Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Antiquity Of Laying Corner Stones With Religious And Mystical Ceremonies.
masters opened the ago of the highest development of art under the kings of the twelfth Dynasty . I ' . ck , an architect at the Red Mountain iu the time of Amcuholej IV ., described as sou of " the overseers of tho sculptors from life men
and of the lady Ili-ii-aii , " described himself , " overseer of tho work ; at the Red Mountain , and artist and t ^ arh- 'r <>/ the king himsrlf , at overseer of tho sculptors from life at the grand monuments of th ( king for tho Temple of tho Sun ' s disc in the town of Kuateu . ' Brngsch , I . 411 .
Ilrlc s tombstone was sold at auction a few years since in Cairc to Mr . Vassal ! . In another context I shall refer to its inscriptions Semnut was architect in Queen Hashop ' s reign . He was " chiel steward of tho house" and "clerk of all tho works , " "first of the first . " He was of skilful hand , but as his monument says , " with , out the fame of proud ancestors , " or , aa we wonld say , a self-made man .
Amen . men-liaut in tho forty-seventh year of the reign of Thutmes III , was tho master builder of tho Templo of the Sun at Heliopolis Ho is styled " Hereditary lord and first governor of Memphis , the architect in the town of tho sun , tho chief superintendent of all tho offices in Upper and Lower Egypt , tho head architect of tho king , tho steward of tho king ' s palace , "
Belcenkhonsu was chief in the time of Rameses Miamnn . He also was "the hereditary lord and first prophet of A mon . " Ho says : "I was a great architect in tho town of Amon , my heart being filled with good works for my lord . " Again , " the skilled in art , tho first
prophet of Amon , Bekenkhonsu , ho speaks thus : I performed the best I could for tho Templo of Amon as Architect of my lord , " & e ., & c . He put obelisks at the gate of tho Temple . Ho was the president of the prophets , and his priesthood has lasted over fifty years of his life .
Levi or but , was chief architect to Mineptah II ., High Priest oi Amon , and also treasurer , and his son Roma succeeded him . After the Persian conquest of Egypt , the samo consideration was paid to the Architects , and in tho time of Darius I . ( 190 v ,. c ) , an Egyptian , Krnm-al-ra , waa " Architect of Upper and Lower Egypt . " He furnishes , in an inscription published by Brngsch , p 299 , a pedigree
of twenty-four generations of his ancestors , who had been architects , and many of whom also had filled other offices of importance . These brief references show the distinction accorded to tho Craft through many thousands of years in the old time , and provoke the reflection that tho further wo go back into the records of the Craft the more brilliant its social position appears .
I havo already shown tho Kings of Egypt assisting at laying corner stones with mystic and religions rites , tho inscriptions collated by Brugsch show that Architecture was a valued branch of tho truly Royal Education , and could truly , iu the earliest times , be called "tho Royal Art . " Belt inscribed on his tomb that he was teacher of tbo King himself .
King Amenhotop III ., in an inscription ( Brugsch , I . p 428 ) , Pharaoh himself " gave instructions and tho directions , for ho understood how to direct and guide tho Architect . " Tho visitor of to-day , at Karnak , sees tho work of this King yet standing , aud cau judge for himself whether this Royal Master of Art had tho skill of his craft . The gigantic statues of this King and his wife , known usually as the
Memnon Statues , are on the opposite side of the river , marking the site of another templo erected by the same monarch . Those statuos were planned and erected by Amenhotep , Chief Architect , Governor and Secretary . Thutmes III . built , about r ,. c . 1000 , the Temple of Osiris . An
inscription says , " And each ono of the Temple Artists knew the plan , and was well instructed in the mode of carrying it ont ; no one betook himself away from that which it was given him to do ( viz ., to build ) a monument to his father Osiris , and to erect in good work the inlaid mystery which none can see and none can declare , for none kuow his form . "
In Ramses ll . 's time , Am , tho King ' s son , of Knsb , was the directing architect . In Ramses Miamun ' s time ( 1133 B . C . ) in an inscription on the Temple of Soli ( Vol . II . p 35 ) , the King speaks to the Chamberlain at his
side , " Speak , that thero may be assembled the Princes , tho favourites of the King , the Commanders of tlie body-guards as they are , the architects , according to their numbers , and tho Superintendent of the house of the rolls of the books . " This Pharaoh laid tho fonndationstono himself .
