The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

SoftTHE ORIGINFreemasonry*OFandKnights TemplarCOMPILED BYJohn R. Bennett, P. E. C.'We can not understand the actualof a character or system without insome degree entering into its ideal.'520256/ i .si

COPYRIGHT, 1907, BYJOHN R. BENNETT, P. E. C.MUSKEGON. MICH.OF JOHNSON A HARDIN, CINCINNATI, O.

CONTENTSPREFACEFreemasonryPAGEjAncient Mysteries->Egyptian Mysteries 4Adonisian Mysteries IODionysian Mysteries 12Eleusinian Mysteries ^Mysteries of Mithras15Israelites,t gJewish History

ILLUSTRATIONSFrontispieceMeneptaPAGEjgExodus of Israel24High Priest of Israel 26The Tabernacle 28Ark of the Covenant ' 30SaulAnointed34The Temple of Solomon . .41Plan of Temple 48Captive Jews Led into Babylonia 94Babylon ^ ... 96Cyrus the Great 99Capture of Babylon100RebuildingJesusJerusalemIO 3116The Prophet Mohammed 123Preaching the Crusade 131The First Crusade,137Jerusalem 139Battle Before Acre 147Burning of Jaques de Molay ... 151

HISTORICAL INDEXPAGEAaron ................... 32Abraham or Abram ............. 19, 114Acre ................ .... 145Aholiab ........... ....... 26Amalekites ................. 25Ammonites .................. 3 2Amorites .................. 32Antioch ................... 136Arabia ................... 32Arabia Deserta (see Arabia).Arabia Petrsea (see Arabia).Arabia Felix (see Arabia).Aram-Naha-raim (see Mesopotamia).Ark of the Covenant .............. 30Athanasius ................. 143Athelstane ............... * . .64Bacchus (Gr. Dionysus) ............ 12Belshazzar ... ........... .... 98Bethany .................. 119Bethlehem .................. 35Birthright .................. 2061Byblos ................... 8Briton . . .................Caesarea ........ ........... 140Canaan ................... 19Ceres ................... 15Chaldeans (see Chaldea).Chaldea .................. 102................ Cyrus the Great 98Damascus .................. 102Darius, King of Persia ....... ....... 104Darius the Median ............... 100Desert or Wilderness ............. 31Desert of Kadish (see Supplement).Desert of Zin ................ 31Dionysus .................. 12Edom (Gr. Idumeasee Edomites).Edomites .................. 32

HISTORICALINDEX.PAGEKgypt'l8Fatimites I2 9i-Yasts (see Supplement).t of the Passover (see Supplement).of the Pentecost (see Supplement).t of the Sabhath (see Supplement).of the Tabernacle 119(iedaliah 93(iibeonites (see Gibeon).Gibeon 33Goshen (see Land of Goshen).Haran 19Hebrews 3 2Hebron 19Horus 9Holy Land (see Supplement).Ishmael (see Ishmaelites).Ishmaelites 121Jebusites 39Jericho 3 2Jerusalem 39Jcthro 23Jone>, Inigo 65Joppa 4 1Joseph of Arimathea 119Kabbalah 109Kadesh-Barnea 3 1Kingdom of Judah 57Land of Canaan 19Land of Chaldeans (see Chaldea).Land of (ioshen or Ramses 22Land .of Ik-brews (see Supplement).Land of Israel (see Supplement).Land of Judah (see Supplement).I -and of Promise 19I,and of Shinar (see Chaldea).Lot 19Me>o]M)tamia 19Middle Ages 15Midianites 21Moabites 32Monk 6932Mount Sinai (see Sinai).Xicodemus . 118

HISTORICALINDEX.PAGEOlympiad !5Padan Aram (see Mesopotamia).Pagan 14Palestine 22Patron 7Pharaoh 19Phidias 5Philistines 33Phoenicia (see Phoenicians).Phoenicians 4 2Praxiteles 5ProserphinellQueen of Sheba 43Kabbah 102Ramses 19Rephidim 25Riblah . 94Rosetta Stone 9Samaritans5^Sanhedrin 118Seljooks or Seljuks Turks 129Shechem 19Shiloh 32Sidon 41Sinai 2 5Symbol (see SupplementVSyriaTadmorIO2Tamarisk 8TitanI26TyphonTyre ,4*Ur 19Venus -10Wilderness of Paran 3 1Wilderness or Desert 3 1Wren, Sir Christopher66York (Lat. Eboracum) 64Ziklag 37

PREFACEIn view of this fact, and a strong desire on mypart to acquire more light in Masonry,I was inducedsome twenty years ago to commence the compilationof this concise and interesting story ofFreemasonry and Knights Templar. The yearsof toil that I have devoted to it have been a work oflove, and in placing it before the Craft, it is withthe hope of the further enlightenment and bettermentof mankind.Masonry being so interwoven with the early historyof the world, I have added a Supplemental Encyclopedia,in which may be found brief accounts ofmany ancient countries and cities, together withshort sketches of the life of the early tribes and ofthe ancient characters connected with Masonic history.If the reader will carefully note all references, amuch better understanding of the general subjectswill be had.All Biblical chronological data will be found accordingto the computation of Archbishop Usher.The illustrations in this volume are taken fromRidpath's History of the World, and are used bycourtesy of the Jones Bros. Publishing Company,Cincinnati, Ohio.JOHN R. BENNETT.MUSKEGON, MICH., April 19, 1906.

FREEMASONRY.The true history of isFreemasonry much in itscharacter like the history of a nation; It has itshistoric and its prehistoric era. In its historic era,the institution can be regularly traced throughvarious antecedent associations, similar in designand organization, to a comparatively remote period.Its connection with these associations can be rationallyestablished by authentic documents and byother evidence which no historian would reject.For the prehistoric era that which connects itwith the mysteries of the pagan world, and with theold priests of Eleusis, of Samothrace, or of Syrialet us honestly say that we no longer treat of Freemasonryunder its present organization, which wethose days, but of a scienceknow did not exist inpeculiar, and peculiar only, to the Mysteries and tocall MasonicFreemasonry, a science which we maysymbolism, and which constituted the very heartbloodof the ancient and the modern institutions,and gave to them, while presenting a dissimilarityof form, an identity of spirit. In connecting andtracing the germ of Freemasonry in those prehistoricdays, although guided by no documents, andno authentic spoken or written narratives on whichto rely, we find fossil thoughts embalmed in thoseancient intellects precisely like the living ones whichcrop out in modern Masonry, and which, like thefossil shells and fishes of the old physical forma-

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARtions of the earth, show by their resemblance to livingspecimens the graduated connection of the pastwith the present.Every human institution is subject to great andnumerous variations; the different aspects underwhich they appear, and the principles by which theyare governed, depend on the advance of civilization,the nature of the protecting government, and thepeculiar habits and opinions of the members themselves.Before learning was advanced, and whenthe art of printing was unknown, the discoveriesin the arts and sciences must of necessity have beenknown to but few individuals. The pursuit ofscience was a secondary matter, and questions ofphilosophy were solely the prerogative of priestcraft.of life.Agriculture was the grand pursuitI Jut architecture soon, in the natural order ofthings, arose as a science, and human skill wascalled into play. The triumph of mind over matterwas the great feat of the first architects, who werealso the first natural philosophers. There is nospeculation in the statement that these formedthemselves into an association for improvementat an early date; their architectural monumentspreceding the authentic records of history, are withus to this day; and tradition informs us that thisunion of scientific men differed from the Freemasonsof to-day in little more than in name. Thearts and sciences were cultivated in Egypt and theadjacent countries in Asia, while all other nationswere involved in ignorance. Of these sciences,astronomy, geometry and architecture took thefirst rank.Freemasonry not only presents the appearance

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR1of a speculative science, based on an operative art,but also very significantly exhibits itself as the symbolicexpression of a religious idea. In other andplainer words, we see in it the important lesson ofeternal life, taught by a legend which, whether trueor false, is used in Masonry as a symbol and allegory.But whence came this legend ? Did all linealsources have this legend? The evidence is thatthey did. Not indeed the same legend not the same;personage as its hero; not the same details; but alegend with the same spirit and design; a legendfunereal in character, celebrating death and resurrection,solemnized in lamentations and terminatingin joy.We can not correctly understand the history ofthe nations of antiquity, much less their theology,philosophy, science or ethics, without knowledge oftheir societies. Some of the grandest ideas, thosewhich have had the greatest influence on humanprogress, were born amid mystic symbols.*NOTE. The asterisk (*) refers to the Supplement for furtherinformation.Ancient Mysteries.Among the most important of the Ancient Mysterieswere the following: The Osiric in Egypt,the Adonisian in Syria, the Mithraic in Persia, theCabiric in Thrace, the Druidical among the Celts,the Scandinavian among the Gothic, the Dionysianand Eleusinian in Greece.Each of the Pagan gods had, beside the public,a secret worship paid him, to which none were ad-1 See Speculative Masonry in Supplement.3

l-RKKMASOXRV AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmined but those who had been selected by preparatoryceremonies called initiation. This secrethip was termed the MYSTERIES. And this issupported by Strabo, who says "that it was common,both to the Greeks and the barbarians, to performtheir religious ceremonies with the observanceof a festival, and that they were sometimes celebratedpublicly and sometimes in mysterious privacy."The first of the Mysteries of which we haveany account, Warburton says, "were those of Isisand Osiris in Egypt."Egyptian Mysteries.& Egypt has always been considered the birthplaceof the Mysteries. It was there the ceremonies ofinitiation were first established. It was there thattruth was first veiled in allegory, and the dogmasof religion were first imparted under symbolicforms. From Egypt this system of symbols wasGreece and Rome and otherdisseminated throughcountries of Europe and Asia, giving origin,through many intermediate steps,to that mysteriousassociation which is now represented by theinstitution of Freemasonry. The favored rank ofilie Kgyptian society was the priests. To them belongedone-third of the lands of the kingdom. Theywere the holy order in whose hands rested the maintenanceof the national religious faith, the conductof all the ceremonies in the temples, the directionof the sacrifices, the work of education and generalculture of the Egyptian. The priesthoods of Egypttituted a sacred caste, in whom the priestlyfunctions were hereditary. They exercised also4

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARan important part in the government of state,andthe kings of Egypt were but the first subjects of itspriests. *The initiation into the Egyptian Mysteries wasof all the systems practiced by the ancients the mostsevere and impressive. The system had been organizedfor ages, and the priests, who alone werethe teachers of the Mysteries, were educated almostfrom childhood for that purpose. That "learning ofthe Egyptians," in which Moses is said to have beenso skilled, was all imparted in those Mysteries. Overthe entire history of the Land of the Pyramids aveil of mystery is drawn. Its history is a dream,not the promises of the future, but of achievementsof the past. Here empire first placed her throneand swayed her scepter. Long before Greece andRome and Assyria had been wrapped in their swaddlingclothes, Egypt was a man of war and a heroof victory. The stones that reared Athens in splendor,and spoke forth the beautiful conceptions ofPhidias* and Praxiteles,* were unused in the quarrieslong after the Colossi of Thebes had grownold with years. While Abraham, the fatherof the faithful, wandered a nomad and lived intents, a Pharaoh sat on the throne of Egypt, and,but a few years after, the Ishmaelitish merchantsled their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh,commodities only used by rich and cultivated peoples,from Gilead to the Nile. A few years fromthis and there were standing armies in Egypt, chariotsof war, bodies of infantry, and, what is still moresurprising, a large body of cavalry. It was in theEgyptian society of Isis and Osiris that this ancientand wonderful civilization had its origin. Here were5

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARfashioned and wrought out those ideas that subsequentlyentered into the very life of the people.The two central figures of these Mysteries, aswell as of Egyptian history, were Isis and Osiris.These, when stripped of their mystic garments andbrought down to the level of humanity, appear tohave been an early king (Osiris) and queen (Isis)of this country, who were at the same time brotherand sister. These, by superior virtue and intelligence,won the admiration and confidence of thesewild and untutored barbarians, led them out of theirdegraded state, and guided their feet into the pathof civilization and empire. Under their directionand fullthe land of savage darkness became light,of joy. Isis taught the people to hold the plow andturn the furrow, and to make bread from the ripenedgrain. While doing this she made laws for homesociety, and restrained men from lawlessness andviolence by their sanction. Osiris built Thebes,with its hundred gates; erected temples and altars,instituted the sacred rites, and appointed prieststo have the oversight and care of the holy things.Having accomplished these things, and seeingtheir effect upon his own people, he resolved to raisea great army, and, leaving Isis as ruler, to gothrough all the world, "for he hoped he could civilizemen and take them off from their rude andbeast-like course of life." This he succeeded in doing,but shortly after his return he was slain by hisbrother Typhon. After his death Isis made a vownever to marry again, and spent her days in rulingjustly over her subjects, "excelling all other princesin her acts of grace and bounty towards her ownpeople, and therefore, after her death, she was num.6

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbered among the gods, and as such had divine honorsand veneration, and was buried at Memphis,where they show her senuldhr^ at this day in thegrove of Vulcan."The sacred rites which Osiris is said to have institutedreceived many additions in course -of time,and finally were divided into two degrees. These,as in their copy at Eleusis, Greece, were called theGreat and Less, the former being the Mysteries ofOsiris, the latter those of Isis, the latter being apreparation to the fuller revelation of the secretscontained in the former.In the Great Mystery was represented the allegoricalhistory of Osiris, which the Egyptians regardedas the most solemn mystery of their religion,and which Herodotus and all other ancientwriters mention with great caution. To be initiatedin these was the great privilege of the priest, thoughthis caste were not all admitted indiscriminately tothis honor. This was reserved for the heir-apparentto the throne, and for such priests as excelledin virtue and wisdom.The principal seat of the Egyptian Mysteries wasat Memphis, in the neighborhood of the great Pyramid.The legend was as follows: Osiris, a wiseking of Egypt, left the care of his kingdom to hiswife Isis, and traveled for three years to communicateto other nations the arts of civilization. Duringhis absence his brother Typhon formed a secretconspiracy to destroy him and to usurp his throne.On his return Osiris was invited by Typhon toan entertainment in the month of November, atwhich all the conspirators were present. Typhonproduced a chest inlaid with gold, and promised7

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARto give itto any person whose body would exactlyfit it. Osiris was tempted to try the experiment;but he no sooner laid down in the chest than thelid was closed and nailed down and the chest throwninto the river Nile. The chest containing the bodyof Osiris was, after being for a long time tossedabout by the waves, finally cast up at Byblos,* inMnenicia, and leftat the foot of a tamarisk* tree.Isis, overwhelmed with grief for the loss of hershe at length discovered the spot whence ithusband, set out on a journey, and traversed theearth in search of the body. After many adventures,had been thrown up by the waves, and returnedwith it in triumph to Egypt. It was then proclaimed,with the most extravagant demonstrationsof joy, that Osiris was risen from the dead andhad become a god. Such, with slight variationsof details by different writers, are the general outlinesof the Osiris legend.Itwas represented in the public drama of initiation,by the image of a dead man being borne inan ark or coffin, by a procession of initiates; andthis enclosure in the coffin or interment of the bodywas called the aphanism, or disappearance, and thelamentations for him formed the first part, or Mysteriesof Isis. On the third day after the interment,the priests and initiates carried the coffin, in whichwas also a golden vessel, down to the river Nile.Into the vessel they poured water from the river;and then, with a cry of "We have found him, letus rejoice," they declared that the dead Osiris, whohad descended into Hades, had returned fromthence, and was restored again to life; and therejoicings which ensued constituted the second part,8

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARor Mysteries of Osiris. Its resemblance to theHiramic legend of the Masonic system will be readilyseen, and itssymbolism will be easily understood.Osiris and Typhon are representatives ofthe two antagonistic principles good and evil,light and darkness, life and death.Osiris as an Egyptian deity was worshiped underthe form of an ox, personifying the power of goodand the sunlight, united in history and in worshipa sacred triad with Isis as his wife and Horus* astheir child. Some of the Egyptian philosophersregarded him as a river god, and called him Nilus.But the truth Osiris is, represented the male, activeor generative powers of nature; while Isis representedits female, passive or prolific powers. Thus,when Osiris was the sun, Isis was the earth, to bevivified by his rays; when he was the Nile, Isiswas the land of Egypt, fertilized by his overflow.The researches in the last few years have thrownmuch light on the Egyptian Mysteries. Amongthe ceremonies of the ancient people was one calledthe "Procession of Shrines," which is mentionedin the Rosetta stone,* and depicted on the templewalls. One of these shrines was an ark, which wascarried in procession by the priests, who supportedit on their shoulders by staves passing throughmetal rings. It was thus brought into the templeand deposited on a stand or altar, that the ceremoniesprescribed in the ritual might be performedbefore it. The contents of these arks were various,but always of a mystical character. Sometimesthe ark would contain symbols of life and stability,sometimes the sacred beetle, the symbol of .the sun ;and there was always a representation of two fig-9

l-RKL-LMASONRYAND KNIGHTS TEMPLARtiresof the goddess Theme or Truth and Justice,which overshadowed the ark with their wings.These coincidences of the Egyptian and Hebrewarks must have been more than accidental.Adonisian Mysteries inSyria.The Mysteries of Adonis, on account of theirlocality, bring them in close connection with thehistory and reputed origin of Freemasonry. Theywere principally celebrated at Byblos, a city inPhoenicia, situated near the base of Mount Lebanon,on the Mediterranean, north of Beyroot, andwhose Scriptural or Hebrew name was Gebal, andwhose inhabitants were the Giblites or Giblemites,who are referred to in the first Book of Kings(chap. v. 18) as being the "stone-squarers" employedby King Solomon in building the temple.Hence there must have evidently been a very intimateconnection or frequent intercommunicationbetween the workmen of the first temple and theinhabitants of Byblos. These Mysteries were saidto have been first established at Babylon, and thencepassed over into Syria, their principal seat beingat Byblos, in that country.The legend of Adonis is: That he was the Kingof Cyprus. Adonis was possessed of such surprisingbeauty that Venus* (Goddess of Love) becameenamored with him, and adopted him as her favorite.Subsequently Adonis, who was a great hunter,died from a wound inflicted by a wild boar onMount Lebanon. Venus flew to the succor of herfavorite, but she came too late. Adonis was dead.10

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAROn his descent to the infernal regions Proserpine*(Queen of Hades) became, like Venus, so attractedby his beauty that, the entreatiesnotwithstandingof the goddess of love, she refused to restore himto earth. At length the prayers of the despondingVenus were listened to with favor by Jupiter(Father of Men and Gods) who reconciled thedispute between the two goddesses, and by whbsedecree Proserpine was compelled to consent thatAdonis should spend six months of each year alternatelywith herself and Venus.The ceremonies commenced about the season ofthe year when the river Adonis began to be swollenby the flood at its source, It is a small river ofSyria, which, rising in Mount Lebanon, enters theMediterranean a few miles south of Byblos. It isa fact that, after a sudden fall of rain, the river,descending in floods, is tinged with a deep red bythe soil of the hills in which it takes its rise, andimparts the color to the sea, into which it is discharged,for a considerable distance. The worshipersof Adonis believed that this reddish discolorationof the water was a symbol of his blood.The Israelites called him Thammuz.The Mysteries of Adonis were celebratedthroughout all the countries of Syria,* and formeda part of the ceremonies of the Dionysian Architectsof Tyre, by whom they were introduced into Judea.The sacred rites began with mourning, and the daysset apart to the celebration of the death of Adoniswere passed in cries and wailing, many oftenscourging themselves. On the last of the days ofmourning, funeral rites were performed in honorof the god. On the following day the restorationii

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARof Adonis to lifetwas announced and was receivedwith the most enthusiastic demonstrations of joy.The ohjects represented in these Mysteries werethe grief of Venus and the death and resurrectionof Adonis. The analogy in the 'symbolism thatexists between Adonis in the Mysteries of the Giblemitesat Byblos and Hiram the builder, can readily'be seen by the Freemason in his own institution.Dionysian Mysteries.& These Mysteries were celebrated throughoutGreece and Asia Minor, but principally at Athens,where the years were numbered by them. Theywere introduced in Greece in the year 1415 B. C.by the Egyptian colonists, many of whom, accordingto Biblical chronology, went there as early as1760 B. C. These Mysteries were instituted inhonor of Bacchus,* or, as the Greeks called him,Dionysus. About three hundred years afterwards,Ionic migration occurred, the emigrants carryingwith them from Greece to Asia Minor the Mysteriesof Dionysus, before they had been corruptedby the Athenians.In these Mysteries the murder of Dionysus bythe Titans* was commemorated, in which legendhe isevidently identified with the Egyptian Osiris,who was slain by his brother Typhon. 1The ritualof Freemasonry preserves, in its central circle, theleading features of the Dionysian institution.Hiram and Dionysus are names representing andillustrating in their history and experience thesame ideas. The initiation was a symbolical prog-1See page 7. last paragraph.12

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARress, from the dark, dead and frigid north to therefulgent east a pilgrimage. The moral teachingof these Mysteries w^s the same as, that of theMysteries of Osiris.In the time of King Solomon, the ancient cityof Tyre, in Phoenicia, was celebrated as the residenceof King Hiram, and to that monarch, Solomonand his father, David, were greatly indebtedfor assistance in the construction of the Templeat Jerusalem.The inhabitants of Tyre were distinguished fortheir skill as artificers, especially as workers inbrass and other metals; and it is said to have beenthe principal seat of that skillful body of architectsknown as the Fraternity of Dionysian Architects.The priests of Bacchus or Dionysus, havingdevoted themselves to architectural pursuits, foundedthis society, which was exclusively confined tothe privilege of erecting temples and other publicbuildings ; they were linked together by the secretties of the Dionysian Mysteries, into which theyhad all been initiated. They were distinguishedby many peculiarities that strikinglyassimilate itto our Order. For the facilities of labor and government,they were divided into communities, eachof which was governed by a Master and Wardens.They employed in their ceremonial observancesmany of the implements which are still to be foundamong Freemasons, and used, like them, a universallanguage, by which one brother could distinguishanother in the dark as well as in the light,and served to unite the members scattered overIndia, Persia and Syria, into one common brotherhood.The existence of this order in Tyre, at the13

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARtime of the building of the Temple ofSolomon, isuniversally admitted; and Hiram, the widow's son,to whom Solomon intrusted the superintendence ofthe workmen, as an inhabitant of Tyre, was, veryprobably, one of its members. Hence we may legitimatelysuppose that the Dionysian Architectswere sent by Hiram, king of Tyre, to assist KingSolomon in the construction of the house he wasabout to dedicate to Jehovah, and that they communicatedto their Jewish fellow-laborers a knowledgeof the advantages of their fraternity, andinvited them to a participation in itsMysteries andprivileges. In the union, however, the apocryphallegend of the Dionysians would naturally give wayto the true legend of the Masons, which was unhappilyfurnished by a melancholy incident thatoccurred at the time. The latter part of this statementis, it is admitted, a mere speculation, but onethat has met the approval of Lowrie, Oliver and ourbest writers; and although this connection betweenDionysian Architects and the builders of KingtheSolomon may not be supported by documentary evidence,the traditionary theoryis at least plausible,and offers nothing that is absurd or impossible.Tf accepted, it supplies the necessary link whichconnects the Pagan* with the Jewish Mysteries.ftftEleusinian Mysteries.The institution of these Mysteries may be placedabout the year ly?) 15. C, in the reign of Erectheus.A fragment of marble preserved at Oxford givesthis as the date. This was three hundred years

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARprior to the reign of David in Jerusalem, and morethan six hundred years before the firstOlympiad,*the beginning of true Grecian history. They werecelebrated at the village of Eleusis, near the cityof Athens, Greece. Like the Egyptian Mysteries,they were divided into two classes, the lesser andthe greater. The lesser Mysteries were celebratedon the banks of the Ilissus, whose waters suppliedthe means of purification of the aspirants. Thegreater Mysteries were celebrated in the templeat Eleusis. They were public to the many andsecret to the few. They were dedicated to the goddessDemeter, the Ceres* of the Romans, who wasworshiped by the Greeks as the symbol of the prolificearth; and in them were scenically representedand secretly taught the loss and recovery of Persephone,and the doctrine of the unity of God and theimmortality of the soul. The scenic representations,secret signs and words of recognition, theinstruction in a peculiar dogma, and the establishmentof a hidden bond of fraternity, gave attractionto these Mysteries, which lasted until the veryfall of the Roman Empire, and exerted a powerfulinfluence on the mystical associations of the MiddleAges.* That which connects them with the moderninitiations of Freemasonryis evident in the commonthought which pervades and identifies both ; thoughit is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to trace allthe connecting links of the historic chain.Mysteries of Mithras.There are none of the ancient Mysteries whichafford a more interesting subject of investigation15

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARto the Masonic scholar than those of the Persiangod Mithras. These Mysteries are supposed tohave heen carried from Egypt by Zeradusht orZoroaster, and instituted as an initiation into theprinciples of the religion which he had foundedamong the ancient Persians. Of the identity ofMithras with other deities there have been variousopinions, but to the Persians, who first practicedhis Mysteries, he was a sun god, and worshipedas the god of light. The Mysteries of Mithraswere always celebrated in caves. They were dividedinto seven stages or degrees and consisted ofthe most rigorous proofs of fortitude and courage.The Mysteries of Mithras passed from Persia intoEurope, and were introduced into Rome in the timeof Pompey (87-48 B. C). Here they flourished,with various success, until the year 378 A. D.,when they were proscribed by a decree of the Senate,and the sacred cave, in which they had beencelebrated, was destroyed by the Praetorian prefect.The Mithraic monuments that are still extant inthe museums of Europe evidently show that theimmortality of the soul was one of the doctrinestaught in the Mithraic initiation.A description of the other ancient Mysterieswouldonly be to repeat what has been said, and asall took their rise in Egypt, we may judge thesource of thefountain by the nature of the stream.All contain just such legends, everywhere differingin particulars, but everywhere coinciding in generalcharacter. After what has now been said it cannot be difficult to see clearly the true end and greatpurpose of the Mysteries, the first and greatestfruits of which were, according to the ancients, to16

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcivilize savage people, soften their ferocious manners,render them social, and prepare them for akind of life more worthy q the dignity of man.And such were the results of the ancient legends,taught through symbolism and mysteries.

FREEMASONRYAND KXH.HTS TEMPLARIsraelites.Israel (I leb. Yisrael, "a prince with God"), thename bestowed upon Jacob when he wrestled withan an^el at Peniel ((ien. xxxii. 28), afterwardthe distinctive name of his descendants.MENEPTA.Egypt. A celebrated country in the north ofAfrica, at the eastern part of the MediterraneanThe Hebrews called it Mi/rain, and hence itis now called by the Arabs, Mixr. The ( irceks andRomans called it/K^yptus, whence K.^ypt; but theorigin of thi< name is unknown.18

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARRameses the Great, of Egypt, was succeeded byKing Menepta, who is now generally accepted byhistorians as the Pharaoh**)f the exodus of Israel.The story of this remarkable race begins with thecall of Abraham from his home at Ur,* the city ofhis birth, usually called "Ur of the Chaldees," nearthe Euphrates, in the northwest part of Mesopotamia,*to his promised abode in Canaan.* (Seemap. )Abraham was a son of Terah, a descendant ofShem, and born in 1996 B. C. In 1922 B. C. hewent to Haran,* in Mesopotamia (a region northeastof the Euphrates), accompanied by his father,his wife Sarai, his brother Nahor, and his nephewLot* (Gen. xi. 26-32). His father dies soon after,and he takes his wife and nephew and enters theland of promise, or Canaan, as a nomad or wanderingshepherd. Sojourning for a time at Shechem,*he built here, as was his custom, an altar to theLord. Removing from place to place for convenienceof water and pasturage, he was at lengthdriven by a famine into Egypt. Returning toCanaan in 1918 B. C., rich in flocks and herds, heleft Lot to dwell in the fertile valley of the lowerJordan on the plain of Sodom, and pitched his owntents in Mamre: the same is Hebron* in the landof Canaan (Gen. xii., xiii.). Here his descendantsmultiplied to the fifth generation. He becamegreatly renowned for piety and wisdom, and wascalled a friend of God. Sarai his wife, being barren,gives Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid, to Abram,and in 1910 B. C. Ishmael was born (Gen. xvi.n, 12). God covenants with Abram, changes hisname to Abraham, institutes circumcision, and19

FREEMASOXRV AXI)KXIGHTS TEMPLARpromises Isaac by Sarai, whom he calls Sarah. Infulfillment of the divine promise Isaac was bornin 1896 B. C, in the extreme old age of both hisparents, Abraham being 100 and Sarah ninetyyears of age. In 1859 B. C., Sarah dies, and fiveyears later Abraham marries Keturah, by whomhe had six sons. Abraham dies in 1821 B. C, aged175 years. His sons Isaac and Ishmael bury himin the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron,which is before Mamre (or Hebron) (Gen. xxv.9, 10).Isaac at the age of forty marries Rebekah, hiskinswoman, who bore him twin sons, Esau (orKdom) and Jacob (afterwards called Israel). Theywere born in 1836 B. C., but the place of their birthcan not be ascertained from the narrative in Gen.xxv., except that it was in the Negeb or "SouthCountry" of the land of Canaan. Esau was thefirst-born and the favorite of his father, but Jacob,in his early manhood, by the aid of his mother,obtained the birthright* (Gen. xxvii.), and infear of the rage of Esau was sent away by his parentsto his uncle Laban at Haran, in Mesopotamia,where he married his cousins Leah and Rachel, andresided twenty years, becoming wealthy in flocksand herds. Jacob then returns to Canaan with histaniily and his riches. Arriving near home, hemeets his brother Esau, and in a rather dramaticpersonal interview they become reconciled (Gen.XXXlii.), Isaae dies at Hebron in 1716 B. C.,aged iSo years, and is buried in the cave of Machpelahwith his father, lie was a man of gentlenature, a nomadic herdsman of devout and blamelife.20

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARJoseph was the eleventh of the twelve sons ofJacob, and was born at Haran, in Mesopotamia,about 1745 B. C. He wa^the favorite son of hisfather, and envied by his brethren on that account.Their enmity was further excited by two 'dreamsin which his future greatness was foreshadowed,and this led them to sell him as a slave to someMidianite* traders, by whom he was carried intoEgypt, and sold to Potiphar, an officer of the king.The Midianite traders were an ancient Arabianrace, the descendants of Midian, the fourth of thesix sons of Abrahani by Keturah.They appear tohave dwelt mainly to the south of Moab, and covereda territory extending to the neighborhood ofMount Sinai. Joseph acquired the confidence ofhis master, who set him as overseer over all hisproperty, but, having repelled dishonorable proposalsmade to him by his mistress, she accused himfalsely to her husband, and caused him to be throwninto prison. Here he interpreted the dreams oftwo of his fellow-prisoners, the chief baker andchief butler of Pharaoh, and when his predictionshe was summonedhad been justified by the result,by King Pharaoh, at the instance of the butler,interpret two dreams which portended seven yearsof prosperity followed by seven of famine. Thethe wisdom of theking was so much struck byadvice given by the young Hebrew that he adoptedall his suggestions for making preparations for thetime of famine, and appointed him ruler over thewhole land. The measures taken by Joseph asvizier or viceroy resulted greatly to the advantageof the king and his people, securing an abundantprovision for the time of the famine. This calamity21to

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARextended also to the adjoining countries, and ledJacob to dispatch his sons to the Egyptian granariesto purchase corn, and there the brothers werebrought face to face with Joseph, who recognizedhis unnatural brethren, and after a series of stratagems(Gen. xlii.), by which he reminded them ofand punished them for their crime, the whole family,by his request, to the number of about seventy,was brought into and established in the "land ofGoshen,"* or Ramses, as it was called by the Egyptians.(This was about i'/o6 B. C.) Here theyltwo hundred andgrew and multiplied for nearly fifteen years. Joseph married a daughterof thehigh priest of On (Heliopolis), and had two sons,Manasseh and Ephraim, who became the progenitorsof the tribes bearing those names, the mostpowerful of the future kingdomof Israel. Josephpreserved his authority until his death, whichoccurred in 1635 B- C- at the age of no. His bodywas cMiibalmed, and at the time of the Exodus wascarried to Palestine* and buried at Shechem,where his tomb is still shown.Jacob died in Egypt in 1689 B. C., aged 147years; his body was embalmed and buried withgreat pom]) and all possible honors in the burialplaceof Abraham, near Hebron (Gen. 1.).For a time the growing Israelitic tribe was heldin honor by the government and people; but laterthe ruling class began to look askance at thestrangers, and then to oppress them. They wereset to work at building and digging. They were1This date has been sharply contested.it should be about the year 1550 B. C.Some authors claim22

