-
Articles/Ads
Article ON SYMBOLS AND SYMBOLISM, ← Page 6 of 18 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Symbols And Symbolism,
covenant of grace . Which was in force from the time of man's first apostacy at the incarnation of Our Saviour . " And Jacob ' s declaration , — - " How dreadful is this place : this is none other but the house of God , and this is the gate of heaven , " must forcibly induce every Brother , at the sight of so remarkable ancl consistent a tokento render the spot on whicli he finds itby
, , his own conduct ancl life , equal to the ancient Bethel . But as in condescending to commune with man the divine Providence must necessarily use figures and speech on a level with our limited capacities , it is not derogatory to the supernatural
appearance to believe that an object was exhibited to the inward sight of the patriarch , with which he may have been previously familiar in the heathen surrounding kingdoms and the rites which he must frequently have witnessed . For in the vast provinces of Persia , in the rituals of the Magi aud Zoroaster , in the caverned cathedrals of Kerefta and Lake Van , the
birthplace of then-prophet , the ladder is found i r ariously depicted , with seldom less than eight or more than twelve spells , which seem to indicate the different grades of initiation , or mystery , which ive know existed under the denomination of various animals in the secret and mysterious rites of Mithras . It is not our present purpose to follow these , ivhich , for antiquity , had many points in common with modern Freemasonry ; but from an Etrurian bas-relief on the handle of a i r ase copied from an
engraving in a work by the learned Micali , it would seem that very similar mysteries must hai e prevailed in ancient Etruria ; for we see there the crow perched upon the top of a ladder of seven steps . Nor is this a solitary
instance on the curious monuments exhumed from the grave-rooms of this early civilized people . In the
great collection of Etrurian vases in the Antiquarium , at Berlin , this emblem occurs repeatedly . No . 1 , 009 has a ladder of ten steps ; No . 1 , 011 one of eight steps , ancl the lituus ; No . 1 , 019 one of seven steps ; No . 11 , 123 one of tAvelve , beneath a centaur ; in No . 1 , 022 a figure holds one of eight steps ; and finally , in No . 1 , 012 is the emblem with a similar number , but unmistakably
Mithriatic . In the same collection is a bronze or iron bas-relief with all the Mithriatic emblems , and amongst them the ladder peculiarly prominent ; as also casts from a set of separate mystic emblems , with a perfect ladder , of ivhich w e could learn from the attendant nothing further than that it was believed the originals had gone to England . We cannot , hoivever , close
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Symbols And Symbolism,
covenant of grace . Which was in force from the time of man's first apostacy at the incarnation of Our Saviour . " And Jacob ' s declaration , — - " How dreadful is this place : this is none other but the house of God , and this is the gate of heaven , " must forcibly induce every Brother , at the sight of so remarkable ancl consistent a tokento render the spot on whicli he finds itby
, , his own conduct ancl life , equal to the ancient Bethel . But as in condescending to commune with man the divine Providence must necessarily use figures and speech on a level with our limited capacities , it is not derogatory to the supernatural
appearance to believe that an object was exhibited to the inward sight of the patriarch , with which he may have been previously familiar in the heathen surrounding kingdoms and the rites which he must frequently have witnessed . For in the vast provinces of Persia , in the rituals of the Magi aud Zoroaster , in the caverned cathedrals of Kerefta and Lake Van , the
birthplace of then-prophet , the ladder is found i r ariously depicted , with seldom less than eight or more than twelve spells , which seem to indicate the different grades of initiation , or mystery , which ive know existed under the denomination of various animals in the secret and mysterious rites of Mithras . It is not our present purpose to follow these , ivhich , for antiquity , had many points in common with modern Freemasonry ; but from an Etrurian bas-relief on the handle of a i r ase copied from an
engraving in a work by the learned Micali , it would seem that very similar mysteries must hai e prevailed in ancient Etruria ; for we see there the crow perched upon the top of a ladder of seven steps . Nor is this a solitary
instance on the curious monuments exhumed from the grave-rooms of this early civilized people . In the
great collection of Etrurian vases in the Antiquarium , at Berlin , this emblem occurs repeatedly . No . 1 , 009 has a ladder of ten steps ; No . 1 , 011 one of eight steps , ancl the lituus ; No . 1 , 019 one of seven steps ; No . 11 , 123 one of tAvelve , beneath a centaur ; in No . 1 , 022 a figure holds one of eight steps ; and finally , in No . 1 , 012 is the emblem with a similar number , but unmistakably
Mithriatic . In the same collection is a bronze or iron bas-relief with all the Mithriatic emblems , and amongst them the ladder peculiarly prominent ; as also casts from a set of separate mystic emblems , with a perfect ladder , of ivhich w e could learn from the attendant nothing further than that it was believed the originals had gone to England . We cannot , hoivever , close