The inscription says : " When this speech from the lips of the Princes before their Lord was ended , then the king commanded , and gave commission to the architects , aud separated the people of tho masons , ancl the stone-cutters with the help of the graver , and the draughtsmen , and all kinds of artists to build the most holy place for his father , and to raise up what had fallen into decay in tho Necropolis , and in the Templo of his father , who sojourns among the deceased ones . "
Hore there appears to have been very practically a Master ' s lodge , or a Grand Lodge , of that era assembled . Further on wc read that this worthy mason and royal master had painted on tho entrance of this Temple portraits of sixty of his sons , and lifty-niuo of his daughters . Truly ho intended his works should live after him . I have finished my citations . Tho reign of Caste in Egypt worked
no harm to this royal craft , for it belonged to the priestly and governing caste , and the road to civil preferment and priestly rank waa free to its votaries . It found them on the throne , in tho palace , aud in the workshop , and in the Temple of tho Great God-l'atnh , Chief Architect of tho Universe and God of Truth . The publication by Mr . Brugsch of the " History of the Pharaohs , " from the inscriptions yet extant , is the mine whence those Egyptian
inscriptions aro exclusively drawn . ? ° , 'bo great value of his labors let mo bear a faithful testimony . lhe li ght lie has incidentally thrown on the organization of Masonry as a Craft will , I hope , induce him , out of his intimate acquaintance with tho extant inscriptions , painting , papyri , and his mastership of
The Antiquity Of Laying Corner Stones With Religious And Mystical Ceremonies.
their language , to favour us with a little moro light on tho obscure subject from over which he has raised a corner of tho veil . My task is p . formed . The dignity of the organization of Masonry is exposed to yuti , and tho broad scope with which it gathered into its fold the art of working and building in stone , in all its adjunct branches . The light of education illumined tho ancient , craft bovond
any other body of men ol * their age . Geometry , mathematics , its own technology and physics grew up within lodg ? s , whore knowledge and skill brought promotion and power . Tho speculative mysteries and metaphysics of a theology which taught tho immortality of tho soul and its responsibility for our good and bad actions was familiar to them . Of the Holy Architect of tho
Universe whom they worshipped they said , " all things camo into existence after ho existed . " They styled him " tho Lord of Truth , " " tho Father of beginnings . " Thoir art , formed into grandeur and perfection by their efforts , was the lamp from which Greek , Assyrian , Roman , and Semitic architecture caught tho holy Ilamo . Their instruction formed tho
artists of civilisation who succeeded them on tho stage . Over tho illustrations I havo drawn from tho inscriptions of theso giants of an elder day , I ask the Blue Mason and the Red , aud tho Grand Master Architect of tho symbolic degrees , to stretch tho line for themselves . I ask them , with square and level to tost these
rolics of the corner stones Freemasons laid thousands of years agotho work of a craft which was then a Royal art , both practical and speculative , enlightening the infancy of civilisation—and say , in tho light wo follow to-ilay , ¦ whether such work is not still trno and trusty .