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARset to sweat in the brickyards, and were beaten bytaskmasters until they broke out in insurrection.In the course of time, dermal of religious privilegescomplicated and intensified the rebellion. In theyear 1573 B. C, Pharaoh orders all the male childrenof the Hebrews to be drowned. Two yearslater Jochebed, the wife of Amram, a Levite, succeededin concealing her infant three months, butwhen she could no longer hide him, she put him ina basket of papyrus and placed the basket amongthe rushes of the Nile, and set his sister, Miriam,to watch from afar; finally the king's daughterfound the child, and, being struck with its beauty,determined to adopt it, and sent Miriam to fetcha Hebrew nurse, who conceived the idea of gettingher mother, and thus Jochebed became nurse toher own child. According to Ex. xi. 10, thechild was adopted by the king's daughter, who"called his name Moses; and she said, Because Idrew him out of the water." And according toActs vii. 22, he was initiated in all the secret wisdomof the Egyptian priesthood but the Bible tells;us nothing of his youth from his adoption by theprincess to the day when he slew an Egyptian overseerfor his barbarous treatment of a Jewish slave.This was in the year 1531 B. C. He was thencompelled to flee from Egypt, and lived many yearsin the land of the Midianites, with Jethro* thepriest, whose daughter he married and whose flockshe tended. In 1491 B. C. he was called, accordingto Exodus Hi., and Acts vii. 30-34, from the wildernessof Mount Sinai, where he was tending theflocks of his father-in-law, to free his brethrenfrom slavery in which they lived. He returned to

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAREgypt, but at first he was received by his countrymenwith suspicion, and by the Egyptians withcontempt. Nevertheless, Moses appeared as aleader of his people, and demanded, in a personalinterview with the king at Tanis, the privilege ofconducting them a three days' march into the desertEXODUS OF ISRAEL.to sacrifice to Jehovah. P>ut Pharaoh replied bycharging the Hebrews with a purpose to escapetheir tasks under a pretence of piety. WhereuponMoses, by signs and wonders done in the king'shouse and kingdom, humbled the monarch andcompelled him "to let the people go" ( Kx. xiii.).After some delays the Israelites departed along24

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe banks of the canal, touching the principalHebrew towns, and gathering their population asthey went. The route tl%en lay through the WadiTumilot (Valley), which extended to the Gulf ofSuez, where they arrived, a few miles south of thepresent city of that name. Here the fugitives werehemmed in by the forces of Pharaoh, which hadbeen sent after the retreating host. At this pointin the gulf there is a shallow, stretching from shoreto shore, almost fordable at low tide. "Mosesstretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lordcaused the sea to go back by a strong east wind allthat night, and made the sea dry land, and thewaters were divided." Over this the hosts of theHebrews, numbering, it is said, 603,000 men of soldierage, or more than 2,000,000 in all, crossed tothe other side in safety, which the Egyptians inpursuit essaying to do were drowned, for the watersreturned to their place, while the Pharaoh's horsemenand chariots, with wheels clogged in the mire,were panic-stricken and overwhelmed.The Israelites had no sooner escaped from theEgyptians than they were attacked at Rephidim*by the Amalekites,* whom they are said to havesignally defeated (Ex. xvii.). The Amalekiteswere a nomadic and warlike people, of whoseancestors there is no record, but, at the time ofthe Exodus, they occupied the wilderness betweenEgypt and Palestine. They lived generally inmigrating parties, in caves or in tents, like the BedaweenArabs of the present day. After the defeatof the Amalekites, Moses led the people to MountSinai,* in Arabia, which is situated in that countryknown as the Sinaitic peninsula that lies between25

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe horns of the Red Sea or Gulfs of Suez andAkaba, and is the place where the law of Jehovahwast^iven and the Jewish economy instituted. TheJewish tabernacle and the ark of the covenantHIGH PRIEST OF ISRAEL.were here constructed in the year 1490 B. C. byAholiab* and Bezaleel, under the immediate directionsof Moses. The tribes were numbered aftertheir families by the house of their fathers, whowere the descendants of Abraham or the twelvesons of Jacob. The twelve sons were Reuben, Sim-26

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAReon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad,Asher, Naphtali, Joseph and Benjamin. TheLevites were set aside tojiave exclusive jurisdictionover the national worship, and as they were not toinherit lands, the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim andManasseh, were chosen as their father's representativesand became progenitors in the twelve tribesof Israel. The tribe of Levi received, instead ofa province, forty-eight cities scattered throughoutCanaan and the tenth part of the fruits of the field,and were allowed generally to settle throughout theland where they chose. Aaron, who was Moses'brother, of the tribe of Levites, by a miraculousjudgment, became the first high priest. Moses directedthat twelve rods should be laid up in the Holyof Holies of the tabernacle, one for each tribe; thename of Aaron on one rod to represent the tribe ofLevi, and Moses said, "The man's rod whom I shallchoose shall blossom." On the next day these rodswere brought out and exhibited to the people,and while all the rest remained dry and withered,that of Aaron alone budded and blossomed andyielded fruit (Num. xvii.). Philo-Judaeus saysthat "Moses was instructed by the Egyptianpriests in the philosophy of symbols and hieroglyphicsas well as in the mysteries of the sacredanimals." The sacred historian tells us he was"learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians"; andManetho and other traditionary writers tell us thathe was educated at Heliopolis as a priest, under hisEgyptian name of Osarsiph, and that there he wastaught the whole range of literature and science,which it was customary to impart to the priesthoodof Egypt. It is not strange, when he began in the27

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwilderness to establish his new religion, that heshould have given a holy use to the symbols whosemeaning he had learned in his ecclesiastical educationon the banks of the Nile.The tabernacle itself was, according to Josephus,forty-five feet long by fifteen wide, its greater lengthbeing from east to west. The sides were fifteen feetTHE TABERNACLE.high, and there was a sloping roof. There wasno place of entrance except at the eastern end, whichwas covered by curtains. It was divided into twoapartments by a richly decorated curtain. Therewere suspended, so as to cover the sides and top ofthe tabernacle, four curtains ;the first or inner curtainwas composed of fine linen, magnificently embroidered,with figures of cherubim, in shades ofblue, purple and scarlet; this formed the "Beauti-28

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARful" ceiling.The other coverings or curtains wereof goats' hair and the skins of rams and other animalscolored red. The t^o sides and the westernend were formed of boards of shittim wood, overlaidwith thin plates of gold, and fixed in solid socketsor vases of silver. It was surrounded by acourt, the walls of which were made of fine twinedlinen, attached to pillars bound with bands of silverand set in sockets v of brass. The length of the courtwas 150 feet, its breadth 75 feet, and its height 7^feet. The tabernacle in all its structure was arrangedfor convenient packing, transportation andsetting up; but nevertheless, in size, in beauty ofworkmanship, and in costliness of material, was amagnificent structure for the wilderness. This tabernaclewas carried by the Israelites in all theirwanderings.During their march through the wilderness thetwelve tribes had between them four principal banners,or standards, to which reference is made in theBook of Numbers, chapter ii. "Every man of the:children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard."But as to what were the devices on the banners orwhat were their various colors, the Bible is absolutelysilent. To the inventive genius of the Talmudistswe are indebted 'for all that we know or professto know on this subject. Wherever the Israeliteshalted they encamped with three tribes on each sideof the tabernacle. The tribes of Judah, Issacharand Zebulun on the east side under the standard ofJudah; Reuben, Simeon and Gad on the south sideunder the standard of Reuben; Ephraim, Manassehand Benjamin on the west side under the standardof Ephraim; Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the29

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARnorth side under the standard of Dan; the Levitesin the midst of the camp.The Ark of the Covenant was a chest in whichwere kept the two tables of stone, on which were engravedthe Ten Commandments. It contained likewisea golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod, and thetables of the covenant. It was always depositedin the most sacred place of the tabernacle. It wasARK OF THE COVENANT.made of shittim wood, overlaid within and withoutwith pure gold. It was about three feet nineinches long, two feet three inches wide, and of thesame extent in depth. It had on the side two ringsof gold, through which were placed staves of shittimwood, overlaid with gold, by which, when necessary,it was borne by the Levites. Its cover orlid was of pure gold, over which were placed twofigures called cherubim with expanded wings (Kx.xxv.). The cover of the ark was called Kap-30

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARhiret, from Kaphar, "to forgive sin," and hence theEnglish name of "mercy-seat," as being the placewhere the intercession fo sin was made. Aaron'srod was made sacred and carried in the ark fromthe manner in which the tribe of Levites were chosento be invested with the priesthood. The pot ofmanna was placed in the ark of the covenant tocommemorate the heavenly bread, by which theIsraelites were sustained in the wilderness; and isconsidered as a symbol of life, not the transitory,but the enduring one of a future world.Having again taken up their march and arrivingat the wilderness of Paran,* Moses sent twelve chosenmen, one of each tribe,Canaan, who, after forty days,to examine the land ofreturn to Kadeshbarnea,*,acity at the southeast border of Palestine,and bring an evil report of the land. Caleb andthose that searched theJoshua, who were amongland, said to the children of Israel, "Let us go upat once and possessit ;for we are well able to overcomeit." "If the Lord delight in us, then he willbring us into this land, and giveit us, a land whichfloweth with milk and honey;" but the people murmurand rebel, and God swears in his wrath thatnone of the murmurers shall enter the land, but beconsumed in the desert,* where they are doomed towander forty years. The people, however, resolveto enter Canaan against the will of God, butare this time repulsed by the Amalekites (Num.xiii., xiv.). Moses then in his progress from Sinaito Canaan, a desert march from station to stationthrough a period of forty years, arrives with hispeople near the border of Palestine in the desert ofZin,* and from there seeks passage through the31

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARland of the Edomites* (descendants of Esau, Jacob'stwin brother), but is positively refused andthreatened with the sword should he make theattempt. \Yhereupon the Israelites turn away,even avoiding the Moabites* and the Ammonites*(descendants of Lot by his two daughters),but proceeded boldly against the kings of theAmorites,* Sihon, who reigned at Hesbon, andOg, at Bashan. Both of these chieftains, livedeast of the Jordan, and were the descendantsof Canaan, an ancient patriarch, a son of Ham,and the ancestor of the Canaanites. They weredispossessed of their lands, which were bestowedon the tribes of Reuben and Gad and ahalf-tribe of Manasseh (Num. xxxii.). Aaron*died on Mount Hor, in Edom, Arabia,* in the fortiethyear after leaving Egypt, at the age of about123 years, and was succeeded in the priesthood byhis son Eleazer. Not long after this, in the year1451 B. C, Moses* died on Mount Nebo, one ofthe Abarim range of mountains, "which is in theland of Moab, that is over against Jericho,"* at theage of 1 20, and was succeeded in authority byJoshua of the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua proved himselfto be an able and resolute general. He led thetribes of Israel across the Jordan into Canaan, orthe Holy Land, and then began a war of exterminationupon the native inhabitants. All were exterminatedexcept the Gibeonites,* who securedtheir safety by a stratagem (Josh. lx.), and becamea dependent or servile class among theHebrews.* The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh*in 1444 B. C., and the rest of the land of Palestinedivided, makingin all twelve confederate states32

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARaccording to the tribes (Josh, xviii.). Joshua diedin the year 1443 B. C, at the age of no years.Then followed a series ^f judges as rulers fornearly 350 years.In the year 1116 B. C, just before the battle ofthe Israelites and the Philistines* at Ebenezer, nearShiloh, the ark of the covenant was brought fromShiloh into the camp of the Israelites to inspire themwith greater courage and confidence, but the Philistinesovercame them, captured the ark and carriedit first to Ashdod, then to Gath, and fromthere to Ekron. In 1115 B. C. it was returned bythe Philistines from Ekron to the Israelites at Kirjath-jearim,a city of the Gibeonites situated aboutnine miles northwest of Jerusalem, and there placedin the house of Abinadab, a Levite, where it remainedfor seventy years before being conveyed toSam. iv.-vi.).Jerusalem (IThe tabernacle was taken from Shiloh to Gibeon,*but the exact time of its removal is not known. InI. Chron. xxi. 29, it states that the tabernacle ofMoses was still at Gibeon (1017 B. C.). Again, inII. Chron. i.3-13, that the tabernacle still remainedat Gibeon, and that Solomon went there to sacrificebefore it. This is the last mention made of it.Jewish History.The firstJewish history extends from the timeof the conquest of Canaan, 1445 B. C., to the establishmentof the monarchy under Saul, 1095 B. C.,During this period Israel was governed in thename of Jehovah by judges who were thechiefs or leaders of Israel (a theocracy).33rulers,Previous

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARto the conquest Moses had been their lawgiver andleader. After him Joshua, the general, gave thepeople peace by war. And after the conquest aseries of rulers arose known as judges, for theySAUL ANOINTED."judged Israel." Sometimes, for an interval, therewas no judge at all.During such interval everyman was at liberty to do what seemed good in hisown eyes. liy and by the example of the surroundingnations produced the infection of monarchy in34

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARIsrael. The people clamored for a king. The uncertainjudgeship proved only an equivocal defenseagainst the strong, personal governments of the adjacentpagan nations. Under the popular impulse,and against the theocratic principle, Saul, the sonof Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, was chosen forthe royal honor, and was anointed king by theprophet Samuel. With this event the second periodof Israelitish history begins.Saul was a warrior. He was an austere and ableman, cordially disliked by the priesthood, betweenwhom and himself there was a conflict of authority.He began his reign by making war on theadjacent tribes, whom he reduced to subjection, thefirst of whom were the Ammonites. He then fellupon the Philistines, whom he routed with greatslaughter in the decisive battle of Michmash. Thenthe Moabites, Amalekites and Edomites were successivelydriven beyond the borders of Israel.Meanwhile the intractable spirit of the king hadgiven the priests opportunity to incite discontent,and an anti-Saul party had arisen among the people,and popular attention was directed to youngDavid as the coming ruler of Israel. David wasone of the most remarkable characters in history.He was a son of Jesse, and was born in Bethlehem,*Judah, about 1085 B. C. Jesse was the son of Obedof Boaz and Ruth. Boaz wasand the grandchildthe lineal descendant of Pharez, the son of Judah(Gen. xxxviii. ;Ruth iv.13-22).In his youth David followed the occupation of ashepherd, and he appears to have acquired greatskill as a musician. When about twenty-two yearsof age he was received into the household of Saul,35

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARking of Israel, who, we are told, was troubled withan "evil spirit." David, by playing upon the harp,soothed and "refreshed" Saul, and the "evil spiritdeparted from him." On the breaking out of warwith the Philistines in 1063 B. C. he seems to havebeen released from the house of Saul, and returnedhome to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. Hisfather soon after sent him to the camp of King Saulwith provisions for his brethren. On his arrival hefound the two armies drawn up in battle array,ready for attack, and as he talked with his brethren,Goliath, the Philistine giant, came forward, and, forthe fortieth time in as many days, offered his challengefor a single combat. David prevailed uponSaul to let him go and meet him, whereupon hechose five smooth stones out of the brook, and putthem in a shepherd's bag which he had, and, withhis sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine.Goliath came on, and "David put his hand in hisbag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smotethe Philistine in his forehead; and he fell upon hisface to the earth." For this and other deeds ofvalor, according to the promise of the king, he receivedMichal, Saul's youngest daughter, in marriage.He was given a command in the army rindat quitted himself well on all occasions, and rapidlygained the confidence and love of the people. ButSaul was offended by the praises which David receivedfor his prowess, and not only regarded hisson-in-law with bitter jealousy, but made repeatedattempts upon his life. David at length (1056 B.C.) was obliged to flee and seek refuge in the wildernessof Judea, where he soon gathered a band ofsix hundred men, whom he kept in perfect control36

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand employed only against the enemies of the land.He was stillpursued by Saul with implacable hostility;and, as he would notMift his hand against hisking, though he often had him in his power, he atlength judgedit best to retire into the land of thePhilistines. Here he was generously received as anenemy of Saul and of Israel, and given the town ofZiklag* as a dwelling-place, where he and his men,with their households, lived while in that country,and which has been "held by the kings of Judahunto this day/'In 1055 B. C, while the armies of the Philistineswere being assembled at Aphek, a city of the tribeof Issachar, in the valley of Jezreel, preparatory tothe attack upon the Israelites, who were campedThey said, "Is not this David of whom theyat Jezreel near by in the same valley, the princesof the Philistines became suspicious of David andhis forces who had accompanied them, and madecomplaint to Achish, their king, not to let him gointo battle with them, lest he become their adversary.sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slewhis thousand, and David his ten thousand?"ThenAchish, who had become a great friend of David,sent for him, and said unto him, "Thou hast beenupright, and thy going out and thy comingin with me isgood in my sight, for I havenot found evil in thee since the day of thycoming unto me unto this day: neverthelessthe lords favor thee not. Wherefore now return,and go in peace, that thou displease notthe lords of the Philistines." So David and hismen returned into the land of the Philistines. Ontheir arrival at Ziklag they found the town burned,37

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand their wives and their sons and their daughtersall taken captives and carried away by the Amalekites.David went at once in pursuit and soon overtookthem, where he found them scattered about,"eating and drinking and dancing, because of allthe spoil that they had taken out of the land of thePhilistines, and out of the land of Judah." Davidfought them from twilight even unto the evening ofthe next day; and all that escaped were four hundredyoung men who rode away on camels. Davidrecovered all that the Amalekites had carried awaywives, sons, daughters, and all the spoil they hadtaken. On his return to Ziklag David sent a partof the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to hisfriends, at Hebron, and to all the places where heand his men were wont to haunt, saying, "Beholda present for you of the spoil of the enemies of theLord." (In later days this would have been consideredpolitical shrewdness.)The engagement between the Philistines and theIsraelites resulted in a complete victory for the Philistines.The Israelites fled to Mt. Gilboa, where allthe sons of King Saul were slain but one, and Saulhimself, being severely wounded, took his own lifeby falling upon his sword. The death of Saulopened the way for David to the promised throne.le was at once chosen king over the tribe of Judah,Ireigning at Hebron for seven years, while Ishbosheth.Saul's only remaining son, was recognized asking of Israel, and in power on the east side of theJordan, and for two years was obeyed by all thetribes except Judah. In 1048 B. C, Ishbosheth was^sinated, and David became king over all Israel(I. Sam. xvi.; IT. Sam. i.-v.)38

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAROne of the first acts of his reign was the conquestof Jerusalem, the principal town of the Jebusites,who were descendants of Canaan and occupied thatpart of the land of Canaan (Palestine) situatedsouth of the center of the country, ahout thirtysevenmiles from the Mediterranean, and abouttwenty- four miles from the river Jordan; an elevatedground upon which rests the city of Jerusalem,which they called Jebus. The old traditionsand natural prepossessions both of Jews and Christiansconnect it with Salem, of which Melchizedskwas king (Gen. xlv.). The Jebusites seem to havebeen territorially one of the smallest of the Canaanitishnations, 'but from their position one of thestrongest.In the conquest of Canaan, their king, Adoni-Zedek, was slain by Joshua at Makkedah, after thebattle of Beth-horon (Josh. x.). After Joshua'sdeath (1443 B. C.) the Israelites obtained possessionof the town, which they afterwards jointly inhabitedwith the ' Jebusites for nearly 400 years.When David became king (1055 B. C.) he expelledthe latter and made it the capital of his kingdom,under the name of Jebus-salem or Jerusalem, wherehe reigned for thirty-three years. In 1045 B. C. theark of the covenant, which was at Kirjath-jearim,was carried, under King David's instructions, toJerusalem, where it was placed in a temporary tabernacleerected for its use. Here the priests performedtheir daily service until Solomon erected thetemple, then the temporary or Davidic tabernaclewas put away as a relic. Both the old, or Sinaitic,and Davidic tabernacles were in time altogether lostsight of, and no doubt became victims of careless-39

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand the corroding influence of time or wereburned up. David died in 1015 B. C, having reignedforty years, and was by far the greatest monarchthat ever sat on the throne of Israel. Solomon, whosucceeded to -the throne, was the son of David byBathsheba, whose husband, Uriah, he caused to bebasely slain (II. Sam. xi., xii.).King Solomon's Temple.It was King David who first proposed to substitutefor the nomadic tabernacle a permanent placeof worship for his people. For this purpose he purchasedMount Moriah, one of the eminences of theridge which was known as Mount Zion, and wasthe property of Oman, the Jebusite, who used it asa threshing-floor. But, although King David haddesigned the temple and acquired all the necessarymeans, and even collected many of the materials,he was not permitted to commence the undertaking,and the execution of the task \vas left to his sonand successor, Solomon. Accordingly that monarchlaid the foundation of the edifice in thefourth year of his reign, 1012 B. C.; and withthe assistance of his friend and ally, Hiram, kingof Tyre, completed it in about seven years anda half, dedicatingit to the service of the MostHigh in the year 1004 B. C. This was the yearof the world 3000, according to the Hebrew chronology;and although there has been much differenceamong the chronologists in relation to theprecise date, this is the one that has been generallyaccepted, and it is therefore adopted by Masons intheir calculations of different epochs.40

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR"& When Solomon was about to build the Temple(II. Chron. i.10) he called upon Hiram, kingTHE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON.of Tyre, to furnish himwith a supply of timber.The Tyrian king not onlysupplied him with the timber,which was cut in theforest of Lebanon by theSicleonites and sent onfloats by sea to Joppa,* adistance of over one hundredmiles, and thence carriedby land about fortymiles to Jerusalem, but also sent him a man by thename of Hiram Abiff, the most accomplished designerand operator then known in the country.Tyre* and Sidon* were the chief cities of the Phce-41

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARnicians. 1 Tyre was distant from Jerusalem aboutone hundred and twenty miles by sea, and was thirtymiles nearer by land. Sidon was under the TyrianGovernment, situated twenty miles north of Tyre inthe forests of Lebanon. It was a place of considerableimportance even in the time of Joshua (1451B. C), who succeeded Moses, and who spoke of it"Great Sidon." Hence it is evident that thePlKenicians were far advanced in the arts of lifewhen the Israelites reached the promised land. Thatnoconfusion might arise, owing to the great numbersemployed, King Solomon selected those of mostenlightened minds, religious and zealous in goodwork, as masters to superintend the workmen; andfor overseers of the work he selected men who wereskillful in geometry and proportion, and who hadbeen initiated and proved in the mystical learningof the ancient sages. He numbered and classedall the craftsmen, whether natives or foreigners.At the completion of the temple, the ark of the covenantwas deposited by Solomon in the SanctumSanctorum, or Holy of Holies, of the temple. Itwas lost upon the final destruction of the buildingby the Chaldeans in 588 B. C. The first templeof the Jews was called the palace or the house ofJehovah to indicate itssplendor and magnificence,and was intended to be the perpetual dwelling-placeof the Lord. It was one of the most magnificentstructures of the ancient world. It was surroundedwith spacious courts, and the whole structure occupiedat least half a mile in circumference. This wassurrounded by a wall of great height, exceeding in1See Phoenicians, in Supplement.42

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe lowest part four hundred and fifty feet, constructedentirely of white marble. The body of thetemple was in size much les, than many a modernparish church, for its 1length was but ninety feet, or,and itsincluding the porch, one hundred and five,width but thirty, being just twice the size of the oldor Sinaitic tabernacle. It was its outer courts, itsnumerous terraces, and the magnificenceternal and internal decorations, togetherof its ex-with itselevated position above the surrounding dwellings,which produced that splendor of appearance thatattracted the admiration of all who beheld it andgave cause for the queen of Sheba,* when it firstbroke upon her view, to exclaim in admiration, "AMost Excellent Master must have done this !"The twelve tribes of Israel were all engaged in itsconstruction, and for its erection David had collectedmore than four thousand millions of dollars, and184,600 men were engaged about seven and onehalfyears in building it after its; completionit wasdedicated by Solomon with solemn prayer, andseven days of fasting, during which a peace-offeringof twenty thousand oxen and six times thatnumber of sheep was made, to consume which theholy fire came down from heaven.The Exploration of Jerusalem.Recent explorations of Jerusalem by an associationknown as "The Palestine Exploration Fund" of1Temple measurements are based upon a cubit of eighteeninches.43

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAREngland, with Captain Charles Warren in charge,to corroboratehave made many discoveries that gothe testimony of Josephus and of Scriptural writersof the earlier history of the Holy City.The present city of Jerusalem stands, as it were,upon a heap of dust and rubbish, under which is theJerusalem of the Bible. The fact that ancient Jerusalemwas seventeen times captured, and more thanonce leveled to the ground, its splendid edifices convertedinto piles of dust and ruins, is not sufficientaltogether to account for this singular situation,but it is rather to the fact that the stone of which thehouses and walks of Jerusalem are built is veryfriable and exfoliates rapidly, so rapidly that a fewcenturies are sufficient to reduce a square block toa shapeless mass. This, of course, produces pulverizedearth, the earth which has buried fifty, seventyfiveand even a hundred feet deep, the Jerusalemof our Saviour's period. The so-called "Jerusalemmarble," taken from the immense quarry which underliesso much of the northeastern quarter of thecity, and which has been excavated during the lastthree thousand years expressly for building materials,is so soft when it first comes from the quarrythat it may almost be crushed between the fingers.It is but little firmer than a well-crystallizedloafof sugar. True, it hardens upon exposure, and intime becomes a fair material for building purposes ;but ifany one issurprised to find the city of Jerusalemstanding upon a pile of disintegrated limestone,fifty feet thick, as itsurely does, he has only toexplore that enormous quarry, a quarter of a miledeep, to discover where the rubbish originally camefrom.44

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARThis explanation will enable the reader to understandwhat is meant by exploring Jerusalem. It issimply to go to the bottom $f that enormous moundof dust and ashes, and let in the light upon streetsand foundations upon which it shone two thousandyears ago. In this respect there is a most exactanalogy between the exploration of Jerusalem andof Pompeii. Over the latter city the superincumbentmass is scoriae, lava and volcanic ashes; inthe former the accumulations are of pulverized limestone,added, of course, to the garbage of the city,shreds of pottery, bones, etc., etc., the accumulationsof that extended period. It is no romance tosay that the present Jerusalem overlies many Jerusalemsthat have gone to dust, in the centuries sincethe Jebusites established their citadel upon MountZion, before the time of Abraham, and that the explorer'sspade must pass these graves of cities oneby one to find the remnants which he seeks. Theseremarks are likewise applicable to the old sites ofTyre, Sidon, Gebal, etc.The Foundation of the Temple.It is difficult for the superficial reader to comprehendthat although the temple of Solomon isabsolutely gone effaced from the earth, so that nota crumb or fragment can be recognized yet itsfoundation remains. By this term is not meantthe walls upon which the temple was built (comparingit with an ordinary edifice), but the platform,the hill, the mound artificially erected to serve as abasis for the sublime structure.The hill, styledin the Old Testament Moriah,45

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand more recently Mount Moriah, was, by nature,a narrow, knobby, crooked ridge (of the class familiarlyknown as "hog back"), deeply channeled byravines and gulleys, honeycombed with caves, andin no proper sense fit to be used as the basis of agreat temple. On all sides it fell off rapidly andvery steeply, except from northwest to southeast,the direction in which the ridge ran. The area onthe summit was enlarged by walls built along thedeclivities, the outside wall deep down the valleys,from 100 to 150 feet below the area on whichthe temple buildings stood. One hundred feetagain below this lay the original bed of the brookKedron. The foundations of the temple, therefore,were 250 feet above the deep defiles around. Thisarea, originally built by Solomon and enlarged byHerod, still exists, running on the south along thevalley of Hinnom 1,000 feet and along the Kedron1,500. To transform this unsightly and circumscribedridge into a solid, broad, high and durableplatform was a problem of stupendous magnitudeas great a one, perhaps even greater, than wouldhave been that of making a platform entirely artificial.To illustrate and convey a partial idea of the taskthat devolved upon Hiram and his builders: Goout upon a level plain measure off an;oblong square,i,600 feet by 1,000, equal to thirty-six and a halfacres ;build a wall around it of great stones, eight,ten, twenty, and even forty feet long, and of proportionatebreadth and thickness; bind the foundation-stonesof this wall firmly together with clampsof iron and lead, and in the same manner fastenthem into the native rock that lies below ;raise that46

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwall to an average height of one hundred and fiftyfeet of solid masonwork ;fillup solid the whole areaof thirty-six and a half ateres to that great heightof one hundred and fifty feet! This being done,you will have such a platform as was erected bySolomon's craftsmen, upon which to build thetemple.The figure is not absolutely, correct, for therewas a central core to the platform, viz. : the originalMount Moriah, and in the masonwork many largevaults and subterranean chambers were left.Now, when we describe the foundations of KingSolomon's temple as stillremaining, we allude tothis stupendous base, the platform of thirty-six anda half acres, constructed in so substantial a mannerthat neither time, nor the devastation of barbarianforce, nor the mighty bruit of earthquakes,has had power to break it up. So large are thestones of which the outer walls are built, so artisticallyare they laid together in relation to eachother, and so firmly morticed at their interior edgesand at their points of junction with the native rock,that it is safe to say that no power that human handscan apply will ever remove them, nor will any volcanicforce affect them, less than that which wouldelevate the bed of the sea and sink the mountainsinto the depths.On top of and along the outer walls of thisinclosureor foundation were built the porticoes orcovered walks, above which were galleries or apartments,supported by pillars of white marble, thatoverlooked the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom.They were magnificent structures, resemblingthe nave and aisles of Gothic cathedrals. But these47

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTSTKMI'LARwere only the outer buildings of the temple area.The porticoes opened inwardly upon a court pavedPLAN OF TEMPLE.A. The Holy of Holies. F.B. The Holy Place. J.The Altar of Burnt Offer- K.ings. L.The Brazen Laver. .The Court of the Priests.M.The Court of Israel.The Court of the Gentiles.The Eastern Gate.Porches or Colonnades.Outer Wall.with marble and open to the sky. This was calledthe "Court of the Gentiles," because the Gentileswere admitted into it, but were prohibited from48

FREE&ASONRY AM) KNIGHTS TEMPLARpassing farther. It was the exterior COUlt, and Infarthe largest of all the COUltS belonging to thetemple. It entirely surrounded the other courts andthe temple itself.Passing through the court of the (ientile-, yoax.These pillars were twenty-seven feet high and sixfeet through. The thickness of the brass of each49

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARpillar was three inches. The one that stood on theright hand (or south) was called Jachin, and theother at the left hand (or north) was called Boaz.It has been supposed that Solomon, in erecting thesepillars, had reference to the pillar of cloud andpillar of fire, which went before the Israelites intheir journey through the wilderness, and that theright-hand or south pillar represented the pillar ofcloud and the left-hand or north pillar representedthat of fire. Solomon did not simply erect them asornaments to the temple, but as memorials of God'srepeated promises of support to his people of Israel.For the pillar (Jachin), derived from the Hebrewwords (Jah), "Jehovah," and (achin), "to establish,"signifiesthat "God will establish his house ofIsrael"; while the pillar (Boaz), compounded of(b), "in," and (oaz), "strength," signifies that "instrength shall it be established." And thus werethe Jews, in passing through the porch to the temple,daily reminded of the abundant promises ofGod, and inspired with confidence in his protectionand gratitude for his many acts of kindness to hischosen people. If this symbolism be correct, thepillars of the porch, like those of the wilderness,would refer to the superintending and protectingpower of Deity. (Calcott, Cand. Disg., 66.)From the porch you enter the sanctuary by a portal,which, instead of folding-doors, was furnishedwith a magnificent veil of many colors, which mysticallyrepresented the universe. In the sanctuarywere placed the various utensils necessary for thedaily worship. The Holy of Holies, or innermostchamber, was separated from the sanctuary bydoors of olive, richly sculptured and inlaid with

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARgold and covered with veils of blue, purple, scarlet,and the finest linen. Into the most sacred place thehigh priest alone could dnter, and that only once ayear, on the day of atonement.If one looked upon Mount Moriah from the browof Mount Olivet opposite, and beheld the city fromthe direction of Bethany, it must have been a sightwhich, for architectural beauty and grandeur, perhaps,has never been equaled, certainly not surpassed.It was an artificial mountain from the deepravines below, wall, column, roof, pinnacle, culminatingin the temple within and above all, and probablymeasuring between 500 and 600 feet in height.James Fergusson, Esq., the distinguished architect,writes: "The triple temple of Jerusalem, thelower court standing on its magnificent terraces,the inner court raised on itsplatform in the center,and the temple itself rising out of the group andcrowning the whole, must have formed, when combinedwith the beauty of the situation, one of themost splendid architectural combinations of theancient world."Josephus wrote: "If any one looked down fromthe top of the battlements he would be giddy, whilehis sight could not reach to such an immense depth."This passed for foolish exaggeration till recent explorationsvindicated the statement.Croley (in Salathiel), in his magnificent wordpainting,describes the mountain and its gloriousoccupant (Temple of Herod 1 ), the year of its destruction,A. D. 70, which was similar in structureto the Temple of Solomon, as follows : "I see1 See Temple of Solomon, in Supplement.51

