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Article THE THERAPEUTAE AND JEWISH ASCETICS. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE THERAPEUTAE AND JEWISH ASCETICS. Page 2 of 2 Article SOME STATISTICS OF FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE. Page 1 of 1 Article SPENCER'S GREAT LIBRARY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Therapeutae And Jewish Ascetics.
pretensions and self love . This is what gave rise to so strange a revolution . Those among tho Jews of Egypt , whom the spirit of commerce had kept in the great cities , had made themselves famous bv their knowledge of calculation , and by their
commercial ventures . To the administration of corn at Alexandria , and of the tolls on the Nile , they united every kind of business and of trade . Their love of wealth had stifled in them every feeling of sensibility and delicacy , their possession of various monopolies , and the most crying
exactions had become familiar to them . Public hatred aroused itself against them ; soon the complaints of the people burst forth with violence , and they" thus incurred the indignation of Ptolemy Philometor , who drove them from all those employments which they had so seriously
damaged by conduct irregular and even indecent . Proscribed by a prince whose protection had been so serviceable to them , detested of the people , all the sources of their fortune were exhausted , public odium and misery became their lot . In this time of humiliation and distress ,
imposture and hypocrisy , the common resources of wickedness and knavery , seemed to them the readiest means for recovering what they had lost by their misconduct . Witnessing the virtues of the Essenes , jealously eager to share with them that consideration and respect
to which the latter had earned so just a title , they resolved to adopt their system , and even to surpass them in reputation . A life in common and retired , macerations , continual praying and all those external practices which delude people who arc ready to bo deluded , all these were put in force
by those hypocrites whom history has named Therapeuta ? , and whom Josephus and Philo , and after them M . Pluquet , has confounded with the Essenes properly so-called , but improperly , for the two widely differ from each other . The latter were purely philosophers , whose aims were directed
towards moral perfection , and only looked to outward practices to a just and proper extent , while the former , entirely strangers to spiritual thoughts and moral perfection , assumed an outward austerity only , so that they might the better impose on those credulous people whose suffrages they hoped to secure .
What rendered the Therapeutic celebrated was their manner , till then unknown , of interpreting the Bible—an interpretation which contained the most extraordinary , and even preternatural revelations , and all those reserves which have given rise to that cabala , tho source of those errors and
illusions , whose sole merit among mcu has consistedin flattering the imagination , and in extending the dominion of hope , that grand moving force of tho world , without which man would only find nothingness in the current of his ideas . Magicians , astrologers , and , above all , daring impostors ,
the Therapenta ) , brought back the remembranco of that famous science , the aim of which is the creation of that metal which has caused so many crimes , aud stifled so much
virtue ; of , m ono word , that science , the end of which is a a grand problem that has occupied all speculative philosophers , and which still troubles the deluded minds of men destined to nobler occupations .
But far from stud ying that science by fixed and regulated principles , the Tberapcutco confined their secret operations to the mysterious use of vague words , to prayers superstitiously contrived , and to strange customs , which , by the magic clothing with which they knew so well to embellish
them , were capable of attracting and deluding the multitude , so naturally prone to credulity . Such was their sole aim , and it is not surprising that they were much sought after . People are always sure to excite admiration , and bend the minds of others to their own purposes , when to intense
effrontery they can unite the art of knowing how to impose by the hope of something which excites others' cupidity , especially when that hope is sustained by means of illusions the cause of which is hidden . Thus the Therapeutai succeeded in eclipsing the Essenes , and in causing the esteem
in which their virtues and philosophy were held to be lost sight of . Some of these latter , deceived by fictitious appearances , found themselves happy in being associated in the labours of the former . Error was preferred by some men , either weak-minded or naturally disposed to corruption ,
and the defection of the Essenes would have been complete if truth had not made its stern voice heard , and had not rejected , with the energy of conviction , these dangerous innovations of error and of vice . Hence that schism between the Essenes and those of their brethren who had lent a ready ear to the silly , but seductive , teachings of the Therapeut »; hence that rivalry between the two Orders
The Therapeutae And Jewish Ascetics.
