CHAPTER XII.

SOLOMON— DEATH OF HIRAM-CROSS-SWASTICA.
"p^ EFORE proceeding with a treatment of the subjects embraced I ^^ under the caption of this chapter, I desire to express astonish- ment at the apparent lack of interest taken in Masonic literature by many of the Brethren connected with our Fraternity. It is a lament- able fact that an immense number of brothers calling themselves Masons have no more idea of the esoteric teachings of our beloved Fraternity than the Neophyte who has not as yet received the light, being bewildered, as it were, by its refulgence. If you take the trouble to converse upon the teachings or symbology of the various degrees, you will find man}^ sadly deficient upon the most simple subjects. Continue your investigations and you will find that seemingly they have no apparent interest in the actual knowledge needed to make them acquainted with the Ancient Landmarks of the Fraternity, or even to converse upon general topics of interest to the intellectual student, seeking more Light ^ more Truth ; aye, more knowledge, not of Masonic interest only, but in the wonderful advance of Science, Philosophy, etc., as evidenced by researches in the realms of literature and the many remarkable discoveries made in the scientific world and utilized in this wonderful twentieth century.
The true Mason will never be satisfied with the simple ceremonies of the various degrees to which he has attained, but will search among the beautiful symbols permeating our beloved Fraternity to discover the sub- limity and grandeur of the Truths underlying each and every one of them. Every word in these degrees is fraught with the deepest signifi- cance, and it is his bounden duty to endeavor to discover the hidden meaning of every symbol, as well as to understand the meaning of every word. If he is earnest in his endeavors, having passed through the profound and magnificent ceremonies pertaining to many of our Scottish Rite degrees, he will at length understand their seeming mysteries, and this
270 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
translated kuowledge will make him a Mason in Truth and in Spirit plainly pointing out his Path and Duty. The great majority of Masons do not give enough study to the preceding degree before entering upon the threshold of another, and do not seem to consider or realize that the various degrees are like the links in a chain, connecting one with the other, forming among themselves a grand whole, and, as I have said before, the complete understanding of one degree is a keynote of compre- hension to the one above. Possibly you may be able to get a better idea of my meaning when I say that the whole of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite degrees are analogous to mathematics, because, in order to thoroughly understand the Science of Numbers and Arithmetic, we must begin at Addition, pass on to Subtraction, rise to Multiplication and then advance to Division, and so on, as without the knowledge of the one we could not possibly understand the true meaning of the other, and so it is with the beautiful Degrees of our Scottish Rite Bodies.
Hundreds of Masons do not care to study or learn the meaning of the beautiful symbols permeating our beloved Fraternity, but take the various degrees of our beloved Scottish Rite out of simple curiosity, while many others acquire them in the hope that it will aid them in their busi- ness affairs.- Again, many are desirous of passing rapidly through the degrees and be received as a " Master of the Roj^al Secret," to be enabled to wear the jewel of that degree suspended from a watch chain, who y&t know no more of the Royal Secret than a child unborn. Such Brothers are simply drones in the " Masonic Hive," and not true workers, other- wise they would endeavor to learn and acquire a knowledge of the profound Philosophies and Scientific problems which permeate our most illustrious Fraternity. But still there are a vast number of Brothers who are earnestly searching through the Symbology of the various degrees in our glorious Rite for the express purpose of understanding the grand Truths contained in its sublime Philosophies, and solving the problems of the Deity, Nature, the Immortality of the Soul and the development of the human intellect. Brothers who will ever be patient with the drones and sluggards and strive to help them along the path leading to greater exertions, and endeavor to implant within their hearts an earnest desire to know the Holy Doctrine and the Ke}^ to the Ro3^al Secret. It is very difficult to solve some of the symbols of the ancient Mysteries and ancient
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 271
Masonry, and inan}^ of our modern writers give a wrong interpretation to them, often leading persons astray wlio are trying to understand them. The old secrets and symbols have been revelled, or hidden, on purpose to conceal their real meaning from the Profane, and j-et the earnest student who has obtained the key through profound study finds no difficulty in coming to an understanding of their sublime teachings. The word reveal is a very curious and misleading one, if taken in its general accepted sense, because the Latin word revelare^ from which we derive the word reveal, or revealed, is just the opposite to the generall}^ accepted meaning of it in English ; for re-velare signifies to reveil, and not to reveal, i. again, or back, and velare to hide, or cover ; to veil from the eyes of those who were unworthy. One of the First to reveal [reveil or liide] the sym- bology of the ancient Mysteries of India, so as to preserve and practice them in the valley of the Nile, was Hermes, and long centuries after him the Jewish Lawgiver Moses, who revelled or hid away in the Wisdom of the Ancient Egyptians all the Egypto-Chaldean theological legends and allegories.
