Music And The Masonic Ritual.

the shorter made the quicker vibration ? , and uttered the acuter sound , " had been already shown by the Egyptians - and we may fairly conclude that he derived his knowledge of this subject from the same source * as that of the solar system , which remained unknown in Europe from his time to the days of Copernicus , and with which Pythagoras , of all

the Greeks , was alone acquainted . At the religious ceremonies and processions of the Egyptians , when music was introduced , there is reason to believe the attendance of ordinary musicians was not admitted , but that performers attached to the priestly order , and organized for this special purpose , were alone employed , who were

considered to belong exclusively to the service of the temple , in the same manner as each military band of their army to its respective corps . Among the instruments of Egyptian sacred music may be reckoned the harp , lyre , flute , double pipe , tambourine , cymbals , and even the guitar ; but neither the trumpet , drum ,

nor mace , were excluded from the religious processions in which the military were engaged . They do not , however , appear to have been admitted , like the former , among those wbose introduction into the courts of the temple was sanctioned on ordinary occasions ; and perhaps the peculiar title of " the holy instrument" ought to be confined to the sistrum .

The harp , lyre , and tainbourine , were often admitted daring- the religious services of the temple ; and in a procession in honour of Athor , representee ! ou the fvicy . e at Dendern , two goddesses are observed to jilay the harp and tambourine . The priests , "bearing the sacred emblems , frequently advanced to the sound of the flute , t ancl entered the

temple to celebrate their most important festivals ; and with the exception of those of Osiris at Abydus , the sacred rites of an E gyptian deity did not forbid the introduction of the harp , the flute , or the voices of singers . At the feast of Diana , or Pasht , at Bubastis , music was

permitted as on other similar occasions , and Herodotus ' I mentions the flute ancl the crotola , which were played by the votaries of the goddess , on their way down the Nile to the town where her far-famed temple stood . In the processions during the festival of Bacchus , the same author says , the flute player goes first , ancl is followed by the choristers , who

chant the praises of the deity ; and we find the fkite represented in the sculptures in the hands of a sacred musician , attached to the service of Amuii , who is in attendance while the ceremonies aro performed in honour of the god . Ancl that cymbals were appropriated to the same purpose , we have sufficient reason for inferring , from this having been found buried with an individual whose coffin bears an

inscription , purporting that she was the minstrel of Arnun , the presiding deity of Thebes . That the harp was a favourite instrument in reli gions ceremonies , is evident from , the assertion of Strabo , from the frequent mention of minstrels of Amun , ancl other gods , in the hieroglyphic legends placed over those who play that

instrument , and from the two harpers in the presence of the god Ao . With most nations it has been considered right to introduce music into tho service of religion ; and if the Egyptian priesthood made it so principal a part of their earnest inquiries , and inculcated the necessity of applying to its study , not as an amusement , or in consequence of any feeling excited

_ ' lamblichus , Le Vita . Pythagoras , informs us that Pythagoras derived his information upon different sciences from Egypt , and taught them to his disciples ( i . 29 ); that he learnt philosophy from the Egyptian priests ( ib . i . 2 S ) , and that he employed music for curing both diseases of body and mind ( ib . i . 25 , 21 ) , ancl 31 . ) •[¦ Apuleius says , — " Ibant et dicati mngno Serapidi tibicines , qui per obliqu-itm calamum ad aurem porrectum dextram , familiarem templi deique modulum frequentabant , et plerique qui facilem sacris viam dari prachearent . " Metamorph ., lib ., xi . Compare also iterodot , ii ., 48 . + Lib . ii .. GO .

by the reminiscences accompanying a national air , but from a sincere admiration of the science , and of its effects upon the human mind , we can readily believe that it was sanctioned , and eveu deemed indispensable , in many of their religious rites . Hence the sacred musicians were of the order of priestsand appointed to this servicelike the Levites among

, , the Jews : and the Egyptian sacred bands were probably divided , and superintended , in the same manner among that people . Herodotus states , indeed , that women were not allowed in Egypt to become priestesses of any god or goddess , the office being exclusively reserved for men ;* but though it is true

that the hi gher functions of the priesthood belonged to the latter , as far as regarded the slaying of victims , presenting offerings , and other duties connected with the sacrifices , yet it is equally certain that women were also employed in the service of the temple , and , according to the historian himself , were so fully instructed in matters appertaining to religion ,

that two , who had been carried away and sold into Libya and Greece , were enabled to institute oracles in those countries . Although these two accounts by the same hand are contradictory of each other , it is probable that Herodotus merely refers to the higher offices of the priesthood , without intending to exclude them altogether from those sacred employments . \

However difficult to decide as to tho \ nanie , or the precise rank or office they bore , the sculptures leave-no room to doubt they were admitted to a very important post , which neither the wives and daughters of priests , nor even of kings , wero ashamed to accept . In the most solemn processions they advanced towards the altar with the p riests , bearing the sacred sistrum .

by some , the sistrum was supposed to have been intended to frighten away Typhon , or the evil spirit ; ancl Plutarch , who mentioned this , - ] - adds , that " on the convex surface is a cat with a human visage ; on the lower part , under the movingchords , the face of Isis , and on the opposite side that of Nopthys . " The chords ( more properly bars ) to which he

• alludes , were generally three , rarely four , and each was passed through three or four rings of metal , whereby the " rattlingnoise made with the moveable bars" was greatly increased . Songs and the clapping of hands were both considered as connected with sacred music , and they are frequently alluded to by ancient authors . The worshippers at the festival of

Bubastis are said by Herodotus to have celebrated the deity in this manner , with the music of flutes and cymbals ; ancl the Jews followed the same custom , as is evidenced in the first verso of Psalm xlvii ., where the invitation is , " 0 clap your hands together , all ye people : 0 sing unto God with the voice of melody , ' ' a custom which is still retained bv the Moslem

inhabitants of modern Egypt . That they also had a sacred dance in their temples , in honour of the gods , is evident from the representations of numerous sacred processions , where individuals are depicted as performing certain gestures and dances as they approach the precincts of their holiest places .

Such is . a sketch of the musical knowledge of the Egyptians ; and although we have been more diffuse than was at first intended , yet , from the close resemblance between the rites , customs , and arts of the Egyp tians and Israelites , until the giving of the law from Mount Sinai to the Latter nation , it was necessary to our purpose previous to approaching the

subject as applied to God's own chosen people . And we also desired to get rid of all other systems of pagan belief before entering upon the great record of holy writ , so as to be enablecl to follow our theme in its ritual application , both under the Jewish and Christian dispensations ; and if we now appear to retrogade for a time , our readers will , after having

beeu acquainted with all that is to be said on the science in * Lib . ii ., 35 . f Plutarch De hide , s , 63 .