Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Spurious Freemasonry Of Ancient Times.
palace . The cavern thus ornamented , furnished and disposed , was an emblem of the widely extended universe , supported by the three grand pillars of Eternity , Fecundity , and Authority ; and the symbols with which " it was profusely adorned , referred to every element and principle in
nature . Such were the imposing scenes and practices by which the imagination was enchanted , and the affections ensnared in the spurious Freemasonry of ancient times . Even God ' s peculiar people were unable wholl y to resist the fascinations and allurements which idolatryin such a meretricious garb
, , presented to their senses . In that unhappy period of their degeneracy , when , by the providence of God , the time approached which was to witness the destruction of their temple , and the seventy years' captivity in a foreign land , they lusted inordinately after the splendid institutions , through the medium of which their immediate neighbours
appeared to solace themselves with impunity in the unrestricted enjoyment of earthly pleasure . For this depraved propensity the prophet Ezekiel compared them to an abandoned woman deluded with portraitures and pictures painted on the cavern walls of the Sacellum . * Complaints are also made that the Israelites worshipped the rising sun
with' their faces towards the east ; f and sacrificed to the sacred heifer of Egypt ; % which was the common worship under Jeroboam ; || and they paid adoration to the sun and stars under the names of Chiun § and Remphan ;^ f and while urging them to abandon these vain pursuits , the prophet Amos exorts them to " seek Him that malteth the
seven stars and Orion , and turneth the shadow of death into the morning , and maketh the day dark with night . " ** They proceeded ultimately however to the inhuman practice of sacrificing their children to Moloch or the Sun ; + j- and this was the fatal source of all the heavy calamities with which they were subsequently visited .
Ihus have 1 attempted to deliniate an outline of those remarkable institutions which prevailed so generall y in the ancient world ; and by their connection with reli gious worship , maintained a direct influence over the human mind . They pervaded all classes ; and included a system of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Spurious Freemasonry Of Ancient Times.
palace . The cavern thus ornamented , furnished and disposed , was an emblem of the widely extended universe , supported by the three grand pillars of Eternity , Fecundity , and Authority ; and the symbols with which " it was profusely adorned , referred to every element and principle in
nature . Such were the imposing scenes and practices by which the imagination was enchanted , and the affections ensnared in the spurious Freemasonry of ancient times . Even God ' s peculiar people were unable wholl y to resist the fascinations and allurements which idolatryin such a meretricious garb
, , presented to their senses . In that unhappy period of their degeneracy , when , by the providence of God , the time approached which was to witness the destruction of their temple , and the seventy years' captivity in a foreign land , they lusted inordinately after the splendid institutions , through the medium of which their immediate neighbours
appeared to solace themselves with impunity in the unrestricted enjoyment of earthly pleasure . For this depraved propensity the prophet Ezekiel compared them to an abandoned woman deluded with portraitures and pictures painted on the cavern walls of the Sacellum . * Complaints are also made that the Israelites worshipped the rising sun
with' their faces towards the east ; f and sacrificed to the sacred heifer of Egypt ; % which was the common worship under Jeroboam ; || and they paid adoration to the sun and stars under the names of Chiun § and Remphan ;^ f and while urging them to abandon these vain pursuits , the prophet Amos exorts them to " seek Him that malteth the
seven stars and Orion , and turneth the shadow of death into the morning , and maketh the day dark with night . " ** They proceeded ultimately however to the inhuman practice of sacrificing their children to Moloch or the Sun ; + j- and this was the fatal source of all the heavy calamities with which they were subsequently visited .
Ihus have 1 attempted to deliniate an outline of those remarkable institutions which prevailed so generall y in the ancient world ; and by their connection with reli gious worship , maintained a direct influence over the human mind . They pervaded all classes ; and included a system of