,transcriber's note3 ,a few typographical errors have been corrected3 they are listed at the end of the text4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mysticism ,,and ,,its ,,results2 ,,being ,,an ,,inquiry ,,into ,,the ,,uses ,,and ,,abuses ,,of ,,secrecy1 ,,as ,,developed ,,in ,,the ,,instruction ,,and ,,acts ,,of ,,secret ,,societies1 ,,associations1 ,,or ,,confraternities1 ,,whether ,,social1 ,,religious1 ,,or ,,political1 ,,from ,,the ,,beginning ,,of ,,history ,,to ,,the ,,present ,,day1 ,,and ,,their ,,effects ,,on ,,the ,,masses ,,of ,,mankind1 ,,then ,,and ,,now4 ,,by ,,john ,,delafield1 ,,esq41 ,,of ,,missouri1 ,,author ,,of ,,an ,,inquiry ,,into ,,the ,,origin ,,of ,,the ,,antiquities ,,of ,,america4 ,,saint ,,louis3 ,,published ,,by ,,edwards ,,bushnell1 ,,no4 #ig ,,fourth ,,street1 ,,ten ,,buildings4 99 99 99 99 99 #aheg4 99 99 99 99 99 ,entered1 according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #aheg1 ,,by ,,john ,,delafield1 in the ,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court of the ,united ,states1 in and for the ,district of ,missouri4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,savage ,mc,c,r,e,a1 ,,stereotypers1 #ac ,chambers ,street1 ,n4,y4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,my ,,alma ,,mater1 ,,columbia ,,college1 ,,new ,,york1 ,this ,essay is respectfully ,inscribed1 ,,by ,,the ,,writer4 99 99 99 99 99 #e ,,preface4 ,,the ,,word ,,was ,,god4 ,that ,,word ,,is ,,truth4 ,truth can never change1 or it would contradict itself4 ,past1 present1 and future1 must be governed by immutable laws4 ,experience is acquired by the careful study of history1 and the present condition of all things4 ,all is governed now by that same law of truth1 which was from the beginning of the world1 and ever shall be4 ,what serious lessons1 then1 may be learned by a careful examination of past ages2 and how useful may they not be to us and our children for future ages8 ,we can only judge of that which is to come hereafter1 by studying the past1 and carefully noting the present4 ,this little book has collated some facts1 perhaps1 somewhat out of the usual range of reading2 but which it is sincerely trusted may be of practical #f utility4 ,if it only induces thought1 study1 or research1 by intellectual and honest minds1 its object will have been attained4 ,the writer can only claim the indulgence of the reader to consider the essay suggestive--not didactic4 ,many a far abler pen may enlarge upon and carry out the ideas presented4 ,may it be ,j4 ,d4 99 99 99 99 99 #g ,,contents4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,secrecy2 its ,uses and ,abuses4--,mystery2 its ,definition4--,mysticism1 and its ,definition4 444 ,,page #i ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,the ,distinction between the ,early ,elohistic and ,jehovahstic ,ages of ,primeval ,patriarchal ,times4--,the ,secrecy of ,original ,worship on ,mountain ,tops4--,the ,collation and ,reconciliation of the ,patriarchal ,traditions brought together by ,moses4--,the ,commencement of the ,jehovahstic ,age4--,the ,origin of ,mythology4--,the ,magi2 their ,organization and ,modes of ,worship4--,the ,deification of ,nimrod1 and the ,source of ,political ,power at its ,beginning4--,the ,secret ,writings they adopted4--,the ,dead ,invokers4--,the ,mysteries of ,egypt1 ,greece1 and ,rome4 444 #af ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,the ,origin of the ,cabbalistae2 the ,chaldeans1 and their ,antagonism to ,patriarchal ,tradition4--,the ,hand-,writing on ,belshazzar's ,wall4--,the ,secret ,writings of the ,cabbalistae4--,how ,daniel read the ,same4--,ezra4--,the ,origin of the ,masoretic ,text4--,zoroaster4--,his ,reformation and ,reconstruction of the ,religion of the ,magi4--,pythagoras1 and his ,league4--,the ,thugs4--,the ,druids4 444 #da #h ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,discipline of the ,secret in the ,origin of the ,christian ,church4--,the ,inquisition4--,the ,mystics4--,the ,rise of ,monachism4--,the ,mendicant ,orders4--,the ,orders of ,knighthood4--,the ,jesuits1 their ,organization and ,history4--,the ,rosicrucians1 c4 444 #ga ,,chapter ,v4 ,the ,struggle between an alleged ,jus ,divinum ,regum1 and ,popular ,sovereignty4--,and the ,efforts now attempted to destroy our ,grand ,experiment of ,self-,government4--,practical ,results4 444 #ajd 99 99 99 99 99 #i ,,mysticism1 ,,and ,,its ,,results4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,secrecy2 its ,uses and ,abuses4--,mystery2 its ,definition4--,mysticism1 and its ,definition4 ,it is not true1 as has been sometimes said1 that wherever there is secrecy there is error4 ,secrecy1 like most all else1 hath its uses and abuses3 its uses1 as developed in modesty and domestic virtue1 in religious meditation1 self-examination1 and prayer1 and in prudence in the affairs of life3 its abuses1 in prudery1 asceticism1 superstitious awe1 undue veneration of power1 and when used as a cloud to conceal crime so hideous that nothing but the truth of ,god1 vindicated by human laws founded thereon1 directed by wisdom1 can dispel it4 ,virtue and modesty shrink from public gaze4 ,each looks alone to its innate sense1 the gift of ,god1 and to the sole approval of the great ,i ,,am4 ,the hidden sincere aspirations of the heart are known only to ,him who breathed into man the #aj breath of life1 and he became a living soul4 ,these are a secret between the created being and its ,almighty ,father4 ,at the lonely hour1 when the burdened soul1 knowing no earthly refuge from overwhelming troubles1 but a mightier ,hand than that of man1 seeks on bended knee and with penitential tear1 a blessing from on high1 no word is spoken1 no sound uttered save the sob from a contrite heart4 ,the aspiration has gone forth inaudibly to ,him who said to all mankind1 then and for future ages1 ,come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and ,i will give you rest4#a ,prayer is the soul's sincere desire1 ,uttered or unexpressed1 ,the motion of a hidden fire ,that trembles in the breast4 ,it is the burden of a sigh1 ,the falling of a tear1 ,the upward glancing of an eye ,when none but ,god is near4#b ,what knoweth the outer world of this8 ,yet wrong can not exist in such secret communion between a penitent heart and its ,maker4 ,pure religious meditation1 leading us from earth to heaven1 is only promoted by secret study and reflection in solitude4 ,neither philosophy nor religion can be cultivated in the midst of the vortices of commerce or other business requiring constant intercourse with hundreds of #aa men during the day1 nor in the whirl of fashion in the evening4 ,thus1 then1 do we trace one of the uses of secrecy4 ,both its use and its abuse we shall hereinafter find exemplified in marked effects not only on individual minds1 but also on the masses of mankind in past history3 its use1 in the development of true piety3 its abuse1 in asceticism1 superstition1 and overweening spiritual power resulting in crimes1 which were a sin unto death4 ,another abuse of secrecy has been manifested in means heretofore employed in the constant effort to obtain and maintain worldly power4 ,this was by affecting the imagination and blinding the reason of the masses4 ,some time