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Article MASONIC VIEWS IN THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY. ← Page 5 of 6 →
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Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
necessarily true . Placed high upon a rugged cliff or eminence , it resembled some rock-built nest , as Cicero has expressed it when descanting on the stern patriotism of the hero , " ut Ithacam illam , in asperrimis saxis tanquam nidulum affixam , sapeintissimus vir immortalitati anteponeret . " ( De Orat . ) And Ulysses was indeed an eagle , and that was his eyrie , and there his fond ancl faithful queen-bird had for twenty long remained and mourned her absent mate—sadlbeset and beseiged
years y the while by crowds of presumptuous kites ancl carrion crows , seeking to instal themselves in the absent monarch ' s nest . Easily discernible was that royal acropolis from the rest of the " polls , " or city-proper , stage above stage of structures rising successively to the summit of the peak . Copings of ornamental masonry crowned the court-walls round , while the large and lofty gateway , framed with double doorsseemed alone to forbid all chance of hostile escalade .
, We may not pretend to trace out the character of this structure in detail , but we may notice that the fringed or ornamented copings of the outer court accord with what was stated previously as to the ancients decorating the approaches to their mansions . This court , or palace-yard , among other uses , served as a place for sports and exercises , as maybe seen from the practice of the suitors : — .-. ¦<¦ :
' ¦ ' ¦ - Meantime the suitors hurled - ' ...: ;¦ : ¦ -. ' ; The quoit aud lance on the smooth area placed .... ,, ,, . . .. ; * i Before Ulysses'house , the accustomed scene '' ¦ ' ' . , ' ' Of their contentions , sports , and clamours loud " —COWPE U- ; "'" Arid from its platform or esplanade they were wOrit to adjournto the : adjoining banquet-hall , as , we find from 'Medon , ' the' herald , formally ' summoning them from exercise to refreshment : — ''' ¦•' . ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦ :, •¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦>¦ ¦ ¦¦ . ,. '' Enough of . play , young princes , leave the court ,,. . . -. . ' ' That we ' dress our evening fare within ' "' '
may ; \ --y--. ¦ . .- Since in well-timed refreshment harm is none , i' . ... ,.- - ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ - . . ¦ . .-, 7 . All rising , sought the palace . "—Cowp . r . u . . , ... . - ' - . 7 . . The apartment to which they thus repaired seems to have been situated immediately on entering the palace from the court-yard , being that appropriated to the reception of strangers and the entertainment of guests . From the numbers which this ball is described to have containedit must have been capaciousconsiderabllarger than of the
, , y any other chambers , for therein were assembled all the suitors and servants ; nay , in it at the same time were prepared ancl cooked whole hecatombs of sheep and goats , and boars and beaves , as sacrifices to the insatiable mawes of the wooers . Moreover , it was within this apartment that Ulysses performed his feat of archery , a circumstance which shows that he must have shot at a very short distance , considerably within point-. Wane range of his bow .
There is no mention of how this public-room was lighted ; not a . word of a window , unless opo-odvprj be rightly rendered such by Pope . This was the outlet guarded by Eumceus during the slaughter of the suitors , ancl which Cowper more correctly , we conceive , translated as " postern . " " There was a certain postern in the wall At the gate's side , the customary pass Into a narrow streetbut barred secure
, , Ulysses bade his faithful swineherd watch That egress stationed near it , for it owned One sole approach , " The opinions of commentators differ as to the right interpretation of the expression ; but the most plausible seems to be that it was au ele-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Views In The Iliad And Odyssey.
necessarily true . Placed high upon a rugged cliff or eminence , it resembled some rock-built nest , as Cicero has expressed it when descanting on the stern patriotism of the hero , " ut Ithacam illam , in asperrimis saxis tanquam nidulum affixam , sapeintissimus vir immortalitati anteponeret . " ( De Orat . ) And Ulysses was indeed an eagle , and that was his eyrie , and there his fond ancl faithful queen-bird had for twenty long remained and mourned her absent mate—sadlbeset and beseiged
years y the while by crowds of presumptuous kites ancl carrion crows , seeking to instal themselves in the absent monarch ' s nest . Easily discernible was that royal acropolis from the rest of the " polls , " or city-proper , stage above stage of structures rising successively to the summit of the peak . Copings of ornamental masonry crowned the court-walls round , while the large and lofty gateway , framed with double doorsseemed alone to forbid all chance of hostile escalade .
, We may not pretend to trace out the character of this structure in detail , but we may notice that the fringed or ornamented copings of the outer court accord with what was stated previously as to the ancients decorating the approaches to their mansions . This court , or palace-yard , among other uses , served as a place for sports and exercises , as maybe seen from the practice of the suitors : — .-. ¦<¦ :
' ¦ ' ¦ - Meantime the suitors hurled - ' ...: ;¦ : ¦ -. ' ; The quoit aud lance on the smooth area placed .... ,, ,, . . .. ; * i Before Ulysses'house , the accustomed scene '' ¦ ' ' . , ' ' Of their contentions , sports , and clamours loud " —COWPE U- ; "'" Arid from its platform or esplanade they were wOrit to adjournto the : adjoining banquet-hall , as , we find from 'Medon , ' the' herald , formally ' summoning them from exercise to refreshment : — ''' ¦•' . ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦ :, •¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦>¦ ¦ ¦¦ . ,. '' Enough of . play , young princes , leave the court ,,. . . -. . ' ' That we ' dress our evening fare within ' "' '
may ; \ --y--. ¦ . .- Since in well-timed refreshment harm is none , i' . ... ,.- - ¦ - ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ - . . ¦ . .-, 7 . All rising , sought the palace . "—Cowp . r . u . . , ... . - ' - . 7 . . The apartment to which they thus repaired seems to have been situated immediately on entering the palace from the court-yard , being that appropriated to the reception of strangers and the entertainment of guests . From the numbers which this ball is described to have containedit must have been capaciousconsiderabllarger than of the
, , y any other chambers , for therein were assembled all the suitors and servants ; nay , in it at the same time were prepared ancl cooked whole hecatombs of sheep and goats , and boars and beaves , as sacrifices to the insatiable mawes of the wooers . Moreover , it was within this apartment that Ulysses performed his feat of archery , a circumstance which shows that he must have shot at a very short distance , considerably within point-. Wane range of his bow .
There is no mention of how this public-room was lighted ; not a . word of a window , unless opo-odvprj be rightly rendered such by Pope . This was the outlet guarded by Eumceus during the slaughter of the suitors , ancl which Cowper more correctly , we conceive , translated as " postern . " " There was a certain postern in the wall At the gate's side , the customary pass Into a narrow streetbut barred secure
, , Ulysses bade his faithful swineherd watch That egress stationed near it , for it owned One sole approach , " The opinions of commentators differ as to the right interpretation of the expression ; but the most plausible seems to be that it was au ele-