-
Articles/Ads
Article THE VISIBLE SYMBOLISM OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 8 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Visible Symbolism Of Freemasonry.
; : ^
B ^ tt I have said that there is another higher and abstruscr sym * Solism to K tfej fi ^ j n ^ onry *^^
^ Freehx ^ 4 iSa |^ stem of philosc ^^ i £ : M & Eatrfe ^ tife ^ fe ife ^ mm systeni a ^ . Gentile ^ m ^
M ^ interesting than the pt ^ historical , I j > ropose to dev ^^ extended view of the System . . And in the first place , there is what may be called an elementary ? iew of this abstyuscr symbolism , which seems almost to be a corollary from what has already been described .
Am each individual Mason has been supposed to be the receptacle of a spiritual temple , the Lodge , or collected assemblage of these Masons , is adopted as a symbol of the world . It is in the first degree of Masonry more particularly that this species of symbolism is developed . In its details it derives the characteristics of resemblance upon which it is founded , from the form , the supports , the
ornaments , and general construction and internal organization of the Lodge , in all of which the symbolic resemblance to the world is beautifully and correctly sustained . The form of a Masonic Lodge is said to be a parallelogram or oblong square ; its greatest length being from east to west , its breadth from north to south . A square , a circle , a triangle , or any other form but that of an oblong square , would be eminently incorrect and un-masonic .
JSTow as the world is a globe , or , to speak more critically , an oblate sphere , the idea of making an oblong square its symbol would seem at first view to present insuperable difficulties . But the system of Masonic symbolism has stood the test of too long an antiquity to be easily found at fault ; and , indeed , this very symbol is in itself a striking evidence of the antiquity of the Order . At the Solomonic
era—the era of building the Temple—the world , it must be remembered , was supposed to have that very oblong form which has been here symbolized . If , for instance , on a map of the world we should
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Visible Symbolism Of Freemasonry.
; : ^
B ^ tt I have said that there is another higher and abstruscr sym * Solism to K tfej fi ^ j n ^ onry *^^
^ Freehx ^ 4 iSa |^ stem of philosc ^^ i £ : M & Eatrfe ^ tife ^ fe ife ^ mm systeni a ^ . Gentile ^ m ^
M ^ interesting than the pt ^ historical , I j > ropose to dev ^^ extended view of the System . . And in the first place , there is what may be called an elementary ? iew of this abstyuscr symbolism , which seems almost to be a corollary from what has already been described .
Am each individual Mason has been supposed to be the receptacle of a spiritual temple , the Lodge , or collected assemblage of these Masons , is adopted as a symbol of the world . It is in the first degree of Masonry more particularly that this species of symbolism is developed . In its details it derives the characteristics of resemblance upon which it is founded , from the form , the supports , the
ornaments , and general construction and internal organization of the Lodge , in all of which the symbolic resemblance to the world is beautifully and correctly sustained . The form of a Masonic Lodge is said to be a parallelogram or oblong square ; its greatest length being from east to west , its breadth from north to south . A square , a circle , a triangle , or any other form but that of an oblong square , would be eminently incorrect and un-masonic .
JSTow as the world is a globe , or , to speak more critically , an oblate sphere , the idea of making an oblong square its symbol would seem at first view to present insuperable difficulties . But the system of Masonic symbolism has stood the test of too long an antiquity to be easily found at fault ; and , indeed , this very symbol is in itself a striking evidence of the antiquity of the Order . At the Solomonic
era—the era of building the Temple—the world , it must be remembered , was supposed to have that very oblong form which has been here symbolized . If , for instance , on a map of the world we should