Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

134 CAPUCHIN
CARDINAL
among their countrymen the pure doctrines
of their religion . Although they had neither
place nor time of national gathering, nor temple,
and therefore offered no sacrifices, yet
they observed the Mosaic laws with respect
to the rite of circumcision . They preserved
their tables of genealogy and the true succession
to the throne of David. The rightful
heir being called the Head of the Captivity,
Jehoiachin, who was the first king of Judea
carried captive to Babylon, was succeeded by
his son Shealtiel, and he by his son Zerubbabel,
who was the Head of the Captivity, or
nominal prince of Judea at the close of the
captivity .. The due succession of the highpriesthood
was also preserved, for Jehosadek,
who was the high priest carried by Nebuchadnezzar
to Babylon, where he died during the
captivity, was succeeded by his eldest son,
Joshua . The Jewish captivity terminated in
the first year of the reign of Cyrus, B .c. 536.
Cyrus, from his conversations with Daniel
and the other Jewish captives of learning and
piety, as well as from his perusal of their sacred
books, more especially the prophecies of
Isaiah, had become imbued with a knowledge
of true religion, and hence had even publicly
announced to his subjects his belief in the God
"which the nation of the Israelites worshipped
." He was consequently impressed
with an earnest desire to fulfil the prophetic
declarations of which he was the subject, and
to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem . Cyrus
therefore issued a decree by which the Jews
were permitted to return to their country .
According to Milman, 42,360 besides servants
availed themselves of this permission, and returned
to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel their
prince and Joshua their high priest, and thus
ended the first or Babylonian captivity, the
only one which has any connection with the
legends of Freemasonry as commemorated in
the Royal Arch Degree .
Capuchin. One of the monks of the Order
of St . Francis . They went barefooted, were
long-bearded, and wore a gown or cloak of
dark color made like a woman's garment with
a hood .
Carauslus . A Roman emperor, who assumed
the purple A.D. 287. Of him Preston
gives the following account, which may or
may not be deemed apocryphal, according to
the taste and inclination of the reader : "By
assuming the character of a Mason, he acquired
the love and esteem of the most enlightened
part of his subjects . He possessed
real merit, encouraged learning and learned
men, and improved the country in the civil
arts . In order to establish an empire in Britain,
he brought into his dominions the best
workmen and artificers from all parts ; all of
whom, under his auspices, enjoyed peace and
tranquillity . Among the first class of his
favorites he enrolled the Masons : for their
* So says the Talmud, but Smith (Diet. of the
Bible) affirms that the assertion is unsupported
by proof. The Masonic legends conform to the
Talmudic statement .
tenets he professed the highest veneration, and
appointed Albanus, his steward, the princi al
superintendent of their assemblies . Under s
patronage, Lodges and conventions of the
Fraternity were formed, and the rites of Mar
sonry regularly practised . To enable the
Masons to hold a general council, to establish
their own government and correct errors
among themselves, he granted to them a charter,
and commanded Albanus to preside over
them in person as Grand Master ." (Illustrations,
ed. 1812, p. 142 .) Anderson also gives
the legend of Carausius in the second edition
of his Constitutions, and adds that "this is
asserted by all-the old copies of the Constitutions,
and the old' English Masons firmly
believed it." (Constitutions, 1738, p . 57 .)
But the fact is that Anderson himself does not
mention the tradition in his first edition, published
in 1723, nor is any reference to Carausius
to be found in any of the old manuscripts
now extant . The legend is, it is true, inserted
in Krause's Manuscript ; but this document is
of very little authority, having been, most
probably, a production of the early part of the
eighteenth century, and of a contemporary of
Anderson, written perhaps between 1723 and
1738, which would account for the omission of
it in the first edition of the Book of Constitutions,
and its insertion in the second. The
reader may hence determine for himself what
authenticity is to be given to the Carausiun
legend .
Carbuncle. In Hebrew, I171~, baraketh,
the third stone in the first row of the high
priest's breastplate, according to the authorized
version, but the first stone in the
second row, according to the Septuagint .
Braun, a writer on the sacerdotal vestments
of the Hebrews (Amsterdam, 1680), supposes
that the baraketh was a smaragdus or
emerald, which view is sustained by Kalisch,
and is in accordance with the Septuagint
translation. The Talmudists derive baraketh
from a word signifying " to shine with
the brightness of fire," which would seem to
indicate some stone of a coruscant color, and
would apply to the bright green of the emerald
as well as to the bright red of the carbuncle .
The stone, whatever it was, was referred to
the tribe of Judah . The carbuncle in Christian
iconography signifies blood and suffering,
and is symbolical of the Lord's passion. Five
carbuncles placed on a cross symbolize the
five wounds of Christ .
Cardinal Points . The north, west, east,
and south are so called from the Latin cardo,
a hinge, because they are the principal points
of the compass on which all the others hinge
or hang . Each of them has a symbolic signification
in Masonry, which will be found
under their respective heads . Dr . Brinton,
in an interesting Treatise on the Symbolism and
Mythology of the Red Race of 'America, has a
chapter on the sacred number four ; the only
one, he says, that has any prominence in the
religions of the red race, and which he traces
to the four cardinal points. The reason, he
declares, is to be "found in the adoration of