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Article THE UNITED ORDERS OF THE TEMPLE AND HOSPITAL. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MASONIC MUSINGS. Page 1 of 2 Article MASONIC MUSINGS. Page 1 of 2 Article MASONIC MUSINGS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
tution , to witness with any complacency changes and pretensions which tend to convert it into something which it is not , and to jeopardise its position as the representative of so grand an
institution . I believe that the addition to it of the Masonic Maltese Orders arose solely from an error and confusion of names ; but , however this may have been , they were entirely combined ,
there were no separate badges , and thus did the constitution continue for many years . At length a brie and simpleritual , to ] whichIhave informer articles referred , was compiled for use at the conclusion of
the older ceremony , and is used at this time in the two preceptories to which I belong . Long subsequently to the institution of the little ceremony in question ( which is conducted by any
Preceptor and a Chaplain ) a separate badge was also adopted . At length came the changes of 1853 when ritual and badge were alike discarded and the Order was declared to be "The Royal
Exalted Relig ious and Military Order of Knig hts Templar" alone ; But , after the lapse of another nine years , the Grand Conclave , in 1862 , again set up the Maltese element ;
not reviving it in its old form , as combined with the Temple , but as a separate degree , with a second diploma , and a new and entirely distinct ceremony , on which I have already expressed my
op inion . The Statutes of 1872 have again united the Orders in name , but have discarded , unfortunately , and I hope temporarily , the title " Masonic . " I say unfortunately , because the
Order of the Temple belonged to our good old Craft ; the good old Craft was proud of it ; the constitution of the Craft pervaded that of the Temple , and without the former the Templars
have no existence . Many Templars , taking the Craft view , strongly feel this ; as did the Temp lars , in their view , strongly feel that they were the custodians of the " high-degrees , " and that
their rights were confiscated when those degrees were removed from their keeping . I trust , under the new Statutes , the Order will be assimilated to its earlier and only true constitution ,
that it will revive its old traditional form upon which alone we can rely ; that it will in its dignity reject these dangerous doctrines that appropriation creates a right ; and that we may yet
view it as the same representative and honourable Masonic Order which has existed , at all events for a century , and not as a thing of to-day , or even as dating from the venerable enactment of nine years ago .
Masonic Musings.
MASONIC MUSINGS .
By BRO . J . BALFOUR COCKRUUN , P . Z . 278 . Past Installed Mark Master , 4 , 3 . Ever bearing in mind the end I proposed to myself when I ventured to address your readers on the origin , nat ure , and objects of that ancient and comprehensive science , which should ever
form the subject of our studious investigation ; again I resume the thread of my reflection , and desire now to call attention to one or two instances which appear to my view , as illustrating in a most striking and remarkable manner , the great and mysterious problem which we have to demonstrate , namely , the intimate connection
which has ever existed between Religion , or what perhaps may be more correctly described as the culture and adoration of a Supreme Being , and the Arts and Sciences . On a previous occasion , it was my particular aim to endeavour to explain and impress on the minds of those who honoured me by following out my arguments , that it was
Masonic Musings.
on this single fact that our system and our society , in reality two very different things , are securely based . By extracts from the records of the Old Testament and by such general tradition as conveyed undeniable elements of truth , an attempt was made to confirm whatever might
relate to our peculiar principles and history in the remotest ages of the world , from the time of Adam to that of Noah . It was , I take it , clearly , evidenced that this period of more than 1600 years was by no means barren or unfruitful in the discovery , production and
application of the Arts and Sciences—we must not be surprised however , though it in no way militates against the reality and truthfulness of the testimony , to find , that in the compass of the few pages wherein the early history of man is detailed , no very minute or extensive account of the
causes of discovery , or the modes of application , even to sacred purposes , is recorded . Still what we have received , and what has flowed down to us through this channel , though undeniably somewhat scanty in quantity and meagre in
detail , is unquestionably true , and herein lies the surpassing value of the information which we acquire by the study of that Blessed Volume , wherein the matchless wisdom of the Most High is so forcibly pourtrayed .
Having in our search arrived at the date of the Deluge , a new scene is opened to us , which thenceforth expands and comprehends many of the most profound mysteries and characteristic elements of our Craft , in their earliest operation . We have every encouragement to look with
care to certain incidents in the life of J \ onh , and the legitimate deductions therefrom , and especially to his marvellous passage from the orig inal antediluvian world to the new and still existing surface of the Globe . Thus was foreshadowed a far more terrible
destruction , a more effectual submersion , a more complete conquest of Satan and Death , and a far more glorious Advent , when the Ark rested on the summit of Mount Ararat and the Patriarch
emerged from its portals , accompanied by his family , and the stock of animal classes from which the face of the earth was to be re-peopled and re-furnished , in accordance with the decrees of an all-ruling Providence .
