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Article FREEMASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ON SYMBOLS AS APPLIED TO MASONIC INSTRUCTION.* Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In The United States.
Where tropic waves delighted clasp our flowery Southern shore , And where , through foaming mountain gates , Nebraska ' s waters roar . ' "Our nation ' s capital bears the honoured name of our brother Washington . In that city there is in the course of erection a monument to his memory , toivards which Jlasons have largely contributed . At the laying of its corner stone there ivas exhibited
the Masonic sash and apron ivhich AVashington was accustomed to wear , and the oriental chair Avhich he occupied while Alaster of his lodge . There , too , was the gavel—the emblem of authority always obeyed—Avhich AA'ashington himself used in laying the corner stono of tho national capitol . That monument , although not completed , has risen over one hundred foot in solemn and majestic grandeur toward heaven . Its top will catch and reflect the latest as ivell as the early rays of the sunas it enlihtens the last day of that
, g National Union AA'hich AA ' ashington assisted in forming ; to which his soul was devoted ; and in defence of ivhich he was ever ready to ay down his life . "Should the North hesitate or refuse to do justice to the South , or the South refuse to he satisfied wifch a faithful performance of her constitutional obligations by the North ? Should any section of the Union refuse to be reconciled , bury their real or fancied wrongsand clasp hands as brethren ? Should the present
excite-, ment continue , the spirit of faction and fanaticism rage , and the demon of disunion become rampant , lot every JIason in tho land , on the next birthday of AA'ashington , look towards this monument , expecting to see his shade , in full JIasonic regalia , seated thereon , in that ancient oriental chair ; and ivith the same old gavel , calling up the Craft from one end of tlie land to the other , and summoning the whole nation to listen to his fareivell address . "
On Symbols As Applied To Masonic Instruction.*
ON SYMBOLS AS APPLIED TO MASONIC INSTRUCTION . *
The use of symbols has existed from the earliest period , even from the commencement of the world ; lor we read in Genisis , ii . 20 , that Adam named tlie different creatures , and that Adam talked with God . Now the plain logical definition of a " word" is , that it is a sign or symbol of something , or a conception or idea laced
p by conventual agreement in the stead of the thing signified . It is the power of speech , or the use of words , that makes man fco dift ' er from the inferior animals . "Without words we should know no more of each other ' s hearts and thoughts than a horse or dog knows of his ¦ fellow mute . Without words we could not think
, for all our thoughts take their form ; they are of Divine origin , for not only did tlie Almighty Father give this glorious power of speech to Adam , bufc we also read ( John i . 1 ) , that , " In the beginning was the word , and the word was with God , and the word was God ;"
how careful , therefore , ought men to be in the use of this great gift , and how should ive ever remember never to use the name of tlie Great Giver of all things but with that awe and reverence ivhich are due from the creature to his Creator . Prom words , then , which may he termed mental symbols ,
doubtlessly arose the use of visible and material symbols , of which vestiges remain from the earliest ages . The first learning in the world , says Sfcukely , consisted chiefl y iu symbols . The wisdom of the Chaldeans , Phoenicians , Jews , Egyptians , of Zoroaster , Pherecydes , Pythagoras , Socrates , Plato , and of all the ancients that has come to
our hand , is symbolical . "It was the mode , " says Sen-amis on Plato ' s symposium of the ancient philosophers , < : to represent truth by certain symbols and hidden images . " Symbols were first used by tlie Egyptian priests in their mysteries for the purposes of secresy , to conceal the a-itopipa , or things uot to he mentioned , ' from the uninitiated . Prom these Pythagoras learned the symbolical
method of instruction which he afterwards taught his followers . Moses also , we read , was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , from whence it may be inferred that to him the secret of the Egyptian mythology was divulged by his preceptors , and the knowledge of the only God revealed to him divested of all the symbols and devices which engaged the vulgar crowd . It was
probably by the aid of these symbols that Moses was enabled to reveal to the Jews and preserve to posterity the commandments of God , delivered to him on the Mount by inscribing them on tables of stone . ( Exodus , xxxiv . 27 . ) Symbols are of various kinds and of different
descriptions ; in Italy and in the East flowers are used as the language of love and of the passions ; whilst in England , at the present moment , in every town they are publicly displayed as the symbols or signs of various trades or professions . Thus , the druggist has a mortar and pestle ; the tea dealera tea canister ; the grocera sugar-loaf ;
, , the hatter , a hat or beaver ; the perfumer , a civet cat ; the barber , a pole with red , white , and blue bands on it , thereby intimating what , in former times , was another part of his business , i . e ., blood-letting , thebarber-surgeons being then in great vogue ; the white pole represented the patient's arm , the red stripe , the blood , and the blue , the
