The Source Of Masonic Symbolism.

lasted until the eleventh day . Many of these rites and ceremonies were adopted by the followers of Pythagoras , and became part of the Pythagorean creed . The Assassins were a military branch of that secret religious sect of Islamism , whose first Grand Lodge was held at Cairo at the commencement of the

tenth century . The Assassins , being more advanced , left the main body of this Order , and migrated to Persia , where they obtained possession of a strong fortress , called Alamet , and under their Great ' Sheik al Jebal / or ' Old Man of the Mountain , ' gained immense power over the surrounding countries .

The peculiar tenets of this body were marked by the distinctive feature of secret assassination against all their enemies , and this formed the essential characteristic of the sect . They were ruled and governed on true Masonic lines . Under the Old Man of the Mountain were three Grand Priors who ruled over

the three provinces to which their power extended . Next came a body of Priors who . were fully initiated into the mysteries ; but the main body were the Assassins proper ; these were kept uninitiated , and the blindest obedience was exacted and yielded by them . They it was who would

perform long and arduous journeys to assassinate those who had offended their order . Their lives they considered as nothing , and they would resign them at a word from their Sheik . In order to preserve subordination in their ranks , the Islam religion was rigidly enforced . A long list of their victims could be

enumerated , and their power lasted nearly 200 years . In the year 1255 their stronghold was destroyed , and over 1200 Assassins were massacred , the rest were scattered far and wide , many returned to Cairo and Alexandria , where they , together with the

other mystic societies , flourished side by side for many years . Although the Assassins could not in any way . be called a Masonic body , yet their system of organisation and some of their ceremonies were afterwards adopted by the Cabbalists and introduced into their teachings .

" Thus , we find in Alexandria , during the 12 th ancl 13 th centuries , societies of religious teachings , Pythagoreans , Eleusinians Islamistic , Jewish , and Pagan , each differing in creed , yet all basing their various ceremonies on symbolism . Thus it came about that these gradually became merged in each other ,

and striving to penetrate through the impenetrable barrier of Nature , they founded a semi-neutral body , which , by absorbing most of their symbols , became the one great school of teaching for that and many succeeding ages , and , although at first founded on cosmopolitan opinions , became before long , the

recognised school of Jewish faith and tradition . This was the ' Cabballa , ' that mystic form of doctrine which by symbols was supposed to point out the true duty of man in every situation through life . These symbols were arranged in what we should term Masonic devices by square ancl

by triangle , by the formation and peculiar arrangement of the letters of the alphabet , the combination of words in their Sephiroth , together with various symbols and signs used by the seers of old ( the flight of birds , the force and duration of the wind , divination , and second sight ) . Bro . Gould , in his ' History

of Freemasonry , ' refers to the origin of the Cabballa as follows : ' Alexandria was an emporium , not only of merchandise , but of philosophy , and opinions as well as goods , were bartered there to the grievous corruption of sound wisdom , from the attempt which was made by men of different sects and countries , German ,

Egyptian , and Oriental , to frame from their different tenets one general system of opinion . The respect long paid to Grecian learning , and the honours it now received from the hands of the Ptolemies , induced others , and even the Egyptian priests to submit to this innovation . Hence arose a heterogeneous mass of

opinions , which , under the name of eclectic philosophy , caused endless confusion , error , and absurdity , not only in the Alexandrian schools , but also among the Jews ( who had settled there in very large numbers ) , and Christians ; producing among the former that spurious philosophy which they called the Cabballa ,

and among the latter a certain amount of corruption , for a time at least , in the Christian faith also . ' Bro . Gould then proceeds to point out how those doctrines became adopted by the Jews in particular . ' From this period there can be no doubt , but that the Jewish doctrines were known to the Egyptians , and the

Greek to the Jews . Hence Grecian wisdom being corrupted by admixture with Egyptian and Oriental philosophy , assumed the form of Neo Platonism , which , by professing a sublime doctrine , enticed men of different countries and religions , including the Jews , to study its mysteries and incorporate them with their

own . The symbolical method of instruction , which had been in use from the earliest times in Egypt , was adopted by the Jews , who accordingly put an allegorical interpretation upon their

sacred writings . Hence , under the cloak of symbols , Pagan philosophy gradually crept into the Jewish schools , and the Platonic doctrines , mixed first with the Pythagorean , and afterwards with the Egyptian and Oriental , became blended with

The Source Of Masonic Symbolism.