To the most prominent and instructive of these circumstances I propose to confine my present enquiry , and this shall be done within the narrowest limits of which the subject will admit . We come , then , to that stupendous monument
of the saving mercy of Jehovah , remembered in the midst of his wrath against his sinful and rebellious creatures—the Ark of Noah— " And God said unto Noah , the end of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth is filled with violence through them ; and , behold , I will destroy them
with the earth , make thee an Ark of gopher wood . The word ark in the original means properly a box or chest , and it is almost beyond the possibility of doubt that the material of which this Divinely inspired and first attempted form of marine architecture was composed , was cypress
wood—the etymology of the word alone would indicate this ; but it is further strengthened by facts that cypress trees grew abundantly on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates—that this wood is remarkable for resisting decay , and for other reasons admirably adapted for the purpose
of ship building ; possessing many of the peculiarities and properties of the teak wood of Burmah , at one time so extensively employed in the construction of our ocean clippers : On this account it was used by the Athenians for the preservation of their illustrious dead , and by
Alexander the Great for his Babylonian fleet . The shape of die Ark was oblong , its breadth one-sixth of its length , and its lieighth onetenth . Taking the cubit at eighteen inches , the dimensions in feet would be as follows : —length 450 feet , breadth 75 feet and heigth 45 feet—and though this by no means depicts a construction ,
equal to the floating cities , as represented by the iron-clad monsters of the present day , such as our Agincourt , Minotaur , or Lord Warden , still a vessel with the cubical capacity—or more nautically speaking with the tonnage of the Ark , would not compare insignificantly with the Shannon , the Arkansas , or the Victory , ships with which Blake , Nelson and other gallant
Masonic Musings.
seamen swept all opponents from the ocean , an d raised the naval supremacy of England to its highest pinnacle"Actions sublime Whose distant glories echo down the corridors of time . "
By many it has been supposed that the top of the Ark was covered with a span roof of low pitch ; there is , however , no authority for this supposition . A well built flat roof would be equally as efficacious as a sloping one to resist the entrance of the " rain impetuous , " " The cataracts
Of heaven set open on the earth . As was remarked before , the simple form of the Ark does not present a model for the naval constructors or shipbuilders of our time , but it is worthy of notice that the experiment has been tried , and with success
The following is taken from a foot-note in Stackhouse ' s History of the Bible , a work published in 1742 , and the authority in which it is given is sufficiently sound to warrant the entire credibility of the account : — " About the beginning of the last century Peter Jansen , a Dutch merchant , caused a ship to be built for him , answering in
its respective proportions , to those of Noah ' s Ark , the length of it being 120 feet , the breadth of it 20 and the depth of it 12 . At first this was looked upon no better than a fanatical vision of this Jansen ( who was by profession a menonist ) and , while it was building , he and his ship were made the sport of the seamen , as much as Noah and his Ark could be . But afterwards it was
found that ships built 111 his fashion , were , in the time of peace , beyond all others most commodious for commerce ; because they would hold a third part more , without requiring any more hands , and were found far better runners than any made before . " After the closest enquiry and most accurate
calculations , it has been computed that the most expert mathematician could not have proportioned any vessel , or adapted it better to its purpose than did Noah under Omnipotent inspiration and direction ; and this alone is no trifling or inconsiderable proof of the Divine origin of the sacred writings .
The capacity , or interior space , being about one million and a half of cubic feet , it has been ingeniously demonstrated that ample accommodation existed for all the animals which would be required to preserve their species , and also for the food and forage to be consumed by them in one year , as well as for the sustenance of Noah and his companions .
The remainder of the plan was only this , " a window shall thou make in the Ark and in a cubit shall thou finish it ( the Ark ) above ( the window ) with lower , second , and third stories shall thou make it ! Thus did the Great Artificer ,
the Grand Geometrician , deign to prescribe b y line and measure the form and dimensions of that marvellous vessel which was to contain the whole living world" Of mankind , so numerous late ,
All left in one small bottom swam embarked , and to give to the desolated earth , the stock from which her beauteous and luxuriant surface should be re-peopled and rc-animated to the end of time .
