-
Articles/Ads
Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 4 of 10 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
vast ideas which distinguished the Fraternity , exist in every country under Heaven . Hence ori g inated the pyramids of Egypt * and Mexico , the catacombs and caverns of all nations , and the pagodas of the eastern and western hemispheres;—all g igantic , and equally displaying the geometrical knowledge of the artists b y whom they were
respectively designed . The master mind which conceived them was undismayed by obstacles apparently insuperable ; toil and labour were unheeded ; and genius aided by perseverance produced structures which still remain , and for ever will continue as imperishable monuments of the superior talent and elevated ideas of our ancient Brethren .
It is onl y by such reflections as these that we are able to estimate the obligations which mankind owe to the science of Freemasonry , as it graduall y developed itself in the infancy of the world . Without it the sublime , the beautiful , and the romantic in the works of art would never have had existence . It was Freemasonry that erected the lofty dome ,
the majestic temple , and the ornamented portico . It was Freemasonry that decorated her gorgeous edifices with painting and sculpture . And it was the same divine Science that enriched them with permanent colours , which , after a lapse of more than two thousand years , are still as bri g ht and glowing on the broken columns and dilapidated roofs , as when they were first laid on .
Genius is confined to no age ; and its workings in the bosoms of ancient Masons—even in the absence of that knowledge which results from experience—though their names be unknown , may be easil y traced in the grand and majestic remains which exist in the Old and New worlds . The earliest temples were caverns excavated in the solid
rock ; and for the most august specimens of this kind of architecture we must refer to the science of the ancient Fraternity in India . Here , in the most early times , Masonry , with its attendant arts , attained a hi g h comparative state of perfection ; for the edifices of that country display a grandeur of design and elegance of execution
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
vast ideas which distinguished the Fraternity , exist in every country under Heaven . Hence ori g inated the pyramids of Egypt * and Mexico , the catacombs and caverns of all nations , and the pagodas of the eastern and western hemispheres;—all g igantic , and equally displaying the geometrical knowledge of the artists b y whom they were
respectively designed . The master mind which conceived them was undismayed by obstacles apparently insuperable ; toil and labour were unheeded ; and genius aided by perseverance produced structures which still remain , and for ever will continue as imperishable monuments of the superior talent and elevated ideas of our ancient Brethren .
It is onl y by such reflections as these that we are able to estimate the obligations which mankind owe to the science of Freemasonry , as it graduall y developed itself in the infancy of the world . Without it the sublime , the beautiful , and the romantic in the works of art would never have had existence . It was Freemasonry that erected the lofty dome ,
the majestic temple , and the ornamented portico . It was Freemasonry that decorated her gorgeous edifices with painting and sculpture . And it was the same divine Science that enriched them with permanent colours , which , after a lapse of more than two thousand years , are still as bri g ht and glowing on the broken columns and dilapidated roofs , as when they were first laid on .
Genius is confined to no age ; and its workings in the bosoms of ancient Masons—even in the absence of that knowledge which results from experience—though their names be unknown , may be easil y traced in the grand and majestic remains which exist in the Old and New worlds . The earliest temples were caverns excavated in the solid
rock ; and for the most august specimens of this kind of architecture we must refer to the science of the ancient Fraternity in India . Here , in the most early times , Masonry , with its attendant arts , attained a hi g h comparative state of perfection ; for the edifices of that country display a grandeur of design and elegance of execution