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Article THE FREEMASON'S LEXICON. ← Page 4 of 8 →
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The Freemason's Lexicon.
man svho has been properly prepared to be initiated into Freemasonry is a true symbol of a pure and uncorrupted man , such as the society svishes and requires to have as members . Such an one must be able to appreciate his fellosv mortals more by their moral svorth and intellectual attainments than by their rank , posver , or riches . Happy are those svho svisli to be so estimated , for they svill do honour to the Craft svhen clothed in purple and gold .
Metal . —Many men dote on the metals silver antl gold svith their svhole souls , and knosv no other standard svhereby to estimate their osvn svorth , or the svorth of their fellosv beings , but by the quantity of these metals they possess , thereby debasing and degrading those qualities of the mind or spirit by svhich alone mankind ought to be estimated . He svho svishes to be initiated into Freemasonry must be svilling to relinquish all descriptions of metal , and all the adventitious circumstances of rank and fortune , for it is the MAN that is received into Freemasonry , and not his rank or riches .
Minerva , or the Goddess of Wisdom . —Freemasons use the statue of Minerva , or open temples svith her statue therein , as symbols of svisdom . A'lythology teaches us that Jupiter opened his scull to bear Minerva , for this reason—she is the symbol of all thoughts that are formed in the head and the protectoress of the arts and sciences . She is generall y represented as a young female in Grecian costume , and has an osvl or a cock by her as a symbol of useful study antl svatchfulness . Mitgliedes-Zeichen . Member ' s-Jewel . —This jesvel is either svorn at
the button-hole or suspended by a collar , and generally contains a symbolical representation ofthe name ofthe Lodge . They are given to members at their initiation or affiliation to the Lotlge . Those Brethren svho are members of several Lodges commonly svear all their member ' s jesvels unless the by-lasvs of the Lotlge svhere they are assembled forbid it .
Mithra Geheimnisse . Mysteries of Mithra . —The ancient Persians had a symbol of fire and the sun called Mithra , and prayed unto it as unto the most high God . Mithra svas generally represented as a man svith a lion ' s head and four eagles' svings , or a figure standing upon a globe enlightened by the sun , or standing near an altar upon svhich fire is burning . The Mysteries of Alithra , among the Persians , are said to have been founded b y Zoroaster . Fesv accounts of these mysteries have descended to usbut the fesv sve have are very remarkable . Before
, initiation into those mysteries the candidate svas obliged to go through certain probations svhich , for severity , far . exceed all sve knosv of probations for other ancient mysteries . It issvritten in an ancient account of them : — " No one can . be initiated into the mysteries of Mithra svithout previously going through a course of probations svhich svere really mastering ; there svere eighty degrees of probations , some of svhich svere more
difficult to go through than others . The candidate , for instance , svas compelled to ssvim through large bodies of svater for days , then to pass through fire ; aftersvards to fast in silence and solitude , and go through various trials until he had passed the eighty degrees ; and then , if he passed through all these ordeals svith his life , he was initiated into the mysteries of Mithra . " Nothing more is knosvn of the doctrines or history of those secrets . Mittag . Mid-day . —As often as the Freemason commences his svork it is noon or mid-day , or that time in svhich the sun has obtained his greatest altitude ; for the earth being round , the sun is ahvays on the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemason's Lexicon.
man svho has been properly prepared to be initiated into Freemasonry is a true symbol of a pure and uncorrupted man , such as the society svishes and requires to have as members . Such an one must be able to appreciate his fellosv mortals more by their moral svorth and intellectual attainments than by their rank , posver , or riches . Happy are those svho svisli to be so estimated , for they svill do honour to the Craft svhen clothed in purple and gold .
Metal . —Many men dote on the metals silver antl gold svith their svhole souls , and knosv no other standard svhereby to estimate their osvn svorth , or the svorth of their fellosv beings , but by the quantity of these metals they possess , thereby debasing and degrading those qualities of the mind or spirit by svhich alone mankind ought to be estimated . He svho svishes to be initiated into Freemasonry must be svilling to relinquish all descriptions of metal , and all the adventitious circumstances of rank and fortune , for it is the MAN that is received into Freemasonry , and not his rank or riches .
Minerva , or the Goddess of Wisdom . —Freemasons use the statue of Minerva , or open temples svith her statue therein , as symbols of svisdom . A'lythology teaches us that Jupiter opened his scull to bear Minerva , for this reason—she is the symbol of all thoughts that are formed in the head and the protectoress of the arts and sciences . She is generall y represented as a young female in Grecian costume , and has an osvl or a cock by her as a symbol of useful study antl svatchfulness . Mitgliedes-Zeichen . Member ' s-Jewel . —This jesvel is either svorn at
the button-hole or suspended by a collar , and generally contains a symbolical representation ofthe name ofthe Lodge . They are given to members at their initiation or affiliation to the Lotlge . Those Brethren svho are members of several Lodges commonly svear all their member ' s jesvels unless the by-lasvs of the Lotlge svhere they are assembled forbid it .
Mithra Geheimnisse . Mysteries of Mithra . —The ancient Persians had a symbol of fire and the sun called Mithra , and prayed unto it as unto the most high God . Mithra svas generally represented as a man svith a lion ' s head and four eagles' svings , or a figure standing upon a globe enlightened by the sun , or standing near an altar upon svhich fire is burning . The Mysteries of Alithra , among the Persians , are said to have been founded b y Zoroaster . Fesv accounts of these mysteries have descended to usbut the fesv sve have are very remarkable . Before
, initiation into those mysteries the candidate svas obliged to go through certain probations svhich , for severity , far . exceed all sve knosv of probations for other ancient mysteries . It issvritten in an ancient account of them : — " No one can . be initiated into the mysteries of Mithra svithout previously going through a course of probations svhich svere really mastering ; there svere eighty degrees of probations , some of svhich svere more
difficult to go through than others . The candidate , for instance , svas compelled to ssvim through large bodies of svater for days , then to pass through fire ; aftersvards to fast in silence and solitude , and go through various trials until he had passed the eighty degrees ; and then , if he passed through all these ordeals svith his life , he was initiated into the mysteries of Mithra . " Nothing more is knosvn of the doctrines or history of those secrets . Mittag . Mid-day . —As often as the Freemason commences his svork it is noon or mid-day , or that time in svhich the sun has obtained his greatest altitude ; for the earth being round , the sun is ahvays on the