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Article ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HISTORY OF THE CRAFT. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.
teries of the time and locality Avere in some form or other bound up , we find here a link of union , a bond of felloAVship , Avhich Avould naturally cement together , associate together , Tyrian and JeAvish Masons in so great and so good a Avork as bull ling the
Temple at Jerusalem . There is no doubt , also , a little objection to the theory of an actual confraternity of JeAvish Masons Avith secrets and nrysteries , from the Avell-knOAA-n fact that all the
Gentile mysteries and airoppijTa , Avere prohibited apparently to the JeAvish people . Yet , Ave cannot , on the other hand , explain it as AA' 6 Avill , get over the fact that Tyrian and JeAvish Avorkmen assisted in the elevation of the great Sanctuary of the HebreAV race at Jerusalemand Captain
, Warren ' s researches have proved , among other things , not only that our Masonic traditions hoAvever , seemingly strange , sometimes , to us to-day , are not in themselves either improbable or impossible , and that a remarkable unity existed betAveen the
AA'orkmen , AA'hether Tyrians or HebreAvs , alike , in the quality of tho Avork they executed , all gOA'erned by one great design , as in the marks , common to both , and understood by each nationalitj ' , still marked in colours as perfect as if only painted
yesterday , in subterranean passages , and AA'Oudrous crypts and hidden halls beneath the existing city . It has ahvays struck Masonic students as a very remarkable fact , that the traditions and history of our Order , as well as our carefully-preserved ceremonies and ritual , have such an IiebreAv colouring and character .
Whence has this arisen 1 Some have contended that the JeAvish confraternity have substituted a veritable history for the figurative teachings of tho earlier mysteries , AA'hile others have asserted that the JoAA-ish clement and teaching Avere absorbed by the building colleges at Rome
, and that thenceforth there AA'as intenvoven Avith all their oral ritual and ancient observance the characteristic tradition of Hiram , the great architect of the first Temple , Avhich Avould entirely harmonize Avith the aim and sympathies of the building
sodalities as 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 we cannot
discard it AA'ithout shaking the very founds * , tion on Avhich Freemasonry rests .. One thing is , indeed , most clear : that the marks of the JeAvish , as Avell as the Tyrian , Masons are the same with those of later times ; that they are evidentl all
y belonging to the same great family , and are identical Avith the usages and customs of the operative order everyAvhere . Some of our most cherished Masonic symbols , Ave may Avell remember , are purely JeAvish , such as the Pentalpha and the
double triangle , or Solomon ' s seal . And despite the hasty and unreasoning assertions of some modern Avriters , I see as yet no cause Avhatever to doubt the truth or reject the authority of the HebreAV legends of our Order . There is some evidence to SIIOAV that
there Avas attached to the Temple a secret order called Chasidini or Hasidim , Avhose special object Avas " to preserve it from injury and decay , " though AA'hether they AA'ere attached to other religions buildings is not clear .
It is said by some that this fraternity arose during the captivity of Babylon ; by others , that it sprung up soon after the Restoration . It has eA'en been contended that they Avere the precursors of the Essenes , and they haA'e been even termed , " The Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem . "
There is in the "Grand Bibliotheque " ( Rue Richelieu , at Paris ) , a A'ery curious book , Avhich treats of the Knights of the Maccaba 3 an 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 AA'ere , in fact , the conservators of Masonry among the JBAVS , and deposited it Avith their successors , the Essenes , AVIIO brought it doAvn beyond the time of Christ . "
Some Avriters contend , as I have just said , that from the Chasidini sprang the Essenes—a remarkable sect of the JOAA-S , from AA'hom some Masonic AA'iiters have of
late asserted that Freemasonry is altogether derived . From Josephus and other sources AVC gain the folloAving particulars , AA'hich arc striking to Freemasons : — On initiation , at the close of the probation and his novitiate , the candidate was presented Avith a garment . He AA-as re-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Illustrations Of The History Of The Craft.
