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Article REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. ← Page 3 of 6 →
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Reviews Of New Books.
" The temple ^ was surrounded by three tiers of chambers , which were approached by stairs . They laid the foundations with great stones , costly and hewed , and the whole when completed was decorated in the most sumptuous manner . The two brazen pillars made by Hiram of Tyre resemble very closely , with their ' nets of checker-work , wreaths of chain-work / ' pomegranates , ' and ' lily-work , ' both Persepolitan and Egyptian columns . The description of the position of these columns has led to much discussion . Perhaps it was analogous to that of obelisks
before Egyptian buildings . " From the First Book of Chronicles we learn that the temple was built from a previously arranged plan . It says , ' Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch , and the houses thereof , and of the treasuries thereof , and of the upper chambers thereof , and of the inner parlours thereof , and of the place of the mercy-seat , and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit , of the courts of the house of the Lord , and of all the chambers round about , of the treasuries of the house of God , and of the treasuries of the dedicated things . '
'' Solomon was a great builder . Besides the temple , for which David had prepared , he raised the House ofthe Forest of Lebanon , a much larger structure , a house for himself and one for his queen . All these were of costly stones , described , as you remember , as e sawed with saws within and without , even from the foundation to the coping . ' Some of the stones were more than 18 feet long . He also built many ' fenced " cities , ' with < walls and gates ; ' especially Tadmor , in the wilderness , now known as Palmyra . The existing ruins here , it should be mentioned , are of a date long posterior ' probably after Trajan . ¦
¦ : The . fact that Solomon married one of Pharaoh ' s daughters about 1 , 013 years before Christ ( at which period , as we shall hereafter see , the Egyptians had erected many great structures ) , shows his connection with that wonderful country , and prepares ns to find at all events a coincidence in their buildings . Moreover , the Tyrians , to whom Solomon sent for a / cunning man / to work in gold , silver , brass , and iron , are supposed by some writers to have been extensively employed as architects by the Egyptians . "
Passing over a description of the orders of architecture , we come to the authors's description of Freemasonry and Masons' Marks , though we do not agree with him that we have now no higher object than that of meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern or elsewhere , "to discuss a dinner and dispense charity , " though even if it were so , we think the last-named object would well excuse the first .
" When studying the architectural works of the middle ages , two curious circumstances force themselves on the attention . One is the similarity apparent in the buildings of each particular period , although erected in various parts of Europe ( the rapidity with which every alteration in style was made widely known ) ; the other , the fact that many of these extraordinary buildings , which display the most
lively imagination , sound judgment , and great mathematical skill , were erected at a time vvhen the greatest ignorance prevailed , when kings were to be found unable to read , and men if they knew a few physical truths were regarded as magicians .
"On inquiry , it seems tolerably clear that these were executed by bands of men bound together hy certain laws in an association partly of a religious character , who were , to a certain extent , protected by the Church , and known as Free Masons . The early history of this extraordinary fraternity is obscured by fable . At the present time we know them simply as a body of individuals associated for social purposes , who meet at the Freemasons' Tavern and elsewhere , to discuss a
dinner and dispense charity . Originally , however , their proceedings were very different . Some Masonic writers seek to trace their existence from a remote time , and endeavour to show a connection with the Eleusinian mysteries and the Dionysiac artificers , who possessed the privilege of erecting puhlic structures in Asia Minor . Without entering here on this questionable ground , or even stopping to ascertain the earliest date whereat their presence in England can be proved , suffice it to say , they were the builders Of many of our cathedrals and churches ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews Of New Books.
" The temple ^ was surrounded by three tiers of chambers , which were approached by stairs . They laid the foundations with great stones , costly and hewed , and the whole when completed was decorated in the most sumptuous manner . The two brazen pillars made by Hiram of Tyre resemble very closely , with their ' nets of checker-work , wreaths of chain-work / ' pomegranates , ' and ' lily-work , ' both Persepolitan and Egyptian columns . The description of the position of these columns has led to much discussion . Perhaps it was analogous to that of obelisks
before Egyptian buildings . " From the First Book of Chronicles we learn that the temple was built from a previously arranged plan . It says , ' Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch , and the houses thereof , and of the treasuries thereof , and of the upper chambers thereof , and of the inner parlours thereof , and of the place of the mercy-seat , and the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit , of the courts of the house of the Lord , and of all the chambers round about , of the treasuries of the house of God , and of the treasuries of the dedicated things . '
'' Solomon was a great builder . Besides the temple , for which David had prepared , he raised the House ofthe Forest of Lebanon , a much larger structure , a house for himself and one for his queen . All these were of costly stones , described , as you remember , as e sawed with saws within and without , even from the foundation to the coping . ' Some of the stones were more than 18 feet long . He also built many ' fenced " cities , ' with < walls and gates ; ' especially Tadmor , in the wilderness , now known as Palmyra . The existing ruins here , it should be mentioned , are of a date long posterior ' probably after Trajan . ¦
¦ : The . fact that Solomon married one of Pharaoh ' s daughters about 1 , 013 years before Christ ( at which period , as we shall hereafter see , the Egyptians had erected many great structures ) , shows his connection with that wonderful country , and prepares ns to find at all events a coincidence in their buildings . Moreover , the Tyrians , to whom Solomon sent for a / cunning man / to work in gold , silver , brass , and iron , are supposed by some writers to have been extensively employed as architects by the Egyptians . "
Passing over a description of the orders of architecture , we come to the authors's description of Freemasonry and Masons' Marks , though we do not agree with him that we have now no higher object than that of meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern or elsewhere , "to discuss a dinner and dispense charity , " though even if it were so , we think the last-named object would well excuse the first .
" When studying the architectural works of the middle ages , two curious circumstances force themselves on the attention . One is the similarity apparent in the buildings of each particular period , although erected in various parts of Europe ( the rapidity with which every alteration in style was made widely known ) ; the other , the fact that many of these extraordinary buildings , which display the most
lively imagination , sound judgment , and great mathematical skill , were erected at a time vvhen the greatest ignorance prevailed , when kings were to be found unable to read , and men if they knew a few physical truths were regarded as magicians .
"On inquiry , it seems tolerably clear that these were executed by bands of men bound together hy certain laws in an association partly of a religious character , who were , to a certain extent , protected by the Church , and known as Free Masons . The early history of this extraordinary fraternity is obscured by fable . At the present time we know them simply as a body of individuals associated for social purposes , who meet at the Freemasons' Tavern and elsewhere , to discuss a
dinner and dispense charity . Originally , however , their proceedings were very different . Some Masonic writers seek to trace their existence from a remote time , and endeavour to show a connection with the Eleusinian mysteries and the Dionysiac artificers , who possessed the privilege of erecting puhlic structures in Asia Minor . Without entering here on this questionable ground , or even stopping to ascertain the earliest date whereat their presence in England can be proved , suffice it to say , they were the builders Of many of our cathedrals and churches ,