FREEMASONRY A\U KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe Court of the Gentiles circling the whole, a fortressof the purest marble, with its wall rising sixhundred feet from the valley; its kingly entrance,worthy of the fame of Solomon: its innumerableand stately buildings for the priests and officers ofthe temple, and above them, glittering like a successionof diadems, those alabaster porticoes andcolonnades in which the chiefs and sages of Jerusalemsat teaching the people, or walked, breathingthe air, and gazing on the grandeur of a landscapewhich swept the whole amphitheater of the mountains.I see, rising above this stupendous boundary,the court of the Jewish women, separated by its porphyrypillars and richly sculptured wall; above thisthe separated court of the men; still higher, thecourt of the priests; and highest, the crowningsplendor of all the central temple, the place of thesanctuary, and of the Holy of Holies, covered withplates of gold, its roof planted with lofty spearheadsof gold, the most precious marbles and metalseverywhere flashing back the day, till Mount Moriahstood forth to the eye of the stranger approachingJerusalem, what it had been so often describedby its bards and people, a mountain of snow studdedwith jewels."All these buildings, porticoes, columns, pinnacles,altar and temple, have perished. "Not one stoneremains upon another which has not been throwndown." The area alone remains, and the massivesubstructures for 3,000 years have been sleepingin their courses. The preservation has been dueto the ruin. Buildings so vast have been toppleddown the slopes of the Moriah, that the originaldefiles and valleys have been almost obliterated.52

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARWhat has been regarded as the original surfacehas been found to be debris from 70 to 90 feet deep.With pickaxe and shekel British explorers havebeen down to the original foundations. Fallen columnshave been met with and avoided, or a wayblasted through them. The cinders of burnt Jerusalemhave been cut through and turned up to thelight rich moulds deposited by the treasures ofJewish pride. The seal of Haggai, in ancient Hebrewcharacters, was picked up out of the siftings ofThe first courses of stones deposited bythis deposit.Phoenician builders have been reached, lying on theliving rock. Quarry-marks, put on in vermilion,have been copied known to be quarry-marks by thetrickling drops of paint, still visible only they areabove the letters, showing that when they werewritten the stones lay with the underside uppermost.The whole of Mount Moriah has been found to befairly honeycombed with cisterns and passages.One of the cisterns, known as the Great Sea, wouldcontain two millions of gallons, and all together notless than ten millions. The wall of Ophel has beenexposed at the present time 70 feet high thoughburied in debris; and the remains of towers andhouses have been lighted upon belonging to the ageof the kings of Judah.The seven successive objects that have occupiedthis sacred ridge, to which a Mason's attention isdirected,are:1. The Altar of Abraham.2. The Threshine-floor of Oman.3. The Altar of David.4. The Temple of Solomon.53

FREEMASONRY AXD KNIGHTS TEMPLAR5.The Temple of Zerubbabel.6. The Temple of Herod.7. The Mosque of Omar. In the fourtenth centurythis building was described as a very fairhouse, lofty and circular, covered with lead, wellpaved with white marble.The temple area is now occupied by two Turkishmosques, into which, until recently, neither Jew norChristian was permitted to enter.Ancient Temples.The Egyptian form of a temple was borrowedby the Jews, and with some modifications adoptedby the Greeks and Romans, whence itpassed overinto modern Europe.The direction of an Egyptian temple was usuallyfrom east to west, the entrance being at the east.It was a quadrangular building, much longer thanits width, and was situated in the western part of asacred enclosure. The approach through this enclosureto the temple proper was frequently by adouble row of Sphinxes. In front of the entrancewere a pair of tall obelisks, which will remind thereader of the two pillars at the porch of Solomon'stemple. The temple was divided into a spacious hall,where the great body of the worshipers assembled.Beyond it, in the western extremity, was thecell or sekos, equivalent to the Jewish Holy of Holies,into which the priests only entered ;and in theremotest part, behind a curtain, appeared the imageof the god seated on his shrine or the sacred animalwhich represented him.The Grecian temDle c like the Egyptian and the54

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARHebrew, were placed within an inclosure, whichwas separated from the profane land around it, inearly times, by ropes, l^ut afterwards by a wall.The temple was usually quadrangular, althoughsome were circular in form. It was divided intoparts similar to the Egyptian.The Roman temples, after they emerged fromtheir primitive simplicity, were constructed muchupon the mode of the Grecian. The idea of a separationinto a holy and a most holy place has everywherebeen preserved. The same idea is maintainedin the construction of Masonic Lodges, which arebut imitations, in spirit, of the ancient temples. TheMost Holy Place of the Egyptians and Jews wasin the West, whereas now it is in the East.Division of theHebrew Nation.Solomon died in the year 975 B. C. During hisreign he peacefully consolidated and recaptured,fortified or built cities or stations for commerceor protection at strategic points. He built, reservoirs,aqueducts, many wonderful buildings, andlaid out "paradises" and gardens. Many kings werehis tributaries; untold wealth and the wonders andcuriosities of many countries flowed into or throughthe land, so that "silver was nothing accounted of inhis day."Many foreigners were attracted by hissplendor and wisdom, notably Balkis ( ?), the queenof Sheba, with her marvelous retinue. To meetwith Oriental ideas of his royal magnificence, hisharem grew to number one thousand inmates, and,contrary to the law of Moses, he not only multipliedwives, but by his marriages formed alliances with55

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmany heathen nations. In his old age his "strange"wives led him to commit or permit gross and viciousidolatry. He was gifted with transcendent wisdomand the most brilliant mental powers, yettowards the end of his life he presented the sadspectacle of a common eastern despot, voluptuous,idolatrous, occasionally even cruel, and his reign cannot but be regarded, both politically and financially,as a splendid failure.Before his death Edom andSyria revolted, tribal jealousies arose in Israel, andJeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, who was superintendentof the public works, began to plot the divisionof the nation, in which he was aided by thealienation of the people coming through the intolerableoppression and taxation that were necessaryto meet the enormous expenses of the court. Forthis conspiracy Jeroboam was forced to flee to savehis life. He went to Egypt and placed himself underthe protection of Shishak, the king.Hardly had Solomon breathed his last when hispeople arose in revolt. Rehoboam, his son and successor,whose mother was Naamah, an Ammonite,adopted his father's methods as his own, and witha haughty air unwisely provoked the resentmentwhich justice and policy called upon him to allay.Ten tribes, under the leadership of Jeroboam, wh,after the death of Solomon, had returned to Jerusalem,seceded from his dominion and formed thenation or kingdom of Israel, and took up their residencein Samaria; while the remaining two, thetribes of Tudah and Benjamin, retained possessionof the Temple and of Jerusalem under the name ofthe Kingdom of Judah.* Thus, in 975 B. C, waseffected the division of the Hebrew nation into peo-56

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARpies who ever afterwards maintained towards eachother an attitude of estrangement and hostility. Inthe following year Jeroboam, king of Israel, abolishedthe worship of Jehovah and established thatof the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. The priestsand Levites and pious Israelites leave their possessionsin the kingdom of Israel and are incorporatedin the kingdom of Judah.The Temple retained its splendor only thirtythreeyears, for in the year 971 B. C., Shishak, theking of Egypt, made war upon the king of Judah,took Jerusalem and carried away the choicest treasures.From that time to the period of its final destructionthe history of the Temple is but a historyof alternate spoliations and repairs, of profanationsand idolatry and subsequent restorations to a purityof worship."& After the completion of the Temple, having finishedthat great work, and filled all Judea with templesand palaces and walled cities (II. Chron. xi. ;I.Kings ix. ) , having enriched and beautified Gezer,Baalah and Tadmor with the results of their genius,many of these "cunning workmen," or membersof the Fraternity of Architects, passed intoGreece, Rome, Spain, and other countries, wherevertheir services could be employed in the erectionof famous edifices for which the ancient worldis justly celebrated. # iftrAbout the year 721 B. C. the army of ShalmaneserIV., king of Assyria, invaded Samaria, thehome of the descendants of the ten revolted tribes,captured the city of Samaria, the capital, and

1'RKKAIASOXRYAND KNIGHTS TK.Ml'LAKcaused the downfall of the kingdom of Israel.Hoshea, its sovereign, was thrown into prison, thegreater part of the inhabitants carried away captiveinto the far East, the mountainous regions ofMedia, and their place supplied by Assyrian colonistsbrought from Babylon, Persia, Shushan, Elam,and other places. These colonists brought withthem the idolatrous creed and practices of the regionfrom which they emigrated. They mingledwith the remnant of the Israelites, intermarried andformed the mixed people called Samaritans.* TheIsraelites who had been exiled never returned, andwhat became of them has always been, and we presumewill always remain, matter of vaguest speculation.

FREEMASONRY AND KXKillTS TEML'LAKAncient toModern.In passing from this brief outline of the conditionof the fraternity in what we may properly denominatethe ancient history, we will now endeavorto trace itsto the moreprogress from that periodenlightened days of modern architecture, and thecultivation of the arts and sciences, in such chronologicalorder as will give the most concise historicalfacts, based upon substantial documents, and theprincipal monuments erected by the traveling operativefraternities or Freemasons.Roman Colleges of Artificers."fr In 716 before the Christian era, the Roman collegesof Artificers were established. They werecomposed of men learned in all the arts and tradesnecessary for the execution of civil, religious, navaland hydraulic architecture, with their own laws andjudges, laws based on those of the Dionysian Artificers,whose mysteries had spread among the1principal peoples of the East. (See Dionysian Mysteries,p. 12). Numa, the great lawgiver, the secondking of Rome, in founding these colleges, madethem at the same time civil and religious societies,with the exclusive privilege of building temples andedifices, their relations to the state and priesthoodbeing determined by the general laws. At theirhead were presidents called Masters, Overseers or1"The papal briefs which protected them alleged that immunitieswere given them, after the example of Hiram, kingof Tyre, when he sent artisans to King Solomon, for the purposeof building the temple at Jerusalem" (Royal MasonicCyclopedia, p. 741).59

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARWardens, Censors, Treasurers, Keepers of theSeals, Architects and Secretaries ;there was in eachof them a priest. The Workmen were divided intothree classes :Elders, or chief men of the trade, andtheir journeymen and apprentices; they had secretmeetings paid monthly dues, by which means a;common fund was accumulated for the maintenanceor relief of indigent or destitute members; theyelected the candidates for admission by voice of themembers, and performed a secret ceremony of initiationand made a symbolic use of the implementsof their art or profession. No college could consistof less than three members. In all these respectsthey were like modern Lodges of Freemasonry.With the advance of the empire, their numbers increasedand their privileges greatly extended, sothat they became an important element in the bodypolitic.The Romans were early distinguished for a spiritwhich was conducted through theof colonization,legionary soldiers of the army. To each legionthere was attached a College or Corporation of Artificers,which was organized with the legion atRome, and passed with itthroughall its campaigns,and when it colonized remained in the colonyto plant the seeds of Roman civilization, and toteach the principles of Roman arts. The membersof the college erected fortificationsfor the legionsin times of war, and in times of peace, or when thelegion became stationary, constructed temples anddwelling-houses. When England was invaded bythe Roman armies in the year 55 R. C, the legionswhich went there carried with them their Collegesof Artificers. One of these legions, under Tulius60

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARCaesar, advancing into the northern limits of thecountry, established a colony, and, to defendthemselves, formed an entrenched camp with walls,inside of which, as elsewhere, habitations, templesand aqueducts appeared, which, under the name ofEboricum, gave birth to the city of York, afterwardsso celebrated in the history of Masonry. Inthe beginning of the second century, after the fallof the Roman Republic, all the Colleges of Artificerslost their ancient privileges. But in the year286, Carausius, known as the "Count of theSaxon Shore," and "Admiral of the NorthernSeas," was besought by the Britons,* suffering fromthe depredations of the Saxon and Frank pirates,to assume the sovereignty of their island. Havingorganized a marine victorious against the pirates,which before his advent had filled the "narrowseas," he took possession of Britain and declaredhimself emperor. In order to conciliate the RomanColleges of Artificers, then wielding an immenseinfluence in that country, he restored their ancientprivileges, since which time they have been calledprivileged or Freemasons, to distinguish them fromthose not thus entitled. In 294 Carausius was assassinatedby his prime minister and confidentialfriend, Allectus, who .maintained his usurped dominionsfor three years, when Roman power putan end to the independent sovereignty of Britain,and reunited it with the empire.The invasion of the northern barbarians intoItaly demanded the entire force of the Romanarmies to defend the integrity of the empire athome. Britain in the .year 420 was abandoned,and the natives, principally Celts, with the61

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARRoman colonists, and the Colleges of Artificers,who had settled among them, were left to defendthemselves. Long previous to this, however, Christianityhad dawned, not only upon the BritishIslands, but upon the whole of Europe, and theinfluences of the new faith were not long in beingfelt by the colleges, and the next phase in theirhistory is the record of their assumption of theChristian life and doctrines.Building Corporations.# As soon as the colonists and the natives of Britainhad been abandoned, they were driven, first bythe Picts, their savage neighbors, and then by theSaxon sea robbers, into the mountains of Walesand the islands of the Irish Sea. The Artificers,who were converted to Christianity, and who hadremained when the legions left the country, wentwith them, and having lost their connection withthe mother institution at Rome, became thenceforthsimply Building Corporations or Societies ofJ Guilders. They retained the organization whichhad always worked so well and the name of Freemasons.Subsequently, in the sixth century, aboutthe year 550, when the whole of England was takenpossession of by the Saxon invaders, the Britons,headed by the monks and priests, and accompaniedby the Artificers, fled into Ireland and Scotlandwhich countries they civilized and converted, andwhose inhabitants were instructed in the art ofbuilding.Whenever we read of the extension in barbarous62

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARor pagan countries of Christianity, and the conversionof their inhabitants to the true faith, we alsohear of the propagation^ of the art of building inthe same places by the corporations ofarchitects,the immediate successors of the Roman legionarycolleges, for the new religion required churches,and, in time, cathedrals and monasteries, and theecclesiastical architecture speedily suggested improvementsin the civil. In time, all the religiousknowledge and all the architectural skill of thenorthern part of Europe were concentrated in theremote regions of Ireland and Scotland, whencemissionaries were sent back to England to convertthe pagan Saxon. From England these energeticmissionaries, accompanied by the pious Architects,passed into Europe, and effectually labored for theconversion of the Scandinavian nations, introducinginto Germany, Sweden, Norway, and even Ireland,the blessings of Christianity, and the refinementsof civilized life.The religious contest between the original Christiansof Britain and the Papal power, after yearsof controversy, finally terminated in the submissionof the British bishops to the Pope. As soon asthe Papal authority was firmly established overEurope, the Roman Catholic hierarchy secured theservices of the builders' corporations, and these, underthe patronage of the Pope and the bishops, wereeverywhere engaged as 'Traveling Freemasons,"in the construction of ecclesiastical and regal edifices.Henceforth we find these corporations ofbuilders exercising their art in all countries, everywhereproving by the identity of their designs thatthey were controlled by universally accepted princi-63

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARpies, and showing in every other way the characteristicsof a corporation or guild.In England the Fraternities of Builders or Freemasonswere subject to many adverse difficulties,from the repeated invasions of Scots, Picts, Danesand Saxons, which impeded their active labors,yet were they enabled to maintain their existenceaccording to the oldest manuscript extant, until inthe year 926, they held that General Assembly atthe city of York which framed the constitutionsthat governed the English Cjaftfor eight hundredyears. In that manuscript was found thefollowing legend, which Freemasonry of the presentday accepts as genuine portions of authentichistory. The legend was given by Dr. Andersonin the first Book of Constitutions in 1723,and afterwards accepted and published by WilliamPreston in the following words: "Edward (theElder) died in 924 and was succeeded by Athelstane,*his son, who appointed his brother, Edwin,patron of the Masons. This prince procured acharter from Athelstane, empowering them to meetannually in communication at York. In this citythe first Grand Lodge of England was formed in926, at which Edwin presided as Grand Master.Here many old writings were produced in Greek,Latin and other languages, from which it is saidthe Constitutions of the English Lodge have beenextracted/' It is that code of laws adopted at thatGeneral Assembly in 926, which became the basison which allsubsequent Masonic Constitutionswere framed. (See York, in Supplement.)The calling of this Assembly proves that theFreemasons were previously in activity in the64

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARkingdom, which is, in fact, otherwise proved byrecords of the building by them, at an earlier period,of cathedrals, abbeys an*l castles. But we date theYork Assembly as the first known and acknowledgedorganization of the Craft in England into anational body or Grand Lodge.After that General Assembly, the fraternity experienced,as in other countries, its alternate periodsof prosperity and decay. For a long time the YorkAssembly exercised the Masonic jurisdiction overallEngland; but in 1567 the Masons of the southernpart of the island elected Sir Thomas Gresham,the celebrated merchant, their Grand Master. Hewas succeeded in turn by Chas. Howard, Earl ofEffingham, and George Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon,and they in 1607 by the illustrious architect,Inigo Jones,* who inspired great spirit into theLodges. Men, not architects nor masons, but eminentfor learning, knowledge or position, were admittedas members of the body under the designationof Accepted brethren; hence the origin of thepresent style of the society,MASONS.FREE AND ACCEPTEDSpeculativeMasonry."& There were now two Grand Masters in Englandwho assumed distinctive titles; the Grand Masterof the North being called "Grand Master of AllEngland," while he who presided in the South wascalled "Grand Master of England." In the beginningof the eighteenth century Masonry in the southof England had fallen into decay. The disturb-65

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARances of the revolution, which placed William III.on the throne (1689), and the subsequent warmthof political feelings, gave the Order a wound fatalto its success. Sir Christopher Wren,* long activeas a Master-builder and Grand Master in the reignof Queen Anne (1702-1714), the last of his royalpatrons, had become aged, infirm and inactive,and hence the general assemblies of the GrandLodge had ceased to take place. In 1715 there werebut four Lodges in the south of England and allworking in the city of London. These Lodges,being desirous of reviving the prosperity of theOrder, determined to unite themselves under a newGrand Master, and revive the communications andannual festivals of the society. They therefore"met at the Apple-tree Tavern" and constitutedthemselves a Grand Lodge, pro tern pore, in dueform. They resolved to hold the annual assemblyand feast, and then to choose a Grand Master fromamong themselves. Accordingly on St. John theBaptist's day (June 24) in 1717,the annual assemblyand feast were held and Mr. Anthony Sayerwasduly proposed and elected Grand Master. Astatute was enacted which entirely changed theFrom an operative soci-objects of the institution.ety it became wholly speculative in its character.It ceased to build material temples, and devoteditself to the erection of a spiritual one.It retainedthe working tools and technical terms of art ofthe original operative institution, simply becauseof the religious symbolism which these conveyed.They became the Freemasons of the present day,and established on an imperishable foundation thatsublime institution which presents all over the hab66

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARitable earth the most wonderful system of religiousand moral symbolism that the world ever saw. TheGrand Lodges of York and of London kept up afriendly intercourse and mutual interchange ofrecognition, until 1725, when dissensions arosefrom encroachment upon territory, causing oppositionto each other, and in 1735 all friendly intercourseceased. From that time the York Masonsconsidered their interests distinct from the Masonsunder the Grand Lodge in London. Three yearsafter, in 1738, several brethren, dissatisfied withthe conduct of the Gr"and Lodge of England, secededfrom it, and held unauthorized meetings for thepurpose of initiation. Taking advantage of thebreach between the Grand Lodges of York andLondon, they assumed the character of the YorkMasons. On the Grand Lodge's determination toput strictly in execution the laws against such seceders,they still further separated from its jurisdictionand assumed the appellation of "Ancient YorkMasons." They announced that the ancient landmarkswere alone preserved by them and; declaringthat the regular Lodges had adopted new plans,and sanctioned innovations, they branded them withthe name of "Modern Masons." In 1739 they establisheda new Grand Lodge in London, under thename of "Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons,"and persevering in the measures they had adopted,held communications and appointed annual feasts.They were soon after recognized by the Masonsof Scotland and Ireland, and were encouraged andfostered by many of the nobility. The two GrandLodges continued to exist, and to act in oppositionto each other, extending their schisms into other67

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcountries, especially into America, until the year1813, when, under the Grand Mastership of theDuke of Sussex for the "Moderns" and his brother,the Duke of Kent, for the "Ancients," they wereunited under the title of the "United Grand Lodgeof England." The "Grand Lodge of All England"at York continued to work until 1792,when it finallycollapsed.Such is the history of Freemasonry in Englandas conceded by all Masons and Masonic writers forthe past two centuries. It spread in other countrieswith more or less activity, for through the instrumentalityof the Grand Lodge of England, whichbecame, indeed, the Mother Lodge of the World,Freemasonry was everywhere revived. Lodges onthe English model, which afterwards gave rise tothe establishment of Grand Lodges in their respectivecountries, were organized in France in 1727,in Holland in 1731, in Germany in 1733 and in Italyin 1735. Freemasonry was established in Americaat Boston, Mass., in the year 1733.Fraternity of Builders or Freemasonsof Continental Europe.GERMANY.It is universally admitted that in the early agesof Christianity the clergy alone were the patronsof arts and sciences. This was because all learningwas then almost exclusively confined to ecclesiastics.Very few of the laity could read or write; evenkings affixed the sign of the cross, in place of their68

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsignatures, to the charters and other documentswhich they issued, and from the time of Charlemagne,in the eighth century, to the middle of thetwelfth all knowledge and practice of architecture,painting and sculpture were exclusively confined tothe monks; and bishops personally superintendedthe erection of the churches and cathedrals in theirdioceses, because not only the principles, but thepractice of the art of building, were secrets keptwithin the walls of cloisters, and were unknown tolaymen. Many of the founders of the monasticorders made it a peculiar duty for the monks* todevote themselves to architecture and church building.In the year 716 A. D. the English monk, St.Boniface, went into Germany 1 and organized aspecial class of monks for the practice of building,under the name of Operarii, or Craftsmen, andMagestri Operum, or Masters of the Works. Thelabors and duties of these monks were divided andunder the same system or organization as theRoman Colleges of Artificers. 2Some of them designedthe plan of the building, others were paintersand sculptors, and then there were those who werecalled ccementarii, or stonemasons, who performedthe practical labors of construction. In large buildings,where many workmen were required, laymenwere also employed under the direction of themonks. Among the laymen who were employed inthe monasteries as assistants and laborers, manywere possessed of superior intelligence. The constantand intimate association of these with the1See page 63, first paragraph.2See page 59.69

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmonks in the prosecution of the same designled tothis result: that in the process of time, graduallyand almost unconsciously, the monks imparted tothem the art, secrets and principles of architecture.Then, by degrees, the knowledge of the arts andsciences went from these monkish builders out intothe world, and the laymen architects, withdrawingfrom the ecclesiastical fraternities, organizedbrotherhoods of their own. These independentbrotherhoods now began to be called upon whereveran important building was to be erected, and eventuallythey entirely superseded the monkish teachersin the prosecution of the art of building. But nowa new classification took place. The more intelligentof the laymen, who had received these secretsfrom the monks, were distinguished as architectsfrom the ordinary laborers, or common masons.The latter knew only the use of the trowel and mortar,while the former were occupied in devisingplans for building. These brotherhoods of highartists soon won great esteem, and many privilegesand franchises were conceded to them by the municipalauthorities among whom they practiced theirprofession. Their places of assembly were calledLodges, and the members took the name of Freemasons.Their patron* saint was St. John the Baptist,who was honored by them as the mediatorbetween the old and the new covenants, and thefirstmartyr of the Christian religion. Such wasthe beginning of the brotherhoods of Masons inGermany.The most important event in the cultivation andspread of Masonic art on the continent of Europewas that which occurred at the citv of Strasburg in70

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARGermany, when Erwin of Steinbach, the architectof the cathedral, summoned a great number ofMaster-builders out o^ Germany, England andItaly, and in the year 1275 established a code ofregulations and organized the fraternity of Freemasonsafter the mode which had been adoptedthree hundred and fifty years before by the EnglishMasons at the city of York. 1 Three grades ofWorkmen were recognized Masters, FellowCrafts and Apprentices ;and words, signs and gripswere created as modes of recognition to be usedby the members of the fraternity, a part of whichwas borrowed from the English Masons. Finally,ceremonies of initiation were invented, which wereof a symbolic character, and concealed under theirsymbolism profound doctrines of philosophy, religionand architecture. Lodges were then establishedin many of the cities of Germany, all of whichfraternized w r ith each other.They admitted manyeminent persons, and especially ecclesiastics, whowere not Operative Masons, but who gave to themtheir patronage and protection.2A Grand Lodgewas established at the city of Strasburg, and Erwinof Steinbach was elected their presiding officer, orGrand Master. These fraternities or associationsbecame at once very popular. Many of the potentatesof Europe conceded to them considerable powersof jurisdiction, such as would enable them topreserve the most rigid system in matters pertainingto building, and would facilitate them in bringingworkmen together at any required point. They1See page 64, first paragraph.2Adopted later by the English Fraternities. See page 65.71

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcontinued to exist without interruption until 1707,when a decree of the Imperial Diet at Ratisbon dissolvedthe connection of the Lodges of Germanywith the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, because thatcity had in 1687 passed into the power of the French.The head being now lost, the subordinate bodiesbegan rapidly to decline, and in 1731, by an imperialedict of Charles I., nearly all the Lodges in Germanywere dissolved, and lost of until the restora-sighttion of the Order in the eighteenth century, throughthe English Fraternity.FRANCE.In the beginning of the tenth century a Fraternityof Architects was founded in France, and was similarto that of their German brethren. Originatinglike them, from the cloisters, and from the employmentof laymen by the monkish architects, the connectionbetween the Masons of France and theRoman Colleges of Artificers was more intimateand direct than that of the Germans, because of theearly and very general occupation of Gaul by theRoman legions; but the French organizations didnot materially differ from the Germans. Protectedby popes and princes, the Masons were engagedunder ecclesiastical patronage in the construction ofreligious edifices. The principal seat of the FrenchFraternity was at Como, a city of Lombardy, fromwhere the Lodges were disseminated over the kingdom,and who passed from country to country andfrom city to city under the name of 'TravelingFreemasons." In the beginning of the sixteenthcentury the necessity for their employment in fur-72

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARther construction of religious edifices having ceased,the fraternity began to decline, and finally in theyear 1539 they were dissolved by an edict of FrancisI., king of France, and ceased to exist as a recognizedsystem until its revival in the eighteenthcentury, through the English Fraternity.ITALY.In Italy the Association of Architects never entirelyceased to exist, but the greater number ofthem became connected with the fraternities ofFrance at Como, and were lost sight of.73

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARConclusionFreemasonry presents itselfunder two differentaspects: First, as a secret society distinguishedby a peculiar ritual and; secondly, as a society havinga philosophy on which it is founded, and whichitproposes to teach to its disciples. These by wayof distinction may be called the ritualistic and philosophicalelements of Freemasonry.The ritualistic clement of Freemasonryis thatwhich relates to the due performance of the ritesand ceremonies of the Order. It belongs entirelyto the inner organization of the Institution, or tothe manner in which its services shall be conducted,and isinteresting or important only to its ownmembers.The philosophical element of Freemasonry is oneof much importance. For it, and through it, theInstitution is entitled to the respect, and even veneration,of allgood men, and is well worth the carefulconsideration of scholars.This Society, or Confraternity as itmight moreappropriately be called, is distinguished from allother associations by the possession of certain symbols,myths, and above all else, a Golden Legendallof which are directed to the purification of theheart, to the elevation of the mind, to the developmentof the great doctrine of immortality.Hut whence came these symbols, myths and legends?Who invented them? How and why havethey been preserved? Looking back into the remotestdays of recorded history, we find a priesthoodon the banks of the Nile, thousands of yearsbefore the light of Christianity dawned upon theworld, teaching the existence in a future life by74

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe lesson in asymbols and legends, which conveypeculiar mode. And now, after thousands of yearshave elapsed, we find tfye same symbolic and legendarymethod of instruction for the same purposepreserved in the depository of what is comparativelya modern institution. And between thesetwo extremes of the long past and the present now,we find the intervening period occupied by similarassociations, succeeding each other from time totime, and spreading over different countries; but.all engaged in the same symbolic instruction, withsubstantially the same symbols and the same mythicalhistory. During this intervening period, wefind that the building corporations of the MiddleAges coming from the Roman Colleges of Architects,as in England, 1 in France, 2 3in Italy, and inGermany, 4 from the cloistered brotherhood ofmonks devoted themselves principally to the constructionof religious edifices. They consistedmainly of architects and skillful operatives, controlledby the highest principles of their art. Theywere in possession of important professional secrets,were actuated by deep sentiments of religiousdevotion, and united with themselves in their laborsmen of learning, wealth and influence. 5Theyassumed from the very first the name of Free-Masons.6Subsequently, in the beginning of the eighteenthcentury, they threw off the operative elementof their institution, and adopting an entirely speculativecharacter, they became the Freemasons ofthe present day. The best authorities of to-day advancethe theory that "Freemasonry is the succes-1 See page 62. 4 See page 68.2See page 72. 5See pages 65 and 71.3See page 73. 6 See pages 61 and 70.75

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsor, with certainty, of the Building Corporationsof the Middle Ages, and through them, with lessof the Romancertainty, but with great probability,Colleges of Artificers. Its connection with theTemple of Solomon as its birthplace may have beenits invent-accidental a mere arbitrary selection byors, and bears, therefore, only an allegorical meaning;or it may be historical/' As a brotherhood,composed of Symbolic Masters and Fellows andApprentices, derived from an association of OperativeMasters, Fellows and Apprentices those buildingspiritual temples as those built material onesits age -may not far exceed si.v hundred 1 years: butas a secret association, containing within itself thesymbolic expression of a religious idea, it connectsitself with all the ancient Mysteries, which withsimilar secrecy gave the same symbolic expressionto the same religious idea. These Mysteries werenot the cradle of Freemasonry; they were only itsanalogues. In all places where these ancient religionsand mystical rites were celebrated, we findthe same lesson of eternal life, taught by a legendand inculcated by the representation of an imaginarydeath and the resurrection of some cherishedbeing, either the object of esteem as a hero, or ofdevotion as a god. And it is this legend alone, thatconnects speculative Freemasonry with the ancientMysteries of Greece, of Syria and of Egypt.There is no doubt that all Mysteries had one commonsource; and no doubt Freemasonry has derivedits legend, its symbolic mode of instruction,and the lesson for which that instruction was intended,either directly or indirectly, from the same1See page 70, last paragraph.76

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsource. And, if we would respect the axioms of historicalscience, we must say that the body came outis to be tracedof the Middle Ages, but that its spiritto a far remoter periodThe analogy of the legends of the ancient Mysteriesand that of the present form of Freemasonrymust at once be apparent, and the best historians ofthe day, even without documentary evidence, viewthe Temple of Jerusalem and the Masonic Traditionsconnected with itas a part of the great allegory ofMasonry.The Masonic organization has been mouldedinto for,m closely connected with all the events andcharacteristics of the Solomonic temple, so thatnow almost all the symbolism of Freemasonry restsupon or is derived from the "House of the Lord"at Jerusalem. So closely are the two connectedthat to attempt to separate the one from the otherwould be fatal to the further existence of Freemasonry.Each lodgeis and must be a symbol of theJewish temple, each Master in the chair a representativeof the Jewish king, and every -Mason apersonation of the Jewish workman.NOTE. If the reader will review these subjects in the ordernamed and pages given below, he will find that there are sufficientgrounds for the above conclusion of the origin, growthand present form of Freemasonry as traced through the AncientMysteries, Building of King Solomon's Temple, Roman Collegesof Artificers, Building Corporations of the Middle Ages, andthe adoption of Speculative Masonry or present form of Freemasonry.The commencement of each subject will be designated by astar &, ending with &$Ancient Mysteries, pages 4 and 12.Building of King Solomon's Temple, pages 41 and 57.Roman Colleges of Artificers, page 59.Building Corporations of the Middle Ages, page 62.Speculative Masonry, page 65.77

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTSTEMPLARRevivalThe organization of that important body, theGrand Lodge of England, which took place in thecity of London in the year 1717, has been alwaysknown in Masonic history as the "Revival of Masonry/'Anderson, in his first edition of the "Bookof Constitutions," containing the History, AncientCharges and Regulations for the use of Lodges,which was adopted by the Grand Lodge and publishedin 1723, speaks of the brethren having revivedthe drooping Lodges of London but he makes;no other reference to the transaction. In his secondedition, published in 1738, he is more diffuse,and the account there given is the only authoritywe possess of the organization made in 1717. Prestonand all subsequent writers have of course derivedtheir authority from Anderson.DegreesThe word degree, in its primitive meaning, signifiesa step. The degrees of Freemasonry are thenthe steps by which the candidate ascends from alower to a higher condition of knowledge. It is nowthe opinion of the best scholars, that the division ofthe Masonic system into degrees was the work ofdegree, or rather one common platform ofthe revivalists of the beginning of the eighteenthcentury; that before that period there was but oneritualism;and that the division into Masters, Kcllows,.and Apprentices was simply a division or gradation78

