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Article ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 5 of 7 →
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On Freemasonry.
benevolence . Its charities are unrivalled . It cherishes the orphan—it supports thc widow—it relieves the destitute—and it provides for the worthy aged Brother an asylum from the storms of penury and indigence , at that help less period of life when he is no longer able to wrestle with adversity . It is true the seven liberal sciences are referred to in the second degree ; butwith the exception of Geometrythey occupy no important place
, , in the lecture . And for this reason , I suppose , that in ancient times the Order is said to have been denominated Geometry . On this science , with its application to architecture , our disquisitions are abundant and powerfully interesting ; and why should not a lecture on the elementary principles of other sciences be equally gratifying to the members of a Lodge ? Arithmetic , or the science of Number , is nearly allied to Geometry ; we patronise Musicin practice , but hear nothing of it in theory ; and of
Astronomy we are merely told that " it is an art by which we are taught to read the wonderful ivorks of God in those sacred pages , the celestial hemisphere . While we are employed in the study of this science , we must perceive unparalleled instances of wisdom and goodness , and through the whole of the creation trace the glorious Author by his works . " It is however my chief intention in this paper , to offer a few desultory
remarks on the science of Number ; which , although the institution of Freemasonry is based upon it , has no authorized lecture to illustrate its fundamental principles—no scientific disquisitions to display its mysterious properties . At every step we take we find a triad reference , but the
reasons why this occurs are not satisfactorily explained . The monad , the duad , the triad , and the tetrad , meet us at every turn , and though these numbers constitute the foundation of all arithmetical calculations , the candidate is not fully instructed how they operate or in what manner they ought to be applied . A large portion of the Egyptian philosophy and religion seems to have heen constructed almost wholly upon the mysterious properties of numbers ; and we are assured bKircher that every thing in nature was
y , explained on this principle alone . The Pythagoreans had so high an opinion of number , that they considered it to be the first principle of all things , and thought a knowledge of numbers to be a knowledge of God . The founder of the sect received his instructions in this science from the Egyptian priests , who taught that " the monad possesses the nature of the efficient cause , while the duad is merely a passive matter . A point corresponds with the monad , both being indivisible ;
and as the monad is the principle of numbers , so is the point of fines . A line corresponds with the duad , both being considered by transition . A line is length without breadth , extending between two points . A superficies corresponds with the triad , because in addition to the duad , length , it possesses a third property , viz . breadth . Again , setting down three points , two opposite , the third at the juncture of the lines made by the other twowe represent a superficies . A solid or cube represents
, the tetrad , for if we make three points , and set a fourth over them , wc have a solid body in the form of a pyramid , which hath three dimensions , length , and breadth ; and thickness . " In expressing their opinion of the Platonic bodies , the followers of Pythagoras argued that the world was made by God in thought not in
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
benevolence . Its charities are unrivalled . It cherishes the orphan—it supports thc widow—it relieves the destitute—and it provides for the worthy aged Brother an asylum from the storms of penury and indigence , at that help less period of life when he is no longer able to wrestle with adversity . It is true the seven liberal sciences are referred to in the second degree ; butwith the exception of Geometrythey occupy no important place
, , in the lecture . And for this reason , I suppose , that in ancient times the Order is said to have been denominated Geometry . On this science , with its application to architecture , our disquisitions are abundant and powerfully interesting ; and why should not a lecture on the elementary principles of other sciences be equally gratifying to the members of a Lodge ? Arithmetic , or the science of Number , is nearly allied to Geometry ; we patronise Musicin practice , but hear nothing of it in theory ; and of
Astronomy we are merely told that " it is an art by which we are taught to read the wonderful ivorks of God in those sacred pages , the celestial hemisphere . While we are employed in the study of this science , we must perceive unparalleled instances of wisdom and goodness , and through the whole of the creation trace the glorious Author by his works . " It is however my chief intention in this paper , to offer a few desultory
remarks on the science of Number ; which , although the institution of Freemasonry is based upon it , has no authorized lecture to illustrate its fundamental principles—no scientific disquisitions to display its mysterious properties . At every step we take we find a triad reference , but the
reasons why this occurs are not satisfactorily explained . The monad , the duad , the triad , and the tetrad , meet us at every turn , and though these numbers constitute the foundation of all arithmetical calculations , the candidate is not fully instructed how they operate or in what manner they ought to be applied . A large portion of the Egyptian philosophy and religion seems to have heen constructed almost wholly upon the mysterious properties of numbers ; and we are assured bKircher that every thing in nature was
y , explained on this principle alone . The Pythagoreans had so high an opinion of number , that they considered it to be the first principle of all things , and thought a knowledge of numbers to be a knowledge of God . The founder of the sect received his instructions in this science from the Egyptian priests , who taught that " the monad possesses the nature of the efficient cause , while the duad is merely a passive matter . A point corresponds with the monad , both being indivisible ;
and as the monad is the principle of numbers , so is the point of fines . A line corresponds with the duad , both being considered by transition . A line is length without breadth , extending between two points . A superficies corresponds with the triad , because in addition to the duad , length , it possesses a third property , viz . breadth . Again , setting down three points , two opposite , the third at the juncture of the lines made by the other twowe represent a superficies . A solid or cube represents
, the tetrad , for if we make three points , and set a fourth over them , wc have a solid body in the form of a pyramid , which hath three dimensions , length , and breadth ; and thickness . " In expressing their opinion of the Platonic bodies , the followers of Pythagoras argued that the world was made by God in thought not in