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Article ORIGINAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY FREEMASONRY. ← Page 7 of 9 →
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Original And Supplementary Freemasonry.
To say nothing of the sacrificial animals ; of the scape-goat or sin-offering-, & c . ; the ark was a close imitation of that carried in the processions of the Osiric mysteries , and the tabernacle itself was an exact copy of sn Egyptian temple , consisting of a pronaos , a naos , and an adytum ; that is , an outer porch , a middle chamber , aud a sanctuary , or holy of holies . Let us , however , pass to the era of the building of the magnificent temple of King Solomon at Jerusalema circumstancer latingto which
, we possess historical records , which will , I hope , enable us to arrive at a clear view of the ori gin of Freemasonry . And here I must repeat my former assertion , that although some traditions date ( and not without reason ) the commencement of Freemasonry from this epoch , and though many of its ceremonies Aid certainly originate at this period , yet Freemasonry is not primarily of Jewish origin . It is evident from the Scripture history of this undertaking , that
when King Solomon proposed to build a house in honour of the God of Israel , a house which should be " wonderful great , " he did not possess among his own nation persons sufficiently skilled in the arts to carry his design into execution . He was therefore under the necessity of making application to Hiram , King of Tyre , for a cunning workman to superintend the whole affairs , and for the requisite materials in wood and stonewhich were also to be provided bthe Tyriansfor as King
Solo-, y , mon declared in his letter to the King of Tyre , " thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto theSidonians . " The work , therefore , progressed under the superintendence of a Tyrian architect , and by the assistance of Tyrian artizans ( for we know that the upper class of Fellow Craftsmen were subjects of Hiram , King of Tyre , as were also the stone-squarers ) , combined with Solomon ' s own
people . The temple itself , in many particulars of its decorations , plainly shows the Phenician genius of its architect . The two brazen pillars made by Hiram , which were set up before the porch , were , if not copies in form , similar in situation to those which Herodotus informs us were placed before the temple of Bel , or Hercules in Tyre , and to the obelisks placed before Egyptian temples , to which as being a copy of the tabernacle , the Jewish temple bore a strong resemblance . The pomegranates which surrounded them were well known emblems in the
Mysteries ; and if these pillars really bore a globe or ball on the top , as we see them in our Lodges , their resemblance to the general character of sacred pillars is remarkable . It is worthy of observation , that these two pillars are not mentioned in the plan or directions for the building of the temple which King David gave to his son Solomon before his death , ( 1 Chron . xxvii . 11 . ) and may therefore have been the addition of their maker , Hiram .
Be this as it may , all accounts agree in stating , that at this period the Masons were formed into lodges , and their present ceremonies instituted or remodelled . A short time before the finishing of the temple , a circumstance occurred with which all Master Masons are well acquainted ; and it is to this event that I refer all Master Masons in connection with the arguments contained in this paper . The ceremonies now connected with that eventwere no doubt introduced from Tyreprobably by the
, , chief architect ; and if I could with propriety enter into a full detail of the circumstances , 1 am confident that the evidence would prove such as must be definitively accepted . That course , however , being impossible , let us inquire into the probability of the statement , that the Tyrians were the agents by which ceremonies , resembling those ofthe Mysteries , were introduced into Judtea .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original And Supplementary Freemasonry.
To say nothing of the sacrificial animals ; of the scape-goat or sin-offering-, & c . ; the ark was a close imitation of that carried in the processions of the Osiric mysteries , and the tabernacle itself was an exact copy of sn Egyptian temple , consisting of a pronaos , a naos , and an adytum ; that is , an outer porch , a middle chamber , aud a sanctuary , or holy of holies . Let us , however , pass to the era of the building of the magnificent temple of King Solomon at Jerusalema circumstancer latingto which
, we possess historical records , which will , I hope , enable us to arrive at a clear view of the ori gin of Freemasonry . And here I must repeat my former assertion , that although some traditions date ( and not without reason ) the commencement of Freemasonry from this epoch , and though many of its ceremonies Aid certainly originate at this period , yet Freemasonry is not primarily of Jewish origin . It is evident from the Scripture history of this undertaking , that
when King Solomon proposed to build a house in honour of the God of Israel , a house which should be " wonderful great , " he did not possess among his own nation persons sufficiently skilled in the arts to carry his design into execution . He was therefore under the necessity of making application to Hiram , King of Tyre , for a cunning workman to superintend the whole affairs , and for the requisite materials in wood and stonewhich were also to be provided bthe Tyriansfor as King
Solo-, y , mon declared in his letter to the King of Tyre , " thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto theSidonians . " The work , therefore , progressed under the superintendence of a Tyrian architect , and by the assistance of Tyrian artizans ( for we know that the upper class of Fellow Craftsmen were subjects of Hiram , King of Tyre , as were also the stone-squarers ) , combined with Solomon ' s own
people . The temple itself , in many particulars of its decorations , plainly shows the Phenician genius of its architect . The two brazen pillars made by Hiram , which were set up before the porch , were , if not copies in form , similar in situation to those which Herodotus informs us were placed before the temple of Bel , or Hercules in Tyre , and to the obelisks placed before Egyptian temples , to which as being a copy of the tabernacle , the Jewish temple bore a strong resemblance . The pomegranates which surrounded them were well known emblems in the
Mysteries ; and if these pillars really bore a globe or ball on the top , as we see them in our Lodges , their resemblance to the general character of sacred pillars is remarkable . It is worthy of observation , that these two pillars are not mentioned in the plan or directions for the building of the temple which King David gave to his son Solomon before his death , ( 1 Chron . xxvii . 11 . ) and may therefore have been the addition of their maker , Hiram .
Be this as it may , all accounts agree in stating , that at this period the Masons were formed into lodges , and their present ceremonies instituted or remodelled . A short time before the finishing of the temple , a circumstance occurred with which all Master Masons are well acquainted ; and it is to this event that I refer all Master Masons in connection with the arguments contained in this paper . The ceremonies now connected with that eventwere no doubt introduced from Tyreprobably by the
, , chief architect ; and if I could with propriety enter into a full detail of the circumstances , 1 am confident that the evidence would prove such as must be definitively accepted . That course , however , being impossible , let us inquire into the probability of the statement , that the Tyrians were the agents by which ceremonies , resembling those ofthe Mysteries , were introduced into Judtea .