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Article C0ERE8P0NI>E^CE. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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C0ere8p0ni>E^Ce.
was retained . This ceremonial still referred to the great mysteries of their religion - ^ and * although Bacchus or Dionysus ( from which they got the name ' of " Dionysian artificers " ) was substituted for Ceres , the same Sol invictus was the personage kept in view . There seems no doubt , from what the Bible tells us , that the ancients of Gebal , or the Ghibblites , were sent by Hiram of Tyre to assist King Solomon to build the Temple ; and if so , there cannot be a question that Solomon would put a stop
to their heathenish rites before permitting the Jews to join the association ; and as these rites chi e % related to the killing some great person and his revival ( as in the ancient religious mysteries of every country ) , in reference partly to distorted accounts of 'Noah " a entry into the ark , and partly to the sun passing from the one hemisphere to another , and his setting at night—this was easily attained by substituting the great solar light itself ; Ur or TJrim , and thus making the whole astronomical . Here also the speculative merely opened the door to the operative part of the art . -
That Freemasonry of the present day may have been derived from the reformed ceremonials of Solomon is more than probable , but I fear that those only who have some acquaintance with astronomy could trace , or even understand , the connection / Suppose this proved ( after reforming some of our traditions ) , Masonry must have long retained the Dionysian or Israelitisli stamp of the speculative part being more subservient to the operative than it was in ancient Egypt or Greece .
How far this disjunction , in the present day , is advantageous , is a fit subject for discussion in a Lodge , not in public ; but I may express my regret that the rank of Master Mason is now lowered to that of a mere degree ; and that much of the addresses and lectures got up by the late Bro . Preston for the three Craft degrees , had not been buried with him . Sure I am that Solomon would have ignored them .
The word Masonry , or Jfaison , has itself furnished much speculation to the Fraternity . I cannot see any good reason against its being from the Mediaeval Latin massa , a club : domus-massata being a , club-house ( where gentlemen belonging to the club associate ) , or , in other words , a tyled house , from the porter at the door being then armed with a club to keep out strangers . The club , or massa , would soon give name to the peculiar subjects ( building ) discussed at the meeting : and hence both the French and English expressions seem to have originated . Scrutator .
THE CP . AND CHAPTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and E . Comp . —I must say I have been very much surprised that among that learned and highly placed phalanx'that like constellated stars surrounded the triple representatives of the royal and august Sanhedrim , not one rose to make any observation on the topic of which all Royal Arch Masons have lately heard so much , in your columns and elsewhere , viz ., the irregular , to use the mildest word ,
issue of certificates by the Grand Chapter of Scotland . Finding the Dais silent , I looked round the Chapter below the Dais for one who had the fullest knowledge on this subject and who had promised to be there to raise his voice against such irregularity ; but I presume serious business avocations alone prevented his presence there , as his well-known indefatigable Masonic labours , when work is required , bring him always to his post if it is within length of his C . T .
His absence brought me on my legs to put a question on this subject ; when , to the surprise of myself and those surrounding me , we saw the presiding officers quietly walking down , without , as we thought , having put the usual question , if any pomp , had anything to propose . I suppose such strict disciplinarians as the presiding- officers could not have omitted this question ; but it must have been put in such low tones , that we seated so far from the thrones , could not hear it . Of course , under these circumstances , I was forced to hold my tongue , as I am too
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
C0ere8p0ni>E^Ce.
was retained . This ceremonial still referred to the great mysteries of their religion - ^ and * although Bacchus or Dionysus ( from which they got the name ' of " Dionysian artificers " ) was substituted for Ceres , the same Sol invictus was the personage kept in view . There seems no doubt , from what the Bible tells us , that the ancients of Gebal , or the Ghibblites , were sent by Hiram of Tyre to assist King Solomon to build the Temple ; and if so , there cannot be a question that Solomon would put a stop
to their heathenish rites before permitting the Jews to join the association ; and as these rites chi e % related to the killing some great person and his revival ( as in the ancient religious mysteries of every country ) , in reference partly to distorted accounts of 'Noah " a entry into the ark , and partly to the sun passing from the one hemisphere to another , and his setting at night—this was easily attained by substituting the great solar light itself ; Ur or TJrim , and thus making the whole astronomical . Here also the speculative merely opened the door to the operative part of the art . -
That Freemasonry of the present day may have been derived from the reformed ceremonials of Solomon is more than probable , but I fear that those only who have some acquaintance with astronomy could trace , or even understand , the connection / Suppose this proved ( after reforming some of our traditions ) , Masonry must have long retained the Dionysian or Israelitisli stamp of the speculative part being more subservient to the operative than it was in ancient Egypt or Greece .
How far this disjunction , in the present day , is advantageous , is a fit subject for discussion in a Lodge , not in public ; but I may express my regret that the rank of Master Mason is now lowered to that of a mere degree ; and that much of the addresses and lectures got up by the late Bro . Preston for the three Craft degrees , had not been buried with him . Sure I am that Solomon would have ignored them .
The word Masonry , or Jfaison , has itself furnished much speculation to the Fraternity . I cannot see any good reason against its being from the Mediaeval Latin massa , a club : domus-massata being a , club-house ( where gentlemen belonging to the club associate ) , or , in other words , a tyled house , from the porter at the door being then armed with a club to keep out strangers . The club , or massa , would soon give name to the peculiar subjects ( building ) discussed at the meeting : and hence both the French and English expressions seem to have originated . Scrutator .
THE CP . AND CHAPTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and E . Comp . —I must say I have been very much surprised that among that learned and highly placed phalanx'that like constellated stars surrounded the triple representatives of the royal and august Sanhedrim , not one rose to make any observation on the topic of which all Royal Arch Masons have lately heard so much , in your columns and elsewhere , viz ., the irregular , to use the mildest word ,
issue of certificates by the Grand Chapter of Scotland . Finding the Dais silent , I looked round the Chapter below the Dais for one who had the fullest knowledge on this subject and who had promised to be there to raise his voice against such irregularity ; but I presume serious business avocations alone prevented his presence there , as his well-known indefatigable Masonic labours , when work is required , bring him always to his post if it is within length of his C . T .
His absence brought me on my legs to put a question on this subject ; when , to the surprise of myself and those surrounding me , we saw the presiding officers quietly walking down , without , as we thought , having put the usual question , if any pomp , had anything to propose . I suppose such strict disciplinarians as the presiding- officers could not have omitted this question ; but it must have been put in such low tones , that we seated so far from the thrones , could not hear it . Of course , under these circumstances , I was forced to hold my tongue , as I am too