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tris arm shall be clean dried up , and his right eye shall be utterly darkened . "—Zech . xi . 17 . ...... A « Save me from the lion ' s mouth : for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns . "—Psalm xxn . 21 . " And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth , he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child . . " And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle , that she might fly into the wilderness , into her place , where she is nourished for a time , and times , and half a time , from the face of the serpent . "—Rev . xii .
11 1 A . " Break their teeth , O God , in their mouth : break out the great teeth of the young lions , O Lord . " — Psalm lviii . 6 . From the above it must be very evident that , at all events , such-like passages aTe unintelligible to the multitude , and we may suppose from their writings that the learned of this age cannot comprehend what is meant , otherwise we should be instructed on this importa nt subject ; but , because we cannot understand the intent , are we to set it down for certain
that the writers knew not what they themselves -were writing , or that they purposely desired to bewilder future generations under the plea that they ¦ were delivering to them the sacred words of truth and Heaven ? Is it not far more reasonable to imagine that the writers wrote for good purposes , and for initiated scholars , who could understand their meaning .. The Greek Testament in the hands of a learned Brahmin would not be pronounced folly , but ¦ would be gently laid down , with an admission he could not understand it . Would a Greek scholar
comprehend a Budhist sacred work written in Sanscrit , and , because not understanding it , is he justified in throwing it aside and pronouncing it the production of ignorant men ? yet such line of conduct is often , too often , manifested as regards the ancient writings and the old mystagogue writers . Could , however , the ancient scholars rise from their tombs , some would laugh and others would weep over the folly and ignorance of modern philosophy . ancient writers relate that
Many , very many , they possess secrets which they cannot divulge ; these secrets , being sacred , most probably related to religion , or they would not have been either sacred or secret . These secrets , whatever they were , not having been divulged , have consequently not been handed down to us by the ancient authors ; they therefore remain unknown . We have relics of former ages—men with dogs' heads—women -with lions ' heads—and compound figures , half women , half fish , &c . These are sometimes to be found elegantly sculptured ; and are we to understand they had no moaning—were they mere idle whims and fantastic let
fooleries of men that no longer exist ? But us come nearer home . Do we not clap a helmet on a woman we call Britannia , and stick a trident in one hand and a branch in the other , and do we not give this woman a shield ? From whence the helmet , the trident , the branch , and the shield ? Or St . George and the Dragon—were dragons ever proved to have existed—or , if they have had life , where can we find the unicorn ?—and yet the arms of England have a lion and an unicorn as supporters . Was there not mystery intended in these figures ? and if we cannot understand what they mean and yet see them daily , can we wonder that we have lost the interpretation of the sphinx or the lion-headed Isis ? to the
The Freemasons lay claim great antiquitybrotherhood are to be found nearly all over the world . I do not mean such brotherhood as emanate from Great Queen-street , because all Masons ( save those obtaining their diplomas from England ) are intellectual men . All Eastern Masons employ their time in seeking the lost knowledge which from some cause has passed from their possession . Whether the importance of the knowledge rendered secrecy more and more necessary , till finally it became lost , others will have to determine ; but this supposition becomes confirmed when we bear in mind that in England the " order" of the royal arch , and the •? order" of the highest of the state still have **
chapters , " and that the members are yet styled " companions , " &c . Suffice it the masonic authors admit there were mysteries , and that the modern Masons have " long , long" lost them , and many Masons admit also that Masonry is in fact now both prostrated nnd prostituted in England for the worst of purposes ; and that , instead of the certificate being given to a master by •' chiefs of enlightened men , " it hud fur better be given by the committee of unlicensed victuallers . Never minding what Masonry now is , oni ! thing is certain—it formerly consisted of ti bund of educated men , possessed of certain knowledge . that it was desirable to keep from tho multitude . These secrets "wore not allowed to bo
communicated to each other excepting after proot , by nigna and passwords , that all present were duly initiated . These passwords weio always proper immt ' s , taken from the Old Testament , and from this circumstance we may be confirmed in the belief that the secrets related to religion . The old Bible is unquestionably a book belonging to the Hebrews , and the Hebrews calculate their sacred year by zodiacal nigUH . The tribes , we are told , formerly carried denoting banners , and on each was pictured a zodiacal sign , and the first was Nisan CY ) , and the
