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On Freemasonry. The History And Antiquities Of Freemasonry.
king of the Jews ; an event the most improbable , because Herod was not of that nation . From these privileges we may be assured that , however they might err in some points , their errors were the effects of Jewish depravation generally , for they were merely ceremonialancl did not lead to the practice of vice and
im-, morality . _ They were not hypocrites , as were the Scribes and Pharisees ; they did not deny the resurrection and the immortality of the soul , as did the Sadducees ; they did not reject the prophetical writings , like the Samaritans ; ancl hence , though a very important sect in the time of Jesus Christ , that great Being , who penetrated the most hidden
secrets of every heart , never , in the whole course of his ministry , uttered a single word of condemnation against them . Ancl this is remarkable , because no other sect or party amongst the Jews escaped his most severe animadversion . The Pharisees , the Sadducees , the Scribes , ancl the Herodianswere equallthe objects of his censure
, y . But the Essenes were never introduced into his discourses ; from the fact , as some authors think , " that being a very honest and sincere sort of people , they gave no reason for that reproof and censure which tlie others very justly deserved . "
Calmet thinks that John the Baptist was a member of this fraternity , and these are his reasons . " 1 . That his father and mother being of great age at the time of his birth , it is probable they did not live till their son arrived at maturity . 2 . The community ofthe Essenes was a probable place for John to retire toand his first
; appearance as a preacher being in the desert , seems to hint at his beginning near to those parts where he was best known . 3 . It does not appear that John went regularly up to Jerusalem ( and we find the Essenes did not go thither ) , so that he might , strictly speaking , have no personal knowledge
of Jesus , as he has been usually understood to declare . 4 . His manners , as neither eating nor drinking , i . e . freely , but being of a reserved course of conduct , are perfectly agreeable to those ofthe Essenes . 5 . His continual abode in the country , not entering the principal cities , agrees with their customs . 6 . They baptised 7 They lived the
. . near Jordan . 8 . They fed on dates and other fruit ; ancl in many other respects they seem to have agreed with the character of John , as we find it described or implied in the Gospels . " l ( To be continued ) .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The History And Antiquities Of Freemasonry.
king of the Jews ; an event the most improbable , because Herod was not of that nation . From these privileges we may be assured that , however they might err in some points , their errors were the effects of Jewish depravation generally , for they were merely ceremonialancl did not lead to the practice of vice and
im-, morality . _ They were not hypocrites , as were the Scribes and Pharisees ; they did not deny the resurrection and the immortality of the soul , as did the Sadducees ; they did not reject the prophetical writings , like the Samaritans ; ancl hence , though a very important sect in the time of Jesus Christ , that great Being , who penetrated the most hidden
secrets of every heart , never , in the whole course of his ministry , uttered a single word of condemnation against them . Ancl this is remarkable , because no other sect or party amongst the Jews escaped his most severe animadversion . The Pharisees , the Sadducees , the Scribes , ancl the Herodianswere equallthe objects of his censure
, y . But the Essenes were never introduced into his discourses ; from the fact , as some authors think , " that being a very honest and sincere sort of people , they gave no reason for that reproof and censure which tlie others very justly deserved . "
Calmet thinks that John the Baptist was a member of this fraternity , and these are his reasons . " 1 . That his father and mother being of great age at the time of his birth , it is probable they did not live till their son arrived at maturity . 2 . The community ofthe Essenes was a probable place for John to retire toand his first
; appearance as a preacher being in the desert , seems to hint at his beginning near to those parts where he was best known . 3 . It does not appear that John went regularly up to Jerusalem ( and we find the Essenes did not go thither ) , so that he might , strictly speaking , have no personal knowledge
of Jesus , as he has been usually understood to declare . 4 . His manners , as neither eating nor drinking , i . e . freely , but being of a reserved course of conduct , are perfectly agreeable to those ofthe Essenes . 5 . His continual abode in the country , not entering the principal cities , agrees with their customs . 6 . They baptised 7 They lived the
. . near Jordan . 8 . They fed on dates and other fruit ; ancl in many other respects they seem to have agreed with the character of John , as we find it described or implied in the Gospels . " l ( To be continued ) .