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Article COREESBO^bENGE. ← Page 8 of 8
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Coreesbo^Benge.
"Nehemiah , who was b <* rn at Babylon , and was cupbearer to Artaxerxes , was allowed by tiiat ^ m paired the walls , towers and gates of the Holy City . We have nothing to guide us as to the date of the feath of either Zerubbabel or Haggai , but there is no inconsistency in the assmrnotion both alive when Ezra and Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem ; though they have probably attained the aj * e of eighty or ninety years .
V-r . cto old ritual , the present being , as I before observed , in every w ^ Beside ^ as it has been used for over half a century , we are all acquainted with it > and every one would have to unlearn what he knows , and be obliged to recommence his studies ; and for what ?—because our American Brethren continue the old practice . This surely would be about as consistent as to require Christian !^
turn to ^ the ritual were jufficious ; and I ain would be more palpable had the Ma ^ second degree } indeed Icannot but think that this ^ ^ fe the Royal Arch to ^ e ^^ r d ^ p ^ B ,- It may be said tha ^ , in the first and second degrees , we commemorate the first , or Solom ^
Royal ^ ch the symbolize &^ in three days w-as raised up on the ruins of its predecessors . The soul of a righteous man is the temple of God , because it is inhabited by the Holy Spirit . The exhortation and charge have especial reference to this yiew ; many ancient classical writers describe the virtuous mind as a temple of God , and speak of the obligation men are under to keep His temple inviolate and undefiled .
There was one portion of the Royal Arch ceremonial rejected when the ritual was altered , which we have been told by older Maso interesting , and deserving of being preserved—passing the veils—to which the degree has many symbolic references . The veils of the tabernacle were of four colours , blue , purple , scarlet , and white , or fine linen . White , the emblem of innocence , is found in the gloves and apron ; blue , the emblem of friendship , is appropriated to the symbolic degrees ; scarlet is the emblem of zeal and fervency , and is appropriated to the Eoyal Arch . Some of this portion of the historical instruction has been transferred into
the present ritual in other places , but not with advantage . ; still , judging from report , I think that the ceremony of passing the veils most appropriately filled up the unexplained hiatus between the two parts of the present ritual . Prior to the middle of the last century , the essential element of the
Royal Arch constituted a part bF the third degree . Bro . Preston , in his " Illustrations , " describes the assembly in the third degree as u a Chapter of Master Masons , " although the Roval Arch is not named as such in the " Illustrations . " Dermot , in his " Ahiman Rezon , " a . i > . 1772 , says of it , a This I firmly believe to be the root , heart , and marrow of Masonry . " I am , yours fraternally ,
Bv looking into physical causes our minds are opened and enlarged ; and in the pursuit , whether we take , or whether we losfe the game , the chase is certainly of service , — BwTce ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Coreesbo^Benge.
"Nehemiah , who was b <* rn at Babylon , and was cupbearer to Artaxerxes , was allowed by tiiat ^ m paired the walls , towers and gates of the Holy City . We have nothing to guide us as to the date of the feath of either Zerubbabel or Haggai , but there is no inconsistency in the assmrnotion both alive when Ezra and Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem ; though they have probably attained the aj * e of eighty or ninety years .
V-r . cto old ritual , the present being , as I before observed , in every w ^ Beside ^ as it has been used for over half a century , we are all acquainted with it > and every one would have to unlearn what he knows , and be obliged to recommence his studies ; and for what ?—because our American Brethren continue the old practice . This surely would be about as consistent as to require Christian !^
turn to ^ the ritual were jufficious ; and I ain would be more palpable had the Ma ^ second degree } indeed Icannot but think that this ^ ^ fe the Royal Arch to ^ e ^^ r d ^ p ^ B ,- It may be said tha ^ , in the first and second degrees , we commemorate the first , or Solom ^
Royal ^ ch the symbolize &^ in three days w-as raised up on the ruins of its predecessors . The soul of a righteous man is the temple of God , because it is inhabited by the Holy Spirit . The exhortation and charge have especial reference to this yiew ; many ancient classical writers describe the virtuous mind as a temple of God , and speak of the obligation men are under to keep His temple inviolate and undefiled .
There was one portion of the Royal Arch ceremonial rejected when the ritual was altered , which we have been told by older Maso interesting , and deserving of being preserved—passing the veils—to which the degree has many symbolic references . The veils of the tabernacle were of four colours , blue , purple , scarlet , and white , or fine linen . White , the emblem of innocence , is found in the gloves and apron ; blue , the emblem of friendship , is appropriated to the symbolic degrees ; scarlet is the emblem of zeal and fervency , and is appropriated to the Eoyal Arch . Some of this portion of the historical instruction has been transferred into
the present ritual in other places , but not with advantage . ; still , judging from report , I think that the ceremony of passing the veils most appropriately filled up the unexplained hiatus between the two parts of the present ritual . Prior to the middle of the last century , the essential element of the
Royal Arch constituted a part bF the third degree . Bro . Preston , in his " Illustrations , " describes the assembly in the third degree as u a Chapter of Master Masons , " although the Roval Arch is not named as such in the " Illustrations . " Dermot , in his " Ahiman Rezon , " a . i > . 1772 , says of it , a This I firmly believe to be the root , heart , and marrow of Masonry . " I am , yours fraternally ,
Bv looking into physical causes our minds are opened and enlarged ; and in the pursuit , whether we take , or whether we losfe the game , the chase is certainly of service , — BwTce ,