To bear me out in the above statement I will quote you from " Mor- als and Dogmas," page 104 : " Masonry, like all the Religions, all the Mysteries, Hermeticism and Alchemy, conceals its secrets from all except the Adepts and Sages, or the Elect, and uses false explanations and mis- interpretations of its symbols to mislead those who deserve to be misled ; to conceal the Truth, which it calls Light, from them, and to draw them away from it. Truth is not for those who are unworthy or unable to re- ceive it, or would prevent it. So God Himself incapacitates many men, by color blindness, to distinguish colors, and leads the masses away from the highest Truth, giving them the power to attain only so much of it as is profitable to them to know. Every age has had a religion suited to its capacity. The teachers even of Christianity, are in general, the most ignorant of the true meaning of that which they teach. There is no book of which so little is known as the Bible. To most who read it, it is as incomprehensible as the Sohar. So Masonry zealously conceals its secrets, and intentionally leads conceited interpreters astray. There is no sight under the sun more pitiful and ludicrous at once, than the Prestons and the Webbs, not to mention the later incarnations of Dull- ness and commonplace, undertaking to ' explain ' the old symbols of
272 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
Masonry, and added to and 'improving' tliein, or inventing new ones. To the circle, enclosing the central point, and itself traced between two parallel lines, a figure purely Kabalistic, these persons have added the superimposed Bible and even reared on that the ladder with three or nine rounds, and then given a vapid interpretation of the whole, so pro- foundly absurd as actually to excite admiration."
Brother J. D. Buck, in his very valuable little work, " Mystic Masonry " says, on page 253, that " The real secrets of Masonry lie con- cealed in its Symbols, and these, constituting as they do a Picture lan- guage, or Art Speech, are made to carry a complete philosophy of the existence and relations of Deity, Nature and Man. The average Mason, taking the symbols for the things symbolized and knowing nothing of the profound philosophy upon which they rest, is incredulous that it ever existed, and so he treads the ' burning sands ' in search of a novel sensation, or a new joke. As mere pastimes these jovial entertainments are neither better nor worse than many others. They represent one ex- treme into which the Ancient Wisdom has degenerated. Let every intel- ligent Mason reflect on the sublimity and sanctity of the ceremonies in some of the Degrees, where the name of the Deity is invoked, where the highest moral precepts are inculcated, and where the purest and most exalted ethics are taught."
I have already spoken of Solomon's temple and alluded to the fact that a great many brethren actually believe Masonry to have originated with the building of that edifice by the Wise King of Israel, but, if they will only pause to consider this matter carefully, they will find that this, like many other things in Masonry, is purely Symbolical. For, as I have herein before stated, " Masonry is a peculiar system of Moralty, veiled in Allegory and Illustrated by Symbols," and this building of a temple by Sol-om-on is one of the most beautiful allegories in Masonry, full of profound symbology, as there is not a thing mentioned in relation to this temple that is not purely symbolical, which will probably ac- count for the fact that to-day not a single vestige of it can be found among the squalid hovels in the ancient city of Jerusalem. The traditional history of this fabric, as well as many of the most mag- nificent temples of Egypt and Assyria have passed into the realm of fable.
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 273
We can, most certainly, find a grand account of the temple of Sol-om-on in all its dimensions in the Bible, and this very account demonstrates the Science of Numbers as taught by Pythagoras and his school, for Numbers were considered by him and his pupils to lie at the root of all manifestations, to understand every element of which was to thoroughly comprehend the upbuilding of molecular forms. In fact the Secret Doctrine tells us that " know the corresponding numbers of the fundamental principles of every element and its sub-elements ; learn their interaction and behavior on the occult side of manifesting nature, and the law of correspondences will lead you to the discovery of the greatest mys- teries of macrocosmical life."
According to many of our Scientific Masonic writers, the building of Sol-om-on's temple is a beautiful allegory of the evolution or building of man.
Let me quote you once more from Brother J. D. Buck's " Mystic Masonr}'," pages 72, 102, 148: "In the ritual of Masonr}^ King Solo- mon's temple is taken as a symbol. The building and the restoration of the temple at Jerusalem are dramatically represented in the work of the Lodge, and in the ceremony of initiation, by a play upon words and parity of events, and applied to the candidate, with admonition, warning or encouragement, as the drama unfolds. The measurements and pro- portion of the temple are dwelt upon in order to bring in the science of numbers, form and proportion, so manifest in architecture, and to connect them with the ' spiritual temple ' with which they all have the same, though less obvious, relations. The symbolism is fitted to ideal rela- tions, rather than to actual existences or historical events. Sol-om-on represents the name of the Deity in three languages, and the biblical history is doubtless an allegory, or myth of the Sun-god. There is no reliable history of the construction of any such temple at Jerusalem, and recent explorations and measurements have greatly altered the dimensions as heretofore given. Hiram Abiff is dramatically represented to have lost his life when the temple was near completion, and yet it is recorded that after the completion of the temple he labored for years to construct and ornament a palace for the King. Add to these facts the statement that the temple was constructed without the sound of hammer or anj^ tool of iron, and it is thus likened more nearly to that
18
274 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
other ' Spiritual Temple, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,' and the literal and historic features disappear, and the symbolism stands out in bold relief. .... The real temple referred to from first to last in Masonry, as in all initiations, is the Tabernacle of the Human Soul.
" It is built, indeed, without the sound of hammer or any tool of iron. It is like (made in the likeness of) that other, spiritual temple, not made with hands ; eternal in the heavens ; for the old philosophy (Kabalah) teaches that the Immortal Spirit of man is the artificer of the body and its source of life ; that it does not so much enter in, as overshadow man, while the Soul, the immediate vehicle of Spirit, inhabits the body, and is dissipated at death. The Spirit is Immortal, pure and forever nndefiled; It is Christos or Hiram, the mediator between the Soul, or physical man, and the Universal
Spirit The ' designs on the trestleboard for the biiilding of the
temple ' are the laws that determine the evolution of the Higher Self in Man ; while the execution of the plan or the construction of the temple in accordance with the plan, means a transformation of the earthly taber- nacle— the lower nature — into a likeness with ' that other spiritual temple.'"
