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  • March 31, 1860
  • Page 9
  • ANCIENT SYMBOLISM ILLUSTRATED.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, March 31, 1860: Page 9

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    Article ROUGH JOTTINGS ABOUT TEADITION. ← Page 2 of 2
    Article ANCIENT SYMBOLISM ILLUSTRATED. Page 1 of 4 →
Page 9

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Rough Jottings About Teadition.

deccssors spoke as early as " the days of tho patriarchs . " So fatas Ave know , those races had no written language , and , of course , no written history . Is it fairly supposable , that iu such circumstances , the knowledge of the past was permitted to be extinguished from age to age , and that no effort was made to preserve it ? But if preserved at all , its traditionary transmission seems to be the only channel by which it coulcl have passed .

Although Humboldt's examples come solely from " the men of the mountains , " jret it appears to me that the same probabilities exist as to any race of men ivhich has for ages remained intact and separate from other races , irrespective of location . Such is the situation of the Jewish race . AVith one language , one religion , distinguished in their very countenances from all other races which exist on earth , the facilities for traditionary knowledge with them

seems hardly less than among the races " of the mountains . " From their own writers we learn their fondness for traditional information , and the strong reliance they place upon it even in reli gious matters ; ancl wc are well aware that- several religious customs and duties are mentioned as existing by some of the later writers of the Old Testament , ivhich are not named in the Pentateuch , and the knowledge of ivhich , so far as we can know , could only hai-e passed by tradition . The passage of information from age to age by tradition seems ,

at least , highly probable . But perhaps no subject connected with Freemasonry has been more strangely tortured or more grossly abused . Egypt has been appealed to thousands of times , but no writer has yet been able to point to a single reliable Masonic tradition ^ from the country of the Nile . As evidences of embodied traditions , we have been pointed to " the use of hieroglyphic characters , of the study of geometry and astronomy , and the

culti-A-ation of ethics b y figurative emblems . " But all this is far short of being satisfactory . None of the hieroglyphics are Masonic ones ; geometry ancl astronomy are not and never were Freemasonry , ancl the " emblems" alluded to have not even yet found favour enough with the Craft to get introduced upon the worst got up Master's carpet in the world . I will not say that it is impossible for any traces of Freemasonry to bo found ' in Egypt . A

feiyyears ago we were told that the late Egyptian traveller , Belzoni , has left behind him a manuscript for his widow , ivhich embodied all the Masonic inscriptions ho had found among the ruined temples , monuments , ancl tombs of Egypt , and that the manuscript had been presented by Mrs . Belzoni to the Grancl Lodge of England . If there is any such ivork in existence , it is to be hoped that it will in good time see the light , that we may be able to judge whether there is really a Masonic sun vet to rise over Egyptian Masonic darkness .

The commercial Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon have also been pointed to , as having visited Northern Africa . Spain , and Britain , ancl as having carried Alasonic traditions along with them . Where they were left in the two former places is not stated ; but , as to Britain , the Druids have been fixed on as their recipients . And yet Druidical annals arc silent about them ; no Druidical remains have yet disclosed a single Masonic emblem . That peculiar institution controlled b

was y priestesses as well as priests—who coulcl not have received tlieni " ; and it is well known that ]\ lasonry passed into Britain through an entirely different channel . AA e have no evidence that the Phoenicians had any Masonic traditions to transmit , or that any such ever passed into a Druidical temple . And we are no better off as to the Eleusinian mysteries of Greece . AVe may infer that they had something moral in them from the favourable

description of Cicero , and that is all . No evidence exists that they wero founded upon any Masonic tradition from E gypt , Phoenicia , or Jiulea , or that any ever descended from tlieni to after ages . The only reliable ancient Masonic traditions now known to ns come from Jerusalem , and from the days of the first temple . AA ' e touch bottom traditionallno Avhere elseHere ive reach

y . something which is tangible on the subject , and have no small support from correlative evidence . Masonry , ancl the historical portion of the Old Testament , referring to the first temple , stand together side by side ; and the Jews have furnished , in all ages since , a natural channel for the transmission of our traditions .