their ancient faith , in their explanations of the traditions . And the Cabbalists formed their mystical system upon the tenets taught in the Alexandrian schools . ' " The Cabballa treated of the mysteries of Divine nature and other sublime subjects , which after the manner of the Egyptian

and Pythagorean mysteries , were revealed only to those who were bound to secrecy by the most solemn oaths . The cardinal doctrines ofthe Cabballa comprise—the nature of the Deity , the Divine emanations or Sephiroth , the Cosmogony , the creation of angels and import of the revealed law . The Divine

emanations or Sepheroth are divided into 10 parts , corresponding with the 10 heavenly bodies of the Pythagoreans , and they are named the Crown , Wisdom , Intelligence , Love , Justice , Beauty , Firmness , Splendour , Foundation , and Kingdom . The principal book , what may be termed the bible of the Cabbalists , is named

' Zohar / which means light , from the words ' Let there be light . ' The Sephira are arranged in symbolical triads , and the Deity is called ' En Soph . ' The Zohar says : ' Just as the " En Soph" is represented by the number three so all the other

lights , i . e ., Sephiroth are of a three-fold character . ' The Cabballa , since the thirteenth century , has likewise become the exclusive appellation of that system of theosopy which claims to have been transmitted uninterruptedly by the mouths of the patriarchs and prophets ever since the creation of man .

"Thus I have shown how these mysteries became adopted by the Jews , was incorporated into their religion , and became part of their teaching . The Jews , in their commercial pursuits , soon brought them to Europe , and many Cabbalistic schools were opened . In Italy especially the Cabbalistic doctrines took firm

hold of the people , not only of the Jewish faith , for many of their symbolical observances were adopted by the Romish Church ; and still continuing to flourish , we read that in 1450 a number of Jewish Converts in Spain published compilations of the Cabbalistic treatises , to prove from them the doctrines of Christianity ,

and in the sixteenth century Pope Sixtus was so convinced of the importance of these doctrines , that he had them translated for the use of divinity students . These doctrines were eagerly adopted by the various Monastic bodies , and the Benedictines in particular , who had ever made Geometry their favourite study ,

now with the sanction of their Pope , adopted the Cabbalistic teachings , and incorporated many of their symbols into their religious practices . " Having shown the importance of the Cabballa to Symbolical religion , Bro . Da Silva proceeded to point out its importance to symbolical Freemasonry , and he concluded by

saying , — " The Bible history permeating our ceremonies points to a source beyond the mediaeval age , and to a source that had biblical symbolism as its basis . This is a sure proof that the Cabbalistic doctrines engrafted on to Freemasonry

had given the Order the substratum of religion as its groundwork . Its foundation has been deeply laid in the adoration of the Deity , and he has cemented and adorned it with every moral and social virtue . "

The paper was most attentively listened to , and was followed by a paper contributed by Bro . R . F . Wilson , consisting of a resume of a contribution in the last published transactions ofthe Quatuor Coronati , descriptive of some interesting Masonic discoveries in the Isle of Wip-ht .

Transactions, Lodge No. 2076, London.

TRANSACTIONS , LODGE No . 2076 , LONDON .

Part 2 , of Volume III ., " Ars Quatuor Coronatorum , " just published , will prove to be one of the most interesting of the series , for although some portions are rather fanciful , the papers generally are of considerable originality , and especiall y so in relation to the curious subject of Masonry and Masons' marks .

Whatever the genial Professor T Hayter Lewis ( J . W . 2076 ) touches , he does thoroughly , and always in a most suggestive manner . His paper and illustrations are of much value and interest , and alone are well worth the fee charged for the part .

This paper must not be confounded with that read by him at Glasgow before the British Archaeological Association , 188 9 , f ° this one differs in several respects , and appeals more to the Craft than the other did .

In both papers the author expresses his deep obligation to Bro . Gould ' s great History , and mentions other works in which the study of Marks is wisely treated . The Dictionary of the Architectural Publication Society ( " Marks / ' by Mr . Wyatt Papworth , who is such a trusty guide ) and the Sessional Paper

1868-9 of the R . I . B . A . (" Something about Masons' Marks in various Countries , " by George Godwin Fellow , F . R . S ., & c ) , and others came in for praise , as they well deserve . The " Sessional

Papers" noted have long been out of print . Some articles in the Builder for 1863 should likewise be consulted , as also the "Masonic Magazine" for September , 1881 , in relation to Marks in Carlisle Cathedral * ( four plates ) , & c .