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  • Sept. 22, 1860
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  • CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XXXIII.
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Classical Theology.—Xxxiii.

CLASSICAL THEOLOGY . —XXXIII .

Loxnos ; SATUEV .-LT , SEPTEMBER 22 , isca .

IX . —OTAK-. A . ASTD XOYEMBER . The compilation of theogony and mythic history , very incorrectly called mythology , is evidently a mysterious religions anamorphosis of astronomical , biblical , and ancient history , constituting , by means of allegory and figurative languagethe laws ancl government of Pagan

, theology . Jupiter , in the form of a swan , is fabled , hy the sweetness of his singing , to have won ths lore of Lean , the queen of Laconia , ancl is said , as ive gather from Pindar , to have flown into her bosom and embraced her . Another form of the legend is that Leda , the wife of King

Tyndarus , when some months gone with child , was ravished , with the rapturous melody of an amorous swan , and through her longings , or imaginations , or hy a lusns natura } , unnaturally brought forth two eggs , —as ive gather from the famous mathematician and poet , Manilius Antiochensis ( I . Aslron . ) ; who was the first

, Eoman who wrote of astronomy . Ont of the first shell sprang Pollux and Helena , whom Leda hacl conceived of " divine seed , " and who were consequently immortal . Out of the other , as ive gather from Horace , ( Sat . I . ) , which she hacl conceived b y her husband the king of Laconiacame Castor and

Clytem-, nestra , who were therefore mortal , because they ivere begotten of a mortal father . Yet many , following the poets , believe , as in the Homeric hymn , Aibo- Kxpu nimirmn , Jbvis filii that Castor ancl Pollux were horn at the same

birth ; at any rate , they have been frequently called Tyndaridfc , as Helena is named Tyndaris from the same father , Tyndarus . Both of these demigods were among the four and fifty noble companions or Argonaut , so called from the shi p named after its builder , Argo ( of which body also ,

Hercules and Orpheus were members ) , who accompanied Jason to Colchis , to demand the golden fleece of King JEtes . Jason , on his voyage , visited Hypsiphile , Queen of Lemnos , who received him so graciously as to have twins by him . With the assistance of Medea , King JEtes ' daughter , who was deeply enamoured of this handsome

hero , and leader of heroes , he destroyed the guardian bulls , -whose feet were of brass , and whose breath flames of fii-e , ancl ivith them the furious soldiers that sprang from the dragon ' s teeth sown in the ground . Pinal ly , tiie Argonauts laid the watchful dragon itself asleep , obtained the fleece of gold , and lied by nig ht , taking Medea with them , whom Jason married , and not long afterwards divorced in favour of Creusa , the daughter of Creon , king

of Corinth . Influenced b y Medea ' s magical cures , the daughter of Pelias , Jason's uncle , had foolishly imagined that , by putting their old father to death and boiling him up again , he would be restored to youth as JEson , the father of Jason , had been under the hands of Medea . Tor this singular reason , Jason hated his wife , Medea ,

who , stung by revenge for his neglect , murdered thentwo children before his eyes . In the next place , she secured in a curiously small box , some very subtle fire , and had it conveyed to Creusa , who , on opening it , was not onl y burnt to death herself , but iu the flame which ensued , numbers of tho court , ancl the whole palace in

which they resided , were consumed . The inimitable sorceress then , by means of her enchantments , is said to have flown to Athens . Some others affirm that the repudiated wife was once more after this reconciled to husband Jason , King of Thessalia . Perhaps we ought to have mentioned that the ileece was the skin of a raw ., variousl y described , of a pearly white , of a golden

red , and of a purple colour . On the back of that ram Phryxus and his sister Helle , when in flight from the perfidious machinations of Ino , their step-mother , designed to cross the narrowest strait of the Pontus , now the Dardanelles . The rolling of the waves greatly affected and terrified Hello ; she grew faintlost her senses , and

, sank into the billowy deep , and from her is derived the name of Hellespont . Phryxus safely landed near Colchis , in Asia , where , being received by King JEtes with great honour and marked attention , lie sacrificed the ram to Jupiter , who afterward placed it amongst the constellationsand consecrated the ileece to "Marswho had it hung