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARof ranks, there being but one form of initiation andone catechism for all. The earliest ritual extant,which is contained in tlte Grand Mystery, publishedin 1725, makes no reference to any degrees, butgives only what was the common initiation in useabout that time. The division of the Masonic systeminto three degrees, Dr. Mackey says, "must havegrown up after the revival in 1717, but in so gradualand imperceptible a manner that itwas impossibleto fix the precise date of the introduction ofeach degree. From the old records, it appears tohave been about 1721 that the three degrees wereintroduced, but the second and third were not perfecteduntil 1738. Even as late as 1735 the EnteredApprentice degree contained the most prominentform of initiation, and he who was an apprenticewas, for all practical purposes, a Freemason. Itwas not until repeated improvements, by the adoptionof new ceremonies and new regulations, thatthe degree of Master Mason took the place whichit now occupies; having been confined at first tothose who had passed the chair." But there is unquestionableevidence that the modes of recognition,the method of government, the legends, and muchof the ceremonial of initiation, were in existenceamong the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages,and were transmitted to the Speculative Masonsof the eighteenth century. The work of Anderson,of Desaguliers, and their contemporaries, was toimprove and to enlarge, but not to invent. TheMasonic system of the present day has been theresult of a slow but steady growth, just as the earliestauthorized lectures, arranged by Anderson andDesaguliers in 1720, were subsequently modified79

FRKKMASOXRY AND KXIGHTSTliMl'LAKand enlarged by tbe successive labors of Clare, of1 Hmckerlev, of Preston and of Hemming. Did Andersonand Desaguliers submit the simple ceremonialwhich they found at the reorganization of the( irand Lodge in 1/17, to a similar modification andenlargement ?RitualThe mode of opening and closing a Lodge, ofconferring the degrees, of installation and otherduties, constitutes a system of ceremonies whichare called the Ritual. Much of this Ritual is esoteric,and, not being permitted to be committed towriting, is communicated only by oral instruction.In each Masonic jurisdictionit isrequired by thesuperintending authority, that the ritual shall bethe same ;but it differs more or less in the differentRites and jurisdictions. This, however, does notaffect the universality of Masonry. The ritual isonly the external and extrinsic form. The doctrineof Freemasonry is everywhere the same. But whilethe ceremonies, or ritual, have varied at differentperiods, and stillvary in different countries,the science and philosophy, the symbolism andthe religion of Freemasonry continue, and will continueto be the same wherever true Masonry is practiced.80

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARRiteThe Latin word ritns, whence we get the Englishrite, signifies an approved usage or custom, or anexternal observance. As a Masonic term, it signifiesa method of conferring Masonic light by a collectionand distribution of degrees. It is, in otherwords, the method and order observed in the governmentof a Masonic system.The original system of Speculative Masonry consistedof the three symbolic degrees. They were atone time the only degrees known to or practiced bythe Craft, called therefore, Ancient Craft Masonry.Hence this was the original Rite or approved usage,and so it continued in England until the year 1813,when at the union of the two Grand Lodges the"Holy Royal Arch" (at one time a part of the Master'sdegree) was declared to be a part of the system;and thus the English, or as it is more commonlycalled, the York Rite was made legitimatelyto consist of four degrees. The abstraction of theRoyal Arch from the Master's degree and its locationas a separate degree, produced that modificationof the York Rite which now exists in England,and should properly be called the Modern YorkRite, to distinguish it from the Ancient York Rite,which consisted of only three degrees. But in theUnited States stillgreater additions have been madeto the Rite through the labors of Webb and otherlecturers, and the influence insensibly exerted onthe Order by the introduction of the Scottish Riteinto this country.On the continent of Europe the organization ofnew systems began at an early period, and by the81

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARinvention of what are known as the high degrees,many Rites were established. All of these agreedin one important essential. They were built uponthe three symbolic degrees, which, in every instance,constituted the fundamental basis uponwhich they were erected. They were intended asan expansion and development of the Masonicideas contained in these degrees. The Apprentice,Fellow Craft, and Master's degrees were theporch through which every initiate was requiredto pass before he could gain entrance into theinner temple which had been erected by thefounders of the rite.They were the text, and thehigh degrees the commentary. Some of theseRites have lived only with their authors, and diedwhen their parental energy in fostering themceased to exert itself. The most important ofthose which have hitherto or still continue to arrestthe attention of the Masonic student is theScottish Rite. This Rite consists of thirty-threedegrees, and sprung from the Rite of Perfection,which consisted of twenty-five degrees, the highestof which was "Sublime Prince of the RoyalSecret." The Rite of Perfection was created bythe "Council of Emperors of the East and West,"a body organized at Paris, in 1758. The ScottishRite, although one of the youngest of the MasonicRites, is at this day the most popular and the mostextensively diffused. Supreme Councils of governingbodies of the Rite are to be found in almostevery civilized country of the world, and in manyof them it is the only Masonic obedience. 1 It wouldbe impossible to name all the rites of Masonicthat all were foundedorigin; suffice it to say,subsequent to the revival of Masonry in 1717.1Mackey's Encyclopaedia.82

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTSTEMPLARThe American Modification of the Masonic systemor York Rite, which may with propriety becalled the American ite, is divided into three sections,each section being under an appropriate ju-and are as follows:risdiction,I.Symbolic Degrees. The first three degreesof Freemasonry, namely, those of Entered Apprentice,Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, are known,by way of distinction, as the "symbolic degrees."The term "symbolic"isexclusively confined tothe degrees conferred in a Lodge of the threeprimitive degrees, which Lodge, therefore, whetheropened on the first, the second, or the third degree,isalways referred to as a "symbolic Lodge." In thiscountry the degrees are conferred under the charterof State Grand Lodges. Symbolismis the prevailingcharacteristic of these primitive degrees and it;is because all the science and philosophy and religionof Ancient Craft Masonryis thus concealedfrom the profane but unfolded to the initiates insymbols, that the first three degrees which compriseit are said to be symbolic. Nothing of this kind isto be found inthe degrees above and beyond thethird, if we except the Royal Arch, which was unnaturallytorn from the Master's degree, of whichit, as every Masonic student knows, constituted thecomplement and consummation.II. Capitular Degrees. The degrees conferredunder the charter of an American Royal ArchChapter, which are Mark Master, Past Master,Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch Mason.The capitular degrees are almost altogether foundedon and composed of a series of events in Masonichistory, and as the information intended to be com-83

FREEMASONRY AXD KXIGHTSTEMPLARmunicated in these degrees isof an historical character,there can of course be but little room for symbolsor for symbolic instruction. These remarksrefer exclusively to the Mark and Most ExcellentMaster's degree, but are not so applicable to theRoyal Arch, which iseminently symbolic. The legendsof the second Temple, and the lost word, thethe mostpeculiar legends of that degree, are amongprominent symbols of the Masonic system.III.Cryptic Degrees. The degrees conferredunder the charter of an American Council ofRoyal and Select Masters, which are the RoyalMaster and Select Master. Some modern ritualistshave added to the list the degree of Super-ExcellentMaster; but this, although often conferred in aCryptic Council, is not really a Cryptic degree, sinceits legend has no connection with the Crypt or secretvault.84

FREEMASONRY AXI) KXKIHTS TEMPLARDegrees ofFreemasonry.Symbol!* Degrees.ENTERED APPRENTICE.The first degree of Freemasonry in all the ritesis that of Entered Apprentice. Like the lesser mysteriesof the ancient initiations, it is a primary degreeintended to preparethe candidate for thehigher and fuller instructions of the succeedingdegrees. It is therefore, although supplying novaluable historical inf01 mation, replete in its lecturewith instructions on the internal structure of theOrder, and istypical of youth.FELLOW CRAFT.The second degree of Freemasonry in all therites is that of the Fellow Craft. Like the degreeof Apprentice, it is only preparatory to the higherinitiation of the Master; and yetit differs essentiallyfrom it in its symbolism. For as the first degreewas typical of youth, the second is supposed torepresent the stage of manhood, and hence theacquisition of science is made its prominent characteristic.While the former is directed in all itssymbolsand allegorical ceremonies to the purificationof the heart, the latter is intended byits lessons tocultivate the reasoning faculties and improve theintellectualIn allpowers.MASTER MASON.the rites of Masonry, no matter how variantmay be their organization in the high degrees,the Master Mason constitutes the third degree.85

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARMasonic historians have found much difficulty insettling the question as to the time of the inventionand composition of the degree. The theory thatat the building of the temple of Jerusalem theCraft were divided into three or even moredegrees, being only a symbolic myth, must bediscarded in any historical discussion of thesubject. The real question at issue is, whether theMaster Mason's degree, as a degree, was in existenceamong the operative Freemasons before theor whether we owe it to theeighteenth century,Revivalists of 1717, and documentary evidence isyet wanting to settle the precise time of its composition,as we now have it. It was originally calledthe summit of Ancient Craft Masonry. But underthe present organization the degree isactually incomplete,because it needs a complement that is onlyto be supplied in a higher one. Hence its symbolismis necessarily restricted, in its mutilated form,to the first temple and the present life, although itgives assurance of a future one. (SeeDegrees, page 78.)The whole system of Craft Masonry isRevival andintendedto present the symbolic idea of man passing throughthe pilgrimage of life. The Entered ApprenticeMason istaught those elementary instructionswhich are to fit him for further advancement in hisprofession, just as the youth is supplied with thatrudimentary education which is to prepare him forthe active duties of life; as a Fellow Craft he isdirected to continue his investigations in the scienceof the institution and to labor diligently in thetasks it prescribes, just as the man isrequired toenlarge his mind by the acquisition of new ideas,and to extend his usefulness to his fellow-creatures ;86

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbut as a Master Mason he istaught the last, themost important, and the most necessary of truths,that having been faithful to all his trusts, he is atlast to die, and to receive the reward of his fidelity.It was the single object of all the ancient rites andmysteries, practiced in the very bosom of pagandarkness, shining as a solitary beacon to all thatsurrounding gloom, and cheering the philosopherin his weary pilgrimage of life, to teach the immortalityof the soul. This is still the great design ofthe Third Degree of Masonry.Capitular Degrees.MARK MASTER.Mark Master is the fourth degree of the Americanrite. The traditions of the degree make itof great historical importance, as we are informedthat at the building of the temple each OperativeMason was distinguished by his mark, and the disorderand confusion that might otherwise have attendedso immense an undertaking was completelyprevented. Not less useful is it in its symbolicalsignification. It teaches us that we should dischargeall the duties of our several stations withprecision and punctuality; that the work of ourhands and the thoughts of our hearts should begood and true, not sinful and defective, not unfinishedand imperfect, but such as the Great Overseerand Judge of heaven and earth will see fit toapprove as a worthy oblation from his creatures.It holds forth to the desponding the encouragingthought that although our motives may sometimesbe misinterpreted by our erring fellow-mortals,our attainments be underrated and our reputations87

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TKMPLARbe traduced by the envious and the malicious, thereis One, at least, who sees not with the eyes of men,but may yet make the stone which the buildersrejected the head of the corner.PAST MASTER.The conferring of this degree, which has no historicalconnection with the rest of the degrees ina chapter, arises from the following circumstances.Originally, when Chapters of Royal Arch Masonrywere under the government of Lodges, in which thedegree was there always conferred, it was part ofthe Regulations that no one could receive the RoyalArch degree unless he had previously presided inthe Lodge as Master. When the Chapters becameindependent the regulation could not be abolished,for that would have been an innovation. The difficultyhas therefore been obviated by making everycandidate for the degree of Royal Arch a Past Masterbefore his exaltation.MOST EXCELLENT MASTER.Most Excellent Master, the sixth degree in theAmerican rite. Its history refers to the dedication ofthe temple of King Solomon, who isrepresentedby its presiding officer under the title of Most I excellent.It is peculiarly American, being practicedin no other country.who organized the Capitular system of Masonryas itIt was the invention of Webb,exists in this country, and established the systemof lectures which is the foundation of all subsequentsystems taught in America.88

'FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARROYAL ARCH.If we except the MasteVs, there isno other degreein Masonry that has been so extensivelydiffused, or is as important in its historical andsymbolical import, as the Royal Arch, or, as it hasbeen called on account of its sublime significance,the "Holy Royal Arch," the root, the heart andmarrow of Masonry. The Master's degree in itssymbolic signification is imperfect and unfinished inits history, and, terminating abruptly in itssymbolism,it leaves the mind still waiting for somethingthat isnecessary to its completeness. This deficiencyis supplied by the Royal Arch degree.The Royal Arch did not exist as an independentand distinctive degree until about the year 1740,when the body which; called itself the "GrandLodge of Ancient York Masons/' *dissevered theessential element of the Royal Arch from the Master'sdegree, and invested it with the form of adistinct degree. Previous to this, it was but acomplementary part of the Master's degree, towhich itgave a necessary completion. In 1776, asimilar degree, established by Thos. Dunckerly,was ^adopted by the Constitutional Grand Lodge,or the "Moderns," and at the union of the twoGrand Lodges in 1813, the Royal Arch was formallyand officially recognized as a part of theYork Rite or Ancient Craft Masonry. In America,as most of the Lodges derived their warrants fromthe so-called "Grand Lodge of Ancient York Ma-1 See page 67.89

FREEMASONRY ANDKXIGHTS TKMPLARsons," the Royal Arch must have oeen introducedat the time of their constitution. The government>f the degree was for a long time under the Master'sLodges, and many years elapsed before it wasplaced under the control of distinct bodies called(irand Chapters. In America the first GrandChapter was formed in the year 1798. The truesymbolism of the Royal Arch systemis foundedon the discovery of the "Lost Word." That wordis, in Masonry, the symbol of TRUTH.. This truth,which Masonry makes the great object of its in-not the mere truth of science or thevestigations, istruth of history, but it is the more important truthwhich issynonymous with the knowledge of thenature of God, that truth which is embraced in thesacred omnific name, including in its significationJ I is eternal present, past and future existence, andtowhich He himself alluded when He declared toMoses, "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac,and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty;but by my name Jehovah was I not known untothem." The discovery of the truth is, then, theessentialsymbolism of the Royal Arch degree.Captivity.The historical connection between the buildingand dedication of the first temple, as found in theMaster's and Most Excellent degrees, its destruction,and that subsequent part which smybolizesthe building- of the second, there is an intervalin the ceremonials of the Royal Arch degree.This interval represents the time passed in the90

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcaptivity of the Jews at Babylon. In 626 B. C.the empire and city of Babylon was conqueredby Nabopolassar, a trusted Assyrian general ofKing Sarsacus of Assyria. He was born ofa nomadic race and his home was in the Caucasianmountains. He turned traitor after becomingviceroy of Babylon, and joined forceswith Cyaxares, king of Media, and overthrew theAssyrians. The empire was broken up and eachof the confederates took his allotted portion. Assyriaproper fell to the Medes, and Nabopolassarreceived the kingdom of Babylon, to which wereannexed Susiana on the east, and the valley of theEuphrates and the whole of Syria on the west.In the year 610 B. C. Pharaoh Necho of Egyptinvades Syria and captures Jerusalem, and makesJehoiakim king of Judah. Nabopolassar, alarmedby the loss of Syria, determines to recover whatNecho has taken from him. After the army wasraised and equipped, however, the aged king foundhimself unable to conduct the expedition, and sothe command was given to his son Nebuchadnezzar.The prince pushed boldly into upper Syria,where the Egyptians had established themselvesin full force to hold the country, and completelyrouted them. Every vestige of Egyptian resistancemelted away. Proceeding towards the west, hepaused for a short time in Palestine, where he receivedthe submission of Jehoiakim, whom PharaohNecho had set up, and then continued his triumphantcourse to the gateway of Egypt.It wasduring this expedition, in the year 606 B. C., thatDaniel and his friends were made captives at Jerusalemand taken to Babylon, with many of the

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsacred vessels. And from this date the principalcomputation of the seventy years of captivitybegins.Nebuchadnezzar while at the gateway of Egyptreceives news of his father's death, and, withoutdelay, he, fearing that some rival might usurp thethrone of Babylon, gave orders for his army toAmongretrace its course into upper Syria, and himself,with a detachment, made all speed by the nearestroute across the desert to the capital. Upon hisarrival he was given a triumphant reception, andwas peacefully established on the throne of theempire. His accession, in 604 B. C., marks the eraof Babylonian greatness, before whose victoriousarmies many nations fell. At times insurrectionswould break forth.the first and most importantwas the revolt of Tyre, the chief city ofthe Phoenicians. About the same time Jehoiakim,king of Judah doubtless calling to mind that heowed his own sovereignty to Pharaoh Necho, therival king of Babylon, and believing that the Egyptianswould come to his aid revolted and took uparms. It was to punish these Phoenicians and Jewishrebels that Nebuchadnezzar undertook the firstgreat campaign after his accession. He investedTyre, but that strong city proved for a long timeimpregnable. So the king, without desisting fromiege, divided his forces and with one divisionproceeded against Jerusalem. To the last momentJehoiakim relied upon the Egyptians to come tohis aid, but the Pharaoh held aloof, and Jehoiakimwas left to his fate. He made his submission toNebuchadnezzar, who deliberately put him to death,and he was "buried with the burial of an ass, drawn92

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." Forthe time being, the Babylonian king conferred thecrown of Judah upon Jel^piachin,son of the recentruler ;but he soon fell under the suspicion of treachery,was deposed and taken captive to Babylon,thus making way for Zedekiah, who was put uponthe Jewish throne. For some reason the Jewishpeople had come to prefer the Egyptian to Babylonianmasters. Perhaps they hoped ultimately tothrow of! all mastery and become independent, asin the days of David. At any rate, Zedekiah, afterhaving kept his faith with Nebuchadnezzar foreight years, became at heart disloyal, and in 588B. C. entered into an intrigue with Egypt againstthe Babylonians. When Nebuchadnezzar heard ofthe revolt, he marched with his host against thecity of the Jews, and Jerusalemfell. The city wasleveled with the ground, the temple pillaged andburned, and the inhabitants carried captive to Babylon.The state of Judah was extinguished. Gedaliah*was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to ruleover the ruins of Palestine, among which Jeremiahsat weeping. That captivity lasted for fifty-twoyears, and is commemorated in the Royal Archdegree.It was a part of the "seventy years' captivity"of the Jews, which was foretold by the prophetJ,eremiah, the beginning of which, however, as hasbeen mentioned, commenced eighteen years before.Among the prisoners of distinction was the highpriest and the priest that was next to him, with thethree rulers that guarded the temple, the eunuchwho was over the armed men, seven friends of Zedekiah,his scribe and two other rulers. Zedekiahthe king attempted to escape previous to the termi-93

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARnation of the siege, but was pursued, captured, andcarried to the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar,who was then at Riblah,* where, having first beencompelled to behold the slaughter of his children,his eyes were put out, and he was conducted inchains to Babylon. On the arrival of the captivesCAPTIVE JEWS LED INTO BABYLONIA.at Babylon they do not appear to have been subjectedto the extreme rigors of slavery. They weredistributed into the various part of the empire, someremaining in the city, while others were sent intothe provinces. They were permitted to retain theirpersonal property and even to purchase lands anderect houses. Their civil and religious government94

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwas not utterly destroyed, for they kept up a regularsuccession of kings and high priests. Some of theprincipal captives were Advancedto offices of dignityand power in the royal palace, and were permittedto share in the councils of state.Jehoiachin, who was the first king of Judea carriedcaptive to Babylon, was succeeded by his sonShealtiel, and he by his son Zerubbabel, who wasthe head of the captivity or nominal prince of Judeaat the close of the captivity. Jehosadek was thehigh priest carried by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon,where he died during the captivity and was succeededby his eldest son, Joshua.Babylon the Great, as the prophet Daniel calls it,was situated 475 miles in a nearly easterly directionfrom Jerusalem. It stood in the midst of a largeand fertile plain on each side of the river Euphrates,which ran through it from north to south, theoriginal foundation of which was Babel. Babelwas also' the name of a lofty tower, which the descendantsof Noah began to build, among whomNimrod was a leader, about one hundred and twentyyears after the flood, so called because God thereconfounded the language of those who were employedin the undertaking (Gen. x. 10; xi. 9). Theirobject in building the city and tower was to concentratethe population and the dominion at thatspot; and as this was contrary to the divine purposeof replenishing the earth with inhabitants, andbetrayed an ungodly and perhaps idolatrous disposition,God frustrated their designs by miraculouslygiving to different portions of the people differentlanguages or different modes of pronunciation anddivergent dialects of the original language of man,95

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthus causing them to disperse over the globe(Acts ii. i-n). The tower was apparently leftincomplete, but the foundation of the city wasprobably laid, and a portion no doubt of thebuilders continued to dwell there. The ,placebecame afterwards the celebrated city of Bayylon.It has been supposed that the Tower ofBABYLON.Babel was afterwards finished and called the Towerof Belus within the city of Babylon. Herodotusvisited this tower, and describes it as a square pyramid,measuring half a mile in circumference atthe base; from this rose eight towers, one aboveanother, gradually decreasing to the summit, whichwas reached by a broad road winding up aroundthe outside. This tower was used for astronomicalpurposes, but was chiefly devoted to the worshipof Bel, whose temple contained immense treasures,96

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARincluding several statues of massive gold, one ofwhich was forty feet in height. Here were depositedthe sacred gol

'FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARto Babylon, he also took Tyre and conquered Egypt,and became without doubt the most powerful monarchof his time. He promoted the Hebrew prophetDaniel to the second place in the kingdom. He diedin 562 B. C, and was succeeded by his son, Evil-Merodach, who reigned only two years. (For anaccount of Nebuchadnezzar's character, his marvelousexperience, his loss of reason, and his restoration,the reader is referred to the Book of Daniel.)Nabonadius ascended the throne in 555 B. C., asthe sixth king in the line of Nabopolassar, and appearsto have shared the royal power with his sonBelshazzar,* whose mother was the daughter ofNebuchadnezzar.The location of Babylon gave her to a great extentthe control of the traffic, by the Euphrates andby caravans, between central Asia and Arabia andEgypt and into her lap flowed, either through conquestor commerce, the wealth of almost all known;lands. In consequence of the opulence and luxuryof the inhabitants, corruptness and licentiousnessof manners and morals were carried to a frightfulextreme.Termination of the Captivity.In the year 538 B. C., Cyrus, king of Persia, agreat conqueror, who had reduced nearlyall Asia;crossed the Euphrates and laid siege to Babylon,which he took after two years by diverting thecourse of the river Euphrates from its channel bydigging a canal, which ran west of the city,and carriedoff the superfluous water of the Euphrates intoLake Nitocris, which bythis means was rendered98

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARso shallow that his soldiers were able to penetratealong its bed into the city. He made his successfulassault on a night whentfhe whole city, relying onthe strength of the walls, had given themselves upCYRUS THE GREAT.to the riotand debauchery of a grand festival andthe king and his nobles were reveling at a splendidentertainment. Prince Belshazzar and his nobleswere slain at their banquet, and the dawn found thevictorious Persians in complete possession of thecity. Nabonadius, the Babylonian king, was at Bor-99

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsippa with part of his army,where he surrenderedto Cyrus under honorable terms, Cyrus bestowingon the dethroned king- the governorship of theprovince of Cannania. Cyrus constitutes his uncle"Darius the Median"* king of Babylon, whoreigned two yearstill the time of his death.DuringCAPTURE OF BABYLON.liis reign Daniel was cast into the lions' den ('Dan.vi. ). In 536 15. C., Cyrus succeeded to the wholeempire, and in the first year of his reign the Jewishcaptivity terminated. Cyrus, from his conversationswith Daniel and other Jewish captives oflearning and piety, as well as from the perusal oftheir sacred books, more especially the propheciesof Isaiah, had become imbued with a knowledge ofTOO

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARtrue religion, and made a public announcement tohis subjects of his belief in the God "which thenations of theIsraelites worshiped." He wasconsequently impressed with an earnest desireto fulfill the prophetic declarations of whichhe was the subject and to rebuild the Temple ofJerusalem. Cyrus, therefore, issued a decree bywhich the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem.Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah, wasthe grandson of that king (Jehoiachin) whohad been deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and carriedcaptive to Babylon. In him, therefore, wasvested the regal authority, and on him, as such,the command of the returning captives was bestowedby Cyrus, who on that occasion, accordingto Masonic tradition, presented to him the swordwhich Nebuchadnezzar had received from hisgrandfather. He also restored to him the greaterpart of the sacred vessels of the temple which hadbeen carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, the remainderbeing brought back many years after byEzra.Only 42,360 Israelites, exclusive of servants andslaves, acconiDanied Zerubbabel, out of whom heselected 7,000 of the most valiant, whom he placedas an advance guard at the head of the people.Their progress homeward was not altogether unattendedwith danger; for tradition informs usthat at the river Euphrates they were opposed bythe Assyrians, who, incited by the temptation of thevast amount of golden vessels which they werecarrying, drew up in hostile array, and, notwithstandingthe remonstrances of the Jews and theedict of Cyrus, disputed their passage. Zerub*'IOI

onFREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbabel, however, repulsed the enemy with such ardoras to ensure a signal victory, most of the Assyrianshaving been slain in the battle or drowned in theirattempt to cross the river in their retreat. Theremainder of the journey was uninterrupted, andafter a march of four months, which took themthrough the ruins of Rabbah* and old Tadmor,* orPalmyra of the desert, and the ruins of Damascus,*Zerubbabel arrived at Jerusalem with his followersin the month of June, 535 B. C.During their captivity the Jews continued topractice the rites of Mansonry, and established, atvarious places, regular Lodges in Chaldea.* Accordingto the Rabbinical traditions, they institutedtheir mystic fraternity at Naharda . theEuphrates, and Zerubbabel carried with him toJerusalem all the secret knowledge which was theproperty of that institution, and established a similarfraternity in Judea. This coincides with andgives additional strength to the traditions of theRoyal Arch degree. As soon as the pious pilgrimshad arrived at Jerusalem and taken a needful restof seven days, a tabernacle for the temporary purposesof divine worship was erected near the ruinsof the ancient temple, and a council was called, inwhich Zerubbabel presided as king, Jeshua as highpriest, and Haggai as scribe, or principal officerof state. It was there determined to commence thebuilding of the second temple upon the same holyspot which had been occupied by the first, and thepeople contributed nearly a quarter of a millionof dollars toward paying the expenses.Scarcely had the workmen well commenced theirlabors when they were interrupted by the Samari-102

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARto unitetans, who made application to be permittedwith them in the construction of the temple. Butthe Jews, who looked upon them as idolaters, refusedto accept their services. The Samaritans inconsequence hecame bitter enemies and so prevailed,by misrepresentations, with the ministers ofREBUILDING JERUSALEM.Cyrus, as to cause them to put such obstructions inthe way of construction of the edifice as to seriouslyimpede its progress for several years. (See Cyrus,in Supplement.)In the seventh year after the restoration of theJews, Cyrus, their friend and benefactor, died (530B. C), and was succeeded by his son Cambyses(Ahasuerus), who, after a reign of eight years, -diedin Syria. Smerdis, called in Scripture Artaxerxes,then usurped the throne of Persia, and forbade theJews to proceed with the work, and the temple re-

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmained in an unfinished state until his death, andthe succession of Darius to the throne (521 B. C).As in early life there had been a great intimacy betweenthis sovereign and Zerubbabel, the latter proceededto Babylon and obtained permission from themonarch to resume the labor. Zerubbabel returnedto Jerusalem, and notwithstanding some further delaysconsequent upon the enmity of the neighboringnations, the second temple, or, as it may be calledby \vay of distinction from the first, the Templeof Zerubbabel, was completed in the sixth year ofthe reign of Darius, 515 B. C, just twenty yearsafter its commencement. It was then dedicatedwith all the solemnities that accompanied the dedicationof the first. (See Darius, king of Persia,in Supplement.)Zerubbabel was of the royal race of David, andcalled "Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah." He wasborn in Babylon, as his name imports, but nothingfurther than what has been said is known of hishistory except that from him both Joseph and Marydescended.The general plan of this second temple was similarto that of the first, but it exceeded it in almostevery dimension by one-third. The decorations ofgold and other ornaments in the first temple musthave far surpassed those bestowed upon the second,for we are told by Josephus ( Antiq. xi. 4) that "thepriests and Levites and elders of families were disconsolateat seeing how much more sumptuous theold temple was than the one which, on account oftheir poverty, they had just been able to erect." (SeeJerusalem, inSupplement.)104

FREEMASONRY AM) KNIGHTS TEMPLARCrypticDegrees.Council of Royal and Select Masters.The proper jurisdiction under which these degreesshould be placed, whether under Chapters andto be conferred preparatory to the Royal Arch degree,or under Councils and to be conferred afterit, has excited discussion. The former usage pre-but the latter in allvails inMaryland and Virginia,the other States. There is no doubt that these degreesbelonged originally to the Ancient and AcceptedScottish Rite, and were conferred as honorarydegrees by the Inspectors of that Rite. Repeatedattempts have been made to take the degreesout of the hands of the Councils and to place themin Chapters, there to be conferred as preparatoryto the Royal Arch.The Gerieral Grand Chapter, in the triennial sessionof 1847, adopted a resolution granting this permissionto all Chapters in States where no GrandCouncils exist. But, seeing the manifest injusticeand inexpediency of such a measure, in 1853it disclaimedall control over them, and forbade the Chaptersunder its jurisdiction to confer them. As faras regards the interference of the Ancient and AcceptedScottish Rite, that question was set at rest in1870 by the Mother Council, which, at its sessionat Baltimore, formally relinquished all further controlover them.ROYAL MASTER.The eighth degree of the American Rite, and thefirst of the degrees conferred in a Council of Royaland Select Masters. The place of meetingis calledthe "Council Chamber," and represents the privateapartment of King Solomon, in which he is said to105

FREEMASONRY AND KXIGHTS TKMI'LAKhave met for consultation with his two colleaguesduring the construction of the Temple. Candidateswho receive this degree are said to be "honoredwith the degree of Royal Master."Krom the legendary history and the symbolismof the degree, we find that, brief and simple as arethe ceremonies, they present the great Masonic ideaof the laborer seeking for his reward. Throughoutall the symbolism of Masonry, from the firstto the last degree, the search for the WORD hasbeen considered but as a symbolic expression forthe search after TRUTH. The attainment of thistruth has always been acknowledged to be the greatobject and design of all Masonic labor. Divinetruth the knowledge of God concealed in the oldKabalistic doctrine, under the symbol of His ineffablename, and typified in the Masonic systemunder the mystical expression of the TrueWord, is the reward proposed to every Mason whohas faithfully wrought his task. It is, in short, the"Master's wages."SELECT MASTER.The ninth degree in the American Rite, and thesecond of the degrees conferred in a Council ofRoyal and Select Masters. A Council issupposedto consist of neither more nor less than twentyseven; but a smaller number, if not less than nine,iscompetent to proceed to work or business. Thecandidate, when initiated, is said to be "chosen asa Select Master." The historical object of the degreeis to commemorate the deposit of an importantsecret or treasure which, after the preliminary preparation,is said to have been made by Hiram Abif.The place of meeting represents a secret vault beneaththe Temple.106

FREEMASDXkV AXD KNIGHTSYr:.\;i'LARSUPER EXCELLENT MASTERA degree which was originally an honorary orside degree conferred bv the Inspectors-General ofthe Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite at Charleston.It has since been introduced into some of theRoyal and Select Councils of the United States,and there conferred as an additional degree. Thedegree is simply an enlargement of that part of theceremonies of the Royal Arch which refer to theTemple destruction. It has nothing to do withthe ideas inculcated in Cryptic Masonry. Whencethe degree originally sprang, it is impossible to tell.As to the symbolic design of the degree, it is veryevident that its legend and ceremonies are intendedto inculcate that important Masonic virtue fidelityto vows. BOOK OF THE LAWBy an ancient usage of the Craft, the Holy Bible,or Book of the Law, is always spread open in theLodge. There is in this, as in everything else thatis Masonic, an appropriate symbolism. The Bookof the Law is the Great Light of Masonry. Toclose it would be to intercept the rays of divinelight which emanate from it ; and hence it isspreadopen, to indicate that the Lodge is not in darkness,but under the influence of its illuminating power.Masons in this respect obey the suggestion of the" NeitherDivine Founder of the Christian religion,do men light a candle and putit under a bushel,but on a candlestick; and itgiveth light unto allthat are in the house."Masonically,the Book of the Law is107that sacred

