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Article " ORIGIN OF MASONRY." ← Page 4 of 4 Article " ORIGIN OF MASONRY." Page 4 of 4
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" Origin Of Masonry."
hundred-fold more magnificent works of architecture than Solomon's Temple . Its great gloryin ivhich it shone supremely conspicuous above all the others—consisted in something else than its ornaments of gold , brass , or precious stones . And even the circumstance of no tool
of iron being used on the building , the stones being all cut to order in the quarries , winch is made so much of , was nothing extraordinary , but common enough among the Egyptians , and from the description of Solomon ' s Temple ,
given in the Bible , its stone work seems to have been very simple indeed . Another thought strikes me , viz : —that Bro . Steinbrenner may have derived his ideas anent Solomon's Temple from some of the wonderful fancies of Dr . Mackey , who in
reference to it , says " This famous fabric was supported by fourteen hundred and fifty three columns , ( he is extremely precise !) , and two thousand nine hundred ancl six pilasters , all hewn from the finest Parian marble ! " ( I was not aware there was
even one " marble column " Tn this case . ) Had it been Herod ' s Temple , erected about a thousand years after , which he was treating upon , we might have felt some excuse for the Doctor , as the following will show but to manufacture and
retail dreams , and silly stories about Solomon ' s Temple having 1457 Parian marble columns , is simply ridiculous — viz : — "On three sides it ( Herod ' s Temple ) was surrounded by double porticos , or cloisters , of two rows of columns , that
to the east being called Solomon ' s ( probably simply in honour of that king ) . To the south stood tho magnificent Royal porch or Sfcoa Basilicia erected by Herod . This consisted of four rows of Corinthian columns , forty in each row , and
consequently lo feet apart from centre to centre , the outer aisle were 30 feet in width , the central 45 fret or two , and three inter columinations respectively . The central aisle terminated in a bridge ivhich , spanning the intermediate valley , led direct to the
city . " As I pointed out above , Bro . Steinbrenner strives to get the origin of some of the chief features in our Gothic Cathedrals in Solomon ' s Temple , but I would merely observe that a Roman Basilica would be nearer the mark .
At page 158 , it says , "Sixthly , we read of two pillars , ornamented with' net-work , lily-work , and pomegranates , " which certainly have no likeness to anything we know of , unless it is the Gothic ] oin-
" Origin Of Masonry."
nacles which sometimes surmount the pillars ( buttresses ?) with their leafy ornaments . " Now what these ornaments on Solomon ' s two pillars , executed 1000 B . C . had to do with Gothic pinnacles erected 1300 A . D ., I know not . The net-work ,
lily-work , and pomegranates " was before then in common use in Asiatic and Assyrian work . The pillar at the tomb of Atreus has an alliance with this style ; while the metal plates fixed on to the walls with nails reminds us of 2 nd . Chronicles , III ., 9 th .
Towards the end of his work , Bro . Steinbrenner has some very interesting and useful remarks , indeed it is a great pity that the author is so far astray in his ideas upon the Gothic architecture as well as architecture generally , for there are many
highly valuable passages iu his book . At page 155 , he says , "The legend ( of Hiram ) itself is evidently borrowed from certain idle tales , taken out of the Jewish Targans , which were published in London in 1715 , from a manuscript in the
University Library at Cambridge ; and these two brothers were publicly accused by their seceding contemporaries of manufacturing the degrees , ivhich they never denied . " In the foregoing hasty remarks , I have attempted to show how great is the necessity for a proper History of Freemasonry , and one which will give
England fair play in more senses than one , as also one which when it condescends to treat upon the subject of architecture and operative Masonry will do so in a style which will stand examination , The best History of Freemasonry , as such , which
I have hitherto seen is Findel ' s edition of last year , for which he deserves all praise , only there is considerable room for improvement , especially in the architectural portion ; in fact if Bro . Findel were to do himself justice he would re-write several
portions of it . However it appears to me that there is still a great gap , which is waiting for some good honest and scholarl y English brother to fill up — unless some canng Scot does it before him . That such an one may soon arise
and come forward is certainly my sincere wish , and I am sure that every true Freemason , and lover of the truth , will join in wishing him God speed .
