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Article AN ANXIOUS OUTLOOK. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE EGYPTICITY OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article THE EGYPTICITY OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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An Anxious Outlook.
for now men or new undertakings . Those , in turn , will bo supported by the many others who have striven to brine ; the new condition of affairs into
f ' . iiw . and who , for their own sakes , must see their creation put firmly on its feet , so that there is an influential band of special workers on whom the Institution may rely at this all-important period of its history . It is hardly necessary for us to give details as to tho place and time of the celebration , they are well known to all who are likely to attend , but we can and do hone for a fine day , which will do much to
secure the enjoyment of the numerous party who are expected to be present at Brighton , to assist in the celebration of the 93 rd Anniversary Festival of the Institution , which , let us again hope , will be marked with the greatest success , and will prove beyond doubt that the Boys' School has satisfactorily passed through tho severe ordeal to which it has recently been subjected .
The Egypticity Of Freemasonry.
THE EGYPTICITY OF FREEMASONRY .
rpHE distinguished Egyptologist , Ebers , first asserted - ¦ - the Egypticity of the Pentateuch—that is , that the five books of Moses , both in their general style of composition and thoir method of statement of leading facts , give
evidence that their author was not only skilled in the " wisdom of Egypt" but influenced by tho enlightened Egyptial thought of his day . Analogously we assert the Egypticity of Freemasonry .
We would not have it thought that we are an Egyptophile . Far from it . Thero was much in Egypt that was good . There , as afterwards elsewhere , knowledge , morality and religion retrograded ; but in tho earlier and better times , the Egyptians wero not only a highly
enlightened , but also a highly moral and religious people , their religion having been pure and undefiled . Originally the Egyptians were monotheists , and although later tho mass of the people , who were not instructed in the Osirian Mysteries—the Freemasonry of that early day—were
polytheists , worshipping gods many and lords many ; to the initiates in those Mysteries the various so-called gods were but symbols of the different divine attributes . Personification is not deification . All of the pseudo-deities represented , for example , on the walls of the Egyptian Hall , Masonic
Temple , Philadelphia—which portraitures are exact copies from the paintings on the walls of ancient tombs and temples in Egypt—betoken merely the manifold and multiform energies of the One true and living God , the " self-existent One , " the " I am that I am . " The uninstructed Egyptians
came to regard the symbols as persons ; but not so the initiates in the Mysteries . They no more worshipped their symbols then , than we do ours now . We do not bow
down to the Plumb , Level or Square ; but each of these symbols teaches us a lesson as potent , as impressive , as valuable as though it were a living person , speaking to us face to face with the living voice .
Some persons are prejudiced against modern Egyptians on account of the colour of their skin , and attribute to them an African origin . This is an error . The Egpytians were not Hamites , but Semites . Maspero classes the Egyptians among " the proto-Semitic races . " They came
from Asia to Egypt . Dr . Brugsch-Bey has proved that their language had no affinity with that of Africa , but that its roots and elementsjare Semitic . The Egyptians came not from the South , but from the East , and like ourselves they look to the East for light .
That the Egyptians included among themselves a wonderfully gifted class to Operative Masons , the Temples , Tombs and Pyramids of Egypt prove . If Freemasonry had an operative ori gin , which no Masonic scholar denias , and if we may trace this origin back through the sacred
builders of mediaeval Europe , Ancient Greece , Palestine and Phoenicia , we are brought at last chronologically to Egypt , which was the earliest known civilized nation , and among
tho Egyptians from 2000 to 3000 years B . C ., we find all of the elements of early Freemasonry , in the magnificent Temples erected by Operative Masons , and in the Osirian Mysteries , which were patronized , if not presided over , by Royal Architects of the Pharaohs of Egypt .
The Egypticity Of Freemasonry.
Some Freemasons appear to be jealous of tracing Freemasonry back prior to tho building of King Solomon ' s Temple , as if that were the end-all of our ancient Craft . Not so . Temples were erected in Phoenicia before tliev were erected in Palestine , and it was because
Hiram the Architect was skilled in such labour that King Hiram of Tyro sent him to King Solomon to aid him in building his Temple . So Temples were erected in Egypt long prior to the time they were erected in Phoenicia and Palestine , and Operative Masonry ex necessitate must be traced through Palestine aud Phconicia to Egypt .
Let us briefly note some of the striking parallels between the Temple builders and Mystics of Egypt , and the Freemasons of our era . Both , symbolically and emphatically , teach tho immortality of tho soul . Tho symbols of immortality are on
many of the temples and tombs of Egypt , on many papyri , and are copied on the walls of our Egyptian Hall , referred to above , and other analogously decorated modern edifices . Nothing could be plainer . Tho BOUI hovers over the body ,
in the form of a bird , and tho body is about to bo raised to life . Here we have the germs of the theological teaching of Freemasonry—the soul immortal ; the body to be raised from death again to life .
