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Article ON SILENCE AND ITS ANCIENT SYMBOLS. Page 1 of 7 →
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On Silence And Its Ancient Symbols.
ON SILENCE AND ITS ANCIENT SYMBOLS .
BY DEO . THE EEV . T . A . BT 7 CKIEY , M . A ., JT . S . A ., ETC . " Audi , Vide , Tace . " WITH these three solemn words all personswhether Masons
, or not , must be acquainted , if they have once entered a Mason ' s lodge . It will be our pleasing task to attempt to illustrate the third great precept—that enjoining silence—by collecting together and discussing some of the ancient symbols of silence in as complete a form as the limits of an article Avill permit . In all the mysteries of which we possess any notice this most
difficult of Aortues appears to have formed an essential duty . Hence , even in connection Avith the vagaries of witchcraft and necromancy , night was the time selected for the invocation ;* " the silent secretness of umbrageous night , "f as Apuleius poetically expresses it , heard the prayer of the victim to magical transformation . In the dead gloom of night elves and fays held
their revels , and Avoe to the human intruder ! Silence , even in things inanimate , announced the approach or presence of a deity , J and in the sublime visions vouchsafed to the patriarchs and prophets of old , themselves accompanied ( like the mysteries ) with symbolic action , we find that when God vouchsafed His glorious promise to Abraham , it was " when the
sun was going down , and a deep sleep fell upon him ; and lo ! an hour of great darkness fell up on him . " § When the " strong Avind " and the earthquake rent the rocks , all nature became suddenly hushed , as " the still small voice" spoke comfort and exhortation to the despairing Elijah , jj Moreover , the visions of God were generally in the desert , apart from the very thought of human things ; and it Avas for this reason that the early fathers sought
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Silence And Its Ancient Symbols.
ON SILENCE AND ITS ANCIENT SYMBOLS .
BY DEO . THE EEV . T . A . BT 7 CKIEY , M . A ., JT . S . A ., ETC . " Audi , Vide , Tace . " WITH these three solemn words all personswhether Masons
, or not , must be acquainted , if they have once entered a Mason ' s lodge . It will be our pleasing task to attempt to illustrate the third great precept—that enjoining silence—by collecting together and discussing some of the ancient symbols of silence in as complete a form as the limits of an article Avill permit . In all the mysteries of which we possess any notice this most
difficult of Aortues appears to have formed an essential duty . Hence , even in connection Avith the vagaries of witchcraft and necromancy , night was the time selected for the invocation ;* " the silent secretness of umbrageous night , "f as Apuleius poetically expresses it , heard the prayer of the victim to magical transformation . In the dead gloom of night elves and fays held
their revels , and Avoe to the human intruder ! Silence , even in things inanimate , announced the approach or presence of a deity , J and in the sublime visions vouchsafed to the patriarchs and prophets of old , themselves accompanied ( like the mysteries ) with symbolic action , we find that when God vouchsafed His glorious promise to Abraham , it was " when the
sun was going down , and a deep sleep fell upon him ; and lo ! an hour of great darkness fell up on him . " § When the " strong Avind " and the earthquake rent the rocks , all nature became suddenly hushed , as " the still small voice" spoke comfort and exhortation to the despairing Elijah , jj Moreover , the visions of God were generally in the desert , apart from the very thought of human things ; and it Avas for this reason that the early fathers sought