FREEMASONRYAND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbook which is believed by the Mason of any particular religion to contain the revealed will of GodAnd therefore, whatever to any people expressesthat will may be used as a substitute for the Biblein a Masonic Lodge. Thus, to the Christian Masonthe Book of the Law is the Old and New Testaments;to the Jew, the Old Testament; to the Mussulman,the Koran; to the Brahman, the Vedas;and to the Parsee, the Zendavesta. They all conveythe same idea that of the symbolism of theDivine will revealed to man.alone has no secret doctrine. ItsFreemasonryphilosophy is open to the world. Its modes of recognitionby which it secures identification, and itsrites and ceremonies, which are its method of instruction, alone are secret. All men may know the ,, ,{/>tenets of the Masonic creed. This creed consists/^/)of two articles: First, a belief in God, the Creatorof all things, who is therefore recognized as theGrand Architect of the Universe; and secondly,a belief in the eternal life,to which this present lifeis but a preparatory and probationary state.At the revival of Masonry in 1/17, the GrandLodge of Fngland set forth the Law, as to the religiouscreed to he required of a Mason in the followingwords, to be found in the charges approvedby that body: "In ancient times, Masons werecharged in every country to be of the religion ofthat country or nation, whatever it was; yetit isnow thought more expedient only to oblige themto that religion in which all men agree, leaving theirv/*ir/*particular opinions to themselves."This is now considered universally as the recognizedlaw on the subject.108

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARDesign of Freemasonry.The "Design of Freeifcasonry"is neither charitynor almsgiving, nor the cultivation of social sentiments;for both of these are merelyincidental toits organization. But it is the search after truth,and that truth is the unity of God and the immortalityof the soul. The various degrees or grades ofinitiation represent the various stages throughwhich the human mind passes, and the many difficultieswhich men, individually and collectively,must encounter in their progress from ignoranceto the acquisition of truth. That truth lies concealedin itssymbols, and these, constituting, as theyare made todo, a picture language, or art speech,carry a complete philosophy of the existence andrelations of Deity, nature and man.Freemasonry is not only a universal science,1but a world-wide religion, and owes allegiance tono one creed, and can adopt no sectarian dogma,as such, without ceasing thereby to be Masonic.Drawn from the Kabbalah, 2and taking the Jewishor Christian verbiage or symbols,it but discernsin them universal truths, which itrecognizes inall other religions. Freemasonryis not Christianity,nor a substitute for it. It is not intendedto supersede it nor any other form of worship orsystem of faith. Its religion is that general one ofnature and primitive revelations, handed down tous from some ancient and patriarchal priesthood,in which all men may agree and in which no men1See Religion of Masonry, in Supplement.2 See Kabbalah, in Supplement.109

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcan differ. It inculcates the practice of virtue,but itsupplies no scheme of redemption for sin.It points its disciples to the path of righteousness,but it does not claim to be "the way, the truth,and the life." Neither persecution nor misrepresentationcan ever destroyit.in a generation of bigots; it mayIt may find no placeretire for a century;but again comes a Master Builder with thekey to the "shut palace of the King," throws openthe blinds, lets in the light, kindles ^new the fireon the sacred altar, clears away the rubbish, whenbehold! the tesselated pavement is as bright aswhen it first came from the quarries of truth, thejewels are of pure gold and brightens at the touch,and the great lights are undimmed and undecayed."When the candidate is ready, the Master appears."And yet men are so foolish as to imagine thatthey can destroy this heirloom of the ages; thisheritage from the Immortals! No ageis so darkas to quench entirely the light of the Lodge; nopersecution so bloody as to blot out its votaries;no edict so lasting as to count one second on itsDial of Time! These, one and all, serve only tokeep the people in darkness, and retard the reignof universal brotherhood.no

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARCommandery.Knights Templar.In the United' States an assembly of KnightsTemplar is called a Commandery, and must consistof at least nine members. The governmentof Masonic Knights Templar in this country isvested, first, in Commanderies, which confer thedegrees of Knight of the Red Cross, KnightsTemplar, and Knight of Malta.Commanderies are under the control of GrandCommanderies in States in which those bodies exist.Where they do not, the warrants are deriveddirectly from the Grand Encampment. The supremeauthority of the Order is exercised by theGrand Encampment of the United States, whichmeets triennially. The presiding officer is a GrandMaster.The Ancient Order of Knights Templar wasdivided into Provinces, each of which was governedby a Grand Preceptor or Grand Prior.These Provinces were fifteen in number and extendedfrom Jerusalem to England. There was nopart of Europe, except the impoverished Kingiii

FREEMASONRY AND KN'IGIITSTEMPLARdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, wherethe Templars had not extended their possessionsand their influence.I n all the Provinces there were numerous templehousescalled Preceptories, presided over by a Preceptor.Some of the houses were also called Commanderies.The latter name has been adopted bythe Masonic Templars of this country.Knight ofthe Red Cross.This degree, whose legend dates it far anteriorto the Christian era and in the reign of Darius,has no analogy with the chivalric orders of knighthood.It ispurely Masonic and intimately connectedwith the Royal Arch degree. In this countryit is always conferred in a Commandery ofKnights Templar and isgiven as a preliminaryreception in that degree. The legendis as follows :"After the death of Cyrus, the Jews, who had beenreleased by him from their captivity and permittedto return to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuildingthe temple, found themselves obstructed in the undertakingby the neighboring nations and especiallyby the Samaritans. Hereupon they sent an embassy,at the head of which was their prince, Zerubbabel,to Darius, the successor of Cyrus, to cravehis interposition and protection. Zerubbabel, awaitinga favorable opportunity, succeeded not only inobtaining his request, but also in renewing thefriendship which had formerly existed between theking and himself. 1 In commemoration of these1See page 104.112

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARevents, Darius is said to have instituted a newOrder and called it the Knights of the East. Theyafterwards assumed theigf present name from thered cross borne in their banners."Knights Templar.In the early centuries of our era the Semitic racesent forth to the nations two great streams of religionand out of this contribution sprang the rival;systems of Christianity and Mohammedanism.Each would be all or nothing. Each entered intocombination with the political structure of states,and sought by means of the temporal power, oropen proclamation of its own right, to control thethe destinies of the world.institutions and swayIn the struggle which ensued, the powers of primitivecivilization were arrayed against each otherunder the Cross and the Crescent. In the issueEurope fell to Christ; Asia and Africa, to Mohammed.

FREEMASONRYAND KNIGHTS TEMPLARThe Cross.Christianity Was Conceived in Abraham and GivenBirth through Jesus Christ.Abraham,* originally Abram, was the founderof the Jewish nation, and was born at Ur, in Mesopotamia,in 1996 B. C. He marries Sarah, andin 1922 B. C. removes to Haran in Mesopotamia.A few years later they go to the land of Canaan, andthere, in 1896 B. C., in their extreme old age, 1Isaacis born. At the age of forty Isaac marries Rebekah,and in 1836 B. C. twin sons were born whomthey called Jacob and Esau.Jacob, in 1753 B. C., marries Leah and Racheland has six sons and one daughter by Leah Reuben,Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and:Dinah; two sons by Rachel's handmaid, Bilhah:Dan and Naphtali; two by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad and Asher ;two by Rachel :Joseph andBenjamin. The twelve sons of Jacob became theimmediate ancestors orf the twelve tribes of Israel.In 1571 B. C. there came into the world thatgreat lawgiver, Moses, the firstprophetof Israel.He was the son of Amram and Jochebed, of thetribe of Levi, and the youngest brother of Miriamand Aaron. The name of Moses is one of the greatestin history. He 'organized the Hebrew people ;he formed the Hebrew character ;and the influencewhich the Hebrew nation has exercised on the civilizationof mankind, by being through many centuriesthe bearer of the monotheistic idea, canhardly be overestimated. For many generationsthe Jews had lived in the most abject thrallclom;1See page 20, first paragraph.114

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthey had lost all feeling of independence and selfconfidence,and the peculiarities of their race werecontaminated and perverted, instead of 1having beendeveloped into a national character ; they were utterlyunfit for the conquest of a country, for theorganization of a state, and for the part they weredestined to play in history.According to the Biblical narrative (Acts vii.),Moses was forty years old when he fled fromEgypt into Arabia, eighty when he returned andled the march across the Red Sea to Sinai, and1 20 when he died on Mount Nebo. Under hisleadership the Hebrew people, during their fortyyears of penal wandering in the desert, took on thereligious and moral character which enabled themto begin their career in Palestine.Judah, one of the twelve patriarchs, and the progenitorof the tribe of the same name, became sopredominant in Palestine as to giveits name to thekingdom of Judea and ultimately to the whole raceof the descendants of Abraham (Jews). Judahappears to have exercised a kind of leadershipamong his brothers it was he who; persuaded themnot to kill Joseph, but to sell him to the Midianites,and on the journey to Egypt to buy corn it wasJudah who acted as spokesman for the whole company.As such he offered himself to Joseph as aslave to ransom his half-brother Benjamin. Hemarried a Canaanite woman, by whom he had threesons :Er, Onan and Shelah. Er and Onan died inthe land of Canaan without issue. Tamar, hisdaughter-in-law, through deceit, bore him twinsons, Pharez and Zarah (Gen. xxxviii.), from thefirst of whom David, and ultimately Christ, weredescended. Of the life of Judah in Egypt nothing

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARis known except that he was still living at the timeof his father's death, and received that splendidblessing which foretold the glory of his lineage(Gen. xlix. 8-12).Judaism, the religious system and polity of theJESUS. *.Jews, as enjoined in the laws of Moses, became thebasis of a spiritual or universal religion."And she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shaltcall his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from theirsins" (Matt. i. 21; Luke i. 31-33).Jesus the Christ was horn in Bethlehem, a smallJudean town, already famous as the birthplace of

FREEMASONRY AXI) KNIGHTS TEMPLARKing David, and about six miles south of Jerusalem.The home of his mother, Mary, was Nazarethin Galilee, but she had to ccgneBethlehem with herhusband, Joseph, a descendant of David, in obedienceto a decree of enrollment and taxation whichseems to have required Joseph's presence at theoriginal home of his family. Mary is thought tohave been, like Joseph, descended from the royalhouse of Judah. Jesus is supposed to have beenborn on the 25th of December, four years before theafter his birthyear I A. D. On the eighth dayhe was circumcised, and on the fortieth day he wastaken to the temple, when the customary offeringsof purification were made by his mother. The visitof certain "wise men/' or magians, who cameprobably from Persia, to the infant at Bethlehem,with gifts proper for a king, and the inquiries madeby them previously at Jerusalem for a newly bornking of the Jews, excited the jealousy of Herodthe Great, then ruling over Juclea and the neighboringterritories under the protection of the Romans,and he issued orders for a massacre of youngchildren at Bethlehem. Joseph, being warned, tookthe young child and his mother by night and fledinto Egypt in time to escape the destruction, wherethey remained until again warned of Herod'sdeath a short time' after. Joseph seems to haveintended to rear the child at Bethlehem (thecity of David), but another warning caused him toreturn to Nazareth. Twelve years later Josephand Mary too'.c Jesus with them to Jerusalem tokeep the Passover, and he then showed that he wasalready conscious of a divine mission. He livedat Nazareth, however, for eighteen years longer,117

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand probably assisted Joseph at his trade, that ofcarpenter. Joseph is not mentioned again in theGospels, and is supposed to have died before Christentered on his public labors.When Jesus was about thirty years old,his kinsman, John, the son of Zacharias, beganto announce the near approach of the kingdomof God and to call his countrymen to preparefor itby a moral reformation, and by acceptingbaptism at his hands as a sign of the remissionof sin. Jesus appeared among thethrongs which gathered about John the Baptistat the Jordan, and insisted on being baptizedby him. After John had reluctantly administeredthe rite to one whom he feltby a kind of propheticinstinct, as it would seem, to be holier than himself,he was shown that Jesus was the Messiah, the Sonof God, and he announced him as such to thoseabout him.After his baptism a few of John's disciplesattached themselves to Jesus, and accompaniedhim to Galilee. He then went to Jerusalemand began his public ministry and announced himselfto the heads of the nation there as a messengerof Heaven, by expelling from the temple courtthose who had been allowed to carry on traffic init for the convenience of worshipers. One memberof the Sanhedrim,* Nicodemus,* became at thistime a secret adherent of the new prophet. Fora few months Jesus carried on a work in Judeasimilar to that in which John the Baptist was engaged,and seemed to be co-operating with the latterin the effort to bring about a national repentance.But as attempts were being made to create118

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARdissension between his followers and those of John,he retired to Galilee.After John the baptist was put to death by HerodAntipas, Governor of GSilee, Jesus began his secondand final attempt to gain a hearing from therepresentatives of the nation at Jerusalem. He appearedsomewhat suddenly at the feast of tabernacles,*and by miracles and discourses, as wellas by the angry opposition which he excited, he atleast succeeded in awakening new, interest in hismovements, and fixing the attention of the nationupon himself during the rest of his career. Forseveral years after this he carried on his teachingsthroughout Palestine, meeting with much oppositionand many trials and tribulations. The rulersbegan to fear his growing popularity and aboutthe year 29, when he was returning to Bethany *from Jerusalem, he was betrayed by Judas, arrestedand led back to the city for trial before the Sanhedrim.The charge was blasphemy, but in tht absenceof trustworthy witnesses he was virtuallyput under oath and required to criminate himself.When solemnly appealed to by the high priest, henot only avowed his Messiahship, but asserted thathe was the Son of God and the future judge ofthe world. He was then taken before Pontius Pi-who gave the order for his death by crucifix-late,ion. He died in the act of commending his soulto God. The body was given by Pilate to Joseph*of Arimathea, and, aided by Nicodemus, he wrappedit in spices and laid it in a tomb prepared for himselfin a garden which he owned outside the walls.Jesus rose on the third day after his death in thebody, which, though changed as to its mode of119

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbeing, was the identical body which was crucified.He was seen often in different places and circumstancesby many witnesses. On the fortieth dayafter his resurrection, Jesus led the apostles outof Jerusalem towards Bethany and left them forthe last time, not vanishing, as before, but passingvisibly upwardtill a cloud concealed him fromsight. While they looked after him two angelsbrought them a message that he should "so comein like manner."Christianity, the religion founded by JesusChrist, may be regarded as divisible into(1) Historical Christianity, the facts and principlesstated in the New Testament, especially thoseconcerning the life, sufferings, death, resurrection,ascension and nature of Jesus, together with thesubsequent development of the Christian Church,and the gradual embodiment in society of the principlesinculcated in it.(2) Dogmatic Christianity, the systemsdoctrine founded on the New Testament.of theologicalThese systems differ with different churches, sectsand schools.(3) Vital Christianity, the Spirit manifested by-Jesus Christ in his life, and which he commandedhis followers to imitate.

FREEMASON KY VND KNIGHTS TEMPLARThe Crescent.Mohammedanism Was Conceived in Abraham andGiven Birth through Mohammed.Abraham had only one son, Isaac, hy his wife,Sarah, who was born in the year 1896 B. C. Fouryears after Isaac's birth, Ishmael, who was theson of Abraham by Sarah's Egyptian handmaid,Hagar, as is related in Genesis xxi., was driveninto the wilderness with his mother. "And he willbe a wild man his hand will;be against every man,and every man's hand against him; and he shalldwell in the presence of all his brethren" (Gen.xvi.). "Ishmael was blessed," and had twelvesons that became "princes according to their nations.And they dwelt from Havelah to Shur, thatis before Egypt as thou goest towards Assyria"(Gen. xxv.). "They had golden earrings, becausethey were Ishmaelites"* (Judg. viii. "24).Ishmael died in the year 1773 B. C, "in the presenceof all his brethren, at the age of 137 years."The Arabs regard him as their immediate ancestor.The legend of the peopleis as follows: Whenour first parents were driven out of Paradise, theywandered until they finally settled on the borderof the great Arabian desert. Here they built atemple, the Kaaba, in exact imitation of that inwhich they had worshiped in the Garden of Eden.Ten generations later a flood swept that regionand destroyed the frail building, so that no vestigeremained. Ten generations later, in a fit of crueljealousy, Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham,caused him to drive out his handmaid, Hagar,121

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARand their son, Ishmael, and while wandering in thedesert an angel revealed this site to Hagar, andshe gave her thirsty son to drink of the refreshingwaters of its well Zem-Zem. It was here, on accountof itsgoodly supply of water, the chief attractionin locating an Oriental city, that a tribe ofAmalekites came and founded the city of Mecca.They aided Ishmael in rebuilding the Kaaba, and totheir assistance came the angel Gabriel, with a whitestone from Paradise, which even to-dayis to befound in the wall of the Kaaba, turned black by thedevout kisses of sinful lips..In the sixth century of the present era the keeperof this sacred stone was one Abdallah, a very poorbut noble man, of the tribe of Koreish, one of themost distinguished Arabian tribes; the guardianshipof the Kaaba was hereditarily entrusted to it.But his family, Hashem, was poor. Abdallah diedjust before his first son was born. That son wascalled Mohammed, "The Praised/' and was bornin Mecca in the year 570. In later years, whencomparative deification of the prophet took place,there were added to the circumstances of his birth,legends similar to those of the other founders ofgreat religions. It is said that as soon as he wasborn, he turned his eyes to the light and distinctlysaid, "God isgreat and I am his prophet," theriver Tigris overflowed its banks, the palace ofKing Chosroes toppled to the ground, the holy firesof Zoroaster that had burned for centuries wereextinguished by the brighter light, and mules talkedand sheep bowed to him when he went out. He losthis mother, Amena, when he was six years old, and122

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwas adopted a few years later by his uncle, Abu-Taleb, with whom he went to Syria; there he metan Arab monk, who informed his uncle of the futureawaiting his nephdw, and charged him to guardthe boy with the greatest care. From that timeTHK PR01MIKTMOHAMMED.until his twentieth year he isscarcely heard of.In that year he served in the war against the BeniKinanah tribe. In his twenty-fifth year he was ashepherd on the pasture-fields in the vicinity ofMecca. About this time he entered the employ ofa wealthy widow, who was some fifteen years his

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsenior.This widow, Kadijah, employed him to lookafter her caravans, and his management of heraffairs was attended with uniform success. Onhis return from a journey to Damascus, where hehad met with greater success than ever, the exultantwidow offered to marry him and pleaded hercause with such fervor and eloquence that theyoung man consented. In many respects this marriagewas most important in its results. It at onceplaced Mohammed in a position of affluence andraised his rank equal to that of the influential tribeof the Koreish. Mohammed now gave up businessand devoted himself to religious meditations. Thereligion of the Arabs at this time (595) was Sabaism,a kind of idolatry or system of sun, moonand star worship, widely prevalent, not only inArabia, but in Chaldea, Syria and Ethiopia.Idolatryhad overclouded the old Monotheism (oneGod) of the Arabs, and brought the religious instinctsof the people into manifold confusion. Mohammedwas surrounded by Jews, Christians andJewish Christians; and in his journeys with thecaravans had frequent opportunities of discussingreligious questions with them. It is certain that hewas far from satisfied with Judaism, Christianityof Arabia. Theor Sabaism, the popular religionsscenes of misery and immorality, and the utter spiritualdegradation of the entire people, made a vividimpression on his sensitive mind, and suggestedthat remedies should be found.In his fortieth year he received the first revelationconcerning the new truth. He hastened to hisbeloved wife, and, confiding to her what had happened,fell into a severe paroxysm of epilepsy. He124

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbecame subject to the most fearful mental torments.Hesitation and fear possessed him. In the end heovercame them, with *he result that he felt himselfcalled upon to overthrow the worship of hiscountrymen, establish the belief in the unity ofGod, and that he was the one divinely appointedto preachit to the world. The evidence of trustworthyhistorians goes to show that he was knownfor his kindness and gentleness, his honesty andtruth, qualities that gained for him the surnameof Al-Amin, "The True." His progress was slow,his footsteps were dogged, his foes persecuted him,his faithful wife, Kadi j ah, dies, and once he wasstoned and left for dead bythe roadside. At thisjuncture help came from an unexpected quarter.The neighboring city of Medina was held by twotribes hostile to the people of Mecca, and they offeredhim and his converts asylum. At the dead ofnight and at the peril of his life he fled from hisbirthplace, and that dayis celebrated in the Mohammedancalendar as the beginning of a new era.This took place in the year 622, and is calledthe Hegira. His flight became known and pursuersfollowed him. He hid in a cave three days andnights. Tradition loves to tell how a spider woveits web over the cave's mouth, and some doves,ever after sacred, laid their eggs before the cave,so that the pursuers judged therefrom that nonehad entered the cave. Arrived at Medina, he organizedhis followers. From that time a completechange came over him; the man who had been "asshy as a veiled virgin," now became the apostle ofwar. With a small army of followers he overranArabia, and in less than seven years his gleaming125

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARsword had conquered every city of the land. EvenMecca fell before him, and he threw out the idolsfrom the temple and consecrated it to the worshipof Allah. Acknowledged was he now by the wholepeople as the prophet of God and as their king.His great gift is the Mohammedan Bible, theKoran, a book containing the messagesof theprophet which were collected by his follower, Zeid,from records written on palm leaves, white stones,leather, the shoulder-blades of sheep and camels.Mohammedanism, the religion founded by Mohammed,or Mahomet, teaches, in opposition to thevarious idolatrous religions which it has succeededin superseding, a strong theism (belief in God),essentially the same as taught by Judaism andChristianity, from which it was borrowed. "Thereis no God but God" is the principal tenet in Mohammedandogmatics, and he has created the worldand the immortal soul of man, whose life on earthhe shall judge and reward or punish in a futurestate. But the further development of this idea,especially of the relation between God and mankind,is narrow, fantastic and arbitrary. Beforethe almighty power of Allah the free will of manvanishes; Mohammedanism is fatalism. The Koranacknowledges and encourages polygamy, andit exists in all Mohammedan countries, with all itsdeteriorating and weakening consequences,spiritualand bodily.Ten years after Mohammed had fled from Mecca,he made afrom Medina with forty thou-in the year 632, at the age of sixty-two,pilgrimage thithersand Moslems, and there on a mountain, like Mosesof old,he uttered the last words to the people, ex-126

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARhorting them chiefly to protect the weak, the poor,the women, and to abstain from usury. He wassick for some days, the^-esult of a poison administeredto him by a woman. As he lay dying, withhis head resting on the lap of Ayesha, one of thenumerous wives he had wedded after the death ofKadijah, she heard him murmuring, as she lookedinto his pale face and slowly glazing eyes, "Nothe companions abovein Paradise."She took his hand in hers, praying. When she letit sink it was cold, and he was dead. He left tenwives (of fourteen, which he had in all), but onlyone child, Fatima, the daughter of Kadijah, his firstwife; and so long as Kadijah lived, Mohammed didnot follow the practice usual among Arabs of takingmany wives. He was buried in the mosque atMedina, and at his tomb thousands of pilgrimsgather every year.Islam is the Arabic name for the Mohammedancreed. Moslem is the name the professors of thiscreed give themselves. Saracens or Mussulmans,followers of Mohammed.127

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARThe Conflict.Mutual hatred had long existed between theChristians and the Mohammedans. The latteraforetime had done incalculable damage to the prospectsof the Cross.All that the missionaries andevangelists had accomplished in Arabia, Abyssinia,Egypt and northern Africa, had been eradicatedby the followers of the prophet. The movementof the Mohammedans, westward through Africaand northward into Europe, in the eighth century,was answered by the counter movement of theChristians, eastward through Europe and into Asia,in the eleventh. The sword of the living Godfreywas crossed with that of the dead Taric.i Previous to the opening of the conflict, however,and indirectly leading to it, Palestine had becomethe Mecca of pious pilgrims, who, from all partsto thejI of Christendom, threaded their weary way/ land made sacred by their Lord and Master, thatthey might do penance for their sins or quickentheir zeal by visiting hallowed scenes. * A greatstimulus was given to these undertakings by themother of Constantine, Helena, who visited theHoly Land in A. D. 325, and in piousthe immense wealth at her command in buildingaltars, chapels and houses of prayer in places madezeal used

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARhistorical by events in the Saviour's life. She erect- jed the famous Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem,the city of His birth; the bui^tChurch of the HolySepulchre at Jerusalem, on the supposed site of Histomb; and laid the foundations of the Church ofthe Resurrection. Her industrious example naturallyawakened new zeal for pilgrimage. Henceforth,thousands upon thousands, princes andpeasants, nobles and beggars,the devout and themercenary, annually thronged the thoroughfareson their way to the "City of the Great King." ___But while this was going on, Jerusalem, thenunder the control of the Roman Empire, was takenpossession of in 637, by the soldiers of Islam,commanded by that famous Mohammedan chieftain,Omar. He erected the mosque bearing hisname, on the site of the temple of Solomon, andrestored the enclosures of the temple a tributepaid to King Solomon, whose faith, like Mohammed's,recognized but one "Living and True God."Owing to Omar's tolerance, for a long period theChristians were undisturbed in their pilgrimagesand devotions, but in 1073 Palestine was overrunand conquered by hordes of Seljook* Turks, whocame out of the northeast through Khorassan andother provinces of Persia. They were more in theform of revolutionists than conquerors, as theywere already the disciples of Islam. The ArabianFatimite* governors were obliged to retire intoEgypt./ The Holy City fell under the dominion of/Sultan Malek Shah and his viceroys, who instituteda high revelChristians and Arabs.of violence and outrage against bothInfested by bands of lawless jmen, the roads to

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARlittle wealth ;men were thrown into slavery women;were outraged; children were stolen or murdered,and although, doubtless, there were enthusiasts whocourted these perils in the holy cause -yet the vast 7majority of Christendom were filled u it:h grief and!vengeance as returning pilgrims told the ghastly*tale of pagan atrocities.In this state of affairs, when there was scarcelya home circle that was not saddened or bereavedby the brutal treatment of the pilgrims,Peter theHermit, a monk and native of Amiens in France,having visited Palestine and witnessed the crueltyof the Turks, reported what he had seen to PopeUrban II., by whom encouraged, he traveledthrough Italy and France and began to preach the'first Crusade. .Peter had been educated in Paris/-yand in\Italy; had served in the army of Flanders,!but gave up the military career and married became;a monk after the death of his wife, and finally ahermit. /Possessed of no other power than the influenceof his character and his genius, this simpleunshod monk, a man of mean aspect, clad in acoarse cassock, around which a rude rope servedas a girdle, mounted on a mule, and holding agleaming crucifix in his hand, rode from town totown and from province to province rehearsing theindignities heaped upon the innocent pilgrims; ingraphic language he depicted the scenes of bloodof which he had been an eye-witness in the streetsof Jerusalem, appealing in turn to the piety, thecourage and the passions of his hearers. By hiseloquence he fired the popular heart to go forth toredress the wrongs and rescue a desecrated tombfrom the hands of the infidel. As a consequence130

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARof his impassioned harangues, such a wave of enthusiasmfor his enterprise surged throughoutIChristendom that the reigning powersfelt its 1mighty swell, and in the year 1095, at the Council I

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARof Clermont, Pope Urban II. espoused his causeand gave pontifical sanction to the first Crusade.toMeanwhile the second division of the host, num-

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbering about 40,000 men, women and children, underthe command of Peter the Hermit, pressed onin the same direction taken by Walter. They, too,were pursued and furiously attacked by the wildBulgarians, who caused a general rout and slaughterof thousands of their number. The remainingwretched, half-starved fugitives in time arrived atConstantinople, where, under the protection ofEmperor Alexius, who had espoused the Crusade,the two united their forces, crossed the Bosphorusinto Asia Minor, and encountered the Turks atNice. There they were utterly routed and slaughtered;Walter the Penniless was killed and the remainingremnant returned to Constantinople. Athird rabble soon followed from Germany. A certainmonk named Godeschal, envious of the fameof Peter and Walter, preached the holy war throughhis native districts, and about 15,000 villagers andpeasants flocked to his standard. They followedthe same route as the others, and before the wallsof Belgrade they were massacred by the Hungarians,almost to a man.In the meantime, the fourth and last division ofthe host gathered on the eastern confines of Germany.Perhaps no other such a detestable massof vile humanity was seen before or since in theworld. France sent her thieves; the Rhine provinces,their offscouring; the British Islands, theiroutlaws ;and all the west, her pads and murderers.This delightful army of European refuse heapedup to the number of more than 200,000. A fewignorant nobles with their bands of retainers weremerged in the common mass; but when it came tothe election of leaders the choice fell on a goat and133

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARa goose. These ridiculous creatures were actuallyset forward as the divinely constituted agents bywhich the host was to be led to victory over theinfidel Turks of Asia. The result was as revoltingas the beginning was abominable. The superstitiousherd fell upon the Jewish colonists in the cities ofthe Rhine and the Moselle, and began to rob andmurder. The rabble pretended to see in the Jewsonly the enemies of Christ. In spite of the protestsof the Romish Church, under whose call the Crusadehad been begun, the Jews were massacred by thousands.When the ruffian hosts could find no furthermaterial to slaughter, the march was resumed fromthe Rhine to the Danube. The whole route was ascene of barbarous lust and licentiousness. The dayof judgment, however, at last arrived.At the Danubethe Hungarian army was drawn up to disputethe progress of the invaders. The immense rabblewas hemmed in and beaten back against the river.The tide of the Danube was red with the blood of therobbers. Very few escaped the vengeance of theHungarians and the engulfing river. Thus perishedthe fourth and last of those fanatic multitudes thatarose at the call of Peter the Hermit. Alreadymore than a 'quarter of a million of human beingshad been swallowed from sight before a regulararmy could be equipped and started in the wakeof the popular tumult. Not a Christian soldierhad thus far penetrated beyond the plain of Nice.Walter the Penniless was dead. The fame of Peterthe Hermit was also at a discount, but the feverof Europe was in nowise cooled. Tt still remainedfor her soldiery to undertake by regular expedition

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwhat her peasants and monks, her goose and hergoat, had failed to accomplish.In the meantime the secular princes of the west,who attended the Council^f Clermont and assumedthe Cross, were busily engaged in preparing for theholy war. A vast army embracing all the chivalryof Europe, consisting of six grand divisions, setforth for Constantinople. Here they united theirforces and then took up their march for the HolyCity. Among those who were destined to distinguishthemselves as Crusaders, should be mentioned,first of all, Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke ofLorraine. His reputation for piety, learning andcourage was equal to that of the best prince ofhis age. In his father's house Peter the Hermithad lived before he became a monk. In early lifeGodfrey took up arms and won high distinction as \-a soldier in many bloody fought battles. With no jhalf-hearted purpose did he become a Crusader.No sacrifices were spared to secure the desired end.He sold or mortgaged all of his castles and estates,and with the money procured by the sale of his vastdomains he raised and equipped a rmagnificent armyof 90,000 men. It was he who led those from Germanyand northern France.Raymond, Count of Toulouse, a second of the"leaders, was a soldier by profession and had foughtagainst the Mohammedans in Spain. He wasknown as one of the most valiant captains of histimes. It was his saying that he had spent hisyouth fighting the followers of the false prophetin Europe, and would spend his old a^e in warringwith them in Asia. Already aged, his white locks'351

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmade him a conspicuous leader for those fromsouthern France.Prince Bohemond, of Tarentum, Italy, who ledthe Italian force, was the tallest man in his army;he was full of passion and haughty pride; when hespoke, his hearers helieved that eloquence had beenhis only study ;when under arms, he might be supposedto have done nothing but wield the lance andsword. The deliverance of the tomb of Christwas not the object that induced him to assume theCross ;he hoped to win a kingdom before he shouldarrive at Jerusalem. After the fall of Antioch*hisfirstvain hopes were realized by his becoming thePrince of Antioch.Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois, led theFrench forces. He was a brother of King Philipof France. At home he was much admired forhis brilliant qualities by the Court. He was brave,but easily overcome by flattery, and was wantingin perseverancein reverses.Robert, Duke of Normandy, who led the Normanforces, was the son of William the Conqueror. Hehad few noble qualities, but many reprehensiblefaults. His extravagance, weakness and inconstancycaused him to be unpopular, and, in the end,reduced him to absolute poverty.Robert, Count of Flanders, was at the head of thePrisons and the Flemings, or Dutch forces. He embarkedin an expedition which procured for himthe reputation of a bold knight, together with thesurname of 'The Lance and Sword" of the Christians.All these leaders were celebrated for their exploits,but no one amongst that vast army was more136

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARworthy to attract the attention of posterity thanthe brave Tancred, from the island of Sicily, whosepiety and friendship for his cousin, Prince Bohemond,under whom he* served, led him into Asia.A stranger to all the motives and interests of policy,he acknowledged no other law but religion andhonor, and was always ready to die in their cause.THE FIRST CRUSADE.He was made Prince of Tiberias, and finally diedat Antioch in 1112.The forces thus gathered out of the prolific ic west!numbered fully 600,000 warriors. Of these, I, IOO,-\ooo were mounted knights, and the remainder, *r, foot jsoldiers in armor. The mixed character of the'throng was still preserved. Priest, matron andmaid journeyed by the side of the warriors. Atthe head rode the austere Godfrey, the white-haired'37

