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Article MASONIC VIEWS IN THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY. ← Page 3 of 6 →
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Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
appear . Hesychius states that the ancients took particular pains to decorate the outer approach to their buildings , in order to make the greater impression upon the mind of the beholder ; and perhaps with such view were the brazen plates employed in the Scherian palace , to whose approach or portico they were probably confined . The only points , after all , in which the describer may be said to have indulged in the purely poetic licenseare the gold ancl silver mastiffswhich he
, , indues with the attiibute of a supernatural existence . Pope has some remarks on these canine curiosities by way of illustration , " We have seen , " says he , " that dogs were kept as a piece of state , from the instance of those that attended Telemachus ; here Alcinous has images of dogs of gold for the ornament of his palace . Homer animates them in his poetry ; but to soften the description , he introduces Vulcan , and ascribes the wonders to the power of a god . If we take the poetical
dress away , the truth is , that these dogs were formed with such excellent art that they seemed to be alive ; and Homer , by a liberty allowable to poetry , describes them as having really that life which they only have in appearance . In the Iliad he speaks of living tripods ivith greater boldness . Eustathius recites another opinion of some of the ancients ,
who thought these clogs not to be animals , but a kind of large nails , or pins , made use of in buildings ; and to this day the name is retained by builders , as dogs of iron , & c . It is certain the words will bear this interpretation ; but the former is more after the spirit of Homer , and more noble in poetry . Besides , if tbe latter were intended , it would be absurd to ascribe a work of so little importance to a deity . " AVith all deference , it is by no means certain that the words will bear any such
interpretation as alleged . On the contrary , they cannot possibly be so construed ; for the dogs are distinctl y described as being immortal , ancl unsusceptible of old age ; and therefore the ancient commentators , whosoever they might be , were guilty of a gross and grovelling perversion of the spirit of poetry who could so degrade the Homeric hounds to mere tools or implements used in building . Homer , or Vulcan , we hold to have been perfectly entitled to infuse vitality into the metallic
mastiffs , just as much as in the case of the "living tripods , " to which Pope refers as a yet bolder stroke ; but which seem , in truth , to have been even less extraordinary animals or articles in their way than the golden waiters or helpers which he of the anvil and bellows fabricated for his own particular service and assistance , as described along with the tripods in the account of the Vulcanian smithy or workshop .
" Beside the King of Fire two golden youths Majestic moved , that served liim in the place Of handmaids ; young they seemed , and seemed alive , Nor wanted intellect , or speed , or force . Or prompt dexterity , by the god inspired . ''—COWPER .
But the palace of Phoeacia is not the only one appearing in the Odyssey as illuminated with a heavenl y brightness . Not much less lustrous seems to have shone the dome of Menelaus , '' In hollow Lacedemon ' s spacious vale . " The very same terms , indeed , are used as expressive of its splendour : — " i 2 £ e yap jjeXiS diyXr ] TreXec , rje creXrjvrjs Ato / ia Kad' v \ frepf ) es Mei / eSdci Kv 8 a \ iaoio . " Nor could tlie young Telemachus , even after his first surprise arid
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
appear . Hesychius states that the ancients took particular pains to decorate the outer approach to their buildings , in order to make the greater impression upon the mind of the beholder ; and perhaps with such view were the brazen plates employed in the Scherian palace , to whose approach or portico they were probably confined . The only points , after all , in which the describer may be said to have indulged in the purely poetic licenseare the gold ancl silver mastiffswhich he
, , indues with the attiibute of a supernatural existence . Pope has some remarks on these canine curiosities by way of illustration , " We have seen , " says he , " that dogs were kept as a piece of state , from the instance of those that attended Telemachus ; here Alcinous has images of dogs of gold for the ornament of his palace . Homer animates them in his poetry ; but to soften the description , he introduces Vulcan , and ascribes the wonders to the power of a god . If we take the poetical
dress away , the truth is , that these dogs were formed with such excellent art that they seemed to be alive ; and Homer , by a liberty allowable to poetry , describes them as having really that life which they only have in appearance . In the Iliad he speaks of living tripods ivith greater boldness . Eustathius recites another opinion of some of the ancients ,
who thought these clogs not to be animals , but a kind of large nails , or pins , made use of in buildings ; and to this day the name is retained by builders , as dogs of iron , & c . It is certain the words will bear this interpretation ; but the former is more after the spirit of Homer , and more noble in poetry . Besides , if tbe latter were intended , it would be absurd to ascribe a work of so little importance to a deity . " AVith all deference , it is by no means certain that the words will bear any such
interpretation as alleged . On the contrary , they cannot possibly be so construed ; for the dogs are distinctl y described as being immortal , ancl unsusceptible of old age ; and therefore the ancient commentators , whosoever they might be , were guilty of a gross and grovelling perversion of the spirit of poetry who could so degrade the Homeric hounds to mere tools or implements used in building . Homer , or Vulcan , we hold to have been perfectly entitled to infuse vitality into the metallic
mastiffs , just as much as in the case of the "living tripods , " to which Pope refers as a yet bolder stroke ; but which seem , in truth , to have been even less extraordinary animals or articles in their way than the golden waiters or helpers which he of the anvil and bellows fabricated for his own particular service and assistance , as described along with the tripods in the account of the Vulcanian smithy or workshop .
" Beside the King of Fire two golden youths Majestic moved , that served liim in the place Of handmaids ; young they seemed , and seemed alive , Nor wanted intellect , or speed , or force . Or prompt dexterity , by the god inspired . ''—COWPER .
But the palace of Phoeacia is not the only one appearing in the Odyssey as illuminated with a heavenl y brightness . Not much less lustrous seems to have shone the dome of Menelaus , '' In hollow Lacedemon ' s spacious vale . " The very same terms , indeed , are used as expressive of its splendour : — " i 2 £ e yap jjeXiS diyXr ] TreXec , rje creXrjvrjs Ato / ia Kad' v \ frepf ) es Mei / eSdci Kv 8 a \ iaoio . " Nor could tlie young Telemachus , even after his first surprise arid