Tho annual visit of tlie Stewards to tho Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution took place on Wednesday . Wo havo a full report of tho proceedings , ancl trust wo shall be ablo to find space for it in our columns next week . For the present , let it suffice to say that , in spite of the very
inauspicious weather , there was a good muster of brethren , and many ladies graced the Asylum by their presence . Bros . Raynham Stewart and Cubitt occupied the chair and vice chair respectively . The indefatigable Secretary , Bro . James Terry was , as usual , unremitting in his attention to the
guests and inmates , while the venerable Warden , Bro . Norris , and Miss Norris played their part admirably . Bo it added that a subscription was entered into by some of the brethren present for the purchase of a pianoforte , so
that those of the residents who may possess musical ability ancl taste may Itavo tho opportunity of now and . again relieving tho monotony of Avhat , after all said and done , must be a somewhat dreamy life .
It appears from the Prov . Grand Secretary ' s statement at the meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Berks and Bucks , which was held on Monday , and of which a report will be found elsewhere , that there are at present 720
subscribing members in the Province , of whom 169 are Past Masters . Forty one of these had been initiated during the past year , and fourteen were joining members . The sums disbursed by the various Lodges in charity amounted to £ 242 4 s 6 d , tho aggregate of the balances in hand being £ 684 4 s lid .
We have great pleasure in announcing that Bro . Terry has been fortunate enough thus early to secure a chairman for the Festival next year of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Our R . W . Bro . Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., Prov . G . Master and Prov . G . Superintendent of West
Yorkshire , has kindly expressed his intention of taking upon himself the duties of President on that occasion " . Wo congratulate Bro . Terry on having enlisted the
sympathies on behalf of this Institution of so distinguished a brother , whoso advocacy , backed up , as it will be , by one of our strongest , best organised , and most liberal Provinces , cannot fail to be otherwise than most powerful for good .
On Monday afternoon a deputation , which included the Earl of Mount Edgcumbc P . G . M . and Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall , the Earl of St . Germans P . G . W . England , the Earl of Devon , the Bishop of Truro , and . other gentlemen , waited on the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House , with a
view to requesting the assistance of his Lordship , who is a native of Truro , in raising the balance of the large fund required for tho erection of Truro Cathedral . His lordship was pleased to express his readiness to start a fund iu the City for the purpose , and he trusted his expectations of a successful result would be realised .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Antiquity Of Laying Corner Stones With Religious And Mystical Ceremonies.
masters opened the ago of the highest development of art under the kings of the twelfth Dynasty . I ' . ck , an architect at the Red Mountain iu the time of Amcuholej IV ., described as sou of " the overseers of tho sculptors from life men
and of the lady Ili-ii-aii , " described himself , " overseer of tho work ; at the Red Mountain , and artist and t ^ arh- 'r <>/ the king himsrlf , at overseer of tho sculptors from life at the grand monuments of th ( king for tho Temple of tho Sun ' s disc in the town of Kuateu . ' Brngsch , I . 411 .
Ilrlc s tombstone was sold at auction a few years since in Cairc to Mr . Vassal ! . In another context I shall refer to its inscriptions Semnut was architect in Queen Hashop ' s reign . He was " chiel steward of tho house" and "clerk of all tho works , " "first of the first . " He was of skilful hand , but as his monument says , " with , out the fame of proud ancestors , " or , aa we wonld say , a self-made man .
Amen . men-liaut in tho forty-seventh year of the reign of Thutmes III , was tho master builder of tho Templo of the Sun at Heliopolis Ho is styled " Hereditary lord and first governor of Memphis , the architect in the town of tho sun , tho chief superintendent of all tho offices in Upper and Lower Egypt , tho head architect of tho king , tho steward of tho king ' s palace , "
Belcenkhonsu was chief in the time of Rameses Miamnn . He also was "the hereditary lord and first prophet of A mon . " Ho says : "I was a great architect in tho town of Amon , my heart being filled with good works for my lord . " Again , " the skilled in art , tho first
prophet of Amon , Bekenkhonsu , ho speaks thus : I performed the best I could for tho Templo of Amon as Architect of my lord , " & e ., & c . He put obelisks at the gate of tho Temple . Ho was the president of the prophets , and his priesthood has lasted over fifty years of his life .