meaning of the word is " standard . " The Masons also claim the zodiac as belonging to their mysteries . There were twelve tribes—there were also twelve apostles—may we not suppose it possible that the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles were personified by the twelve signs of the zodiac , or twelve houses of the sun , more especially so when in all ancient pictures of the Saviour he is invariably represented with the sun behind his head ; and when we reason and remember that in the Testament the " Adonai and the " Elohim" in fact mean Gods and Lords , cannot we suppose there to be a hidden meaning in " the sun of righteousness , " who is " the sun and shield , " " the Lord of Lords , " " the King of Glory . The Bible was first translated into English in 1534 , and the first coins bearing date of any kind were those of 1534 , Anno Domini . Before the sixteenth century the common procession of time was styled Anno Dionysius and Anno Baccoth , &c . Now , Dionisius and Baccoth , under mystified modern names , are to be found in the Celestial Atlas , and this leads us to consider when the constellations were first traced in the manner we now have them , or rather had them till within the last few years . Ptolemy is the reputed father of astronomy . He is said to have flourished Anno Domini 141 , and we have plates of Ptolemy ' s star calculated for 138 A . D . All celestial atlases are to this day filled with secret rings and symbols that are perfectly unintelligible to the wwinitiated , and as the initiated no longer retain their secrets or the knowledge of the use of their own keys , the Celestial Attas is consequently altogether unmeaning . For example , why does every zodiac sign carry the type of the preceding sign , thus Taurus ( y ) on Aries , and Aries ( cf >) on Pisces , &c . If this overlapping had anything to do with recession it would , according to the opinion of the uninitiated , apply to the unmeaning period of 2160 years ; but it has nothing to do either with precession or recession , and if any one comprehends what is really meant , let him communicate with me , and , as he must be aware , together * * . Having drawn attention to the connection between the Bible and the Celestial Atlas , I will give you a list of the head constellations employed in the Atlas and in the Bible ; and their relationship to each other may be ranked among the lost mysteries , unless we know how to use the bauble that hangs at the buttonhole of every royal arch Mason in the world , and which to the Masons is a badge of nothingness . Constellations or Asterisms of Number of Times used in the the Celestial Atlas . Bible ( about ) . Unicorns 8 times Leo Major 89 generally Leo Minor 13 ( young lions ) Bulls 80 Bulls , cows , heifers Rams 50 Sheep 130 Goats H 5 Shepherds 60 Kids and Lambs ......... 180 Twins 6 Bears 13 Horses , 117 Asses CO Manger 3 Dogs 35 Camels •«>• 40 Cameleon 1 Whale 6 Serpents ................ 50 Dragons 35 Bees 4 Foxes 8 Cranes 2 Branch 70 Skins 50 Eagle 30 Swan 1 Ear of Corn 8 Scales , Balances - £ b 18 Harps , Psalteries 45 Ship 50 Rod 75 Sword 350 Spear 45 Helmet 10 Crown 60 Darts 8 Shields 00 Altar 65 Compass 7 If these constellations had not reference to the Bible , how comes it that we find them depicted in tho heavens , and mentioned so frequently in the book of heaven—the Bible ? One cause , the chief cause most probably , why the masonic truths became lost was owing to Masons not being allowed to mark , print , or stamp , write , or engrave , &c , any of the mystories upon any thing movable <» r immovable under tho canopy of heaven , and the reader , if he doubts the nature of a Mason ' s oath , can refer to a work on Freemasonry by Carlilo ; it is to be found in almost every Mason ' s possession , and yet the croft assert it to be hctcrodoxical ultogether . Be that as it may , the Mason ' s oath , according to their own showing , is silly , unmeaning , and illegal , promising to keep secret and sacred certain
mysteries that they now candidly confess they know nothing at all about . That the priesthood and Masons were formerly of one craft or order there cannot be a question . The apron of skin of the master has been converted into the silken apron of the bishop , and the sash of the royal arch into the stole of the " master of the arts . " The priestly portion of the craft , it would appear , were not forbidden to write and print their mysteries , or if they were , then did they abjure , because they wrote and printed in the unknown tongues ( dead language ) the means of communicating their knowledge , provided the keys were once explained to those
they chose to initiate . Among other works so promulgated by them was the Bible , which in later years , becoming translated , lost a great portion of its mystic meaning . The Catholics , who preceded the Protestants , took an effectual method of silencing any attempt at unravelling the secrets by burning all heretics who committed such an offence against their order . It is possible the Jesuits were the last" order " that were masters of the secrets , but it is more than probable that they are now lost even to them ; and what is more , some will even doubt whether the mysteries were ever known in England , and , if known generally , whether they have not been lost for some 300 years past .