ago1 an ephemeral work was published1 even the name of which is not recollected by this writer1 wherein was a picture showing the section of a handsome tent with curtains closely drawn4 ,within1 is a man eating and feasting like other mortals4 ,without1 is a stand on which are exposed to view the usual emblems and insignia of royalty1 before which there is a kneeling crowd4 ,an admirable illustration6 ,true it is1 that no man is a hero to his valet-de-chambre4 ,fashionable wealth and power depend upon exclusiveness to accomplish their usual attendant influences4 ,royalty hides every hour in secrecy from public gaze1 except when it occasionally becomes necessary to treat the subjects to a mere pageant or show of military costume and outside appearances4 ,when ,lola ,montes displayed to #ab the world the mere humanity of the old king of ,bavaria1 where had he any prestige left8 ,schamyl has attained his extraordinary influence and power by his seclusion1 asceticism1 and pretended revelations2 and bravery having crowned his efforts1 he is a favorite of fortune1 and the idol of a superstitious veneration4 ,what did not ,mohammed accomplish in the same manner8 ,but1 in illustration of the opposite effect1 so well known to the sad experience of all1 hath not a mightier ,one testified that1 a prophet hath no honor in his own country8#c ,but doth not also common prudence in worldly affairs demand the use of secrecy8 ,what good general will detail1 even to his own forces1 and still less make public for the use of his adversary1 his plans and intentions for an ensuing campaign8--what business man communicate to the public or to his rivals his hard thought and well-planned speculation8--what inventor publish his new machine or discovery until he has secured his patent-right8 ,in what follows1 then1 let us discriminate between the use and abuse of secrecy2 so that1 by the lessons of the past and the present1 we may be safely guided in our course through the future4 ,before going into matters of historic detail1 it were well to understand the definition of the word mystery4 #ac ,many suppose it to mean something which is incomprehensible4 ,this is all a mistake4 ,greek3 ,musterion means simply a revealed secret4 ,in other words1 mystery1 which we derive from the ,greek word quoted1 means neither more nor less than a secret revealed and explained to us4 ,a man of mature years and finished education knows that which no school-boy can comprehend4 ,to the elder a secret has been revealed4 ,he is in possession of the mystery4 ,to the younger it is yet a secret1 not incomprehensible1 but which can only be attained in the progress of learning4 ,to the scientific many of the mysteries of nature are unfolded1 but they are a secret to the world at large4 ,to those ,christians in the earlier days of the church1 who had attained its highest instruction1 and after the ,ite1 missa est had dismissed the rest of the congregation1 remained to participate in the pure offering 7or clean oblation7 prophesied by ,malachi#d to be thereafter offered in every place to ,him whose name thenceforth should be great among the ,gentiles--to them it was given to know the mysteries of ,god3#e not to understand things incomprehensible4 ,that would be a contradiction in terms3 a thing impossible4 ,how can a person comprehend that which passeth all understanding8 ,but it may be said1 there are things which are incomprehensible4 ,not so4 ,they may be a secret to us while1 in this school-house1 the earth1 the #ad pedagogue ,necessity is teaching us only the rudiments of the laws of ,god as developed in nature or in mind2 but1 when the scintilla divinitatis1 hidden in these earthen vessels1#f shall have been set free1 and 7while the dust returns to the earth as it was7 rises unto ,him that breathed into us that spiritus or breath of life--when we shall hereafter have been newly born into a spiritual state of higher existence--then may we hope that what is secret to us now1 may become a mystery or revealed secret to us hereafter4 ,it is not all of life to terminate our existence on this earth4 ,this is but the school-house in the commencement of eternity4 ,these mysteries1 now secrets to us1 are created and maintained by the fixed laws of ,him who is without variableness or shadow of turning4 ,the revelations thereof belong to a higher kingdom1 which flesh and blood can not inherit1 yet in which every soul shall be made alive4#g ,then shall these secrets be unfolded in proportion to the cultivation of the mind and talents here3 for the unchangeable laws of ,god have placed all matter in constant and regular mutation2 and whether of matter or of mind1 all is governed by a certain law of progress1 compelling us to attain excellence and strength only by constant endeavors to surmount difficulties3 and it is thus alone we can1 by severe study and deep meditation1 in investigating these laws of mutation and progress in things physical and #ae moral1 bring the mind1 even in this life1 to a nearer approximation to1 and capability of1 appreciating the wonderful truths we must hereafter learn4 ,as in all other laws of ,god1 the cultivation of our talents must then carry its proportionate reward hereafter4#h ,let us then examine into the uses and abuses of secrecy in past history1 and at the present day--but more particularly will these be manifested by ,,mysticism2 by which is meant1 the revelation of learning1 social1 religious1 and political1 the teaching of which has been1 and is1 preserved secret from the world1 by societies1 associations1 and confraternities4#i 99 99 99 99 99 #af ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,the ,distinction between the ,early ,elohistic and ,jehovahstic ,ages of ,primeval ,patriarchal ,times4--,the ,secrecy of ,original ,worship on ,mountain ,tops4--,the ,collation and ,reconciliation of the patriarchal ,traditions brought together by ,moses4--,the ,commencement of the ,jehovahstic ,age4--,the ,origin of ,mythology4--,the ,magi2 their ,organization and ,modes of ,worship4--,the ,deification of ,nimrod1 and the ,source of ,political ,power at its ,beginning4--,the ,secret ,writings they adopted4--,the ,dead ,invokers4--,the ,mysteries of ,egypt1 ,greece1 and ,rome4 ,in a critical study of the books of ,moses two eras seem to be discernible4 ,the earlier1 the ,elohistic1 when ,god was only known by the name1 ,elohim4 ,the latter1 the ,jehovahstic1 beginning at a later period4#aj ,though not altogether germain to our subject1 may we here be permitted to inquire--par parenthese--whether this simple rule does not furnish to us the means of reconciliation of apparent contradictions8 ,all instruction originally was traditional alone4 ,the patriarch was priest and teacher1 as well as ruler of his tribe4 ,each handed down to his successor the #ag traditions he had received from his ancestors orally4 ,as tribes became nomadic1 or else sought permanently new settlements and homes1 traditions in course of time necessarily became variant4 ,moses seems honestly to have collated these traditions1 and has1 no doubt1 given them in their respective versions as he received them from ,jethro1 his father-in-law1 and from the patriarchal instruction among the elders of his people in ,egypt4 ,thus we