Levi or but , was chief architect to Mineptah II ., High Priest oi Amon , and also treasurer , and his son Roma succeeded him . After the Persian conquest of Egypt , the samo consideration was paid to the Architects , and in tho time of Darius I . ( 190 v ,. c ) , an Egyptian , Krnm-al-ra , waa " Architect of Upper and Lower Egypt . " He furnishes , in an inscription published by Brngsch , p 299 , a pedigree
of twenty-four generations of his ancestors , who had been architects , and many of whom also had filled other offices of importance . These brief references show the distinction accorded to tho Craft through many thousands of years in the old time , and provoke the reflection that tho further wo go back into the records of the Craft the more brilliant its social position appears .
I havo already shown tho Kings of Egypt assisting at laying corner stones with mystic and religions rites , tho inscriptions collated by Brugsch show that Architecture was a valued branch of tho truly Royal Education , and could truly , iu the earliest times , be called "tho Royal Art . " Belt inscribed on his tomb that he was teacher of tbo King himself .
King Amenhotop III ., in an inscription ( Brugsch , I . p 428 ) , Pharaoh himself " gave instructions and tho directions , for ho understood how to direct and guide tho Architect . " Tho visitor of to-day , at Karnak , sees tho work of this King yet standing , aud cau judge for himself whether this Royal Master of Art had tho skill of his craft . The gigantic statues of this King and his wife , known usually as the
Memnon Statues , are on the opposite side of the river , marking the site of another templo erected by the same monarch . Those statuos were planned and erected by Amenhotep , Chief Architect , Governor and Secretary . Thutmes III . built , about r ,. c . 1000 , the Temple of Osiris . An
inscription says , " And each ono of the Temple Artists knew the plan , and was well instructed in the mode of carrying it ont ; no one betook himself away from that which it was given him to do ( viz ., to build ) a monument to his father Osiris , and to erect in good work the inlaid mystery which none can see and none can declare , for none kuow his form . "
In Ramses ll . 's time , Am , tho King ' s son , of Knsb , was the directing architect . In Ramses Miamun ' s time ( 1133 B . C . ) in an inscription on the Temple of Soli ( Vol . II . p 35 ) , the King speaks to the Chamberlain at his
side , " Speak , that thero may be assembled the Princes , tho favourites of the King , the Commanders of tlie body-guards as they are , the architects , according to their numbers , and tho Superintendent of the house of the rolls of the books . " This Pharaoh laid tho fonndationstono himself .
The inscription says : " When this speech from the lips of the Princes before their Lord was ended , then the king commanded , and gave commission to the architects , aud separated the people of tho masons , ancl the stone-cutters with the help of the graver , and the draughtsmen , and all kinds of artists to build the most holy place for his father , and to raise up what had fallen into decay in tho Necropolis , and in the Templo of his father , who sojourns among the deceased ones . "
Hore there appears to have been very practically a Master ' s lodge , or a Grand Lodge , of that era assembled . Further on wc read that this worthy mason and royal master had painted on tho entrance of this Temple portraits of sixty of his sons , and lifty-niuo of his daughters . Truly ho intended his works should live after him . I have finished my citations . Tho reign of Caste in Egypt worked
no harm to this royal craft , for it belonged to the priestly and governing caste , and the road to civil preferment and priestly rank waa free to its votaries . It found them on the throne , in tho palace , aud in the workshop , and in the Temple of tho Great God-l'atnh , Chief Architect of tho Universe and God of Truth . The publication by Mr . Brugsch of the " History of the Pharaohs , " from the inscriptions yet extant , is the mine whence those Egyptian
inscriptions aro exclusively drawn . ? ° , 'bo great value of his labors let mo bear a faithful testimony . lhe li ght lie has incidentally thrown on the organization of Masonry as a Craft will , I hope , induce him , out of his intimate acquaintance with tho extant inscriptions , painting , papyri , and his mastership of
The Antiquity Of Laying Corner Stones With Religious And Mystical Ceremonies.
