Masonic Significance.

mourner ' s eye ? A fiend may possess a hi g her degree of reason , more knoAvledege and more poAver than the wisest and best of men ; bufc destitute of Charity , he is more to be dreaded—not revered . —San Francisco Masonic Mirror .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

CONCLUSION FORCED UPON THE MIND BY THE PASSAGE IN THE TATLER , The Honourable John L . Lewis in his article entitled " A Fragment of History , " which appeared not long ago in some American periodical , states thus the conclusion which , in his judgment is forced upon the mind of a person reading the well known passage

in the Tatler of June , 1709 : " The conclusion forces itself irresistibly upon the mind of every candid and intelligent person , that there existed in London , in 1709 , and for a long time before , a society known as the Freemasons , having certain distinct modes of recognition ; and this fact concerning them was known

even then when the four old lodges were idle ; and that the idle assertions of Anti-masons , respecting its history , have no better foundation than their stock objections to it in other respects . "—From a bundle of Masonic Excerpts . —CHARLES PURTON COOPER .

SYMBOLISM . There is no science so antient as that of Symbolism , and no mode of instruction has ever been so universal as was the symbolic in former times . The first learning in the world , says an eminent antiquary , consisted chiefly of symbols , so that the wisdom of the Chaldeansthe Egyptiansthe Jewsthe Greeks

, , , , the Romans , and of all the antient world , that has come doAvn to us , has been symbolic in its character . In fact , man ' s earliest instruction is by symbols . The objective character of a symbol is best calculated to be grasped by the infant mind , whether the infancy of that mind be considered nationally or

individually . In the first ages of the world all propositions were expressed in symbols . The first Reli gions were eminently symbolic ; because , when language was yet in its infancy , visible iymbols were the most lively means of acting upon the mind and senses of the multitude . And Ave must

bear this fact of the primary existence and predominance of symbolism in the earliest times constantly in mind , when we are investigating the nature of the antient Reli gions with which tbe history of Freemasonry is so intimately connected . The older the Religion the more the symbolism abounds . Modern

Religions may convey their dogmas in abstract propositions ; antient Reli gion always did so in symbols . And this is a good test of the comparative antiquity of a reli gious sect . "—From a Bundle of Masonic Excerpts . —CHARLES PURTON COOPER .

VOLUME OP GOD'S SACRED LAW . "Ours is indeed a glorious future , founded in strength , ordered in wisdom , and adorned by beauty . For , say what institution can have a firmer foundation than the volume of God ' s Sacred Law ? And

why is this so , independent of its own claim ? Because it sanctions all that experience teaches us respecting the natural powers of the mind . It leads na -up in grateful thoughts to Him who bestowed the principles of life at the first , and who continues to impart it through successive generations . It enhances the

value of such principles by assisting and proving its immortality . It renders the man useful to society by cherishing the love of goodness and encouraging hatred to vice , by unveiling the future destination of the spirit , to eternal happiness as the reward of piety , or to eternal misery as the just judgment of sin ; and

thus affords a more powerful guard of virtue , and barrier against vice than all the laws society could impose . * * * Tes ! this sacred volume- is our foundation stone , which , whilst it records a thousand blessings for the present , points out to every wandering child of Adam the path of life . " —From a Bundle of Masonic Excerpts . —CHARLES PURTON COOPEE .

A CURIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON . A correspondent thinks it a curious psychological phenomenon , that a contributor , who somewhere informs us that he has made himself acquainted with the contents of all the volumes forming the present quarto series of the " Freemason ' s Magazine , " should nevertheless gravely assert that " to talk of Christian Freemasonry is a contradiction in terms . "—A PAST PROVINCIAL GBAND MASTES .

ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL SYMBOLISM . The hee " had served to represent allegorically cleanliness and sobriety , and had also been the symbol of the soul . The eagle , the hawk , and the griffin , or vulture were all symbols of Indian , Egyptian , Persian , Greek , and Roman divinities . At the present

day the eagle was the symbol of St . John . It had been sacred to Ormnzd , and had served Jupiter to lead the souls of heroes to Olympus . As a contrast to this , the dove might next be mentioned . Whilst the eagle expressed might , daring , and , in fact , the dynamic force of creation , the doveas the

represen-, tative of the passive or static element , was the attribute of Venus and Adonis . Adonis represented vegetation in its innumerable forms . Doves had been sacrificed to him at the ceremony of burning his images , which commemorated his descent into hell .

Adorns had also been Osiris and Horus . The dove had , Avith the Ancients , represented the spirit of Augury , and was found as a symbol of Spirit and love in Assyrian , Phoenician , and Persian Temples , and was to be seen on many tombs in the catacombs . The peacock had been the attribute of Juno , ancl was the emblem of pride both in ancient and modern

times . The willow , as a tree of mourning , formed a link between older myths and our modern customs . Willows shading the graves of the dead , or drooping by the river-side , had been the abodes of nymphs , and shed their foliage into the running water as an emblem of time . The crab had been sacred to Astarte

, and had also been the sign of the summer solstice . Astronomy and religion had been so intimately connected that ifc was not surprising that the primitive Christians should have used many astronomical symbols , together with the cross , to typify the sufferings