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  • July 31, 1875
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  • REPORT TO GRAND CHAPTER OF PRINCE MASONS, IRELAND.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, July 31, 1875: Page 3

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The Egyptian Priests.

Such was the system of the association of the Priests of ancient Egypt . It was composed , particularly , of certain wise men , known in old times by the profundity of their knowledge , and by them it was directed towards the attainment of that one purpose which its founders had proposed

to themselves . Initiation was the rock against which either indiscretion or mediocrity dashed itself . Proofs , combined together with skill and a discernment far from ordinary , kept away all those who were unfit to take part in the general working of the confederation , and often men who

had no other recommendation than that of their rank , of fortune , or of qualities wholly superficial , received at their initiation nothing more than the knowledge of vague and indeterminate ideas . This adoption , which was simply honorary , was often nothing more than a link which , by

attaching such men to the confederation , held captive all evil purposes , repressed vice , and converted into a useless member one whose enmity might possibly be dangerous .

It is to this wise policy , this scrupulous care , that the Egyptian priests owed the progress of their Order , as well as the respect which accompanied it and determined its high destinies .

The Order comprised three classes , in each of which the members had their several duties well defined , and always in accordance with their natural tastes and the means at

their disposal . The first class comprised the prophets or judges , the astronomers and the geometricians . The Hycrogramists or Sacred Scribes formed the second class . They determined , by means of their hieroglyphic characters , all ideas moral , religious , and political , and preserved the central storehouse of historical facts . In the third class were

comprised the Comastaa , who presided at thesacred banquets , the Zacori , the Neocori , and the Pastifori , who had charge of the temples and the decoration of the altars . The singers , the sealers or stampers , the medicine men , the embalmers and interpreters also belonged to this class .

Each class was presided over and directed by a number of ancients or elites , who were joined together and formed a supreme council . This assembled secretly . Its existence was unknown to the other members , and it issued decisions or oracles , the execution of which was as

scrupulously observed as though they had emanated from God . It is to these extraordinary means that Ave must attribute that unity which impelled the three classes of the Order t move ever in one uniform direction . Above all , it is to the secret and invisible operations of the supreme council

of ancients or elites that we must attribute the uniformity of movement and tendency on the parts of this body , tho composition of which extended to all parts of the universe . Whenever it had cognizance of some man , whose wisdom , talents , or merits had acquired claims on the respect or

esteem of nations , the order of the Egyptian priesthood sought every possible means for initiating him into their ranks . By this wise policy it was that it attracted to itself all men of talent , of virtue ; in a word , of every quality that excites the interest of mankind . Thus it was it

influenced all these , and moulded their services , so as to be governed b y its system , its views and disposition . It is owing , then , to this concentration of all the sciences and of all means , that the order of Egyptian Priests is indebted for

the distinguished honour in which it was held , and antiquity , and for all these wonders , the memory of which , though weakened by the prejudices of our customs , still excites our curiosity , and provokes the admiration of savants .

The Egyptian priests were looked upon by all the nations of the East as extraordinary , raised infinitely above all others . They were so in fact , for they held rank next after kings . If wealth , immunities , and the hi ghest privileges were accorded them , it was because , being the sole

depositories of the mysteries of religion , and of every science , respect and esteem followed them everywhere . It was because the prince himself , obliged to be initiated before ascending the throne , of which they had constituted themselves the promoters and supportobtained onl

, y among tbein the knowledge requisite to govern his kingdom , remained attached to them for the sake of his own interests , an < l often delegated to them a part of his authority , in certain cases , when such delegation amounted to an absolute

dut y . But all these honours and distinctions , far from weakening the ties which bound the prince to his people , served onl y to strengthen them b y that influence , which the priests were called upon to exercise , on the one aand , over the power of the sovereign , and on the other , over the obedience of his people , -it was no easy matter to be initiated into the mysteries

The Egyptian Priests.

of the priesthood proper . It was necessary to possess eminent qualities ; in a word , to offer as a guarantee of fidelity , and of the fulfilment of those duties which the Order expected from every candidate , actual abilities , the certainty of which was scrupulously inquired into , and

approved by every refinement of skill and policy , before initiation . Thus , among the Egyptians , the character of an initiate into the mysteries of the holy priesthood acquired

so great a reputation , that princes , heroes , and philosophers , considered they had only reached the extreme limit of their glory when they had obtained the honour of this rare distinction .

