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Article REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. ← Page 5 of 6 →
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Reviews Of New Books.
" The temple was surrounded by ihree tiers of chambers , which were approached by stairs . They laid the foundations with great stones , costly and hewed / and the wholewhen completed wasi decorated in the most sumptuous manner . The ( two brazen pillars made by Hiram of Tyre resemble very closely , with their nets of checker-work , wreaths of chain-work / pomegranates , ' and l lily-work , ' both Persepolitari and Egyptian columns . The description of the position of these columns has led to much discussion . Perhaps it was analogous to that of obelisks before Egyptian buildings *
" From the First Book of Chronicles we learn that the temple was built from a previously arranged plan . It says , ' Then David gave to Solomon his soil the pattern of the porch , and the houses thereof , and of the treasuries thereof , and of the upper chambers thereof , and of the inner parlours thereof , and of the place of the mercy-seat , and the pattern of ail that he had by the Spirit , of the courts of the house of the Lord , and of all the criairibers round about , of the treasuries of the house of God . and of the treasuries of the dedicated things . '
" Solomon was a great builder . Besides the tehiple , for which David had prepared , he raised the House of the Forest of Lebanon , a ^ house for himself and one for his ^ as you remember ^ as sawed with saws within and without , even from . ' the foundatldii to the coping . Some of the stones were more than 18 feet long . He also built many ¦ fenced cities , ' with ' walls and gates ; ' especially Tadriior , in the wilderness , now known as Palmyra . The existing ruins here , it should be mentioned , areof a datelong posterior ; probably after Trajan .
" The fact that Solomon married one of Pharaoh ' s daughters about 1 , 013 years before Christ ( at which period , as we shall hereafter see , the Egyptians had erected many great structures ) , shows his connection with that wonderful country , and prepares us to find at all events a coincidence in their buildings . Moreover , the Tyrians , to whom Solomon sent for a ' cunning man , ' to work in gold , silver , brass , and iron , are supposed by some writers to have been extensively employed as architects by the Egyptians . "
Passing over a description of the orders of architecture , we come to the authors ' s description of Freemasonry and Masons' Marks , though we do not agree with him that we have now no higher object than that of meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern or elsewhere , to discuss a dinner and dispense charity / ' though even if it were so , we think the last-named object would well excuse the first . " When studying the architectural works of the middle ages , two curious circumstances force themselves on the attention . One is the similarity apparent in
the buildings of each particular period , although erected in various parts of Europe ( the rapidity with which every alteration in style was made widely known ) ; the other , the fact that many of these extraordinary buildings , which display the most lively imagination , sound judgment , and great mathematical skill , were erected at a time when the greatest ignorance prevailed , when kings were to be found unable to read , and men if they knew a few physical truths were regarded as magicians .
"On inquiry , it seems tolerably clear that these were executed by bands of men bound together by certain laws in an association partly of a religious character , who were , to a certain extent , protected by the Church , and known as Free Masons . The early history of this extraordinary fraternity is obscured by fable . At the present time we know them simply as a body of individuals associated for social purposes , who meet at the Freemasons' Tavern and elsewhere , to discuss a
dinner and dispense charity . Originally , however , their proceedings were very different . Some Masonic writers seek to trace their existence from a remote time , and endeavour to show a connection with the Eleusinian mysteries and the Dionysiac artificers , who possessed the privilege of erecting public structures in Asia Minor . Without entering here on this questionable ground , or even stopping to ascertain the earliest date whereat tljeir presence in England can be proved , suffice it to say , they were the builders of many of our cathedrals and churches ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews Of New Books.
" The temple was surrounded by ihree tiers of chambers , which were approached by stairs . They laid the foundations with great stones , costly and hewed / and the wholewhen completed wasi decorated in the most sumptuous manner . The ( two brazen pillars made by Hiram of Tyre resemble very closely , with their nets of checker-work , wreaths of chain-work / pomegranates , ' and l lily-work , ' both Persepolitari and Egyptian columns . The description of the position of these columns has led to much discussion . Perhaps it was analogous to that of obelisks before Egyptian buildings *
" From the First Book of Chronicles we learn that the temple was built from a previously arranged plan . It says , ' Then David gave to Solomon his soil the pattern of the porch , and the houses thereof , and of the treasuries thereof , and of the upper chambers thereof , and of the inner parlours thereof , and of the place of the mercy-seat , and the pattern of ail that he had by the Spirit , of the courts of the house of the Lord , and of all the criairibers round about , of the treasuries of the house of God . and of the treasuries of the dedicated things . '
" Solomon was a great builder . Besides the tehiple , for which David had prepared , he raised the House of the Forest of Lebanon , a ^ house for himself and one for his ^ as you remember ^ as sawed with saws within and without , even from . ' the foundatldii to the coping . Some of the stones were more than 18 feet long . He also built many ¦ fenced cities , ' with ' walls and gates ; ' especially Tadriior , in the wilderness , now known as Palmyra . The existing ruins here , it should be mentioned , areof a datelong posterior ; probably after Trajan .
" The fact that Solomon married one of Pharaoh ' s daughters about 1 , 013 years before Christ ( at which period , as we shall hereafter see , the Egyptians had erected many great structures ) , shows his connection with that wonderful country , and prepares us to find at all events a coincidence in their buildings . Moreover , the Tyrians , to whom Solomon sent for a ' cunning man , ' to work in gold , silver , brass , and iron , are supposed by some writers to have been extensively employed as architects by the Egyptians . "
Passing over a description of the orders of architecture , we come to the authors ' s description of Freemasonry and Masons' Marks , though we do not agree with him that we have now no higher object than that of meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern or elsewhere , to discuss a dinner and dispense charity / ' though even if it were so , we think the last-named object would well excuse the first . " When studying the architectural works of the middle ages , two curious circumstances force themselves on the attention . One is the similarity apparent in
the buildings of each particular period , although erected in various parts of Europe ( the rapidity with which every alteration in style was made widely known ) ; the other , the fact that many of these extraordinary buildings , which display the most lively imagination , sound judgment , and great mathematical skill , were erected at a time when the greatest ignorance prevailed , when kings were to be found unable to read , and men if they knew a few physical truths were regarded as magicians .
"On inquiry , it seems tolerably clear that these were executed by bands of men bound together by certain laws in an association partly of a religious character , who were , to a certain extent , protected by the Church , and known as Free Masons . The early history of this extraordinary fraternity is obscured by fable . At the present time we know them simply as a body of individuals associated for social purposes , who meet at the Freemasons' Tavern and elsewhere , to discuss a
dinner and dispense charity . Originally , however , their proceedings were very different . Some Masonic writers seek to trace their existence from a remote time , and endeavour to show a connection with the Eleusinian mysteries and the Dionysiac artificers , who possessed the privilege of erecting public structures in Asia Minor . Without entering here on this questionable ground , or even stopping to ascertain the earliest date whereat tljeir presence in England can be proved , suffice it to say , they were the builders of many of our cathedrals and churches ,