their language , to favour us with a little moro light on tho obscure subject from over which he has raised a corner of tho veil . My task is p . formed . The dignity of the organization of Masonry is exposed to yuti , and tho broad scope with which it gathered into its fold the art of working and building in stone , in all its adjunct branches . The light of education illumined tho ancient , craft bovond
any other body of men ol * their age . Geometry , mathematics , its own technology and physics grew up within lodg ? s , whore knowledge and skill brought promotion and power . Tho speculative mysteries and metaphysics of a theology which taught tho immortality of tho soul and its responsibility for our good and bad actions was familiar to them . Of the Holy Architect of tho
Universe whom they worshipped they said , " all things camo into existence after ho existed . " They styled him " tho Lord of Truth , " " tho Father of beginnings . " Thoir art , formed into grandeur and perfection by their efforts , was the lamp from which Greek , Assyrian , Roman , and Semitic architecture caught tho holy Ilamo . Their instruction formed tho
artists of civilisation who succeeded them on tho stage . Over tho illustrations I havo drawn from tho inscriptions of theso giants of an elder day , I ask the Blue Mason and the Red , aud tho Grand Master Architect of tho symbolic degrees , to stretch tho line for themselves . I ask them , with square and level to tost these
rolics of the corner stones Freemasons laid thousands of years agotho work of a craft which was then a Royal art , both practical and speculative , enlightening the infancy of civilisation—and say , in tho light wo follow to-ilay , ¦ whether such work is not still trno and trusty .
Tho annual visit of tlie Stewards to tho Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution took place on Wednesday . Wo havo a full report of tho proceedings , ancl trust wo shall be ablo to find space for it in our columns next week . For the present , let it suffice to say that , in spite of the very
inauspicious weather , there was a good muster of brethren , and many ladies graced the Asylum by their presence . Bros . Raynham Stewart and Cubitt occupied the chair and vice chair respectively . The indefatigable Secretary , Bro . James Terry was , as usual , unremitting in his attention to the
guests and inmates , while the venerable Warden , Bro . Norris , and Miss Norris played their part admirably . Bo it added that a subscription was entered into by some of the brethren present for the purchase of a pianoforte , so
that those of the residents who may possess musical ability ancl taste may Itavo tho opportunity of now and . again relieving tho monotony of Avhat , after all said and done , must be a somewhat dreamy life .
It appears from the Prov . Grand Secretary ' s statement at the meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Berks and Bucks , which was held on Monday , and of which a report will be found elsewhere , that there are at present 720
subscribing members in the Province , of whom 169 are Past Masters . Forty one of these had been initiated during the past year , and fourteen were joining members . The sums disbursed by the various Lodges in charity amounted to £ 242 4 s 6 d , tho aggregate of the balances in hand being £ 684 4 s lid .
We have great pleasure in announcing that Bro . Terry has been fortunate enough thus early to secure a chairman for the Festival next year of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Our R . W . Bro . Sir Henry Edwards , Bart ., Prov . G . Master and Prov . G . Superintendent of West
Yorkshire , has kindly expressed his intention of taking upon himself the duties of President on that occasion " . Wo congratulate Bro . Terry on having enlisted the
sympathies on behalf of this Institution of so distinguished a brother , whoso advocacy , backed up , as it will be , by one of our strongest , best organised , and most liberal Provinces , cannot fail to be otherwise than most powerful for good .
On Monday afternoon a deputation , which included the Earl of Mount Edgcumbc P . G . M . and Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall , the Earl of St . Germans P . G . W . England , the Earl of Devon , the Bishop of Truro , and . other gentlemen , waited on the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House , with a
view to requesting the assistance of his Lordship , who is a native of Truro , in raising the balance of the large fund required for tho erection of Truro Cathedral . His lordship was pleased to express his readiness to start a fund iu the City for the purpose , and he trusted his expectations of a successful result would be realised .