can recognize those in which the name ,elohim is used as being of much earlier date than the same tradition differently told1 where the word ,jehovah indicates the name of ,deity4 ,for instance1 we find in one place#aa the command of ,god to ,noah to take the beasts and fowls1 c41 into the ark by sevens4 ,but again1 in the same chapter1#ab we find them taken only by pairs4 ,are these not variant traditions of one event8 ,so1 of the story of ,abraham passing off his wife for his sister before ,pharaoh1 king of ,egypt1#ac and also before ,abimelech1 king of ,gerar1#ad and the farther tradition of ,isaac and ,rebecca having done the same thing before ,abimelech1 king of ,gerar4#ae ,are not these variant traditions of one fact8 ,the legal experience of the writer for many years1 convinces him that no two persons without collusion view a transaction generally exactly alike4 ,frequently--and each equally sincere and honest--they widely vary in their testimony4 #ah ,collusion may produce a story without contradiction4 ,slight discrepancies show there is no fraud1 only that the witnesses occupied different stand points1 or gave more or less attention to what was the subject matter4 ,but1 asking pardon for this digression1 let us return to our theme4 ,we know little or nothing about the teaching of the patriarchs in the ,elohistic age4 ,neither writing nor sculpture thereof existed in the time of ,moses1 except1 perhaps1 the lost book of ,enoch1 or1 unless--which we are inclined to doubt--the book of ,job had just before his era been reduced to writing by the ,idumean1 ,assyrian1 or ,chaldean priesthood4 ,we find at that period that sacrifices were offered on mountain tops4 ,why8 ,abraham went to such a place to offer up his son4 ,was it not for secrecy in the religious rite8 ,if the earliest instruction was from ,god1 whose truth is unchangeable and eternal1 were not the earliest sacrifices offered in secret by reason of the same command which subsequently obliged the high priest of his chosen people to offer the great sacrifice in secret within the veils1 first of the ,tabernacle1 afterward of the ,temple8 ,the ,elohistic age ended with the first official act of ,moses1 after he1 also1 had met with ,aaron on the mount of ,god4#af ,a new era then commenced4 ,as men dispersed #ai themselves over the earth1 the original belief in the one true ,god 7,monotheism7 was lost1 and people fell into the worship of many deities 7,polytheism71 adoring the visible works of creation1 more particularly the sun and the stars of heaven1 or else reverencing the operative powers of nature as divine beings4 ,faith in the one ,great ,,jehovah was preserved by the children of ,israel alone4 ,idols were erected within gorgeous temples4 ,with the ,chaldean1 ,phoenician1 and ,assyrian1 ,moloch began the dreadful cruelty of human sacrifices1 chiefly of children4 ,if1 at first1 the image of the idol was only a visible symbol of a spiritual conception1 or of an invisible power1 this higher meaning was lost in progress of time in the minds of most nations1 and they came at length to pay worship to the lifeless image itself4 ,the priests alone were acquainted with any deeper meaning1 but refused to share it with the people2 they reserved it under the veil of esoteric 7secret7 doctrines1 as the peculiar appanage of their own class4 ,they invented endless fables which gave rise to ,mythology4 ,they ruled the people by the might of superstition1 and acquired wealth1 honor1 and power1 for themselves4#ag ,we arrive then at nearly the culminating point of ,egyptian priestcraft1 the days of wise men1 sorcerers1 and magicians4#ah ,such men ever #bj have1 and we presume ever will employ secrecy as the chief element of their clever jugglery4 ,mankind love to be deceived4 ,let an ,adrian1 ,blitz1 or ,alexander--while they tell you1 and you well know it1 that their tricks are a deception--put forth notices of an exhibition1 and they will attract crowds1 where an ,arago1 or a ,faraday1 would not be listened to4 ,maelzel's automata1 or ,vaucanson's duck1 will attract the world1 when ,bacon's1 or ,newton's1 or ,laplace's works may remain in dust on the book-shelves4 ,human nature is always the same1 and thus it was in the days of ,moses and ,pharaoh4 ,the wise men1 sorcerers1 and magicians1 held undisputed sway1 not only over the superstitions of the people1 but over their educated monarchs and princes4 ,egypt possessed1 at an inconceivably early period1 numberless towns and villages1 and a high amount of civilization4 ,arts1 sciences1 and civil professions1 were cherished there1 so that the ,nile-land has generally been regarded as the mysterious cradle of human culture2 but the system of castes checked free development and continuous improvement4 ,everything subserved a gloomy religion and a powerful priesthood1 who held the people in terror and superstition4 ,their doctrine1 that1 after the death of man1 the soul could not enter into her everlasting repose unless the body were preserved1 occasioned the singular custom of embalming the corpses of the departed to preserve them from decay1 and of treasuring them up in the shape of #ba mummies in shaft-like passages and mortuary chambers4 ,through this belief1 the priests1 who1 as judges of the dead1 possessed the power of giving up the bodies of the sinful to corruption1 and by this means occasioning the transmigration of their souls into the bodies of animals1 obtained immense authority4 ,notwithstanding the magnificence of their architectural productions1 and the vast technical skill and dexterity in sculpture and mechanical appliances which they display1 the ,egyptians have produced but little in literature or the sciences2 and even this little was locked up from the people in the mysterious hieroglyphical writing1 which was understood by the priests alone4#ai ,the following translation is a quotation from a ,latin work3 ,among the ancient ,egyptians1 from whom we learn the rudiments of speech1 besides the three common kinds of letters1 other descriptions of characters are used which have been generally consecrated to their peculiar mysteries4 ,in a dissertation on this subject1 that celebrated antiquarian 7conditor stromatum71 ,clement1 of ,alexandria1 teaches in his writings1 thus3 ',those who are taught ,egyptian1 first1 indeed1 learn the grammar and chirography called letter-writing1 that is1 which is apt for ordinary correspondence2 secondly1 however1 that used by the priests1 called sacred writing1 to commemorate sacred things2 the last also1 hieroglyphic1 meaning sacred sculpture1 one of the first elements of which is #bb cyriologism1 meaning1 properly speaking1 enunciating truth by one or another symbol1 or in other words1 portraying the meaning by significant emblems4' ,with ,clement agrees the ,arabian1 ,abenephi1 who uses this language3 7,this ,arabic writing is preserved in the ,vatican library1 but not as yet printed3 it is often quoted by ,athanasius ,kircher1 in his ,treatise on the ,pamphilian ,obelisk1 whence these and other matters stated by us have been taken47 ',but there were four kinds of writing among the ,egyptians3 ,first1 that in use among the populace and the ignorant2 secondly1 that in vogue among the philosophers and the educated2 thirdly1 