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    Article THE ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS ORDER OF THE DRUIDS. Page 1 of 5 →
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The Ancient And Mysterious Order Of The Druids.

THE ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS ORDER OF THE DRUIDS .

LOHBOST , SATURDAY , STHPTMMB 1 EP 23 , 1867 .

By JAMES EEEDEEICK SPUEB , P . M . 200 , Scarborough , & c . The best authorities on the subject of the Druids seem to agree ia the following description of them .

They were the first and most distinguished order amongst both the Gauls and Britons they were chosen from the best families , and the honours of their birth , joined with those of their functions , procured them the highest veneration

of the people . They Avere versed in astrology , geometry , natural philosophy , politics , and geography they were the interpreters of religion , and the judges of all affairs indifferently ; they were the instructors of the youth , and taught by

memory , as they never allowed their instructions to be written . Their garments Avere remarkably long , and when employed in religious ceremonies they always wore a white surplice . They generally carried a wand in their hand , and wore a kind of

ornament , enchased in gold , about their necks , called the Druids' Egg . They are also represented Avith a hatchet in their girdle , used for

cutting the misletoe . They believed m the immortality of the soul , and worshipped one supreme being . They attached a degree of sanctity to the oak , and wore chaplets of it in their religious ceremonies . They , were deeply versed in

astronomy , and computed their time by nights and not by days , and all their great solemnities , both sacred and civil , were regulated by the age and aspect of the moon . Their most august ceremony of cutting the misletoe from the oak Avas always performed on

the 6 th day of the moon . In medicine , also , they were great proficients , and possessed , in fact , great store of knowledge in all sciences , so much so that Pliny speaks of them as practising magic , and being so great proficients therein as to equal

the Persians and Chaldean Magi , so that one would even think , he says , that the Druids had taught it them . The number 3 Avas said to be a favourite number with them , and that part of their religions Avorship consisted in a solemn adoration , or three

silent bowings . The Romans , on their invasion , endeavoured to exterminate the Druids , but it does not appear that they induced the natives to adopt their own system of polytheism . The seeds of

their ancient religion still continued implanted in their minds , and opened a ready access to the doctrines of Christianity , which , are said to have made more progress in this country and Gaul ( from the time of the first preaching of the

Gospel ) than in any other . Of this old patriarchal religion the only remains , in substance , to be found at present , are the stone temples , of which but few , if any , are in so perfect a state as the one near Keswick , in Cumberland . The groves have long

since fallen beneath the axe , and most of the stone temples have been spoiled for the value of the materials , in making fences , or roads , or mending habitations * the mallet of the geologist now comes in to aid the destruction , so that , in a feAT years

more , this temple , like the rest , may disappear . Of the forms and ceremonies of the religion , no traces are to be found , except in the representations of scenes of magic , in which Ave invariably see the magic circle , the Avitch in a robe , with a Avand in her hand , and various other allusions to Druidical ceremonies . Who can think of the

subject Avithout calling to mind the scene in "Macbeth , " Avhere Hecate , by way of preparation for the incantation , says to the Avitches : —¦ " I ' m for the air . . . Upon the corner of the Moon

There hangs a vaporous drop profound , I'll catch it , ere it come to ground ; And that , distill'd by magic slights , Shall raise such artificial sprights , As by the strength of their illusion , Shall draw him on to his confusion . "

Part of the ingredients of the caldron were slips of yeAV , shivered in in the moon ' s eclipse . " Time rolls his ceaseless course , " bearing on his wings the lessons of divine truth to the different regions of the earth . How many forms of religion have

already been cast into the shade by them ? And the period will doubtless arrive when the temple of Jagganatha , now an object of veneration to millions , will , with his ceremonies , become the subject of some legendary tale , or like the Druids '

temple , a mere theme for the antiquary . That the earliest temples and altars Avere formed of stones , rough \ and unhewn , is , I believe , admitted by all writers . Numerous passages may be quoted from the Old Testament in allusion to it , but one

amongst the best may be noticed more particularly , viz .: Exodus , xxiv ., 4— " Aud Moses rose early in the morning and builded an altar under the hill , and tAvelve pillars , according to the twelve tribes of Israel . " It appears also that in patriarchal

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1867-09-28, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 23 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_28091867/page/1/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
THE ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS ORDER OF THE DRUIDS. Article 1
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. Article 5
WHAT IS FREEMASONRY? Article 7
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 10
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 10
MASONIC MEMS. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 13
SCOTLAND. Article 15
GLASGOW. Article 16
ROYAL ARCH. Article 18
LODGE MEETINGS, ETC., FOR, THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 5TH, 1867. Article 19
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Ancient And Mysterious Order Of The Druids.

