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Article THE SYMBOLISM OF LIGHT IN MASONRY. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The Symbolism Of Light In Masonry.
shall find this symbolism pervading not only the institutions but the very languages of antiquity . Thus , among the Hebrews , the word aur , in the singular , signified "light , " but in the plural , aurim , it denoted the revelation of the divine will ; aud the aurim ancl llmmmim , literally " the light and truth" constituted a part of tho
, breast plate whence the hi gh p riest obtained oracular responses to the questions which he proposed . * There is a peculiarity about the word " light , " in the old Egyptian language , which is well worth considei-ation in this connection . Among the Egyptians the havo was the hieroglyphic of eyes that are openand it was adoptedbecause
, , that timid animal was supposed never to close his organs of vision , being always on the watch for his enemies . The hare was afterwards adopted by the priests as a symbol of the mental illumination , or mystic light , ivhich ivas revealed to the neophytes , in the contemplation of divine truth , during the progress of their initiation ; and hence , according to
Champollion , the hare was also the symbol of Osiris , their chief god ; thus showing the intimate connection which they believed to exist between tlie process of initiation into their sacred rites and the contemplation of the divine nature . But the Hebrew word for hare is arnahat . Now , this is coinpounded of the two words , aur , light , and nabat , to behold ;
and therefore the word which , in the Egyptian denoted "initiation , " in the Hebrew signified "to behold the light . " in two nations so intimately connected in history as the Hebrew and the Egyptian , such a coincidence could not have been accidental . It shows the prevalence of the sentiment at that period that the communication of light was the prominent design of the mysteries—so prominent , that the one
was made the synonym of the other , t The worship of light , either in its pure essence , or in the forms of sun worshi p and fire worship—because the sun ancl the fire were causes of light , was among the earliest and most universal superstitions of the world . Light was considered as the primordial source of all that was holy and intelligent ; and darknessas its oppositewas viewed as but another
, , name for evil ancl ignorance . Dr . Beard , in an article on this subject , in Kitto ' s Cyelopcediet , of Biblical Literature , attributes this view of the divine nature of light , which ivas entertained by the nations of the East , to the fact that , in that part of the world , lig ht " has a clearness and brilliancy , is accompanied by an intensity of heat , and is followed in its
influence by a largeness of good , of which the inhabitants of less genial climates have no conception . Light easily aud naturally became , in consequence , with orientals , a representative of the highest human good . All the more joyous emotions of the mind , all the pleasing sensations of the frame , all ihe happy hours of domestic intercourseivei'e described
, under imagery derived from li ght . The transition was natural—from earthly to heavenly , from corporeal to spiritual things ; and so light came to typify true religion and the felicity which it imparts . But as light not only came from God , but also makes man ' s way clear before him , so it was employed to signify moral truth , and preeminently that divine
system of truth which is set forth in the Bible , from its earliest gleanings onward to the perfect day of the great Sun of Righteousness . " I am inclined to believe that in this passage the learned author has erred , not in the definition of the symbol , but in his deduction of its origin . Light became the object of religious veneration , not because of the brilliancy and clearness of a particular sky , nor the warmth and genial influence
of a particular climate—for the worship was universal , in Scandinavia as in India—but because it was the natural and inevitable result of the -worship of the sun , the chief deity of Sabaism , a faith which pervaded to an extraordinary extent the whole relig ious sentiment of antiquity . * Liht was venerated because it was an emanation from the
g sun , and , in the materialism of the ancient faith , light and darkness were both personified as positive existences , the one being the enemy of the other . Two princip les were thus supposed to reign over tho world , antagonistic to each other , and each , alternately presiding over the destinies of mankind . ! Tho contests between the good ancl evil principle , symboof tho
lized by lig ht ancl darkness , composed a very large part ancient mythology ^ in all countries . Among the Egyptians , Osiris was light , or the sun ; and his arch enemy / typhon , who ultimately destroyed him , was the representative of darkness . Zoroasterthe father of the ancient Persian relig ion , taught
, the same doctrine , and called the principle of light , or good , Ormuzd ; and the princip le of darkness , or evil , Aliriman . The former , born of the purest light , and the latter , sprung from utter darkness , are , iu this mythology , continually making war on each other . Manes , or Manichrens , the founder of the sect of Maniht that there two
chees , in the third century , taug are princip les from which all things proceed ; the one is a pure and subtle matter , called Lig ht , the other a gross and corrupt substance , called Darkness . Each of these is subject to the dominion of A superintending being , whose existence is from all eternity . The being who presides over the lig ht is called God ; he that rules overthe darkness is called Ilylo or Demon . The ruler of the lig ht is supremely happy , good , and benevolent ; while the ruler over darkness is unhappy , evil , and
malignant . Pythagoras also maintained this doctrine of two antagonistic principles . He called the one , unity , light , the right hand , equality , stability , and a straight line ; the other , he named binary , darkness , the left hand , inequality , instability , and a curved line . Of the colours , he attributed white to the good princileand black to the evil one .
p , The Kabbalists gave a prominent p lace to light , iu their system of cosmogony . They taught that , before the creation of the world , all space was filled with what they called the Aur en soph , or the eternal light , and that when the Divine Mind determined or willed the production of nature , the eternal light withdrew io a central point , leaving around it
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Symbolism Of Light In Masonry.