Brother Albert Pike, in " Morals and Dogmas," page 235, says, " How completely the Temple of Solomon was symbolic, is manifest, not only from the continual reproduction in it of the sacred numbers and of astrological symbols in the historical description of it ; but also, and yet more, from the details of the imaginary reconstructed edifice, seen by Ezechiel in his vision. The Apocalypse completes the demonstration, and shows the Kabalistic meanings of the whole. The Symbola Archi- tectonica are found on the most ancient edifices, and these mathematical figures and instruments, adopted by the Templars, and identical with those ou the gnostic seals and abraxae, connect their dogma with the Chaldaic, Syriac and Egyptian Oriental philosophy. The secret Pytha- gorean doctrines of numbers were preserved by the monks of Thibet, by the . Hierophants of Eg3'pt and Eluesis, at Jerusalem, and in the circular chapters of the Druids ; and they are especially consecrated in that mysterious book the Apocalypse of Saint John."
There is no question to my mind but that the whole account of Sol-om-on and the temple is simply and purely allegorical, and I there-
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 275
fore cousider it to be the greatest piece of absurdity imaginable, to claim Sol-om-on as one of our first Grand Masters, and that Masonry spang into immediate existence at the building of the temple, for this reason I quote various opinions from different Masonic writers, as well to sub- stantiate my assertions as to demonstrate that I do not stand alone in this opinion, and desire to prove the Truth in relation to this matter through the assertion of other writers as well as my own.
I remember being in the city of San Francisco and in the ofi&ce of the late Brother C. M. Plummer, manager and editor of the " Trestle Board," on California Street, when, during a lull in our conversation, I broached the subject of Sol-om-on's temple to my learned friend, when he said to me : " Doctor, 3'ou know my opinion respecting this subject ; but, in addition to what I have told you, read this," and he handed me a copy of his book and pointed to an article, which reads as follows : " So far as regards the essential features of it (the temple) it was designed b}' the Almighty, and Sol-om-on had very little to do Avith it beyond the carrying out of specific directions. We may admire the proportions of it and magnify its glories to our heart's content, without in the least admitting that Sol-om-on was a Mason, for his connection with it by no means proves that he was such. If he was, then it follows that all the overseers, the workmen in the forests, and in the quarries, were Masons.
"This brings us to the position that at that time there were some one hundred and fifty thousand Masons in the little territory of Palestine, nearly twice as many as are now in the most populous State in this country, which is a palpable absurdity. We are told that there were eighty thousand fellow^s of the craft, seventy thousand entered appren- tices, and three thousand overseers concerned in the building of the temple, not considering those who got away before they could be counted. If any one wishes to believe this he is free to do so, for there is no constitutional provision forbidding him to believe anything that may find lodgment in his mind. But to hold that a belief in these things is to condition one's standing as a ]\Iason, is too ridiculous for serious consideration. If any one wants to believe that King Sol-om-on was a Free INIason, or that Prester John really had any existence, or that the man in the moon came down too soon, and burnt his mouth eating
276 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
cold porridge, wliy, we have nothing to say except that it takes all kinds of people to make the world." ■ — -Masonic Guide.
I will make another qnotation and this time from " The Secret Societies of All Ages," by C. W. Heckethorn, Vol. II, and pages as per articles quoted. I know that these articles will amuse my Masonic read- ers and friends and give them some very extraordinary ideas in relation to "The Legend of the Temple" — Solomon, Hiram, and the Queen of Sheba, and what led up to or caused the " death of Hiram" — every word of which will no doubt be of the deepest interest to many, as the greatest farce that was ever written upon Masonic history.
" The Legend of the Temple, Ancestry of Hiram Abiff," Vol. II, page 3-3S3 : Solomon having determined on the erection of the temple, collected artificers, divided them into companies, and pi;t them under the command of Adoniram, or Hiram Abiff, the architect sent to him b}' his friend and ally, Hiram, King of Tyre. According to mythical tradition, the ancestry of the builders of the mystical temple was as fol- lows : One of the Elo-him, or Genii, married Eve and had a son called Cain (120), whilst Jehova or Adonai, another of the Elo-him, created Adam and united him with Eve to bring forth the family of Abel, to whom were subjected the sons of Cain, as a punishment for the trans- gression of Eve. Cain, though industriously cultivating the soil, yet derived little produce from it, whilst Abel leisurely tended his flocks. Adonai rejected the gifts and sacrifices of Cain, and stirred up strife between the sons of the Elo-him generated out of fire, and the sons of Abel the noble family that invented the arts and different sciences. Enoch, a son of Cain, taught men to hew stone, constructed edifices, and form civil societies. Ired and Mehujael, his son and grandson, set boundaries to the waters, and fashioned cedars into beams. Methusael, another of his descendents, invented the sacred characters, the books of Tan and the symbolic "f", b}- which the workers, descended from the genii of fire, recognized each other. Lamach, whose prophecies are i\iexplic- able to the profane, was the father of Jubal, who first taught men how to dress camel's skins ; of Jubal, who discovered the harp ; of Naamah, who discovered the arts of spinning and weaving; of Tubal Cain, who first constructed a furnace, worked in metal, and dug subterranean caves in the mountains to save his race during the deluge, birt it perished
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. '^•Tl
nevertlieless, and only Tubal Cain and his son, the sole survivors of the glorious and gigantic family came out alive. The wife of Ham, second son of Noah, thought the son of Tubal Cain handsomer than the sons of men, and he became the progenitor of Nimrod, who taug?it his brethren the art of hunting, and founded Babylon. Adoniram, the descendant of Tubal Cain, seemed called by God to lead the militia of the free men, connecting the sons of fire with the sons of thought, progress and truth.
