[164] "Ἀφανισμὸς, disappearance, destruction, a perishing, death, from
ἀφανίζω, to remove from one's view, to conceal," &c.--_Schrevel. Lex._
[165] "Εῦρεσις, a finding, invention, discovery."--_Schrevel. Lex._
[166] A French writer of the last century, speaking of the degree of "Très
Parfait Maitre," says, "C'est ici qu'on voit réellement qu'Hiram n'a été
que le type de Jésus Christ, que le temple et les autres symboles
maçonniques sont des allegories relatives à l'Eglise, à la Foi, et aux
bonnes moeurs."--_Origine et Objet de la Franchemaçonnerie, par le F.B._
Paris, 1774.
[167] "This our order is a positive contradiction to the Judaic blindness
and infidelity, and testifies our faith concerning the resurrection of the
body."--HUTCHINSON, _Spirit of Masonry_, lect. ix. p. 101.--The whole
lecture is occupied in advancing and supporting his peculiar theory.
[168] "Thus, then, it appears that the historical reference of the legend
of Speculative Freemasonry, in all ages of the world, was--to our death in
Adam and life in Christ. What, then, was the origin of our tradition? Or,
in other words, to what particular incident did the legend of initiation
refer before the flood? I conceive it to have been the offering and
assassination of Abel by his brother Cain; the escape of the murderer; the
discovery of the body by his disconsolate parents, and its subsequent
interment, under a certain belief of its final resurrection from the dead,
and of the detection and punishment of Cain by divine vengeance."--OLIVER,
_Historical Landmarks of Freemasonry_, vol. ii. p. 171.
[169] "Le grade de Maître va donc nous retracer allegoriquement la mort du
_dieu-lumière_--mourant en hiver pour reparaître et ressusciter au
printemps."--RAGON, _Cours Philos. et Interp. des Init._ p. 158.
[170] "Dans l'ordre moral, Hiram n'est autre chose que la raison
éternelle, par qui tout est pondéré, réglé, conservé."--DES ETANGS,
_uvres Maçonniques_, p. 90.
[171] With the same argument would I meet the hypothesis that Hiram was
the representative of Charles I. of England--an hypothesis now so
generally abandoned, that I have not thought it worth noticing in the
text.
[172] "The initiation into the Mysteries," he says, "scenically
represented the mythic descent into Hades and the return from thence to
the light of day; by which was meant the entrance into the Ark and the
subsequent liberation from its dark enclosure. Such Mysteries were
established in almost every part of the pagan world; and those of Ceres
were substantially the same as the Orgies of Adonis, Osiris, Hu, Mithras,
and the Cabiri. They all equally related to the allegorical disappearance,
or death, or descent of the great father at their commencement, and to his
invention, or revival, or return from Hades, at their conclusion."--_Origin
of Pagan Idolatry_, vol. iv. b. iv. ch. v. p. 384--But this Arkite
theory, as it is called, has not met with the general approbation of
subsequent writers.
[173] Mount Calvary is a small hill or eminence, situated in a westerly
direction from that Mount Moriah on which the temple of Solomon was built.
It was originally a hillock of notable eminence, but has, in modern times,
been greatly reduced by the excavations made in it for the construction of
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Buckingham, in his Palestine, p. 283,
says, "The present rock, called Calvary, and enclosed within the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre, bears marks, in every part that is naked, of its
having been a round nodule of rock standing above the common level of the
surface."
[174] Dr. Beard, in the art. "Golgotha," in Kitto's Encyc. of Bib. Lit.,
reasons in a similar method as to the place of the crucifixion, and
supposing that the soldiers, from the fear of a popular tumult, would
hurry Jesus to the most convenient spot for execution, says, "Then the
road to Joppa or Damascus would be most convenient, and no spot in the
vicinity would probably be so suitable as the slight rounded elevation
which bore the name of Calvary."
[175] Some have supposed that it was so called because it was the place of
public execution. _Gulgoleth_ in Hebrew, or _gogultho_ in Syriac, means _a
skull_.
[176] Quoted in Oliver, _Landmarks_, vol. i. p. 587, note.
[177] Oliver's idea (_Landmarks_, ii. 149) that _cassia_ has, since the
year 1730, been corrupted into _acacia_, is contrary to all etymological
experience. Words are corrupted, not by lengthening, but by abbreviating
them. The uneducated and the careless are always prone to cut off a
syllable, not to add a new one.
[178] And yet I have been surprised by seeing, once or twice, the word
"Cassia" adopted as the name of a lodge. "Cinnamon" or "sandal wood" would
have been as appropriate, for any masonic meaning or symbolism.
[179] Eclog. ii. 49.
"Pallentes violas et summa papavera carpens,
Narcissum et florem jungit benè olentis anethi:
Tum casia, atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis,
Mollia luteola pingit vaccinia, caltha."
[180] Exod. xxx. 24, Ezek. xxvii. 9, and Ps. xlv. 8.
