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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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On Freemasonry.
only was able to foretel future events , but reduced the doctrine to a science governed by specific ruhs , which he transmitted to posterity in his " Book of Prognostics . " The ancients had a kind of onomantic arithmetic , the invention of which they ascribed to Pythagoras , whether truly or not is of no importance here , in which the letters of the alphabet , the planets , the days of the weekand the twelve zodiacal signswere assimilated with certain
, , numbers ; and thus , by the use of prescribed tables , constructed astrologically according to the aspects , qualities , dignities , and debilities , of the planets relatively towards the twelve signs , & c , the adept would authoritatively pronounce an opinion on questions affecting life and death , good and evil fortune , journeys , detection of theft , or the success of an enterprise . It must be confessed , however , that these predictions were not always correct ; for the rules laid down in different systems
varied so essentially , that the wisest magician was frequently puzzled to select the proper interpretation . The numeral system has been introduced into the modern practice of astrology , and very great things appear to depend on the trine , quartile , and sextile aspect of the planets in the horoscope . Something of this sort was practised by the Jewish cabalists ; and hence one ofthe rules of their cabala was called gematria or numeration ,
but it was chiefly confined to the interpretation of scripture . The letters of the Hebrew language being numerals , and the whole bible being composed of different combinations of those letters , it was supposed that the correct meaning of difficult passages might be ascertained by resorting to tlieir numerical value . The Talmudists entertained an opinion that the mystery of numbers was actually taught in tlieir
scriptures ; because , alter the idolatrous priests of Baal had accepted the challenge of Elijah , they state that the prophet took twelve stones to construct his altar , to correspond with the twelve tribes of Israel ; but they say that when he took this number for the special purpose of conciliating the favour of the Deity , it was not mereiy because the number of the sons of Jacob was twelve , but because those sons were twelve in consequence of that particular number containing a profound mystery . The system on which the doctrine is founded appears to be , that every
letter in the Hebrew alphabet is a light or attribute , and hence the letters are symbols of every thing which the eaith and heavens contain . The Rabbi Barahiel adds that " numbers proceed from Him who was before all numbers , as they go not beyond ten . These lights are no more , and are denominated m 3 D in the singular , which is derived from " 13 Q numbers ; they are numbers , each possessing the property of the number it represents . " And hence the theologians say that the Tetragrammaton represents the ten sovereign lights in which all the divinity is infused :
because the words formed by these letters are invariable , and , although they admit of twelve transpositions and combinations , every one of them means the Great Architect of the Universe . Hence the prophet Malachi says , " I am the Lord , and change not ; " for the Tetragrammaton or Sacred Name , however it may be transposed , never changes its meaning . The Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israelin his explanation of the cabala
, , says , " the fourth rule is founded on the shape of the letters . If it be asked , Why does the law begin with a Jj ? The answer is , Because it is formed by three lines , or 1 s , which , being written at length , spell IN" ) , numerically thirteen ; this number being multiplied by three ( the three lines , ) makes thirty-nine , equal to -fnitt niT , ( the Lord is one , )
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
only was able to foretel future events , but reduced the doctrine to a science governed by specific ruhs , which he transmitted to posterity in his " Book of Prognostics . " The ancients had a kind of onomantic arithmetic , the invention of which they ascribed to Pythagoras , whether truly or not is of no importance here , in which the letters of the alphabet , the planets , the days of the weekand the twelve zodiacal signswere assimilated with certain
, , numbers ; and thus , by the use of prescribed tables , constructed astrologically according to the aspects , qualities , dignities , and debilities , of the planets relatively towards the twelve signs , & c , the adept would authoritatively pronounce an opinion on questions affecting life and death , good and evil fortune , journeys , detection of theft , or the success of an enterprise . It must be confessed , however , that these predictions were not always correct ; for the rules laid down in different systems
varied so essentially , that the wisest magician was frequently puzzled to select the proper interpretation . The numeral system has been introduced into the modern practice of astrology , and very great things appear to depend on the trine , quartile , and sextile aspect of the planets in the horoscope . Something of this sort was practised by the Jewish cabalists ; and hence one ofthe rules of their cabala was called gematria or numeration ,
but it was chiefly confined to the interpretation of scripture . The letters of the Hebrew language being numerals , and the whole bible being composed of different combinations of those letters , it was supposed that the correct meaning of difficult passages might be ascertained by resorting to tlieir numerical value . The Talmudists entertained an opinion that the mystery of numbers was actually taught in tlieir
scriptures ; because , alter the idolatrous priests of Baal had accepted the challenge of Elijah , they state that the prophet took twelve stones to construct his altar , to correspond with the twelve tribes of Israel ; but they say that when he took this number for the special purpose of conciliating the favour of the Deity , it was not mereiy because the number of the sons of Jacob was twelve , but because those sons were twelve in consequence of that particular number containing a profound mystery . The system on which the doctrine is founded appears to be , that every
letter in the Hebrew alphabet is a light or attribute , and hence the letters are symbols of every thing which the eaith and heavens contain . The Rabbi Barahiel adds that " numbers proceed from Him who was before all numbers , as they go not beyond ten . These lights are no more , and are denominated m 3 D in the singular , which is derived from " 13 Q numbers ; they are numbers , each possessing the property of the number it represents . " And hence the theologians say that the Tetragrammaton represents the ten sovereign lights in which all the divinity is infused :
because the words formed by these letters are invariable , and , although they admit of twelve transpositions and combinations , every one of them means the Great Architect of the Universe . Hence the prophet Malachi says , " I am the Lord , and change not ; " for the Tetragrammaton or Sacred Name , however it may be transposed , never changes its meaning . The Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israelin his explanation of the cabala
, , says , " the fourth rule is founded on the shape of the letters . If it be asked , Why does the law begin with a Jj ? The answer is , Because it is formed by three lines , or 1 s , which , being written at length , spell IN" ) , numerically thirteen ; this number being multiplied by three ( the three lines , ) makes thirty-nine , equal to -fnitt niT , ( the Lord is one , )