-
Articles/Ads
Article MASONIC VIEWS IN THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
MASONIC VIEWS IN THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY .
THAT the great poet , painter , ancl historian , of the heroic ages of Greecc was initiated into the secret and sacrecl mysteries of the spurious Freemasonry of ancient times there is every internal evidence in his works to infer . " He believed , " says Wood , the learned illustrator of his genius ancl writings , " the unity , supremacy , omnipotence , and omniscience of the divine nature , creator , ancl disposer of all things ; his powerwisdomjusticemercyancl truth are inculcated in various parts
, , , , of the Iliad and Odyssey ; the immortality of the soul , a future state , rewards and punishments , and most of the principles of sound divinity , are to be found in his writings . " Such , no doubt , would be among the sacred doctrines taught and illustrated to the entrant within the inner veil . But not only was his mind imbued with a wonderfully perfect notion of a theocratic philosophy , he was also intimately acquainted with all the
known arts and sciences of his time . Nor can we doubt that among these , operative , as well as speculative Masonry , formed a subject of his knowledge . He makes frequent allusion to building as an art , ancl gives us various glimpses of its general character and condition in the heroic age , by the introduction of different descriptions of dwellings and edifices , from the rude natural cavern to the polished palace . In the cave of Polyphemus , for instance , we have a specimen of a primitive habitation , before men had built to themselves houses : —
" Fast hy the sea a lonely cave we view , High , and with dark ' nmg laurels covered o ' er * , Where sheep and goats lay slumbering on the shore . Near this , a fence of marble from the rock , Brown with o'erarcliing pine , and spreading oak . "—POPE .
Such would naturally form the first rude retreats of a savage and pastoral people , who , contented with the accommodation of a cavern for themselves , were prompted by their care for their flocks and herds to attempt the building of a rough enclosure of rock , as a shelter or fold . No art or skill would be required for this object , beyond that of laying the irregular blocks one upon the other , so as to retain their position , a character of structure known by the conventional designation of Cyclopian . Pope , it may be observeddignifies the materials by the appellation of " marble ;"
, but the expression in the orig inal does not convey any such specific signification . The erection raised by Eumteus , the Ithacan swineherd , presents another example of a rude pastoral habitation , somewhat more of a civilized aspect , liowever , than the former , all untutored though the architect was : —
Him sitting in the porch Ulysses found Where he had built his steading . Ail around It looked , high-piled , of fair appearance , large ; Formed for ihe shelter of his bristly charge . No royal aid relieved his honest toil , In absence of his lord he planned the pile . With his own hands he placed each proper stone , Dragged from its bed , and hedged all with a zone Of prickly thorns , with further fence of oaks , Shaped into sharpened stakes by sturdy strokes . Frequent and thick . Twelve ample stalls were there , In which the swinish inmates found their lair .
Such was Eumseus' handywork ; and no contemptible effort it was for one man , and he but a poor swineherd , though born to higher hopes —• vor .. tu . s s
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
MASONIC VIEWS IN THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY .
THAT the great poet , painter , ancl historian , of the heroic ages of Greecc was initiated into the secret and sacrecl mysteries of the spurious Freemasonry of ancient times there is every internal evidence in his works to infer . " He believed , " says Wood , the learned illustrator of his genius ancl writings , " the unity , supremacy , omnipotence , and omniscience of the divine nature , creator , ancl disposer of all things ; his powerwisdomjusticemercyancl truth are inculcated in various parts
, , , , of the Iliad and Odyssey ; the immortality of the soul , a future state , rewards and punishments , and most of the principles of sound divinity , are to be found in his writings . " Such , no doubt , would be among the sacred doctrines taught and illustrated to the entrant within the inner veil . But not only was his mind imbued with a wonderfully perfect notion of a theocratic philosophy , he was also intimately acquainted with all the
known arts and sciences of his time . Nor can we doubt that among these , operative , as well as speculative Masonry , formed a subject of his knowledge . He makes frequent allusion to building as an art , ancl gives us various glimpses of its general character and condition in the heroic age , by the introduction of different descriptions of dwellings and edifices , from the rude natural cavern to the polished palace . In the cave of Polyphemus , for instance , we have a specimen of a primitive habitation , before men had built to themselves houses : —
" Fast hy the sea a lonely cave we view , High , and with dark ' nmg laurels covered o ' er * , Where sheep and goats lay slumbering on the shore . Near this , a fence of marble from the rock , Brown with o'erarcliing pine , and spreading oak . "—POPE .
Such would naturally form the first rude retreats of a savage and pastoral people , who , contented with the accommodation of a cavern for themselves , were prompted by their care for their flocks and herds to attempt the building of a rough enclosure of rock , as a shelter or fold . No art or skill would be required for this object , beyond that of laying the irregular blocks one upon the other , so as to retain their position , a character of structure known by the conventional designation of Cyclopian . Pope , it may be observeddignifies the materials by the appellation of " marble ;"
, but the expression in the orig inal does not convey any such specific signification . The erection raised by Eumteus , the Ithacan swineherd , presents another example of a rude pastoral habitation , somewhat more of a civilized aspect , liowever , than the former , all untutored though the architect was : —
Him sitting in the porch Ulysses found Where he had built his steading . Ail around It looked , high-piled , of fair appearance , large ; Formed for ihe shelter of his bristly charge . No royal aid relieved his honest toil , In absence of his lord he planned the pile . With his own hands he placed each proper stone , Dragged from its bed , and hedged all with a zone Of prickly thorns , with further fence of oaks , Shaped into sharpened stakes by sturdy strokes . Frequent and thick . Twelve ample stalls were there , In which the swinish inmates found their lair .
Such was Eumseus' handywork ; and no contemptible effort it was for one man , and he but a poor swineherd , though born to higher hopes —• vor .. tu . s s