, SIVI ; ARIXCI AT LAROK . —A Highlander present described the Perth writer's indignation , and his mode of showing it , by a most elaborate course of swearing . " But who did he swear at ? " was the inquiry made of the narrator , who replied , " Ou' he dic'ln . i sweet- at ony thing parteecular , but juist stude in ta middle of ta road and sivoor at lau-ge , '—Dean Ramsay .

Ancient Symbolism Illustrated.

ANCIENT SYMBOLISM ILLUSTRATED .

BY BltO . ItOBUM SIAMIX , I ' . E . C . S ., t'AST D . I' . GKAKD MASTER ' SUIITOI - ; ASD P . E . COM . OP K . aiuns Tii-UM-Aii , ETC . ONE of the most ancient dialects ivas brought by the Brahmins ancl Persian Druids into this country , the name of Avhich , though occasionally used , is employed by most persons Avithout knowledge of the root from whence it sprung . Sir AVilliam Jones states that a race of Brahmins anciently sat

cm the throne of Persia , and that nine Avords out of ten of the old Pahhtve dialect introduced by them , are the genuine ancient Sanscrit . O'Brien makes nearly the same remark ancl insists on the old Persian language having been the first spoken ; thus the vulgar expression , "None of your palaver , " literally signifies a desire to hear none of that language

proved to be the most ancient on record . In its various forms ancl combinations the single principle of sound affords a vast number of symbols which represent the material objects of nature , and the action of these objects upon one another ;¦ for instance , the neighing of the horse , the crowing of the cock , the bellowing of the bull , present to our senses the notion of these animals ; and such are called phonetic symbols , or symbols of sound . The articulated

name of any person is a phonetic symbol of him . vhich , conveyed to the ear of another , presents him to the mind ; while the Avritten name is an idiographic symbol , which , conveyed to the eye , produces the same effect as the phonetic symbol on the ear . A portrait or pictorial symbol differs from the latter , producing its effect by association ; a certain set of

features aud cast of countenance are presented to the eye , Avhich it associates Avith those of the original . The effect of certain associations of sound upon corresponding feelings of the mind is Avell knoAvn to CA'ery one , since there must he few ivho have not felt softened by the soothing strains of laintive melodcheered by the gay and lively air of jocund

p y , minstrelsy , or stirred to enthusiasm by the exciting sounds of martial music , and thus the remembrance of the sad , tho gay , or the active scenes of strife , are presented to the mind by respective combinations of the symbols of sound . That such must have been the origin of oral symbols , or spoken languageis amply borne outnot only by reasonable

sur-, , mise , but by the best authenticated historical investigations ; ancl thus phonetic symbols , or symbols of sound , Avere instituted ancl made available to the most urgent wants ancl important purposes of man .

' Had however no other means of communicating sentences been brought into existence , this object , so important to our interest , must have been confined within the narrow limits of persons present to each other , as for the purposes of such communication it is indispensable that the ear addressed should he within reach of the articulated sounds ; and hence the necessity for the invention of pictorial language or

symbols , which being impressed on the sense of si ght , could not only make known to absent persons present impressions , but bring back to the memory past events . The time soon arrived when it became necessary to record for a shorter or longer period , the acts and thoughts , the commands and duties of manand for this purpose pictorial or idiographic

, symbols could alone be employed , the durability of which depended on tho material selected for the tablets on which they were represented . In less than a second of time the sound of the human voice dies away , but the picture drawn even on the sands of the sea , lasts till obliterated by the nextreturning tide ; ancl if engraved on brass or stone , AA'ill , under

favourable circumstances , defy the power of ages ancl convey their record to a distant posterity . The imitative faculty of man rendered the representation of visible actions and visible objects an easy task through the agency of pictorial symbols or hieroglyphics , Avhilst the sign for abstract qualities was obtained , as in sounds , upon the princi p le of association ; thus , an ox was represented hy the most distinguishing part of the beast , say the head and horns , ivhich , according to Clemens Alexandrians , was on the principle of association .

