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Article ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF FREEMASONRY BY THE DRUIDS. ← Page 6 of 10 →
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On The Knowledge Of Freemasonry By The Druids.
beautifying them , and then set about their consecration and dedication to some fancied deity ; so that at last a grove became the very idol itself ;* and subsequently this led to the selection of some choice tree , which in its turn received a special consecration ; and that hence may he traced the worship of the oak by the Druids , the holm-tree by the Etrurians , and among the Celts the adoption of a tall oak as the idol or image of Jupiter .
The worship of the oak , or of any other tree or shrub , is an act which cannot be traced amongst any Masonic custom or ceremony , unless the veneration accorded to any such , as emblematical of Masonic tradition , should be so construed : but b y the Druids no such innocent object seems to have been entettained : theirs appear to have been an absolute and positive worship , similar to that adopted in the celebration of the " Grecian mysteries , " wherein it formed one of its most ancient
attributes;—these latter mysteries were also derived from the Phoenicians , but subsequentl y varied and adapted to the peculiar notions of the Greek priests , who , amongst other additions , established the goddess Feronia , to whom they dedicated the ancient grove Terracinia , near Anxus;—and at Dodona there was a similar sacred grove , wherein was a prophetic oak , from which the priestesses were in tbe habit of issuing their oracles ; and these priestesses are also reputed to have been in the habit of prophecying from the sounds of a brazen vessel , suspended from the pillars of their temple;—and to the Druids the use of a similar bronze vessel has been imputed , which they are stated to have
usea for the purpose of summoning the priests and people to their temples on the delivery of their oracles , and on all other particular and important occasions . The Druidical temples , particularly that of Avebury , before noticed , bear the most undoubted proof of having been erected by persons well conversant with the religious rites and symbols of the Egyptians ; for in their erection the symbol of the serpent and circle used by that people is too evident to be questioned ; and the manner in which the symbol of
the serpent was sometimes used by the Druids would seem to infer a Phoenician ori gin , and in some respect to identify it with their iEsculapius ; for we find that the Coluber iEsculapii , a healing and prophetic serpent , was brought by them from Egypt to Epidaurus , the chief seat ofthe god , and was worshipped by the whole of the Chaldean race . The preceding comparisons of the various points of Druidical ceremony with those followed by the Egyptians and Phoenicians in their
practice of " the mysteries , " or spurious Freemasonry , which ( although there were some splendid exceptions ) were in almost universal use amongst those people , and an examination into the moral principles and reli gious belief of the Druids , would appear to encourage the conjecture that they were strangers to the Pythagorean doctrines , as derived from him ; and were , moreover , entirely ignorant of the elemental principles of pure Freemasonry until they were introduced into this
country by the Romans ; and further , that the mystical rites of the Druids were based upon those established by the Cabiri , but disguised b y such alterations in their celebration as were dictated by the natural impulses of a mde and barbarous nature . When the Cabiric
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Knowledge Of Freemasonry By The Druids.
beautifying them , and then set about their consecration and dedication to some fancied deity ; so that at last a grove became the very idol itself ;* and subsequently this led to the selection of some choice tree , which in its turn received a special consecration ; and that hence may he traced the worship of the oak by the Druids , the holm-tree by the Etrurians , and among the Celts the adoption of a tall oak as the idol or image of Jupiter .
The worship of the oak , or of any other tree or shrub , is an act which cannot be traced amongst any Masonic custom or ceremony , unless the veneration accorded to any such , as emblematical of Masonic tradition , should be so construed : but b y the Druids no such innocent object seems to have been entettained : theirs appear to have been an absolute and positive worship , similar to that adopted in the celebration of the " Grecian mysteries , " wherein it formed one of its most ancient
attributes;—these latter mysteries were also derived from the Phoenicians , but subsequentl y varied and adapted to the peculiar notions of the Greek priests , who , amongst other additions , established the goddess Feronia , to whom they dedicated the ancient grove Terracinia , near Anxus;—and at Dodona there was a similar sacred grove , wherein was a prophetic oak , from which the priestesses were in tbe habit of issuing their oracles ; and these priestesses are also reputed to have been in the habit of prophecying from the sounds of a brazen vessel , suspended from the pillars of their temple;—and to the Druids the use of a similar bronze vessel has been imputed , which they are stated to have
usea for the purpose of summoning the priests and people to their temples on the delivery of their oracles , and on all other particular and important occasions . The Druidical temples , particularly that of Avebury , before noticed , bear the most undoubted proof of having been erected by persons well conversant with the religious rites and symbols of the Egyptians ; for in their erection the symbol of the serpent and circle used by that people is too evident to be questioned ; and the manner in which the symbol of
the serpent was sometimes used by the Druids would seem to infer a Phoenician ori gin , and in some respect to identify it with their iEsculapius ; for we find that the Coluber iEsculapii , a healing and prophetic serpent , was brought by them from Egypt to Epidaurus , the chief seat ofthe god , and was worshipped by the whole of the Chaldean race . The preceding comparisons of the various points of Druidical ceremony with those followed by the Egyptians and Phoenicians in their
practice of " the mysteries , " or spurious Freemasonry , which ( although there were some splendid exceptions ) were in almost universal use amongst those people , and an examination into the moral principles and reli gious belief of the Druids , would appear to encourage the conjecture that they were strangers to the Pythagorean doctrines , as derived from him ; and were , moreover , entirely ignorant of the elemental principles of pure Freemasonry until they were introduced into this
country by the Romans ; and further , that the mystical rites of the Druids were based upon those established by the Cabiri , but disguised b y such alterations in their celebration as were dictated by the natural impulses of a mde and barbarous nature . When the Cabiric