Classical Theology.—Xix.

remorse and fasting she fell into a deep slumber . The sound of heavenly voices met her ears , awoke , and sweetly soothed her . She beheld Adonis in the air surrounded by a host of bright spirits , and joyful shades rescued from the powers of the princes of darkness . He had resumed his pristine form of beauty . In looking on him she found herself restored to strength and tranquillity . Then said he unto her , ' I have followed you in all

your wanderings ; I will not lose sight of you : my wisdom shall be with you and will never forsake you if you continue faithful to me . I have suffered for you all , but I do not repent of my sufferings to see you sensible of my love . I go . The gods are only enamoured of such as resemble them . Farewell , you will see me no more until you are again beautified—till you again resemble me in transparency of body . '"

Freemasonry And Its Institutes.—Vii.

FREEMASONRY AND ITS INSTITUTES . —VII .

( Cunliniwd from page 2 of ) . THAT both the ancient mysteries and Freemasonry have a common ori g in from the Great Architect of the universe , no thinking Mason can deny ; for in the volume of the Sacred Law we find all the arrangements for a ceremonial worship , with accompanying institutions of mystery and exclusion suited to the wants and knowledge of the world in its infancy .

The Lodges of Masons are situated due east and west because all places of divine worshi p , as well as all formed and regularly constituted Lodges are , or should be , so situated ; first , because the sun , the glory of the Lord , rises in the cast and sets in the west ; secondly , learning originated-in the east and thence extended its benign influence to west ; thirdry

, in reference to the tabernacle and temple of the Jews . The star which proclaimed the birth of the Son of God appeared in the east ; and b y the term " east" the prophets denote the Redeemer . And their reason ffiven is that the Garden of Eden

was -situated m the east , and Adam expelled towards the west , " wherefore , " says St . Basil , " Christians pray towards the cast in earnest exjiectation of a better country . " The cromlechs of the Druids and the temples of the pagans sloped towards the east . All places of worship were and are on sacred groun d ; a Mason ' s Lodge is placed on holy ground on account of those great offerings well known to every good Master Mason . It

is supported by three grand pillars , representing wisdom , strength , and beauty . On entering a Lodge , the first thing that meets the eye is the Hol y Bible , which points out the faith that leads to happiness , and is dedicated to God . Every step we take is fraught with instruction , and reminds us of the diversity of objects which decorate and

adorn creation , both animate and inanimate , and also of the checkered existence of man ' s life . Charity and brotherly love is the principle which prevails ; we are taught by it to feed the hungry , clothe the naked , and to endeavour to assuage the sorrows of the afflicted ; not to slander or backbite our neighbours , but rather to view in every son of Adam a brother of the dust . Masonry , according to the general

acceptation of the term , is an art founded on the princi ples of geometry , and directed to the service and convenience of mankind . But Freemasonry , embracin g a wider range and having a nobler object in view , —the cultivation and improvement of the human mind , may with more propriety be called a science , inasmuch as , availing itself of the terms of the formerit inculcates the princiles of the purest moralit

, p y , though its lessons are , for the most part , veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols . For as everything that strikes the eye more immediately engages the attention and imprints itself on the memory , so Freemasons have universall y adopted the 2 ilan of inculcating the tenets of their Order by typical figures and allegorical emblems , to prevent their secrets

descending within the familiar reach of unattentive and unprepared novices , from whom they might not receive due veneration . Nothing can bo more apparent than the wisdom of this course , since nothing is more common than for giddy young men , just entering into life , to join the society with the mere sinister view of extending their connections . Such mon dissipate their time , money , and attention , by running

Freemasonry And Its Institutes.—Vii.

I about from one Lodge to another , where they rather aim to distinguish themselves as jolly companions at the festive board than in the more discreet character of steady good Masons . "Before the introduction of the art of printing , " says Bro . G . Roberts , Provincial Grand Chaplain , Monmouth , "it is evident that the preservation of eternal truth in the family of

man , pure and unadulterated , was a more precarious task than it can ever be now . But it was guarded by type , figure , aud allegory ; its essence lay concealed in parables ; the most incomprehensible truths were shadowed forth under similitudes , in order most likely that the mind might lay hold of them , and that the impression of common and sensible objects

might be stamped upon the memory without the danger of obliteration or erasure . We teach in the same way ; we inculcate doctrine by the same method ; we exercise the memory and the intellect to the same end ; we work out our moral virtues in the same pleasing form . " This language of symbolism is nothowever , peculiar either to Freemasonry or

, the heathen mysteries ; all oriental languages deal in metaphors , and the Bible is found to have a language of its own , not merely of words , but of signs or figures taken from visible things . The Rev . W . Jones { Fig . Lang . Script ' . ) , says"Because the true God taught his people by mystical representationthe heathens would have their mysteries too ; and

, I take this to be the true origin of the fabulous style in the Greek mythology . - The whole religion of heathenism was made up of sacred tradition perverted , a customary ritual , and p hysiological fable ; but the emblematic manner prevails in every part alike . Thus hath the use of symbols extended

to all time ' s , and wisdom has been communicated in this form by the teachers of every science and profession . We might wonder if it were not so when God , from the beginning ol the world , taught man after this form—setting life and death before him under the symbol of two trees ; and it is both an ingenious and a sublime sentiment in a certain authorthat the whole scenery of Paradise was disposed in a

, hieroglyphical school for the instruction of the first man ; and that the same plan , so far as it could be , was afterwards transferred to the tabernacle and the temple . From what has gone before , the attentive brother will easily recognize the corresponding points of the ancient mysteries and Freemasonry ; but the strong resemblance , I

might indeed say the identity , of Freemasonry and Judaism , will at once be apparent . One of Freemasonry ' S greatest enemies says " Judaism , Christianity , and Freemasonry , are , in principle , one and the same as to secret , origin , and mystery . " Judaism , or the law , was but a figure of the good things to come ; in the lectures of Freemasonry there is no direct reference to Christianity , but its types and symbols clearly point to a rierfect system which should supersede all

the ancient systems of religion , and bring all mankind into one fold under one shepherd . "I presume not to say , " says Dr . Oliver ( Tlce Star in the East ) , "that Masonry is exclusively Christian , because many are daily initiated into its mysteries whose religious opinions are inimical to Christianity ; I only contend that , being a system of ethics and inculcating the morality of every reliion under the sunit is

g , more particularly adapted to the Christian religion , because Christian ethics approach nearest to the standard of absolute perfection ; and because the genius of Freemasonry can assimilate with no other relig ion so completely as with Christianity . The historical jiart of its lectures bears an undoubted reference to our pure z'elig ion , and this coincidence

is so remarkably striking , that it would almost convince an unprejudiced mind that Masonry was formed as an exclusive companion to Christianity . The strength of this testimony is increased by the nature and tendency of its symbolical instruction , by the peculiar cast of its morality , and by the very extraordinary nature of its allegorical mechanism ; extraordinary on every other princip le than with a reference to Christianity . " Bro . Dr . Oliver here , however , goes , I