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Article THE FREEMASON'S LEXICON. ← Page 7 of 7
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The Freemason's Lexicon.
were their priests , and formed , as the Brahmins do in India , a peculiar caste among them ; and , like the Brahmins , were held in the highest estimation ; inasmuch as they were the teachers and philosophers of these people , and had great influence with the government itself . They officiated at all public and private sacrifices ; explained the principles of religion ; distributed all rewards ; and , at certain seasons of the year , officiated as judges , and determined the punishment of particular crimes ,
and punished those who refused to submit to their decisions with excommunication , whereby they were prohibited from attending public worship ; they could even excommunicate a whole nation at one time . They elected the principal officers in every city , who dared not undertake any thing of importance , without having first consulted them . They were free from all taxes and imposts . The instruction ofthe youth , not only in religious matters , but every other kind of knowledge , except the art of war , was exclusively in their hands . Their instructions were all
communicated orally , and in verses , which had often a secret meaning . They also believed in the immortality of the soul , and in its transmigration through various bodies . Besides this , they gave instructions in thenature and movements of the planets ; in the immensity of the . universe ; the form and motions of this earth ; or the origin of created beings ; and the might and power of the gods . They also practised astrology , witchcraft , ancl soothsaying ; and were not without experience in natural history and medicineyet the latter art they disguised bsuperstitionTheir
; y . opinion of the value of the misletoe as a medicine , was most singular ; for they considered it to be the most holy thing in nature , and a universal medicine . It is probable that this holy misletoe was . the parasitical misletoe , which grows so frequently on oaks , and from which bird-lime is now prepared . The oak they considered sacred , and from it they derived their name . AA'ith respect to their government , they had one common heador chief Druidwho was elected ba majority of votes
, , y , and who held his office for life . Eclectiker Eclectisches system oder Maurer nach dem Eclectscher system Eclectical . Eclectical system or Masons according to the Eclectical system . —The Eclectical was the name which those Freemasons gave their system , who , according to their account , had adopted a ritual , formed out of the best parts , carefully selected from all other rituals ; such a system was adopted at Frankfort-on-the-Main . After
the death of John Peter Gogel , ( at Frankfort , ) Provincial Grand Master of the Prankish and upper and lower Rhine circle , in 1782 ; and the patent which was granted to him from London , might be considered as extinct ; the two Lodges , the Union , at Frankfort-on-the-Main , ancl Joseph , at the Royal Eagle , in AA etzlar , united to form this new system . The union of the Eclectical Masons also called themselves the united Lod for re-establishing the Royal Art of Ancient FreemasonryEach
ges . Loclge was to be independant , and only to work in the three ancient degrees ; but to be enabled to introduce the higher degrees without making them dependant upon the others . This union was never spread to any extent . The senator and bookseller , Bronner , at Frankfort-onthe-Main , was the first Grand Master .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason's Lexicon.
were their priests , and formed , as the Brahmins do in India , a peculiar caste among them ; and , like the Brahmins , were held in the highest estimation ; inasmuch as they were the teachers and philosophers of these people , and had great influence with the government itself . They officiated at all public and private sacrifices ; explained the principles of religion ; distributed all rewards ; and , at certain seasons of the year , officiated as judges , and determined the punishment of particular crimes ,
and punished those who refused to submit to their decisions with excommunication , whereby they were prohibited from attending public worship ; they could even excommunicate a whole nation at one time . They elected the principal officers in every city , who dared not undertake any thing of importance , without having first consulted them . They were free from all taxes and imposts . The instruction ofthe youth , not only in religious matters , but every other kind of knowledge , except the art of war , was exclusively in their hands . Their instructions were all
communicated orally , and in verses , which had often a secret meaning . They also believed in the immortality of the soul , and in its transmigration through various bodies . Besides this , they gave instructions in thenature and movements of the planets ; in the immensity of the . universe ; the form and motions of this earth ; or the origin of created beings ; and the might and power of the gods . They also practised astrology , witchcraft , ancl soothsaying ; and were not without experience in natural history and medicineyet the latter art they disguised bsuperstitionTheir
; y . opinion of the value of the misletoe as a medicine , was most singular ; for they considered it to be the most holy thing in nature , and a universal medicine . It is probable that this holy misletoe was . the parasitical misletoe , which grows so frequently on oaks , and from which bird-lime is now prepared . The oak they considered sacred , and from it they derived their name . AA'ith respect to their government , they had one common heador chief Druidwho was elected ba majority of votes
, , y , and who held his office for life . Eclectiker Eclectisches system oder Maurer nach dem Eclectscher system Eclectical . Eclectical system or Masons according to the Eclectical system . —The Eclectical was the name which those Freemasons gave their system , who , according to their account , had adopted a ritual , formed out of the best parts , carefully selected from all other rituals ; such a system was adopted at Frankfort-on-the-Main . After
the death of John Peter Gogel , ( at Frankfort , ) Provincial Grand Master of the Prankish and upper and lower Rhine circle , in 1782 ; and the patent which was granted to him from London , might be considered as extinct ; the two Lodges , the Union , at Frankfort-on-the-Main , ancl Joseph , at the Royal Eagle , in AA etzlar , united to form this new system . The union of the Eclectical Masons also called themselves the united Lod for re-establishing the Royal Art of Ancient FreemasonryEach
ges . Loclge was to be independant , and only to work in the three ancient degrees ; but to be enabled to introduce the higher degrees without making them dependant upon the others . This union was never spread to any extent . The senator and bookseller , Bronner , at Frankfort-onthe-Main , was the first Grand Master .