In reading the Bible with the mystic keys there can be no misinterpretation , because all must be matter of fact . Thus , the idol shepherd , for example , must be determined ; the sword , and there is only one in the heavens , must be upon his arm , and his right eye must be darkened , so must the dragon who persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child be cast to the earth , and the woman must have the wings of a great eagle given to her to fly into the wilderness , &c . ; and as to David , he must have been actually placed in the lion ' s mouth when
he was heard from the horns of the unicorns ; and the great teeth of the young lion must actually be broken . Unless these and all such-like wonders can be effected according to the very letter , the Bible cannot be read as it ought to be , and as it ^ was intended by the writers it should be read . To quote from a reverend divine and good mason , the masonic mysteries were symbolized ; and "these symbols were publicly displayed in their temples beaming streams of light to the initiated , whilst to the profane they were an obscure mass of unintelligible darkness . "
Should you , or any of your readers , disbelieve -what I have asserted , all I can add is that I am , whenever called upon , ready to prove far , far more than I deem it prudent to assert I can perform . Excuse my occupying so much of your space ; and for your next number I will send you a dissertation relative to the four horses of Zachariah and the four horses of the revelations . Your humble servant , Henry S . Melville .
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SPEAKING OUT . Harwich , July 1 , 1830 . Sir , —I am mightily pleased with your " Open Council , " but , to speak frankly , I cannot say much for its boldness . You give us free scope , but , after all , we seem too timid to avail ourselves of it . We bluster a good deal , but we are not precise . By we , I mean we constant readers , subscribers , letter writers , &c . I have thrown in a bombshell or two amongst the speculators ; but no one has answered my plain questions on Religion . They all shirk me because I demand a plain answer . You shirk me
too ; et tu , Brute ! Will you and your correspondents make up your minds to look these two matters Bteadily in the face ? First : I observe some strange skirmishing on the subject of Divorce . Mr . Glynn speaks boldly ; Mr . Eastfield favours us with some antiquated orthodoxy ; Mr . Newman denounces the test of authority ( very properly ); but he , and they , and all shirk the real question . They do not come to the point . They do not look at married life as married life , in its reality . I think the notions about Divorce monstrous . the
The stability of society rests upon the permanence of marriage tie ; loosen that , and society is on a sand bank ! But , though I feel inclined to say harsh words ( only you will not print them ) of this modern sentimentalism about Divorce , yet I must say I want to see the marriage question argued with more distinctness ; I want the real suhjeet discussed , and am impatient at tho collaterals taking up all the ground . Is any man , therefore , prepared to come forward with a plain statement of the reasons moral , social , and physiological , for loosening the present condition of marriage ?
. . „ Second matter : you use that word " Doctrine very often , and have explained it to my satisfaction in your answer to Mr . Doherty ; but is it taking on unfair advantage of you , if 1 call upon you to be explicit as to what is the Doctrine you allude to in your article last week on Palmerston ? The Radical party , you say , has no policy , it has done its -work . Tho Chartists are set aside as unsuited to tho times . But you intimate that there is somewhere a ?• glimpse of an ulterior policy but only as yet intellectually dawning on the many " : would you favour me by
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374 & %$ % tK % tt * [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 13, 1850, page 374, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1846/page/14/
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