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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 7 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
in all hieroglyphics signify water , are found in the treasury of Atreus , at Mycense , and at Persepolis . The triangular form of the stone above the doors at Mycenae had a particular signification . It was certainly a mysterious figure among the Egyptians . Diodorus informs us , that Cambyses , who lived in the sixth century before Christnot only took
, ornaments , but even artists , from Egypt , to adorn his palace at Persepolis ; but these artists and ornaments came from Thebes , which the Egyptians called the City of the Sun . The Cyclops were worshippers of fire , Vulcan , and the Sun . " * If we turn to " the far west , " we shall find , amidst the darkness and uncertainty which attend the history of nations
little known , the genius of Masonry busy in projecting and executing great architectural undertakings . In Britain , the prevailing taste was to astonish by magnitude rather than to please by decoration and beauty ; and the magnificence arising from such a design , was effectually exhibited at Slonehenge and Abury ; the latter of which was the largest temple ever known ; extending very nearly to a length of two miles . These structures , though rough and uncouth to
the eye , were formerly , as we are told , but 1 am ignorant on what authority , plastered over with mortar , and ornamented with hieroglyphics in painting and enamel . Be this as it may , they certainly contain the rudiments of architectural science , combined with a competent knowledge of the laws and motions of the heavenly bodies ; for they were
constructed on true astronomical principles . In the words of a learned antiquary and topographer , " the regular pillars and architrave of Stonehenge wanted nothing but the polishing operation of the chisel to class it under the lowest grade of architecture ; indeed , the transition from this British to a Tuscan colonnadewould be a very ready one . To round
, the uprights , and give them a plain capital , and render the faces of the architrave smooth by help of the chisel , would present the eye with a regular architectural temple . Stonehenge , strictly speaking , is not an unhewn structure ; for , on examination , it is plain that the stones have had mortices and tenons formed in them ( by sharp pointed iron
instruments ) , by which they were compactly united together . " And thus we find Operative Masonry in active exercise amongst a people that were reputed barbarous , and buried in the grossest idolatry and superstition .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
in all hieroglyphics signify water , are found in the treasury of Atreus , at Mycense , and at Persepolis . The triangular form of the stone above the doors at Mycenae had a particular signification . It was certainly a mysterious figure among the Egyptians . Diodorus informs us , that Cambyses , who lived in the sixth century before Christnot only took
, ornaments , but even artists , from Egypt , to adorn his palace at Persepolis ; but these artists and ornaments came from Thebes , which the Egyptians called the City of the Sun . The Cyclops were worshippers of fire , Vulcan , and the Sun . " * If we turn to " the far west , " we shall find , amidst the darkness and uncertainty which attend the history of nations
little known , the genius of Masonry busy in projecting and executing great architectural undertakings . In Britain , the prevailing taste was to astonish by magnitude rather than to please by decoration and beauty ; and the magnificence arising from such a design , was effectually exhibited at Slonehenge and Abury ; the latter of which was the largest temple ever known ; extending very nearly to a length of two miles . These structures , though rough and uncouth to
the eye , were formerly , as we are told , but 1 am ignorant on what authority , plastered over with mortar , and ornamented with hieroglyphics in painting and enamel . Be this as it may , they certainly contain the rudiments of architectural science , combined with a competent knowledge of the laws and motions of the heavenly bodies ; for they were
constructed on true astronomical principles . In the words of a learned antiquary and topographer , " the regular pillars and architrave of Stonehenge wanted nothing but the polishing operation of the chisel to class it under the lowest grade of architecture ; indeed , the transition from this British to a Tuscan colonnadewould be a very ready one . To round
, the uprights , and give them a plain capital , and render the faces of the architrave smooth by help of the chisel , would present the eye with a regular architectural temple . Stonehenge , strictly speaking , is not an unhewn structure ; for , on examination , it is plain that the stones have had mortices and tenons formed in them ( by sharp pointed iron
instruments ) , by which they were compactly united together . " And thus we find Operative Masonry in active exercise amongst a people that were reputed barbarous , and buried in the grossest idolatry and superstition .