which , by nourishing their differences , shocked the wise and temperate maxims of the one , and made them almost forgotten , while , on the other , it conferred a certain reputation on the errors of the other . Those revolutions which unceasingly agitate the world ,
those passing changes which unite and divide men , eventually confounded the Essenes with the Therapeutse , so far as their establishment of sects , but it is certain that the philosophy of the Essenes triumphed over all these agitations . There is no doubt it preserved itself in all its
purity , for the truth is unchangeable . Probably that philosophy which the Essenes had derived from the priests of ancient Egypt , those usages , and practices which formed its allegorical emblem , these have survived all those
political disorders which have so long desolated the world , which have been dissolved and renewed at the same time , those different associations which are destined to perpetuate its remembrance , and hand down knowledge of it .
The Therapeutce disappearded in a manner of which history renders no account . They were succeeded by the Ascetics , that is , by a kind of Jewish monks , who , though devoted to a purely contemplative life , preserved amongst them opinions which suffice to prove they had received
from the Egyptian priests and Essenes that spirit of true philosophy which neither new dogmas nor even superstitions had been wholly able to denaturalise . Christian monks succeeded in turn to the Jewish Ascetics . The Bishop
of Siout , according to M . de P , author of" A Voyage in Egypt , " showed the traveller Vansleb the ruins of a Coptic monastery , where , he said , three hundred and sixty monks were devoted to seeking , without rest , for tho " philosopher ' s stone . "
I shall not stop to inquire if the assertion of the Bishop of Siout is correct—it is , in fact , very unimportant to learn what was the nature of the occupation followed by these three hundred and sixty Coptic monks . But what is , historically , more important to know is , that these Coptic monks ,
who exist in Egypt even m the present day , are the immediate successors of the Egyptian priests and Essenes . This connecting link having been established so clearly , it is evident the spirit and philosophy of these priests and Essenes are not lost , seeing that these different bodies have been continued by an unbroken succession till the present day .
Some Statistics Of Freemasonry In France.
SOME STATISTICS OF FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE .
ACCORDING to Le Monde Maconmque , the Grand Orient of France has just published a calendar for the past year , from which it appears that there are 308 Lodges and other Masonic bodies which owe it allegiance . These are Lodges 2 G 0 , Chapters 35 , Councils 11 , Consistory
1 , Grand Council 1 . They are distributed as follows : In Paris there are 41 Lodges , 6 Chapters , 2 Councils , and the Grand College of Rites . In the Department of the Seine are 8 Lodges , and in the other Departments 70 Lodges , 19 Chapters , aud 6 Councils . Algeria comprises
within its limits 9 Lodges , 1 Chapter , and 1 Council . In the French colonies are 8 Lodges , and 3 Chapters , while in foreign countries there are 24 Lodges , 6 Chapters , 2 Councils , and 1 Consistory , which are under the jurisdiction of tho Grand Orient of France .
Spencer's Great Library.
SPENCER'S GREAT LIBRARY .
SECOND NOTICE . rjlHE first authors who expressed clear ideas upon Freemasonry , - * - says Dr . Findel , wero Lessing in "Ernst und Falclc , " Herder , Fichle—Eleusinicn des 19 tcn Jahrhimderte , Krause , Fessler , Funichdnel , Marbach and Seydel . Tho works of all these authors are , we
believe , presented to us in clue order by Messrs . Sotheby , and even all the editions of their works . Krause's Drei Urhunden , Mossdorf ' s , Mittheilungen and Lenning ' s Encyclopaedia are all become scarce , and the valuable Matcrialien of Schroder is a bargain of the past . In lot
L 83 we find , with surprise , the author ' s own copy of tho Acta Lataraorum and its reputed third vol . the Histoire de la fondation du Grand Orient , the former having proof etchings in various stages of
preparation . Of M ~ onitors and Manuals published in the U . S . there ia a goodly show , comprising Bardie ' s , Toivn ' s , Taunehill ' s , Webb ' s , & g , That first scarce and valuable edition of the SigmMtm » lot
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Therapeutae And Jewish Ascetics.