[181] Oliver, it is true, says, that "there is not the smallest trace of
any tree of the kind growing so far north as Jerusalem" (_Landm._ ii.
136); but this statement is refuted by the authority of Lieutenant Lynch,
who saw it growing in great abundance at Jericho, and still farther
north.--_Exped. to the Dead Sea_, p. 262.--The Rabbi Joseph Schwarz, who
is excellent authority, says, "The Acacia (Shittim) Tree, Al Sunt, is
found in Palestine of different varieties; it looks like the Mulberry
tree, attains a great height, and has a hard wood. The gum which is
obtained from it is the gum Arabic."--_Descriptive Geography and
Historical Sketch of Palestine_, p. 308, Leeser's translation. Phila.,
1850.--Schwarz was for sixteen years a resident of Palestine, and wrote
from personal observation. The testimony of Lynch and Schwarz should,
therefore, forever settle the question of the existence of the acacia in
Palestine.
[182] Calmet, Parkhurst, Gesenius, Clarke, Shaw, and all the best
authorities, concur in saying that the _otzi shittim_, or shittim wood of
Exodus, was the common acacia or mimosa nilotica of Linnæus.
[183] "This custom among the Hebrews arose from this circumstance.
Agreeably to their laws, no dead bodies were allowed to be interred within
the walls of the city; and as the Cohens, or priests, were prohibited from
crossing a grave, it was necessary to place marks thereon, that they might
avoid them. For this purpose the acacia was used."--DALCHO, _Oration_, p.
27, note.--I object to the reason assigned by Dalcho; but of the existence
of the custom there can be no question, notwithstanding the denial or
doubt of Dr. Oliver. Blount (_Travels in the Levant_, p. 197) says,
speaking of the Jewish burial customs, "those who bestow a marble stone
over any [grave] have a hole a yard long and a foot broad, in which _they
plant an evergreen_, which seems to grow from the body, and is carefully
watched." Hasselquist (_Travels_, p. 28) confirms his testimony. I borrow
the citations from Brown (_Antiquities of the Jews_, vol. ii. p. 356), but
have verified the reference to Hasselquist. The work of Blount I have not
been enabled to consult.
[184] Antiquities of Greece, p. 569.
[185] Dr. Crucefix, MS., quoted by Oliver, _Landmarks_, ii. 2.
[186] Spirit of Masonry, lect. ix. p. 99.
[187] The Temple of Solomon, ch. ix. p. 233.
[188] It is probable that the quince derived this symbolism, like the
acacia, from its name; for there seems to be some connection between the
Greek word ϗυδώνιος, which means _a quince_, and the participle ϗυδίων,
which signifies _rejoicing, exulting_. But this must have been an
afterthought, for the name is derived from Cydon, in Crete, of which
island the quince is a native.
[189] Desprez, speaking of the palm as an emblem of victory, says
(_Comment. in Horat. Od._ I. i. 5), "Palma verò signum victoriae passim
apud omnes statuitur, ex Plutarcho, propterea quod ea est ejus natura
ligni, ut urgentibus opprimentibusque minimè cedat. Unde est illud Alciati
epigramma,--
'Nititur in pondus palma, et consurgit in altum:
Quoque magis premitur, hoc magè tollit onus.'"
It is in the eighth book of his Symposia that Plutarch states this
peculiar property of the palm to resist the oppression of any
superincumbent weight, and to rise up against it, whence it was adopted as
the symbol of victory. Cowley also alludes to it in his _Davideis_.
"Well did he know how palms by oppression speed
Victorious, and the victor's sacred meed."
[190] "Rosemary was anciently supposed to strengthen the memory, and was
not only carried at funerals, but worn at weddings."--STEEVENS, _Notes on
Hamlet_, a. iv. s. 5.--Douce (_Illustrations of Shakspeare_, i. 345) gives
the following old song in reference to this subject:--
"Rosemarie is for remembrance
Betweene us daie and night,
Wishing that I might always have
You present in my sight."
[191] Ste. Croix (_Recherches sur les Mystères_, i. 56) says that in the
Samothracian Mysteries it was forbidden to put parsley on the table,
because, according to the mystagogues, it had been produced by the blood
of Cadmillus, slain by his brothers.
[192] "The Hindoos," says Faber, "represent their mundane lotus, as having
four large leaves and four small leaves placed alternately, while from the
centre of the flower rises a protuberance. Now, the circular cup formed by
the eight leaves they deem a symbol of the earth, floating on the surface
of the ocean, and consisting of four large continents and four
intermediate smaller islands; while the centrical protuberance is viewed
by them as representing their sacred Mount Menu."--_Communication to Gent.
Mag._ vol. lxxxvi. p. 408.
[193] The _erica arborea_ or tree heath.