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-03-31, Page 9” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 31 March 2023, masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_31031860/page/9/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XVI. Article 1
THE BRITISH MUSRUM SLANDER AND BRO. JOHN PAYNE COLLIER.* Article 2
THE GIRLS SCHOOL. Article 7
ARCHÆOLOGY. Article 7
MASONRY AT SMYRNA. Article 7
MASONIC LOYALTY. Article 7
ROUGH JOTTINGS ABOUT TEADITION. Article 8
ANCIENT SYMBOLISM ILLUSTRATED. Article 9
MASONIC NOTES AND QUEKIES. Article 13
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 15
BRO. PERCY WELLS. Article 15
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 16
METROPOLITAN. Article 16
PROVINCIAL. Article 18
MARK MASONEY. Article 18
ROYAL ARCH Article 18
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. 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.

Rough Jottings About Teadition.

deccssors spoke as early as " the days of tho patriarchs . " So fatas Ave know , those races had no written language , and , of course , no written history . Is it fairly supposable , that iu such circumstances , the knowledge of the past was permitted to be extinguished from age to age , and that no effort was made to preserve it ? But if preserved at all , its traditionary transmission seems to be the only channel by which it coulcl have passed .

Although Humboldt's examples come solely from " the men of the mountains , " jret it appears to me that the same probabilities exist as to any race of men ivhich has for ages remained intact and separate from other races , irrespective of location . Such is the situation of the Jewish race . AVith one language , one religion , distinguished in their very countenances from all other races which exist on earth , the facilities for traditionary knowledge with them

seems hardly less than among the races " of the mountains . " From their own writers we learn their fondness for traditional information , and the strong reliance they place upon it even in reli gious matters ; ancl wc are well aware that- several religious customs and duties are mentioned as existing by some of the later writers of the Old Testament , ivhich are not named in the Pentateuch , and the knowledge of ivhich , so far as we can know , could only hai-e passed by tradition . The passage of information from age to age by tradition seems ,

at least , highly probable . But perhaps no subject connected with Freemasonry has been more strangely tortured or more grossly abused . Egypt has been appealed to thousands of times , but no writer has yet been able to point to a single reliable Masonic tradition ^ from the country of the Nile . As evidences of embodied traditions , we have been pointed to " the use of hieroglyphic characters , of the study of geometry and astronomy , and the

culti-A-ation of ethics b y figurative emblems . " But all this is far short of being satisfactory . None of the hieroglyphics are Masonic ones ; geometry ancl astronomy are not and never were Freemasonry , ancl the " emblems" alluded to have not even yet found favour enough with the Craft to get introduced upon the worst got up Master's carpet in the world . I will not say that it is impossible for any traces of Freemasonry to bo found ' in Egypt . A

feiyyears ago we were told that the late Egyptian traveller , Belzoni , has left behind him a manuscript for his widow , ivhich embodied all the Masonic inscriptions ho had found among the ruined temples , monuments , ancl tombs of Egypt , and that the manuscript had been presented by Mrs . Belzoni to the Grancl Lodge of England . If there is any such ivork in existence , it is to be hoped that it will in good time see the light , that we may be able to judge whether there is really a Masonic sun vet to rise over Egyptian Masonic darkness .

The commercial Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon have also been pointed to , as having visited Northern Africa . Spain , and Britain , ancl as having carried Alasonic traditions along with them . Where they were left in the two former places is not stated ; but , as to Britain , the Druids have been fixed on as their recipients . And yet Druidical annals arc silent about them ; no Druidical remains have yet disclosed a single Masonic emblem . That peculiar institution controlled b

was y priestesses as well as priests—who coulcl not have received tlieni " ; and it is well known that ]\ lasonry passed into Britain through an entirely different channel . AA e have no evidence that the Phoenicians had any Masonic traditions to transmit , or that any such ever passed into a Druidical temple . And we are no better off as to the Eleusinian mysteries of Greece . AVe may infer that they had something moral in them from the favourable

description of Cicero , and that is all . No evidence exists that they wero founded upon any Masonic tradition from E gypt , Phoenicia , or Jiulea , or that any ever descended from tlieni to after ages . The only reliable ancient Masonic traditions now known to ns come from Jerusalem , and from the days of the first temple . AA ' e touch bottom traditionallno Avhere elseHere ive reach

y . something which is tangible on the subject , and have no small support from correlative evidence . Masonry , ancl the historical portion of the Old Testament , referring to the first temple , stand together side by side ; and the Jews have furnished , in all ages since , a natural channel for the transmission of our traditions .