Both teach the importance of Light , which in each is a symbol for wisdom or truth . Every Freemason is familiar with the all-prevalence of sun symbolism in the Craft . It is equally so in the Egyptian Mysteries . Osiris himself typified the sun , as did Ra and Horus , and every
other so called divinity . All of them represented the sun , and the sun in turn represented the one only living and true God . As tho sun is the most beneficent power in nature , so in grace God is tho loving Father , as he is the
Creator of all , the Grand Architect of the Universe . Osiris represented the sun rising in the East , Ra the sun at high meridian , and Horus tho snn setting in the West . How striking to the Freemason ! How readily he should understand tho Egypticity of the Craft .
While visiting the British Museum , eight months ago , wo viowed and purchased a " Fac-simile of the Papyrus of Ani . " The original papyrus is now in the British Museum , and we also viewed it . It is a part of what has been styled , " Tho Book of the Dead , " and is pronounced by the
distinguised Egyptologist , P . le Page Renouf , to be 3300 years old . " Ani" was a " royal scribe " and priest of the temples at Thebes and Abydos . His wife , " Tutu , " was a musician or chorister of Amon , the chief god of Thebes .
Wo quote some extracts from this " Papyrus of Ani , " which will set Freemasons thinking , and they may thon agree with us respecting tho Egypticity of Freemasonry . Our quotations are from Page Renoufs preface to and translations of the " Papyrus Ani : "
Osiris says , I am the great Artificer . The High Priest of Ptah at Memphis was likewise , as representing Osiris , styled the " Great Artificer . " Osiris further says , " 1 am a spectator of the Mysteries at Re-stau . "
" Re-stau " is the mystical spiritual locality where Osiris presides , in company with Isis and Horus . " Let there be given to me bread in the abode of Refreshment . "
" I am the Eye of Horus . " This represents the all-seeing Eye , so familiar to Freemasons . "I am the Lion , issuing from the Bow ( the crescent moon ) and darting forth . " There is " a ladder in the East , leading up to heaven . "
The soul asks , " What is the duration of my existence ?" And the reply is , " Thou art for eternity of oternitios—the duration of endless years . " One chapter of the papyrus treats , " Of not being transferred to the East from the nether world . "
"Hail to thee , Horns in the Horizon . " Tho famous sphynx , near the Great Pyramid , represents this " Horus in the Horizon . " Another chapter treats " Of not dying a second death . " The Egyptians also had their sacred ark , or " Seket , "
which was placed in the sacred boat , or solar bark , and carried with great pomp on the shoulders of the priests in religious processions . At other times they were borne
by means of two long staves , which passed through rings affixed to the side , in a manner precisely similar to the Ark in the Covenant of Hebrew writers . " This will be significant to Royal Arch Masons .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Anxious Outlook.
for now men or new undertakings . Those , in turn , will bo supported by the many others who have striven to brine ; the new condition of affairs into
f ' . iiw . and who , for their own sakes , must see their creation put firmly on its feet , so that there is an influential band of special workers on whom the Institution may rely at this all-important period of its history . It is hardly necessary for us to give details as to tho place and time of the celebration , they are well known to all who are likely to attend , but we can and do hone for a fine day , which will do much to
secure the enjoyment of the numerous party who are expected to be present at Brighton , to assist in the celebration of the 93 rd Anniversary Festival of the Institution , which , let us again hope , will be marked with the greatest success , and will prove beyond doubt that the Boys' School has satisfactorily passed through tho severe ordeal to which it has recently been subjected .
The Egypticity Of Freemasonry.
THE EGYPTICITY OF FREEMASONRY .
rpHE distinguished Egyptologist , Ebers , first asserted - ¦ - the Egypticity of the Pentateuch—that is , that the five books of Moses , both in their general style of composition and thoir method of statement of leading facts , give
evidence that their author was not only skilled in the " wisdom of Egypt" but influenced by tho enlightened Egyptial thought of his day . Analogously we assert the Egypticity of Freemasonry .
We would not have it thought that we are an Egyptophile . Far from it . Thero was much in Egypt that was good . There , as afterwards elsewhere , knowledge , morality and religion retrograded ; but in tho earlier and better times , the Egyptians wero not only a highly
enlightened , but also a highly moral and religious people , their religion having been pure and undefiled . Originally the Egyptians were monotheists , and although later tho mass of the people , who were not instructed in the Osirian Mysteries—the Freemasonry of that early day—were
polytheists , worshipping gods many and lords many ; to the initiates in those Mysteries the various so-called gods were but symbols of the different divine attributes . Personification is not deification . All of the pseudo-deities represented , for example , on the walls of the Egyptian Hall , Masonic
Temple , Philadelphia—which portraitures are exact copies from the paintings on the walls of ancient tombs and temples in Egypt—betoken merely the manifold and multiform energies of the One true and living God , the " self-existent One , " the " I am that I am . " The uninstructed Egyptians
came to regard the symbols as persons ; but not so the initiates in the Mysteries . They no more worshipped their symbols then , than we do ours now . We do not bow
down to the Plumb , Level or Square ; but each of these symbols teaches us a lesson as potent , as impressive , as valuable as though it were a living person , speaking to us face to face with the living voice .