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.. Raymond, and Peter the Hermit seated on a mule.Pfc^*^^This immense army pressed steadily forward, and/ after capturing Nice, Antioch and other cities on^ the way, this army, though greatly reduced in numbersby privations and conflict, at length came upon1 the object of its ambition, Jerusalem, in the yearIOQQ^ The city was taken on the I5th of July, afterx^an obstinate siege of somewhat more than fivej^weeks. Assault after assault was made upon theunyielding walls, only to be repulsed, and the jadedremnant of only 40,000 of what was once a vastarmy, were on the point of abandoning the undertaking,when Godfrey, looking up to Mount Olivet,beheld there a mighty horseman waving on higha buckler. "Behold," cried the hero, "St. Georgecomes again to our aid and makes a signal for usto enter the Holy City/' The effect was magical.The army, seized as ifby an electric enthusiasm,made an irresistible charge, carried the walls, and*Jerusalem was taken. IHistory has remarked thatI the Christians entered Jerusalem on a Friday,J atthe hour of three in the afternoon ; exactly the sameday and hour at which Christ expired for the salva-/ tion of the human race.. Among those who receivedthe greatest congratulations by the victorious multitudewas Peter the Hermit. The little fanaticmonk was singled out as the greatest of all thehuman agencies by which the deliverance of Jerusalemhad been accomplished. Around him, clad inhis woolen garment and mounted on his mule, themediaeval Zealots gathered in enormous crowds,and did obeisance as to a liberator and savior.Godfrey of Bouillon soon came in for his share ofglory. Within eight days after the fall of the cityi 138

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARhe was on the 23d of July elected king of Jerusalem.Godfrey accepted the office, but refused thetitle of king. He declared that it would be unbecomingin him to wear%. crown of gold in the citywhere Christ had been crowned with thorns. Itwas therefore decided that he be entitled "FirstJERUSALEM.|Baron and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre."sovereignty, however, was ample and his rightHis)n>^disputed. - Soon after many of the princes and leadersreturned to Europe. Peter the Hermit likewiseleft the Holy City and started on a homeward voyage.In mid-sea his ship was caught in a stormand the terrified monk vowed if he should be spared139

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARhe would found an abbey in honor of the tomb ofChrist. The tempest passed and Peter kept his vowby building a monastery on the banks of the Maesin France. Here he spent the remnant of his daysin penitential works, after the manner of his order.About a year after the taking of Jerusalem, asGodfrey was returning from an expedition, theemir of Caesarea* came out to meet him andof some of the fruitspresented to him an offeringof Palestine. The unsuspecting Godfrey acceptedand ate an. apple. Doubtless it had been poisoned,for the prince almost immediatelyfell ill. It waswith great difficulty that he reached Jaffa, whencehe was conveyed to his capital, where on the i8th ofJuly, noo, he died. His mortal remains were depositedwithin the enclosure of Calvary, near the/ tomb of Christ. He surpassed all the captains ofhis age, and his name will live honored amongstmen as long as the remembrance of the Crusades.Godfrey was succeeded by his brother Baldwin ofEdessa, as Baldwin Jl and upon his death in 1118,was succeeded by Baldwin de Bourg, a cousin ofBaldwin I., under the title of Baldwin II.Ancient Templars.The conquest of the city furnished a new stimulusto the pilgrim age, but Palestine was stillin thehands of the fierce Mohammedans, who soon beganto carry on their work of pillage and murder of.Christian pilgrims with increased vigor. In iiiStwo I'Vench knights, Hugh de Payens and Geoffreyof Saint Omar, perceiving the hardships to which.the Christian travelers were exposed in and about140

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe Holy City, took upon themselves the duty ofconducting the pilgrims who journeyed betweenJerusalem and the This charitable officeJorda^n. soon gained reputation for the humble warriorguides, and they were joined by seven others, likemindedwith themselves. Their names were~Royal,*Gundemar, Godfrey Bisol, Pay ens de Montidur,Archibald de St. Aman, Andre de St. Moulbar,and the Count of Province. An organization waseffected under the benevolent patronage of the patriarchof the city, and under the name of "EgprFellow Soldiers of Christ." fThe members boundthemselves by the usual monastic vow of obedience,chastity and poverty and to these two others were;added, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and to protect ithe wayfaring pilgrims in Palestine. Such wasthe humble beginning of the Order of Knights./Templar., At this time I deem it best to mentionthat the old established Order of Knights Hospitallers,who were now in the flush of their heroic victories,lent aid and encouragement to the new societyof brothers. Nothing was to be feared by theKnights Hospitallers from an humble fraternityknown by the name of "Poor Fellow-soldiers _ofChrisk" but in years afterwards jealousy arose,and sometimes conflict between the two orders, yetfor the most part they fought side by side for thecommon cause.xHugh and Geoffrey had but one horse betweenthem, and him they rode together on their first missionof benevolence. (The great seal of the Templarsstill perpetuates the story of the lowly originof the Order in the figure of a steed with two j,riders. )The first members were given a lodging by ('141

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR1 Baldwin II., who assigned them quarters in his pal-I ace on the site of the ancient temple, whence they/ derived the name of Templars; a title which they( ever afterward retained.r "'Their firstarmory was established in a churchnear by, and here they stored their knightly weapons.The first Chapter was limited to nine members;but this limitation was removed by the Councilof Troyes in 1127. Raynouard says that Baldwinsent Hugh de Payens to Europe to solicit a newCrusade, and that while there he presented his companionsto the Pope Honor ius IT., from whom hecraved permission to form a religious military order,in imitation of that of the Hospitallers. ThePontiff referred them to the ecclesiastical councilwhich was then in session at Troyes, in Champagne.Thither De Payens repaired, and represented to thefathers the vocation of himself and his companionsas defenders of the pilgrim; the enterprise wasapproved, and St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux,was commissioned to draw up a suitable code forthe government of the body, and to devise an appropriategarb. The dress chosen was in strong contrastwith that of the Knights Hospitallers, consistingof a white tunic and mantle, with a red crosson the left breast, while the Knights Hospitallerswore the plain black robe, bearing a white cross ofeight points on the left breast. The rule of conductand discipline was approved in i uS by Pope HonoriusII. The principal articles were these: TheKnights were bound to recite vocal prayers at certainhours ;to abstain from meats four days in theweek; to refrain from hunting and hawking; to defendwith their lives the mysteries of the Christian142

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARfaith ;to observe and maintain the seven sacramentsof the church, the fourteen articles of faith, thecreeds of the apostles an^J of Athanasius;* to upholdthe doctrines of the two Testaments, includingthe interpretations of the Fathers, the unity of Godand the trinity of his person, and the virginity ofMary both before and after the birth of the Son;to go beyond the seas when called to do so in defenseof the cause ;to fly not from the foe unless assailedby more than three infidels at once. Hugh de Payens,thus provided with a rule that gave permanenceto his Order, and encouraged by the approvalof the church, returned to Jerusalem. Humilitywas one of the first principles of the membership.The helmet of the Templar should have no cresthis beard should not be cut his demeanor should bethat of servant of his fellows. Each member, onassuming the garb of a Knight, must be girt witha linen cord in token that he was henceforth boundtoservice.The primal object sought in the institution ofthe Order was the succor of needy pilgrims but as;the Moslems recovered after the capture of Jerusalem,and in increasing numbers threatened theChristians on every side, the organization from necessityassumed a more distinctively military character,and ultimately became the right arm of theChristian armies in their several operations againstthe foe. St. Bernard, who visited them in theirTemple retreat, speaks in the warmest terms oftheir self-denial, their frugality, their modesty,their piety, and their bravery. Their banner wasthe Beauseant, of divided white and black, indigo

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARcative of peace to their friends, but destruction totheirfoes.The organization of the Templars embraced fourclasses of members Knights, Squires, Servitorsand Priests. Each had their peculiar duties andobligations. The presiding officer of the Order wascalled the Master afterwards the Grand Master.England, Germany, France and Italy, in fact, nearlyall the states of Christendom, were divided intoprovinces, and over each was set a provincial Mas-% ter. The Grand Master of Jerusalem was regardedas the head of the entire brotherhood, which soongrew in numbers, influence and wealth to be oneof the most powerful organizations in the world.Counts, dukes, princes, and even kings, eagerlysought the honor which was everywhere concededto the red cross and white mantle of the Templar.In course of time the Knights of the Temple becamea sovereign body, owing no allegiance to anysecular potentate. In spiritual matters the Popewas stillregarded as supreme, but in all other affairsthe Grand Master was as independent as thegreatest sovereign of Europe. The houses of theKnights could not be invaded by any civil officer.Their churches and cemeteries were exempt frominterdicts their ; properties and revenues from taxation.So great were the immunities thus enjoyedthat thousands of persons sought to be affiliatedwith the brotherhood in order to share its benefits.To the Knights Templar and the Hospitallerswas largely due whatever success or glory the subsequentCrusades achieved, of which there wereseven. They were the flower of the armies, alwaysin the van with their glittering swords and waving144

FREEMASONRY AM) KXKiHTS TEMPLARbanners, when duty called; and whether defendingmoated castle, or mountain defiles, they fought withthat dauntless heroism whicji makes even the swordalmost an object of reverence. When the Christiankingdom in the East tottered to its downfall, theTemplars attempted to secure their own interestsby separate treaties with the Moslems, but theirfortunes were involved with those of the Westernpowers, and all went down together. The chiefseat of the Templars remained at Jerusalem fromthe foundation in 1118 until 1187, when Saladin,Sultan of Egypt, invaded Palestine, and in Octoberof that year captured Jerusalem ;it was then transferredto Antioch, which fellto the Christians in1098, during the first Crusade. It was there thatthe followers of Christ first took the name of Christians;it was there that St. Peter was made firstbishop of the church and there;.the early saints andmartyrs performed their miracles that gave to thecity a sanctity second only to that of Jerusalem.The headquarters of the Grand Master remainedat Antioch for four years, and was then removed in1191 to Acre.* This city was first taken by BaldwinI. in noo, recaptured by the Moslems underSaladin in 1187, and again retaken in 1191, byRichard Coeur de Lion, leader of the third Crusade.It was estimated that at this siegethe Christianlosses reached the enormous aggregate of threehundred thousand men, while those of the Moslemswere but little inferior. In all the great strugglesof human history so terrible a waste of life wasnever witnessed as before the walls of Acre. Itbecame the stronghold of Knighthood and continuedto be the headquarters of the Order until 1217,145

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTSTEMPLARwhen a third removal was made to the PilgrimsCastle near Caesarea, a city founded by Herod theGreat, in 22 B. C, and built in honor of Caesar.It was situated northwest of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean,and north of Jaffa, but now lies in shapelessruins. In 1291 the city of Acre againfell intothe hands of the Moslems under Sultan Khatil ofCairo, and with the subsequent overthrow of theChristian kingdom, the Templars retired to theisland of Cyprus, which was captured in 1191 byRichard Cceur de Lion, during the third Crusade,and to whom they paid thirty-five thousand marks.Many of the Templars, after a brief stay in theisland of Cyprus, retired to their different Preceptoriesin Europe. A brief description of the defensewith theand fall of Acre can only be comparedmany accounts of their past glorious struggles withthe infidel in defense of the Holy Land, and of Christianpilgrimage, sometimes successful and often disastrous;of arid sands well moistened with the bloodof Christian and Saracen warriors ;of final forceddeparture from the places which its prowess hadconquered, but which it had not the strength tohold.Defense and Fall of Acre.With less than twelve thousand persons able tobear arms, they manned the ramparts and defendedthe city against two hundred thousand Moslems.Almost every nation of Europe was representedin the multitudes that thronged the streets that hadgathered within the defenses of the city. On thefourth of May, a dayfatal to the Christians,'146

IKKKMASUXKVAXU KX1GHTS TEMPLARBATTLE BEFORE ACRE.the signal for the last assault was given. At dawnthe Moslem army was under arms, the Sultan ani-

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARmating the soldiers by his presence. Both the attackand defense were much greater than the daysbefore.Among those who fell on the field of battle,there were seven Moslems forone Christian; butthe Moslems could repair their losses; those of theChristians were irreparable. With ever-increasingvehemence the Moslems leveled their destroying enginesagainst the tottering walls and towers of thecity.At last an important defense, known by thename of the Cursed Tower, yielded to the assailants,and went down with a crash. The breachthus effected in the defenses opened into the heartof the city. The Templars formed, a rash resolutionof making a sortie, and attacking the camp ofthe Moslems; they found the enemies drawn up inorder of battle. After a bloody conflict the Templarswere repulsed and pursued to the foot of the ramparts.The Grand Master of the Templars, Williamde Beaujeu, one of the bravest of the brave, wasstruck by an arrow and fell in the midst of hisKnights. The Grand Master of the Hospitallersat the same time received a wound which disabledhim. The rout then became general, and all hopeof saving the city was lost. In poured the savagetides of victorious Islam, hungry for blood and revenge.It was then a death-pall seemed stretchedover the whole city of Acre; there was not a streetthat did not become the theater of carnage a battle;was fought for every tower, for every palace, andat the entrance of every public building; and in allthese combats so many men were killed, that, accordingto the report of an historian, "they walkedupon the dead as upon a bridge." A violent storm,accompanied by hail and rain, burst over the city;148

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARthe horizon was all at once covered with such ipipenetrabledarkness that the combatants couldscarcely distinguish the gplors they fought under,or see the standards floated over the towers; theflames appeared in several quarters without any onemaking an effort to extinguish them the ; conquerorsonly thought of destroying the city the only objectof the conquered was to escape. Whole ;familiestook refuge in churches, where they were stifledby the flames, or cut to pieces at the foot of thealtars ; many women and timid virgins, to preservetheir chastity, cut off their noses and otherwise disfiguredthemselves to escape the brutalityconquerors,of thefor when the Moslems beheld theirbleeding faces, they would conceive a disgust forthem and put them to the sword at once.The castle of the Templars, situated on the seacoast,in which all the Knights had taken refugewho had escaped the steel of the Moslems, was theonly place in the city that had held out.After severaldays' siege, the Sultan granted a capitulation,and sent three hundred Moslems to execute thetreaty. Scarcely had these entered one of the principaltowers, the tower of the Grand Master, thanthey began to outrage the women who had takenrefuge there. This violation of the rights of warirritated the Christian warriors to such a degreethat all the Moslems who entered the tower wereput to death. The angry Sultan ordered the siegerenewed at once, and that all Templars in the asylumbe put to the sword. The Templars and their companionsdefended themselves for several days; atlength the tower of the Grand Master was undermined,and fell at the very moment the Moslems149

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwere mounting to an assault. They who attacked itand they who defended it were equally crushed byits fall; women, children, Christian warriors, all whohad come to seek refuge in the house of the Templars,perished, buried beneath the ruins. Such wasthe dash, bravery and self-sacrifice of the Templarsthroughout the life of the Order. To follow theiracts of true heroism would be to give a history ofthe Crusades.The few Christians stillclinging to the coasttown of Syria made their escape as soon as possibleand left the savage Moslems in complete possessionof the country. After a continuance of 191 years,the contest between the Cross and the Crescenthad ended in a complete restoration of the ancientregime throughout Syria and Asia Minor. TheCrescent of Islam was again in the ascendant.Final Dissolution.In the beginning of the fourteenth century,Philip the Fair, an avaricious and ambitious kingof France, secretly planned with Pope Clement V.for the destruction of the Templars and the appropriationof their revenue. The Order at this timewas enormously wealthy; this aroused his avarice.Their power interfered with his designs of politicalaggrandizement and this alarmed his ambition.Pope Clement, by Philip's direction, wrote, in 1306,to De Molay, the Grand Master, who was then atCyprus, inviting him to come and consult with himon some matters of great importance to the Order.De Molay obeyed the summons and arrived at Pariswith sixty Knights and a large amount of treasure.'50

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARHe was arrested and imprisoned, as was later everyKnight in France, on the pretended charge of idolatry,and other enormous crimes, of which a renegadeand expelled prior ol the Order was said thave confessed that the Knights were guilty of inBURNING OF JAQUES DE MOLAY.their Chapters. On such preposterous charges theKnights were tried, and, of course, as a foregoneconclusion, condemned, and on the I2th of May,1310, fifty-four of the Knights were publicly burned.De Molay, during his imprisonment, was subjectedto the utmost indignities and sufferings for thepurpose of extorting from him a confession of theguilt of his Order. But De Molay was firm andloyal, and on the nth day of March, 1314, he waspublicly burned "in the little island" of the Seinebetween the "Augustinians and the royal garden"

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARin Paris. When about to die he solemnly affirmedthe innocence of the Order, and it is said summonedPope Clement to appear before the judgment-seatof God in forty days and the king of France withina year, and both, it is well known, died within theperiods specified. In most countries their propertywas seized by the sovereign and in part turned overto the Hospitallers and other Orders. From theestablishment of the Order by Hugh de Payens, thefirst Grand Master, in 1118, until its dissolution(1311) during the Mastership of James De Molay,twenty-two Grand Masters presided over the Order.Knights Templar, Masonic.The connection of the Knights Templarwith theFreemasons may much more plausibly be tracedthan that of the Knights of Malta. Yet, unfortunately,the sources from which information is tobe derived are for the most part traditionary; authenticdates and documents are wanting.There are four sources from which Masonic Templarsare said to have derived their existence, mak-different divisions of the Or-ing therefore as manyder.1. The Templars who claim John Mark Larmeniusas the successor of De Molay. From thissource came the Templars of France.2. Those who recognize Peter d'Aumont as thesuccessor of I )e Molay. From this source came theTemplars of Germany.3. Those who derive their Templarism from theCount Beaujeu, the nephew of De Molay. Fromthis source came the Swedish Templars.

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLAR4. Those who claim an independent origin, andrepudiate alike the authority of Larmenius, of Aumontand of Beaujeu. ^Of the last class, or the Templars who recognizedthe authority of neither of the leaders who have beenmentioned, there were two subdivisions, the Scotchand the English ;for it isonly in Scotland and Englandthat this independent Templarism found a foothold.The English Masonic Templars are most probablyderived from that body called the "BaldwynEncampment" of Bristol, or from some one of theco-ordinate Encampments of London, Bath, Yorkand Salisbury, which it is claimed were formed by1the members of the Preceptory, which had long existedat Bristol, and who, on the dissolution of theirOrder, are supposed to have united with the Masonicfraternity. The Baldwyn Encampment claimsto have existed from "time immemorial"an indefiniteperiod but we can trace it back far enoughto give it a priority over all other English Encampments.2From this division of the Templars, repudiatingall connections with Larmenius, with Aumont,or any other of the self-constituted leaders,but tracing its origin to the independent action ofKnights who fled for security and for perpetuityinto the body of Masonry, are we, I think, says Dr.Mackey, justly entitled to derive the Templars ofthe United States. Just at what time Commanderieswere organized in this country, there is noSee Commandery, page in. third and fourth paragraphs.12See Baldwyn Encampment, in Supplement.

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARdefinite date. I'oston Commandery claims to datefrom 1769, and is supposed to be one of the oldest.Such in outline is the illustrous military historyof the Order of Knights Templar. The outwardmay pass away; the torn banners, the gleamingthe burnished armor, the quivering blades,shield,together with the forms that bore them so gallantly,may become dust, or at best preserved in historyand song, but the knightly spirit may ever abide intrue men and be exemplified in every age.Knightsof Malta.This Order, which at various times in theprogress of its history, received the names ofKnights Hospitallers, Knights of St. John of Jerusalem,Knights of Rhodes, and lastly, Knights ofMalta, was the oldest and one of the most importantof the religious and military orders of Knighthoodwhich sprang into existence during the Crusades,which were instituted for the recovery of the HolyLand. It owes its origin to the Hospitallers ofJerusalem, that wholly religious and charitable Order,which was established at Jerusalem in 1048by some pious and benevolent merchants of theItalian city of Amalfi, for the succor of poor anddistressed Latin pilgrims.This society, established when Jerusalem wasin the hands of Mohammedans, passed throughmany vicissitudes, but lived to see the Holy Landconquered by the Christian Knights.It then receivedmany accessions from the Crusaders, who,laying aside their arms, devoted themselves to thepious avocation of attending the sick. Itwas then,

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARin the year 1099, that Gerard, the Rector of theHospital, induced the brethren to take upon themselvesthe vows of poverty, obedience and chastity.The habit selected for the Order was a plain blackrobe, bearing a white cross of eight points on theleftbreast.Raymond de Puy succeeded Gerard and proposeda change in the character of the society, by whichit should become a Military Order, devoted to activelabors in the field and the protection of Palestinefrom the encroachment of the infidels. This propositionwas warmly approved by Baldwyn, the kingof Jerusalem, who, harassed by a continual warfare,gladly accepted this addition to his forces.The Order having thus been organized on a militarybasis, the members took a new oath, by which theybound themselves to defend the cause of Christianity,but on no account to bear arms for any otherpurpose. "This was in the same year that the ancientOrder of Templars was organized and in thesame city/'This act, 'done in 1118, is considered as the beginningof the establishment of the Order ofKnights Hospitallers of St. John, of which RaymondDePuy is, by all historians, deemed the firstGrand Master. They derived their title from thechurch and monastery built at Jerusalem in 1048by the founders of the Order, and dedicated to St.John the Baptist. The history of the Knights fromthis time to the middle of the sixteenth centuryis but a chronicle of continued warfare with theenemies of the Christian faith. When Jerusalemwas captured by Saladin in 1187, the Hospitallersretired to Margat, a town and fortress of Palestine155

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARwhich still acknowledged the Christian sway. Atthis epoch, the Hospitallers suffered much fromtheir disputes and rivalries with the Templars but;in times of danger both brotherhoods gave theirbest blood in defense of the common cause. In 1191they made Acre their principal place of residence,and in 1291, after the fall of that city, they fled tothe island of Cyprus, where they established theirconvent. It was there they became a maritimepower, having their own fleets and winning theirown victories in the eastern Mediterranean. Intime their residence in Cyprus became unpleasant.The king, by heavy taxes and other rigorous exactions,had so disgusted them, that early in the fourteenthcentury they left and seized the island ofRhodes, where they established their power and defiedthe Turks for more than two hundred years. Inthe latter part of 1522 they were attacked by theTurkish forces and surrendered. The Knights werepermitted to retire with all their personal property,whence they sailed away and sought refuge in theisland of Crete or Candia; from there to Messinain the island of Sicily, and then to the mainland ofItaly, where, after seven years' negotiations withFmperor Charles V. of Germany, they obtainedcomplete control of the island of Malta, and in 1530they took formal possession. From this time theOrder received the name of "Knights of Malta."The sea-born possession they converted into afortress which, in spite of the most strenuous effortsof the Turks, was held by the Knights until T;

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARBonaparte and this event;may be considered as thecommencement of the suppression of the Order asan active power. All tha remains of it now is butthe diluted shadow of its former existence. TheOrder, during its residence in Rhodes, underwentseveral changes in its organization, by which thesimpler system observed during its infancy in theHoly Land was rendered more perfect and morecomplicated. In 1320 the Order was divided intoeight languages, covering that number of provinces,over each of which presided one of the Grand dignatarieswith the title of Conventual Bailiff. Each ofthese dignitaries resided in the palace or inn, whilethe Hospitallers were at Rhodes and later at Malta,which was appropriated to his language. In everyprovince there were one or more Grand Prioriespresided over by Grand Priors, and beneath thesewere the Commanderies, over each of which wasa Commander. Now only the languages of Italyand Germany remain, and the functions of theGrand Master are exercised by a Lieutenant of theMagistery, who resides at Rome.The Ancient Order of Malta has no connectionwith Masonry whatever, but was probably introducedby Thomas S. Webb as an appendant degreeto the Order of the Temple, and in this country isconferred in the Asylum of a Commandery, or ina Priory regularly convened for that purpose.THE END.157

Supplemental EncyclopaediaOFAncient Countries and CitiesWITHShort Sketches of the Early Tribes and of the AncientCharacters Connected with Masonic History.

Supplemental Encyclopaedia of AncientCountries and Cities.AaronThe son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribeof Levi, and brother of Moses and Miriam, born in theyear 1574 B. C. He was three years older than Mosesand apparently some years younger than their sister Miriam.Being an impulsive and eloquent man, he was appointedspokesman to Moses, whom he assisted in the deliveranceof the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. His wifewas Elisheba, daughter of Aminadab, from whom he hadfour sons. Aaron's chief distinction consisted in the choiceof him and his male posterity for the priesthood. He wasconsecrated the first high priest of the Israelites. He diedon Mount Hor, in Edom, which is still called the "Mountainof Aaron," in the fortieth year after leaving Egypt,at the age of 123 years, and was succeeded in the priesthoodby his son Eleazer. The Arabs stillpretendhis tomb on the mount, and highly venerate it.to showAbraham or Abram A son of Terah, a descendantof Shem, and born at Ur, in Mesopotamia, in 1996 B. C.In 1922 B. C. he went to Haran, in Mesopotamia, accompaniedby his father, his wife Sarai, his brother Nahor,and his nephew Lot (Gen. xi. 26-32). His father diessoon after, and he takes Lot and his wife Sarai, and goesto Canaan. In 1920 B. C. they go to Egypt, but returnin two years and Abram and Lot separate ;Lot goes toSodom and Abram to the Valley of Mamre the same isHebron in the land of Canaan. Sarai, being barren, givesHagar, her Egyptian handmaid, to Abram, and in 1910B. C. Ishmael was bora. God covenants with Abram,161

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAchanges his name to Abraham, institutes circumcision, andpromises Isaac by Sarai, whom he calls Sarah (Gen. xvi.,xvii.). In 1896 B. C. Isaac is born, and four years laterAbraham sends Ishmael and Hagar away by request ofSarah. In 1859 B. C. Sarah dies, and Abraham, five yearslater, marries Keturah, by whom he had six sons. In 1821B. C. Abraham dies at the age of 175 years, and is buriedin the cave of Machpelah. Ishmael dies in 1773 B. C., atthe age of 137 years.In 1856 B. C. Isaac marries Rebekah, and in 1836 B. C.twin sons were born, whom they called Jacob and Esau(Gen. xxv.). Isaac dies at Hebron in 1716 B. C., aged1 80 years, and is buried in the tomb of Abraham by histwo sons (Gen. xxxv.).In 1753 B. C. Jacob marries Leah and Rachel, and hassix sons and one daughter by Leah Reuben, Simeon, Levi,:Judah, Isaachar, Zebulun and Dinah ;two sons by Rachel'shandmaid Bilhah : Dan and Naphtali two; by Zilpah,Leah's handmaid: Gad and Asher; two by Rachel: Josephand Benjamin. In 1689 B. C. Jacob dies in Egypt, aged147, and was buried in Canaan (Gen. 1. 6-13).Acre A city of the tribe of Asher (Judg.i.31). Ttwas called by the Phoenicians, Accho ; by the Greeks,Ptolemais, from one of the Ptolemies, who enlarged andbeautified it. The Crusaders gaveit the name of Acre,or St. John of Acre. Tt is called Akka by the Turks. Itis a city and seaport of Syria, and is on the Mediterranean,thirty miles south of Tyre. It was the "Key to Palestine."and has been the scene of many famous sieges and battles.It was taken by the Crusaders in noo, and retaken bythe Saracens in 1187. In 1191 it was recovered by theCrusaders (under Gnido of Jerusalem, Philip of I'ranee,and Richard the Lion-hearted of England), and held bythem tillthey were finally driven out of Palestine in 1291.It was the last fortified place wrested from the Christiansby the Turks. 162

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAAholiab A skillful artificer of the tribe of Dan, whowas appointed, together with Bezaleel, to construct thetabernacle in the wilderness a|dthe ark of the covenant.Amalekites A nomadic and warlike people, occupying,at the time of the Exodus, the Sinaitic peninsula andthe wilderness between Egypt and Palestine. They livedgenerally in migrating parties, in caves or tents, like theBedaween Arabs of the present day. The Israelites hadscarcely passed the Red Sea when the Amalekites attackedthem at Rephidim, and slew those who, through fatigueor weakness, lagged behind, but were signally defeated inthe final attack. They came again into conflict with a partof the Israelites on the border of the promised land; andafter four hundred years Saul attacked and destroyed thegreater part of them. The remnant that escaped, Daviddefeated on several occasions ;and finally they were blottedout by the Simeonites in the time of Hezekiah.Ammonites They were the descendants of Ammon,or Ben-Ammi, the son of Lot by his youngest daughter(Gen. xix. 38). They destroyed an ancient race of giantscalled Zamzummim, and seized their country, which layeast of the Jordan between the rivers Arnon and Jabbok,and adjoining the northern part of Moab. Their chiefcity was Robbah, which stood on the Jabbok, fifty-five milesE. NE. of Jerusalem. Yet in the time of Moses they hadbeen driven out of this region, toward the east, by theAmorites. About the year 1187 B. C. the Ammonitesgreatly oppressed the Israelites, and Jephthah, who hadbeen expelled from home by his brothers on account oihis illegitimate birth and gone to the land of Tob, a districtbeyond the Jordan, where he had become the chief ofa band of brigands, was invited by the Israelites to becometheir commander. He accepted the invitation on the conditionthat he should remain their ruler if he defeated theAmmonites. The victory was complete, and hence he ruled163

SUPPLKM ENTALKN T CYCLOPEDIAor was judge over the country the rest of his A life.mostaffecting incident in his life was his devoting his daughterto God as a sacrifice in consequence of a rash vow (Judg.xi.).Amorites A people descended from Emer, the fourthmountains west of theson of Canaan (Gen. x. 10). They first peopled theDead Sea, near Hebron; but afterwardsextended their limits and took possession of thefinest provinces of Moab and Ammon, on the east betweenthe brooks of Jabbok and Arnon. Moses took this countryfrom their king Sihon. The lands which the Amoritespossessed on the west side of the Jordan were given tothe tribe of Judah, and those on the east, to the tribes ofReuben and Gad. The Amorites were afterwards subduedby Joshua, but he was not able to exterminate them. Theyappear to have been long hostile to the Israelites, but inSolomon's time were reduced to a tributary condition.Antioch An ancient city and the former capital ofSyria, situated on a fertile and beautiful plainon the leftbank of the river Orontes. It was founded in 301 B. C,and named after Antiochus, a general in the Syrian armyand father of Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Syrianmonarchy. It was the favorite residence of the kings ofSyria and was called "Antioch the Beautiful." It waswidely celebrated for the splendor of its luxury and themagnificence of its palaces and temples. The populationin the time of its greatest prosperity is supposed to havebeen 400,000 or more. It has been visited by several earthquakesand is now nearly ruined. The disciples of Christwere first called Christians in Antioch, which occupies aprominent position in the history of the primitive churchas the scene of the labors of the apostle Paul. The Crusaderstook Antioch from the Saracens in1098, after whichit was the capital of a Christian principality until 1269.Its situation, amid innumerable groves and small streams,164

SUPPLEMENTALENCYCLOPAEDIAmidway between Alexander and Constantinople, renderedit a place of great beauty and salubrity, as well as commercialimportance. Among the remains of its formergrandeur are the ruined watts and aqueduct.Arabia Is a country of western Asia, lying south andeast of Judea. It is divided into three parts Deserta,Petrseia and Felix. Arabia Deserta is a vast steppe orelevated expanse of sand, with occasional hills and a sparsevegetation. It has the mountains of Gilead on the west,and the river Euphrates on the east, and extends far tothe south. Arabia Petraea lies south of the Holy Land andhad Petra for its capital. This region contained the Edomitesand Amalekites, etc., people at present known under thegeneral name of Arabs. Arabia Felix lies still farther southand east, and does not immediately adjoin the Holy Land.The Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, was probablyqueen of part of Arabia Felix. This country aboundedwith riches, particularly with spices, and is now calledHedjar. It is much celebrated in modern times by reasonof the cities of Mecca and Medina being situated in it.There are, according to native historians, two races ofArabs ;those who derive their descent from the primitiveinhabitants of the land, Joktan, a son of Eber, and by himconnected with the Hebrews and other Shemitic families,and those who claim Ishmael as their ancestor. They areMohammedans, but their religion sets but lightly on them.Arabia Deserta See ARABIA.Arabia PetraeaSee ARABIA.Arabia Felix See ARABIA.Aram-Naha-raim See MESOPOTAMIA.Ark of the Covenant In the year 1116 B. C. the arkwas taken from Shiloh to Ebenezer; there the Philistinescaptured the Israelites and took the ark to Ashdod andset it in the house of Dagon;it was then taken to Gath,

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAand from there to Ekron. In 1115 B. C. it was taken tothe land of Beth-shemesh, and from there to Kirjath-jearim,a city of the Gibeonites, about nine miles northeast ofJerusalem, and placed in the house of Abinadab, a Levite(I. Sam. iv.-vii.). In 1045 B. C. the ark was taken tothe house of Obed-edom, a Gentile (II. Sam. vi.-x.), andin the same yearit was carried under King David's instructionsto Jerusalem, where it was placed in a temporarytabernacle (I. Chron. xv., xvi.).Athelstan An able Anglo-Saxon king of England,born about 895 A. D.., was the natural son of Edward theElder, and a grandson of Elfred the Great. He began toreign in 925, and was the first actual sovereignof allEngland. On the death of Sigtric, king of Northumbria,Athelstan annexed that country. A league was formedagainst him by the Welsh, Scots and Picts, whom he defeatedin a great battle at Brunenburg, in 937. He reignedover nearly all the island, except Scotland and Wales. Hepromoted learning and civilization, and was reputed oneof the wisest of the Anglo-Saxon kings. He died withoutissue October 27, 940, and was succeeded by his brotherEdmund.Athanasius Saint, a celebrated Greek Father of thechurch, was born at Alexandria about A. D. 296. Hiseducation was directed by Alexander, archbishop of Alexandria.After he had been ordained as a deacon he was appointeda member of the General Council of Nice (A. D.325), in which 'ie distinguished himself by his eloquence,learning, and zeal against Arianism (a denial that the Sonwas co-essential and co-eternal with the Father).Bacchus (Gr., Dionysus) The youthful and beautifulHe taught mengod of wine, said to be the son of Jupiter.the culture of the vine, and first produced from grapesan intoxicating drink. His worship was spread over many1 66

