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  • March 16, 1861
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  • CLASSICAL THEOLOGY—XLI .
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, March 16, 1861: Page 5

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Classical Theology—Xli .

the spiritual organisations and governments of the human polity , without which ( as the world is ) there would be no comprehending the existence of a hidden knowledge of good and evil ; neither would there have been any reliable evidence of the immortality of the soul . A knowledge of the sacred mysteries ( as of the

Jews ) , and of the profane sciences ( as of the Pagans ) , has always existed among a favoured few , and more or less communicated throughout the inhabited globe . But up to the time of Christ there hacl never appeared any philosopher or sage whose intellect was sufficiently powerful to wrest the truth from the lies which

enfolded it , and expound and expose the sublime , the wonderful , the awful realities of these profound mysteries and sciences . Moses , the Archiercal Mason , it may be perhaps said , possessed this knowledge : like Christ , he could , by the same power , accomplish miracles ; but whereas Moses exercised the powerChrist

, 'had the power in His possession . Moses was the chosen "Man of God , " invested with His Spirit . Christ in the . 'Spirit of His manhood , ancl the manhood of His Spirit , was the only begotten "Son of God . " We will now return to our text , as we find it in confirmation and individual connection : —

" Yet a little while , and the ivorld seeth me no more ; but ye see me : because I live , ye shall live also . At that day ( namely , when the Comforter should come ) ye shall know that I am in my Father , and ye in me , and I in you . He that hath my commandments , and keepeth them , he it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of Fatherand I will love himand will manifest myself to

my , , him . Judas saith unto him , not Iscariot , —Lord , how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto ns , and not unto tbe ivorld ? Jesus answered and said unto him , If a man love me , he will keep my words ; and my Father will love him , and ive will come unto him , and make our abode with him . He that loveth

me not keepeth not my sayings .- and the word which ye aher is not mine , but the Father ' s which sent me . These things have I spoken unto you , being yet present with you . But the Comforter , which is the Holy Ghost , whom the Father will send in my name , he will teach you all things , and bring all things to your remembrance , whatsoever I have said unto yon . Peace I leave with you , my peace I

give unto you . uot as the world givoth , give I unto you . Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid . Ye have heard how I said unto j * ou , I go away , and come again unto yon . 1 f ye love me , ye would rejoice , because I said , I go unto my Father .- for my Father is greater than I . And noiv I have told yon before it come to pass , that , when it is come to passye miht-believeHereafter I will not talk

, g . much with you ; for the prince of this world cometh , and hath nothing in me . But that the world may know that I love the Father ; and as the Father gave mo commandment , even so I do . "

If a spirit of truth exists which can be given to assure us of the verity of the Scri p tures ( as it were , in place of the former angelic visitations ) , the failing of which would long since have destroyed all faith in Christian instruction , there must , doubtless , be , as ail indeed are early prone to know ( as it were , of the prince of this worldaucl a part of our nature "born in sin" ) a

, , spirit of untruth . It is , therefore , perhaps not unreasonable to conjecture that , as there are hol y spirits of light and truth , so also are there evil spirits of darkness and lies . Upon this belief , which widely exists , the impudent mountebanks oftlie present day who call themselves Spiritualists have reared their fabric of imposture and

swindling . To such of their dupes as may be capable of argument or rational examination we ivould say that we should esteem the Spiritualists more wise in their " discerning of spirits" did they profess more of thenpossession of the spirit of truth than of their co-operations and revelations from inferior spirits . There was , in the ancient times , a certain kind of spiritualism , mesmerism

Classical Theology—Xli .

and clairvoyance , professed amongst occult philosophers as a science of sorcery , enchantment , and magic . But though their practice was equally a fraud and a deception with that of the moderns , yet the ancient magicians took care never to fall into the ridiculous , which is not the case with the quacks of our day . The venerable humbugs of

those old times were feared and consequently respected ; their modern prototypes have only succeeded in exciting contempt at their absurdities and indignation at their impudence . As it is not possible with all the modern magicians to deal in adjurations , and have a familiar spirit at their beck and calloperae mysteriaor public

, , professors of those attainments , for the most part , have to rely entirely on their own resources of dexterity , and the manceuvrings of their ever ready confederates and pretended converts . Practical ingenuity in legerdemain often affords a harmless amusement to the

young , and no small astonishment sometimes to the old . Yet , somehow , as perhaps touching upon Christianity and heathenism , it is remarkable that in those manual exercises and concealed artifices , inclusive of " animal magnetism" ( the practice of which upon the tender sex it were shameful not to discountenance ) , the European displays no chance of superiority over the Asiatic . But

with especial reference to Spiritualism as it regards spiritrapping , table-tilting , ecstatic transport , magnetic extension , mesmetic stuprr . tion , empusaical endiction , or what is called spirit poetry , and spirit writing , and all such " aroma" and " aura" of the "Celestial Arcana , " we hold that any man of ordinary capacity will accept the

