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Article CHAPTER IV. ← Page 2 of 8 →
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Chapter Iv.
other observances as they judged suited to the purpose . They are then the symbols , and draw to him the benevolent attention of those powers which are deemed to stand between man and that great and awful Being whom he thinks he cannot decorously trouble with the relatively small concerns of his family and home . The practical tendency of this to become a low idolatry in the end , we need not indicate . " I have thought it necessary to devote a paper to this subject , because
it should seem that in the fifteenth century , the fraternity were somewhat addicted to these forbidden arts , if any dependence may be placed on a MS . said to have been deposited in the Bodleian Library at Oxford , and published in almost every masonic work which appeared during the last century , as a proof that its genuineness was undisputed by the fraternity of that period . In this MS . we find the following question and answer : — " What do the Maconnes concele and hde ? They
couy celethe the arte of ffyndynge neue artes , and thatt ys for here owne proffytte and preise . They concelethe the arte of wunder-werckynge , and of foresaynge thyiiges to comme , that so thay same artes may not be usedde of the wyckedde to an euyell ende . Thay also concelethe the arte of chaunges , the wey of wynnynge the facultie of Abrac , the skylle of becommynge gude aud parfyghte wylhouten the holpynges of fere and hope ; and the universelle longage of Maconnes . "
On this passage Mr . Locke acknowledged himself to be in the dark ; and Preston adds— " His being in the dark concerning the meaning of the faculty of Abrac , I am not surprised at , nor can I conceive how he could otherwise be . ABRAC is an abbreviation of the word ABRACADABRA . In the days of ignorance and superstition , that word had a
magical signification ; but the explanation is now lost . " It appears , however , to be generally understood that the word Abrac , Abrasax , or Abracadabra , was derived from the name of Abraham , the father of the faithful , and was given by Basilides to Mithras , or the sun , as the representative of the supreme deity , or the SUN OP RIGHTEOUSNESS . Basilides was a Pythagorean of Alexandria , and when he embraced Christianity , he introduced the dogmata of that philosopher
into his system ; which constituted a medley , that is thus described in a letter of the Emperor Hadrian to Servianus , the consul , in which he says— " I have learned , my dear Servianus , that Egypt is an inconstant and fluctuating nation , which is always ready to revolt on the least excitement . The Christians are worshippers of Serapis ; and some ofthe votaries of that deity have been elevated to the dignity of bishops . There is , however , in reality no religion amongst them , neither Jewish or
Samaritan , heathen or Christian . When the patriarch goes into Egypt , one party will call upon him to worship Serapis , and another Jesus Christ . In short , it is a most seditious , vain , and insolent nation . " To carry out the Pythagorean principles , Basilides enjoined oh his disciples a nominal silence of five years , in imitation of the quinquennial silence of the Pythagoreans . The word Abrasax , or Abraxas , being composed of seven lettersreferred equally to the seven heavensand the
, , same number of subordinate angels or intelligences , as their governors ; for the Basilideans considered the seven planets to be the entire universe , and consequently God . And as the annual course of the sun was accomplished in 365 days , they conjured up the names of that number of spirits , and distributed the days amongst them . According to this belief , tbe primogenial mind proceeded from Abraxas , which produced the Logos or Word ; from whence came Phroncesis or Prudence , Sophia
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Chapter Iv.
other observances as they judged suited to the purpose . They are then the symbols , and draw to him the benevolent attention of those powers which are deemed to stand between man and that great and awful Being whom he thinks he cannot decorously trouble with the relatively small concerns of his family and home . The practical tendency of this to become a low idolatry in the end , we need not indicate . " I have thought it necessary to devote a paper to this subject , because
it should seem that in the fifteenth century , the fraternity were somewhat addicted to these forbidden arts , if any dependence may be placed on a MS . said to have been deposited in the Bodleian Library at Oxford , and published in almost every masonic work which appeared during the last century , as a proof that its genuineness was undisputed by the fraternity of that period . In this MS . we find the following question and answer : — " What do the Maconnes concele and hde ? They
couy celethe the arte of ffyndynge neue artes , and thatt ys for here owne proffytte and preise . They concelethe the arte of wunder-werckynge , and of foresaynge thyiiges to comme , that so thay same artes may not be usedde of the wyckedde to an euyell ende . Thay also concelethe the arte of chaunges , the wey of wynnynge the facultie of Abrac , the skylle of becommynge gude aud parfyghte wylhouten the holpynges of fere and hope ; and the universelle longage of Maconnes . "
On this passage Mr . Locke acknowledged himself to be in the dark ; and Preston adds— " His being in the dark concerning the meaning of the faculty of Abrac , I am not surprised at , nor can I conceive how he could otherwise be . ABRAC is an abbreviation of the word ABRACADABRA . In the days of ignorance and superstition , that word had a
magical signification ; but the explanation is now lost . " It appears , however , to be generally understood that the word Abrac , Abrasax , or Abracadabra , was derived from the name of Abraham , the father of the faithful , and was given by Basilides to Mithras , or the sun , as the representative of the supreme deity , or the SUN OP RIGHTEOUSNESS . Basilides was a Pythagorean of Alexandria , and when he embraced Christianity , he introduced the dogmata of that philosopher
into his system ; which constituted a medley , that is thus described in a letter of the Emperor Hadrian to Servianus , the consul , in which he says— " I have learned , my dear Servianus , that Egypt is an inconstant and fluctuating nation , which is always ready to revolt on the least excitement . The Christians are worshippers of Serapis ; and some ofthe votaries of that deity have been elevated to the dignity of bishops . There is , however , in reality no religion amongst them , neither Jewish or
Samaritan , heathen or Christian . When the patriarch goes into Egypt , one party will call upon him to worship Serapis , and another Jesus Christ . In short , it is a most seditious , vain , and insolent nation . " To carry out the Pythagorean principles , Basilides enjoined oh his disciples a nominal silence of five years , in imitation of the quinquennial silence of the Pythagoreans . The word Abrasax , or Abraxas , being composed of seven lettersreferred equally to the seven heavensand the
, , same number of subordinate angels or intelligences , as their governors ; for the Basilideans considered the seven planets to be the entire universe , and consequently God . And as the annual course of the sun was accomplished in 365 days , they conjured up the names of that number of spirits , and distributed the days amongst them . According to this belief , tbe primogenial mind proceeded from Abraxas , which produced the Logos or Word ; from whence came Phroncesis or Prudence , Sophia