Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.

direct prohibition of contact with unbelievers , especially in sacred works , there seems no a priori objection to the unchanging tradition of our Order , tbat Tyrian and Jewish Masons were bound together by one common organization , and were members of one comprehensive

operative brotherhood . - If it be true that they had all found a common origin in the building societies of Egypt , and that all the operative sodalities of the world were members of the one same great confederation , under the attractive condition of secresy in art

and primaeval truth , we should find , I think , a satisfactory solution of the whole question . And as the unity and eternity of God , the immortality of the soul , the accountability of man , were the great secrets of the mysteries , until they were overlaid by superstition and

debased , and with the building societies in all countries the mysteries of the time and locality were in some form or other bound up , we find here a link of union , a bond of fellowship , which would naturally cement together , associate together , Tyrian and Jewish masons in so great

and so good a work as building the Temple at Jerusalem . There is no doubt , also , a leading objection to the theory of an actual confraternity of Jewish Masons , with secrets and mysteries , from the well-known fact that all the Gentile mysteries and

aTTopprjTa , were prohibited apparently to the Jewish people . 1 Yet , we cannot , on the other hand , explain it as we will , get over the fact that Tyrian and Jewish workmen assisted in the elevation of the great Sanctuary of the Hebrew race at

Jerusalem , and Captain Warren ' s researches have proved , among other things , not only that our Masonic traditions however , seemingly strange , sometimes , to us to-day , are not a priori , either improbable or impossible , and that a remarkable unity existed between the workmen , whether

Tynans or Hebrews , alike , in the quality of the work they executed , all governed by one great design , as in the marks , common to both , and understood by each nationality , still marked in colours as perfect as if only paintsd yesterday , in subterranean passages , and wondrous crypts and hidden halls beneath the existing city .

It has always struck Masonic students as a very remarkable fact , that the traditions and history of our Order , as well as our carefullypreserved ceremonies and ritual , have such an Hebrew colouring and character . Whence has this arisen ?

Some have contended that the Jewish confraternity have substituted a veritable history for the figurative teachings of the earlier mysteries , while others have asserted that the Jewish element and teaching were absorbed b y the building colleges at Rome , and that thenceforth there was

interwoven with all their oral ritual and ancient observance the characteristic tradition of Hiram , the great architect of the first Temple , which would entirely harmonise with the aim and sympathies of the building sodalitiesas they gradually became entirely Christian .

Be this as it may , the undying testimony of our traditions links on Freemasonry to the Temple at Jerusalem , and wc cannot discard it without shaking the very foundation on which Freemasonry rests .

One thing is , indeed , most clear : that the marks of the Jewish , as well as the Tyrian , Masons are the same with those of later times ; that they are evidently all belonging to the same great family , and are identical with tlie usages and customs of the operative order everywhere .

Some of our most cherished Masonic symbols , we may well remember , are purely Jewish , such as the Pent . ilpha and the double triangle , or Solomon ' s seal .

And despite the hasty and unreasoning assertions of some modern writers , I see as yet no cause whatever to doubt the truth or reject the authority of the Hebrew legends of our Order . There is some evidence to show that there was

attached to the Temple a secret order called Chasidim or Hasidim , whose special object was " to preserve it from injury and decay , " though whether they were attached to other religious buildings is not clear .

Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.

It is said by some that this fraternity arose during the captivity at Babylon ; by others , that it sprung up soon after the Restoration . It has even been contended that they were the precursors of the Essenes , and they have been even termed , "The Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem . "

_ I here is in the " Grand Bibliotheque " ( Rue Richelieu , at Paris ) , a very curious book , which treats of the Knights of the Maccabaean chivalry , and alludes to their duty in defence of the Temple . But I am not prepared to say that I have seen ,

so far , any evidence of Bro . Mackey ' s statement , that " they were , in fact , the conservators of Masonry among the Jews , and deposited it with their successors , the Essenes , who brought it down beyond the time of Christ . " Some writers contend , as I have just said ,

that from the Chasidim sprang the Essenes—a remarkable sect of the Jews , from whom some Masonic writers have of late asserted that Freemasonry is altogether derived . From Josephus and other sources we gain the following particulars , which are striking to Freemasons : —

On initiation , at the close of the probation and his novitiate , the candidate was presented with a garment . He was required to take an oath * not to divulge the secrets with which he was entrusted , and was then made acquainted with the customary words and signs of

recognition . He was afterwards instructed in the traditionary teachings of the 0 > -der , and devoted himself , with his brethren , to the " acquisition of knowledge and the dispensation of charity . " There seem to have been degrees among them , and they are said to have been divided .

