The Eleusinian mysteries & rites. - The Masonic Trowel

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96 ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES AND RITES Mysteries was that prudent men who earnestly employed themselves in divine concerns were, above all others, in a vigilant state, and that imprudent men who pursued objects of an inferior nature were asleep, and engaged only in the delusion of dreams ; and that if they happened to die in this sleep before they were aroused they would be afflicted with similar, but still sharper, visions in a future state. Matter was regarded by the Egyptians as a certain mire or mud. They called matter the dregs or sediment of the first life. Before the first purification the candidate for initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries was besmeared with clay or mud which it was the object of the purification to wash away. It also intimated that while the soul is in a state of servitude to the body it lives confined, as it were, in bonds through the dominion of this Titanic life. Thus the Greeks laid great stress upon the advantages to be derived from initiation. Not only were the initiates placed under the protection of the State, but the very act of initiation was said to assist in the spreading of goodwill among men, keep the soul from sin and crime, place the initiates under the special protection of the gods, and provide them with the means of attaining perfect virtue, the power of living a spotless life, and assure them of a peace- ful death and of everlasting bHss hereafter. The hierophants assured all who participated in the
THEIR MYSTICAL SIGNIFICANCE 97 Mysteries that they would have a high place in Elysium, a clearer understanding, and a more intimate intercourse with the gods, whereas the uninitiated would for ever remain in outer darkness. Indeed, in the third degree the epoptse were said to be admitted to the presence of and converse with the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, under whose immediate care and protection they were said to be placed. Initiation was referred to frequently as a guarantee of salvation conferred by outward and visible signs and by sacred formulae. The Lesser Mysteries were intended to symbolize the condition of the soul while subservient to the body, and the liberation from this servitude, through purgative virtues, was what the wisdom of the Ancients intended to signify by the descent into Hades and the speedy return from those dark abodes. They were held to contain perfective rites and appearances and the tradition of the sacred doctrines necessary to the perfection or accomplishment of the most splendid visions. The perfective part, said Proclms^ precedes initiation, as initiation precedes inspection. " Hercules," said Proclus also in Plat. Polit., " being purified by sacred initiations and enjoying undefiled fruits, obtained at length a perfect establishment among the gods " ; that is, freed from the bondage of matter ascending beyond the reach of its hands. Plutarch wrote : — " To die is to be initiated into the great mysteries, 7
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THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES & RITES DU
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THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES ^ RITES BY
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AT PREFACE one time the Mysteries o
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PREFACE 9 source is attributed to t
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INTRODUCTION BY The Rev. J. FORT NE
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INTRODUCTION 15 St. Paul in his mis
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The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites
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THE ELEUSINIAN LEGEND 19 them her g
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THE ELEUSINIAN LEGEND 21 unfortunat
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THE ELEUSINIAN LEGEND 23 her by Nep
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THE ELEUSINIAN LEGEND 25 admitted b
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II THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES THE
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 29 He a
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 31 ** A
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 33 and
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 35 not
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 37 The
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 39 cele
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 41 was
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THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 43 Amon
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Page 53 and 54: PROGRAMME OF GREATER MYSTERIES 49 a
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Page 57 and 58: PROGRAMME OF GREATER MYSTERIES 53 t
Page 59 and 60: PROGRAMME OF GREATER MYSTERIES 55 m
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Page 63 and 64: PROGRAMME OF GREATER MYSTERIES 59 t
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Page 69 and 70: THE INITIATORY RITES 65 learn that
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Page 77 and 78: THE INITIATORY RITES 73 his beams ;
Page 79 and 80: THE INITIATORY RITES 75 Alcibiades
Page 81 and 82: THE INITIATORY RITES 77 tion, it wa
Page 83 and 84: THE INITIATORY RITES 79 several kin
Page 85 and 86: THE INITIATORY RITES 81 sacerdotal
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Page 89 and 90: THE INITIATORY RITES 85 charms in t
Page 91 and 92: THE INITIATORY RITES 87 The present
Page 93 and 94: THE INITIATORY RITES 89 by M. Reina
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Page 97 and 98: THE INITIATORY RITES 93 with marble
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Page 113 and 114: BIBLIOGRAPHY Andocides. De Mysterii
Page 115 and 116: BIBLIOGRAPHY 111 Mommsen. Feste der
Page 118: TTT-, ""^^W*-^^?.-;^! Date Due
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The Eleusinian mysteries & rites. - The Masonic Trowel

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