Egypt, The Ancient Mysteries And Freemasonry.

of symbolism as can bo discovered nowhere else . Ancl in ancient Egypt AVO take a special interest , because wo find that in that country , in the early ages , a system of morality and religion was taught by means of a ritual , and in a secret manner , in many important respects resembling our

own legends . It was in Egypt that the great Jewish leader , whom onr Masonic legends tell ns was one of the Grand Masters who presided over the First , or Holy Lodge , obtained his knowledge . The Sacred Writings tell ns that Moses was learned in all the

wisdom of the Egyptians , which no doubt means that he was initiated into the priestly mysteries , by which medium the wisdom was preserved , and these mysteries he doubtless communicated subsequently to his brother , to Joshua , and to the chosen of the Jewish chieftains . The

Egyptian religion was of a spurious kind , and was not the true religion as revealed originally to man . It had engrafted on it a mass of human lying tradition , but still , as far as we know anything of it , we can see that in its mazes of error was , to be found much truth , and the

germs of education and light . It was for the purpose of concealing their treasures of knowledge from all but the initiated few that the Egyptian priests made use of their hieroglyphs and huge stone figures . These became objects of adoration to the ignorant multitude , who

worshipped them as Photh , the God of Learning . Hence this spurious system of symbolic Masonry was held in high reputation amongst the ancients , for they knew that by its means had been preserved tho learning and wisdom which had made Egypt the most civilized country in

existence . Prom Egypt these mysteries spread to Greece , and thence to Rome . Hence Cicero says * . " These aro the mysteries which have drawn us from tho barbarous and savage life our ancestors led . It is the greatest good that has come to us from the citv of Athens among so manv that

she has conferred upon mankind . It is she that has taught us not only to live with joy , but still more to die with tranquillity , in the hope of becoming more happy . " The Eleusinian , the Orphic , the Bacchic , the Samothracian , and all the other numerous systems practised by the ancient heathen

in every age , were instituted to preserve a knowledge of a future existence ; but they added to the truths they taught many pernicious errors . They taught that the initiated should bo happier than all other mortals in a future state , and that whilst the souls of the profane , on leavino- the

body stuck fast in mire and filth , and remained in darkness , the souls of the initiated winged their flight directly to the happy islands , and the habitations of the gods . True Symbolic Masonry was founded for the purpose of keeping in our remembrance the most sublime truths , even in the

midst of our innocent and social pleasures , just as the Egyptians were accustomed to carry round their festive tables a coffin , to remind the guests of their mortalit y . The Egyptian mysteries were , no doubt , far more free from error than those subsequently worked in Greece and

Rome , and one reason for this is to be found in the fact that women were admitted to a participation in the last named countries . Hence , very soon they became contaminated by all k . nds of licentiousness , permitted under a cloak of ceremonial . Doubtless one reason for the

exclusion of women from pure Masonry is to be found in this circumstance . To obtain initiation into the Egyptian mysteries it was necessary for the applicant to pnss through a course of

preparation which included the most terrible trials of courage and fortitude . It was at Memphis that the principal series of mysteries was worked . There were the greater and the lesser ^ mysteries , the former being those of Osiris and Serapis , the latter those of Isis .

Several ancient authors , whose works arc now in existence , were initiated into these mysteries , and , have left short accounts of them , but tiicse are necessarily very shadowy , since initiates were bound b y the most solemn vows not to reveal what was communicated to them , vows kept with the utmost caution—a lesson to somo Masons of the present clay .