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAcountries of the world, and the mythvariously modified by different peoples.of Bacchus wasBaldwyn Encampment An original Encampment ofKnights Templar at Bristol in England, said to havebeen established from time immemorial. (No doubt theMasonified [excuse the term] lineal descendant of the Preceptoriesof the thirteenth century. See Knights Templar,Masonic, page 152.) Four other Encampments of the samecharacter are said to have existed in London, Bath, Yorkand Salisbury. The Knights of Bristol were well-to-doand had large possessions in that ancient city. In theeighteenth century the Duke of Sussex received from the"Order of the Temple," at Paris, the degree of KnightsTemplar and the authority to establish a Grand Conclavein England. He did so; and convened that body once,only once. His authority came from the Templars ofFrance, who professed to have continued the Order byauthority of a charter given by James de Molay to Larmenius.During the remaining years of his life as GrandMaster, Templarism had no activity in England, for he, forsome cause or other, discountenanced all Christian andchivalric Masonry. After his death some of his officersand followers resolved to rescue the Order from its degradedposition, and several of the Encampments met andformed the Grand Conclave of England.In the meantime, of the five original Encampments ofEngland, who claimed to be the genuine representativesof the Knights of the Temple, four had expired, leavingBristol the sole relic of the Order, with the exception ofthe Encampments that had been created in various partsof the country, not holding under any legitimate authority,but raised by Knights who had been created in the BaldwynEncampment at Bristol.Under these circumstances the Knights of Baldwyn, feelingthat their place was at the head of the Order, wouldnot yield precedence to the Encampment of Observance16;

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIA(the original Encampment of the Duke of Sussex), derivedfrom a foreign and spurious source, the so-called Orderof the Temple in Paris, and refused to send representativesto the forming of the Grand Conclave of England. Theyalso refused to acknowledge its authority in Bristol untilsuch time as their claim should be treated with the considerationthey believed it deserved.In 1857 the Knights at Bristol sought a reconciliationwith the Grand Conclave of England, but were refused.They then in the same year "revived" the "Ancient SupremeGrand and Royal Encampment of Masonic Knights Templar,"with a constituency of seven bodies. But this bodydid not have a very long existence, for in 1860 the Campat Baldwyn surrendered its independence, and became arcognized constituent of the Grand Conclave of Englandand Wales.BelshazzarWas the son of Nabonadius, the sixth andlast king of the second Babylonian period. His motherwas a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, and probably the widowof Neriglissar, the fourth king of the period. When ofsufficient age he was associated with his father on thethrone, and in the Book of Daniel is therefore called king.The night of the fall of Babylon, 538 B. C, he made animpious feast, at which he and his courtiers drank outof the sacred vessels which had been carried away fromthe temple at Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He was terrifiedby the apparition of the .hand which wrote uponthe wall ;and in the same night was slain, and the citytaken by Cyrus of Persia. The importance of Babylonrapidly declined soon after its capture by Cyrus, for hemade Susa the capital of his kingdom. "There was a townon its site until the fourth century, and many Jews dweltthere."But from this time onward Babylon ceases almostto be mentioned ;even its ruins have not been discovereduntil within the last two centuries. It is infested by noxiousanimals, and perhaps in no place under heaven is the contrast

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAbetween ancient magnificence and present desolation greaterthanhere.BethanyA village on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet,about two miles east-southeast of Jerusalem, and onthe road to Jericho. It was often visited by Christ. HereMartha and Mary dwelt. It was from the midst of Hisdisciples, near this village which he loved, that Christascended to heavenBethlehem A celebrated city in the tribe of Judah, sixmiles south of Jerusalem. It was beautifully situated onan oblong ridge, twenty-seven hundred feetabove the levelof the sea, and affording a fine view in every direction.Thehills around it were terraced, and clothed with vines, figtrees, and almonds ;and the valleys around it bore richcrops of grain. Its memory is delightfully associated withthe names of Boaz and Ruth ;it is celebrated as the birthplaceand city of David ; but, above all, it is hallowed as theplace where the Redeemer was born. Over that lonelyspot the guiding star hovered; there the eastern sagesworshiped the King of kings, and there, where Davidwatched his flock and praised God, were heard the songs ofthe angelichost at the Saviour's birth.Birthright The privilege of the first-born son. Amongthe Hebrews, as indeed among most other nations, thefirst-born enjoyed particular privileges and wherever polygamywas tolerated, it was highly necessary to fix them.;Besides the father's chief blessing, the first-born son of apriest succeeded his father in the priestly office.Amongthe sons of Jacob, Reuben, the first-born, forfeited the rightof the first-born and it was given to Levi. The first-bornwas entitled to a share of his father's estate twice as largeas any of the other brethren received, and succeeded to theofficial dignities and rights of his father.Briton A native or citizen of ancient Britain or Britannia;a name given to the aboriginal or ancient inhabitants169

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAof that island. When Caesar invaded the island in 55 B.C, he found in it two different peoples the interior wasoccupied by the primitive or indigenous Celtic inhabitants,who had been driven back from the coasts by a people ofprobable Gothic descent. The latter had colonized thesoutheast part of the island, and were less numerous thanthe Celtic Britons. Caesar was the first who gave thename Britannia to this island, which before his time wascalled Albion. The language of the southern Celtic Britonswas very similar to the present Welsh. "The Gauls andBritons," says R. G. Lotham, "are fundamental populationsof the British Isles." The Picts were either aboriginalor intrusive. If aboriginal, they were, like the Gauls andBritons, Celtic. The religion of the island was Druidism.Byblos A seaport and district of Phoenicia, north ofBeyroot, whose Scriptural or Hebrew name was Gebal.The inhabitants were called Giblites, and denoted in theHebrew word rendered "stone-squarers" in I.Kings v.18. Their land and all Lebanon were assigned to theIsraelites, but never fully possessed. It was an importantplace, and the seat of the worship of Thammuz.Caesarea A city situated on the coast of the MediterraneanSea, between Joppa and Tyre. It was anciently asmall place called the Tower of Strato, but rebuilt withgreat splendor, and strongly fortified by Herod the Great,who formed a harbor by constructing a vast breakwater,adorned the city with many stately buildings, and namedit Caesarea in honor of Caesar. This city was the capitalof Judea during the reign of Herod the Great and of HerodAgrippa I., and was also the seat of the Roman powerwhile Judea was governed as a province of the empire. Itis now a heap of ruins.Canaan The land peopled by Canaan, the son of Hamand grandson of Noah (Gen. ix. 18). His numerous pos-170

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAterity seem to have occupied Zidon first, and thence spreadin Syria and Canaan. This country has at different periodsbeen called by various names, either from its inhabitantsor some circumstances connected with its history.(1) ''The land of Canaan," from Canaan, who divideditamong his sons, each of whom became the head of anumerous tribe, and ultimately of a distinct people. Thisdid not at first include any land east of the Jordan (Gen.x.,xi.).(2) "The land of promise," from the promise given toAbraham that his posterity should possess it (Heb. xi. 9;Gen. xii. 7).(3) These being termed Hebrews, the region in whichthey dwelt was called "the land of the Hebrews" (Gen. xl.15).(4) "The land of Israel," from the Israelites, or posterityof Jacob, having settled there. This name comprehendsall that tract of ground, on each side of the Jordan,which God gave for an inheritance to the Hebrews. At alater age this term was often restricted to the territory ofthe ten tribes (Ezek. xxvii. 17).(5) "The land of Judah." This at first comprised onlythe region which was allotted to the tribe of Judah. Afterthe separation of the ten tribes, the land which belongedto Judah and Benjamin, who formed a separate kingdom,was distinguished by the appellation of "the land of Judah,"or Judea, which latter name the whole country retainedduring the existence of the second temple, and under thedominion of the Romans.(6) "Holy Land." This name appears to have beenused by the Hebrews after the Babylonish captivity (Zech.xv. 14).(7) "Palestine" (Ex. xv. 14),a name derived from thePhilistines, who settled on the borders of the Mediterranean.A name subsequently given to the whole country, thoughthe Philistines in fact possessed only a small part of it.By171

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAheathen writers, the Holy Land has been variously termedPalestine, Syria and Phoenicia. Canaan was bounded onthe west by the Mediterranean Sea, north by Mount Lebanonand Syria, east by Arabia Deserta, and south by Edomand the desert of Zin and Paran. Its extreme length wasabout one hundred and eighty miles, and its average widthabout sixty-five. The soil of Canaan was highly productive.Olives, figs, vines and pomegranates grew in abundance ;the hills were clothed with flocks and herds, and the valleyswere covered with corn. The land of promise was currentlydescribed as "flowing with milk and honey." Therewere eleven tribes, the lineal descendants of the patriarchCanaan.Canaan was conquered from the Canaanites by the Hebrewsunder Joshua, 1450 B. C., who divided it into twelveconfederate states accordingit into one kingdom, and David enlargedto the tribes. Saul unitedits territories.In 975 B. C. it was divided into the kingdoms of Israeland Judah, the latter consisting of the tribes of Judah andBenjamin, and the former of the rest of the tribes. Assyriacrushed the northern kingdom of Israel about 721 B. C.,and Babylon crushed the southern kingdom of Israel about588 B. C. Since then the country has been under foreigndomination, with hardly more than the shadow of independenceat any time. Persians, Greeks and Romans succeededone another in the mastery. In the time of Christ underthe Romans, there were four provinces Galilee, Samariaand Judea on the west side of the Jordan, and Perea onthe east side. Since A. D. 637, when Palestine was conqueredby the Saracens, it has, with little interruption, beenunder Mohammedan power.CeresThe Roman name of the goddess of grain, fruitand agriculture ;identical with the Grecian Demeter. Cereswas the mother of Proserpine.Chaldeans See CITALDEA.172

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAChaldeaA country in Asia, the capital of which, in itswidest extent, was Babylon. It was originally of smallextent, but the empire being afterwards very much enlarged,the name is generallytaken in a more extensivesense, and includes Babylonia. The Chaldeans were originallya warlike people, who at first inhabited the KoordishMountains north of Assyria and Mesopotamia. As theAssyrian monarchs extended their conquests toward thenorth and west, the Chaldeans also came under their dominion;and this rough and energetic people appear tohave assumed, under the sway of their conquerors, a newcharacter, and to have been transformed from a rude hordeinto a civilized people. A very vivid and graphic descriptionof the Chaldean warriors isgiven by the prophet Habakkuk,who probably lived about that time when they firstmade incursions into Palestine or the adjacent regions(Hab. i. 6-1 1 ). Of the date of their location in Babylonianothingis now known. The Babylonian Empire was foundedby Nimrod 2,000 years before Christ, and then embracedthe cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh. The mostancient name of the country is Shinar; afterwards Babel,Babylon and Babylonia became its common appellation,with which, at a later period, Chaldea, or the land of theChaldeans, was used as synonymous,after this peoplehadgot the whole into their possession. In the reign of KingHezekiah, 713 B. C., a king of Babylon is mentioned, thefirst of whom we read after Nimrod and Amraphel.Aboutone hundred years later we find the Chaldeans in possessionof the kingdom of Babylon. The first sovereign in thenew line appearing in history was Nabopolassar. His sonNebuchadnezzar invaded Palestine and he was succeeded byhis son Evil-Merodach. After him came, in quick succession,Neriglissar, Laborosoarchod, and Nabonadius or Belshazzar,under whom this empire was absorbed in the Medo-Persian. The Babylonians were the descendants of Shem.173

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIACyrus Surnamed The Great, was the founder of thePersian Empire. He was the son of Cambyses, king ofPersia, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages, king of theMedes. The habits and manners of the two peoples werealike, and the general motives of war were, for the mostpart, wantingbetween them. No doubt there was certaindependency political, and perhaps tributary of the Persianupon the Median kings. For the purpose of educatiorfand to learn refinement of manners, young Cyrus wasplaced in charge of his grandfather, Astyages, at the courtof the Medes. According to a tradition, Astyages wasalarmed by a dream which portended that the offspring ofMandane would become king, or conquer Media, and hecommanded an officer named Harpagus to kill Cyrus.Harpagus promised to obey the order, but privily committedthe boy to the care of a herdsman, who broughthim up with his own children. Cyrus, having discoveredthe secret of his birth and having inured himself to thehardy habits of the warlike Persians, incited the latter to revoltagainst the King of Media. With the encouragementand assistance of his father, who was killed during the greatbattle, he defeated Astyages, destroyed his army and tookhim prisoner. The victory was so complete and overwhelmingthat his chiefs and generals gathered around him on thebattlefield and proclaimed him King of Media and Persia.During his reign, among the many of his exploits was thecapture of Babylon in 538 B. C. In 536 B. C. he issuedthat famous edict whereby the Jewish captives who hadbeen deported to Babylon were permitted to return to Jerusalemand rebuild their temple.Herodotus states that Cyrus afterwards invaded the countryof the Scythians, who were ruled by Queen Tomyris,and that he gained several victories over her, but wasdrawn into an ambush and killed In 529 B. C. He wassucceeded by his son Cambyses.'74

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAThe kingdoms of Persia, Media and Babylon were connectedby royal family ties from the time of Nabopolassarto that of Darius, by the marriage of Nebuchadnezzar,son of Nabopolassar and King of Babylon, to Amyitis,daughter of Astyages, King of Media. Cambyses, Kingof Persia, married Mandane, daughter of Astyages, Kingof Media. Cyrus the Great was the son of King Cambysesand Mandane and the grandson of Astyages, King of Media.Belshazzar was the son of Nabonadius, King of Babylon,and the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar.Damascus A celebrated metropolis of Syria, and nowprobably the oldest city on the globe. It stands on theriver Barada, in a beautiful and fertile plain on the eastand southeast of Ante-Lebanon. This plain is about fiftymiles in circumference; it is open to the desert of Arabiaon the south and east, and is bounded on the other sidesby the mountains. It is still celebrated, with the surroundingcountry, by all travelers as one of the most beautifuland luxuriant regions in the world. The Orientals themselvescall it the "Paradise on earth." It is the most purelyOriental city yet remaining of all that are named in theBible. Its public buildings and bazaars are fine ;and manyprivate dwellings, though outwardly mean, are decoratedwithin in a style of the most costly luxury. Its positionhas made it from the very first a commercial city; hugecaravans assemble here at intervals, and traverse, just asof old, the desert routes to remote cities.Darius, King of Persia The successor of Cyrus andCambyses (Ahasuerus) on the throne of Persia, Babylonand Media, was the son of Hystaspes, a member of thenoble family of Ach^emenidae. He was one of the sevennoble Persians who conspired against and killed the usurperSmerdis (Artaxerxes), whom he succeeded in 521B. C.lie married two daughters of Cyrus the Great, and organizedthe extensive empire which Cyrus and Cambyses had

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAenlarged by conquest. He preserved the friendly policy ofhis predecessor Cyrus, in reference to the Jews, and confirmedthe decrees of that monarch, which had been revokedduring the reign of Artaxerxes, by a new edict. In thesecond year of his reign, Haggai and Zechariah, encouragedby this edict, induced their countrymen to resume the workof restoring the temple, which was finished four years afterwards.,Darius died in the year 485 B. C. and was succeededby his son Xerxes.Darius the Median See Book of Daniel, chaps, v., vi.Desert, or WildernessThe Scriptures, by desert, generallymean an uncultivated place, a wilderness, or grazingtract Some deserts were actually dry and barren; otherswere beautiful, and had good pastures. David speaks ofthe beauty of the desert (Psa. Ixv. 12, 13).Desert of Kadish See WILDERNESS OF PARAN.Desert of ZinSee WILDERNESS OF PARAN.Dionysus See BACCHUS.Edom (Gr., Idumea) See EDOMITES.Edomites They were the descendants of Jacob's twinbrother Esau (called Edom), and inhabited a territorybounded on the north by Judea and on the west by theMediterranean Sea.It was called Edom, or, in Greek, Idumea.At one time it comprised partsnorth as Hebron, and in Arabia the peninsulaof Judea as farof Petraea.It was annexed to Judea by David and later by theMaccabees. The relations between the Jews and the Edomiteswere always hostile and full of hatred, even after theJews had received an Edomite dynasty in the son of Herodthe Great, in whose time the Edomites were, however,Jews in religion (Gen. xxxvi.).Fatimites A family of Arabian caliphs, who took theirname from the fact that they claimed descent from Fatima,176

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAthe daughter of the prophet Mohammed.They ruled from909 till 1171, chiefly at Cairo, and at the period of theirwidest sway ruled all north Africa, with Syria and Palestine.*Feasts The Jews have established several festivals, ordays of rest and worship, to perpetuate the memory of greatevents wrought in their early history: the Sabbath commemoratedthe creation of the world; the Passover, thedeparture out of Egypt, because, the night before theirdeparture, the destroying angel, who slew the first-bornof the Egyptians, passed over the houses of the Hebrewswithout entering them, they being marked by the blood ofthe lamb; the Pentecost, celebrated the fiftieth day afterthe sixteenth day of Nisan, which was the second day of thefeast of the Passover. The Hebrews call it the "feast ofweeks," because it was kept seven weeks after the Passover.It was instituted, first, to oblige the Israelites to repair tothe temple of the Lord, and there acknowledge his dominionover their country and their labors, by offering to Him thefirstfruits of all their harvests. Secondly, to commemorate,and to render thanks to God for the law given from MountSinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt.The Tabernacle was instituted in memory of the forty years'wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, and also as aseason of gratitude and thanksgiving for the gatheringin of the harvest; whence it is also called the Feast of theHarvest. At the three great feasts of the year, the Passover,Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles, all the males ofthe nation were required to visit the temple. The otherfestivals were the Feast of Trumpets for New Moon}, Purim,Dedication, the Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee.The Hebrews were a hospitable people, and were wont towelcome their guests with a feast and dismiss them with another.The returning prodigal was thus welcomed. Manyjoyful domestic events were observed with feasting birthdays,marriages, sheep-shearing and harvesting. During177

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAthe repast and after it various entertainments were provided ;enigmas were proposed, eastern tales were told ;music andhired dancers, and often excessive drinking, etc., occupiedthe time.Feast of the PassoverFeast of the PentecostSee FEASTS.See FEASTS.Feast of the Sabbath See FEASTS.Feast of the Tabernacle See FEASTS.Gedaliah A son of Ahikam, appointed by Nebuchadnezzarto govern Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem.Like his father, he honored and befriended Jeremiah. Hebegan the administration of his government at Mizpeh withwisdom, but in two months was treacherously murderedby one Ishmael (Jer. xli.).Gibeonites See GIBEON.GibeonA city of the Hivites (descendants of Canaan),afterwards a Levitical city in the tribe of Benjamin. Itlay near Geba and Gebeah, and is sometimes wrongly takenfor Geba. Its Canaanite inhabitants secured a treaty withJoshua and the elders of Israel by stratagem, and weremade hewers of wood for the sanctuary. Here the tabernaclewas set up for many years. It stood on an eminence,six miles north of Jerusalem. The inhabitants were calledGibeonites.GoshenSee LAND OF GOSHEN.Haran An ancient city, called in the New TestamentCharran, situated in the northwest part of Mesopotamia.Here, after leaving Ur, Abraham dwelt till his father Terahdied ; and to this old homestead Isaac sent for a wife, andJacobfled from the wrath of Esau. Haran was ravagedby the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah (713 B. C).Here also Crassus, the Roman general, was defeated andkilled by the Parthians (53 B. C.). The Parthians were

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAgreat horsemen and would seem to have borne no very distantresemblance to the modern Cossacks. It is said theywere either refugees or exiles from the Scythian nation.Harran, as it is now called, is situated on a branch of theEuphrates, in a flat and sandy plain, and isonly peopledby a few wandering Arabs, who select it for the deliciouswater it furnishes.Hebrews That branch of the posterity of Abrahamwhose home was in the land of promise. The name Hebrewis first applied to Abraham in Gen. xv. 13, and is generallysupposed to have been derived from Heber, the last of thelong-lived patriarchs. Heber outlived six generations ofhis descendants, including Abraham himself, after whosedeath he was for some years the only surviving ancestorof Isaac and Jacob. Hebrews appears to have been thename by which the Jewish people was known to foreigners,in distinction from their common domestic name, "the childrenof Israel." The name of Jews, derived from Judah,was afterwards applied to them as inhabitants of Judea.Hebron On of the most ancient cities of Canaan, beingbuilt seven years before Tanis, the capital of Lower Egypt.It was anciently called Mamre, and was a favorite residenceof the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here, too,they were buried. Under Joshua and Caleb the Israelitesconquered it from the Canaanites, and it was afterwardsmade a Levitical city of refuge. It was David's seat ofgovernment during the seven years when he reigned overJudah only. Here Absalom raised the standard of revolt.It was fortified by Rehoboam, the son and successor ofSolomon.At present Hebron is an unwalled city of about 8,000inhabitants, of whom some 600 are Jews and the remainderTurks and Arabs. It lies in a deep valley and on the adjacenthillside, in the ancient hill country of Judea, abouttwenty miles south of Jerusalem. Its modern name, El-179

SUPPLEMENTALENCYCLOPAEDIAKhulil, is the same which the Moslems give to Abraham,"the friend of God"; and they profess to hold in theirkeeping the burial-place of the patriarchs, the "cave ofMachpelah." It is covered by a small mosque surroundedby a stone structure 60 feet high, 150 feet wide, and 200feet long. Within this no Christian ispermitted to enter :but it is evidently of very high antiquity, and may wellbe regarded as enclosing the true site of the ancient tomb.The environs of the city are very fertile, furnishing thefinest vineyards in Palestine, numerous plantations of oliveand other fruit trees and excellent pasturage.Horus The child of Osiris and Isis. He came into theworld to avenge his father. As a youth he takes the nameof Buto. Then he becomes the Strong Horus, the greathelper, the pillar of the world. Horus was the god of light,turning the gloom of winter into the verdure and life ofspring.Holy Land See CANAAN (Par. 6).IshmaelSee ISHMAELITES.Ishmaelites The descendants of Ishmael, the son ofAbraham and Hagar, who was born in the year 1910 B. C.Hagar was the Egyptian handmaid of Abraham's wifeSarah. Ishmael was at first regarded as "the son of thepromise," but after the birth and weaning of Isaac, he wasdriven from his father's house, at the age of about seventeen,and with his mother took their way towards Egypt, her nativeland. Overcome with heat and thirst, and then miraculouslyrelieved (Gen. xxi.), he remained in the wilderness ofParan, "and his mother took him a wife out of the land ofEgypt," and he became the father of twelve sons, heads ofArab tribes. He seems to have become on friendly termswith Isaac, and to have attended at the bedside of their dyingfather. At his own death he was 137 years old. TheIshmaelites were said in the days of Moses to have dwelt in180

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAthe northwestern part of Arabia. Subsequently they, withthe descendants of Joktan, the fourth son of Shem, andJoksham, the son of Abraham by Keturah, occupied thewhole peninsula of Arabia, located near their "brethren"the Jews, they have always led a roving, wild and predatorylife. To a great degree unchanged, they are to thisday the untamed though tributary masters of the desertJebusitesSee JERUSALEM.JerichoOnce one of the most flourishing cities of Palestine,seven miles westward from the Jordan and eighteenmiles northeast from Jerusalem. Westward from Jericholies a waste tract of limestone mountains rising in stages;but the immediate vicinity is well watered and fruitful,yielding dates, raisins, etc. in ;early times a favorite abodeof poisonous snakes. The capture of Jericho by the Israeliteson their first entry into Canaan, its destruction andthe rebuilding of itby Hiel the Bethelite in the reign ofAhab, about 918 B. C, are found recorded in Joshua vi. ;I.Kings xvi. 34. It appears to have been afterwards the seatof a school of prophets, and was the residence of Elisha.Herod the Great resided in Jericho and beautified it. Inthe time of the Crusades it was repeatedly captured and atlast completely destroyed. At the present day its placeisoccupied by a miserable village called Richa or ErishaThe road from Jericho to Jerusalem ascends through narrowand rocky passes amid ravines and precipices. It is anexceedingly difficult and dangerous route, and is still infestedby robbers, as in the time of the good Samaritan(Luke x. 30-34).Jerusalem Its origin and early history are very obscure.The Jebusites, who were the descendants of Canaan, werethe first known occupants of that elevated ground uponwhich rests the city, which they called Jebus, and we knowthat the Jebusites retained possession of the strong positionr8i

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAof the hill of Zion for a considerable time after the conquestof Canaan, and even after the storming of Jerusalem, whilethe tribesof Judah and Benjamin occupied the lower city.They were finally dispossessed byDavid. The name ofJerusalem is first mentioned in Josh. x. I. It lies uponthe original border of Judah and Benjamin, the line ofwhich runs through the Valley of Hinnom, so that Zionand the northern city lay within the territory of Benjamin.Its historical importance dates from the time of David, whothere fixed his residence, calling it by the name of the"City of David," transporting to it the ark of the covenant.The building of the temple under Solomon was the consummationof the dignity and holiness of Jerusalem, whichwas further enlarged, strengthened, and beautified by thisking and his successors. It suffered a diminution of politicalimportance through the revolt and secession of the tentribes, from which date its history is identified with thatof the kingdom of Judah. It was pillaged (971 B. C.) byShishak, King of Egypt by Joash, King of Israel ; ; andfinally (588 B. C.) it was taken, after a siege of three years,by Nebuchadnezzar, who razed its walls and destroyedthe temple and palaces byfire. Having been rebuilt afterthe Captivity (536 B. C), it was again taken and pillagedunder Ptolemy Lagos (320 B. C), an Egyptian king, whocarried thousands away slaves to Egypt. Antiochus IV.succeeded to the throne of Syria in 176 B. C. and deliberatelybegan to plan the extinguishment of the Jewish people.sent an army to Jerusalem, which entered on a Sabbathday (168 B. C.), made havoc of the inhabitants and leveledthe city walls. Pompey took the city (63 B. C), put 12,000of theHeinhabitants to the sword, and razed the walls to theground. A few years later (56 B. C.) it was pillaged byCrassus ; and from these beginnings date the continuedseries of Roman aggressions, which terminated in thecomplete destruction of the city and dispersion of the Jewishrace under Vespasian and Titus, A. D. 70.[82

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA.Jethro "Moses' father-in-law," a shepherd prince orof Midian. When the Hebrews were at MountpriestSinai he visited Moses, gave him some wise counsel as tothe government of the tribes, and then returned to his ownpeople. Jethro was a worshiper of God, and some inferthat he was a descendant of Abraham through Midian.Jones, Inigo One of the most celebrated of Englisharchitects and hence called the Vitruvius of England. Hewas born at London July 15, 1573, and died June 21, 1652,in the seventy-ninth year of his age. He was successivelythe architect of three kings James I., Charles I. andand during his long career superintended theCharles II.,erection of many of the most magnificent public and privateedifices in England, among which was the old churchof St. Paul's. He was elected Grand Master under JamesI. in 1607. During his administration several learnedmen were initiated into the Order, and the society considerablyincreased in consequence and reputation. TheCommunications of the Fraternity were established, andthe annual festivalsJopparegularly observed.One of the most ancient seaports in the world.It was a border town of the tribe of Dan, on the coast ofthe Mediterranean Sea, about thirty-five miles northwestof Jerusalem. Here, according to the classical myth, itwas that Andromeda was chained to the rock, and expoesdto the sea monster; a story that has been supposedto shadow out in an obscure way, the early intercoursebetween Greece and Syria. Its harbor i?shoal and unprotected from the winds; but on accountof its convenience to Jerusalemit became theprincipal port of Judea and is still the great landingplaceof pilgrims. Here the materials for building boththe first and the second temple, sent from Lebanon andTyre, were landed. Joppa was twice destroyed by theRomans. It attained its highest prosperity in the timesof the Crusades, when it became the principal land-183

SUPPLEMENTAL FNCYrLOlYKDIAing-place of the warriors of Christendom. In 1/99 it wasstormed and sacked by the French, and twelve hundredTurkish prisoners, said to have broken their parole, wereput to death. The present town of Joppa, sometimes calledJaffa, or Yafa, is situated on a promontory jutting out intothe sea, rising to the height of about one hundred and fiftyfeet, crowned with a fortress, and offering on all sides picturesqueand varied prospects. The town is walled roundon the south and east, toward the land, and partially so onthe north and west, toward the sea. The inhabitants arcmostly Turks and Arabs.Joseph of Arimathea A native of Arimathea, but atthe time of Christ's crucifixion a resident of Jerusalem.He was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, and opposedin vain their action in condemning the Saviour (Luke xxiii.51). When all was over he "went in boldly unto Pilate, andcraved the body of Jesus." It was now night and theJewish Sabbath was at hand. He therefore, with the aidof Nicodemus, wrapped the body in spices for the time, andlaid it in his own tomb.Kabbalah The mystical philosophy or theosophy of theJews is called the Kabbalah. The word is derived fromthe Hebrew kabal, signifying to receive, because it is thedoctrine received from the elders. Practically speaking, thedoctrine of Kabbalah refers to the system handed down byoral transmission, and isnearly allied to tradition. It hassometimes been used in an enlarged sense, as comprehendingall the explanations, maxims and ceremonies which havebeen traditionally handed down to the ;Jews but in thatmore limited acceptation in which it is intimately connectedwith the symbolic science of Freemasonry, the Kabbalahmay be defined to be a system of philosophy which embracescertain mystical interpretations of Scripture, an'lmetaphysical speculations concerning the Deity, man, andspiritual beings. In these interpretations and speculations,184

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAaccording to the Jewish doctors, were enveloped the mostprofound truths of religion, which, to be comprehended byfinite beings, are obliged to be revealed through the mediumof symbols and allegories. *Kadesh-BarneaSee WILDERNESS OF PARAN.Kingdom of Judah See CANAAN (Par. 5).Land of Canaan See CANAAN (Par. i).Land of ChaldeansLand of GoshenSee CHALDEA.The land of Goshen appears to havebeen that tract of country in Egypt which was inhabited bythe Israelites from the time of Jacob to that of Moses. Itwas probably the tract lying east of the Pelusian arm of theNile, toward Arabia. Ramses was the capital of Goshen.a city built by the Hebrews during their servitude in Egypt.From itthey commenced their united exodus from Egypt.It isthought to have been on the line of the ancient canalfrom the Nile to the Red Sea, and some thirty-five milesnorthwest of Suez. In this district, or adjacent to it, wasthe city of On, or Heliopolis. The inhabitants of Egyptmay be considered as including three divisions : the Copts,or descendants of the ancient Egyptians; the Fellahs, orhusbandmen, who are supposed to represent the people inScripture called Phul the; Arabs, or conquerors of the country,including the Turks, etc. Its early history is involvedin great obscurity. Their religion consisted in the worshipof heavenly bodies and the powers of nature. The priestswere the most honored, and powerful of the castes intowhich the people were divided.Land of Hebrews See CANAAN (Par. 3).Land of Israel -See CANAAN (Par. 4).Land of Judah See CANAAN (Par. 5).Land of Promise See CANAAN (Par. 2).Land of Shinar See CHALDEA.185

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIALot The son of Haran, and nephew of Abraham, followedhis uncle from Ur, and afterwards from Haran, tosettle in Canaan. Abraham always had a great affectionfor him, and when they could not continue longer togetherin Canaan, because they both had large flocks and their shepherdssometimes quarreled, he gave Lot the choice of hisabode.Lot chose the plain of Sodom, which appears thento have been the most fertile partcontinued to dwell untiladjacent cities(Gen. xix.).of the land. Here hethe destruction of Sodom and theMesopotamia The Greek name of the country betweenthe rivers Euphrates and the Tigris, northwest ofBabylonia. In Hebrew, "Aram-Naha-raim" (Aram of thetwo rivers), or "Padan-aram" (the plain of Aram), orsimply Padan (the plain), in distinction from the "Mountains"of Aram. Aram, in Hebrew, is synonymous withSyria, a large district of Asia, lying, in the widest acceptationof the name, northeast of Palestine, extending fromthe river Tigris on the east, nearly to the Mediterraneanon the west, and to the Taurus range on the north. It wasnamed after Aram, the son of Shem. Thus defined, itmcludes also Mesopotamia; that is, in Hebrew, Syria ofthe two rivers. Mesopotamia is a region associated withof the human race both before and afterthe earliest historythe flood. Eden was not far off; Ararat was near to it onthe north, and the land of Shinar on the south. The travelerhere reaches what is truly "the old world," and is surroundedby objects compared with which the antiquities ofGreece and Rome are modern novelties.This was the homeof the patriarchs who preceded Abraham Terah, Heber,Peleg, etc. Here Abraham and Sarah were born, and thewives of Isaac and Jacob, and most of the sons of Jacob,the heads of twelve tribes. Mesopotamiais also mentionedin Scripture as the abode of the first oppressor of Israelin the times of the judges (Judg.iii. 8-10) : and in thehistory of the wars of David (II. Sam. x. 16).186