one compounded of letters and symbols1 without drawn figures or representations of things2 the fourth was confined solely to the priesthood1 the figures or letters of which were those of birds1 by which they represented the sacred things of ,deity4' ,from which last testimony we learn that erudite ,egyptians used a peculiar and different system of writing from that of the populace1 and it was for the purpose of teaching their peculiar doctrines4 ,for example1 they show that this writing consisted of symbols1 partly of opinions and ideas1 partly of historic fables accommodated to a more secret method of teaching4 ,but ,clement1 of ,alexandria1 went further4 ,in book v4 of ,antiquities 7stromata1 'foundation of things'71 he says3 ',all who controlled theological matters1 ,barbarian as well as ,greek1 have concealed their principles1 hiding the truth in enigmas1 signs1 symbols1 as #bc well as allegories1 and also in tropes1 and have handed them down in various symbols and methods4'#bj ,this passage led subsequently to the brilliant discoveries of ,champollion4 ,who1 then1 were the erudite ,egyptians who used a peculiar system of writing for the purpose of teaching their peculiar doctrines8 ,who were #bd these magi1 wise men1 sorcerers1 and magicians8 ,nowhere do we find ,pharaoh in the midst of his troubles calling for a priest4 ,it is always for the wise men1 magicians1 and sorcerers4 ,were they not the priests8--were they not those who controlled the mysteries--who practised divination8 ,when ,moses and ,aaron cast down their rods1 the magicians of ,egypt also did in like manner with their enchantments1 and the result was the same4#ba ,when ,moses smote the waters that they became blood1 the acuteness of the priests1 or magi1 in their mysteries taught them a lesson whereby they were able to do the same4#bb ,when the frogs came up on ,pharaoh and on all his people1 and on all his servants1 and covered the land of ,egypt1 we learn the magicians did so with their enchantments1 and brought up frogs upon the land of ,egypt4#bc ,if the ancient ,egyptians were like their descendants1 it is singular the magi could not accomplish the next plague1 that is1 of lice4 ,but here their power ended4 ,the magi originated in ,media4 ,according to oriental custom1 to them was intrusted the preservation of scientific knowledge1 and the performance of the holy exercises of ,religion4 ,afterward1 in a special sense1 the magi were a caste of priests of the ,medes and ,persians1 deriving the name of ,pehlvi2 ,mag1 or ,mog1 generally signifies in that language1 a priest4 ,they are expressly mentioned by ,herodotus as a ,median tribe4 ,zoroaster was not their founder1 #be but was their reformer1 and the purifier of their doctrines4 ,the ,magi of his time were opposed to his innovations2 and they1 therefore1 were condemned by him4 ,when afterward1 however1 they adopted his reforms1 he effected their thorough organization1 dividing them into ,,apprentices1 ,,masters1 and ,,perfect ,,masters4 ,their study and science consisted in observation of their holy rites1 in the knowledge of their sacred forms of prayer1 and liturgies by which ,ormuzd was worshipped1 and in the ceremonies attendant on their prayers and sacrifices4 ,they only were permitted to act as mediators between ,god and man4 ,to them alone was the will of ,god declared4 ,they only could penetrate the future4 ,and they alone predicted the future to those who sought of them therefor4 ,in later days the name ,magi became synonymous with sorcerer1 magician1 alchemist1 c4#bd #bf ,the magi of ,egypt were the priests1 the founders and preservers of the mysteries of the secret grades of instruction1 and of the hieratic and hieroglyphic writings and sculptures4 ,in secret they were the priesthood4 ,in public1 in religious matters1 the same4 ,but in public secular affairs they seem to be recognised as ,magi4 ,when mythology was invented1 most of the gods1 if not all of them1 were received as symbolical1 physical beings1 the poets made of them moral agents2 and as such they appear in the religions of the people of earlier days4 ,the symbolical meaning would have been lost1 if no means had been provided to insure its preservation4 ,the ,,mysteries1 it seems1 afforded such means4 ,their great end1 therefore1 was to preserve the knowledge of the peculiar attributes of those divinities which had been incorparated into the popular religion under new forms2 what powers and objects of nature they represented2 how these1 and how the universe came into being2 in a word1 cosmogonies1 like those contained in the ,orphic instructions4 ,but this knowledge1 though it was preserved by oral instruction1 was perpetuated no less by #bg symbolic representations and usages2 which1 at least in part1 consisted of sacred traditions and fables4 ,in the sanctuary of ,sais1 says ,herodotus 7l4c471 representations are given by night of the adventures of the goddess2 and these are called by the ,egyptians mysteries2 of which1 however1 ,i will relate no more4 ,it was thence that these mysteries were introduced into ,greece4#be ,the temples of ,india and of ,egypt seem to be identical in architecture and in sculpture4#bf ,both nations seem to have sprung from the old ,assyrian stock4#bg ,the magi of both countries appear to have had a common origin2 and their teachings must have been1 therefore1 traditionally the same4 ,we may1 then1 presume that there were three grades in the instructions of these mysteries1 by whatever name they may have been called--whether ,apprentices1 ,masters1 and ,perfect ,masters1 or otherwise2 that they were sacred in their character2 and that their symbolic meanings were revealed in these ,,mysteries1 and in no other manner1 while they were kept a secret from the world at large4 ,but this was not all4 ,they spread1 with emigration and commerce1 into all then known countries4 ,their common origin1 or at least that of most of them1 is still perceptible4 ,,ceres had long wandered over the earth1 before she was received at ,eleusis1 and erected there her #bh sanctuary4 7,isocrat4 ,paneg4 op41 p4 #df1 ed4 ,steph41 and many other places in ,meursii ,eleusin41 cap4 #a47 ,her secret service in the ,thesmophoria1 according to the account of ,herodotus 7iv4 #agb71 was first introduced by ,danaus2 who brought it from ,egypt to the ,peloponnesus4#bh ,one writer says that mysteries were1 among the ,greeks1 and afterward also among the ,romans1 secret religious assemblies1 which no uninitiated person was permitted to approach4 ,they originated at a very early period4 ,they were designed to interpret those mythological fables and religious rites1 the true meaning of which it was thought expedient to conceal from the people4 ,they were perhaps necessary in those times1 in which the superstitions1 the errors1 and the prejudices of the people1 could not be openly exposed without danger to the public peace4 ,upon this ground they were tolerated and protected by the state4 ,their first and fundamental law was a profound secrecy4 ,in all mysteries there were dramatic exhibitions1 relating to the exploits of the deities in whose honor they were celebrated4#bi ,we may thus trace all ancient pagan religion to a common origin1 with similarity of human means to