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Article ON THE FREEMASONRY OF HOMER. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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On The Freemasonry Of Homer.
In that mysterious moment the king had found in him a brother ; and from that time till his departure he was loaded with every kindness and every honour , receiving a vessel from the Phcenician Lords of the Admiralty to carry him home to his much loved Ithaca . Such is a specimen from the adventures of " the much enduring man . " We shall next quote a sample from the Iliad , of the Masonic
spirit ancl science of Mreonides . Perhaps some worthy people may stare when we point out Achilles as a Freemason . What , we hear them exclaim is it possible that that fierce and ferocious man-slayer , nay , man-eater at heart , for he exhibited a strong propensity to cannibalism , in longing to have devoured the dead body of Hector , —is it possible that he could have been one of
our philanthropic society ! Yes , we reply such is the actual fact ; and Buonaparte was one too , even in the highest degree . But if you will not believe Homer or us , believe your own eyes , if indeed you are a Mason . Ecce signam ! Behold Achilles giving Priam THE HAND , when the latter is supplicating for the body of his slain son .
" rims having spoken , the old man ' s right hand at the wrist He grasped , that he might not in any respect be alarmed in mind . " Such is the Masonic and literal translation of the text , by that illustrious Grecian and Brother , Christopher North ; and who will say now that Achilles was not a Mason among men , and among Myrmidons ? " Impiger , iracumlus . inexorabilis , acer , "
as the son of Peleus has been characterized , he nevertheless possessed the finer feelings of a Brother . " The heart of Homer , " says Brother Christopher on the subject , " could not rest till he had reconciled the destroyer and the bereaved . Such was the nobility of his nature , and such the congenial grandeur of his genius , that he felt a high and holy duty imposed on him by the
Muse [ i . e . of Masonry ] of which he was the voice , to conquer and overcome all mortal horror , repulsion , and repugnance in the hearts of his heroes , and to vindicate in them the laws that bind together the Brotherhood cf the human race . " To which beautiful comment we would be permitted to add , that the scene between Priam and Achilles is unquestionably the grand and principle pivot and point upon which
the whole plot and poem turns ; and the regeneration of the wrath-king into a rational and religious , a benevolent and beneficent being , is the finest triumph of poetry and of principle . Never does the fierce fleetof-foot become a man till he becomes a Mason ; never does he appear as a true hero till , having ceased to slay his hecatombs , he offers up at the shrine of charity and of brotherly love the incense of a feeling
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Freemasonry Of Homer.
In that mysterious moment the king had found in him a brother ; and from that time till his departure he was loaded with every kindness and every honour , receiving a vessel from the Phcenician Lords of the Admiralty to carry him home to his much loved Ithaca . Such is a specimen from the adventures of " the much enduring man . " We shall next quote a sample from the Iliad , of the Masonic
spirit ancl science of Mreonides . Perhaps some worthy people may stare when we point out Achilles as a Freemason . What , we hear them exclaim is it possible that that fierce and ferocious man-slayer , nay , man-eater at heart , for he exhibited a strong propensity to cannibalism , in longing to have devoured the dead body of Hector , —is it possible that he could have been one of
our philanthropic society ! Yes , we reply such is the actual fact ; and Buonaparte was one too , even in the highest degree . But if you will not believe Homer or us , believe your own eyes , if indeed you are a Mason . Ecce signam ! Behold Achilles giving Priam THE HAND , when the latter is supplicating for the body of his slain son .
" rims having spoken , the old man ' s right hand at the wrist He grasped , that he might not in any respect be alarmed in mind . " Such is the Masonic and literal translation of the text , by that illustrious Grecian and Brother , Christopher North ; and who will say now that Achilles was not a Mason among men , and among Myrmidons ? " Impiger , iracumlus . inexorabilis , acer , "
as the son of Peleus has been characterized , he nevertheless possessed the finer feelings of a Brother . " The heart of Homer , " says Brother Christopher on the subject , " could not rest till he had reconciled the destroyer and the bereaved . Such was the nobility of his nature , and such the congenial grandeur of his genius , that he felt a high and holy duty imposed on him by the
Muse [ i . e . of Masonry ] of which he was the voice , to conquer and overcome all mortal horror , repulsion , and repugnance in the hearts of his heroes , and to vindicate in them the laws that bind together the Brotherhood cf the human race . " To which beautiful comment we would be permitted to add , that the scene between Priam and Achilles is unquestionably the grand and principle pivot and point upon which
the whole plot and poem turns ; and the regeneration of the wrath-king into a rational and religious , a benevolent and beneficent being , is the finest triumph of poetry and of principle . Never does the fierce fleetof-foot become a man till he becomes a Mason ; never does he appear as a true hero till , having ceased to slay his hecatombs , he offers up at the shrine of charity and of brotherly love the incense of a feeling