J84. " Hiram, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba — By Hiram was erected a marvellous building, the Temple of Solomon. He raised the golden throne of Solomon, most beautifully wrought, and built many other glorious edifices. But melancholy amidst all his greatness, he lived alone, understood and loved by few, hated b}- manj- and among others by Solomon, envious of his genius and glory. Now, the fame of the Wisdom of Solomon spread to the remotest ends of the earth ; and Balkis, the Queen of Sheba, came to Jerusalem to. greet the great King and behold the marvel of his reign. She found Solomon seated on a throne of gilt cedar-wood, arrayed in cloth of gold, so that at first she seemed to behold a statue of gold, with hands of ivory.
"Solomon received her with every kind of festive preparation, and led her to behold his palace, and then the grand works of the temple, and the Queen was lost in admiration. The King was captivated b}- her beauty and in a short time offered her his hand, which the Queen, pleased at having conquered this proud heart, accepted. But on again visiting the temple, she repeatedly desired to see the architect, who had wrought such wondrous things.
" Solomon delayed as long as possible presenting Hiram Abifif to the Queen, but at last he was obliged to do so. The mystesious artificer was brought before her, and cast on the Queen a look that penetrated her very heart. Having recovered her composure, she questioned and defended him against the ill-will and rising jealousy of the King. When she wished to see the countless host of workmen that had wrought at the tem- ple. Solomon protested the impossibility of assembling them all at once ; but Hiram, leaping upon a stone, the better to be seen, with his right hand described in the air the S3nnbolic Tan and immediately the men hastened from all parts of the works into the presence of their Master.
'-^T^^ EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
At this the Queen wondered greatly, and secretly repented of the promise she had given the King, for she felt herself in love with the mighty aixhitect. Solomon set himself to destroy this affection, and to prepare his rival's humiliation and ruin. For this purpose he employed three fellow-crafts, envious of Hiram, because he had refused to raise them to the degree of Masters on account of their want of knowledge and their idleness. The}' were Fanon, a Syrian and a Mason ; Amrii a Phcenician and a carpenter, and Metusael, a Hebrew and a Miner. The black envy of these projected that the casting of the brazen sea, which was to raise the glory of Hiram to its utmost height, should turn out a failure. A young workman, Beuoui, discovered the plot and revealed it to Solomon, thinking that sufficient.
" The day for the casting arrived, and Balkis was present, the doors that restrained the molten metal were opened, and torrents of liquid fire poured into the vast mould whei'ein the brazen sea was to assume its form. But the burning mass ran over the edges of the mould, and flowed like lava over the adjacent places. The terrified crowd fled from the advancing stream of fire. Hiram calm, like a god, endeavored to arrest its advance witli ponderous columns of water, but without success. The waters and the fire mixed, and the struggle was terrible ; the water rose in dense steam, and fell down in the shape of fiery rain, spreading terror and death. The dishonored needed the sympathy of a faithful heart ; he called Benoui, but in vain ; the proud ^-outh perished in endeavoring to prevent the horrible catastrophe when he found Solo- mon had done nothing to hinder it. Hiram could not withdraw himself from the scene of his discomfiture. Oppressed with grief he heeded not the danger, he remembered not that this ocean of fire might speedily engulf him ; he thought of the Queen of Sheba, who came to admire and congratulate him on a great triumph, and who saw nothing but a terrible disaster. Suddenly he lieard a strange voice coming from above, and crying, ' Hiram, Hiram, Hiram.' He raised his ej^es and beheld a gigantic human figure. The apparition continued, ' Come, m^' sou, be without fear, I have rendered thee incombustible ; cast th3'self into the flames.' Hiram threw himself into the furnace, and where others would have found death, he tasted ineff'able delights ; nor could he be drawn by an irresistible force to leave it, and asked him who drew him into the abyss,
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' Whither do you take me ? ' ' Into the centre of the earth, into the soul of the world, into the Kingdom of great Cain, where liberty reigns with him. There the tyrannous envy of Adonai ceases ; there can we, despising his anger, taste the fruit of the tree of knowledge; there is the home of I hy fathers.' * Who then am I, and who art thoii ? ' 'I am the father of thy fathers, I am the son of Lamach, I am Tubal Cain.'
