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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 12 of 13 →
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On Freemasonry.
he should incur the charge of exaggeration . " Here is another curiosity of this place , " says he , " which a man had need be well assured of his credit before he ventures to relate , lest he should be thought to strain the privilege of a traveller too far . That which I mean is a large piece of the old wall which encompassed all these structures . A wall
made of such monstrous great stones , that the natives hereabouts ( as it is usual in things of this strange nature ) ascribe it to the architecture of the devil . Three of the stones which were larger than the rest , we took the pains to measure , and found them to extend 61 yards in length ; one 21 , the other two each 20 yards ; in deepness they were 4
yards each , and in breadth of the same dimensions . These three stones lay in one and the same row , end to end . The rest of the wall was made also of great stones ; but none , I think , so great as these . That which added to the wonder was , that these stones were lifted up into the wall more than 20 feet from the ground . " What a heap of splendid ruins are found in this deserted city !
" The mould ' ring arch —• The long withdrawing aisle , —the shattered shrine , — The altar gray with age , —the sainted niche , — The choir , breeze-swept , where once the solemn hymn Upswelled , —the tottering column , —pile on pile Fantastic . "
One of the most munificent patrons of Operative Masonry who appeared in ancient times vvas Seleucus Nicator , Grand Master of Masons , and the founder of the Syro-Macedonian monarchy . The Brethren whom he employed in various works of art , bequeathed to posterity many eminent specimens of talent and ingenuity , which proved them to be
worthy successors of those Tyrian masons who built the Temple of Solomon . They spread out the city of Antioch on the banks of the river Orontes , and decorated it with so much splendour , that it was denominated the Queen of the East ; they erected the Temple of Apollo at Daphne , and enclosed it with an extensive grove of cypress and laurel ,
which was ten miles in compass ; and they formed the project of cutting a canal from the Bosphorus to the Caspian Sea , a distance of 150 miles ; but this great work was prevented by the Grand Master's death . Operative Masonry flourished abundantly under the auspices of this princely- Grand Master ; and his Lodges were attended and visited by learned and scientific men from all
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
he should incur the charge of exaggeration . " Here is another curiosity of this place , " says he , " which a man had need be well assured of his credit before he ventures to relate , lest he should be thought to strain the privilege of a traveller too far . That which I mean is a large piece of the old wall which encompassed all these structures . A wall
made of such monstrous great stones , that the natives hereabouts ( as it is usual in things of this strange nature ) ascribe it to the architecture of the devil . Three of the stones which were larger than the rest , we took the pains to measure , and found them to extend 61 yards in length ; one 21 , the other two each 20 yards ; in deepness they were 4
yards each , and in breadth of the same dimensions . These three stones lay in one and the same row , end to end . The rest of the wall was made also of great stones ; but none , I think , so great as these . That which added to the wonder was , that these stones were lifted up into the wall more than 20 feet from the ground . " What a heap of splendid ruins are found in this deserted city !
" The mould ' ring arch —• The long withdrawing aisle , —the shattered shrine , — The altar gray with age , —the sainted niche , — The choir , breeze-swept , where once the solemn hymn Upswelled , —the tottering column , —pile on pile Fantastic . "
One of the most munificent patrons of Operative Masonry who appeared in ancient times vvas Seleucus Nicator , Grand Master of Masons , and the founder of the Syro-Macedonian monarchy . The Brethren whom he employed in various works of art , bequeathed to posterity many eminent specimens of talent and ingenuity , which proved them to be
worthy successors of those Tyrian masons who built the Temple of Solomon . They spread out the city of Antioch on the banks of the river Orontes , and decorated it with so much splendour , that it was denominated the Queen of the East ; they erected the Temple of Apollo at Daphne , and enclosed it with an extensive grove of cypress and laurel ,
which was ten miles in compass ; and they formed the project of cutting a canal from the Bosphorus to the Caspian Sea , a distance of 150 miles ; but this great work was prevented by the Grand Master's death . Operative Masonry flourished abundantly under the auspices of this princely- Grand Master ; and his Lodges were attended and visited by learned and scientific men from all