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Article SYMBOLIZATION. ← Page 2 of 7 →
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Symbolization.
attempted to do this : but he has adopted a course whicli , we should think equally exceptionable , by endeavouring to reduce Christianity to a level with Masonry . We are not sure that we should be justified in commending this course ; but we cannot fail to be grateful for such an accession to
the literature of Masonry . It is true , we have never attempted to push our enquiries to the full extent of Mr . Holden's singular hypothesis , yet we are bound to thank him for his collection of facts and arguments in illustration of the benign principles of our divine science . The most legitimate definition of Masonry is , that it is
" a system of morality , veiled in allegory and ILLUSTRATED BY SYMBOLS ; " and Mr . Holden has endeavoured to prove that the same category will aptly apply to Christianity ; whence it is a fair logical conclusion that , in the opinion of our author , Christianity and Masonry are parallel institutions . But we would gently caution him to beware lestin
, his treatment of a subject on which he has evidentl y bestowed only a superficial attention , his eagerness to retrieve a false step should lead him into heresies of a more serious nature , and he should be carried forward b y an active imagination into errors of principle as well as of
practice . We are inclined to conclude from internal evidence , furnished by the sermon itself , that its author has not yet been initiated , but we sincerely hope the ceremony will not be delayed . We shall envy the fortunate Lodge which may chance to possess so learned and eminent a member ; and we are sure he will prove an ornament to the Craft .
Symbolism is the peculiar characteristic of Freemasonry . The Order could no more subsist without it , than could the solar system divested of its vivifying central orb . Each symbol , although to the unprepared eye it may appear insignificant and valueless , contains a copious lecture on moral duties . This mode of inculcating truth has descended
to us from the most ancient times , and has been popular amongst all people from the east to the west . It was not only practised by the Chaldeans , Phoenicians , and Egyptians , —not only by Pythagoras , Plato , and the philosophers of Greece , but by the nations which occupied the extreme westas the newldiscovered monuments of central
Ame-, y rica fully and unequivocally testify . Stephens , in his travels , has given numerous instances of this extraordinary fact . At Copan he found an altar standing " on four globes cut out of the same stone ; the sculpture in bas-relief . It is six feet square , and four feet high ; and the top is divided
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Symbolization.
attempted to do this : but he has adopted a course whicli , we should think equally exceptionable , by endeavouring to reduce Christianity to a level with Masonry . We are not sure that we should be justified in commending this course ; but we cannot fail to be grateful for such an accession to
the literature of Masonry . It is true , we have never attempted to push our enquiries to the full extent of Mr . Holden's singular hypothesis , yet we are bound to thank him for his collection of facts and arguments in illustration of the benign principles of our divine science . The most legitimate definition of Masonry is , that it is
" a system of morality , veiled in allegory and ILLUSTRATED BY SYMBOLS ; " and Mr . Holden has endeavoured to prove that the same category will aptly apply to Christianity ; whence it is a fair logical conclusion that , in the opinion of our author , Christianity and Masonry are parallel institutions . But we would gently caution him to beware lestin
, his treatment of a subject on which he has evidentl y bestowed only a superficial attention , his eagerness to retrieve a false step should lead him into heresies of a more serious nature , and he should be carried forward b y an active imagination into errors of principle as well as of
practice . We are inclined to conclude from internal evidence , furnished by the sermon itself , that its author has not yet been initiated , but we sincerely hope the ceremony will not be delayed . We shall envy the fortunate Lodge which may chance to possess so learned and eminent a member ; and we are sure he will prove an ornament to the Craft .
Symbolism is the peculiar characteristic of Freemasonry . The Order could no more subsist without it , than could the solar system divested of its vivifying central orb . Each symbol , although to the unprepared eye it may appear insignificant and valueless , contains a copious lecture on moral duties . This mode of inculcating truth has descended
to us from the most ancient times , and has been popular amongst all people from the east to the west . It was not only practised by the Chaldeans , Phoenicians , and Egyptians , —not only by Pythagoras , Plato , and the philosophers of Greece , but by the nations which occupied the extreme westas the newldiscovered monuments of central
Ame-, y rica fully and unequivocally testify . Stephens , in his travels , has given numerous instances of this extraordinary fact . At Copan he found an altar standing " on four globes cut out of the same stone ; the sculpture in bas-relief . It is six feet square , and four feet high ; and the top is divided