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Article ON FREEMASONRY. THE NUMBER THREE. ← Page 2 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Number Three.
to be some mystical importance attached to the number Three b y the Chinese . Three is the number ofthe officials , or elder brethren ; of the drops of blood which are shed during the inaugural rites ; of their days of meeting during the month , and of the prescribed prostrations before the idol , viz ,, pae , kweiand hoivbowing , kneeling , and placing
, , the forehead in the dust ; the last , in some ceremonies , is thrice repeated . The grand day is the ninth of the moon , equal to three times three . The secret manual signs are made with three fingers . * The characters on some of the mystical seals are grouped in triads . One of them is in the form of a triangle . The symbol on another appears to have
been selected for its triune character , resembling the trisula of the Hindus ; and three is generally the number of the personages forming the group in the p icture worshipped b y almost every Chinese . " To the above very clear account ofthe use ofthe number Three in China , we may add that the Sacred Books delivered to Chang Kiok by a messenger
from Heaven were three ; and a passage in the oath of the Society commences , " Let us swear to be like the ancient and sacred Society of the three surnames . Heaven is father ; earth is mother ; ancestors are stems ; children and grandchildren are leaves . Trees have a root ; waters have a fountain . The stem , flowers and fruit all spring from the root . "
The Egyptians , with whom the triad appears to have been more distinctl y understood , used the equilateral triangle as a symbol of their numen , rpipopipov , the threefold deity ; f and p laced another expressive emblem over the portals of their temples , viz ., Globe—Serpent—Wings ; while the Druids of Britain constructed entire temples of this form .
The most ancient of the Cabiri or Dioscori , had a temp le at Memphis ; and are said by Cicero to have heen in number three ; and their names Tretopatraeus , Eubuleus , and Dionysius . All that can be with truth averred concerning them is , that they were esteemed as the Three might } ' guardian genii of the Universe , or rather the various
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Number Three.
to be some mystical importance attached to the number Three b y the Chinese . Three is the number ofthe officials , or elder brethren ; of the drops of blood which are shed during the inaugural rites ; of their days of meeting during the month , and of the prescribed prostrations before the idol , viz ,, pae , kweiand hoivbowing , kneeling , and placing
, , the forehead in the dust ; the last , in some ceremonies , is thrice repeated . The grand day is the ninth of the moon , equal to three times three . The secret manual signs are made with three fingers . * The characters on some of the mystical seals are grouped in triads . One of them is in the form of a triangle . The symbol on another appears to have
been selected for its triune character , resembling the trisula of the Hindus ; and three is generally the number of the personages forming the group in the p icture worshipped b y almost every Chinese . " To the above very clear account ofthe use ofthe number Three in China , we may add that the Sacred Books delivered to Chang Kiok by a messenger
from Heaven were three ; and a passage in the oath of the Society commences , " Let us swear to be like the ancient and sacred Society of the three surnames . Heaven is father ; earth is mother ; ancestors are stems ; children and grandchildren are leaves . Trees have a root ; waters have a fountain . The stem , flowers and fruit all spring from the root . "
The Egyptians , with whom the triad appears to have been more distinctl y understood , used the equilateral triangle as a symbol of their numen , rpipopipov , the threefold deity ; f and p laced another expressive emblem over the portals of their temples , viz ., Globe—Serpent—Wings ; while the Druids of Britain constructed entire temples of this form .
The most ancient of the Cabiri or Dioscori , had a temp le at Memphis ; and are said by Cicero to have heen in number three ; and their names Tretopatraeus , Eubuleus , and Dionysius . All that can be with truth averred concerning them is , that they were esteemed as the Three might } ' guardian genii of the Universe , or rather the various