bandage . On the carriages , too , of most of the aristocracy and gentry are seen emblazoned their coats of arms or crests ; these , in the language of heraldry , are as plain as if the owners' names were printed in large letters . All nations have some emblem alluding to some characteristic , either ofthe people or of the land ; thus , the emblem of the Isle of Man is the three legs , and the
motto explains it , for , on looking at the position of the island in the map with respect to its more powerful neighbours , Scotland , England , and Ireland , previous to their union in to one kingdom , the three legs refer to its situation . The legs are armed , which denotes selfdefence ; the spurs denote speed ; and , iu whatever attitude they are placedtivo of them fall into the attitude
, of supplication , and the third , ivhich is upward and behind , appears to be kicking at the assailant against whom the other two are seeking protection . The meaning of the symbol is , that if England should try to oppress ifc , it would seek the protection of Ireland or Scotland ; and if either of these should assail itit would
, call on England to defend it . Bro . Martin gives the folloiving account of the supporters of the Eoyal Arms of England : the "symbol of the Normans ivas a lion ; of the Saxons , a horse ; from the two , then , arose the supporters , tlie unicorn being the figure of a horse with the horn as an emblem of sovereignty . "
Symbolism , or the art of depicting things by emblems , is divided into hieroglyphics , Avhich are signs or emblems of divine , sacred , or supernatural things , and are said to have been invented by Hermes Trisinegistus , and symbols , AvliieJi are signs of sensible or natural things . The old Asiatic style which is so hi ghly figurative seems , by what
Ave find of its documents in the prophetic language of the sacred writers , to have been evidently fashioned to the mode of the ancient hieroglyphics ; for , as in hieroglyphic ivritiug , the sun , moou , and stars were used to represent states and empires , kings , queens , and nobility ; their eclipse and extinction , temporary disasters or overthrow ; lire and flood , desolation by war and famine ; plants or animals , the qualities of particular persons ,
& c . ; so , in the manner , like the holy prophets called kings and empires by the names of . the heavenl y luminaries ; their misfortunes and overthrow are represented by eclipse and extinction ; stars falling from the firmament are employed to denote the destruction of nobility ; thunder aud tempestuous ivinds , hostile invasions ; lions , bears ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In The United States.
Where tropic waves delighted clasp our flowery Southern shore , And where , through foaming mountain gates , Nebraska ' s waters roar . ' "Our nation ' s capital bears the honoured name of our brother Washington . In that city there is in the course of erection a monument to his memory , toivards which Jlasons have largely contributed . At the laying of its corner stone there ivas exhibited
the Masonic sash and apron ivhich AVashington was accustomed to wear , and the oriental chair Avhich he occupied while Alaster of his lodge . There , too , was the gavel—the emblem of authority always obeyed—Avhich AA'ashington himself used in laying the corner stono of tho national capitol . That monument , although not completed , has risen over one hundred foot in solemn and majestic grandeur toward heaven . Its top will catch and reflect the latest as ivell as the early rays of the sunas it enlihtens the last day of that
, g National Union AA'hich AA ' ashington assisted in forming ; to which his soul was devoted ; and in defence of ivhich he was ever ready to ay down his life . "Should the North hesitate or refuse to do justice to the South , or the South refuse to he satisfied wifch a faithful performance of her constitutional obligations by the North ? Should any section of the Union refuse to be reconciled , bury their real or fancied wrongsand clasp hands as brethren ? Should the present
excite-, ment continue , the spirit of faction and fanaticism rage , and the demon of disunion become rampant , lot every JIason in tho land , on the next birthday of AA'ashington , look towards this monument , expecting to see his shade , in full JIasonic regalia , seated thereon , in that ancient oriental chair ; and ivith the same old gavel , calling up the Craft from one end of tlie land to the other , and summoning the whole nation to listen to his fareivell address . "
On Symbols As Applied To Masonic Instruction.*
ON SYMBOLS AS APPLIED TO MASONIC INSTRUCTION . *
The use of symbols has existed from the earliest period , even from the commencement of the world ; lor we read in Genisis , ii . 20 , that Adam named tlie different creatures , and that Adam talked with God . Now the plain logical definition of a " word" is , that it is a sign or symbol of something , or a conception or idea laced
p by conventual agreement in the stead of the thing signified . It is the power of speech , or the use of words , that makes man fco dift ' er from the inferior animals . "Without words we should know no more of each other ' s hearts and thoughts than a horse or dog knows of his ¦ fellow mute . Without words we could not think