shall find this symbolism pervading not only the institutions but the very languages of antiquity . Thus , among the Hebrews , the word aur , in the singular , signified "light , " but in the plural , aurim , it denoted the revelation of the divine will ; aud the aurim ancl llmmmim , literally " the light and truth" constituted a part of tho
, breast plate whence the hi gh p riest obtained oracular responses to the questions which he proposed . * There is a peculiarity about the word " light , " in the old Egyptian language , which is well worth considei-ation in this connection . Among the Egyptians the havo was the hieroglyphic of eyes that are openand it was adoptedbecause
, , that timid animal was supposed never to close his organs of vision , being always on the watch for his enemies . The hare was afterwards adopted by the priests as a symbol of the mental illumination , or mystic light , ivhich ivas revealed to the neophytes , in the contemplation of divine truth , during the progress of their initiation ; and hence , according to
Champollion , the hare was also the symbol of Osiris , their chief god ; thus showing the intimate connection which they believed to exist between tlie process of initiation into their sacred rites and the contemplation of the divine nature . But the Hebrew word for hare is arnahat . Now , this is coinpounded of the two words , aur , light , and nabat , to behold ;
and therefore the word which , in the Egyptian denoted "initiation , " in the Hebrew signified "to behold the light . " in two nations so intimately connected in history as the Hebrew and the Egyptian , such a coincidence could not have been accidental . It shows the prevalence of the sentiment at that period that the communication of light was the prominent design of the mysteries—so prominent , that the one
was made the synonym of the other , t The worship of light , either in its pure essence , or in the forms of sun worshi p and fire worship—because the sun ancl the fire were causes of light , was among the earliest and most universal superstitions of the world . Light was considered as the primordial source of all that was holy and intelligent ; and darknessas its oppositewas viewed as but another
, , name for evil ancl ignorance . Dr . Beard , in an article on this subject , in Kitto ' s Cyelopcediet , of Biblical Literature , attributes this view of the divine nature of light , which ivas entertained by the nations of the East , to the fact that , in that part of the world , lig ht " has a clearness and brilliancy , is accompanied by an intensity of heat , and is followed in its
influence by a largeness of good , of which the inhabitants of less genial climates have no conception . Light easily aud naturally became , in consequence , with orientals , a representative of the highest human good . All the more joyous emotions of the mind , all the pleasing sensations of the frame , all ihe happy hours of domestic intercourseivei'e described
, under imagery derived from li ght . The transition was natural—from earthly to heavenly , from corporeal to spiritual things ; and so light came to typify true religion and the felicity which it imparts . But as light not only came from God , but also makes man ' s way clear before him , so it was employed to signify moral truth , and preeminently that divine
system of truth which is set forth in the Bible , from its earliest gleanings onward to the perfect day of the great Sun of Righteousness . " I am inclined to believe that in this passage the learned author has erred , not in the definition of the symbol , but in his deduction of its origin . Light became the object of religious veneration , not because of the brilliancy and clearness of a particular sky , nor the warmth and genial influence
of a particular climate—for the worship was universal , in Scandinavia as in India—but because it was the natural and inevitable result of the -worship of the sun , the chief deity of Sabaism , a faith which pervaded to an extraordinary extent the whole relig ious sentiment of antiquity . * Liht was venerated because it was an emanation from the
g sun , and , in the materialism of the ancient faith , light and darkness were both personified as positive existences , the one being the enemy of the other . Two princip les were thus supposed to reign over tho world , antagonistic to each other , and each , alternately presiding over the destinies of mankind . ! Tho contests between the good ancl evil principle , symboof tho
lized by lig ht ancl darkness , composed a very large part ancient mythology ^ in all countries . Among the Egyptians , Osiris was light , or the sun ; and his arch enemy / typhon , who ultimately destroyed him , was the representative of darkness . Zoroasterthe father of the ancient Persian relig ion , taught
, the same doctrine , and called the principle of light , or good , Ormuzd ; and the princip le of darkness , or evil , Aliriman . The former , born of the purest light , and the latter , sprung from utter darkness , are , iu this mythology , continually making war on each other . Manes , or Manichrens , the founder of the sect of Maniht that there two
chees , in the third century , taug are princip les from which all things proceed ; the one is a pure and subtle matter , called Lig ht , the other a gross and corrupt substance , called Darkness . Each of these is subject to the dominion of A superintending being , whose existence is from all eternity . The being who presides over the lig ht is called God ; he that rules overthe darkness is called Ilylo or Demon . The ruler of the lig ht is supremely happy , good , and benevolent ; while the ruler over darkness is unhappy , evil , and
malignant . Pythagoras also maintained this doctrine of two antagonistic principles . He called the one , unity , light , the right hand , equality , stability , and a straight line ; the other , he named binary , darkness , the left hand , inequality , instability , and a curved line . Of the colours , he attributed white to the good princileand black to the evil one .
p , The Kabbalists gave a prominent p lace to light , iu their system of cosmogony . They taught that , before the creation of the world , all space was filled with what they called the Aur en soph , or the eternal light , and that when the Divine Mind determined or willed the production of nature , the eternal light withdrew io a central point , leaving around it