accomplish a general result1 variant in name1 or in practice1 as to the deity1 or form of its worship1 but resting on a unity as to its commencement and its object4 #bi ,we can hardly penetrate the veil which hides from us the pagan worship of that early human stock the race of ,ham1 which--without the divine light granted only to the ,israelites--was the origin of false worship4 ,we can only arrive at conclusions1 but these are the result of strong presumptions arising from undisputed historical facts4 ,what are they8 ,one of the principal chiefs of the earliest race1 whence came the magi1 c41 was ,nimrod1 afterward deified by the name of ,bel to the ,chaldeans1 ,baal to the ,hebrews1 ,greek3 ,belos to the ,greeks1 and ,belus to the ,romans2 and when1 in later days1 statues received adoration 7which at first was only accorded to the being of whom the statue was a type71 he became worshipped under a multiplication of statues1 they were in the ,hebrew language called ,baalim1 or the plural of ,baal4 ,nimrod was the son of ,cush1 grandson of ,ham1 and great-grandson of ,noah4 ,and ,cush begat ,nimrod3 he began to be a mighty one in the earth4 ,he was a mighty hunter before the ,lord3 wherefore it is said1 ',even as ,nimrod the mighty hunter before the ,lord4' ,and the beginning of his kingdom was ,babel1 and ,erech1 and ,accad1 and ,calneh1 in the land of ,shinar4 ,and out of that land he went forth to ,assyria1 and builded ,nineveh1 and the city ,rehoboth1 and ,calah1 and ,resen between ,nineveh and ,calah3 the same is a great city4#cj ,while1 then1 #cj the children of ,shem and ,japheth pursued the patriarchal course1 and preserved the ancient traditions subsequently handed down1 the descendants of ,ham1 suffering under the patriarchal malediction of ,noah1 built cities composed of families1 and a great kingdom composed of cities and nations4 ,this kingdom was the origin of pagan worship4 ,they lost the patriarchal traditions1 and were the first to establish on this earth the concentration of power in a political system4 ,that power once attained1 the daring energy of the king became in the hand of the priesthood a subject of deification for two reasons4 #a4 ,the king was mortal1 and must die4 #b4 ,the power must be preserved4 ,when afterward1 under ,peleg1 this race1 at their #ca building of ,ba-,bel--their temple of ,bel--became dispersed1 and left to us only their ruin of that temple1 now called ,birs ,nimroud1 the magi1 or priests1 preserved the power he attained to themselves1 by means of secrecy in their mysteries1 and which were dispersed subsequently through the earth in different languages and forms1 varying with the poetry and climate of the country or countries thereafter occupied1 and adapted from time to time to the existing exigencies of the times4 ,thence sprang the origin of mythologies1 or1 in other words1 fabulous histories of the fructifying energies of ,nature1 whether developed in the germination of the vegetable kingdom1 or in an occasional poetical version of some heroic act of one in power4 ,this nation1 the old ,assyrian1 became dispersed at the destruction of their great temple4 ,but their political power everywhere was mysteriously preserved4 ,when the magi became organized in ,media1 they spread in every direction4 ,from earliest days we find their worship amid the nations conquered by ,joshua4 ,we see them in the traces of the ,greek3 ,oi ,poimenes1 or shepherd-kings of ,egypt1 and in the sorcerers of the days of ,moses4 ,we1 find them reformed by ,zoroaster in ,persia4 ,they are conspicuous among the ,greeks1 who derived their mysteries from ,egypt2 and in the worship of ,isis at ,rome1 never indigenous there4 ,and even in later days 7those of ,darius1 ,belshazzar1 and ,cyrus71 they seem to be thoroughly #cb re-established in their original birthplace4 ,and1 strange as it may appear1 we find their power over kings1 generals1 nations1 and people1 in the hands of the priesthood1 by means of their mysteries1 from all early history1 until affected by the gospel of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ4 ,regarding1 then1 the off-shoot from patriarchal tradition to be the origin of pagan worship2 referring also to the first formation of cities1 and of one immense kingdom1 by the descendants of ,ham 7accursed by his prophetic ancestor71 by whom an empire was first established2 to ,nimrod's deification2 to the preservation in the priesthood of future political power2 to the fact that after his death they would and might thereby perpetuate the same2 that wherever thereafter dispersed1 they did so by their revelations by mysteries1 in which they controlled not only the masses of the people1 but those who governed them1 in whatsoever nation then known--we arrive at the conclusion that the mysteries were the elements of religious and consequently of political power4 ,the important ,greek mysteries1 of the details whereof we know most1 were--#a4 ,the ,eleusinian4 #b4 ,the ,samothracian1 which originated in ,crete and ,phrygia1 and were celebrated in the former country in honor of ,jupiter4 ,from these countries they were introduced among the ,thracians or ,pelasgians in the island of ,samothrace1 and extended thence into ,greece4 ,they were sometimes celebrated in honor #cc of ,jupiter1 sometimes of ,bacchus1 and sometimes of ,ceres4 #c4 ,the ,dionysia1 which were brought from ,thrace to ,thebes1 and were very similar to the former4 ,they were celebrated every second year4 ,the transition of men from barbarism to civilization was likewise represented in them4 ,the women were clothed in skins of beasts4 ,with a spear 7thyrsus71 bound with ivy1 in their hands1 they ascended ,mount ,cithaeron2 when1 after the religious ceremonies1 wild dances were performed1 which ended with the dispersion of the priestesses and the initiated in the neighboring woods4 ,they had also symbols1 chiefly relating to ,bacchus1 who was the hero of these mysteries4 ,these celebrations were forbidden in ,thebes1 even in the time of ,epaminondas1 and afterward in all ,greece1 as prejudicial to the public peace and morals4 #d4 ,the ,orphic1 chiefly deserving mention as the probable foundation of the ,eleusinian4 #e4 ,the mysteries of ,isis1 not in vogue in ,greece1 but very popular in ,rome4#ca ,the offspring of ,egyptian priestcraft1 they were instituted with a view to aggrandize that order of men1 to extend their influence1 and enlarge their revenues4 ,to accomplish these selfish projects1 they applied every engine toward besotting the multitude with superstition and enthusiasm4 ,they taught them to believe that they were the distinguished favorites of ,heaven2 that celestial doctrines had been revealed to them1 too holy to be communicated to the profane #cd rabble1 and too sublime to be comprehended by vulgar capacities4 ,princes and legislators1 who found their advantage in overawing and humbling the multitude1 readily adopted a plan so artfully fabricated to answer these purposes4 ,the views of those in power were congenial with those of the priests1 and both united in the same spirit to thus control the respect1 admiration1 and dependence1 of the million4 ,they made their disciples believe that in the next world the souls of the uninitiated should roll in mire and