-
Articles/Ads
Article STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ANCIENT AND MODERN MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.
the throne of the bishop . In front of the apsis was the sanctuary or chancel ( so called from the caiicelli or rails which separated it from the nave ) . This sanctuary contained the grand altar , and was separated from the rest of the building by a railing or lattice-work . The ambones , or pidpits , ivere placed one on each side of the
central diA'ision of the nave , and in the centre ivas the presbyterhim , a place like our present choirs , appropriated to the deacons and singers . But the meetings ofthe early Christians were not always held in regular churches . They sometimes met in catacombs . The altars on which they performed then- sacred rites Avere not unfrequently
the tombs of some of their own community , AA'ho had undergone martyrdom for the sake of their faith ; and as in process of time the remains of saints and martyrs came to be held in veneration , and to be considered to be endued with peculiar sanctity , the custom became prevalent of erecting churches oi'er their tombs ; and a rule
was finally established never to consecrate an altar till the remains of some saint had been placed Avithin or beneath it . Thus catacombs , which first afforded shelter to the early Christians , and a place for the performance of religious rites , and which afterwards became their burying placeswere eA'er after A'isited and considered as
, holy places , and afforded models for similar erections in succeeding ages . The church of San Martino , at Eome , was built "b y Pope Syinmachiis , in the year 500 , over a subterraneous chapel , which still exists , and contains the bones , it is said , of Pope St . Sylvester . The Cathedral of Sancta Sophia , at Constantinople , after having been
twice destroyed by fire , ivas rebuilt by Justinian , about the year of our Lord 532 . It was completed in six years after laying the foundation-stone , and the work was carried on during that period under the daily personal inspection of the Emperor , AVIIO pleased himself -with the idea that he had even exceeded the temple of our Master King Solomonin the magnificence of this
, splendid edifice . To the Christian reli gion may be attributed the rescuing of the remains of ancient architecture from ruin , and the revii al of genius , occasioned by the opportunities given to artists of employing their talents in the erection and decoration of ' buildings intended for Divine worship . It is very questionable
whether Constantine could have found the necessary supply of materials for all the buildings raised at Eome during his reign had it not been for the employment of fragments of the heathen temples ; and in the adaptation of these to his purposes ; he must in some measure have followed the design of the temples from ivhich they came
. Thus , although some of the basilicas of the heathens which had been erected at an early period mi ght be equal in merit to the best works of the Augustan a-o-e , yet many defects are visible in the churches , owing , doubtless , to the injudicious mixture of ancient and modern materials in the building . In some instances the columns
in these churches have been taken from other buildings and fitted to their places by cutting off from those which were too long , and mounting on pedestals those which were too short for their purpose , and this without reference to the disfiguring alteration thus made in the harmony and tout ensemble of the order . Amidst this
capaciousness of st yle , and disregard of the principles of architecture , there was a love for that which mio-ht surprise and dazzle the beholder ; and this feeling seemed to have been experienced by Justinian ivhen he so perseveringly superintended the building of Sancta Sophia , according to the desi furnished by Anthemiushis
gn , architect . The construction of this edifice has been very generall y followed . The great ecclesiastical structures of Ital y and the mosques of Mohammedans present a very similar appearance .
Ancient And Modern Masonry.
ANCIENT AND MODERN MASONRY .
