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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 2 of 10 →
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On Freemasonry.
ancient writers . Some ascribe it to Phoroneus the Egyptian - others to Merops ; others , among whom is Varro , to iJEacus t j ° ] uTv ' - ^ ° me Wi l l have Ju P iter to have "een the first who built Temples , and on that account to have been he first and principal godThe E refer
. gyptians the invention to Isis ; the Phrygians to Uso . Others rather choose to derive rt from Cecrops the founder of Athens , or Dionysus , otherwise called Bacchus . Some mention the Arcadians or Phrygians , or Thracians , or Cretans as the firs founders of Temples . Others name in particular MehsseusKing of CreteLastl
, . y , that I be no further tedious , many are of opinion that Temples owe their first original to the superstitious reverence and devotion paid bv the ancients to the memory of their deceased friends , relations , and benefactors ; and as most of the gods were men consecrated the account of
upon some public benefit conferred on mankind , so most of the heathen Temples are thought to have been at first only stately monuments erected in honor of the dead . Nor is it any wonder that monuments £ should ? SEHS be at length tt converted was usual into to offer Temp prayers les , when ' sacrifice at everv ^
The first public buildings , by whomsoever erected , can scarcely be considered as places of divine worship , although they might be afterwards appropriated to that purpose , for it has been conjectured by many learned writers on the most plausible evidence , that the Tabernacle of Moses was the first religious edifice dedicated to the exclusive
worship ot God . Ihe Tower of Babel , as we are informed by Moses , was raised with immense labour and exertion- vet it was not for devotional purposes , but to get the architects a name ; to prevent dispersion , and perhaps , from its heigh t , was intended as a place of security against the effects ' of another delugeNo conjecture be formed
. can to illustrate the extravagance of this notion , beyond the simple fact as it is recorded by the Jewish Lawgiver ; but respecting £ work itself , we are unable to withhold our admiration ° and applause , at the magnificence of its conception—the science developed in its lanarid the combinecf
p - labour and ingenuity of its execution . It was a work of which the Noachidas , or anc . ent Fraternity of Masons , might be iustlv proud ; although their intentions were frustrated , and their policy destroyed by divine intervention , that the Architects might be dispersed abroad to colonize the world .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
ancient writers . Some ascribe it to Phoroneus the Egyptian - others to Merops ; others , among whom is Varro , to iJEacus t j ° ] uTv ' - ^ ° me Wi l l have Ju P iter to have "een the first who built Temples , and on that account to have been he first and principal godThe E refer
. gyptians the invention to Isis ; the Phrygians to Uso . Others rather choose to derive rt from Cecrops the founder of Athens , or Dionysus , otherwise called Bacchus . Some mention the Arcadians or Phrygians , or Thracians , or Cretans as the firs founders of Temples . Others name in particular MehsseusKing of CreteLastl
, . y , that I be no further tedious , many are of opinion that Temples owe their first original to the superstitious reverence and devotion paid bv the ancients to the memory of their deceased friends , relations , and benefactors ; and as most of the gods were men consecrated the account of
upon some public benefit conferred on mankind , so most of the heathen Temples are thought to have been at first only stately monuments erected in honor of the dead . Nor is it any wonder that monuments £ should ? SEHS be at length tt converted was usual into to offer Temp prayers les , when ' sacrifice at everv ^
The first public buildings , by whomsoever erected , can scarcely be considered as places of divine worship , although they might be afterwards appropriated to that purpose , for it has been conjectured by many learned writers on the most plausible evidence , that the Tabernacle of Moses was the first religious edifice dedicated to the exclusive
worship ot God . Ihe Tower of Babel , as we are informed by Moses , was raised with immense labour and exertion- vet it was not for devotional purposes , but to get the architects a name ; to prevent dispersion , and perhaps , from its heigh t , was intended as a place of security against the effects ' of another delugeNo conjecture be formed
. can to illustrate the extravagance of this notion , beyond the simple fact as it is recorded by the Jewish Lawgiver ; but respecting £ work itself , we are unable to withhold our admiration ° and applause , at the magnificence of its conception—the science developed in its lanarid the combinecf
p - labour and ingenuity of its execution . It was a work of which the Noachidas , or anc . ent Fraternity of Masons , might be iustlv proud ; although their intentions were frustrated , and their policy destroyed by divine intervention , that the Architects might be dispersed abroad to colonize the world .