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Article HISTORY OF MASONRY. Page 1 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
History Of Masonry.
HISTORY OF MASONRY .
[ Continued from Page 84 . 1
£ Yearofthe Flood 1374 , fTT ^ HE division of Solomon's dominions before Christ 974 . j JL into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah , did not much affect the Fraternity , or disturb their lodges : for Jerobo- ' am ordered them to build him two palaces , the one at Sichem , and the other at Pentiel ; and also to erect two statues ofthe golden calves , with temples for their worshipthe one in Betheland the other in
, , Dan , which were worshipped by the Israelites , till they were carried away by Shalmaneser and Tiglath-Pileser . King Baasha built Tirzah for his palace ; and King Omri built Samaria for his capital ; where his son , King Ahab , built a sumptuous temple for his idol Baal , afterward destined by King Jehu ; and a palace of ivory , beside many castles and fenced cities .
Solomon ' s successors on the . throne of Judah succeeded him also in the Grand Master ' s chair , or deputed the hi gh-priest to preserve the royal art . Their care of the temple , with the many buildings they raised , are mentioned in holy writ down to Josiah fhe last good king of Judah . The masons formed in his school , and who travelledimproved the Gentiles beyond expression : thus the S yrians
, adorned Damascus with a lofty temple and a royal palace . Those of Lesser Asia became excellent workmen ; particularly at Sardis , in Lydia , and along the sea coasts in the mercantile cities , as at Ephesus .
'There the old temple of Diana , built by some Japhetites , about tlie days of Moses , being burnt down about 34 years after Solomon ' s death ; the kings of Lesser Asia refounded and adorned it with 127 columns of the best marble , each 60 feet hi gh , of which 3 6 were of the most noble sculpture ; under the direction of Oresiphon and Arehiphron , the disciples of Solomon ' s travellers : but it was not finished till after 220 yearsin the seventh year of Hezekiah king of Judah
, , under the direction of the grand Ephesian masters in this royal craft , Demetrius and Polonius . [ A . M . 3283 , 3 This temple was of the Ionic order , in length 425 feet , and in breadth 220 feet , with a duly proportioned hei ght ; so magnificent , so admirable a fabric , that it became' the third of the . seven wonders of art ; the charming mistress of Lesser Asia , which even Xerxes
the avowed enemy of image worship , left standing , while he burnt all the other temples in his way to Greece . [ A . M . 3680 . J At last it was burnt down by a vile fellow merely for the infamous ambition of being talked of in after-ages ( whose name , therefore , shall not be mentioned here ) , on the birth-day of Alexander the Great ; after it had stood 3 6 5 years : when it was jocoselsaidthe goddess was
y , so deeply engaged at the birth of her hero in Pella of Macedonia that she had no leisure to save her temple at Ephesus I It was rebuiP VOL . v . Y ' i
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
History Of Masonry.
HISTORY OF MASONRY .
[ Continued from Page 84 . 1
£ Yearofthe Flood 1374 , fTT ^ HE division of Solomon's dominions before Christ 974 . j JL into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah , did not much affect the Fraternity , or disturb their lodges : for Jerobo- ' am ordered them to build him two palaces , the one at Sichem , and the other at Pentiel ; and also to erect two statues ofthe golden calves , with temples for their worshipthe one in Betheland the other in
, , Dan , which were worshipped by the Israelites , till they were carried away by Shalmaneser and Tiglath-Pileser . King Baasha built Tirzah for his palace ; and King Omri built Samaria for his capital ; where his son , King Ahab , built a sumptuous temple for his idol Baal , afterward destined by King Jehu ; and a palace of ivory , beside many castles and fenced cities .
Solomon ' s successors on the . throne of Judah succeeded him also in the Grand Master ' s chair , or deputed the hi gh-priest to preserve the royal art . Their care of the temple , with the many buildings they raised , are mentioned in holy writ down to Josiah fhe last good king of Judah . The masons formed in his school , and who travelledimproved the Gentiles beyond expression : thus the S yrians
, adorned Damascus with a lofty temple and a royal palace . Those of Lesser Asia became excellent workmen ; particularly at Sardis , in Lydia , and along the sea coasts in the mercantile cities , as at Ephesus .
'There the old temple of Diana , built by some Japhetites , about tlie days of Moses , being burnt down about 34 years after Solomon ' s death ; the kings of Lesser Asia refounded and adorned it with 127 columns of the best marble , each 60 feet hi gh , of which 3 6 were of the most noble sculpture ; under the direction of Oresiphon and Arehiphron , the disciples of Solomon ' s travellers : but it was not finished till after 220 yearsin the seventh year of Hezekiah king of Judah
, , under the direction of the grand Ephesian masters in this royal craft , Demetrius and Polonius . [ A . M . 3283 , 3 This temple was of the Ionic order , in length 425 feet , and in breadth 220 feet , with a duly proportioned hei ght ; so magnificent , so admirable a fabric , that it became' the third of the . seven wonders of art ; the charming mistress of Lesser Asia , which even Xerxes
the avowed enemy of image worship , left standing , while he burnt all the other temples in his way to Greece . [ A . M . 3680 . J At last it was burnt down by a vile fellow merely for the infamous ambition of being talked of in after-ages ( whose name , therefore , shall not be mentioned here ) , on the birth-day of Alexander the Great ; after it had stood 3 6 5 years : when it was jocoselsaidthe goddess was
y , so deeply engaged at the birth of her hero in Pella of Macedonia that she had no leisure to save her temple at Ephesus I It was rebuiP VOL . v . Y ' i