"Tubal Cain introduced Hiram into the sanctuary of iire, where he expounded to him the weakness of Adonai, and the base passions of that god, the enemy of his own creatures whom he condemned to the inexora- ble law of death, to avenge the benefits the genii of fire had bestowed on him. Hiram was led into the presence of the author of his race, Cain. The angel of Light that begat Cain was reflected in the beauty of this son of Love, whose noble and generous mind roused the envy of Adonai. Cain related to Hiram his experiences, sufferings, and misfortunes, brought upon him by the implacable Adonai. Presently he heard the voice of him who was the offspring of Tubal Cain and his sister, Naamah : ' A son shall be born unto thee whom thou shalt indeed not see, but whose numerous descendants shall perpetuate thy race, which, superior to that of Adam, shall acquire the empire of the world; for many cen- tnries they shall consecrate their courage and genius to the service of the ever-ungrateful race of Adam, but at last the best shall become the strongest and restore on earth the worship of fire. Thy sons, invincible in thy name, shall destroy the power of kings, the ministers of Adonai's tyranny. Go, my son, the genii of the fire are with thee ! ' Hiram was restored to the earth. Tubal Cain, before quitting him, gave him the hammer with which he himself had wrought great things and said to him : ' Thanks to this hammer, and the help of the genii of fire, thou shalt speedily accomplish the work left unfinished through man's stupid- ity and malignity ! ' Hiram did not hesitate to test the wonderful efficacy of the precious instrument, and the dawn saw the great mass of bronze cast. The artist felt the most lively joy, the queen exulted. The people came running up, astounded at this secret power which had in one night repaired everything."
j maids, went beyond Jerusalem, and there encountered Hiram, alone, and thoughtful. The encounter was decisive ; they mutually confessed their
280 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
love. Had-Had, the bird who filled, with the Queen, the office of messen- ger of the genii of fire, seeing Hiram in the air make the sign of the mystic "f, flew around his head and settled on his wrist. At this Sarahel, the nurse of the queen, exclaimed, ' The oracle is fulfilled, she recog- nized the husband which the genii of fire destined for Balkis whose love alone she dare ! ' They hesitated no longer, but mutually pledged their vows, and deliberated how Balkis could retract the promise given to the king.
"Hiram was the first to quit Jerusalem ; the queen, impatient to join him in Arabia, was to elude the vigilance of the king, which she accom- plished by withdrawing the ring from his finger, while he was overcome with wine, the ring wherewith she had plighted her troth to him. Solo- mon hinted to the Fellow-crafts that the removal of his rival, who refused to give them the Master's word, would be acceptable unto himself; so when the architect came to the temple he was assaulted and slain by them. Before his death, however, he had time to throw the golden triangle which he wore around his neck, and on which was engraven the Master's word, into a deep well. They wrapped up his body, carried it to a solitary hill, and buried it, planting over the grave a sprig of accacia. Hiram, not having made his appearance for seven days, Solomon, against his inclination, but to satisfy the clamour of the people, was forced to have him searched for. The body was found by three Masters, and they, suspecting that he had been slain by the three Fellow-crafts for refusing them the Master's word, determined, nevertheless, for greater security, to change the word, and that the first word accidentally uttered on raising the body should thenceforth be the word. In the act of raising it, the skin came off the body, so that one of the Masters exclaimed ' Machbe- nach ! ' (the flesh is off the bones, or the brother is smitten), and this word became the sacred word of the Master's degree.
" The three fellow-crafts were traced, but rather than fall into the hands of their pursuers, they committed suicide, and their heads were brought to Solomon. The triangle not having been found on the body of Hiram, it was sought for and at last discovered in the well in which the architect had cast it. The King caused it to be placed on a triangiilar altar erected in a secret vault, built under the most retired part of the temple. The triangle was further concealed by a cubical stone, on which
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had been inscribed the sacred law. The vault, the existence of which was only known to the twenty-seven elect, was then walled up.
402. " The Legend Explained. — Taken literally, the story of Hiram would offer nothing so extraordinary as to deserve to be com- memorated after three thousand years throughout the world by solemn rites and ceremonies. The death of an architect is not so important a matter as to have more honor paid to it than is shown to the memory of so many philosophers and learned men, who have lost their lives in the cause of human progress. But Historj^ knows nothing of him. His name is only mentioned in the Bible, and it is simply said of him that he was a man of understanding and cunning in working in brass. Tradition is equally silent concerning him. He is remembered nowhere except in Freemasonry ; the legend in fact is purely allegorical, and may bear a two- fold meaning."
This account is most certainly correct in its claim of Hiram Abiff being unknown to history, outside the Bible and the Legends of Free- masonry, as with these exceptions his name is positivel}^ not mentioned. The Masonic student will, however, very readily recognize in Hiram the Osiris of the Egyptians, Mithras, the Sun God of the Persians, Bachus of the Greeks, etc., etc. He will recognize, in the celebrations of Chris- tianity, in the Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the same idea that permeated the ancient world thousands of years before he was born. History informs us that Christ, the Saviour, was cruciiied upon a cross, an emblem which has been in existence in every age of the world's history. In fact the Cross, Circle and Swastica are as old as Man himself, and represent symbols which express deep Scientific Truths that will unveil to the Masonic student profound Psychological and Physiological mysteries. These mysteries have been hidden from the " profane " in every country in which we find them. To all those who, earnestly and diligently search for their origin, these symbols will take them back into the depth of the hoary Archaic ages of the long forgotten centuries, and they will realize that the farther they go back the more difficult will be their interpretation and the more abstruse their meaning.
These symbols can be plainly traced from the frozen Fjords of Nor- way throughout the whole of Europe. From Patagonia all through the South American continent up into the most Northern parts of British
282 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
Columbia and Alaska are to be found evidences of tbese universal symbols. All through India, China, Egypt, Persia, Chaldea and Babylon we find them, and even upon those extraordinary statues found on Easter Island, relics of the ancient Lemurians in the southern Pacific Ocean, these mystic emblems are blazoned. From out the shadowy depths of the cave temples of India these most extraordinary symbols greet our searching gaze. So we find in every "corner" of the earth, in every clime and country those emblems of antiquity, and realize that with all our efforts we are unable to trace them to any particular Nation or Race. We are compelled to stand before them with awe and reverence, full of profound thought, perplexed and bewildered before, the endless shadows they cast backward into the hoary ages of Antiquity.
