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Article ON SILENCE AND ITS ANCIENT SYMBOLS. ← Page 2 of 7 →
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On Silence And Its Ancient Symbols.
the barren Avastes of Scetis , * hoping to commune with the God for whom they had forsaken all , and enjoying , in the death-like stillness of the barren sands of Libya , an initiatory probation for their entrance into a life of everlasting joy and perfect knoAVledge . So should it be with Masonry . So should its preliminary
solemnities be to us even as was the desert to the early fathers . So should a modest silence and calm demeanour attest our sense of the importance of the gifts of knoAvdedge we are about to receiA r e , and of our Avillingness to submit to the teaching of those who have passed on to the higher grades of Masonic knoAvledge . I address these few words , en passant , for the benefit of my
younger readers . And now we come to the more important view of silence , — A'iz . in its obligation of secrecy . It is . urged against Masonry that all good deeds should be done " before all men , " and that a consciousness of their evil character can be the only reason for AAithholding them from the light . Yet have we not the guarantee of Holy Writ to attest not only the necessity , but the
absolute duty , of silence in reference to things of deep and serious import ? When God spoke Avith Moses , Moses told not the particulars of his intervieAV , but its results . Besides , in all ages secret associations have been found an inherent feature of history . In a world where the good and the bad are mixed together , and hurled into dangerous collision by
a thousand varying interests , perfect confidence cannot exist betAveen man and man ; and hence the possession of a common secret has become established as a pledge of mutual confidence and protection—a Shibboleth of defence or destruction . . But , in proportion as such societies have increased in numbers and efficiencyso has silence proportionately become a more important
, virtue . Were silence not observed scrupulously , every advantage would be taken by the idle or the crafty to abuse thatAA'hich is as strictly a man ' s property as his conscience ; and hence the first words in the rites of the ancient mysteries , and the first symbol that greeted the novice on his entrance to the temple of initiation , inculcated this solemn lesson .
The Egyptians , it is Avell knoAvn , represented Harpocrates as a youth , naked , and with his right hanct pressed against his lips . f Now Porphyryf tells us that even the sacrifice of Avorship is
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Silence And Its Ancient Symbols.
the barren Avastes of Scetis , * hoping to commune with the God for whom they had forsaken all , and enjoying , in the death-like stillness of the barren sands of Libya , an initiatory probation for their entrance into a life of everlasting joy and perfect knoAVledge . So should it be with Masonry . So should its preliminary
solemnities be to us even as was the desert to the early fathers . So should a modest silence and calm demeanour attest our sense of the importance of the gifts of knoAvdedge we are about to receiA r e , and of our Avillingness to submit to the teaching of those who have passed on to the higher grades of Masonic knoAvledge . I address these few words , en passant , for the benefit of my
younger readers . And now we come to the more important view of silence , — A'iz . in its obligation of secrecy . It is . urged against Masonry that all good deeds should be done " before all men , " and that a consciousness of their evil character can be the only reason for AAithholding them from the light . Yet have we not the guarantee of Holy Writ to attest not only the necessity , but the
absolute duty , of silence in reference to things of deep and serious import ? When God spoke Avith Moses , Moses told not the particulars of his intervieAV , but its results . Besides , in all ages secret associations have been found an inherent feature of history . In a world where the good and the bad are mixed together , and hurled into dangerous collision by
a thousand varying interests , perfect confidence cannot exist betAveen man and man ; and hence the possession of a common secret has become established as a pledge of mutual confidence and protection—a Shibboleth of defence or destruction . . But , in proportion as such societies have increased in numbers and efficiencyso has silence proportionately become a more important
, virtue . Were silence not observed scrupulously , every advantage would be taken by the idle or the crafty to abuse thatAA'hich is as strictly a man ' s property as his conscience ; and hence the first words in the rites of the ancient mysteries , and the first symbol that greeted the novice on his entrance to the temple of initiation , inculcated this solemn lesson .
The Egyptians , it is Avell knoAvn , represented Harpocrates as a youth , naked , and with his right hanct pressed against his lips . f Now Porphyryf tells us that even the sacrifice of Avorship is