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Article ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC MASONRY. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MASONS' MARKS. Page 1 of 2 →
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Esoteric And Exoteric Masonry.
sign of his village inn ; and its subject , borrowed from the deep lore of history , or the bold imaginings of poesy , are less intelligible to him than the daubed print which bangs conspicuously at his cottage fireside , —and he is amazed to see this paltry piece of canvass bought with the treasures of wealth , and guarded with a care that the brightest jewel would demand in vain But to the eye of the artist how different the impression conveyed ! To him every thing beams with light and life and beauty . To
him it is the voice of nature , speaking in the language of art . Prometheus-like , he sees the warm blood gushing through the blue veins , and the eye beaming with a fancied animation ; the correctness of its outlines —the boldness of its foreshortenings , where the limbs appear ready to burst from the canvass—the delicacy of its shadows , and the fine arrangement of its lights , —are all before him , —subjects of admiration , on which he could for ever gaze , and examples of instruction which he would fain imitate . And whence arises this difference of impression , produced by the same object on two different individuals ? It is not from genius
alone , for that , unaided , brings no light to the mind , though it prepares it for its reception . It is cultivation which enlarges the intellect and fits it as a matrix for the birth of those truths which find in the bosom of ignorance no abiding place . And thus it is with Masonry : as we cultivate it as a science , its objects become extended as our knowledge of it increases , —new lights burst forth from its inmost recesses , which to the inquisitive Mason burn with bright effulgence , but to the inattentive and unsearching are but as dim and fitful glimmerings , only rendering
" darkness visible . " Let every Mason ask himself if he be of the esoteric or exoteric school of Masonry . Has he studied its hidden beauties and excellencies ? Has he explored its history , and traced out the origin and the euridite meaning of its symbols ? Or , on the other hand , has he supinely rested content with the knowledge he received at the pedestal , nor sought to pass beyond the porch of the temple ? If so , he is not prepared to find in our royal art those lessons which adorn the path of life , and cheer the bed of death ; and for all purposes , except those of social meeting and friendly recognition , Masonry is to him a sealed book . But if he has ever felt a desire to seek and cultivate the
internal philosophy of Masonry , let him advance in those rarely trodden paths ; the labour of such a pursuit is itself refreshment , and the reward great . Fresh flowers bloom at every step , and the prospect on every side is so filled with beauty and enchantment , that , ravished at the sight , he will rush on with enthusiasm from fact to fact , and from truth to truth , until the whole science of Masonry lies before him invested with a new form and sublimity .
Masons' Marks.
MASONS' MARKS .
-..- ¦ THE church of St . Mary de Castro , which was rebuiltby Robert de Bellomont , Earl of Leicester , in 1107 , and of which the chancel and other ; portions of the beautiful architecture of the Norman period still remain , as do also fine specimens of the succeeding styles , lias lately been undergoing extensive repairs and restorations . A short tirne ago , in removing / the great western window of the nave , which was , of the decorated character prevalent in the early part of the fourteenth century , but greatly dilapidated , several Masons' Marks were discovered on the stones ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Esoteric And Exoteric Masonry.
sign of his village inn ; and its subject , borrowed from the deep lore of history , or the bold imaginings of poesy , are less intelligible to him than the daubed print which bangs conspicuously at his cottage fireside , —and he is amazed to see this paltry piece of canvass bought with the treasures of wealth , and guarded with a care that the brightest jewel would demand in vain But to the eye of the artist how different the impression conveyed ! To him every thing beams with light and life and beauty . To
him it is the voice of nature , speaking in the language of art . Prometheus-like , he sees the warm blood gushing through the blue veins , and the eye beaming with a fancied animation ; the correctness of its outlines —the boldness of its foreshortenings , where the limbs appear ready to burst from the canvass—the delicacy of its shadows , and the fine arrangement of its lights , —are all before him , —subjects of admiration , on which he could for ever gaze , and examples of instruction which he would fain imitate . And whence arises this difference of impression , produced by the same object on two different individuals ? It is not from genius
alone , for that , unaided , brings no light to the mind , though it prepares it for its reception . It is cultivation which enlarges the intellect and fits it as a matrix for the birth of those truths which find in the bosom of ignorance no abiding place . And thus it is with Masonry : as we cultivate it as a science , its objects become extended as our knowledge of it increases , —new lights burst forth from its inmost recesses , which to the inquisitive Mason burn with bright effulgence , but to the inattentive and unsearching are but as dim and fitful glimmerings , only rendering
" darkness visible . " Let every Mason ask himself if he be of the esoteric or exoteric school of Masonry . Has he studied its hidden beauties and excellencies ? Has he explored its history , and traced out the origin and the euridite meaning of its symbols ? Or , on the other hand , has he supinely rested content with the knowledge he received at the pedestal , nor sought to pass beyond the porch of the temple ? If so , he is not prepared to find in our royal art those lessons which adorn the path of life , and cheer the bed of death ; and for all purposes , except those of social meeting and friendly recognition , Masonry is to him a sealed book . But if he has ever felt a desire to seek and cultivate the
internal philosophy of Masonry , let him advance in those rarely trodden paths ; the labour of such a pursuit is itself refreshment , and the reward great . Fresh flowers bloom at every step , and the prospect on every side is so filled with beauty and enchantment , that , ravished at the sight , he will rush on with enthusiasm from fact to fact , and from truth to truth , until the whole science of Masonry lies before him invested with a new form and sublimity .
Masons' Marks.
MASONS' MARKS .
-..- ¦ THE church of St . Mary de Castro , which was rebuiltby Robert de Bellomont , Earl of Leicester , in 1107 , and of which the chancel and other ; portions of the beautiful architecture of the Norman period still remain , as do also fine specimens of the succeeding styles , lias lately been undergoing extensive repairs and restorations . A short tirne ago , in removing / the great western window of the nave , which was , of the decorated character prevalent in the early part of the fourteenth century , but greatly dilapidated , several Masons' Marks were discovered on the stones ...