, SIVI ; ARIXCI AT LAROK . —A Highlander present described the Perth writer's indignation , and his mode of showing it , by a most elaborate course of swearing . " But who did he swear at ? " was the inquiry made of the narrator , who replied , " Ou' he dic'ln . i sweet- at ony thing parteecular , but juist stude in ta middle of ta road and sivoor at lau-ge , '—Dean Ramsay .

Ancient Symbolism Illustrated.

ANCIENT SYMBOLISM ILLUSTRATED .

BY BltO . ItOBUM SIAMIX , I ' . E . C . S ., t'AST D . I' . GKAKD MASTER ' SUIITOI - ; ASD P . E . COM . OP K . aiuns Tii-UM-Aii , ETC . ONE of the most ancient dialects ivas brought by the Brahmins ancl Persian Druids into this country , the name of Avhich , though occasionally used , is employed by most persons Avithout knowledge of the root from whence it sprung . Sir AVilliam Jones states that a race of Brahmins anciently sat

cm the throne of Persia , and that nine Avords out of ten of the old Pahhtve dialect introduced by them , are the genuine ancient Sanscrit . O'Brien makes nearly the same remark ancl insists on the old Persian language having been the first spoken ; thus the vulgar expression , "None of your palaver , " literally signifies a desire to hear none of that language

proved to be the most ancient on record . In its various forms ancl combinations the single principle of sound affords a vast number of symbols which represent the material objects of nature , and the action of these objects upon one another ;¦ for instance , the neighing of the horse , the crowing of the cock , the bellowing of the bull , present to our senses the notion of these animals ; and such are called phonetic symbols , or symbols of sound . The articulated

name of any person is a phonetic symbol of him . vhich , conveyed to the ear of another , presents him to the mind ; while the Avritten name is an idiographic symbol , which , conveyed to the eye , produces the same effect as the phonetic symbol on the ear . A portrait or pictorial symbol differs from the latter , producing its effect by association ; a certain set of

features aud cast of countenance are presented to the eye , Avhich it associates Avith those of the original . The effect of certain associations of sound upon corresponding feelings of the mind is Avell knoAvn to CA'ery one , since there must he few ivho have not felt softened by the soothing strains of laintive melodcheered by the gay and lively air of jocund

p y , minstrelsy , or stirred to enthusiasm by the exciting sounds of martial music , and thus the remembrance of the sad , tho gay , or the active scenes of strife , are presented to the mind by respective combinations of the symbols of sound . That such must have been the origin of oral symbols , or spoken languageis amply borne outnot only by reasonable

sur-, , mise , but by the best authenticated historical investigations ; ancl thus phonetic symbols , or symbols of sound , Avere instituted ancl made available to the most urgent wants ancl important purposes of man .

' Had however no other means of communicating sentences been brought into existence , this object , so important to our interest , must have been confined within the narrow limits of persons present to each other , as for the purposes of such communication it is indispensable that the ear addressed should he within reach of the articulated sounds ; and hence the necessity for the invention of pictorial language or

symbols , which being impressed on the sense of si ght , could not only make known to absent persons present impressions , but bring back to the memory past events . The time soon arrived when it became necessary to record for a shorter or longer period , the acts and thoughts , the commands and duties of manand for this purpose pictorial or idiographic

, symbols could alone be employed , the durability of which depended on tho material selected for the tablets on which they were represented . In less than a second of time the sound of the human voice dies away , but the picture drawn even on the sands of the sea , lasts till obliterated by the nextreturning tide ; ancl if engraved on brass or stone , AA'ill , under

favourable circumstances , defy the power of ages ancl convey their record to a distant posterity . The imitative faculty of man rendered the representation of visible actions and visible objects an easy task through the agency of pictorial symbols or hieroglyphics , Avhilst the sign for abstract qualities was obtained , as in sounds , upon the princi p le of association ; thus , an ox was represented hy the most distinguishing part of the beast , say the head and horns , ivhich , according to Clemens Alexandrians , was on the principle of association .

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