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Article CliASSIOAL EEBEMASONRY, ← Page 9 of 11 →
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Cliassioal Eebemasonry,
be dropped ; tbe subject is unutterable . Onward proceeded the novices , and were soon conducted into another region—that of everlasting bliss , the sojourn of the just— -of those whose hearts had been purified , and whose minds had been enlightened by " the holy doctrine . " This was Elysium , the joys of which were equally unutterable , —equally incorbprehensible tomortals not admitted into these mysteries . Here a veil was , in like manner , thrown over this scene . * When we come to reduce this to a plain statement of facts , at what do we arrive ? * We find that a candidate for initiation had to be a man of unblemislied character . The code of morals to which he had to subscribe , and in which he was afterward instructed , was
based upon the highest principles of virtue and wisdom . He became from that moment identified with all that was pure—an enemy to sin- —and a regenerated being . Is there no resemblance here ? We thmk there is a strong likeness to genuine Freemasonry , —so strong that we scarcely know how to consider them distinct from each other .
The essential principles , such as a belief in one Grod , t the doctrine of rewards and punishments , the resurrection of the body , and the immortality of the soul , are the same . The verses which , according to Bishop Warburton , were sung in the Eleusinian mysteries , contained the following passage : —
" Pursue thy path rightly , and contemplate the King of the world : He is One , and of "himself alone , and to that One all things have owed their being . He encompasses them . No mortal hath beheld him ; but he sees every thing . '
Before the initiation commenced , it was customary for the officiating priest to inquire aloud , " Who is fit to be present at this ceremony ? " The answer given was , " Honest , good , and harmless men . " He again ejaculated , " Holy things are for those who are holy ; " and then , with much solemnity , enjoined them to receive the benefit of prayer . Homer thus describes the place of initiation in Greece : —
" High at the head a branching olive grows , And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs ; Beneath , a gloomy grotto ' s cool recess Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas ; Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone , And massy beams in native marble shone , On which the labours of the Nymphs were rolPd , Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold . Within the cave the clust ' ring bees attend Their waxen works , or from the roof depend .
* Cabinet Cyclopaedia , vol . Ixi . f In one of the " Orphic Fragments , " preserved by Proclus , we find it expressly declared that , "There is One Power , One Deity—the Great Governor of all
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Cliassioal Eebemasonry,
be dropped ; tbe subject is unutterable . Onward proceeded the novices , and were soon conducted into another region—that of everlasting bliss , the sojourn of the just— -of those whose hearts had been purified , and whose minds had been enlightened by " the holy doctrine . " This was Elysium , the joys of which were equally unutterable , —equally incorbprehensible tomortals not admitted into these mysteries . Here a veil was , in like manner , thrown over this scene . * When we come to reduce this to a plain statement of facts , at what do we arrive ? * We find that a candidate for initiation had to be a man of unblemislied character . The code of morals to which he had to subscribe , and in which he was afterward instructed , was
based upon the highest principles of virtue and wisdom . He became from that moment identified with all that was pure—an enemy to sin- —and a regenerated being . Is there no resemblance here ? We thmk there is a strong likeness to genuine Freemasonry , —so strong that we scarcely know how to consider them distinct from each other .
The essential principles , such as a belief in one Grod , t the doctrine of rewards and punishments , the resurrection of the body , and the immortality of the soul , are the same . The verses which , according to Bishop Warburton , were sung in the Eleusinian mysteries , contained the following passage : —
" Pursue thy path rightly , and contemplate the King of the world : He is One , and of "himself alone , and to that One all things have owed their being . He encompasses them . No mortal hath beheld him ; but he sees every thing . '
Before the initiation commenced , it was customary for the officiating priest to inquire aloud , " Who is fit to be present at this ceremony ? " The answer given was , " Honest , good , and harmless men . " He again ejaculated , " Holy things are for those who are holy ; " and then , with much solemnity , enjoined them to receive the benefit of prayer . Homer thus describes the place of initiation in Greece : —
" High at the head a branching olive grows , And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs ; Beneath , a gloomy grotto ' s cool recess Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas ; Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone , And massy beams in native marble shone , On which the labours of the Nymphs were rolPd , Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold . Within the cave the clust ' ring bees attend Their waxen works , or from the roof depend .
* Cabinet Cyclopaedia , vol . Ixi . f In one of the " Orphic Fragments , " preserved by Proclus , we find it expressly declared that , "There is One Power , One Deity—the Great Governor of all