dirt1 and with difficulty reach their destined mansion4 ,hence1 ,plato introduces ,socrates as observing that the sages who introduced the ,teletae had positively affirmed that whatever soul should arrive in the infernal mansions unhouselled and unannealed should lie there immersed in mire and filth4--,and as to a future state1 says ,aristides1 the initiated shall not roll in mire and grope in darkness1 a fate which awaits the unholy and uninitiated4 ,when the ,athenians advised ,diogenes to be initiated1 ,it will be pretty enough1 replied he1 to see ,agesilaus and ,epaminondas wallowing in the mire1 while the most contemptible rascals who have been initiated are strolling in the islands of bliss6 ,when ,antisthenes was to be initiated1 and the priests were boasting of the wonderful benefit to ensue1 ,why1 forsooth1 'tis wonder your reverence don't hang yourself1 in order to come at it sooner1 was his remark4 ,when1 however1 such benefits were expected to be derived from the #ce mysteries1 it is no wonder the world crowded to the ,eleusinian standard4 ,initiation was1 in reality1 a consecration to ,ceres and ,proserpine4 ,its result was1 honor and reverence from the masses4 ,they believed all virtue to be inspired by these goddesses4 ,pericles says3 ,i am convinced that the deities of ,eleusis inspired me with this sentiment1 and that this stratagem was suggested by the principle of the mystic rites4 ,so also ,aristophanes makes the chorus of the initiated1 in his ,ranae1 to sing3-- ,let us to flowery mead repair1 ,with deathless roses blooming1 ,whose balmy sweets impregn the air1 ,both hills and dales perfuming4 ,since fate benign one choir has joined1 ,we'll trip in mystic measure2 ,in sweetest harmony combined1 ,we'll quaff full draughts of pleasure4 ,for us alone the power of day ,a milder light dispenses1 ,and sheds benign a mellow ray ,to cheer our ravished senses4 ,for we beheld the mystic show1 ,and braved ,eleusis' dangers2 ,we do and know the deeds we owe ,to neighbors1 friends1 and strangers4 ,it is believed that the higher orders of magi went further1 and pretended to hold intercourse with1 and cause to appear1 the very ,greek3 eidolon of the dead4 ,in the days of ,moses it was practised4 ,there shall not be found among you 444 a charmer1 or a consulter with familiar spirits1 or a wizard1 or a necromancer4#cb #cf ,diodorus ,siculus mentions an oracle near ,lake ,avernus1 where the dead were raised1 as having been in existence before the age of ,hercules4#cc ,plutarch1 in his life of ,cimon1 relates that ,pausanias1 in his distress1 applied to the ,psychagogi1 or dead-evokers1 at ,heraclea1 to call up the spirit of ,cleonice 7whose injured apparition haunted him incessantly71 in order that he might entreat her forgiveness4 ,she appeared accordingly1 and informed him that1 on his return to ,sparta1 he would be delivered from all his sorrows--meaning1 by death4 ,this was five hundred years before ,christ4 ,the story resembles that of the apparition of ,samuel before ,saul3 ,to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me4#cd ,the appearance of ,samuel was regarded as a real transaction by the writer of ,ecclesiasticus1 for he says3 ,by his faithfulness he was found a true prophet1 and by his word he was known to be faithful in vision2 for after his death he showed the king his end1 and lift up his voice from the earth in prophecy4#ce ,the rabbins say that the woman was the mother of ,abner2 she is said to have had the spirit of ,ob1 which ,dean ,milman has remarked is singularly similar in sound to the name of the ,obeah women in ,africa and the ,west ,indies4 ,herodotus also mentions ,thesprotia1 in ,epirus1 as the place where ,periander evoked the spirit of his wife ,melissa1 whom he had murdered4#cf #cg ,it was a very general opinion1 in later days1 that demons had power over the souls of the dead1 until ,christ descended into ,hades and delivered them from the thrall of the ,prince of ,darkness4 ,the dead were sometimes raised by those who did not possess a familiar spirit4 ,these consulters repaired to the grave at night1 and there lying down1 repeated certain words in a low1 muttering tone1 and the spirit thus summoned appeared4 ,and thou shalt be brought down1 and shalt speak out of the ground1 and thy speech shall be low out of the dust1 and thy voice shall be1 as of one that hath a familiar spirit1 out of the ground1 and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust4#cg ,euripides also refers to necromancy4#ch ,,admetus4 ,greek3 hora ge me ti phasma nerteron tod e8 ,,hercules4 ,greek3 ou psuchagogon tond' epoieso xenon4 ,,adm4 ,see6 is not this some spectre from the dead8 ,,her4 ,no dead-invoker for thy guest hast thou4 ,seneca describes the spirits of the dead as being evoked by the ,psychagogus in a cave rendered gloomy and as dark as night by the cypress1 laurel1 and other like trees4#ci ,claudian refers to the same superstition4#dj ,and ,lucan1#da where ,erictho recalls a spirit to animate #ch the body it had left1 by horrid ceremonies4 ,so ,tibullus3#db-- ,haec cantu finditque solum1 manesque sepulchris1 ,elicit1 et tepido devocat ossa toro4 ,the celebrated ,heeren1 in his ,politics of ,ancient ,greece 7ch4 iii41 p4 #fg1 ,am4 ed471 remarks1 in reference to the mysteries of ,eleusis1 that they exhibited the superiority of civilized over savage life1 and gave instructions respecting a future life and its nature4 ,for what was this more than an interpretation of the sacred traditions which were told of the goddess as the instructress in agriculture1 of the forced descent of her daughter to the lower world1 etc48 ,and we need not be more astonished if1 in some of their sacred rites1 we perceive an excitement carried to a degree of enthusiastic madness which belonged peculiarly to the ,east1 but which the ,hellenes were very willing to receive4 ,for we must not neglect to bear in mind that they shared the spirit of the ,east2 and did they not live on the very boundary-line between the ,east and the ,west8 ,as those institutions were propagated farther to the west1 they lost their original character4 ,we know what the ,bacchanalian rites became at ,rome2 and had they been introduced north of the ,alps1 what form would they have there assumed8 ,but to those countries it was possible to #ci transplant the vine1 not the service of the god to whom the vine was sacred4 ,the orgies of ,bacchus suited the cold soil and inclement forests of the ,north as little as the character of its inhabitants4 ,without going further into detail 7the minutiae of which are thus opened to every scholar71 we must presume that the mythology of the children of ,ham1 the origin of pagan worship1 fostered by variant mysteries to obtain and maintain temporal power1 spread itself through the then known world4 ,so far as we know1 the secret doctrines which were taught in the mysteries may have finally degenerated into mere forms and an unmeaning ritual4 ,and yet the mysteries exercised a great influence on the spirit of the nation1 not of the initiated only1 but also on the great mass of the people2 and perhaps they influenced the latter still more than the former4 ,they preserved the reverence for sacred things1 and this gave them their political importance4 ,they produced that effect better than any modern secret societies have been able to do4 ,the mysteries had their secrets1 but not everything connected with them was secret4 ,they had1 like those of ,eleusis1 their public festivals1 processions1 and pilgrimages1 in which none but the initiated took a part1 but of which no one was prohibited from being a spectator4 ,while the multitude was permitted to gaze at them1 it learned to believe that there was something sublimer than anything with which it was acquainted1 revealed only to the initiated2 and #dj while the worth of that sublimer knowledge did not consist in secrecy alone1 it did not lose any of its value by being concealed4 ,thus the popular religion and the secret doctrines1 although always distinguished from each other1 united in serving to curb the people4 ,the condition and the influence of religion on a nation were always closely connected with the situation of those persons who were particularly appointed for the service of the gods1 the priests4 ,the scholar will readily call to mind a ,calchas1 a ,chryses1 and others4 ,the leaders and commanders themselves1 in those days1 offered their sacrifices 7see the description which ,nestor makes to ,pallas1 ,od4 iii41 #dcj1 c471 performed the prayers1 and observed the signs which indicated the result of an undertaking4 ,in a word1 kings and leaders were at the same time ,,priests4#dc ,how far may this have been a reason why ,pharaoh did not call on a priest for help1 but rely on the supposed superior knowledge of the ,magi8 a higher grade of secret instruction1 perhaps1 than he had received4 99 99 99 99 99 #da ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,the ,origin of the ,cabbalistae2 the ,chaldeans1 and their ,antagonism to ,patriarchal ,tradition4--,the ,hand-writing on ,belshazzar's ,wall4--,the ,secret ,writings of the ,cabbalistae4--,how ,daniel read the ,same4--,ezra4--,the ,origin of the ,masoretic ,text4--,zoroaster4--,his ,reformation and ,reconstruction of the ,religion of the ,magi4--,pythagoras1 and his ,league4--,the ,thugs4--,the ,druids4 ,so far as the children of ,shem and ,japheth are concerned1 it is believed true religion was preserved1 except where tradition became adulterated with extraneous matter4 ,and for the preservation of that religion1 ,almighty ,god1 in his mercy1 established of that lineage a certain race1 with rules1 partly signifying his truth1 partly merely political1 which should thereafter shine as a moral light to the world1 no matter how dim the light might be1 through the imperfection of human nature under peculiar circumstances of temptation or otherwise4 ,here1 at once1 was an antagonism with the pagan religion1 which was of the children of ,ham1 under his father's patriarchal curse4 ,when ,moses1 the servant with the watchword1 ,i ,,am ,,that ,i ,,am1 presented himself to the ,shemitic and #db ,japhetic races1 he was everywhere received and acknowledged by them as their leader1 in opposition to both the temporal and theological power of the ,magi and of ,pharaoh4 ,here came the clashing between pagan and traditional theology preserved by the patriarchs4 ,and ,almighty ,god1 to show the truth of his laws1 sanctioned their promulgation by signs and miracles1 which the ,magi could not equal nor counteract4 ,pass by the ,israelitish history until the loss and destruction of the first temple1 when we find this religious race1 although imbued with the principles of truth1 fallen from their high estate1 and led captive into a strange land1 subject to the very people that insisted on the opposite of their own religion4 ,they were then under the control of a monarch who was governed by the laws of the ,medes and ,persians1 that is1 of the ,magi2 and who1 in turn1 relied upon their emperor1 who trusted only to his magicians1 sorcerers1 and ,chaldeans4 ,they were in ,,babylon itself4 ,to confirm what has been said1 and to elucidate what is to follow1 we will pause a moment to learn what is meant by the ,chaldeans4 ,the accounts that have been transmitted to us by the ,chaldeans themselves of the antiquity of their learning1 are blended with fable1 and involved in considerable uncertainty4 ,at the time when ,callisthenes was requested by ,aristotle to gain information concerning the origin of science in ,chaldea1 he was #dc informed that the ancestors of the ,chaldeans had continued their astronomical observations through a period of #dgj1jjj years2 but upon examining the ground of this report1 he found that the ,chaldean observation reached no further backward than #a1ijc years1 or that1 of course 7adding this number to #cca1 ,b4,c41 the year in which ,babylon was taken by ,alexander71 they had commenced in the year #b1bcd1 ,b4,c4 ,besides1 ,ptolemy mentions no ,chaldean observations prior to the era of ,nabonassar1 which commenced #gdg years ,b4,c4 ,aristotle1 however1 on the credit of the most ancient records1 speaks of the ,chaldean ,magi as prior to the ,egyptian priests1 who1 it is well known1 cultivated learning before the time of ,moses4 ,it appears probable that the philosophers of ,chaldea were the priests of the ,babylonian nation1 who instructed the people in the principles of religion1 interpreted its laws1 and conducted its ceremonies4 ,their character was similar to that of the ,persian ,magi1 and they are often confounded by the ,greek historians4 ,like the priests in most other nations1 they employed religion in subserviency to the ruling powers1 and made use of imposture to serve the purposes of civil policy4 ,accordingly ,diodorus ,siculus relates 7lib4 ii41 p4 #ca1 compared with ,daniel ii4 #a1 c41 ,eccles4 xliv4 #c7 that they pretended to predict future events by divination1 to explain prodigies1 interpret dreams1 and avert evils or confer benefits by means of augury and incantations4 ,for many ages they #dd retained a principal place among diviners4 ,in the reign of ,marcus ,antoninus1 when the emperor and his army1 who were perishing with thirst1 were suddenly relieved by a shower1 the prodigy was ascribed to the power and skill of the ,chaldean soothsayers4 ,thus accredited for their miraculous powers1 they maintained their consequence in the courts of princes4 7,see ,cic4 de ,divin4 l4 i41 ,strabo l4 xv4--,sext4 ,emp4 adv4 ,matt4 l4 v4 ,sec4 #b1 ,aul4 ,gell4 l4 xiv4 s4 #a1 ,strabo l4c47 ,the mysteries of ,chaldean philosophy were revealed only to a select few1 and studiously concealed from the multitude2 and thus a veil of sanctity was cast over their doctrine1 so that it might more easily be employed in the support of civil and religious tyranny4 ,the sum of the ,chaldean cosmogony1 as it is given in ,syncellus 7,chronic4 p4 #bh71 divested of allegory is1 that in the beginning all things consisted of darkness and water2 that ,,belus1 or a divine power1 dividing this humid mass formed the world1 and that the human mind is an emanation from the divine nature4 7,perizon4 in ,orig4 ,bab4 ,voss4 de ,scient4 ,math4 c4 xxx4 ,sec4 #e4 ,hottinger ,hist4 ,or4 p4 #cfe4 ,herbelot ,bib4 ,or4 ,voc4 ,zor4 ,anc4 ,un4 ,hist4 vol4 iii4 ,prid4 ,conn4 b4 iv4 ,shuckford1 b4 viii4 ,burnet ,archaeol4 ,phil4 l4 i4 c4 #d4 ,brucker's ,hist4 ,phil41 by ,enfield1 vol4 i4 b4 i1 c4 #c47dd ,now1 we read that1 in the second year