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Article LECTURE ON FREEMASONRY, ← Page 2 of 7 →
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Lecture On Freemasonry,
nearer to truth than those Avhich so confidently amuse us . Masonry takes its origin from the highest source , and animates man Avith hope ot success by all that immensity of created matter , which surrounds him at every step ; it fills his soul with rapturous astonishment at every glance , and thus gradually draAVs him toAvards his Creator ; man erects the first temple for adoration in his heart , and filled with the fire of holy
charity , seeks every opportunity to serve his felloAV man , and draAVs him out of his dark recesses and impenetrable forests . To satisfy the Avauts of nature has hitherto been his sole study , for mental degradation had habituated him to a Avild liberty , and almost unconquerable insubordination , aud , in defiance of all difficulties , a taste to liA'e in society is engendeved , and thus the first Lodge upon the true princip les of brotherly love , relief , and truth , may be said to haA'e been formed .
Silence and secrecy propagate those heavenly sciences , of Avhich an open profession Avould endanger the teacher and disciples , and Avould probably be the means of sacrificing them to blind ignorance and inhuman barbarity . On this and similar principles I consider Secret Societies to have taken their origin . Secret SocietiesAvherever they miht have draAvn their first
exist-, g ence , certainly give us great reason to believe that they flourished earlier in the east than in the other parts of our globe . Necessity for their self-preservation taught them to adopt signs , tokens , and proper pass-Avords , only entrusted to the initiated ; and prudence guided their instructions , which were delivered under hieroglyphics and other symbolic representations . In this manner , the sublime knoAvledge of the
Deity Avas preserved in the midst of a SAvarm of pagan votaries , also the most useful arts ancl sciences , such as astronomy , architecture , sculpture , and more particularly chemistry , Avhich science , in its experiments , would have draAVn as great a disgrace upon the operator , as the belief in one undivided Deity among their idolatrous neighbours . That the science formed a conspicuous part in the instructions of the Secret Societies , appears clear from the temples of Elephanta , near Bombayand Ellorain Aurangabadof Avhose antiquity history is silent .
, , , It is , hoAvever , probable that the Secret Societies flourished in the east , betAveen the long space from the emigration of the Jews out of Egypt , and the building of the temple of Solomon . That those Indian Societies had their secret Avords of admission , is evident from the similarity of some of their sacred words to those used by Freemasons , in certain of their ceremonies , in our days . The Hindoo words Om Tat Sat all united , as well as separately , allude to God . In the Sanscrit , the word Om / cava is to the same effect . According to Lanjrle ' s Asiatic Review ,
vol . the first , there are still , to this day , existing in the temple of Tschchilminar tAvo huge pillars , one of Avhich is of the sky-blue Tutia stone , formerly inlaid Avith gold , of Avhich small specimens are still visible . These pillars , so perfectly encouraging to the Avell informed Freemason , are situated in the lowest or subterraneous part of those ruins . Here the initiation took place , and from this loivest vale the progress of the initiated in the knoAvledge of the Sciences was directed by a certain vunnbev of mystical steps or degrees , to the middle part of the mansion ,
where , aided by the liberal arts and sciences , they ultimately arrived at the summit , answering to our observatories , Avhich brought them to the knowledge of all knowledge , viz . the contemplation of the Deity and all its Works in the Heavens aboA'e . The summits of the ancient temples
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Lecture On Freemasonry,
nearer to truth than those Avhich so confidently amuse us . Masonry takes its origin from the highest source , and animates man Avith hope ot success by all that immensity of created matter , which surrounds him at every step ; it fills his soul with rapturous astonishment at every glance , and thus gradually draAVs him toAvards his Creator ; man erects the first temple for adoration in his heart , and filled with the fire of holy
charity , seeks every opportunity to serve his felloAV man , and draAVs him out of his dark recesses and impenetrable forests . To satisfy the Avauts of nature has hitherto been his sole study , for mental degradation had habituated him to a Avild liberty , and almost unconquerable insubordination , aud , in defiance of all difficulties , a taste to liA'e in society is engendeved , and thus the first Lodge upon the true princip les of brotherly love , relief , and truth , may be said to haA'e been formed .
Silence and secrecy propagate those heavenly sciences , of Avhich an open profession Avould endanger the teacher and disciples , and Avould probably be the means of sacrificing them to blind ignorance and inhuman barbarity . On this and similar principles I consider Secret Societies to have taken their origin . Secret SocietiesAvherever they miht have draAvn their first
exist-, g ence , certainly give us great reason to believe that they flourished earlier in the east than in the other parts of our globe . Necessity for their self-preservation taught them to adopt signs , tokens , and proper pass-Avords , only entrusted to the initiated ; and prudence guided their instructions , which were delivered under hieroglyphics and other symbolic representations . In this manner , the sublime knoAvledge of the
Deity Avas preserved in the midst of a SAvarm of pagan votaries , also the most useful arts ancl sciences , such as astronomy , architecture , sculpture , and more particularly chemistry , Avhich science , in its experiments , would have draAVn as great a disgrace upon the operator , as the belief in one undivided Deity among their idolatrous neighbours . That the science formed a conspicuous part in the instructions of the Secret Societies , appears clear from the temples of Elephanta , near Bombayand Ellorain Aurangabadof Avhose antiquity history is silent .
, , , It is , hoAvever , probable that the Secret Societies flourished in the east , betAveen the long space from the emigration of the Jews out of Egypt , and the building of the temple of Solomon . That those Indian Societies had their secret Avords of admission , is evident from the similarity of some of their sacred words to those used by Freemasons , in certain of their ceremonies , in our days . The Hindoo words Om Tat Sat all united , as well as separately , allude to God . In the Sanscrit , the word Om / cava is to the same effect . According to Lanjrle ' s Asiatic Review ,
vol . the first , there are still , to this day , existing in the temple of Tschchilminar tAvo huge pillars , one of Avhich is of the sky-blue Tutia stone , formerly inlaid Avith gold , of Avhich small specimens are still visible . These pillars , so perfectly encouraging to the Avell informed Freemason , are situated in the lowest or subterraneous part of those ruins . Here the initiation took place , and from this loivest vale the progress of the initiated in the knoAvledge of the Sciences was directed by a certain vunnbev of mystical steps or degrees , to the middle part of the mansion ,
where , aided by the liberal arts and sciences , they ultimately arrived at the summit , answering to our observatories , Avhich brought them to the knowledge of all knowledge , viz . the contemplation of the Deity and all its Works in the Heavens aboA'e . The summits of the ancient temples