-
Articles/Ads
Article THE RITES OP FREEMASONRY. ← Page 7 of 14 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Rites Op Freemasonry.
been purified by acts of piety and devotion , and thus prepared for mingling Avith the celestial beings . The point within a circle , and the dodecahedron or figure of twelve sides , were symbols of the universe ; the triple triangle was an emblem of health ; and the letter Y a
representation ofthe course of human life , in which there were two diverging paths , the one of virtue leading to happiness , and the other of vice conducting to misery . Pythagoras , in pursuit of knowledge , travelled into Ohaldea and Egypt , and is said to have been instructed in the sacred lore of the Hebrews either by the prophet Ezekiel or Daniel . Dr . Oliver asserts that he was initiated into the Jewish
system of Freemasonry , and that " his mysteries were the most perfect approximation to the original science of Freemasonry which could be accomplished by a philosopher bereft ofthe aid of revelation . " The Order of African Architects was established by a Prussian named Baucherren , with the sanction of Frederick II . It was divided into two temples , having eleven degrees . The first temple contained
the three symbolic degrees ; in the second temple were , —Apprentice of Egyptian Secrets , Initiate in the Egyptian Secrets , Cosmopolitan Brother , Christian Philosopher , Master of Egyptian Secrets , Esquire , Soldier , Knight . The object of the institution was historical research , and the ritual was not confined to Masonry , but contained allusions to the mysteries of Christianity , and to the pursuits of alchemy and
chivalry . Ragon tells us that the society possessed a large mansion for the Grand Chapter of the Order ; this had an extensive library , a museum of natural history , and a perfect chemical laboratory . In their assemblies they read essays and communicated the results of their researches . They emulated the philosophers of Greece in their simple and decorous banquets , at which instructive discourses were delivered ; and much affected sententious apothegms , whose meaning
was sublime but concealed . The society for some years annually decreed a gold medal , with the sum of fifty ducats , for the best memoir on the history of Masonry ; many of these documents have been published and some are of value . The Rite of the Philalethes , or Searchers after Truth , which was a compound of the reveries of Swedenborg and Paschalis , is said to have been invented by Salvalette de Langes , keeper of the royal
treasury , and was first adopted in the Lodge of Amis Reunis at Paris , about the year 1775 . It consisted of twelve degrees , viz . : —Apprentice , Fellow Craft ; Master Elect ; Scotch Master ; Knight of the East ; Rose Croix ; Knight of the Temple ; Unknown Philosopher ; Sublime Philosopher ; Initiated ; ancl Philalethes , or Searcher after Truth . At the death of the founder of the rite , the Lodge of Amis Reunis was dissolved ; and the rite , not having extended further , ceased to exist .
I he lUummati of Avignon was a species of Masonry intermingled with the reveries of Swedenborg , somewhere about the year 1760 , by Pernetti ( who was a Benedictine monk ) , and the Baron Gabrianca , a Polish nobleman . Very little is known of the institution , and it might have been forgotten but for the Marquis do Thome , in 1783 ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Rites Op Freemasonry.
been purified by acts of piety and devotion , and thus prepared for mingling Avith the celestial beings . The point within a circle , and the dodecahedron or figure of twelve sides , were symbols of the universe ; the triple triangle was an emblem of health ; and the letter Y a
representation ofthe course of human life , in which there were two diverging paths , the one of virtue leading to happiness , and the other of vice conducting to misery . Pythagoras , in pursuit of knowledge , travelled into Ohaldea and Egypt , and is said to have been instructed in the sacred lore of the Hebrews either by the prophet Ezekiel or Daniel . Dr . Oliver asserts that he was initiated into the Jewish
system of Freemasonry , and that " his mysteries were the most perfect approximation to the original science of Freemasonry which could be accomplished by a philosopher bereft ofthe aid of revelation . " The Order of African Architects was established by a Prussian named Baucherren , with the sanction of Frederick II . It was divided into two temples , having eleven degrees . The first temple contained
the three symbolic degrees ; in the second temple were , —Apprentice of Egyptian Secrets , Initiate in the Egyptian Secrets , Cosmopolitan Brother , Christian Philosopher , Master of Egyptian Secrets , Esquire , Soldier , Knight . The object of the institution was historical research , and the ritual was not confined to Masonry , but contained allusions to the mysteries of Christianity , and to the pursuits of alchemy and
chivalry . Ragon tells us that the society possessed a large mansion for the Grand Chapter of the Order ; this had an extensive library , a museum of natural history , and a perfect chemical laboratory . In their assemblies they read essays and communicated the results of their researches . They emulated the philosophers of Greece in their simple and decorous banquets , at which instructive discourses were delivered ; and much affected sententious apothegms , whose meaning
was sublime but concealed . The society for some years annually decreed a gold medal , with the sum of fifty ducats , for the best memoir on the history of Masonry ; many of these documents have been published and some are of value . The Rite of the Philalethes , or Searchers after Truth , which was a compound of the reveries of Swedenborg and Paschalis , is said to have been invented by Salvalette de Langes , keeper of the royal
treasury , and was first adopted in the Lodge of Amis Reunis at Paris , about the year 1775 . It consisted of twelve degrees , viz . : —Apprentice , Fellow Craft ; Master Elect ; Scotch Master ; Knight of the East ; Rose Croix ; Knight of the Temple ; Unknown Philosopher ; Sublime Philosopher ; Initiated ; ancl Philalethes , or Searcher after Truth . At the death of the founder of the rite , the Lodge of Amis Reunis was dissolved ; and the rite , not having extended further , ceased to exist .
I he lUummati of Avignon was a species of Masonry intermingled with the reveries of Swedenborg , somewhere about the year 1760 , by Pernetti ( who was a Benedictine monk ) , and the Baron Gabrianca , a Polish nobleman . Very little is known of the institution , and it might have been forgotten but for the Marquis do Thome , in 1783 ,