
name of the sun-god , in as many different languages , or , with as many different nations and peoples . There is the " Sol " of the Latins , the " Om " of India , the " On " of Egypt . As the letters " 0 . M . " or "A . U . M . " ( which is idem smians ) are thought to be the initials of the names of so many manifestations of the deity of India , may not " G . 0 . D . " be the first letters of three
words long since forgotten , which referred to the three-fold character in which tho Author of All was regarded by meditating man , thousands of years ago ? The same is doubtless true of " I . N . E . I . " The word "Jehovah" is equivalent to " existing being , "— " I am that I am ; "that is , "the strength , " " the essence of life , " "the soul of the world , " " the force of the universe . "
The similarity of the words , Jab , Jehovah , Joshua , Jehu , Joseph , John ( and there are two of this name—one for the winter and one for the summer solstice ) , Jesus , James , Jason , Jove , Jupiter , Juno , Janus and Ajax , is very suggestive to those of some knowledge in the comparative study of languages . " Jupiter " comes from " Zeus " and " pater" and means " All-Father . "
The word " Mary " may be essentially the same as " mare , " " the sea , " and the allegory of the morning sun rising from the sea thus would be interpreted " born of a virgin . " In the representations of ancient Hindu ideas of creation may be seen a mass of surging waters , producing from its bosom living beings—and these of great beauty . In ancient languages the word which we represent by the term
" Hiram " meant " raised np , " " living , " " , " " light . " In the Egyptian tongue it meant also " ox , " which was a symbol of strength , and an ox was the zodiacal sign of the month following the vernal equinox , when the new year came on in spring . " Leo , " or " the lion " was , in the zodiac , the symbol of the greatest power , and the sign of the summer solstice—the high noon of the year—when the sun was strongest , and could send to tho earth its
fervent vertical rays . " From this was drawn the simile of the " lion ' s paw , " which became the type of strength . The " lion " is typical of the Bfcrong , the mighty one , by whoso power is raised to glory the year that was dead , and by whose power the searcher after light , the seeker after truth , is raised to anew life of uprightness and—usefulness—to himself first , and then to all tho world . We are told that the lambskin , as a type , was more ancient than
Light Of Ages.
the Golden Fleece . This name carries our thoughts back to the times far anterior to that when the order of the Golden Fleece was instituted . Is not the story of tho Argosy meroly » free and somewhat poetic presentation of an ancient ritual of tho " lodge f " Tho fam > appeared in tho joyful spriug-timo the youth of the year , and typifies purity aud innocence .
White gloves and many-coloured flowers are sometimes presented to the initiated as typical of the season when the year is yonng . The seed is put into the ground , and there undergoes " putrefaction ; " "it cannot be quickened nnless it die . " Only tho strong snmmer ' s sun , with the powerful " lion ' s paw , " can raise the new plant to full life .
The " sheaf of wheat" symbolizes autumn with its frnitfnlness ; the golden grain hangs by tho stream which separates bounteous harvest from dreary winter . The " woman " or " virgin , " with the " broken column , " the " sprij » of acacia , " and Time behind her with his finger pointing to the heavens—significant of hope—all had boiutifnlly appropriate
explanations in the astronomic allegory of the Egyptians . The branch of acacia then had mystic use similar to that of tho present time . The " obelisk " ia a substitute for the sign of the life-giver , or seed , bearers . The active and the passive principles of nature wore represented by the phallns ( obelisk ) and tho otois , in the ancient systems of worship—as in India—and were held sacred .
Tho " phcenix " is also a symbol of the renewal of life . The same may be said of the sphinx , in India and in Egypt , a wonderful typo of the grand mysteries of nature , in whioh the physical streugth of lower beings is represented in union with the directive force of tho human mind . " Aries " ( sheep ) ia the sign of the vernal equinox ; " capricornus "
( goat ) , is the sign of the winter solstice . From this is drawn tho opposition , in the moral world , of the " sheep " and the " goats . " The " temple , " completed , is figurative of the reign of truth and reason . The word " temple , " comes from the Latin word " tempus , " and this from Greek " temno , " meaning to cut : thus " temple " represents the spaces into whioh the sun , in his apparent progress through
the sky , cuts the celestial circle . Withered flowers and leaves aro the " rubbish " of the " temple ; " that is , of the year . Hiram is also the type of philosophic , moral , religious and political truth . In Spanish lodges , ignorance , falsehood , and unjust ambition are the three vices , or ruffians , against which unceasing warfare is to be made by the " Children of Light . " The chief god of aucient Egypt was
known by tho name of Amman , meaning " hidden , " or " concealed . " He was worshiped in silonce . The words " I hail" are batter understood when traced to their probable origin , a word spelled " hele , " a North European word that means " to conceal . " Tile , " meaning " to put on tiles , " thus signifies " to cover , " " to protect , " " to conceal . " " Freemason" may have been a name given to members of the Order
after the mysteries came under control of architects or buildors . Under Edward III ., of England , "free masons" were those who worked in "free-stone , " in contradistinction to those who worked in other kinds of material . The " crnxansata" is derived from the sign of the sun in Taurus , being the remnant of tho outline of the face of the bull with tho sun between the horns .
As it is written " the Word ( Logos ) was God , " so wbon tho sun-god went down—was lost—the " word " was said to be "lost . " Both were again found at the return of tho snn from night , and from tho darkness of deep winter . The " ninth arch" is the ninth sign of the zodiac , counting from the vernal equinox , when the sun begins to go np to rebuild the
glorious temple of tho new year , whose ornaments should be flowers and fruits . In the Book of tho Law it is written , " Destroy this temple , and in three days I will raise it np . " Compare the expression with the astronomic history of tho year . The English word " lodge" is represented in Frenoh by "loge , " in Spanish by " logia , " and probably is derived from the Greek term " Logos . "
To " work" in lodge is to teach and learn truth , to prepare to practise virtue ; the word " virtus " has its root in a Latin word which means " man , " in the noblest sense of the term . Wages , in the material view , are " corn , wine , and oil ; " that is , the produce of the earth enriched by man ' s labour , but in the higher , the intellectual meaning , to " earn Master's wages" is to earn the right to enjoy those things which truth brings—to become better , more worthy
men . The " Master ' s Word " is the name of him who is the essence of Light , Truth and Eight , by whose aid the mystical dead is raised to a new life . Among the implements of Masonry which have a deep and symbolic meaning besides the one that appears ou the surface , the following
are chosen as illustrations : The " compasses , " describing from a central point the circle—an emblem of eternity—become a symbol of divinity . The " delta " is the first letter of the name of Deity , with the ancient , as its synomym is with many modern nations . It is a type of the Eternal , the AU-Powerfnl , tho Self-Existent . _ Tho material world is typified by the " square , " in form , in opposition to
force , symbolized by the " triangle . " The " square " is also a symbol of humanity , as the " delta , " or " triangle , " typifies Deity . Tho operative " square" is virtually the same as the " square" inform . Inasmuch as the " delta , " the " triangle , " and the " compasses " aro essentially the same , to raise first one point , then the ether , signifies that the divineor higher portion of our nature should increase in
, power and rule over the baser tendencies . This is the real , tho practical "journey towards the East" for men of modern times . The two " triangles , " or " deltas" intertwined , are the ancient symbols for the union of the two principles or forces , active and passive male and female , pervading tho universe . The two triangles
, of black and white , interlaced , typify tho mingling of the two apparent powers , darkness aud light , in nature ; and of error and truth , ignorance and wisdom , evil and good , throughout human life . The " triangle " and the " square " together form the " pyramid "seen in the shape of the apron . In this manner the " pyramid " shows