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On Freemasonry. Evidences, Doctrines, And Traditions.
Hinnom , where fires were lighted , and offerings made to Moloch for the purification of their children , preparatory to their initiation into the Spurious Freemasonry of that horrid deity ; whence the valley was denominated , " the valley of slaughter . " This practice originated the custom which pervaded all
the idolatrous nations , of celebrating their secret rites in caverns , grottos , or concealed places within the bowels of rocks and mountains . The veneration which the people entertained for such places was confirmed by a belief that they were emblematical of the world ; a sort of visible microcosm , animated by a present and superintending deity . Thus Mithras , * Jupiter , Proserpine , and other deities , were
feigned to proceed from a cave . In some places entire mountains were excavated , and the cavern was constructed with cells , chambers , galleries , and streets , all supported by columns , and forming a subterranean labyrinth . Examples of this practice are found at Baix and Sena Julia ( now Sienna ) , in Italy ; f near Nauplia , in
Greece ; X at Elephanta and Salsette , in India ;§ at Ceylon ;[| several places in Egypt , whose " plan is a parallelogram , enclosing apartments , central hall , sanctuary , concealed rooms , porticos , bridges , and entrance part : all abounding with figures and sculptures . " And in Malta is a cave , where we are told that "the rock is not only cut into spacious
passages , but hollowed out into separate houses , with their different apartments , and seems to have been capable of containing a considerable number of families . " Similar cavern-temples are found in every country of the world .
Porphyry , in his famous Essay on the Cave of the Nymphs , affords much information on this point ; and from him we receive the positive assurance , that the Spurious Freemasonry was practised in caves or retired valleys , as places of secrecy , throughout the universe ; and here the most revolting practices were used to propitiate the avenging
deities ; even to the immolation of their children . ^ Maurice says , " The gloomy cavern bore witness to the earliest devotions of mankind . The solemn silence , the profound solitude of such places inspired the contemplative soul with a kind of holy horror , and cherished in it the seeds
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. Evidences, Doctrines, And Traditions.
Hinnom , where fires were lighted , and offerings made to Moloch for the purification of their children , preparatory to their initiation into the Spurious Freemasonry of that horrid deity ; whence the valley was denominated , " the valley of slaughter . " This practice originated the custom which pervaded all
the idolatrous nations , of celebrating their secret rites in caverns , grottos , or concealed places within the bowels of rocks and mountains . The veneration which the people entertained for such places was confirmed by a belief that they were emblematical of the world ; a sort of visible microcosm , animated by a present and superintending deity . Thus Mithras , * Jupiter , Proserpine , and other deities , were
feigned to proceed from a cave . In some places entire mountains were excavated , and the cavern was constructed with cells , chambers , galleries , and streets , all supported by columns , and forming a subterranean labyrinth . Examples of this practice are found at Baix and Sena Julia ( now Sienna ) , in Italy ; f near Nauplia , in
Greece ; X at Elephanta and Salsette , in India ;§ at Ceylon ;[| several places in Egypt , whose " plan is a parallelogram , enclosing apartments , central hall , sanctuary , concealed rooms , porticos , bridges , and entrance part : all abounding with figures and sculptures . " And in Malta is a cave , where we are told that "the rock is not only cut into spacious
passages , but hollowed out into separate houses , with their different apartments , and seems to have been capable of containing a considerable number of families . " Similar cavern-temples are found in every country of the world .
Porphyry , in his famous Essay on the Cave of the Nymphs , affords much information on this point ; and from him we receive the positive assurance , that the Spurious Freemasonry was practised in caves or retired valleys , as places of secrecy , throughout the universe ; and here the most revolting practices were used to propitiate the avenging
deities ; even to the immolation of their children . ^ Maurice says , " The gloomy cavern bore witness to the earliest devotions of mankind . The solemn silence , the profound solitude of such places inspired the contemplative soul with a kind of holy horror , and cherished in it the seeds