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Article HISTORY OF MASONRY. ← Page 4 of 10 →
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History Of Masonry.
The descendants of Abraham , being sojourners and shepherds in Egyp t , practised very little of architecture , till about eighty years before their exodus ; when , by the over-ruling hand of Providence , they were trained up to the masonkal use of stone and brick , and built for the Egyptians the two strong cities of Pithom and Raamasisin the exercise of which tasks they recovered their dexterity
; in the craft , before they migrated to the promised land . - After Abraham left Haran 430 years , Moses marched out of Egypt , at the head of 600 , 000 Hebrew males , marshalled in due form ; for-whose sake God divided the red sea , to afford them a ready passage , and then caused the waters to return upon , and drown Pharaoh and his Egyptian forceswho pursued them . In this peregrination
, through Arabia to Canaan , God was pleased to inspire their grand master Moses , Joshua his , deputy , ancl Aholiab and Bezaleel , grand wardens , with wisdom of heart ; and next year they raised the tabernacle or tent , where the divine Shechinah resided , and the holy ark or chest , the symbol of God ' s presence ; which , though not of
stone or brick , was framed by true symmetrical architecture , according to the pattern that God dictated to Moses on Mount Sinai , and which was afterward the model of Solomon ' s temple . Moses being well skilled in all the Egyptian learning , and also divinely inspired , excelled all grand masters before him , ancl ordered the more skilful to meet him , as in a grand lodge , near the tabernaclein the passover-weekaiid gave them wise
chargesregula-, , , tions , & c . though the tradition thereof has not been transmitted down to us so perfectly as mig ht have been wished . Joshua succeeded in the direction , with Caleb his deputy ; and . Eleazar the high-priest , and Phineas his son , as grand wardens : he marshalled the Israelites , and led them over Jordan , which God made dry for their march into the promised land . The Canaanites had so
regularly fortified their great cities and passes , that without the special intervention of El Shaddat , in behalf of his peculiar people , they were impregnable . Having finished his wars with the Canaanites , he-fixed the tabernacle at Shiloe , in Ephraim ; ordering the chiefs of Israel to serve their God , cultivate the land , and carry on the grand design of architecture in the best Mosaic style .
. The Israelites made a prodigious progress in the study of geometry and architecture , having many expert artists in every tribe that met in lodges or societies for that purpose , except when for their sins they came under servitude ; but their occasional princes , called judges ancl saviours , revived the Mosaic style along with libertv , and the Mosaic constitution . But they were exceeded by the Canaanites , Phoeniciansand Sidonians in sacred architecture -, they being a
peo-, ple of a happy genius , and frame of mind , who made great improvements in the sciences , as well as in other learning . The glass of Sidon , the purple of Tyre , and the exceeding fine linen- they wove , were the product of their own country , and their own inventions ; ancl for their skill in working of metals , in hewino- timber and stone : 111 a word , for their perfect knowledge of what was solid , great , aud VOL . V . D
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
History Of Masonry.
The descendants of Abraham , being sojourners and shepherds in Egyp t , practised very little of architecture , till about eighty years before their exodus ; when , by the over-ruling hand of Providence , they were trained up to the masonkal use of stone and brick , and built for the Egyptians the two strong cities of Pithom and Raamasisin the exercise of which tasks they recovered their dexterity
; in the craft , before they migrated to the promised land . - After Abraham left Haran 430 years , Moses marched out of Egypt , at the head of 600 , 000 Hebrew males , marshalled in due form ; for-whose sake God divided the red sea , to afford them a ready passage , and then caused the waters to return upon , and drown Pharaoh and his Egyptian forceswho pursued them . In this peregrination
, through Arabia to Canaan , God was pleased to inspire their grand master Moses , Joshua his , deputy , ancl Aholiab and Bezaleel , grand wardens , with wisdom of heart ; and next year they raised the tabernacle or tent , where the divine Shechinah resided , and the holy ark or chest , the symbol of God ' s presence ; which , though not of
stone or brick , was framed by true symmetrical architecture , according to the pattern that God dictated to Moses on Mount Sinai , and which was afterward the model of Solomon ' s temple . Moses being well skilled in all the Egyptian learning , and also divinely inspired , excelled all grand masters before him , ancl ordered the more skilful to meet him , as in a grand lodge , near the tabernaclein the passover-weekaiid gave them wise
chargesregula-, , , tions , & c . though the tradition thereof has not been transmitted down to us so perfectly as mig ht have been wished . Joshua succeeded in the direction , with Caleb his deputy ; and . Eleazar the high-priest , and Phineas his son , as grand wardens : he marshalled the Israelites , and led them over Jordan , which God made dry for their march into the promised land . The Canaanites had so
regularly fortified their great cities and passes , that without the special intervention of El Shaddat , in behalf of his peculiar people , they were impregnable . Having finished his wars with the Canaanites , he-fixed the tabernacle at Shiloe , in Ephraim ; ordering the chiefs of Israel to serve their God , cultivate the land , and carry on the grand design of architecture in the best Mosaic style .
. The Israelites made a prodigious progress in the study of geometry and architecture , having many expert artists in every tribe that met in lodges or societies for that purpose , except when for their sins they came under servitude ; but their occasional princes , called judges ancl saviours , revived the Mosaic style along with libertv , and the Mosaic constitution . But they were exceeded by the Canaanites , Phoeniciansand Sidonians in sacred architecture -, they being a
peo-, ple of a happy genius , and frame of mind , who made great improvements in the sciences , as well as in other learning . The glass of Sidon , the purple of Tyre , and the exceeding fine linen- they wove , were the product of their own country , and their own inventions ; ancl for their skill in working of metals , in hewino- timber and stone : 111 a word , for their perfect knowledge of what was solid , great , aud VOL . V . D