, for all our thoughts take their form ; they are of Divine origin , for not only did tlie Almighty Father give this glorious power of speech to Adam , bufc we also read ( John i . 1 ) , that , " In the beginning was the word , and the word was with God , and the word was God ;"
how careful , therefore , ought men to be in the use of this great gift , and how should ive ever remember never to use the name of tlie Great Giver of all things but with that awe and reverence ivhich are due from the creature to his Creator . Prom words , then , which may he termed mental symbols ,
doubtlessly arose the use of visible and material symbols , of which vestiges remain from the earliest ages . The first learning in the world , says Sfcukely , consisted chiefl y iu symbols . The wisdom of the Chaldeans , Phoenicians , Jews , Egyptians , of Zoroaster , Pherecydes , Pythagoras , Socrates , Plato , and of all the ancients that has come to
our hand , is symbolical . "It was the mode , " says Sen-amis on Plato ' s symposium of the ancient philosophers , < : to represent truth by certain symbols and hidden images . " Symbols were first used by tlie Egyptian priests in their mysteries for the purposes of secresy , to conceal the a-itopipa , or things uot to he mentioned , ' from the uninitiated . Prom these Pythagoras learned the symbolical
method of instruction which he afterwards taught his followers . Moses also , we read , was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians , from whence it may be inferred that to him the secret of the Egyptian mythology was divulged by his preceptors , and the knowledge of the only God revealed to him divested of all the symbols and devices which engaged the vulgar crowd . It was
probably by the aid of these symbols that Moses was enabled to reveal to the Jews and preserve to posterity the commandments of God , delivered to him on the Mount by inscribing them on tables of stone . ( Exodus , xxxiv . 27 . ) Symbols are of various kinds and of different
descriptions ; in Italy and in the East flowers are used as the language of love and of the passions ; whilst in England , at the present moment , in every town they are publicly displayed as the symbols or signs of various trades or professions . Thus , the druggist has a mortar and pestle ; the tea dealera tea canister ; the grocera sugar-loaf ;
, , the hatter , a hat or beaver ; the perfumer , a civet cat ; the barber , a pole with red , white , and blue bands on it , thereby intimating what , in former times , was another part of his business , i . e ., blood-letting , thebarber-surgeons being then in great vogue ; the white pole represented the patient's arm , the red stripe , the blood , and the blue , the
bandage . On the carriages , too , of most of the aristocracy and gentry are seen emblazoned their coats of arms or crests ; these , in the language of heraldry , are as plain as if the owners' names were printed in large letters . All nations have some emblem alluding to some characteristic , either ofthe people or of the land ; thus , the emblem of the Isle of Man is the three legs , and the
motto explains it , for , on looking at the position of the island in the map with respect to its more powerful neighbours , Scotland , England , and Ireland , previous to their union in to one kingdom , the three legs refer to its situation . The legs are armed , which denotes selfdefence ; the spurs denote speed ; and , iu whatever attitude they are placedtivo of them fall into the attitude
, of supplication , and the third , ivhich is upward and behind , appears to be kicking at the assailant against whom the other two are seeking protection . The meaning of the symbol is , that if England should try to oppress ifc , it would seek the protection of Ireland or Scotland ; and if either of these should assail itit would
, call on England to defend it . Bro . Martin gives the folloiving account of the supporters of the Eoyal Arms of England : the "symbol of the Normans ivas a lion ; of the Saxons , a horse ; from the two , then , arose the supporters , tlie unicorn being the figure of a horse with the horn as an emblem of sovereignty . "
Symbolism , or the art of depicting things by emblems , is divided into hieroglyphics , Avhich are signs or emblems of divine , sacred , or supernatural things , and are said to have been invented by Hermes Trisinegistus , and symbols , AvliieJi are signs of sensible or natural things . The old Asiatic style which is so hi ghly figurative seems , by what
Ave find of its documents in the prophetic language of the sacred writers , to have been evidently fashioned to the mode of the ancient hieroglyphics ; for , as in hieroglyphic ivritiug , the sun , moou , and stars were used to represent states and empires , kings , queens , and nobility ; their eclipse and extinction , temporary disasters or overthrow ; lire and flood , desolation by war and famine ; plants or animals , the qualities of particular persons ,
& c . ; so , in the manner , like the holy prophets called kings and empires by the names of . the heavenl y luminaries ; their misfortunes and overthrow are represented by eclipse and extinction ; stars falling from the firmament are employed to denote the destruction of nobility ; thunder aud tempestuous ivinds , hostile invasions ; lions , bears ,