criteria for exactly what they are worth . Indeed , the question resolves itself in a purely commercial one ; for if the mediums received no fees , their spirits would most probably soon refuse to leave "the vasty deep , " to write ( or rather , spell out , like the learned pig ) ridiculous doggerel for the edification of gaping fools . With

regard to the " spirit effusions " that have found their way into print , the inquiry is whether they savour more of a madhouse literature or of an intentional burlesque . It is no fiction , however , that the great , learned , and wise pagans of old themselves self-evidently believed in a phiiosopheme of relig ion ancl magic comprehending three

orders of spirits , whom they called gods—the celestial , the terrestrial , and the subterranean or infernal . Examining , as we have done , the systems of this theorem , it is important to bear in mind how deeply they enter into the grave and general subject matters we are now psychologically as well as theologically investigating .

Some Observations In Egypt.

SOME OBSERVATIONS IN EGYPT .

( Continued from ' page 166 . ) SERAPEIOX 01 ' JIEMPI-IS . The Bedouin village of Saccara is , in a direct lino , about a mile or mile and-a-lialf to the west- from the site of Memphis . Up above tho village , on the Lybiau range of hills , are several pyramids with an immense quantity of tombs , proving that this must havo been the principal cemetery of

ancient Memphis . The pyramids arc crumbling away , still however retaining gigantic proportions : the numerous mounds by which they are surrounded indicate constructions beneath , or the excavations of Arabs or travellers in search of antiquities ; and for miles the surface of the sands , which have accumulated to the height of tens of feet above the rocky level , are strewed ivith fragments of mummies ,

blanched bones , and other worthless fruits of tho diggings of tho curious , inspiring feelings of horror and disgust at tho ruthless spoliations of these resting-places of the dead . Strabo mentions , as at Memphis , of which this plateau must have been considered to have formed a suburb or part , " a temple of Serapis in a spot , " he says , " so sandy that the winds fill it up ; " and in it ho saw sphinxes embeddedsome half way , others up to the head . It would , therefore , appear that , in ancient times , the same agencies existed ;

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1861-03-16, Page 5” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_16031861/page/5/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 1
MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS OF NAPLES. Article 1
STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS. Article 3
CLASSICAL THEOLOGY—XLI . Article 4
SOME OBSERVATIONS IN EGYPT. Article 5
FALL OF THE CENTRAL TOWER AND SPIRE OF CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL. Article 8
ALTERATIONS TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY. Article 10
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 11
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 12
Poetry. Article 13
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 14
METROPOLITAN. Article 15
PROVINCIAL. Article 16
ROYAL ARCH. Article 17
MARK MASONRY. Article 18
CHANNEL ISLANDS. Article 18
TURKEY. Article 18
AMERICA. Article 18
Obituary. Article 19
THE WEEK. Article 19
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 20
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Classical Theology—Xli .

the spiritual organisations and governments of the human polity , without which ( as the world is ) there would be no comprehending the existence of a hidden knowledge of good and evil ; neither would there have been any reliable evidence of the immortality of the soul . A knowledge of the sacred mysteries ( as of the

Jews ) , and of the profane sciences ( as of the Pagans ) , has always existed among a favoured few , and more or less communicated throughout the inhabited globe . But up to the time of Christ there hacl never appeared any philosopher or sage whose intellect was sufficiently powerful to wrest the truth from the lies which

enfolded it , and expound and expose the sublime , the wonderful , the awful realities of these profound mysteries and sciences . Moses , the Archiercal Mason , it may be perhaps said , possessed this knowledge : like Christ , he could , by the same power , accomplish miracles ; but whereas Moses exercised the powerChrist

, 'had the power in His possession . Moses was the chosen "Man of God , " invested with His Spirit . Christ in the . 'Spirit of His manhood , ancl the manhood of His Spirit , was the only begotten "Son of God . " We will now return to our text , as we find it in confirmation and individual connection : —

" Yet a little while , and the ivorld seeth me no more ; but ye see me : because I live , ye shall live also . At that day ( namely , when the Comforter should come ) ye shall know that I am in my Father , and ye in me , and I in you . He that hath my commandments , and keepeth them , he it is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of Fatherand I will love himand will manifest myself to

my , , him . Judas saith unto him , not Iscariot , —Lord , how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto ns , and not unto tbe ivorld ? Jesus answered and said unto him , If a man love me , he will keep my words ; and my Father will love him , and ive will come unto him , and make our abode with him . He that loveth

me not keepeth not my sayings .- and the word which ye aher is not mine , but the Father ' s which sent me . These things have I spoken unto you , being yet present with you . But the Comforter , which is the Holy Ghost , whom the Father will send in my name , he will teach you all things , and bring all things to your remembrance , whatsoever I have said unto yon . Peace I leave with you , my peace I

give unto you . uot as the world givoth , give I unto you . Let not your heart be troubled , neither let it be afraid . Ye have heard how I said unto j * ou , I go away , and come again unto yon . 1 f ye love me , ye would rejoice , because I said , I go unto my Father .- for my Father is greater than I . And noiv I have told yon before it come to pass , that , when it is come to passye miht-believeHereafter I will not talk

