The Origin And References Of The Hermesian Spurious Freemasonry.

Spurious Freemasonry . In the caverns of ' ' initiation , water was indispensable , and Avas used in the utmost profusion . Indeed , the Mithratie caA'ern was denominated K « . T e £ oY _ ) ji ' , the cave of the Naiads , or water j nymphs ; aud it was intersected in every i

direction with copius streams of the j purifying element , to shadoiv out the his- j tration of the earth by a general deluge . ! A striking emblem of the ark of Noah I was a Cup ; and it referred by implication , ! to the deluge . AVith this in view , the •' Baotians made libations to Cabiri during j

their mysterious orgies ; Avhence the Cup of the Sphere is placed on the back of a serpent , because this important ceremony succeeded the regeneration . Amongst the Greeks , the Cup was dedicated to Bacchus ( who ivas the same as Noah ) , the patron of the Dionysian mysteries . The symbol

was so highly esteemed as to haA'e a separate degree attached to it , called " The Rite of the Seyphus . " In Egypt the Cup Avas an emblem of purification , and its sacred character probably originated in the Cup of Joseph , to which a spirit of

prophesy appears to have been attached . Lucian ridicules the Egyptians for making iTo-npiov . a cup , or the ark , iuto a god . It is by no means clear that the trees of the forest ivere overwhelmed and destroyed ; indeed the most probable sirpposition is that they were not . For if vegetable life had sustained a total

annihilation during this extraordinary convulsion of nature , how do we account for the branch of olive which the dove brought to the ark on its second excursion ? It was not gathered from a decayed tree Avhich floated on the waters , because this would have been no criterion that they had subsided ;

and might have been acquired at the bird ' s first mission as Avell as at the second . Nor could it have been plucked from a tree lying prostrate on the ground , because , in the lirst place the waters prevailed for a whole year , during which time all

vegetable life would have been extinct , if plucked up by the roots and cast forth on the face of the liquid element ; and consequently , a green olive leaf could not have been found ; ancl again , admitting that the earth had been reduced to the soft pulp already mentioned , the specific gravity of the timber would have sunk it far beneath the surface . Tho branch ivas

evidently fresh from the hvmg tree ; and therefore Noah had presumptive evidence that the waters were rapidly subsiding , because the tops of the trees shot above the surface , and seven days previous the dove " found no rest for the sole of her foot . " He therefore waited other seven

days ; and the same experiment proved that the ivaters had entirely receded , leaving the surface of the earth dry . The dove was an universal symbol in every institution , whether of true or spurious Freemasony which existed in tho

world , and signified a divine token , on which account it was figured to be the bearer of ambrosia to the celestial deities ;* and it was adopted by Semiramis as the insignia of xAssyria and Babylon . In the true system this emblem holds a conspicuous place .

Peace adds to olive boughs entAvin'd An emblematic doA-e ; As stamped upon the Mason ' s mind , Are uuity and loA'e . In a degree called " the Ark and the Dove" this event is explained as follows

, " Masonic tradition informs us that the circumstances ivhich ori ginated this degree , occurred at a period immediately antecedent to Noah ' s leaving the ark . To ascertain whether the waters had subsided , ancl the earth was in a proper state to

receive him , Noah sent forth a dove , under the idea that it mi ght be a means of ascertaining Avhether the soil had resumed the exercise of its prolific powers . The dove left the ark and did not immediately return ; but one day as Noali was standing

near the window of the ark , from which nothing but the heavens was visible , he saw some object in motion at as great a distance as his eye could reach ; and as it drew nearer to the ark he discovered it to be the dove bearing in her mouth the

branch of an olive tree . In joy and gladness he exclaimed , Lo she cometh ! and stretched out his hand to receive her iuto the ark .

The Mosaic record contains no hint of the destruction of vegetable life . It is to be presumed , therefore , that the solid state of the ground in which trees and plants were rooted , had not been materiall y im-