-Ketcrnng to tho mysteries of Isis—tho First Degree , of the Egyptian system—Apuleius writes , " Tho priest , all the profane being removed to a distance , takin-r hold of mo

Intne hand , brought , me into the inner recesses of tho Sanctuary itself , clothed in a new linen garment , Perhaps , canons reader , you may be eager to know what was then said and done . I would tell yon , were it lawful for me to j ell you ¦ you should know , wore it lawful for you to hear , •"at both the ears that heard those things and the tongue

Egypt, The Ancient Mysteries And Freemasonry.

that told them would reap the evil results of their rashness . Still , however , kept in suspense as you probably aro with religious longing , I will not torment you with long protracted anxiety . Hear , therefore , but believe what is the truth . I approached the borders of death , and having trod

on the confines of Proserpine ( Goddess of Hell ) , I returned therefrom , being borne through all the elements . At midnight I saw tho sun shining , with its brilliant light ,

and I approached the presence of the Gods beneath and the Gods above , and stood near and worshipped them . Behold , I havo related to yon things of which , though heard by you , you must necessarily remain ignorant . "

Isis , in Egyptian mythology , was the sister and wife of Osiris , and was worshipped by the Egyptians as the Goddess of Nature , and it is probable that the mysteries taught—as our first degree—the principles of moral Truth ancl Virtue , as well as the physical laws of Nature . The

Mysteries of Serapis constituted the Second Degree of the Egyptian system , and of these we know next to nothing , save that they formed an intermediate step for the initiates . In the mysteries of Osiris the Third Degree lesson was taught and amplified , and tho doctrine of resurrection after

death was specially inculcated . The legend of Osiris was this : Osiris , a wise king of Egypt , left the care of his kingdom to his wife Isis , and travelled for three years to communicate to other nations tho arts of civilisation . During his absence his brother Typhon formed a secret

conspiracy to destroy him and to usurp his throne . On his return Osiris was invited by Typhon to an entertainment , in the month of November , at which all the conspirators were present . Typhon produced a chest inlaid with gold , and promised to give it to any person present whose

body would most exactly fit it . Osiris was tempted to try the experiment , but he had no sooner laid down in the chest than the lid was closed and nailed down , and the chest thrown into the River Nile . The chest containing the body of Osiris was , after being a long time tossed about

by the waves , finally cast np at Byblos in Phoenicia , and left at the foot of a tamarisk tree . Isis , overwhelmed with grief for the loss of her husband , set out on a journey , and traversed the earth in search of the body . After many adventures , she at length discovered the spot where it had

been thrown up by the waves , and returned with it in triumph to Egypt . It was then proclaimed , with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy , that Osiris had risen from the dead , and was become a god . The close resemblance to the Masonic legend will be at once detected by

all . Osiris and Typhon represent the two antagonistic principles of light and darkness , of good and evil , of life and death , showing the struggle between the two , and the ultimate triumph of life and light . It was to these rites that the Prophet Ezekiel probably

refers as the "Abomination of Desolation , for very soon after their establishment women were admitted to a partial participation in them , and then followed the adoration of the phallus , and the partial deification of the male and female organs of generation , the / eras and $ aA ^ os being

actually exposed in models , and carried about in public processions . Hence , say some , the origin of the Egyptian obelisks , and , as others think , though without sufficient warrant , the round towers of Ireland . In the Sth ' chapter of Ezekiel you will find this sentence . *— " Then he brought

me to the door of the gate of the Lord ' s House , which was towards the north , ancl behold there sat women weeping for Taramuz . Then said he to me , hast thou seen this , 0 son of man ? Turn thee yefc again , and thou shall see o'reater abominations than these . And he brought me into

the inner court of the Lord ' s House , and behold , at the door of the Temple of the Lord , between the porch and the altar , were about five and twenty men with their backs toward the Temple of tho Lord , and their faces toward the

east ; and they worshipped the sun towards the east . " Tammnz , amongst the Jews , signified the summer solstice ; tho women weeping towards tlie north , because that was the dark side of the Temple where the sun was never seen ; ihe men worshipping towards tho east , because there the

sun rose . It is a more thru * curious fact that in tho ancient Egyptian paintings on mummy cases Osiris is represented as laid out on a conch , whilst a lion attempts to raise him ,

signifying that by tho aid of Leo ( the lion ; tho sun had cleared the iropic of Cancer . I need hardly point out the cnrioii : * resemblance here visible to some portions of our Craft ceremonies . Bishop Warburton describes the ceremonies of initiation