, g . much with you ; for the prince of this world cometh , and hath nothing in me . But that the world may know that I love the Father ; and as the Father gave mo commandment , even so I do . "

If a spirit of truth exists which can be given to assure us of the verity of the Scri p tures ( as it were , in place of the former angelic visitations ) , the failing of which would long since have destroyed all faith in Christian instruction , there must , doubtless , be , as ail indeed are early prone to know ( as it were , of the prince of this worldaucl a part of our nature "born in sin" ) a

, , spirit of untruth . It is , therefore , perhaps not unreasonable to conjecture that , as there are hol y spirits of light and truth , so also are there evil spirits of darkness and lies . Upon this belief , which widely exists , the impudent mountebanks oftlie present day who call themselves Spiritualists have reared their fabric of imposture and

swindling . To such of their dupes as may be capable of argument or rational examination we ivould say that we should esteem the Spiritualists more wise in their " discerning of spirits" did they profess more of thenpossession of the spirit of truth than of their co-operations and revelations from inferior spirits . There was , in the ancient times , a certain kind of spiritualism , mesmerism

Classical Theology—Xli .

and clairvoyance , professed amongst occult philosophers as a science of sorcery , enchantment , and magic . But though their practice was equally a fraud and a deception with that of the moderns , yet the ancient magicians took care never to fall into the ridiculous , which is not the case with the quacks of our day . The venerable humbugs of

those old times were feared and consequently respected ; their modern prototypes have only succeeded in exciting contempt at their absurdities and indignation at their impudence . As it is not possible with all the modern magicians to deal in adjurations , and have a familiar spirit at their beck and calloperae mysteriaor public

, , professors of those attainments , for the most part , have to rely entirely on their own resources of dexterity , and the manceuvrings of their ever ready confederates and pretended converts . Practical ingenuity in legerdemain often affords a harmless amusement to the

young , and no small astonishment sometimes to the old . Yet , somehow , as perhaps touching upon Christianity and heathenism , it is remarkable that in those manual exercises and concealed artifices , inclusive of " animal magnetism" ( the practice of which upon the tender sex it were shameful not to discountenance ) , the European displays no chance of superiority over the Asiatic . But

with especial reference to Spiritualism as it regards spiritrapping , table-tilting , ecstatic transport , magnetic extension , mesmetic stuprr . tion , empusaical endiction , or what is called spirit poetry , and spirit writing , and all such " aroma" and " aura" of the "Celestial Arcana , " we hold that any man of ordinary capacity will accept the

criteria for exactly what they are worth . Indeed , the question resolves itself in a purely commercial one ; for if the mediums received no fees , their spirits would most probably soon refuse to leave "the vasty deep , " to write ( or rather , spell out , like the learned pig ) ridiculous doggerel for the edification of gaping fools . With

regard to the " spirit effusions " that have found their way into print , the inquiry is whether they savour more of a madhouse literature or of an intentional burlesque . It is no fiction , however , that the great , learned , and wise pagans of old themselves self-evidently believed in a phiiosopheme of relig ion ancl magic comprehending three

orders of spirits , whom they called gods—the celestial , the terrestrial , and the subterranean or infernal . Examining , as we have done , the systems of this theorem , it is important to bear in mind how deeply they enter into the grave and general subject matters we are now psychologically as well as theologically investigating .

Some Observations In Egypt.

SOME OBSERVATIONS IN EGYPT .

( Continued from ' page 166 . ) SERAPEIOX 01 ' JIEMPI-IS . The Bedouin village of Saccara is , in a direct lino , about a mile or mile and-a-lialf to the west- from the site of Memphis . Up above tho village , on the Lybiau range of hills , are several pyramids with an immense quantity of tombs , proving that this must havo been the principal cemetery of

ancient Memphis . The pyramids arc crumbling away , still however retaining gigantic proportions : the numerous mounds by which they are surrounded indicate constructions beneath , or the excavations of Arabs or travellers in search of antiquities ; and for miles the surface of the sands , which have accumulated to the height of tens of feet above the rocky level , are strewed ivith fragments of mummies ,

blanched bones , and other worthless fruits of tho diggings of tho curious , inspiring feelings of horror and disgust at tho ruthless spoliations of these resting-places of the dead . Strabo mentions , as at Memphis , of which this plateau must have been considered to have formed a suburb or part , " a temple of Serapis in a spot , " he says , " so sandy that the winds fill it up ; " and in it ho saw sphinxes embeddedsome half way , others up to the head . It would , therefore , appear that , in ancient times , the same agencies existed ;

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