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Article ORIGINAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY FREEMASONRY. ← Page 6 of 9 →
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Original And Supplementary Freemasonry.
sciences , and the enunciation of certain secrets and traditions , accompanied with fixed and imperative ' rites and solemnities . I am aware that 1 may be charged with taking a narrow view of the subject ; but I confess that the idea of Masonry , as a religious notion alone , becomes too expanded for my comprehension , and in an argument of this nature , which undoubtedly relates to the history of men and things , as well as of abstract ideas and opinionsit is necessary to have something tangible on
, which to rest the lever of inquiry . The children of Israel , a nomadic or shepherd race , living in tents , and subsisting on the produce of their flocks and herds , were driven by the pressure of famine to the land of Egypt , where , through the influence of tlieir brother , whom a fortunate circumstance had placed in authority in that land , they were received as guests , and treated with distinguished hospitality . Still they were , from the moment of their entrance , " an
abomination unto the Egyptians , " their profession of herdsmen and shepherds being by that people held in execration . * A separate district , the land of Goshen , was assigned to them for their residence , which had been previously possessed by the Palli , a shepherd race , of the line of Cush , the son of Ham . The fable , for such it must be considered , of Joseph ' s having communicated wisdom and learning to the chief men and rulers of Egypt ,
and of his having been appointed Grand Master of Masons , f scarcely deserves mention ; it is enough to say , that the documents we have within the last twenty years accumulated concerning the power , luxury , and magnificence of that great metropolis of the ancient world—the
centre of civilization , the cradle of the sciences , and the birth-place of the greater number of human arte and inventions—the mighty , the mysterious , and , even in ruin , unparalleled cities of the fertile Nile—are evidence sufficient to assure us , that without the positive intervention of a miracle , the rude and half-civilized shepherds of the land of Canaan must have been learners , and not teachers , during their sojourn in Egypt . Having remained in the land of Goshen for two hundred and fifteen yearsduring a portion of which period they were subjected to much
, oppression , the Israelites were at length led out from thence under the guidance of their great legislator Moses , and after passing through many difficulties , and fighting their way through adverse nations , they ultimately settled down in the land of Juda * a . The great leader of the Exodus has , of course , in common with almost every other Jewish legislator , prophet , or judge , been styled a Grand Master of Masons . Independently , however , of the fact , that we find
in the scripture history of his time no mention of any thing like Masonry ( for Moses , though he adopted the Egyptian ceremonials , yet instituted a different form of sacerdotal government , a pure theocracy ) , it is evident from the arguments adduced in the preceding pages , that had Masonry been practised by the Jews , their knowledge of it must have been derived from the country which they had left , and in which Moses became learned in all the learning of the Egyptians . It would occupy
too great a space were I to enter into a detail of the almost universal similarity , and , in some cases , the actual identity of the ceremonial of the Jewish law with Egyptian rites ; those who will take the trouble to consult Spencer on the ritual law of the Hebrews , and the works of Bishop Warburton , will find the parallel to be marked and accurate throughout .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original And Supplementary Freemasonry.
sciences , and the enunciation of certain secrets and traditions , accompanied with fixed and imperative ' rites and solemnities . I am aware that 1 may be charged with taking a narrow view of the subject ; but I confess that the idea of Masonry , as a religious notion alone , becomes too expanded for my comprehension , and in an argument of this nature , which undoubtedly relates to the history of men and things , as well as of abstract ideas and opinionsit is necessary to have something tangible on
, which to rest the lever of inquiry . The children of Israel , a nomadic or shepherd race , living in tents , and subsisting on the produce of their flocks and herds , were driven by the pressure of famine to the land of Egypt , where , through the influence of tlieir brother , whom a fortunate circumstance had placed in authority in that land , they were received as guests , and treated with distinguished hospitality . Still they were , from the moment of their entrance , " an
abomination unto the Egyptians , " their profession of herdsmen and shepherds being by that people held in execration . * A separate district , the land of Goshen , was assigned to them for their residence , which had been previously possessed by the Palli , a shepherd race , of the line of Cush , the son of Ham . The fable , for such it must be considered , of Joseph ' s having communicated wisdom and learning to the chief men and rulers of Egypt ,
and of his having been appointed Grand Master of Masons , f scarcely deserves mention ; it is enough to say , that the documents we have within the last twenty years accumulated concerning the power , luxury , and magnificence of that great metropolis of the ancient world—the
centre of civilization , the cradle of the sciences , and the birth-place of the greater number of human arte and inventions—the mighty , the mysterious , and , even in ruin , unparalleled cities of the fertile Nile—are evidence sufficient to assure us , that without the positive intervention of a miracle , the rude and half-civilized shepherds of the land of Canaan must have been learners , and not teachers , during their sojourn in Egypt . Having remained in the land of Goshen for two hundred and fifteen yearsduring a portion of which period they were subjected to much
, oppression , the Israelites were at length led out from thence under the guidance of their great legislator Moses , and after passing through many difficulties , and fighting their way through adverse nations , they ultimately settled down in the land of Juda * a . The great leader of the Exodus has , of course , in common with almost every other Jewish legislator , prophet , or judge , been styled a Grand Master of Masons . Independently , however , of the fact , that we find
in the scripture history of his time no mention of any thing like Masonry ( for Moses , though he adopted the Egyptian ceremonials , yet instituted a different form of sacerdotal government , a pure theocracy ) , it is evident from the arguments adduced in the preceding pages , that had Masonry been practised by the Jews , their knowledge of it must have been derived from the country which they had left , and in which Moses became learned in all the learning of the Egyptians . It would occupy
too great a space were I to enter into a detail of the almost universal similarity , and , in some cases , the actual identity of the ceremonial of the Jewish law with Egyptian rites ; those who will take the trouble to consult Spencer on the ritual law of the Hebrews , and the works of Bishop Warburton , will find the parallel to be marked and accurate throughout .