And though I cannot shut my eyes to the remarkable similarity between the customs of the Essenes and those of Freemasonry , like Krause , I believe the safest course , on historical grounds ,

is to endeavour to trace the origin and continuation of Freemasonry to the building corporations of the past . I must leave for another chapter the history of the Roman sodalities .

Ar00403

LIGHT , DRUCATE , PALE SHERRIES . — A great and beneficial change has already taken place in the habits of our upper and middle classes by the more extended introduction of a variety of light wines of varied and unimpeachable dietetic value . The rcd'iction of the wine duties has been a great boon ,

as not only has it had the effect of doubling the consumption of wine within the short space of ten years , but it has made light wine—what it should undoubtedly be—an article of daily and ordinary consumption , and far less liable to be taken in excess than when wine was a highly-stimulating and

costly luxury . At the present lime tue facilities for obtaining cheap and wholesome wines and other stimulants , bearing the guarantee of large and respectable dealers , in almost every town and village , is an advantage which deserves to be kept in view . Cheap wine has no doubt a certain amount of

prejudice yet to overcome , and the medical man may do much in assisting to dispel this . Cheapness in wine docs not necessarily argue a deficiency in stimulating and nourishing qualities , still less unwholesomencss . In our issue of January last we touched upon the article Sherry , and drew attention

to the important place occupied by Spain as a wineproducing country . Since that lime we have continued to use opportunities of testing and comparing the relative qualities and prices of various Sherries offered for sale , and have been especially struck by some light , delicate , pale Sherries obtained from the

Messrs . W . & A . Gilbey . We think it due to the commercial enterprise , and a fair recognition of the undoubted benefit which this firm has conferred upon medical patients in the introduction of sound wholesome wines at moderate prices , to say that

some of these Sherries approach nearer to our idea of what a good , generous , stimulating wine should be than anything we have seen for some time past , while the price places them within the reach of all when required for medicinal and dietetic purposes . British Medical Journal .

The Philosophy Of Freemasonry.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREEMASONRY .

( Continued from page 66 $ . ) CHAPTER FIRST .

LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY . Liberty , Equality , and Fraternity are three grand words ; trump cards in the hands of the skilful adventurer , but very apt to cut

the fingers of the tyro . They are three words , good in themselves , but which have been made the tools of the predatory , and political adventurer . Like platonic love ,

tney are apt to change their characters , and from being virtues degenerate into vices . No fault of theirs , but because humanity is frail , and the slime of the serpent ' s track

causes the footpath of life to be slippery . A good many philanthropic individuals who go about the platforms , calling men ' s attention to wrongs with which they were

previously unacquainted , offer in these three words an universal panacea , forgetting that man is a progressive animal , and that he must creep before he goes . Some of these

wiseacres , with a stock of brass which would furnish forth a brazier ' s shop , hesitate not a moment in giving a definition of things , sacred or profane , crudely conceived ,

vulgarly uttered , and constantly wrong . Setting up for p hilanthropists , and devoted to the welfare of others , they have no time to

look into their own private matters . They are fatally ignorant of the old Greek ' s advice , " Know thyself , " and of them may be said , in the words of Palladas :

" Wilt thou , poor earthworm , measure land and sea , And know not first the measure of thyself ? Put up thy puny instruments upon the shelf ; Knoiv thine own measure first , and then

immensity . " We have had a few of these pretenders in Freemasonry , who unfortunately have left their signmanual amongst us , such as

Cagliostro and Co ., the adepts of Egyptam mummery , a jargon of commingled nonsence , pretence and lies , that our wonder is equally divided between the success of

the swindler and tlie gullibility of the dupe . " Liberty , " exclaimed Madame Roland , as she went to the guillotine , "how many crimes are committed in thy name . " Human

nature often mistakes licence for liberty , forgetting that the river , to be useful , must be retained within its boundaries , otherwise , by overflowing , fields will be inundated and

property destroyed . A Freemason can claim liberty , liberty of thought and action , so long as these are kept within the bounds of accepted moral limits , and where they

do not encroach upon the freedom of others , No one has the liberty of subverting the liberty of another , for , then , liberty degenerates into licence . Were no limits placed

to our liberal wishes , the world would degenerate into anarchy . " The last resort of a blackguard , " says Dr . Johnson , " is

patriotism ; and when wc hear a cry from some forty-horsc-power-lungcd orator , we like to know a little of his past history before we confide in him as our deliverer .

Landmarks are not to be removed at the bidding of every charlatan , and wc decline to throw down our shield of protection , till