pretensions and self love . This is what gave rise to so strange a revolution . Those among tho Jews of Egypt , whom the spirit of commerce had kept in the great cities , had made themselves famous bv their knowledge of calculation , and by their
commercial ventures . To the administration of corn at Alexandria , and of the tolls on the Nile , they united every kind of business and of trade . Their love of wealth had stifled in them every feeling of sensibility and delicacy , their possession of various monopolies , and the most crying
exactions had become familiar to them . Public hatred aroused itself against them ; soon the complaints of the people burst forth with violence , and they" thus incurred the indignation of Ptolemy Philometor , who drove them from all those employments which they had so seriously
damaged by conduct irregular and even indecent . Proscribed by a prince whose protection had been so serviceable to them , detested of the people , all the sources of their fortune were exhausted , public odium and misery became their lot . In this time of humiliation and distress ,
imposture and hypocrisy , the common resources of wickedness and knavery , seemed to them the readiest means for recovering what they had lost by their misconduct . Witnessing the virtues of the Essenes , jealously eager to share with them that consideration and respect
to which the latter had earned so just a title , they resolved to adopt their system , and even to surpass them in reputation . A life in common and retired , macerations , continual praying and all those external practices which delude people who arc ready to bo deluded , all these were put in force
by those hypocrites whom history has named Therapeuta ? , and whom Josephus and Philo , and after them M . Pluquet , has confounded with the Essenes properly so-called , but improperly , for the two widely differ from each other . The latter were purely philosophers , whose aims were directed
towards moral perfection , and only looked to outward practices to a just and proper extent , while the former , entirely strangers to spiritual thoughts and moral perfection , assumed an outward austerity only , so that they might the better impose on those credulous people whose suffrages they hoped to secure .
What rendered the Therapeutic celebrated was their manner , till then unknown , of interpreting the Bible—an interpretation which contained the most extraordinary , and even preternatural revelations , and all those reserves which have given rise to that cabala , tho source of those errors and
illusions , whose sole merit among mcu has consistedin flattering the imagination , and in extending the dominion of hope , that grand moving force of tho world , without which man would only find nothingness in the current of his ideas . Magicians , astrologers , and , above all , daring impostors ,
the Therapenta ) , brought back the remembranco of that famous science , the aim of which is the creation of that metal which has caused so many crimes , aud stifled so much
virtue ; of , m ono word , that science , the end of which is a a grand problem that has occupied all speculative philosophers , and which still troubles the deluded minds of men destined to nobler occupations .
But far from stud ying that science by fixed and regulated principles , the Tberapcutco confined their secret operations to the mysterious use of vague words , to prayers superstitiously contrived , and to strange customs , which , by the magic clothing with which they knew so well to embellish
them , were capable of attracting and deluding the multitude , so naturally prone to credulity . Such was their sole aim , and it is not surprising that they were much sought after . People are always sure to excite admiration , and bend the minds of others to their own purposes , when to intense
effrontery they can unite the art of knowing how to impose by the hope of something which excites others' cupidity , especially when that hope is sustained by means of illusions the cause of which is hidden . Thus the Therapeutai succeeded in eclipsing the Essenes , and in causing the esteem
in which their virtues and philosophy were held to be lost sight of . Some of these latter , deceived by fictitious appearances , found themselves happy in being associated in the labours of the former . Error was preferred by some men , either weak-minded or naturally disposed to corruption ,
and the defection of the Essenes would have been complete if truth had not made its stern voice heard , and had not rejected , with the energy of conviction , these dangerous innovations of error and of vice . Hence that schism between the Essenes and those of their brethren who had lent a ready ear to the silly , but seductive , teachings of the Therapeut »; hence that rivalry between the two Orders
The Therapeutae And Jewish Ascetics.
