The Origin And References Of The Hermesian Spurious Freemasonry.

THE ORIGIN AND REFERENCES OF THE HERMESIAN SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY .

BY REV . GEO . OLIVER , D . D . CHAPTER V . THE GLOBE , SERPENT , AND WINGS . IN the mysterious institutions of antiquity the hieroglyphics Avere not adopted

without an adequate cause . Everything that Avas thought of sufficient importance to be introduced there , was invested AA ith a hidden meaning that Avas frequently knoAvn to the priesthood only . And these kind of symbolsbeing considered inexplicable

, , Avere placed in the most public situations , Avithout any fear that the abstruse interpretation should be discovered . This custom was common throughout the Avorld ; and the temples of the deity had usually placed over the principle entrance , either the

name or the hieroglyphical symbol of the of the god to whom it Avas especially dedicated . Plutarch says that the word EI , Avas inscribed on the portal of the temple of Apollo ; and this word being ineffable , was a mystery to the uninitiated wldch they attempted in vain to penetrate .

Indeed it is highly probable that the priests pronounced it to be of so sacred a nature , that it would be impious to speculate upon it , or endeavour to discover its meaning . And this Avas one reason Avhy the heathen temples Avere regarded with ,

such a high degree of veneration , that the people approached them Avith aAve , and hi a bending posture , so low that the Avomen SAvept the pavement Avith the hair of their heads .

It is recorded that an inscription to the following effect Avas engraved on the pronaos of the Egyptian temples : QUOD FUIT-QUOD EST—QUOD QUE FUTURUM EST . And that the Saitie temple in Loiver

Egypt had the foUoAvhig : " I am all that hath been , and is , and Avill be ; and my veil no mortal hath yet uncovered . " These inscriptions , liOAvever , Avere neither in the Greek , or Latin language , but in Egyptian hieroglyphics . In Greece the emblem Avas frequently substituted for the god , or , Avhich is the same thing , for his

NAME . Thus the figure of an eagle grasping a thunderbolt stood for Jupiter ; a trident for Neptune ; the ivy or vine for Bacchus ; the harp for Apollo , & c . This practice Avas not confined to Greece and Rome , but was used by those ancient nationsfrom Avhence their learning and

, knowledge Avere derived—India and Egypt . I shall endeavor to shoAv therefore in the present Chapter , that the hieroglyphics b y which the Egyptians expressed the above truths , Avhich so accurately describe the eternity of the deityAvere the Globe

, , Serpent , and Wings . This expressive symbol , as I have already observed , has been omitted by Ben Washih in the co 2 iy before us , but it is found in combination Avith our anaglyph on the Isiac table ; it Avas carved conspicuousl

y over the entrance of many of the Egyptian temples ¦ and particularly on those Avhich Avere held in the highest reverence ; and probably placed there with solemn

ceremonies , on the day of consecration , of Avhich these hierograms was an acknowledged symbol . One Hermes has the reputation of being the first heathen , if heathen he may be called , in descent from the patriarch Noah , Avho discovered or rather recordedfor the

, fact must have been known before the flood , the omnipotence of the deity ; and described him as a being AVIIO occupies all space , and extends through all extent . His deffinition was , " God is a circle Avhose centre is everywhere , and the circumference

nowhere . " * Or in other Avords , that the Avhole universe—far as the eye , assisted by the most comprehensive instruments , can reach , for millions upon millions of miles in diameter—forms but the point or centre ; Avhile the circumference is boundlessand

, beyond the limits of a finite capacity to comprehend . Eternity is Avithout euclspace is without limit—and the deity fills them both . The circle then is the

emblem of space as well as eternity , both being interminable . "Selden remarks , that the figure represented in abbreviated Avriting among the Greeks , signified Daimon , the deity , The same figure , according to Kircher , Avas in use among the Brahmins of . Hindoostan as the character Mundi intett-igi bilis , —that is , of the deity ; for the