The knowledge of the Egyptian Priests was immense . We know them to have been the fathers of astronomy and geometry . The study of nature was familiar to them in a climate in which everything invited them to curious and learned researches , and in a country where nature hid

nothing but what as secrets could be investigated in a manner equally facile and curious . This is why Egypt was , at one time , the resort of all men of eminence . Four colleges , established herein , and governed by the priests or initiates , offered to all strangers the means of acquiring

knowledge or satisfying their curiosity . It was in that of Thebes that Pythagoras acquired his science of numbers . Thales and Democritus went to study at that of Memphis , and Orpheus is said to have found there all the material requisite for his mythology . Plato and Eudoxus tarried

for some time in that of Hehopolis , and perfected themselves , the one in morality , the other in the science of mathematics . Lastly , Lycurgus and Solon , who found in that of Sais all the secrets of legislation , afterwards astounded the whole world by their profound political wisdom .

The Egyptian priests must not be confounded with those sacred despots who , making a wicked use of their pretended intimacy with the gods sought , by imposture and cruelty , to lay the foundations of a sacrilegious authority . Priests and philosophers at one and the same

time , the wise men of ancient Egypt governed nations , not by violence and oppression , but by means of a gentle persuasion , the secrets of which they had obtained in a profound study of men ' s nature , and by a policy at once luminous and complete . It was with all these advantages

on their side that they combined , for the maintenance of law and the supreme authority , with two other powers , those of the princes and castes . This form of government , so foreign to our customs and habits , cannot be appreciated by people little accustomed to the genius of antiquity . Ifc can only be fathomed by those who , in studying history ,

pay less regard to the sequence of events than to the moral and political causes which have induced their occurrence . ( To le continued . )

Report To Grand Chapter Of Prince Masons, Ireland.

REPORT TO GRAND CHAPTER OF PRINCE MASONS , IRELAND .

BY HON . JUDGE TOWNSHEND , SOVEREIGN OF THE ORDER , 2 ND APRIL 1875 . THE salient features of this Report cannot fail to excite the interest of our readers , and especially of our Brethren in Ireland . Naturally enough the first point to which the President of Grand Chapter refers is the death of his immediate predecessor , the late Duke of Leinster , whose

presidency over the Chapter had endured so long , and been attended with results so beneficial . Nor is the memoiy of one other prominent officer passed over in silence . The late General Dunne , who had long held the office of Grand

Standard Bearer , and conjoined with it that of Grand Deacon , is spoken of in fitting terms of eulogy , as having earned the respect of every class in the community by the faithful discharge of his military and civil duties , and

especially of the Craft for whom he had ever laboured so cheerfully and so assiduously . Passing thence to the main objects of his address , and having regard to the reports which he had delivered in his previous capacity of

Vice-President , Judge Townshend notes with satisfaction that in point of numbers the Order has doubled itself in the course of the last twenty years , the average rate of increase

having been ten per annum . In 1854 there were 144 subscribing members , and now there are 290 . Of these 197 members belong to the Dublin Chapters , and the remaining 93 to Provincial Chapters , the greatness of the difference being accounted for by the fact that of the thirteen Rose