The following beautiful remarks aro extracted from the oration ofthe Grand Orator , EW . Bro . Stephen A . Hurlbut , delivered at Springfield , 111 ., October 3 rd , 1860 , upon the occasion of the installation of the Officers of the Grand Lodge : — "When tho fullness of time camewhen from every
, quarter of the known world instructed skill and diligent labour were gathered around tho throne of Solomon , when East and West and Worth and South became tributary to his will and obedient to his summons on the Hill of God , the Mount long since dedicated by the sublimest offering that Nature knows , uprose that wonderful creation of high art and devotional skill—the first temple of stone within
, whoso walls the Almighty deigned to dwell . " Peace spread her azure wings beneath the sky of Jerusalem . Reduced under ono single will , the fiery tribes of the desert planted their pennons in the sands . Infant commerce stretched her sails from the ports of Tyre and Sidon , and Ezion Geber , on the southern sea , opened its glad harbour for the bold craft that tempted the dangers of the
Indian Ocean . "Long carai ans of patient camels pressed with unwavering feet tho the Syrian desert . Tadmoor in the wilderness , and many another old historic city , marked the wisdom and the power of the Hebrew monarch . "Prom remotest corners ofthe then known world flocked to the court of tho son of Davidall that was highest
, , wisest , best , of the sons of men . " Ethiopia and Egypt , Sheba , and Arabia , and the very isles of tho sea , rendered their tribute . "The cedar forests that for centuries had waved in colossal grandeur upon tho summits of Lebanon , by the aid of the willing Tyrians , were swept from the mountain ' s brow , to swell the triumph ofthe time . Quarries of rare stonelong
, nnvisited , gave up their precious deposits to skill of man . Hewn , squared , and numbered in tho quarries where they were raised , each massive block , august in its magnificent proportions , or glorious in . its elaborate carving , moved on to swell the triumph and to become a component part in the grand whole ivhich crowned the brow of Mount Moriah
with glory and with beauty . " Up sprung the wonderful edifice . No sound of axe or hammer , or any tool of iron , was hoard , hut the grand whole , solid in its foundation as the rock-ribbed hills themselves—perfect in its proportions as tho divine work , with many a turret and pinnacle sheathed with beaten gold , reflected back to Heaven some portion of the glory that it
gave , and became fit dwelling place for Him Avhose presence fills all space , but who chooses to dwell among the children of men . "And when the cap-stone was brought home with shouting and praise , when the glory of the Lord descended and filled the whole house , when the king and all the people fell their faces before the exceeding brihtnessand the
upon g , very priests of the living God fled for their lives from before his A'isiblo presence . What Mason of the higher degrees does not know the profound significance of theso great facts—the important lessons embedded in this history ? " With the completion of this august structure , and the traditional record of ei'ents which preceded , accompanied ,
and followed it , commences tho dissemination of Masonry . " Prom Palestine to Phoenicia , and thence hy easy and natural stages to each several nation distinguished by its lovo for arts and sciences , tho instructed eye of the welltaught Mason sees in dim traces that still survive the devouring tooth of time , the dim pathway of our Order . " The great principles of association bind all its elements
together . " The need of help , and the readiness to bestow aid , the one as far spread as the human family , the other the child and creature of liberal education ancl trained humanity , wore and are the springs and sources ofthe Masonic brotherhood , and the close alliance of the mystic tie , invented and enforced for the defence and support of the operative Mason , became at length the distinguishing beauty and the peculiar characteristic of the speculative .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.
the throne of the bishop . In front of the apsis was the sanctuary or chancel ( so called from the caiicelli or rails which separated it from the nave ) . This sanctuary contained the grand altar , and was separated from the rest of the building by a railing or lattice-work . The ambones , or pidpits , ivere placed one on each side of the
central diA'ision of the nave , and in the centre ivas the presbyterhim , a place like our present choirs , appropriated to the deacons and singers . But the meetings ofthe early Christians were not always held in regular churches . They sometimes met in catacombs . The altars on which they performed then- sacred rites Avere not unfrequently
the tombs of some of their own community , AA'ho had undergone martyrdom for the sake of their faith ; and as in process of time the remains of saints and martyrs came to be held in veneration , and to be considered to be endued with peculiar sanctity , the custom became prevalent of erecting churches oi'er their tombs ; and a rule
was finally established never to consecrate an altar till the remains of some saint had been placed Avithin or beneath it . Thus catacombs , which first afforded shelter to the early Christians , and a place for the performance of religious rites , and which afterwards became their burying placeswere eA'er after A'isited and considered as
, holy places , and afforded models for similar erections in succeeding ages . The church of San Martino , at Eome , was built "b y Pope Syinmachiis , in the year 500 , over a subterraneous chapel , which still exists , and contains the bones , it is said , of Pope St . Sylvester . The Cathedral of Sancta Sophia , at Constantinople , after having been
twice destroyed by fire , ivas rebuilt by Justinian , about the year of our Lord 532 . It was completed in six years after laying the foundation-stone , and the work was carried on during that period under the daily personal inspection of the Emperor , AVIIO pleased himself -with the idea that he had even exceeded the temple of our Master King Solomonin the magnificence of this
, splendid edifice . To the Christian reli gion may be attributed the rescuing of the remains of ancient architecture from ruin , and the revii al of genius , occasioned by the opportunities given to artists of employing their talents in the erection and decoration of ' buildings intended for Divine worship . It is very questionable
whether Constantine could have found the necessary supply of materials for all the buildings raised at Eome during his reign had it not been for the employment of fragments of the heathen temples ; and in the adaptation of these to his purposes ; he must in some measure have followed the design of the temples from ivhich they came
. Thus , although some of the basilicas of the heathens which had been erected at an early period mi ght be equal in merit to the best works of the Augustan a-o-e , yet many defects are visible in the churches , owing , doubtless , to the injudicious mixture of ancient and modern materials in the building . In some instances the columns
in these churches have been taken from other buildings and fitted to their places by cutting off from those which were too long , and mounting on pedestals those which were too short for their purpose , and this without reference to the disfiguring alteration thus made in the harmony and tout ensemble of the order . Amidst this
capaciousness of st yle , and disregard of the principles of architecture , there was a love for that which mio-ht surprise and dazzle the beholder ; and this feeling seemed to have been experienced by Justinian ivhen he so perseveringly superintended the building of Sancta Sophia , according to the desi furnished by Anthemiushis
gn , architect . The construction of this edifice has been very generall y followed . The great ecclesiastical structures of Ital y and the mosques of Mohammedans present a very similar appearance .