, , up in a grove that ivas most sacred to him . The uncertain complexion of the woolly hide itself becomes here more ascertainable ; is ivas called Aurea Vellus , because it ivas of . 1 golden hue , but the Phryxean coat or Ileece of Phryxus , that is , the Yclhis Plrri / . veum , was its more correct Latin name . It was held to be sacred and

divine as a pledge and trophy of inestimable importance , bulls breathing lire from their nostrils , and an enormous ever-watching dragon , protected it from all too curious intrusion . These monsters , too , ivere sacred : in point of fact , the artistic representations of such , creatures were asserted to have dropped from the moon , or to have eome irom heaven , ancl were otherwise venerated as rcjiresentiug signs of the heavens . It has been further stated of Medea , that to check

pursuit of her father , she slew and divided , piecemeal , her brother Absyrtns , scattering his remains on the way—here a head , and there a limb , which , when his horrified and distracted father beheld , caused him to stop to gather them up . Thus the Argonauts were enabled to reach their ship , ancl return to their own country . \ Yhere , on her arrival M ' cdea restoredby her potent

enchant-, , ments , the old and impotent Icing JEson to strength and youthful vigour . Castor and Pollux on their way back from Colchis , joined by some of the crew of the Argo , made an attack upon the Athenians ancl recovered from Theseus their stolen sister Helena . The courtesy and clemency of the

victorious twins ivas so noble and humane after the conquest , that the Athenians styled thorn the " sons of Jupiter , " and raised altars to their memory , wheron wero first offered white lambs . After the death of Castor , as some say , through his being only of mortal origin , Pollux prayed to his father , the prince of the powers of "

the air , Jupiter , to renew his brother ' s life , and at the same time confer upon him an immortal existence . Jupiter granted the prayer of Pollux so liir as to allow him to share his immortality witli his brother Castor . Thence it came to be said , they have ever since lived and died by turns every other day , or , according to others , every other fortnight , - because , being two stars the one always rises , when theo ther sets .

" Sic fratrcm Pollux a-lfccrnn , morto rodemit , Itquo rcditqnc viam . "—Virg . AEii ., ii . " Thus Pollux , offering his alternate life , Could free his brother . Daily now they go By turns ascending high , Ly turns close-ending low . " In the forum of Eome there was a magnificent temple

dedicated to Castor and Pollux . Ii ; was believed that they had palpably and mainly assisted ihe ' tomans in their hazardous battle with the Latins , "riding on white horses , " ancl this belief was the express reason for the temple ' s foundation . "We will not venture to assert how long antecedent to this superhuman event Castor

met his death al ; the hand of Lincetis , which afterward gave rise to the Phrryic exercise in honour of Castor , at which young men , steel-clad and armed , performed certain evolutions , " called from his name , " Castor ' s . Dance . "

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-09-22, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 24 March 2023, www.masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_22091860/page/1/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XXXIII. Article 1
MASTER-PIECES OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Article 2
NON-AFFILIATED MASONS. Article 3
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY. Article 4
MASONIC RAMBLES. Article 6
THE TWO BOYHOODS.* Article 6
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 9
CANADIAN MEDAL. Article 10
Literature. Article 11
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 12
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 13
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 14
METROPOLITAN. Article 14
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
MARK MASONRY. Article 15
IRELAND. Article 17
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. Article 18
AMERICA. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 19
NOTES ON MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Article 20
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Classical Theology.—Xxxiii.

CLASSICAL THEOLOGY . —XXXIII .

Loxnos ; SATUEV .-LT , SEPTEMBER 22 , isca .

IX . —OTAK-. A . ASTD XOYEMBER . The compilation of theogony and mythic history , very incorrectly called mythology , is evidently a mysterious religions anamorphosis of astronomical , biblical , and ancient history , constituting , by means of allegory and figurative languagethe laws ancl government of Pagan

, theology . Jupiter , in the form of a swan , is fabled , hy the sweetness of his singing , to have won ths lore of Lean , the queen of Laconia , ancl is said , as ive gather from Pindar , to have flown into her bosom and embraced her . Another form of the legend is that Leda , the wife of King

Tyndarus , when some months gone with child , was ravished , with the rapturous melody of an amorous swan , and through her longings , or imaginations , or hy a lusns natura } , unnaturally brought forth two eggs , —as ive gather from the famous mathematician and poet , Manilius Antiochensis ( I . Aslron . ) ; who was the first

, Eoman who wrote of astronomy . Ont of the first shell sprang Pollux and Helena , whom Leda hacl conceived of " divine seed , " and who were consequently immortal . Out of the other , as ive gather from Horace , ( Sat . I . ) , which she hacl conceived b y her husband the king of Laconiacame Castor and

Clytem-, nestra , who were therefore mortal , because they ivere begotten of a mortal father . Yet many , following the poets , believe , as in the Homeric hymn , Aibo- Kxpu nimirmn , Jbvis filii that Castor ancl Pollux were horn at the same

birth ; at any rate , they have been frequently called Tyndaridfc , as Helena is named Tyndaris from the same father , Tyndarus . Both of these demigods were among the four and fifty noble companions or Argonaut , so called from the shi p named after its builder , Argo ( of which body also ,