which , by nourishing their differences , shocked the wise and temperate maxims of the one , and made them almost forgotten , while , on the other , it conferred a certain reputation on the errors of the other . Those revolutions which unceasingly agitate the world ,
those passing changes which unite and divide men , eventually confounded the Essenes with the Therapeutse , so far as their establishment of sects , but it is certain that the philosophy of the Essenes triumphed over all these agitations . There is no doubt it preserved itself in all its
purity , for the truth is unchangeable . Probably that philosophy which the Essenes had derived from the priests of ancient Egypt , those usages , and practices which formed its allegorical emblem , these have survived all those
political disorders which have so long desolated the world , which have been dissolved and renewed at the same time , those different associations which are destined to perpetuate its remembrance , and hand down knowledge of it .
The Therapeutce disappearded in a manner of which history renders no account . They were succeeded by the Ascetics , that is , by a kind of Jewish monks , who , though devoted to a purely contemplative life , preserved amongst them opinions which suffice to prove they had received
from the Egyptian priests and Essenes that spirit of true philosophy which neither new dogmas nor even superstitions had been wholly able to denaturalise . Christian monks succeeded in turn to the Jewish Ascetics . The Bishop
of Siout , according to M . de P , author of" A Voyage in Egypt , " showed the traveller Vansleb the ruins of a Coptic monastery , where , he said , three hundred and sixty monks were devoted to seeking , without rest , for tho " philosopher ' s stone . "
I shall not stop to inquire if the assertion of the Bishop of Siout is correct—it is , in fact , very unimportant to learn what was the nature of the occupation followed by these three hundred and sixty Coptic monks . But what is , historically , more important to know is , that these Coptic monks ,
who exist in Egypt even m the present day , are the immediate successors of the Egyptian priests and Essenes . This connecting link having been established so clearly , it is evident the spirit and philosophy of these priests and Essenes are not lost , seeing that these different bodies have been continued by an unbroken succession till the present day .
Some Statistics Of Freemasonry In France.
SOME STATISTICS OF FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE .
ACCORDING to Le Monde Maconmque , the Grand Orient of France has just published a calendar for the past year , from which it appears that there are 308 Lodges and other Masonic bodies which owe it allegiance . These are Lodges 2 G 0 , Chapters 35 , Councils 11 , Consistory
1 , Grand Council 1 . They are distributed as follows : In Paris there are 41 Lodges , 6 Chapters , 2 Councils , and the Grand College of Rites . In the Department of the Seine are 8 Lodges , and in the other Departments 70 Lodges , 19 Chapters , aud 6 Councils . Algeria comprises
within its limits 9 Lodges , 1 Chapter , and 1 Council . In the French colonies are 8 Lodges , and 3 Chapters , while in foreign countries there are 24 Lodges , 6 Chapters , 2 Councils , and 1 Consistory , which are under the jurisdiction of tho Grand Orient of France .
Spencer's Great Library.
SPENCER'S GREAT LIBRARY .
SECOND NOTICE . rjlHE first authors who expressed clear ideas upon Freemasonry , - * - says Dr . Findel , wero Lessing in "Ernst und Falclc , " Herder , Fichle—Eleusinicn des 19 tcn Jahrhimderte , Krause , Fessler , Funichdnel , Marbach and Seydel . Tho works of all these authors are , we
believe , presented to us in clue order by Messrs . Sotheby , and even all the editions of their works . Krause's Drei Urhunden , Mossdorf ' s , Mittheilungen and Lenning ' s Encyclopaedia are all become scarce , and the valuable Matcrialien of Schroder is a bargain of the past . In lot
L 83 we find , with surprise , the author ' s own copy of tho Acta Lataraorum and its reputed third vol . the Histoire de la fondation du Grand Orient , the former having proof etchings in various stages of
preparation . Of M ~ onitors and Manuals published in the U . S . there ia a goodly show , comprising Bardie ' s , Toivn ' s , Taunehill ' s , Webb ' s , & g , That first scarce and valuable edition of the SigmMtm » lot