Tho great end of philosophy , both natural and moral , is to know ourselves , and to know God . The highest learning is to be wise , and the great wisdom is to be good .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
" Origin Of Masonry."
hundred-fold more magnificent works of architecture than Solomon's Temple . Its great gloryin ivhich it shone supremely conspicuous above all the others—consisted in something else than its ornaments of gold , brass , or precious stones . And even the circumstance of no tool
of iron being used on the building , the stones being all cut to order in the quarries , winch is made so much of , was nothing extraordinary , but common enough among the Egyptians , and from the description of Solomon ' s Temple ,
given in the Bible , its stone work seems to have been very simple indeed . Another thought strikes me , viz : —that Bro . Steinbrenner may have derived his ideas anent Solomon's Temple from some of the wonderful fancies of Dr . Mackey , who in
reference to it , says " This famous fabric was supported by fourteen hundred and fifty three columns , ( he is extremely precise !) , and two thousand nine hundred ancl six pilasters , all hewn from the finest Parian marble ! " ( I was not aware there was
even one " marble column " Tn this case . ) Had it been Herod ' s Temple , erected about a thousand years after , which he was treating upon , we might have felt some excuse for the Doctor , as the following will show but to manufacture and
retail dreams , and silly stories about Solomon ' s Temple having 1457 Parian marble columns , is simply ridiculous — viz : — "On three sides it ( Herod ' s Temple ) was surrounded by double porticos , or cloisters , of two rows of columns , that
to the east being called Solomon ' s ( probably simply in honour of that king ) . To the south stood tho magnificent Royal porch or Sfcoa Basilicia erected by Herod . This consisted of four rows of Corinthian columns , forty in each row , and
consequently lo feet apart from centre to centre , the outer aisle were 30 feet in width , the central 45 fret or two , and three inter columinations respectively . The central aisle terminated in a bridge ivhich , spanning the intermediate valley , led direct to the
city . " As I pointed out above , Bro . Steinbrenner strives to get the origin of some of the chief features in our Gothic Cathedrals in Solomon ' s Temple , but I would merely observe that a Roman Basilica would be nearer the mark .
At page 158 , it says , "Sixthly , we read of two pillars , ornamented with' net-work , lily-work , and pomegranates , " which certainly have no likeness to anything we know of , unless it is the Gothic ] oin-
" Origin Of Masonry."
nacles which sometimes surmount the pillars ( buttresses ?) with their leafy ornaments . " Now what these ornaments on Solomon ' s two pillars , executed 1000 B . C . had to do with Gothic pinnacles erected 1300 A . D ., I know not . The net-work ,
lily-work , and pomegranates " was before then in common use in Asiatic and Assyrian work . The pillar at the tomb of Atreus has an alliance with this style ; while the metal plates fixed on to the walls with nails reminds us of 2 nd . Chronicles , III ., 9 th .
Towards the end of his work , Bro . Steinbrenner has some very interesting and useful remarks , indeed it is a great pity that the author is so far astray in his ideas upon the Gothic architecture as well as architecture generally , for there are many
highly valuable passages iu his book . At page 155 , he says , "The legend ( of Hiram ) itself is evidently borrowed from certain idle tales , taken out of the Jewish Targans , which were published in London in 1715 , from a manuscript in the
University Library at Cambridge ; and these two brothers were publicly accused by their seceding contemporaries of manufacturing the degrees , ivhich they never denied . " In the foregoing hasty remarks , I have attempted to show how great is the necessity for a proper History of Freemasonry , and one which will give
England fair play in more senses than one , as also one which when it condescends to treat upon the subject of architecture and operative Masonry will do so in a style which will stand examination , The best History of Freemasonry , as such , which
I have hitherto seen is Findel ' s edition of last year , for which he deserves all praise , only there is considerable room for improvement , especially in the architectural portion ; in fact if Bro . Findel were to do himself justice he would re-write several
portions of it . However it appears to me that there is still a great gap , which is waiting for some good honest and scholarl y English brother to fill up — unless some canng Scot does it before him . That such an one may soon arise
and come forward is certainly my sincere wish , and I am sure that every true Freemason , and lover of the truth , will join in wishing him God speed .
Tho great end of philosophy , both natural and moral , is to know ourselves , and to know God . The highest learning is to be wise , and the great wisdom is to be good .