[194] Ragon thus alludes to this mystical event: "Isis found the body of
Osiris in the neighborhood of Biblos, and near a tall plant called the
_erica_. Oppressed with grief, she seated herself on the margin of a
fountain, whose waters issued from a rock. This rock is the _small hill
_mentioned in the ritual; the erica has been replaced by the acacia, and
the grief of Isis has been changed for that of the fellow crafts."--_Cours
des Initiations_, p. 151.
[195] It is singular, and perhaps significant, that the word _eriko_, in
Greek, ἐρίϗω, whence _erica_ is probably derived, means _to break in
pieces, to mangle_.
[196] Histoire Pittoresque des Religions, t. i. p. 217.
[197] According to Toland (_Works_, i. 74), the festival of searching,
cutting, and consecrating the mistletoe, took place on the 10th of March,
or New Year's day. "This," he says, "is the ceremony to which Virgil
alludes, by his _golden branch_, in the Sixth Book of the Æneid." No doubt
of it; for all these sacred plants had a common origin in some ancient and
general symbolic idea.
[198] "Under this branch is figured the wreath of myrtle, with which the
initiated were crowned at the celebration of the Mysteries."--WARBURTON,
_Divine Legation_, vol. i. p. 299.
[199] "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Gen. iii. 19. Bush
interprets the decree to mean that "some species of toilsome occupation is
the appointed lot of all men."
[200] Aristotle says, "He that cannot contract society with others, or
who, through his own self-sufficiency αὐτάρϗειαν, does not need it, forms
no part of the community, but is either a wild beast or a god."
[201] "Der Arbeiter," says Lenning, "ist der symbolische Name eines
Freimaurers"--the Workman is the symbolic name of a Freemason.--_Encyclop.
der Fraumererei._
[202] John iii. 19-21.
[203] I Corinth, iii. 9.
[204] Orbis Miraculum, or the Temple of Solomon, pourtrayed by Scripture
Light, ch. ix. p. 192. London, 1659.
[205] Swedenborg a Hermetic Philosopher, &c., p. 210. The object of the
author is to show that the Swedish sage was an adept, and that his
writings may be interpreted from the point of view of Hermetic philosophy.
[206] Cours Philosophique et Interprétatif des Initiations Anciennes et
Modernes, p. 99.
[207] Ibid., p. 176.
[208] Histoire Générale de la Franc-maçonnerie, p. 52.
[209] Histoire de la Magie, liv. v. ch. vii. p. 100.
[210] Vorlesung über das Symbol des Tempels, in the "Jarbüchern der Gross.
Loge Roy. York zur Freundschaft," cited by Lenning, Encyc., voc. _Tempel_.
[211] In an Essay on the Masonic Idea of Man's Destination, cited by
Lenning, _ut supra_, from the Altenburg _Zeitschift der Freimaurerei_.
[212] Cited by Lenning, _ut sup._
[213] Thus Dr. Oliver, while treating of the relation of the temple to the
lodge, thus briefly alludes to this important symbol: "As our ancient
brethren erected a material temple, without the use of axe, hammer, or
metal tool, so is our moral temple constructed."--_Historical Landmarks_,
lect. xxxi.
[214] System of Speculative Masonry, ch. vi. p. 63.
[215] On the Speculative Temple--an essay read in 1861 before the Grand
Lodge of Alabama.
[216] A portion of this essay, but in a very abridged form, was used by
the author in his work on "Cryptic Masonry."
[217] Hist. Landmarks, i. 459, note 52.
[218] הייתש ךבא See the Gemara and Buxtorf Lex. Talm., p. 2541.
[219] Job xxxviii. 4-7.
[220] A New Translation of the Book of Job, notes, p. 196.
[221] In voc. הייתש, where some other curious extracts from the
Talmud and Talmudic writers on the subject of the Stone of Foundation are
given.
[222] Sepher Toldoth Jeshu, p. 6. The abominably scurrilous character of
this work aroused the indignation of the Christians, who, in the fifteenth
century, were not distinguished for a spirit of tolerance, and the Jews,
becoming alarmed, made every effort to suppress it. But, in 1681, it was
republished by Wagenselius in his "Tela Ignea Satanae," with a Latin
translation.
[223] Comment, on Gen. xxviii. 18.
[224] "Ni fallit fatum, Scoti quocunque locatum Invenient lapidem, regnare
tenentur ibidem."
[225] Old and New Testament connected, vol. i. p. 148.
[226] The Temple of Solomon, pourtrayed by Scripture Light, ch. ix. p.
194. Of the Mysteries laid up in the Foundation of the Temple.
[227] See Pausanias, lib. iv.
[228] The "Disputationes adversus Gentes" of Arnobius supplies us with a
fund of information on the symbolism of the classic mythology.
[229] Naology, ch. iii. p. 119.
[230] Cornut. de Nat. Deor. c. 16.
[231] Essais sur les Fables, t. i. lett. 2. p. 9.
[232] Bosworth (_Aug. Sax. Dict._) defines _treowth_ to signify "troth,
truth, treaty, league, pledge, covenant."