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Article THE HISTORICAL DEGREES; ← Page 2 of 12 →
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The Historical Degrees;
temple—a spiritual edifice ; and dividing themselves into different Lodges , dispersed over the various countries in Europe . A considerable number went to Scotland , and made choice of the town of Kilwinning , ^ Avliere they established a Lodge and built an abbey , in Avhicli
the records ol the Order were deposited ; we are not -informed where these worthy Brethren were travelling during the period between A . n . 70 and 1140 , ' when this magnificent abbey was founded , in-which we have tolerably good proof that a Masonic Lodge was founded by the builders engaged in constructing the edifice . The presiding officer is styled Venerable Grand Master , and represents Cyrus Artaxerxes . Who is the personage meant Ave are at a loss to imagine ; the younger Gyrus was the younger brother of
Artaxerxes , second King of Persia of that name , and died in his 94 th year , B . C . 358 . Taylor says , on the suggestion of Prideaux , that , the period of Artaxerxes Longimanus , who died B . C . 358 , corresponds with the Ahasuerns of Scripture , mentioned in the book of Esther , Avhose wife
was the daughter of Cyrus I . '" * This is one of those numerous instances of anachronism in dates and persons that occur in the traditional history of the . symbolic , and historical degrees , and annov the inquirer in his researches ; they have arisen through the superficial acquaintance the framers had with ancient history , and could easily be set right . The names of Cyrus and Artaxerxes did not belong to the same individual .
JSToachite , or PrussianKnight , or , as it is sometimes termed , the Very Ancient Order of Noachiles , is the twenty-first degree . We now find the traditional history carried back to an earlier date than in any other degree in Masonry , either symbolic or historical , for it commemorates the destruction of the Tower of Babel . It is stated that the meetings in this degree are holden only on the night of the full moon ,
and that no other light is permitted than what is derived from that luminary . The officers of the degree are a Grand Commander and five knights—the first being called Knight of Introduction , the second , of Eloquence , the third , of Finances , the fourth of Chancery , and the fifth , of Defence . The bad <> 'c is white Avith a yelioAv border .
The Noachites profess to be descendants of Peleg , avIio they say was the chief architect of the ' tower whose top Avas to reach to heaven . ' This ' "is a gratuitous assumption , for all that Moses tells us is , " that Lis father named him Peleg ( division ) for ( or , ' because ) in his days the earth was divided . " This Order of the Noachites was first established
in Prussia in 1755 . There must havo been formerly in English Masonry some matters connecting the name of tlie survivor of the deluge with its traditional history , ( probably ' the Ark and Mark , ' and ' Ark and Dove degrees , were then used , ) for we find in Altiman llezon , \ the first of the old charges , which is as follows : —
u ( hmccruiiig Cod , and Jldigion . —A Mason is obliged by his tenure U observe the moral law as a true Noachidu , ( son of Noah , the first name o * See Calmet ' s Dictionary , edited by Taylor . | Published in 1761 , by Laurence Deruiot ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Historical Degrees;
temple—a spiritual edifice ; and dividing themselves into different Lodges , dispersed over the various countries in Europe . A considerable number went to Scotland , and made choice of the town of Kilwinning , ^ Avliere they established a Lodge and built an abbey , in Avhicli
the records ol the Order were deposited ; we are not -informed where these worthy Brethren were travelling during the period between A . n . 70 and 1140 , ' when this magnificent abbey was founded , in-which we have tolerably good proof that a Masonic Lodge was founded by the builders engaged in constructing the edifice . The presiding officer is styled Venerable Grand Master , and represents Cyrus Artaxerxes . Who is the personage meant Ave are at a loss to imagine ; the younger Gyrus was the younger brother of
Artaxerxes , second King of Persia of that name , and died in his 94 th year , B . C . 358 . Taylor says , on the suggestion of Prideaux , that , the period of Artaxerxes Longimanus , who died B . C . 358 , corresponds with the Ahasuerns of Scripture , mentioned in the book of Esther , Avhose wife
was the daughter of Cyrus I . '" * This is one of those numerous instances of anachronism in dates and persons that occur in the traditional history of the . symbolic , and historical degrees , and annov the inquirer in his researches ; they have arisen through the superficial acquaintance the framers had with ancient history , and could easily be set right . The names of Cyrus and Artaxerxes did not belong to the same individual .
JSToachite , or PrussianKnight , or , as it is sometimes termed , the Very Ancient Order of Noachiles , is the twenty-first degree . We now find the traditional history carried back to an earlier date than in any other degree in Masonry , either symbolic or historical , for it commemorates the destruction of the Tower of Babel . It is stated that the meetings in this degree are holden only on the night of the full moon ,
and that no other light is permitted than what is derived from that luminary . The officers of the degree are a Grand Commander and five knights—the first being called Knight of Introduction , the second , of Eloquence , the third , of Finances , the fourth of Chancery , and the fifth , of Defence . The bad <> 'c is white Avith a yelioAv border .
The Noachites profess to be descendants of Peleg , avIio they say was the chief architect of the ' tower whose top Avas to reach to heaven . ' This ' "is a gratuitous assumption , for all that Moses tells us is , " that Lis father named him Peleg ( division ) for ( or , ' because ) in his days the earth was divided . " This Order of the Noachites was first established
in Prussia in 1755 . There must havo been formerly in English Masonry some matters connecting the name of tlie survivor of the deluge with its traditional history , ( probably ' the Ark and Mark , ' and ' Ark and Dove degrees , were then used , ) for we find in Altiman llezon , \ the first of the old charges , which is as follows : —
u ( hmccruiiig Cod , and Jldigion . —A Mason is obliged by his tenure U observe the moral law as a true Noachidu , ( son of Noah , the first name o * See Calmet ' s Dictionary , edited by Taylor . | Published in 1761 , by Laurence Deruiot ,