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAMiddle AgesThese are supposed by the best historiansto extend from the year 400 B. C. to the end of thefifteenth century, the last important event being the doublingof the Cape of Goo^ Hope in 1497.Midianites An ancient Arabian race, numerous andrich in flocks, herds and camels, the descendants of Midian,the fourth of the six sons of Abraham by Keturah (Isa.Ix. 6). They appear to have dwelt mainlyto the south ofMoab, and covered a territory extending to the neighborhoodof Mount Sinai. Midianites were idolaters, andoften led Israel astray to worship their gods. They alsonot unfrequently rendered the Hebrews tributary and oppressedthem. Often when the Israelites had sown, and theirharvest was nearly ready to be gathered in, the Midianitesand Amalekites came down like locusts in countless swarms,with their cattle and tents and camels to devour and carryoff the fruits of the ground, and not only rob but destroytheir owners. And often did the Jews, lacking the strengthor the faith or the leadership necessary for effectual reistance,seek refuge in mountain dens and caverns till the invadersretired. Gideon was their deliverer in one suchperiod of oppression (Judg. vi. 7). The Tawarah Arabs,now dwelling in the Sinaitic peninsula, are supposed to betheir descendants.Moabites They were the descendants of Moab, theson of Lot by his eldest daughter (Gen. xix. 37).An idolatrouspeople, they were hostile to the Israelites,the relationship between them.in spite ofThe southern boundary ofthe Moabites was the brook Zered, which empties into thesoutheast corner of the Dead Sea. Their territory wasabout twenty miles from east to west, and at one timeextended as far north (fifty miles) as the mountains ofGilead.They were subdued by David, but regained theirindependence after the dismemberment of the Hebrew kingdom,and disappeared from history after the conquest of187

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIANebuchadnezzar (604-561 B. C). The Moabite Stone,which celebrates the achievements of one of their kings,Masha (about 900 B. C), is one of the most interestingdiscoveries of modern times. It was found Aug. 19, 1868,by the Rev. Mr. Klein, at Dhiban, just north of the Arnon,and is now in London. (See ROSETTA STONE.)MonkOriginally, a man who retired from the worldfor religious meditation and the practice of religious dutiesin solitude ;a religious hermit ;in later years, a memberof a community or fraternity of men formed for the practiceof religious devotions and duties, and bound by thevows of poverty, celibacy and obedience to a superior ;specifically, a regular male denizen of a monastery. Theterm monastery strictly includes the abbey, the priory,nunnery and the friary, and in this broad sense is synonymouswith convent. Communities of a more or lessmonastic character in Palestine and Egypt before thediffustion of Christianity were the Essence and Therapeutae.Essences were mystics, and most of them were celibates.The greater part of them lived by themselves near the northwestshore of the Dead Sea. The first distinct trace of themis about no B. C., and they disappear from history afterthe destruction of Jerusalem bythe Romans.Therapeutaes were kindred to, though distinct from, theEssences. Their chief seat was on Lake Marcotis in Egypt.They were not strictly celibate, but rejected wine and animalfood.The ordinary Christian life of the first three centuries.even when not celibate, was largely ascetic and in communities.Christian monasticism in a definite form originatedin Upper Egypt in the third or fourth century with St.Anthony, an eminent anchorite, who is called its founder.The first monks were anchorites ;those who lived alone,in caves and solitary places in the deserts of Palestine,Egypt and Syria, to which, in some cases, they were drivenr88

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAby persecution. The firstmonastery was founded by Pachomiuson the island of Tabenna in the Nile, about the year340; the first nunnery by his sister some eight years later.Various developments o^ the monastic system are to befound in the Middle Ages, as the military orders, friars(often distinguished from monks proper),etc. Since theReformation, and especially since the French Revolution,monachism has declined in Western countries, or has beenovershadowed by the society of Jesuits (a religious ojderof the Roman Catholic Church),flourish in Eastern churches.Mosesbut still continues toThe son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribeof Levi, and the younger brother of Miriam and Aaron,was born about 1571 B. C. His history is divided intothree periods, each of forty years. The first extends fromhis infancy, when he was exposed in the Nile, and foundand adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, to his flight toMidian. During this time he lived at the Egyptian court,and "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, andwas mighty in words and in deeds" (Acts vii. 22). Thisis no unmeaning praise the "wisdom" of the; Egyptians,was then the profoundest inand especially of their priests,the world. The second period was from his flight till hisreturn to Egypt, during the whole of which interval heappears to have lived in Midian it may be much after themanner of the Bedaween sheikhs of the present day. Herehe married Zipporah, daughter of the wise and pious Jethro,and became familiar with life in the desert. What a contrastbetween the former period, spent amid the splendorsand learning of a court and this lonely nomadic life. Stillit was in this way that he prepared himself to be the instrumentof deliverance to his people during the third periodof his life, which extends from the exodus out of Egypt tohis death on Mount Nebo. The life and institutions ofMoses breathe a spirit of freedom, purity, intelligence,justice and humanity elsewhere unknown; and, above all,189

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAof supreme love, honor and obedience to God. They moldedthe character of the Hebrews and transformed them froma nation of shepherds into a peopleagricultural habits.of fixed residence andThrough that people, and through theBible, the influence of these institutions has been extendedover the world; and often where the letter has not beenobserved the spirit of them has been adopted. Thus it wasin the laws established by the Pilgrim Fathers of New England;and no small part of what is of most value in theinstitutions which they founded is to be ascribed to theinfluence of the Hebrew legislator. Moses was the authorof the Pentateuch, as it is called, or the first five books ofthe Bible. In the composition of them he was probablyassisted by Aaron, who kept a register of public transactions.Mount Sinai See SINAI.Nicodemus A member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, atfirst a Pharisee (a Jew, but differing in some points ofdoctrine and practice), and afterwards a disciple of Jesus.In John vii. 45-52, we see him cautiously defending theSaviour before the Sanhedrim. At last, in the trying sceneof the crucifixion, he avowed himself a believer, and camewith Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to the bodyof Christ, which they took down from the cross and laidthesepulchre.OlympiadA period of four yearscelebration of the Olympic games to another, byinreckoned from onewhich theGreeks computed time from 776 B. C, the reputed firstyear of the first Olympiad. To turn an Olympiad into ayear B. C., multiply by 4, add the year of the Olympiadi, and subtract from 780.Padan-AramSee MESOPOTAMIA.Pagan (Paganism) One who worships false gods. Aname for heathenism, originated among the Christians whenChristianity gained superiority in the cities and the worshipof the old Greek and Roman gods was confined to remote190

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAvillages (pagi) and the scattered settlers in the country(pagani). It is now used as a general term, including allpolytheistic religions (plurality of gods), in opposition toChristianity, Judaism and Mohammedanism; in the MiddleAgesit also included Mohammedanism.Palestine See CANAAN (No. 7).PatronAt an early period we find that the Christianchurch adopted the usage of selecting for every trade andoccupation its own patron saint, who issupposed to havetaken it under his especial charge. And the selection wasgenerally made in reference to some circumstance in thelife of the saint, which traditionally connected him withthe profession of which he was appointed the patron. ThusSt. Crespin, because he was a shoemaker, is the patronsaint of the "gentle craft," and St. Dunstan, who was ablacksmith, is the patron of blacksmiths. Amongthe ancientsevery temple, altar, statue or sacred place was dedicatedto some divinity. The dedication of a temple wasalways a festival for the people, and was annually commemorated.While the pagans dedicated their temples todifferent deities sometimes to the joint worship of severalthe monotheistic (one God) Jews dedicated theirreligious edifices to the one supreme Jehovah. There wasa distinction among the Jews between consecration anddedication, for sacred things were both consecrated anddedicated. This distinction has also been preserved amongall, con-Christians, many of whom, and, in the early ages,secrated their churches to the worship of God, but dedicatedthem to, or placed them under, the especial patronage ofsome particular saint. A similar practice prevails in theMasonic institution ; and therefore, while we consecrateour Lodges "to the honor of God's glory," we dedicatethem to the patrons of our Order. Tradition informs usthat Masonic Lodges were originally dedicated to KingSolomon, because he was our first Most Excellent Grand191

SU1TLKM ENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAMaster. In the sixteenth century St. John the Baptistseems to have been considered as the peculiar patron ofKrecmasonry but ; subsequently this honor was dividedbetween the two Saints John, the Baptist and the Evangelist;and the Modern Lodges, in this country at least,are universally erected or consecrated to God, and dedicatedto the holy Saints John.ofPharaoh The term applied in the Bible to the kingsEgypt, of which many explanations have been proposed.It seems quite impossible to connect it with the name of anyEgyptian monarch, and it must have been a common appellationlike Khan, Caesar or Czar.Phidias The greatest sculptor of Greece, perhaps ofall ages and lands. He was born at Athens, 500 B. C. Heissupposed to have had a long life and to have died frompoison about 432PhilistinesB. C.A people who occupied the southern seacoastof Palestine during most of the periodof Biblicalhistory, and were almost constantly at war with the Israelites.As they are not mentioned among the occupants ofthe land in the time of Joshua,it is inferred that they werelater invaders who came from the island of Crete duringthe obscure early period of the Judges. Their race affinitieshave been much disputed. The genealogical table inGenesis x. seems to derive them from Ham, through Mizraim,but many commentators nevertheless consider them aSemitic people closely related to the Phoenicians, and notdistantly connected with the Israelites themselves. ThePhilistines shared the fate of the Israelites in successive subjectionto Assyria, Babylon and Egvr>t, and disannearedaltogether from history previous to the Christian era.A people who occupied a tract of coun-the north of Palestine, alone the shores of the Medi-try inPhoenicia See PHOENICIANS.Phoeniciansterranean, of which Tyre and Sidon were the principal192

isSUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAcities. The inhabitants themselves called their countryCanaan. The history of its ,people aphoristic, and inmany points utterly insufficient. The Phoenicians have leftno literature and no artistic monuments; a few coins anda few inscriptions. They were principally a commercialand not an industrial people. They transferred goods withoutmanufacturing them; they spread the arts without inventingthem. Nevertheless, Tyre must have been the seatof considerable industrial skill and activity, since KingHiram could supply Solomon with all kinds of workmen.Modern researches confirm the assertions made that thelanguage spoken by the Jews and the Phoenicians wasalmost identical ;a statement interesting to the Masonicstudent as givinganother reason for the bond which existedbetween Solomon and Hiram, and between the Jewishworkmen and their fellow-laborers of Tyre in the constructionof the temple.Praxiteles A Greek sculptor, head of the Attic schoolborn at Athens about 392 B. C. Praxiteles has been calledthe sculptor of the beautiful, as Phidias was of the sublime.Proserpine (Gr., Persephone} The daughter of Jupiterand Ceres, wife of Pluto and queen of the infernal regions.She was worshiped generally in connection with her mother,as the goddess of vegetation. She was carried off by Pluto,the god of Hades, to the lower world, but afterward permittedby him to spend half of the year in the upper world.Queenof Sheba Theland of Sheba of Scripture appearsto be the Saba of Strabo, situated towards the southernpart of Arabia, at a short distance from the coast ofthe Red Sea, the capital of which was Mareb. This region,called also Yemen, was probably settled by Sheba, the sonof Joktan, of the race of Shem. The Queen of Sheba, whovisited Solomon and made him presents of gold, ivory andcostly spices, was probably mistress of this region.Thetradition of this visit of the ueen of Sheba to Solomon

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAhas maintained itself among the Arabs, who calland affirm that she became the wife of Solomon.her Balkis,Rabbah (Rehoboth)of Carshemish.A city on the Euphrates, southRamses See LAND OF GOSHEN.Religion of Masonry Webster has given two distinctdefinitions of religion:1.Recognition of God as an object of worship, love andobedience.2.Any system of faith and worship.It is plain that in the first sense in which we may takeclaim to be calledthe word religion, Masonry may rightfullya religious institution. No disbeliever in the existence ofa God can be made a Mason. All practical piety and performanceof the duties we owe to God and to our fellow-menarise from and are founded on a principle of obedience tothe divine will. It is idle to say that the Mason does goodsimply in obedience to the statutes of the Order. Thesevery statutes owe their sanction to the Masonic idea of thenature and perfections of God, which idea has come downto us from earliest history of the institution, and the promulgationof which idea was the very object and design ofits origin.The second definition does not appear to be strictly applicableto Masonry. Masonry has no pretension to assumea place among the religions of the world as a sectarian"system of faith and worship" in the sense in which wedistinguish Christianity from Judaism, or Judaism fromMohammedanism. In this meaning of the word we do notand can not speak of the Masonic religion, nor say of aman that he is not a Christian, but a Mason. The tendencvof all true Masonry is towards religion. Its ancient landmarks,its sublime ceremonies, its profound symbols andallegories all inculcate religious doctrine, command religiousobservance and teachreligious truth.194

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIARephidim An encampment of the Israelites betweenthe wilderness of Zin, on the east shore of the Gulf ofSuez, and Mount Sinai. Mere the Amalekites attackedthem, and were defeated. It isthought to have been in thevalley now called Esh-Sheikh, a day's march northwest ofSinai, and near the western border of the Horeb group ofmountains.Riblah A city of Syria, in the country of Hamath, atthe northeast extremity of Canaan. Its site is probablyfound in the modern village of Rebleh, on the river Orontes.at the northern end of the great Valley of Lebanon.'Through this valley, by way of Hamath and Riblah, wasthe readiest access to Palestine from the north. At Riblah,in 609 B. G, King Jehoahaz was taken and deposed byPharaoh-Necho, and carried away captive to Egypt ; herealso Nebuchadnezzar established his headquarters whenwarring against Judah. In 588 B. C. he takes and destroysJerusalem, burns the temple and carries the people, withZedekiah, whose sons he had slain, captive in chains toBabylon. This terminated the kingdom of Judah, 468 yearsfrom the accession of David, 388 years from the revolt ofthe ten tribes, and 134 years from the ruin of the kingdomof Israel.Rosetta Stone In 1799, what is known as the RosettaStone was discovered by some of Napoleon's men whilemaking an excavation at Rosetta, in lower Egypt. Thestone contained an inscription written in three differentcharacters: first, Hieroglyphic; second, Demotic, or commoncharacter of the Egyptians; third, Greek. From theGreek it was discovered that the inscription was tri-lingual;that is, each of the writings was a translation of the others.In 1822 Champollion deciphered the word Cleopatra froman obelisk found at Philas. Afterwards, continuing hisresearches, he completed the translation of the RosettaStone, thereby opening up the whole field of Egyptian writingsto the long-baffledscholars of the West.'95

SUI'I'LKM ENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIASamaritansThey were originally the descendants ofthe ten revolting tribes of Israel who had chosen the cityof Samaria for their metropolis. Subsequently, the Samaritanswere conquered by the Assyrians under Shalmaneser,who carried the greater partof the inhabitants intocaptivity, and introduced colonists in their place fromBabylon, Cultah, Ava and Sepharavain. These colonists,who assumed the name of Samaritans, broughtwith them, of course, the idolatrous creed and practicesof the region from which they emigrated. The Samaritans,therefore, at the time of the rebuilding of the second temple,were an idolatrous race, and as such abhorrent to the Jews(II. Kings xvii. 24-41).SanhedrimWas a council of seventy senators amongthe Jews, usually with the addition of the high priest aspresident, who determined the most important affairs ofthe nation. It was supposed to have originated after thesecond temple was built, about the year 69 B. C, duringthe cessation of the prophetic office, and in imitation ofMoses* council of seventy' elders (Num. xi. 16-24). Jewsin foreign cities appear to have been amenable to this courtThe right of judging in capital casesin matters of religion.belonged to it, until this was taken away by the Romansa few years before the time of Christ. There appears alsoto have been an inferior tribunal of seven members in everytown, for the adjudication of less important matters.Seljooks, or Seljuks TurksA small Turkish tribe settledin the plains on the northeastern border of the CaspianSea, who received their name from Seljook, one of theirchiefs, who in the latter part of the tenth century movedin a southeastern direction, conquered Bakjara, and embracedMohammedanism, and under whose successors theyrapidly grew by absorbing other Turkish-Tartarian tribes,and developed a marvelous energy during'the course ofseveral centuries. The only source, however, of this energy196

SUPPLKMKXTAi,r.A CYCLOPEDIAseems to have been religious fanaticism. About the year1041 the great Togrol Beg, grandson of Seljook, commencedthe invasion of Khorassan and other provinces of Persia,and in 1061 completed th!*conquest of the whole of Persia,and assumed the title of Sultan. In 1073 Melek Shah, adescendant of Seljook, came into power and conqueredArabia, Syria and Palestine, Asia Minor and Armenia, andruled from the Mediterranean to the Chinese frontier, andfrom the Caspianto the Arabian Sea. At his death theSeljook Empire was divided between his four sons, andsoon a large number of small, independent sultanates wasformed, which circumstance finally caused the ruin of theSeljook dominion. With the overthrow of the Seljookdynasty in 1299, and on the ruins of its dominion, arose theTurkish Empire.*Shechem A city of central Canaan, thirty-four milesnorth of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in the history ofAbraham, who here erected his first altar in Canaan, andtook possession of the country in the name of the greatJehovah. Jacob bought a field in its neighborhood, which,by way of overplus, he gave to his son Joseph, who wasburied there. After the conquest of Canaan it became aLevitical city of refuge in Ephraim, and a gathering-placeof the tribes. Here Rehoboam gave the ten tribes occasionto revolt (I. Kings xii.). After the ruin of Samaria byShalmaneser, Shechem became the capital of the Samaritans.At tjie present dayit is also the seat of the small remnantof the Samaritans. It was called by the Romans Neopolis.from which the Arabs have made Napolose or Nabulus(John iv.).Shiloh A famous city of Ephraim, about ten milessouth of Shechem, and twenty-four north of Jerusalem.Here Joshua assembled the peopleto make a second distributionof the land of promise;and here the tabernaclewas set up when they were settled in the country. The arkand the tabernacle continued at Shiloh from 1444 B. C. to197

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLC HVKDIA1116 B. C, when it was taken by the Philistines under theadministration of the high priestEli.Sidon Xow called Saida. Tt was a celebrated cityof IMimiicia, on the Mediterranean Sea, twenty miles northof Tyre and as many south oi" I'.eyroot. It is one of themost ancient cities in the world, and is believed to havebeen founded by Zidon, the eldest son of Canaan. In thetime of Homer (850 B. C.) the Zidonians were eminentfor their trade and commerce, their wealth and prosperity,their skill in navigation, astronomy, architecture andfor their manufactures of glass, etc. They had then acommodious harbor, now choked with sand and inaccessibleto any but the smallest vessels. Upon the divisionof Canaan among the tribes of Joshua, Great Zidon fellto the lot of Asher; bu\ that tribe never succeeded inobtaining possession. The Zidonians continued longunder their own government and kings, though sometimestributary to the kings of Tyre. They were subduedsuccessively by the Babylonians, Egyptians and Romans,the latter of whom deprived them of their freedom. Itis at present,like most of the other Turkish towns inSyria, dirty and full of ruins, though it still retains alittle coasting trade, and has about five thousand inhabitants.Sinai A mountain, or mountain range, in ArabiaI'etnea in the peninsula formed by the two arms of theRed Sea. and rendered memorable as the spot where,, thelaw was given to Israel through Moses. The upper regionof Sinai forms an irregular circle of thirty or forty milesin diameter, possessing numerous sources of water, a temperateclimate and a soil capable of supporting animal andable life; for which reason it is the refuge of all theI'edaweens when the low countryisparched tip. This,therefore, was the part of the peninsula best adapted to theresidence of nearly a year, during which the Israeliteswere numbered, and received their laws from the Most[98

SUPPLEMENTAL EXCYCLOP/ED1 AHigh. In the highest and central part of the region, seventhousand feet above the- level of the sea, rises tin- sacredsummit of llorel, or Sinai. The two names are used almostindiscriminately in the T>ible. iScripttire passages rathershow that Horeb was the general name for the group, andSinai the name of the sacred summit.Symbol A symbol is defined to be a visible sign withwhich a spiritual feeling, emotion or idea is connected.It was in this sense that the early Christians gave the nameof symbols to all rites, ceremonies and outward forms whichhave a religious meaning; such, for instance, as the crossand other pictures and images, and even the sacraments andthe sacramental elements. At a still earlier period the Egyptianscommunicated ,the knowledge of their esoteric philosophyin mystic symbols. "The first learning of theworld," says Stukely, "consisted chiefly of symbols. Thewisdom of the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Egyptians. Jews, ofall the ancients that is come to our hand, issymbolic.""Symbolical representations of things sacred," says Dr.Barlow, "were coeval with religion itself as a system ofdoctrine appealing to sense, and have accompanied itstransmission to ourselves from the earliest known periodof monumental history." Egyptian tombs and stiles exhibitreligious symbols still in use among Christians. Similarforms, with corresponding meanings, though under differentnames, are found among the -Indians, and are seen onthe monuments of the Assyrians, the Etruscans and theGreeks. The Hebrews borrowed much of their early religioussymbolism from the Egyptians, their later from theBabylonians, and through them this symbolic imagery, bothverbal and objective, has descended to ourselves.Syria In Hebrew, Aram, a large district of Asia,lying, in the widest acceptation of the name, between theMediterranean Sea on the west, the Taurus range on thenorth, the Tigris River on the east, and Arabia Deserta and199

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAPalestine, or rather Judea, for the name Syria includedalso the northern part of Palestine, on the south. It wasnamed after Aram, the son of Shem. Thus defined, itincludes also Mesopotamia, which the Hebrews namedAram-Naha-raim (Aram 'of the two rivers Tigris andEuphrates), or Padan-Aram (the plains of Aram or Syria),in distinction from the "mountains" of Aram. At the timeof the Jewish exileSyria and Phoenicia were subject to theking of Babylon, and they afterwards were tributary tothe Persian monarchs. Syria is now in the possession ofthe Turks. Its better portions have' been thickly populatedfrom a very early period, and travelers find traces of numerouscitieswholly unknown to history.Speculative Masonry The lectures of the symbolicdegrees instruct the neophyte in the difference between theOperative and the Speculative divisions of Masonry. Theytell him that "we work in Speculative Masonry, but ourancient brethren wrought in both Operative and Speculative."To the Freemason this Operative art has been symbolizedin that intellectual deduction from it which hasbeen correctly called Speculative Masonry. At one timeeach was an integral part of one undivided system. OperativeMasonry was, in the inception of our history,and is in some measure even now,, the skeleton uponwhich was strung the living muscles and tendons andnerves of the Speculative system. It was the block ofmarble, rude and unpolisheditmay have been, fromwhich was sculptured the life-breathing statue.Speculative Masonry (which is but another name forFreemasonry in its modern acceptation) may be brieflydefined as the scientific application and the religiousconsecration of the rules and principles, the language, theimplements and materials of Operative Masonry to tinvenerationof God, the purification of the heart and the inculcationof the dogmas of a religious philosophy.200

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA*Tadmor A city founded by Solomon in the 1 >of Syria, on the borders of the Arabian Desert towards theEuphrates. It was remote from human habitation-- on anoasis in the midst of a dteary wilderness ;and it isprobablethat Solomon built it to facilitate his commerce with theEast, as it afforded a supply of water, a thingof utmostimportance in an Arabian desert. It was about 120 milesnortheast of Damascus, more than half the distance to theEuphrates. The original name was preservedtill the timeof Alexander, who extended his conquest to this city, whichthen exchanged its name Tadmor for that of Palmyra, bothsignifying that was it a "City of Palms." It submitted tothe Romans about the year 130, and continued in alliancewith them during a period of 150 years. In the third centuryof our era, Odonathus, a native of Palmyra, established anindependent Palmyrene kingdom, which was further extended,comprising the whole of Syria and parts of Mesopotamia,and brought to great prosperity by his widow. QueenZenobia. P>ut, when the queen refused to acknowledge theauthority of Aurelian, the Roman emperor, he defeated herarmy, dissolved her empire, captured her capital and carriedher away captive to Rome. When the Saracens triumphedin the East, they acquired possession of this city and restoredits ancient name. It is still called Tadmor. Of thetime of its lirst ruin there is no authentic record, but Masonictradition ascribes it as having been destroyed by theChaldeans and Babylonians about the year600 B. C. Itisthought, with some probability, that its last destructionoccurred during the period in which it was occupied by theSaracens.Tamarisk The sacred tree of the Egyptian Mysteries,classically called the Erica. An evergreen tree, similar tothe acacia.Temple of Solomon The foundations of this magnificentedifice were laid by Solomon in the year 1012 B. C.,about 480 years after the exodus and the building of the20 1

.yetSUPl'LKM KXTAL ENCYCLOPEDIAtabernacle ;andit was finished 1004 B. C, having occupiedseven and a half years in the building. It retained its pristinesplendor but thirty-three years, when it was plunderedby Shishak, king of Egypt. After this periodit underwentsundry profanations and pillages from other foreign rulers,and was at length utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar,king of I'.abylon. 588 15. C, having stood 424 years. Afterlying in ruins for fifty-two years, the foundations of thesecond temple were laid by Zerubbabel and the Jews whohad availed themselves of the privilege granted by Cyrusand returned to Jerusalem. After various hindrances, itwas finished and dedicated in 515 B. C., twenty yearsafter it was begun. In the year 163 B. C. this temple wasplundered and profaned by Antiochus, who completely suspendedthe worship of Jehovah. After three yearsit wasrepaired and purified by Judus Maccabaeus, who restoredthe divine worship and dedicated it anew.King Herod, in the first year of his reign, 37 B. C., putto death all the Sanhedrim, except two, and after nearlytwenty years of peace, through remorse of conscience, heresolved to rebuild and beautify the temple which at thistime was in a state of decay. After two years in preparingthe material for the work, the temple of Zerubbabel waspulled down in 17B. C. and rebuilt in nine and a halfa great number of laborers and artificers werestillemployed in carrying on the outbuildings all the timeof our Saviour's abode on earth. The temple of Herodwas considerably larger than that of Xerubbabel, as that of/erubbabel was larger than Solomon's. All the Jewishwriters praise this temple exceedingly for its beauty andthe costliness of itsworkmanship. The whole structureabove ground was completely demolished by Roman soldiersunder Titus, A. H. 70.TitanThe father of a race of giants called Titans, whocontended with Saturn for the sovereigntyof heaven, untilJupiter cast them by his thunderbolts into Tartarus, the202

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCTCD >IVEDIAplace of punishment in Hades, or the lower world. TheTitans, in their wars, are said to have piled mountains uponmountains to scale heaven,, and they are taken as the typesof lawlessness, gigantic fcize and enormous strength.Typhon The rival and opponent of his brother Osiris,whom he destroyed. He was considered the author of allthe evil in the world. As Osiris was a type or symbol ofthe sun, Typhon was the symbol of winter, when the vigor,heat, and, as it were, life of the sun are destroyed, and ofdarkness as opposed to light.Tyre The celebrated emporium of Phoenicia, the seatof immense wealth and power, situated on the coast of theMediterranean, within the limits of the tribe of Asher asassigned by Joshua, though never reduced to subjection.There was a close alliance between David and Hiram, kingof Tyre, which was afterwards continued in the reign ofSolomon ;and it was from the assistance afforded by theTyrians, both in artificers and materials, that the house ofDavid, and afterwards the temple, were principally built.Tyre possessed the empire of the seas, and drew wealthand power from numerous colonies on the shores of theMediterranean and Atlantic. The inhabitants of Tyre werefilled with pride and luxury, and all the sins attendant onprosperity and immense wealth. It was the wealthiest andmost magnificent of all Phoenician cities, and flourished for3,000 years. Although taken and devastated successivelyby Shalmaneser, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, theSaracens, the Crusaders and Salim I., it was always rebuilt.It stood twenty miles south of Sidon, and the locality itoccupied was as strong in a military pointof view as itwas advantageous in commercial respects. One part of itwas on the continent and the other on an adjacent island;the narrow sound which separated these two parts formedits harbor. After conquering the continental part of thecity, Alexander the Great built a mole to the island by20T,

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAmeans of which he succeeded in conquering the insular part,too. This mole has in the course of time been transformedby alluvial deposits into a peninsula. But otherwise theremains which are left of this magnificent city are few andutterly insignificant. Its renowned manufactures are entirelydead, its commerce totally gone and a miserable villagestraggles along the site where once stood the richeststorehouses and the most splendid palaces.UrThe country of Terah, and the birthplace of Abraham.It is usually called "Ur of the Chaldees," and islocated, with strong probability, in the northwest part ofMesopotamia. The city of Orfah, to .which the Jews makepilgrimages as the birthplace of Abraham, is a flourishingtown of 30,000 inhabitants, seventy-eight miles southwestof Diarbekir. Some, however, place Ur in Lower Chaldea,Warka.at extensive ruins now calledVenuspleasure.The goddess of love, gracefulness, beauty andSaid to have sprung from the sea.Wilderness of Paran A large tract of desert countrylying south of Palestine, and west of the valley El-Arabah,which runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba. Itwas in and near this desert region that the Israelites wanderedthirty-eight years. It extended on the south to withinthree days' journey of Sinai, if not to Sinai itself. On thenorth it included the deserts of Kadesh and Zin. Tn thedovrt of Kadesh was situated the city of Kadesh- Barnea,which was said to lie in the "uttermost border of Edom,"and was probably situated very near the great valley ofEl-Arabah, south of the Dead Sea. Kadesh was twicevisited by the Israelites in their wanderings;once afterthey left Mount Sinai, and again thirty-eight years after.At the first visit the mission and return of the twelve spu-*--took place, the rebellion of the people, and their presumptuouseffort to enter Canaan by the pass Zephath, immediatelynorth of Kadesh. At their second visit occurred204

SUPPLEMENTAL ENCYCLOPAEDIAthe death of Miriam, the murmurings of the people forwater, the miraculous supply, the sin of Aaron and Mosesin smiting the rock, and the fruitless request for a passagethrough Edom (Num. xx. 1-22). In the desert of Zin,Hagar and Ishmael dwelt (Gen. xxi. 14-21).Wilderness See DESERT.Wren, Sir Christopher One of the most distinguishedarchitects of England, born October 20, 1632 was the son;of Dr. Wren, dean of Windsor and chaplain in ordinaryto Charles I. ;was distinguished in boyhood for mathematicaland inventive genius entered Wadham College, Oxford,;at the age of fourteen. He built many fine buildings andchurches, but his fame rests chiefly on St. Paul's Cathedral,which he built in 1675-1710. He was elected Grand Masterof the Masons in1685, an office he held until after the deathof Queen Anne (1714), when he was removed by George I.He passed the few remaining years of his life in serene retirement.He was found dead in his chair after dinner onFebruary 25, 1723, in the ninety-first year of his age, andwas buried in the crypt of St. Paul's.York (Lat, Eboracum} It is the capitahof Yorkshire,at the confluence of the Ouse and Foss, and is one of theoldest and most interesting cities of England. It is surroundedwith walls, and generally closely built with narrowstreets and curious, old-fashioned houses. Its cathedral,built from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, is oneof the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the world.It is built in the form of a cross, 524 feet long, 250 feetbroad across the transepts, with square, massive tower 225feet high, rising over the crossing, and two elegant towers196 feet high, flanking the western front. In the time ofthe Romans, York was the seat of the general governmentfor the whole province of Britannia; and here Constantinethe Great was proclaimed emperor. In the period of theScots and the Danes it offered a fierce resistance to William

SUPPLKM ENTALK\CYCLOPEDIAthe Conqueror, who, after taking it, razed it to the ground.It was only partially rebuilt, and suffered much by fire in1137. This city is celebrated for its traditional connectionwith Masonry in that kingdom. No topic in the history ofFreemasonry has so much engaged the attention of modernMasonic scholars or given occasion to more discussion thanthe alleged facts of the existence of Masonry in the tenthcentury at the city of York, as the prominent point of thecalling of a congregation of the Craft there in 926, of theorganization of a General Assembly and the adoption of aConstitution. "During the whole of the last and the greaterpart of the present century the fraternity in general haveaccepted all of these statements as genuine portions ofauthentic history." (A. G. Mackey.)Ziklag A city of Judah and Simeon, on the bordersof the Philistines, who held it until the time of Saul, whenAchish, king of Gath, gave it to David. Hither many otherrefugees from Judah resorted, and David was thus enabledto aid Achish, and to chastise the Amalekites, who hadsacked Ziglag during hisabsence.206