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

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