Hercules and Orpheus were members ) , who accompanied Jason to Colchis , to demand the golden fleece of King JEtes . Jason , on his voyage , visited Hypsiphile , Queen of Lemnos , who received him so graciously as to have twins by him . With the assistance of Medea , King JEtes ' daughter , who was deeply enamoured of this handsome

hero , and leader of heroes , he destroyed the guardian bulls , -whose feet were of brass , and whose breath flames of fii-e , ancl ivith them the furious soldiers that sprang from the dragon ' s teeth sown in the ground . Pinal ly , tiie Argonauts laid the watchful dragon itself asleep , obtained the fleece of gold , and lied by nig ht , taking Medea with them , whom Jason married , and not long afterwards divorced in favour of Creusa , the daughter of Creon , king

of Corinth . Influenced b y Medea ' s magical cures , the daughter of Pelias , Jason's uncle , had foolishly imagined that , by putting their old father to death and boiling him up again , he would be restored to youth as JEson , the father of Jason , had been under the hands of Medea . Tor this singular reason , Jason hated his wife , Medea ,

who , stung by revenge for his neglect , murdered thentwo children before his eyes . In the next place , she secured in a curiously small box , some very subtle fire , and had it conveyed to Creusa , who , on opening it , was not onl y burnt to death herself , but iu the flame which ensued , numbers of tho court , ancl the whole palace in

which they resided , were consumed . The inimitable sorceress then , by means of her enchantments , is said to have flown to Athens . Some others affirm that the repudiated wife was once more after this reconciled to husband Jason , King of Thessalia . Perhaps we ought to have mentioned that the ileece was the skin of a raw ., variousl y described , of a pearly white , of a golden

red , and of a purple colour . On the back of that ram Phryxus and his sister Helle , when in flight from the perfidious machinations of Ino , their step-mother , designed to cross the narrowest strait of the Pontus , now the Dardanelles . The rolling of the waves greatly affected and terrified Hello ; she grew faintlost her senses , and

, sank into the billowy deep , and from her is derived the name of Hellespont . Phryxus safely landed near Colchis , in Asia , where , being received by King JEtes with great honour and marked attention , lie sacrificed the ram to Jupiter , who afterward placed it amongst the constellationsand consecrated the ileece to "Marswho had it hung

, , up in a grove that ivas most sacred to him . The uncertain complexion of the woolly hide itself becomes here more ascertainable ; is ivas called Aurea Vellus , because it ivas of . 1 golden hue , but the Phryxean coat or Ileece of Phryxus , that is , the Yclhis Plrri / . veum , was its more correct Latin name . It was held to be sacred and

divine as a pledge and trophy of inestimable importance , bulls breathing lire from their nostrils , and an enormous ever-watching dragon , protected it from all too curious intrusion . These monsters , too , ivere sacred : in point of fact , the artistic representations of such , creatures were asserted to have dropped from the moon , or to have eome irom heaven , ancl were otherwise venerated as rcjiresentiug signs of the heavens . It has been further stated of Medea , that to check

pursuit of her father , she slew and divided , piecemeal , her brother Absyrtns , scattering his remains on the way—here a head , and there a limb , which , when his horrified and distracted father beheld , caused him to stop to gather them up . Thus the Argonauts were enabled to reach their ship , ancl return to their own country . \ Yhere , on her arrival M ' cdea restoredby her potent

enchant-, , ments , the old and impotent Icing JEson to strength and youthful vigour . Castor and Pollux on their way back from Colchis , joined by some of the crew of the Argo , made an attack upon the Athenians ancl recovered from Theseus their stolen sister Helena . The courtesy and clemency of the

victorious twins ivas so noble and humane after the conquest , that the Athenians styled thorn the " sons of Jupiter , " and raised altars to their memory , wheron wero first offered white lambs . After the death of Castor , as some say , through his being only of mortal origin , Pollux prayed to his father , the prince of the powers of "

the air , Jupiter , to renew his brother ' s life , and at the same time confer upon him an immortal existence . Jupiter granted the prayer of Pollux so liir as to allow him to share his immortality witli his brother Castor . Thence it came to be said , they have ever since lived and died by turns every other day , or , according to others , every other fortnight , - because , being two stars the one always rises , when theo ther sets .

" Sic fratrcm Pollux a-lfccrnn , morto rodemit , Itquo rcditqnc viam . "—Virg . AEii ., ii . " Thus Pollux , offering his alternate life , Could free his brother . Daily now they go By turns ascending high , Ly turns close-ending low . " In the forum of Eome there was a magnificent temple

dedicated to Castor and Pollux . Ii ; was believed that they had palpably and mainly assisted ihe ' tomans in their hazardous battle with the Latins , "riding on white horses , " ancl this belief was the express reason for the temple ' s foundation . "We will not venture to assert how long antecedent to this superhuman event Castor

met his death al ; the hand of Lincetis , which afterward gave rise to the Phrryic exercise in honour of Castor , at which young men , steel-clad and armed , performed certain evolutions , " called from his name , " Castor ' s . Dance . "

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