THE ANCIENT AND MYSTERIOUS ORDER OF THE DRUIDS .

LOHBOST , SATURDAY , STHPTMMB 1 EP 23 , 1867 .

By JAMES EEEDEEICK SPUEB , P . M . 200 , Scarborough , & c . The best authorities on the subject of the Druids seem to agree ia the following description of them .

They were the first and most distinguished order amongst both the Gauls and Britons they were chosen from the best families , and the honours of their birth , joined with those of their functions , procured them the highest veneration

of the people . They Avere versed in astrology , geometry , natural philosophy , politics , and geography they were the interpreters of religion , and the judges of all affairs indifferently ; they were the instructors of the youth , and taught by

memory , as they never allowed their instructions to be written . Their garments Avere remarkably long , and when employed in religious ceremonies they always wore a white surplice . They generally carried a wand in their hand , and wore a kind of

ornament , enchased in gold , about their necks , called the Druids' Egg . They are also represented Avith a hatchet in their girdle , used for

cutting the misletoe . They believed m the immortality of the soul , and worshipped one supreme being . They attached a degree of sanctity to the oak , and wore chaplets of it in their religious ceremonies . They , were deeply versed in

astronomy , and computed their time by nights and not by days , and all their great solemnities , both sacred and civil , were regulated by the age and aspect of the moon . Their most august ceremony of cutting the misletoe from the oak Avas always performed on

the 6 th day of the moon . In medicine , also , they were great proficients , and possessed , in fact , great store of knowledge in all sciences , so much so that Pliny speaks of them as practising magic , and being so great proficients therein as to equal

the Persians and Chaldean Magi , so that one would even think , he says , that the Druids had taught it them . The number 3 Avas said to be a favourite number with them , and that part of their religions Avorship consisted in a solemn adoration , or three

silent bowings . The Romans , on their invasion , endeavoured to exterminate the Druids , but it does not appear that they induced the natives to adopt their own system of polytheism . The seeds of

their ancient religion still continued implanted in their minds , and opened a ready access to the doctrines of Christianity , which , are said to have made more progress in this country and Gaul ( from the time of the first preaching of the

Gospel ) than in any other . Of this old patriarchal religion the only remains , in substance , to be found at present , are the stone temples , of which but few , if any , are in so perfect a state as the one near Keswick , in Cumberland . The groves have long

since fallen beneath the axe , and most of the stone temples have been spoiled for the value of the materials , in making fences , or roads , or mending habitations * the mallet of the geologist now comes in to aid the destruction , so that , in a feAT years

more , this temple , like the rest , may disappear . Of the forms and ceremonies of the religion , no traces are to be found , except in the representations of scenes of magic , in which Ave invariably see the magic circle , the Avitch in a robe , with a Avand in her hand , and various other allusions to Druidical ceremonies . Who can think of the

subject Avithout calling to mind the scene in "Macbeth , " Avhere Hecate , by way of preparation for the incantation , says to the Avitches : —¦ " I ' m for the air . . . Upon the corner of the Moon

There hangs a vaporous drop profound , I'll catch it , ere it come to ground ; And that , distill'd by magic slights , Shall raise such artificial sprights , As by the strength of their illusion , Shall draw him on to his confusion . "

Part of the ingredients of the caldron were slips of yeAV , shivered in in the moon ' s eclipse . " Time rolls his ceaseless course , " bearing on his wings the lessons of divine truth to the different regions of the earth . How many forms of religion have

already been cast into the shade by them ? And the period will doubtless arrive when the temple of Jagganatha , now an object of veneration to millions , will , with his ceremonies , become the subject of some legendary tale , or like the Druids '

temple , a mere theme for the antiquary . That the earliest temples and altars Avere formed of stones , rough \ and unhewn , is , I believe , admitted by all writers . Numerous passages may be quoted from the Old Testament in allusion to it , but one

amongst the best may be noticed more particularly , viz .: Exodus , xxiv ., 4— " Aud Moses rose early in the morning and builded an altar under the hill , and tAvelve pillars , according to the twelve tribes of Israel . " It appears also that in patriarchal

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