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1875-07-31, Page 3” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 11 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_31071875/page/3/.
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Title Category Page
STABILITY OF MIND. Article 1
THE MASONIC FEMALE ORPHAN SCHOOL, DUBLIN. Article 1
THE EGYPTIAN PRIESTS. Article 2
REPORT TO GRAND CHAPTER OF PRINCE MASONS, IRELAND. Article 3
FATALISM. Article 4
BURDETT COUTTS' LODGE, No. 1278. Article 5
PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF HERTFORDSHIRE. Article 5
INAUGURATION OF THE MAURITIUS LODGE OF HARMONY. Article 5
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 6
REVIEWS. Article 7
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Untitled Article 8
OUR WEEKLY BUDGET. Article 8
THE THANET CONCLAVE OF KNIGHTS OF ROME, AND OF THE RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE, No. 121, MARGATE. Article 11
SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER OF ROYAL ARCH MASONS OF ENGLAND. Article 11
Obituary. Article 11
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 12
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 12
PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WEST YORKSHIRE. Article 13
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Egyptian Priests.

Such was the system of the association of the Priests of ancient Egypt . It was composed , particularly , of certain wise men , known in old times by the profundity of their knowledge , and by them it was directed towards the attainment of that one purpose which its founders had proposed

to themselves . Initiation was the rock against which either indiscretion or mediocrity dashed itself . Proofs , combined together with skill and a discernment far from ordinary , kept away all those who were unfit to take part in the general working of the confederation , and often men who

had no other recommendation than that of their rank , of fortune , or of qualities wholly superficial , received at their initiation nothing more than the knowledge of vague and indeterminate ideas . This adoption , which was simply honorary , was often nothing more than a link which , by

attaching such men to the confederation , held captive all evil purposes , repressed vice , and converted into a useless member one whose enmity might possibly be dangerous .

It is to this wise policy , this scrupulous care , that the Egyptian priests owed the progress of their Order , as well as the respect which accompanied it and determined its high destinies .

The Order comprised three classes , in each of which the members had their several duties well defined , and always in accordance with their natural tastes and the means at

their disposal . The first class comprised the prophets or judges , the astronomers and the geometricians . The Hycrogramists or Sacred Scribes formed the second class . They determined , by means of their hieroglyphic characters , all ideas moral , religious , and political , and preserved the central storehouse of historical facts . In the third class were

comprised the Comastaa , who presided at thesacred banquets , the Zacori , the Neocori , and the Pastifori , who had charge of the temples and the decoration of the altars . The singers , the sealers or stampers , the medicine men , the embalmers and interpreters also belonged to this class .

Each class was presided over and directed by a number of ancients or elites , who were joined together and formed a supreme council . This assembled secretly . Its existence was unknown to the other members , and it issued decisions or oracles , the execution of which was as

scrupulously observed as though they had emanated from God . It is to these extraordinary means that Ave must attribute that unity which impelled the three classes of the Order t move ever in one uniform direction . Above all , it is to the secret and invisible operations of the supreme council

of ancients or elites that we must attribute the uniformity of movement and tendency on the parts of this body , tho composition of which extended to all parts of the universe . Whenever it had cognizance of some man , whose wisdom , talents , or merits had acquired claims on the respect or

esteem of nations , the order of the Egyptian priesthood sought every possible means for initiating him into their ranks . By this wise policy it was that it attracted to itself all men of talent , of virtue ; in a word , of every quality that excites the interest of mankind . Thus it was it

influenced all these , and moulded their services , so as to be governed b y its system , its views and disposition . It is owing , then , to this concentration of all the sciences and of all means , that the order of Egyptian Priests is indebted for

the distinguished honour in which it was held , and antiquity , and for all these wonders , the memory of which , though weakened by the prejudices of our customs , still excites our curiosity , and provokes the admiration of savants .

