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210 BOOK OF THE A. AND A. KITE.
re-edification of the Temple, that little i.eed be
added.
The first fourteen degrees of Ineffable Masonry
have reference to the construction of the first Tem-
ple, the demolition of it by Nebuzaradan, under the
authority of Nebuchadnezzar and Balthasar, and the
conveying to Babylon of all the precious vessels and
material ;
also, the driving into the fastnesses of the
mountains and the uncultivated country all Masons
of whatever grade.
The fifteenth and sixteenth degrees have direct
reference to the reconstruction of the Temple by Ze-
rubbabel ; first, by permission of Cyrus, King of
Persia—as exemplified in the fifteenth degree—and
then more completely by the sanction of his succes-
sor, King Darius, who (with Artaxerxes) made every
effort to restore the Temple in its beauty, and to re-
furnish it with the precious vessels taken from th*
first edifice.
After the sacking of Jerusalem, and the destruc-
tion of King Solomon's Temple, the Masons remained
captives and exiles for seventy years, during all which
period they kept faithfully their promise to rebuild
the Temple of their God, by preserving some por-
tions of the holy furniture and holding Masonic
Lodges. Shortly subsequent to obtaining permis-
sion of King Cyrus to reconstruct the edifice, and
while the foundation was not yet complete, Cyrus
died. Great apathy and indifference, in consequence,
existed among the brethren, more especially as thej