The Origin And References Of The Hermesian Spurious Freemasonry.

terranean places , some of which were of immense size and capacity . That celebrated one at Eleusis was capable of holding as large a number as a theatre . * But the description given by Vitruvins is still more remarkable : " Eleusinae Cereris et

Proserpina cellam immani mugnitudine Ictinus Dorico more , sine exterioribus columnis ad laxamentum usus saorificiorum , pertexit . Earn autem postra , cum Demetrius Phalereus Athenis rerum potiretus , Philon aute templuni in fronte columnis constitutis prostylon fecit . Ita aucto

vestibulo laxamentum initiantibus operisque summam adjecit autoritatem . "t And Aristides thought this the most extraordinary circumstance , that of all the public assemblies of Greece , this was the only one which was contained together

within a single edifice . | Cavern temples were common in E gypt , and it is believed that they existed beneath the pyramids , branching out to vast and incredible distances . All these were necessarily dark ; for which reason probably such places were considered more particularly sacred ; and consequently better adapted to the occult purposes of

initiation and the regeneration of the human soul . A remarkable instance of the veneration for caverns is related b y Jerome and others , who say that the heathen Romans converted the caverns where Christ was born ( called in our translation of the Scriptures

, a stable ) into a place of celebration for the mysteries of Adonis . His words are : " Bethlehem , now our most venerable place , was overshadowed by the grove of Thammuz , i . e . of Adonis ; and iu the cave where once the Messiah appeared as

an infant , the lover of Venus was loudly lamented . § This is confirmed hy Socrates , || who says : "Those who hated the religion of Christ filled up the place where he was born with a dyke of stones , and built in it a Temple of Venus , with a figure standing upon it , by which they intended to dissipate all recollection of the holy place . "

The use which the heathen made of these dark places , was to startle and impress the aspirant at his initiation into the mysteries , by the contrast from pitch y darkness to the most brilliant li ght . Thus we are told that on some occasions the

temple at Sumnaut , in India , whose lofty roof was supported by fifty-six pillars overlaid with plates of gold , and incrusted with rubies , emeralds , and other precious stones , was illuminated by a gigantic lamp , whose lightreflected back from the

bur-, nished gold and jewels , spread a strong and refulgent lustre throughout the spacious fabric . The above ceremony was intended hieroglyphically to show the sublime attributes of the Deity , which in most countries

were designated by li g ht , which was supposed by some of the learned Rabbies to be the garment of God , because David said that he clothed Himself with it ; and Maimonides thought that the lustre of the heavens arose from the expansion of this garment . Eugubinus supposed that the empyrean heaven , or habitation of God ,

was nothing more than the exhibition of this glorious light , which he compared to the poetical Olympus , so-called , because it was supposed to shine with the admirable glory of the Divinity . Hence the general allusion , which the hierophant made to the autopsia of the initiations wasthat

, the light was divine ; the true Oaos Sava OIKOV ervxOr ) of Theocritus . * And for the same reason the Chaldee oracle advises that when we see the holy fire shining upon us , we may esteem it to be a divine communication . f

The gods are depicted by the poets as shining with an effulgent lustre . When Jupiter visited Alemena , the poet says : " CBdes tota confulgebant , quasi essent aurecB . "J There are so many instances of this , that it will be unnecessary to press the

point further . It was an embodiment of the prophesy of Habakkuk : " God came from Teman , and the Holy One from Mount Paran . Selah . His glory covered the heavens , and the earth was full of his praise . And his bri ghtness wa 3 as the light ; and he had horns or beams of lig ht