The Egyptian priests were looked upon by all the nations of the East as extraordinary , raised infinitely above all others . They were so in fact , for they held rank next after kings . If wealth , immunities , and the hi ghest privileges were accorded them , it was because , being the sole

depositories of the mysteries of religion , and of every science , respect and esteem followed them everywhere . It was because the prince himself , obliged to be initiated before ascending the throne , of which they had constituted themselves the promoters and supportobtained onl

, y among tbein the knowledge requisite to govern his kingdom , remained attached to them for the sake of his own interests , an < l often delegated to them a part of his authority , in certain cases , when such delegation amounted to an absolute

dut y . But all these honours and distinctions , far from weakening the ties which bound the prince to his people , served onl y to strengthen them b y that influence , which the priests were called upon to exercise , on the one aand , over the power of the sovereign , and on the other , over the obedience of his people , -it was no easy matter to be initiated into the mysteries

The Egyptian Priests.

of the priesthood proper . It was necessary to possess eminent qualities ; in a word , to offer as a guarantee of fidelity , and of the fulfilment of those duties which the Order expected from every candidate , actual abilities , the certainty of which was scrupulously inquired into , and

approved by every refinement of skill and policy , before initiation . Thus , among the Egyptians , the character of an initiate into the mysteries of the holy priesthood acquired

so great a reputation , that princes , heroes , and philosophers , considered they had only reached the extreme limit of their glory when they had obtained the honour of this rare distinction .

The knowledge of the Egyptian Priests was immense . We know them to have been the fathers of astronomy and geometry . The study of nature was familiar to them in a climate in which everything invited them to curious and learned researches , and in a country where nature hid

nothing but what as secrets could be investigated in a manner equally facile and curious . This is why Egypt was , at one time , the resort of all men of eminence . Four colleges , established herein , and governed by the priests or initiates , offered to all strangers the means of acquiring

knowledge or satisfying their curiosity . It was in that of Thebes that Pythagoras acquired his science of numbers . Thales and Democritus went to study at that of Memphis , and Orpheus is said to have found there all the material requisite for his mythology . Plato and Eudoxus tarried

for some time in that of Hehopolis , and perfected themselves , the one in morality , the other in the science of mathematics . Lastly , Lycurgus and Solon , who found in that of Sais all the secrets of legislation , afterwards astounded the whole world by their profound political wisdom .

The Egyptian priests must not be confounded with those sacred despots who , making a wicked use of their pretended intimacy with the gods sought , by imposture and cruelty , to lay the foundations of a sacrilegious authority . Priests and philosophers at one and the same

time , the wise men of ancient Egypt governed nations , not by violence and oppression , but by means of a gentle persuasion , the secrets of which they had obtained in a profound study of men ' s nature , and by a policy at once luminous and complete . It was with all these advantages

on their side that they combined , for the maintenance of law and the supreme authority , with two other powers , those of the princes and castes . This form of government , so foreign to our customs and habits , cannot be appreciated by people little accustomed to the genius of antiquity . Ifc can only be fathomed by those who , in studying history ,

pay less regard to the sequence of events than to the moral and political causes which have induced their occurrence . ( To le continued . )

Report To Grand Chapter Of Prince Masons, Ireland.

REPORT TO GRAND CHAPTER OF PRINCE MASONS , IRELAND .

BY HON . JUDGE TOWNSHEND , SOVEREIGN OF THE ORDER , 2 ND APRIL 1875 . THE salient features of this Report cannot fail to excite the interest of our readers , and especially of our Brethren in Ireland . Naturally enough the first point to which the President of Grand Chapter refers is the death of his immediate predecessor , the late Duke of Leinster , whose

presidency over the Chapter had endured so long , and been attended with results so beneficial . Nor is the memoiy of one other prominent officer passed over in silence . The late General Dunne , who had long held the office of Grand

Standard Bearer , and conjoined with it that of Grand Deacon , is spoken of in fitting terms of eulogy , as having earned the respect of every class in the community by the faithful discharge of his military and civil duties , and

especially of the Craft for whom he had ever laboured so cheerfully and so assiduously . Passing thence to the main objects of his address , and having regard to the reports which he had delivered in his previous capacity of

Vice-President , Judge Townshend notes with satisfaction that in point of numbers the Order has doubled itself in the course of the last twenty years , the average rate of increase

having been ten per annum . In 1854 there were 144 subscribing members , and now there are 290 . Of these 197 members belong to the Dublin Chapters , and the remaining 93 to Provincial Chapters , the greatness of the difference being accounted for by the fact that of the thirteen Rose

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