Ancient And Modern Masonry.
ANCIENT AND MODERN MASONRY .
The following beautiful remarks aro extracted from the oration ofthe Grand Orator , EW . Bro . Stephen A . Hurlbut , delivered at Springfield , 111 ., October 3 rd , 1860 , upon the occasion of the installation of the Officers of the Grand Lodge : — "When tho fullness of time camewhen from every
, quarter of the known world instructed skill and diligent labour were gathered around tho throne of Solomon , when East and West and Worth and South became tributary to his will and obedient to his summons on the Hill of God , the Mount long since dedicated by the sublimest offering that Nature knows , uprose that wonderful creation of high art and devotional skill—the first temple of stone within
, whoso walls the Almighty deigned to dwell . " Peace spread her azure wings beneath the sky of Jerusalem . Reduced under ono single will , the fiery tribes of the desert planted their pennons in the sands . Infant commerce stretched her sails from the ports of Tyre and Sidon , and Ezion Geber , on the southern sea , opened its glad harbour for the bold craft that tempted the dangers of the
Indian Ocean . "Long carai ans of patient camels pressed with unwavering feet tho the Syrian desert . Tadmoor in the wilderness , and many another old historic city , marked the wisdom and the power of the Hebrew monarch . "Prom remotest corners ofthe then known world flocked to the court of tho son of Davidall that was highest
, , wisest , best , of the sons of men . " Ethiopia and Egypt , Sheba , and Arabia , and the very isles of tho sea , rendered their tribute . "The cedar forests that for centuries had waved in colossal grandeur upon tho summits of Lebanon , by the aid of the willing Tyrians , were swept from the mountain ' s brow , to swell the triumph ofthe time . Quarries of rare stonelong
, nnvisited , gave up their precious deposits to skill of man . Hewn , squared , and numbered in tho quarries where they were raised , each massive block , august in its magnificent proportions , or glorious in . its elaborate carving , moved on to swell the triumph and to become a component part in the grand whole ivhich crowned the brow of Mount Moriah
with glory and with beauty . " Up sprung the wonderful edifice . No sound of axe or hammer , or any tool of iron , was hoard , hut the grand whole , solid in its foundation as the rock-ribbed hills themselves—perfect in its proportions as tho divine work , with many a turret and pinnacle sheathed with beaten gold , reflected back to Heaven some portion of the glory that it
gave , and became fit dwelling place for Him Avhose presence fills all space , but who chooses to dwell among the children of men . "And when the cap-stone was brought home with shouting and praise , when the glory of the Lord descended and filled the whole house , when the king and all the people fell their faces before the exceeding brihtnessand the
upon g , very priests of the living God fled for their lives from before his A'isiblo presence . What Mason of the higher degrees does not know the profound significance of theso great facts—the important lessons embedded in this history ? " With the completion of this august structure , and the traditional record of ei'ents which preceded , accompanied ,
and followed it , commences tho dissemination of Masonry . " Prom Palestine to Phoenicia , and thence hy easy and natural stages to each several nation distinguished by its lovo for arts and sciences , tho instructed eye of the welltaught Mason sees in dim traces that still survive the devouring tooth of time , the dim pathway of our Order . " The great principles of association bind all its elements
together . " The need of help , and the readiness to bestow aid , the one as far spread as the human family , the other the child and creature of liberal education ancl trained humanity , wore and are the springs and sources ofthe Masonic brotherhood , and the close alliance of the mystic tie , invented and enforced for the defence and support of the operative Mason , became at length the distinguishing beauty and the peculiar characteristic of the speculative .