Some persons are prejudiced against modern Egyptians on account of the colour of their skin , and attribute to them an African origin . This is an error . The Egpytians were not Hamites , but Semites . Maspero classes the Egyptians among " the proto-Semitic races . " They came
from Asia to Egypt . Dr . Brugsch-Bey has proved that their language had no affinity with that of Africa , but that its roots and elementsjare Semitic . The Egyptians came not from the South , but from the East , and like ourselves they look to the East for light .
That the Egyptians included among themselves a wonderfully gifted class to Operative Masons , the Temples , Tombs and Pyramids of Egypt prove . If Freemasonry had an operative ori gin , which no Masonic scholar denias , and if we may trace this origin back through the sacred
builders of mediaeval Europe , Ancient Greece , Palestine and Phoenicia , we are brought at last chronologically to Egypt , which was the earliest known civilized nation , and among
tho Egyptians from 2000 to 3000 years B . C ., we find all of the elements of early Freemasonry , in the magnificent Temples erected by Operative Masons , and in the Osirian Mysteries , which were patronized , if not presided over , by Royal Architects of the Pharaohs of Egypt .
The Egypticity Of Freemasonry.
Some Freemasons appear to be jealous of tracing Freemasonry back prior to tho building of King Solomon ' s Temple , as if that were the end-all of our ancient Craft . Not so . Temples were erected in Phoenicia before tliev were erected in Palestine , and it was because
Hiram the Architect was skilled in such labour that King Hiram of Tyro sent him to King Solomon to aid him in building his Temple . So Temples were erected in Egypt long prior to the time they were erected in Phoenicia and Palestine , and Operative Masonry ex necessitate must be traced through Palestine aud Phconicia to Egypt .
Let us briefly note some of the striking parallels between the Temple builders and Mystics of Egypt , and the Freemasons of our era . Both , symbolically and emphatically , teach tho immortality of tho soul . Tho symbols of immortality are on
many of the temples and tombs of Egypt , on many papyri , and are copied on the walls of our Egyptian Hall , referred to above , and other analogously decorated modern edifices . Nothing could be plainer . Tho BOUI hovers over the body ,
in the form of a bird , and tho body is about to bo raised to life . Here we have the germs of the theological teaching of Freemasonry—the soul immortal ; the body to be raised from death again to life .
Both teach the importance of Light , which in each is a symbol for wisdom or truth . Every Freemason is familiar with the all-prevalence of sun symbolism in the Craft . It is equally so in the Egyptian Mysteries . Osiris himself typified the sun , as did Ra and Horus , and every
other so called divinity . All of them represented the sun , and the sun in turn represented the one only living and true God . As tho sun is the most beneficent power in nature , so in grace God is tho loving Father , as he is the
Creator of all , the Grand Architect of the Universe . Osiris represented the sun rising in the East , Ra the sun at high meridian , and Horus tho snn setting in the West . How striking to the Freemason ! How readily he should understand tho Egypticity of the Craft .
While visiting the British Museum , eight months ago , wo viowed and purchased a " Fac-simile of the Papyrus of Ani . " The original papyrus is now in the British Museum , and we also viewed it . It is a part of what has been styled , " Tho Book of the Dead , " and is pronounced by the
distinguised Egyptologist , P . le Page Renouf , to be 3300 years old . " Ani" was a " royal scribe " and priest of the temples at Thebes and Abydos . His wife , " Tutu , " was a musician or chorister of Amon , the chief god of Thebes .
Wo quote some extracts from this " Papyrus of Ani , " which will set Freemasons thinking , and they may thon agree with us respecting tho Egypticity of Freemasonry . Our quotations are from Page Renoufs preface to and translations of the " Papyrus Ani : "
Osiris says , I am the great Artificer . The High Priest of Ptah at Memphis was likewise , as representing Osiris , styled the " Great Artificer . " Osiris further says , " 1 am a spectator of the Mysteries at Re-stau . "
" Re-stau " is the mystical spiritual locality where Osiris presides , in company with Isis and Horus . " Let there be given to me bread in the abode of Refreshment . "
" I am the Eye of Horus . " This represents the all-seeing Eye , so familiar to Freemasons . "I am the Lion , issuing from the Bow ( the crescent moon ) and darting forth . " There is " a ladder in the East , leading up to heaven . "
The soul asks , " What is the duration of my existence ?" And the reply is , " Thou art for eternity of oternitios—the duration of endless years . " One chapter of the papyrus treats , " Of not being transferred to the East from the nether world . "
"Hail to thee , Horns in the Horizon . " Tho famous sphynx , near the Great Pyramid , represents this " Horus in the Horizon . " Another chapter treats " Of not dying a second death . " The Egyptians also had their sacred ark , or " Seket , "
which was placed in the sacred boat , or solar bark , and carried with great pomp on the shoulders of the priests in religious processions . At other times they were borne
by means of two long staves , which passed through rings affixed to the side , in a manner precisely similar to the Ark in the Covenant of Hebrew writers . " This will be significant to Royal Arch Masons .