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Article LECTURE ON FREEMASONRY, ← Page 5 of 7 →
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Lecture On Freemasonry,
Suidas , namely , juvw , signifying , I lock up ; and according to Eusebius / uvcw , I teacli holy things , Avliich , Masonically applied , is , / lock ujp holy things taught me . In all this there certainly cannot be any infidelity against reli gion , nor treason against the State . The Avord Mystery is of very great antiquity ; it Avas used by the Egyptians in their hieroglyphics , and AA'as probably borrowed from the EthiopiansAvhere the traveller Bruce discovered similar inscriptions
, , as he did on the pillars of Egypt . In fact , it is clear from late discoveries , that the Ethiopian had become in time the lingua sacra of the Egyptians , Avho chiefly used that language in their monumental inscri ptions , upon account of the Egyptian language having undergone so many corruptions through the frequent invasions of their country b y the Greeks and the Romans . The HebreAv Avord Mislar is of the same meaning as the Avord Misterie amongst the Egyptiansancl leaves
con-, jectures that both nations understood one another , ancl of which throughout the Avhole Bible Ave have no traces to the contrary . All that Avas taught by the early Secret Societies Avas veiled in mystery , and in my opinion from mere necessity , for experience SIIOAVS us dail y that lhe most useful inventions are , even in our enli ghtened days , treated Avith a suspicious contempt by the vulgar , IIOAV much more so must the praiseAvorthlabours of the learned haA'e been subject
y to censure in those days , Avhen the influence of idolatry , according to Homer and Hesiod , Avas so great , that every grotto had its Pythia or its Hierophan te , or preservers ancl exhibitors of hol y things ; Avhen the solemn shady retreats in the forests filled their souls Avith a reli gious aAve , and an oracle dAA'elled amongst prophetic oaks , and all boAved Avith pious fear
to the ascending smoke of a reli gious sacrifice-, Avhen 30 , 000 Gods and Goddesses Avere admitted into their theogony ; Avhen each passion , even the vilest , had its patron—each wood , mountain , and river , its Pan , Satyr , Dryades , Nyades , and Nymphs of all descriptions . In those days , and under such abject idolatry , the propagation of the belief in one undivided Deity , also the teaching of the superior sciences , but more especiall y experimental philosophy ancl chemistry , Avould have
drawn the seA-erest persecution upon its authors ancl their disci ples , had they made an open profession of their sublime doctrines . It Avas , therefore , necessary , aslhave already mentioned , to use hierogl yphics , or some lingua sacra , Avhich at once served as an exclusion to the vulgar , who could not understand it . What this lingua sacra was , we cannot positively state , but Ave may conjecture that signs and tokens , as Avell as Avords , formed its groundwork " . Their taumaturgists or wonder-Avorkers , AVIIO Avere , in ray opinion , no other than chemists , according to the learned Maimonides , used in the initiation of their discinles .
acts , postures , and words . The knowledge of one undivided Deity Avas taught in nearl y all those Secret Societies , Avhich appears evident from the act of Alcibiades , Avho , immediatel y after his initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries , broke the celebrated column , erected in honour of Hermes , into pieces . The Secret Societies were often called the magic schools , and their disci ples were called magicians , Avhich certainly could net mean any other than the schools of wisdomancl their
, disciples the Avise men . Natural experiments , such as Avere performed by Circe ancl Medea , the Avonders of Orpheus , the architectural beauties produced by Agamedes , were all called the productions of magic by Homer , Ovid , and Theocritus , Avhich could certainly not be understood by those great men , but as the productions of learning . Zoroaster
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Lecture On Freemasonry,
Suidas , namely , juvw , signifying , I lock up ; and according to Eusebius / uvcw , I teacli holy things , Avliich , Masonically applied , is , / lock ujp holy things taught me . In all this there certainly cannot be any infidelity against reli gion , nor treason against the State . The Avord Mystery is of very great antiquity ; it Avas used by the Egyptians in their hieroglyphics , and AA'as probably borrowed from the EthiopiansAvhere the traveller Bruce discovered similar inscriptions
, , as he did on the pillars of Egypt . In fact , it is clear from late discoveries , that the Ethiopian had become in time the lingua sacra of the Egyptians , Avho chiefly used that language in their monumental inscri ptions , upon account of the Egyptian language having undergone so many corruptions through the frequent invasions of their country b y the Greeks and the Romans . The HebreAv Avord Mislar is of the same meaning as the Avord Misterie amongst the Egyptiansancl leaves
con-, jectures that both nations understood one another , ancl of which throughout the Avhole Bible Ave have no traces to the contrary . All that Avas taught by the early Secret Societies Avas veiled in mystery , and in my opinion from mere necessity , for experience SIIOAVS us dail y that lhe most useful inventions are , even in our enli ghtened days , treated Avith a suspicious contempt by the vulgar , IIOAV much more so must the praiseAvorthlabours of the learned haA'e been subject
y to censure in those days , Avhen the influence of idolatry , according to Homer and Hesiod , Avas so great , that every grotto had its Pythia or its Hierophan te , or preservers ancl exhibitors of hol y things ; Avhen the solemn shady retreats in the forests filled their souls Avith a reli gious aAve , and an oracle dAA'elled amongst prophetic oaks , and all boAved Avith pious fear
to the ascending smoke of a reli gious sacrifice-, Avhen 30 , 000 Gods and Goddesses Avere admitted into their theogony ; Avhen each passion , even the vilest , had its patron—each wood , mountain , and river , its Pan , Satyr , Dryades , Nyades , and Nymphs of all descriptions . In those days , and under such abject idolatry , the propagation of the belief in one undivided Deity , also the teaching of the superior sciences , but more especiall y experimental philosophy ancl chemistry , Avould have
drawn the seA-erest persecution upon its authors ancl their disci ples , had they made an open profession of their sublime doctrines . It Avas , therefore , necessary , aslhave already mentioned , to use hierogl yphics , or some lingua sacra , Avhich at once served as an exclusion to the vulgar , who could not understand it . What this lingua sacra was , we cannot positively state , but Ave may conjecture that signs and tokens , as Avell as Avords , formed its groundwork " . Their taumaturgists or wonder-Avorkers , AVIIO Avere , in ray opinion , no other than chemists , according to the learned Maimonides , used in the initiation of their discinles .
acts , postures , and words . The knowledge of one undivided Deity Avas taught in nearl y all those Secret Societies , Avhich appears evident from the act of Alcibiades , Avho , immediatel y after his initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries , broke the celebrated column , erected in honour of Hermes , into pieces . The Secret Societies were often called the magic schools , and their disci ples were called magicians , Avhich certainly could net mean any other than the schools of wisdomancl their
, disciples the Avise men . Natural experiments , such as Avere performed by Circe ancl Medea , the Avonders of Orpheus , the architectural beauties produced by Agamedes , were all called the productions of magic by Homer , Ovid , and Theocritus , Avhich could certainly not be understood by those great men , but as the productions of learning . Zoroaster