The Christian firmly believes the Cross to be the symbol of redemp- tion, considering it to be piirely and simply a Christian emblem, not knowing that it was used by the ancient Phoenicians long before Christ was crucified, or the Jews were a people, or a nation. The great majority claim that the Cross, with the Man upon it, is distinctly a Christian symbol, introduced into the Christian world and churches, after the Cruci- fixion of Christ on Calvary, which is a very strange assertion, for this emblem existed long centuries before Christ was born. And right here I wish to state that Christ was not the only Saviour crucified upon a Cross, as in the fourteenth chapter of this work I will give an account, as recorded in history, of Sixteen Saviours who died upon a Cross in the same manner that Christ did, and for the very same purpose, " for the sins and trans- gressions of the human race."
The Ancient Egyptians, or the people who colonized this country, settled upon the banks of the wondrous old river Nile, in the misty ages of the past, and no matter where they came from, they most certainly brought with them a knowledge of the Arts, Sciences and Philosophies, and very soon after their arrival overpowered the barbarous native popu- lation. They immediately began to adorn the banks of the grand old river with those stupendous architectural monuments Avhose ver}' rviins are the admiration of the Scientific world of to-day, many of which have long since passed into the realm of fables. Notwithstanding the long drifting centuries which have rolled away since they established them- selves upon that grand old river Nile, there still remain to us specimens
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of their handiwork, testifying to the knowledge that pertained to these Ancient Egyptians long ages before Babylon bowed her mighty head before the yoke of Cyrns.
After these ancient people had thoroughly established llieniselves in this wondrous valley they began to notice that although no rain ever fell in that country for agricultural purposes, yet the glorious old river woxild generally overflow its banks, when the croi)s would be assured and everj'- thing grow in abundance throughout the whole of the " Land of Egypt." After these ancient people had increased and multiplied in numbers, and the various parts of this fertile vallc}' had been divided into Nonics, for administrative purposes, the people in all parts of Egypt, throughout the various Nomes, when crops were assured, and in order to determine the fact of a year of plenty, through an abundance of water, carefully observed the movements of the river and its annual inundations. The better to observe its rise and the height to which it attained, in order to tax the people, they drove down into the l)os()m of the river a perpendicular stake, or pole, whereon certain marks were made, thai they could tell of its motions, as when it reached a certain point they would be enabled to tax the people, for the crops would be assured.
The men stationed to watch the rising river, " guardians of the Nile," were driven back by the flooding waters, and could not distinguish the markings upon the stake ; in consequence they nailed a horizontal board at the required point and in this way the Nilomcter became a Cross. Now, if the rising river reached the arms of the Cross they taxed the people accordingly. Every year of plenty when old God Nilus brought from the very heart of Africa to the very doors of the dwelling- places of these people the fruits of the field, in the plentiness thereof, they were exceedingly glad, and feasted and rejoiced in the fullness of heart, with grand processions and magnificent ceremonies, throughout the whole of the " Land of Egypt." They manifested their joy with sounding cymbals, tinkling sistrums, the double pipes, etc. Amid the revels were to be seen all classes, and at night the priests of the various temples illuminated them in honor of the goodness of their old god Nilus (hence the origin of the Christian feast of Candlemas).
But sometimes this grand old river would not overflow its banks, would fail to swell and increase in volume, when no water would flow
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upon the parched and thirsty soil and the corps could not grow. At such times the " guardians of the Nile," and the people themselves, with bated breath and anxious eyes, would gaze upon the Nilometer in fear and anxious expectancy, until, realizing with saddened hearts, that the river would not overflow its banks to fill their cisterns and furnish life to the seeds implanted in the soil. The consequence would be a drought and scarcity of food, as nothing would grow for that year for the susten- ance of either themselves or their domestic animals.
Then throughout the '' Land of Eg3'pt " would go a wail of woe and mourning, in place of feasting and rejoicings ; darkness instead of grand illuminations, while misery and gaunt Famine stalked throughout this wondrous valley. The " guardians of the Nile," when assured the river would not overflow its banks, would make small Nilometers (a cross), fasten upon them the emblem of a starving man, and send them out through the length and breadth of the valley of the Nile as symbols of Famine, warning the people to be careful of what store of food they had, for a drought was at hand, and that this 3'ear no crops would grow on account of the river not overflowing its banks. This emblem of famine has very often been mistaken by travellers for the emblem of Chris- tianity, or Christ upon the Cross.
