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Article THE BUILDER'S OATH. Page 1 of 5 →
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The Builder's Oath.
THE BUILDER'S OATH .
A TALE OF THE ETRUSCI AND TYRUHENI . THE Etrusci , according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus , and other ancient historians , were indigenous to the country invaded by the Tyrrheni , survived their power , and rose upon its ruins . Such , likewise , seems to be the opinion of Cramer , one of the most accurate writers of the present day . As it is generally admitted that the arts and sciences
originated in the East , we may fairly infer that the Tyrrhenians , from their vicinity to that quarter of the globe , had the means of becoming versed in those arts , ivhich are alike useful in peace or in war ; and consequently , when they attacked the ignorant and thinly-scattered Aborigines of Italy , they met with little or no resistance . So complete , indeed , was their conquest , that the vanquished people submitted to adopt not only the customs and mannersbut even the religion of the
, victors . Thus peculiarly united with the Etrusci , the Tyrrhenians naturally imparted to them , in the course of time , their own superior learning and attainments ; and this circumstance accounts for the high state of civilization ivhich Etruria at a very j-emote period acquired . The first migration of the Tyrrheni to the shores of the Adriatic appears to have occurred about one hundred years before the siege of Troy . Their earliest settlements are reported to have been made at
Hadria , Spina , and Ravenna , though Dionysius asserts , on the authority of Hellenieus , that their first descent upon tlie Italian coast took place at " the mouth of the Spinetre branch of the Po . Be this as it may , they quickly extended themselves over the whole country , aided , no doubt , by other
bands of adventurers from Thrace and Thessaly ; for so inclined were all this tribe of Greeks to migrate , that the Athenian calls them HeXafyoi , storks , because that bird perpetually wanders from its native soil . No sooner had these Pelasgic hordes obtained a footing in Italy , than they sought to secure their conquest by the erection of fortresses placed on lofty eminences , and so wonderfully strong and massive , that , notwithstanding the lapse of more than three thousand years , their walls and gates still exist , and put modern genius to the blush . From all
that Time has left us of the records of these builders , they must have possessed a knowledge of architecture , and the combination ofthe powers of mechanism , unknown at the present day . The author of this sketch , during his wanderings in Italy , has witnessed their science in the gigantic and imperishable monuments they have left . Had circumstances permitted him to pursue a course of excavations which he had projected , he doubts not but that evidences would have been found , to
have connected that remarkable people with the Order of which he is an humble but devoted Brother . It is to be hoped that an opportunity may yet occur of investigating , a subject so interesting to the Craft , and science in general . About five hours' ride from Tivoli , in the desolate Campagnia , is a romantic spot known by the name of the Valley of the Aqueducts , so named from the remains of the Aqua Claudia , the Aqua Martia , and
the Anio Vetus , which may be seen at the Ponte degl' Archi , on the ancient road which leads to it . It is a spot where Solitude herself might have fixed her temple : no flock is seen to mar the monotony of the scene . A solitary eagle occasionally breaks the silence of air
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Builder's Oath.
THE BUILDER'S OATH .
A TALE OF THE ETRUSCI AND TYRUHENI . THE Etrusci , according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus , and other ancient historians , were indigenous to the country invaded by the Tyrrheni , survived their power , and rose upon its ruins . Such , likewise , seems to be the opinion of Cramer , one of the most accurate writers of the present day . As it is generally admitted that the arts and sciences
originated in the East , we may fairly infer that the Tyrrhenians , from their vicinity to that quarter of the globe , had the means of becoming versed in those arts , ivhich are alike useful in peace or in war ; and consequently , when they attacked the ignorant and thinly-scattered Aborigines of Italy , they met with little or no resistance . So complete , indeed , was their conquest , that the vanquished people submitted to adopt not only the customs and mannersbut even the religion of the
, victors . Thus peculiarly united with the Etrusci , the Tyrrhenians naturally imparted to them , in the course of time , their own superior learning and attainments ; and this circumstance accounts for the high state of civilization ivhich Etruria at a very j-emote period acquired . The first migration of the Tyrrheni to the shores of the Adriatic appears to have occurred about one hundred years before the siege of Troy . Their earliest settlements are reported to have been made at
Hadria , Spina , and Ravenna , though Dionysius asserts , on the authority of Hellenieus , that their first descent upon tlie Italian coast took place at " the mouth of the Spinetre branch of the Po . Be this as it may , they quickly extended themselves over the whole country , aided , no doubt , by other
bands of adventurers from Thrace and Thessaly ; for so inclined were all this tribe of Greeks to migrate , that the Athenian calls them HeXafyoi , storks , because that bird perpetually wanders from its native soil . No sooner had these Pelasgic hordes obtained a footing in Italy , than they sought to secure their conquest by the erection of fortresses placed on lofty eminences , and so wonderfully strong and massive , that , notwithstanding the lapse of more than three thousand years , their walls and gates still exist , and put modern genius to the blush . From all
that Time has left us of the records of these builders , they must have possessed a knowledge of architecture , and the combination ofthe powers of mechanism , unknown at the present day . The author of this sketch , during his wanderings in Italy , has witnessed their science in the gigantic and imperishable monuments they have left . Had circumstances permitted him to pursue a course of excavations which he had projected , he doubts not but that evidences would have been found , to
have connected that remarkable people with the Order of which he is an humble but devoted Brother . It is to be hoped that an opportunity may yet occur of investigating , a subject so interesting to the Craft , and science in general . About five hours' ride from Tivoli , in the desolate Campagnia , is a romantic spot known by the name of the Valley of the Aqueducts , so named from the remains of the Aqua Claudia , the Aqua Martia , and
the Anio Vetus , which may be seen at the Ponte degl' Archi , on the ancient road which leads to it . It is a spot where Solitude herself might have fixed her temple : no flock is seen to mar the monotony of the scene . A solitary eagle occasionally breaks the silence of air