Independent of the historical details conveyed in the Pentateuch , there can be no doubt that a knowledge of the construction and building of the Ark had been preserved , and that in the sacred and secret mysteries of all nations , the events connected with the tradition of an
universal deluge , the preservation of the human race in a vessel of some sort , and the eventual emergence therefrom into a new world and a new life , were typified and illustrated in the rites and
ceremonies of initiation . The word VAOS , or Navis , Nave , ( applied to the body of a temple or church ) , is one proof of the idea of a ship attaching to a building consecrated to the celebration and performance of sacred rites and
ceremonies . I may now pass on and endeavour , without encroaching within the line of our landmarks , to point out some very remarkable particulars in which a Masonic lodge resembles this Ark of Noah—as nlso to make reference to some symbolical allusions which are capable of Masonic interpretation .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
tution , to witness with any complacency changes and pretensions which tend to convert it into something which it is not , and to jeopardise its position as the representative of so grand an
institution . I believe that the addition to it of the Masonic Maltese Orders arose solely from an error and confusion of names ; but , however this may have been , they were entirely combined ,
there were no separate badges , and thus did the constitution continue for many years . At length a brie and simpleritual , to ] whichIhave informer articles referred , was compiled for use at the conclusion of
the older ceremony , and is used at this time in the two preceptories to which I belong . Long subsequently to the institution of the little ceremony in question ( which is conducted by any
Preceptor and a Chaplain ) a separate badge was also adopted . At length came the changes of 1853 when ritual and badge were alike discarded and the Order was declared to be "The Royal
Exalted Relig ious and Military Order of Knig hts Templar" alone ; But , after the lapse of another nine years , the Grand Conclave , in 1862 , again set up the Maltese element ;
not reviving it in its old form , as combined with the Temple , but as a separate degree , with a second diploma , and a new and entirely distinct ceremony , on which I have already expressed my
op inion . The Statutes of 1872 have again united the Orders in name , but have discarded , unfortunately , and I hope temporarily , the title " Masonic . " I say unfortunately , because the
Order of the Temple belonged to our good old Craft ; the good old Craft was proud of it ; the constitution of the Craft pervaded that of the Temple , and without the former the Templars
have no existence . Many Templars , taking the Craft view , strongly feel this ; as did the Temp lars , in their view , strongly feel that they were the custodians of the " high-degrees , " and that
their rights were confiscated when those degrees were removed from their keeping . I trust , under the new Statutes , the Order will be assimilated to its earlier and only true constitution ,
that it will revive its old traditional form upon which alone we can rely ; that it will in its dignity reject these dangerous doctrines that appropriation creates a right ; and that we may yet
view it as the same representative and honourable Masonic Order which has existed , at all events for a century , and not as a thing of to-day , or even as dating from the venerable enactment of nine years ago .
Masonic Musings.
MASONIC MUSINGS .
By BRO . J . BALFOUR COCKRUUN , P . Z . 278 . Past Installed Mark Master , 4 , 3 . Ever bearing in mind the end I proposed to myself when I ventured to address your readers on the origin , nat ure , and objects of that ancient and comprehensive science , which should ever
form the subject of our studious investigation ; again I resume the thread of my reflection , and desire now to call attention to one or two instances which appear to my view , as illustrating in a most striking and remarkable manner , the great and mysterious problem which we have to demonstrate , namely , the intimate connection
which has ever existed between Religion , or what perhaps may be more correctly described as the culture and adoration of a Supreme Being , and the Arts and Sciences . On a previous occasion , it was my particular aim to endeavour to explain and impress on the minds of those who honoured me by following out my arguments , that it was
Masonic Musings.
on this single fact that our system and our society , in reality two very different things , are securely based . By extracts from the records of the Old Testament and by such general tradition as conveyed undeniable elements of truth , an attempt was made to confirm whatever might
relate to our peculiar principles and history in the remotest ages of the world , from the time of Adam to that of Noah . It was , I take it , clearly , evidenced that this period of more than 1600 years was by no means barren or unfruitful in the discovery , production and
application of the Arts and Sciences—we must not be surprised however , though it in no way militates against the reality and truthfulness of the testimony , to find , that in the compass of the few pages wherein the early history of man is detailed , no very minute or extensive account of the
causes of discovery , or the modes of application , even to sacred purposes , is recorded . Still what we have received , and what has flowed down to us through this channel , though undeniably somewhat scanty in quantity and meagre in
detail , is unquestionably true , and herein lies the surpassing value of the information which we acquire by the study of that Blessed Volume , wherein the matchless wisdom of the Most High is so forcibly pourtrayed .
Having in our search arrived at the date of the Deluge , a new scene is opened to us , which thenceforth expands and comprehends many of the most profound mysteries and characteristic elements of our Craft , in their earliest operation . We have every encouragement to look with
care to certain incidents in the life of J \ onh , and the legitimate deductions therefrom , and especially to his marvellous passage from the orig inal antediluvian world to the new and still existing surface of the Globe . Thus was foreshadowed a far more terrible
destruction , a more effectual submersion , a more complete conquest of Satan and Death , and a far more glorious Advent , when the Ark rested on the summit of Mount Ararat and the Patriarch
emerged from its portals , accompanied by his family , and the stock of animal classes from which the face of the earth was to be re-peopled and re-furnished , in accordance with the decrees of an all-ruling Providence .