I will now quote you from the Introduction to " Mystic Masonry," page 15 : " That superstructure known as Christianity has, it is true, mau}^ historical phases ; of dogmas the most contradictor}^ ; of doctrines promulgated in one age and enforced with vice-regal authorit}' and severe penalties for denial and disbelief, only to be denied and repudiated as ' damnable heresy ' in another age. In the meantime, the origin of these doctrines, and the personality of the iMaii of Sorrows^ around which these traditions cluster, receive no adequate support from authentic history. What, then, shall we conclude regarding the real genius of Christianit}^ ? Is it all a fable, put forth and kept alive by designing men, to support their pretensions to authority ? Are historical facts and , personal biography alone entitled to credit, while everlasting principles, Divine Beneficence, and the laj'ing down of one's life for another are of no account ? Is that which has inspired the hope and brightened the lives of the down-trodden and despairing for ages a mere fanc}^, a designing lie? Tear away every shred of history from the life of Cltrist to-day, and
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prove bej-ond all controversy that lie never existed, and Humanity, from its lieart of hearts, would create him again to-morrow, and justify the creation by every intuition of the human soul, and by every need of the daily life of man. The historical contention might be given up, ignored, and the whole character, genius and mission oi Jcsiis the Christ, be none the less real, beneficent and eternal, with all of its human and dramatic episodes. Explain it as you will, it never can be explained away ; the character remains ; and whether Historical or Ideal, it is real and eternal. The real thread is to be sought for in the theme that runs through the symphony of creation ; in the lofty Ideals that inspire the life of man, and lead him from the clod and the lowlands, where hover the ghosts of superstition and fear to the mountains of light, where dwell forever inspiration and peace. Such ideals are the Christ Hirani^ and the Pej-fect Master:'
The teachings of Christ are as old as man himself, and embody the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, and the key-note to all is Love, and the practice of Self-LESS-ness. All men are brothers by the Laws of God and Nature, and as it is impossible to get away from this fact, the sooner it is understood the better it will be for the whole Humau famih'. Ever3-thing in Nature goes to prove the Universal Brotherhood of Man, and that he is a part of the Divine Whole, subject to the laws and forces he himself has set in vibration. I have stood upon the shifting sands that border the gulfs, seas and oceans from India to Siberia, from the fjords of Norwaj- to the Caspian sea, and have watched the surging waves as the}' came rolling in upon the beach in r3'thmic harmonj', singing the same plaintive song in every country, in every clime ; and while m}- Avife and I were standing upon the beach at Santa Cruz, watching the long rolling waves, one lovely morning in November, when the wind was blowing fresh from the northwest, with the sun shining brightl}' from an unclouded skv, we looked around the ocean and saw the white caps come and go upon the crested waves, to the harmony of Nature's melody in F. As the wind increased, long combing waves came rolling in along the beach, in one continuous, ceaseless roar, up to our very feet, and the seething foam went drifting before the wind high up out of the waters upon the beach above. As we stood there, watching the hollow roaring waves, my attention was attracted to a tinj;- piece of
286 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
shell or a very white grain of sand being driven hither and thither by the rushing, rolling waters. At one time it would be high up upon the beach, out of the drifting waters for awhile ; but, behold, another wave, larger and stronger, drags it back again, into the surging, seething mass of foamy waters, and it is lost from our sight. Again it would be thrown up into view and as quickly dragged back again, by the ruthless under- tow, but once more it was thrown, with an irresistible force, upon the wet shimmering sands up to my feet. At last I stooped and picked it up from out the flecks of foam which surrounded it and held it within the hollow of my hand. As I gazed upon its tiny form I thought of " Karma," and said to my wife. How well this little speck of sand repre- sents man and the vicissitudes of Life, a'nd how his previous acts, the seeds that he has sown, build up the powers that drag him this way, and the other, with overwhelming force, coming to him like the little grain of sand with irresistible strength and power, and smite him down ; aye, when his hopes are at the very flood-tide of happiness and glorious realization.
Circumstances over which he has no control compel him to adapt himself to the Just and mighty Law of Cause and Effect, Km-ma^ and verifies the teaching of Christ when he said " that which j'e sow, that must ye also- reap." And we recognized the insignificance of man in the tiny grain of sand, for it, like him, is part of the Divine whole, and began to realize that every grain of sand had at one time a different form ; but like all molecular manifestations, it had changed its form for the purpose of the upbuilding of higher bodies, and recognized that the very rocks and stones were subservient to the great and mighty Law of self-sacrifice, and thought with the Hindu philosopher that " The dawn is in the sacrifice." The Masonic student and thinking man, of this twentieth century, knows this to be a positive fact. " The Eternal Pilgrim " in his passage from Rock to Man, demonstrates that every other kingdom is sacrificed for the upbuilding of humanity ; but we must distinctly under- stand that the Lower kingdoms have to adapt themselves to this Eternal Law of sacrifice. There is no choice for them. With Man it is very different ; he is dowered with a self-conscious knowledge, and he learns to choose and follow the Law under Divine guidance.
As I have previousl}^ spoken of the antiquity of Swastica, or Svastica, I will now state that there is no symbol in existence to-day
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more pregnant with occult meaning than this emblem, if we except the white leather lamb-skin, the badge of a Mason. The Swastica is in the form of a Greek cross with the ends bent at right angles. It is found in everj^ country upon the face of the earth and some of the best specimens found in America were discovered b}' a Mr. Morehead in an Indian mound in the State of Ohio. They were formed out of copper and are perfect specimens of their kind, demonstrating that the}- were known and used by the North American Indians. Le Plongeon men- tions them as found in Yucatan, and I, myself, have seen these symbols in ever}^ country throughout the world, and we may see it in use to-day upon the seal of the Theosophical Society. Notwithstanding the uni- versal identity of this symbol, I most firmly believe that it emanated from the " Land of the Vedas."
