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Article THE LODGE AS A SYMBOL OP THE WOELD ← Page 6 of 11 →
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The Lodge As A Symbol Op The Woeld
country and religion of the ancient world would afford one . * Sufficient has been cited to show the complete coincidence , in reference to the sun , between the symbolism of Freemasonry and that of the ancient rites and mysteries , and to suggest for them a common
origin , the sun being always in the former system , from the earliest times of the primitive or patriarchal Masonry , considered simply as a manifestation of the wisdom , strength , and beauty of the Divine Architect , visibly represented by the position of the three principal officers of a Lodge , while by the latter , in their degeneration from , and corruption of , the true ISToachic faith , it was adopted as the special object of adoration .
The point within a circle is another symbol of great importance in Freemasonry , and commands peculiar attention in this connection with the ancient symbolism of the universe and the solar orb . We are told that the point represents an individual Brother ; the circle , the boundary-line of his duty to Grod and man ; and the two perpendicular parallel lines , the patron-saints of the Order—St . John the Baptist and St . John the Evangelist .
Now this explanation , trite and meagre as it is , may do very well for the exoteric teaching of the Order , but the question at this time is , not how it has been explained by modern lecturers and Masonic system makers , but what was the ancient interpretation of the symbol ; and how should it be read as a sacred hieroglyphic in reference to the true philosophic system which constitutes the real essence and character of Freemasonry ?
Perfectly to understand this symbol I must refer , as a preliminary matter , to the worship of the phallus , a peculiar modification of sun worship which prevailed to a great extent among the nations of antiquity . The phallus was a sculptured representation of the membrum virile , or male organ of generation ; and the worship of it is said to have originated in Egypt , where , after the murder of Osiris by
Typhonwhich is symbolically to be explained as the destruction or deprivation of the sun ' s light by night , —Isis , his wife ( or the symbol ot nature ) , in the search for his mutilated body is said to have ' found all the j ) arts except the organs of generation , which myth is simply symbolic of the fact that , the sun having set , its fecundating and invigorating power had ceased . The phallus , therefore , as the symbol of the male generative principle , was very universally venerated among the ancients , t and that too as a religious symbol , without the
* "Indeed , the most ancient superstition of all nations , " says Maurice , " has been the worship of the sun , as the lord of heaven and the governor of the world ; and in particular it prevailed in Phoenicia , Chaldooa , Egypt—and , from later information , we may add , Peru and Mexico—represented in a variety of ways , and concealed under a multitude of fanciful names . Through all the revolutions of time the great luminary of heaven hath exacted from the generations of men the tribute of devotion . "—Indian Antiquities , vol . ii . p . 91 . f The exhibition of these images in a colossal form , before the gates of ancient temples , was common . Lucian tells its of two colossal phalli , each one hundred
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Lodge As A Symbol Op The Woeld
country and religion of the ancient world would afford one . * Sufficient has been cited to show the complete coincidence , in reference to the sun , between the symbolism of Freemasonry and that of the ancient rites and mysteries , and to suggest for them a common
origin , the sun being always in the former system , from the earliest times of the primitive or patriarchal Masonry , considered simply as a manifestation of the wisdom , strength , and beauty of the Divine Architect , visibly represented by the position of the three principal officers of a Lodge , while by the latter , in their degeneration from , and corruption of , the true ISToachic faith , it was adopted as the special object of adoration .
The point within a circle is another symbol of great importance in Freemasonry , and commands peculiar attention in this connection with the ancient symbolism of the universe and the solar orb . We are told that the point represents an individual Brother ; the circle , the boundary-line of his duty to Grod and man ; and the two perpendicular parallel lines , the patron-saints of the Order—St . John the Baptist and St . John the Evangelist .
Now this explanation , trite and meagre as it is , may do very well for the exoteric teaching of the Order , but the question at this time is , not how it has been explained by modern lecturers and Masonic system makers , but what was the ancient interpretation of the symbol ; and how should it be read as a sacred hieroglyphic in reference to the true philosophic system which constitutes the real essence and character of Freemasonry ?
Perfectly to understand this symbol I must refer , as a preliminary matter , to the worship of the phallus , a peculiar modification of sun worship which prevailed to a great extent among the nations of antiquity . The phallus was a sculptured representation of the membrum virile , or male organ of generation ; and the worship of it is said to have originated in Egypt , where , after the murder of Osiris by
Typhonwhich is symbolically to be explained as the destruction or deprivation of the sun ' s light by night , —Isis , his wife ( or the symbol ot nature ) , in the search for his mutilated body is said to have ' found all the j ) arts except the organs of generation , which myth is simply symbolic of the fact that , the sun having set , its fecundating and invigorating power had ceased . The phallus , therefore , as the symbol of the male generative principle , was very universally venerated among the ancients , t and that too as a religious symbol , without the
* "Indeed , the most ancient superstition of all nations , " says Maurice , " has been the worship of the sun , as the lord of heaven and the governor of the world ; and in particular it prevailed in Phoenicia , Chaldooa , Egypt—and , from later information , we may add , Peru and Mexico—represented in a variety of ways , and concealed under a multitude of fanciful names . Through all the revolutions of time the great luminary of heaven hath exacted from the generations of men the tribute of devotion . "—Indian Antiquities , vol . ii . p . 91 . f The exhibition of these images in a colossal form , before the gates of ancient temples , was common . Lucian tells its of two colossal phalli , each one hundred