To the most prominent and instructive of these circumstances I propose to confine my present enquiry , and this shall be done within the narrowest limits of which the subject will admit . We come , then , to that stupendous monument
of the saving mercy of Jehovah , remembered in the midst of his wrath against his sinful and rebellious creatures—the Ark of Noah— " And God said unto Noah , the end of all flesh is come before me ; for the earth is filled with violence through them ; and , behold , I will destroy them
with the earth , make thee an Ark of gopher wood . The word ark in the original means properly a box or chest , and it is almost beyond the possibility of doubt that the material of which this Divinely inspired and first attempted form of marine architecture was composed , was cypress
wood—the etymology of the word alone would indicate this ; but it is further strengthened by facts that cypress trees grew abundantly on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates—that this wood is remarkable for resisting decay , and for other reasons admirably adapted for the purpose
of ship building ; possessing many of the peculiarities and properties of the teak wood of Burmah , at one time so extensively employed in the construction of our ocean clippers : On this account it was used by the Athenians for the preservation of their illustrious dead , and by
Alexander the Great for his Babylonian fleet . The shape of die Ark was oblong , its breadth one-sixth of its length , and its lieighth onetenth . Taking the cubit at eighteen inches , the dimensions in feet would be as follows : —length 450 feet , breadth 75 feet and heigth 45 feet—and though this by no means depicts a construction ,
equal to the floating cities , as represented by the iron-clad monsters of the present day , such as our Agincourt , Minotaur , or Lord Warden , still a vessel with the cubical capacity—or more nautically speaking with the tonnage of the Ark , would not compare insignificantly with the Shannon , the Arkansas , or the Victory , ships with which Blake , Nelson and other gallant
Masonic Musings.
seamen swept all opponents from the ocean , an d raised the naval supremacy of England to its highest pinnacle"Actions sublime Whose distant glories echo down the corridors of time . "
By many it has been supposed that the top of the Ark was covered with a span roof of low pitch ; there is , however , no authority for this supposition . A well built flat roof would be equally as efficacious as a sloping one to resist the entrance of the " rain impetuous , " " The cataracts
Of heaven set open on the earth . As was remarked before , the simple form of the Ark does not present a model for the naval constructors or shipbuilders of our time , but it is worthy of notice that the experiment has been tried , and with success
The following is taken from a foot-note in Stackhouse ' s History of the Bible , a work published in 1742 , and the authority in which it is given is sufficiently sound to warrant the entire credibility of the account : — " About the beginning of the last century Peter Jansen , a Dutch merchant , caused a ship to be built for him , answering in
its respective proportions , to those of Noah ' s Ark , the length of it being 120 feet , the breadth of it 20 and the depth of it 12 . At first this was looked upon no better than a fanatical vision of this Jansen ( who was by profession a menonist ) and , while it was building , he and his ship were made the sport of the seamen , as much as Noah and his Ark could be . But afterwards it was
found that ships built 111 his fashion , were , in the time of peace , beyond all others most commodious for commerce ; because they would hold a third part more , without requiring any more hands , and were found far better runners than any made before . " After the closest enquiry and most accurate
calculations , it has been computed that the most expert mathematician could not have proportioned any vessel , or adapted it better to its purpose than did Noah under Omnipotent inspiration and direction ; and this alone is no trifling or inconsiderable proof of the Divine origin of the sacred writings .
The capacity , or interior space , being about one million and a half of cubic feet , it has been ingeniously demonstrated that ample accommodation existed for all the animals which would be required to preserve their species , and also for the food and forage to be consumed by them in one year , as well as for the sustenance of Noah and his companions .
The remainder of the plan was only this , " a window shall thou make in the Ark and in a cubit shall thou finish it ( the Ark ) above ( the window ) with lower , second , and third stories shall thou make it ! Thus did the Great Artificer ,
the Grand Geometrician , deign to prescribe b y line and measure the form and dimensions of that marvellous vessel which was to contain the whole living world" Of mankind , so numerous late ,
All left in one small bottom swam embarked , and to give to the desolated earth , the stock from which her beauteous and luxuriant surface should be re-peopled and rc-animated to the end of time .
Independent of the historical details conveyed in the Pentateuch , there can be no doubt that a knowledge of the construction and building of the Ark had been preserved , and that in the sacred and secret mysteries of all nations , the events connected with the tradition of an
universal deluge , the preservation of the human race in a vessel of some sort , and the eventual emergence therefrom into a new world and a new life , were typified and illustrated in the rites and
ceremonies of initiation . The word VAOS , or Navis , Nave , ( applied to the body of a temple or church ) , is one proof of the idea of a ship attaching to a building consecrated to the celebration and performance of sacred rites and
ceremonies . I may now pass on and endeavour , without encroaching within the line of our landmarks , to point out some very remarkable particulars in which a Masonic lodge resembles this Ark of Noah—as nlso to make reference to some symbolical allusions which are capable of Masonic interpretation .