Let me quote you from the "Secret Doctrine," page 103, et seq : " The Svastica is the most philosophicall}^ scientific of all symbols, as also the most comprehensible. It is the summary in a few lines of the whole work of ' creation,' or evolution, as one should rather say, from Cosmotheogony down to Anthropogony, from the indivisible unknown, Parabraham, to the humble moneron of materialistic Science, whose genesis is zmknown to that Science as it is that of the All-Deity itself. The Svastica is found heading the religious symbols of all nations. It is the 'Workers Hammer' in the Chaldean Book of Numbers^ the ' Hammer ' above, referred to the Book of concealed Mystery, ' which striketh sparks from the flint ' (Space), those sparks becoming Worlds. It is Thor's Hammer, the magic weapon forged by the Dwarfs against the Giants, or the Pre-cosmic Titanic Forces of Nature, which rebel, and, while alive in the region of matter, will not be subdued b}^ the gods — the agents of Universal Harmonj' — but have first to be destroyed. This is why the earth is formed out of the relics of the murdered Ymir. The Svastica is the Miolnir, the ' Storm-hammer,' and therefore it is said that when the Ases, the holy gods, after having been purified by fire — the fire of the passions and suffering in their life incarnations — become fit to dwell in Ida in eternal peace then IMiolnir will become useless. This will be when the bonds of Hel — the goddess — queen of the region of the Dead — will bind them no longer, for the kingdom of evil will have passed away.
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" Verily many are its meanings ! In the Macrocosmic work ' Ham- mer of Creation,' with its four arms bent at right angles, refers to the continual motion and revolution of the invisible Kosmos of Forces. In that of the manifested Cosmos and our Earth it points to the rotation in the Cycles of Time of the world's axis and their equatorial belts ; the two lines forming the Svastica, meaning Spirit and Matter, the four hooks suggesting the motion in the revolving cycles, x^pplied to the Micro- cosm, Man, it shows him to be a link between Heaven and Earth, the right hand being raised of an horizontal arm the left pointing to the Earth. In the Sniaragdine Tablet of Hermes, the uplifted right hand is inscribed with the word ' Solve,' the left with the word ' Coagula.' It is at one and the same time an Alchemical, Cosmogonical, Anthropological and Magical sign, with seven keys to its inner meaning. It is not too much to say that the compound symbolism of this universal and most suggestive of signs, contains the key to the seven great mysteries of Kosmos. Born in mystical conception of the early Aryans, and by them placed at the verj^ threshold of Eternity, on the head of the serpent Anenta, it found its spiritual death in the Scholastic interpretations of mediaeval Anthropomorphists. It is the Alpha and Omega of universal Creative Force, evolving from pure Spirit and ending in gross Matter. It is also the key to the Cycle of Science, divine and human ; and he who comprehends its full meaning is forever liberated from the toils of Maha-Maya, the great Illusion and Deceiver. The Light that shines from under the Divine Hammer. Its more philosopical meaning will be better understood if the reader thinks carefully over the myth of Prome- theus. It is examined farther on, in the light of the Hindu Pramantha. Degraded into a purely physiological great symbol by some Orientalists) and taken in connection with terrestrial fire onlj^, their interpretation is an insult to every religion, including Christianity, whose greatest mys- tery is thus dragged down into Matter. The ' friction ' of Divine Pramantha and Arani could suggest itself under the image onl}' to the brutal conceptions of the German Materialists — than whom there are none w^orse. It is true that the Divine Babe, Agni with the Sanskrit speaking Race who became Ignis with the Latins, is born from the con- junction of Pramantha and Arani — the Svastica — during the sacrificial ceremony. But what of that ? Tvashtri (Vishvakarman) is the ' divine
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 289
artist ' 2.nd carpenter (' The father of the fire '), and is also the Father of the Gods, and ' Creative Fire ' in the Vedas. So ancient is the symbol and so sacred, that there is hardly an excavation made on the sites of old cities without its being found. A number of such terra cotta discs called fusatoles, were found by Dr. Schlieman under the ruins of ancient Tro)^ Some of these were excavated in great abundance ; their presence being one more proof that the ancient Trojans and their ancestors were pure Aryans."
In every country throughout the world I have seen both the Cross and the Swastica carved upon the walls of the tombs, temples and gopuras and in man^^ of the illustrations of this work you will have occular demonstration of this fact. Look particularly at the picture of Medinet Habu, where a group of native bo3^s are standing before this temple, and just above the head of the third boy on the left, upon the wall, you will see very plainly the Crnx Ansata cut into the hard stone. On the opposite side of the opening 3rou will find another on a level with the first one. This cross is purely an Egyptian Symbol and is to be found upon nearly every tomb and temple throughout the whole of the valley of the Nile as well as those of Nubia. If 3'ou examine it carefully you will find that it is a cross with a circle on top, or rather a tail cross surmounted with an oval, which is known as the Crux Ansata. We find it nearly always borne in the hands of the ancient Eg3'ptian Deities. This cross when entwined b3' a serpent is emblematic of Immortalit3' and the cross singly was looked upon as the S3fmbol of Life or the procreative forces, crowned with the oval it represented Life Eternal.
IHummificatiott— Cvattsmicjration— MC'Ettfarnatiott»
291
"Chen came they forth, from that which now might seem
H gorgeous grave; through portals sculptured deep,
Slith imagery beautiful as dreams,
Chey went, and left the shades which tend on sleep
Over its unregarded dead to hecp
Cheir silent watch. . . .
Chen there came temples, such as mortal hand
Bas never built; nor ecstacy, nor dream.
Reared in the cities of enchanted land.
— Shelley.
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