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Article ON THE STUDY OF MASONIC ANTIQUITIES. ← Page 13 of 14 →
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On The Study Of Masonic Antiquities.
matter , the Deity whose creative power fashioned all things according to his mighty will , and whose potent energies pervaded the universe . OSIRIS was also regarded as a manifestation of the attributes of the supreme deity , chiefly in a two-fold character , typifying the union of divinity and humanity . Osiris thus possessed the attributes of Cneph , whilst in his mortal character he was a type of the human race , whom Cneph created . It is also to be remarked that Osiris was invested with
numerous characters , among others that of judye of the souls of the departed . The name of Osiris was also subsequently applied to the sun . As heat issues from the solar orb , so PTHA was an emanation from Osiris—equal in divinity , but differing in essence—Ptha , in the Chaldaic philosophy , was the same as the great first principle , the all-pervading fire , which emanating from the central soul , or primum mobile , is diffused throughout the boundless universe . Ptha thus represented the
divine offspring of the solar fire , the prolific principle issuing from the great fountain of light , from whence all nature was quickened and invigorated , and which diffusing its life-generating impulse throughout the boundless realms of space , was sometimes designated by an appellation consonant to " the soul ofthe world . " Thus , allegorically to illustrate this triad , Osiris was the sun or centre of creationPtha the divine fire issuing from that central sourceand
, , Cneph the mighty spirit pervading and animating the material universe . The whole of the emblems , however , are resolvable into one deity , comprising in its triple essence the supreme creative energy , the beneficent prolific principle diffused throughout nature , and the products of this sublime union in the endless varieties of created matter . Thus , in fact ,
from the combination of celestial light , fire , and spirit , those mighty agents in the system of nature , was formed one grand collective triad of deity . These mighty energies were subsequently allegorized hy representations compounded from physical objects ; thus Cneph was drawn with the body of a serpent , to which was added the head of the sharp-sighted hawk . The mysterious universal soul of nature was represented by a winged globewith a serpent emerging from it . The globe denoted the
, infinity of the divine essence , " whose centre was everywhere and circumference nowhere ; " the wings of the hawk represented tbe divine all-comprehensive intellect ; whilst the serpent denoted that creative energy and vivifying power of the Eternal Deity , by which life and existence were given to all created things .
In investigating this important part of the subject , it will be found that all Egyptian mythology ultimately centres in the representation or illustration of these immortal essences , and that all the divine attributes , operations , and energies , which created , animated , and preserved both the celestial and terrestrial system , were represented under certain embodiments of form or impersonations , which , not being generally understood , led eventually to the introduction of idolatrous practices , the divine original being entirely lost siht ofand the symbol adored for
g , the reality . Thus superstition was introduced , and eventually darkness laid upon the land . The purity of the original faith being sullied , the whole of the Egyptian mythology was misunderstood , and its tenets and symbols misrepresented and perverted . Now the Egyptian theology was divided into two classes , the spiritual and the physical . The first was arcanic and esoteric ; it comprised the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Study Of Masonic Antiquities.
matter , the Deity whose creative power fashioned all things according to his mighty will , and whose potent energies pervaded the universe . OSIRIS was also regarded as a manifestation of the attributes of the supreme deity , chiefly in a two-fold character , typifying the union of divinity and humanity . Osiris thus possessed the attributes of Cneph , whilst in his mortal character he was a type of the human race , whom Cneph created . It is also to be remarked that Osiris was invested with
numerous characters , among others that of judye of the souls of the departed . The name of Osiris was also subsequently applied to the sun . As heat issues from the solar orb , so PTHA was an emanation from Osiris—equal in divinity , but differing in essence—Ptha , in the Chaldaic philosophy , was the same as the great first principle , the all-pervading fire , which emanating from the central soul , or primum mobile , is diffused throughout the boundless universe . Ptha thus represented the
divine offspring of the solar fire , the prolific principle issuing from the great fountain of light , from whence all nature was quickened and invigorated , and which diffusing its life-generating impulse throughout the boundless realms of space , was sometimes designated by an appellation consonant to " the soul ofthe world . " Thus , allegorically to illustrate this triad , Osiris was the sun or centre of creationPtha the divine fire issuing from that central sourceand
, , Cneph the mighty spirit pervading and animating the material universe . The whole of the emblems , however , are resolvable into one deity , comprising in its triple essence the supreme creative energy , the beneficent prolific principle diffused throughout nature , and the products of this sublime union in the endless varieties of created matter . Thus , in fact ,
from the combination of celestial light , fire , and spirit , those mighty agents in the system of nature , was formed one grand collective triad of deity . These mighty energies were subsequently allegorized hy representations compounded from physical objects ; thus Cneph was drawn with the body of a serpent , to which was added the head of the sharp-sighted hawk . The mysterious universal soul of nature was represented by a winged globewith a serpent emerging from it . The globe denoted the
, infinity of the divine essence , " whose centre was everywhere and circumference nowhere ; " the wings of the hawk represented tbe divine all-comprehensive intellect ; whilst the serpent denoted that creative energy and vivifying power of the Eternal Deity , by which life and existence were given to all created things .
In investigating this important part of the subject , it will be found that all Egyptian mythology ultimately centres in the representation or illustration of these immortal essences , and that all the divine attributes , operations , and energies , which created , animated , and preserved both the celestial and terrestrial system , were represented under certain embodiments of form or impersonations , which , not being generally understood , led eventually to the introduction of idolatrous practices , the divine original being entirely lost siht ofand the symbol adored for
g , the reality . Thus superstition was introduced , and eventually darkness laid upon the land . The purity of the original faith being sullied , the whole of the Egyptian mythology was misunderstood , and its tenets and symbols misrepresented and perverted . Now the Egyptian theology was divided into two classes , the spiritual and the physical . The first was arcanic and esoteric ; it comprised the