teries of the time and locality Avere in some form or other bound up , we find here a link of union , a bond of felloAVship , Avhich Avould naturally cement together , associate together , Tyrian and JeAvish Masons in so great and so good a Avork as bull ling the
Temple at Jerusalem . There is no doubt , also , a little objection to the theory of an actual confraternity of JeAvish Masons Avith secrets and nrysteries , from the Avell-knOAA-n fact that all the
Gentile mysteries and airoppijTa , Avere prohibited apparently to the JeAvish people . Yet , Ave cannot , on the other hand , explain it as AA' 6 Avill , get over the fact that Tyrian and JeAvish Avorkmen assisted in the elevation of the great Sanctuary of the HebreAV race at Jerusalemand Captain
, Warren ' s researches have proved , among other things , not only that our Masonic traditions hoAvever , seemingly strange , sometimes , to us to-day , are not in themselves either improbable or impossible , and that a remarkable unity existed betAveen the
AA'orkmen , AA'hether Tyrians or HebreAvs , alike , in the quality of tho Avork they executed , all gOA'erned by one great design , as in the marks , common to both , and understood by each nationalitj ' , still marked in colours as perfect as if only painted
yesterday , in subterranean passages , and AA'Oudrous crypts and hidden halls beneath the existing city . It has ahvays struck Masonic students as a very remarkable fact , that the traditions and history of our Order , as well as our carefully-preserved ceremonies and ritual , have such an IiebreAv colouring and character .
Whence has this arisen 1 Some have contended that the JeAvish confraternity have substituted a veritable history for the figurative teachings of tho earlier mysteries , AA'hile others have asserted that the JoAA-ish clement and teaching Avere absorbed by the building colleges at Rome
, and that thenceforth there AA'as intenvoven Avith all their oral ritual and ancient observance the characteristic tradition of Hiram , the great architect of the first Temple , Avhich Avould entirely harmonize Avith the aim and sympathies of the building
sodalities as 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 we cannot
discard it AA'ithout shaking the very founds * , tion on Avhich Freemasonry rests .. One thing is , indeed , most clear : that the marks of the JeAvish , as Avell as the Tyrian , Masons are the same with those of later times ; that they are evidentl all
y belonging to the same great family , and are identical Avith the usages and customs of the operative order everyAvhere . Some of our most cherished Masonic symbols , Ave may Avell remember , are purely JeAvish , such as the Pentalpha and the
double triangle , or Solomon ' s seal . And despite the hasty and unreasoning assertions of some modern Avriters , I see as yet no cause Avhatever to doubt the truth or reject the authority of the HebreAV legends of our Order . There is some evidence to SIIOAV that
there Avas attached to the Temple a secret order called Chasidini or Hasidim , Avhose special object Avas " to preserve it from injury and decay , " though AA'hether they AA'ere attached to other religions buildings is not clear .
It is said by some that this fraternity arose during the captivity of Babylon ; by others , that it sprung up soon after the Restoration . It has eA'en been contended that they Avere the precursors of the Essenes , and they haA'e been even termed , " The Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem . "
There is in the "Grand Bibliotheque " ( Rue Richelieu , at Paris ) , a A'ery curious book , Avhich treats of the Knights of the Maccaba 3 an 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 AA'ere , in fact , the conservators of Masonry among the JBAVS , and deposited it Avith their successors , the Essenes , AVIIO brought it doAvn beyond the time of Christ . "
Some Avriters contend , as I have just said , that from the Chasidini sprang the Essenes—a remarkable sect of the JOAA-S , from AA'hom some Masonic AA'iiters have of
late asserted that Freemasonry is altogether derived . From Josephus and other sources AVC gain the folloAving particulars , AA'hich arc striking to Freemasons : — On initiation , at the close of the probation and his novitiate , the candidate was presented Avith a garment . He AA-as re-