Freemasonry In Denmark.

he acquired the consideration and affection of all " right thinking" inhabitants of the toAvn . Those brethren Avho were compelled to leave Flensburg for Copenhagen were highly gratified at the genuine Masonic spirit evinced by Bro . von Funk

at this juncture . In the latter toAvn those inhabitants who belong to the Craft , propose , we understand , in conjunction with , the Masons of the Prussian garrison , to reA'iA e the St . John ' s Lodge zum rothen Lowen , AA'hich has been dormant for

the last fifty years . For this purpose they have sent in a declaration and petition to the Danish " Grand Land Lodge . "

Secret Sciences Of The Ancients.

SECRET SCIENCES OF THE ANCIENTS .

Man is credulous from his cradle to his tomb ; but the disposition springs from an honourable principle , the consequences of AA'hich precipitate him into many errors and misfortunes . Truthful by nature , he is inclined to express his feelings ,

his opinions , his recollections , by his words , with the same truth that his tears and his cries of pain and joy , and particularly his looks , and the movement of his physiognomy , reveal his sufferings , his fears , or his pleasures . Speech is frequently

more deceitful than dumb or inarticulate signs , because discourse depends more upon art than upon nature . But such is the force of the inclination which draAvs us towards truth , that the man most accustomed to betray it is at first led to snjroose

thatitisrespected by others , and in order to make him withhold his belief it is necessary that there should be in what they affirm something repugnant to theknoAA ledge he possesses , or that may awaken a suspicion of a deliberate design to deceive him .

The novelty of objects , and the difficulty of referring them to known objects , Avill not shock the credulity of unsophisticated man . There are some additional sensatidns Avhich he receives Avithout

discussion , and their singularity is perhaps a charm which causes him to receive them Avith greater pleasure . Man almost always loves and seeks the marvellous . Is this taste natural ? Does it ¦ spring from the education , Avhich during many aeres the human race has received from it ' s first

instructors ? Curiosity regarding futurity , and the desire to penetrate its mysteries , arc dispositions which exert a powerful control over the minds of men in every stage of society . Among nations that have made little advancement in civilisation and

intelligence they operate with peculiar force ; and in these dispositions , combined with the belief that the gods had both the ability and the inclination to afford the knowledge so eagerly longed after , the Oracles of the pagan world had their

origin . It is to be observed that the name of Oracle is sometimes g iven to the covering of the mercy seat , and also to those supernatural communications of Avhich frequent mention is made in the Old Testament—as those delivered viva

vocewhen God spake to Moses ; prophetical dreams—as when Joseph ' s greatness was foretold , the response of the Urim and Thummim . This method Avas used till the time of the erection of the Temple at Jerusalem , after Avhichthe Jews consulted the prophets .

The most famous oracle of Palestine was that of Beelzebub at Ekron , Avhich Ahaziah , King of Israel , Avho was severely injured by a tall , sent to consult whether he should recover , for which cause the prophet informed him he should not come off that bed , but should surely die . ( 2 Kings 1 . ) Without further instance , Ave may observe

that the JeAvs , living in the midst of an idolatrous people , accustomed to have recourse to Oracles , diviners , and magicians , Avould have been frequently under a more powerful temptation to imitate these practices and superstitions , if God

had not afforded to them certain means of knoAVing future events , by priests and prophets , in their more urgent necessities . A . positive injunction against these abominations of the heathen , and a promise of God that He would raise up a

prophet from themselves like unto Me , unto him ye shall hearken ( Deut . xviii . ); the JeAvs pretended that , on the ceasing of verbal prophecy , i . e ., after the prophet Malachi , God gave them what they call Bath-col , the daughter of the voice ,

which Prideaux shoAVS to have been a mode of divination similar to the Sortes Virgilianm of the heathen .

Among the Greeks , the Oracle of Jupiter , at Dordona , had claims to the highest antiquity . But the most celebrated of the Grecian Oracles was that of Apollo , at Delphi , on the slopes of Mount Parnassus . It had been long observed

that the goats feeding on this spot Avere thrown into convulsions Avhen they approached a certain cleft in the side of the mountain . This was the result of a pernicious vapour , and one of the goatherds , having inhaled this intoxicating air , was affected in the same manner as the animals . The