of the reign of ,nebuchadnezzar1 ,nebuchadnezzar dreamed #de dreams1 wherewith his spirit was troubled1 and his sleep brake from him4 ,then the king commanded to call the magicians1 and the astrologers1 and the sorcerers1 and the ,chaldeans1 for to show the king his dreams4 ,so they came and stood before the king4#de ,but when by the king required not only to interpret but to reveal the very phantasm itself1 they declared it beyond the power of their own or human art4 ,daniel1 however1 of the captive race1 revealed it by supernal influence4 ,then did the monarch admit as to ,deity1 that ,god 7,,jah1 ,ps4 lxviii4 v4 #d7 was ,god of gods 7,baalim1 the representations of ,baal74#df ,his second dream was again only understood by the inspired representative of the ,hebrews4 ,but when1 finally1 appeared the stupendous handwriting on the wall1 and when ,belshazzar and his court were overwhelmed with amazement1 so that the king's countenance was changed1 and his thoughts troubled him1 so that the joints of his loins were loosed1 and his knees smote one against another1 the king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers1 the ,chaldeans1 and the soothsayers4#dg ,they came2 but all in vain4 ,daniel interpreted the hand-writing at sight1 and his reading proved true4 ,some theories prevail about this1 which1 whether correct or not1 are entitled to be understood and considered4 ,they have1 at least1 direct reference to our subject of secret instruction and writing4 #df ,the wonderful miracles of ,god at the exodus did not prevent that nation from repeated lapse into paganism1 and acts of open disobedience to the ,theocratic law4 ,still less were they debarred thereby the mere oriental customs of imparting moral instruction in secret associations1 or the pursuit of science in hidden confraternities4 ,but the train of thought and instruction in the ,hebrew societies was singularly pure1 and directly at variance with the mysteries of paganism4 ,while the whole result of the teaching of the heathen mysteries was to represent1 symbolically1 the fructifying energies of nature 7which they supposed to be the sum of both science and theology71 that of the ,israelites was the inculcation alone of virtue1 the acquisition of science1 and the preservation of the name of ,deity under peculiar forms and ceremonies1 the recognition of which by members of the initiated1 opened from one to the other every heart in perfect confidence1 constantly reminding them of their duty to him as well as to each other4 ,the whole system of oriental instruction1 save that proclaimed in ,leviticus and ,deuteronomy1 was secret4 ,even the name of ,deity could not be pronounced except at low breath1 or in a whisper1 under prescribed forms4 ,has the reader ever asked himself the meaning of the passage in the ,lord's ,prayer1 ,hallowed be thy name8 ,the ,hebrews had a visible manifestation of ,god4 ,that was not the only object of reverence4 ,it was limited #dg not to any manifestation1 but to the name of ,deity4 ,and that teaching has received the express recognition of our ,saviour1 by his making it a part of the selections from the ,jewish euchologies which form his prayers4 ,we profess to worship ,deity in spirit and in truth4 ,do we hallow his name8 ,mere abstinence from profanation is a negative duty4 ,how must it be hallowed8 ,that is a positive duty4 ,christianity1 rejecting the ,hebrew form1 regards this as a mere ,hebraism1 substituting the name for the being himself4 ,the ,israelites do not3 and one secret society still existing1 whose origin we shall trace in this essay1 still preserves the ,hebraistic sanctification of the original holy name as their form of recognition of each other1 under solemnities which hallow it4 ,we know that ,moses#dh was learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 and was mighty in words and deeds4 ,at his day pagan hieratic and hieroglyphic symbols only were written on papyrus1 or carved and engraved on stone4 ,take1 then1 the fact1 that the ,hebrew patriarchs and their tribes of his time were suffering under the persecution of hard task-masters in ,egypt4 ,how could their patriarchs teach to their classes the lessons of virtue and morality8 ,we can readily suppose at the conclusion of a toilsome day1 when all is dark1 and tired nature would otherwise be at rest1 he that had patriarchal authority1 at dead of night1 when #dh their pagan rulers could not hear1 and while due guard was kept1 whether on high hills1 or in low vales1 would summon together those who were worthy ,,to ,,receive instruction in moral science1 virtue1 and their patriarchal traditions1 and there--taking as emblems their instruments of daily toil--preserve the lessons which thus alone could be imparted4 ,this we believe to be the origin of the ,,cabbalists1 or ,kabbalistae1 a secret society among the ,hebrews1 whose origin is lost in antiquity1 yet whose knowledge may1 under ,god's blessing1 have been an instrument in accomplishing his great results4 ,their very name is derived from the ,hebrew word ,hebrew3 ,,qbl 7,cabbala1 to receive74 ,this society of ,cabbalistae1 had various methods of secret writing4 ,their first was the scriptura coelestis2 the second1 that of angels1 or kingly or dominant power2 the third1 that of the passage of the flood 7,scriptura transitus fluvii74 ,breithaupt#di says3 ,it is to be recollected1 that the more ancient of the ,kabbalistae1 studied out even a secret method of writing1 consisting of four lines intersecting each other at right angles1 forming a square in the middle1 #di after the following method4 ,the figure of the four lines is thus3-- shin lamed gimel resh kaph beth qoph yod aleph ---------------------------------------- ---------- mem99 samekh vav kaph99 nun he tav mem daleth ---------------------------------------- ---------- tsade99 tsade tet pe99 pe chet nun99 ayin zayin ,in each section three letters they place from right to left4 ,when1 therefore1 they intend the first of the three1 they write the figure of that section in which it is found1 with one point 7,symbol3 ,l with one dot74 ,if another 7or the next71 the same figure with two points 7,symbol3 ,l with two dots72 if the third1 the same again with three points 7,symbol3 ,l with three dots71 and so on4 ,but the ,cabbalistae had also a simpler writing3 ,the sublime philosophy of those who are called the ,kabbala1 embraces within itself different kinds to which the following appertain4 ,in their most famous magic pamphlet ,rasiel1 which the ,kabbalistae hold in great respect1 in the first place three secret alphabets are read1 which1 in many things1 are wanting in the common form and syntax of usual ,hebrew4 ,the first is called ,scriptura coelestis 7the writing of heaven72 the next1 ,hebrew3 ,,ml',,kym or ,hebrew3 ,,mlkym1 that is1 of angels or kings 7angelorum sive regum72 and the third the writing of the crossing of the flood4#ej ,there #ej are extant also1 drawings of these letters preserved by ,hern4 ,corn4 ,agrippa1 in his work ,de ,occult4 ,phil4 lib4 iii4 c4 #cj1 the copying of which would be merely matter of curiosity to no end4 ,but ,breithaupt goes much further1 and refers to a book1 ,in ,oenigmatibus ,judaeorum ,religiosissimis4 ,helmst4 #agjh1 editio1 p4 #di1 wherein he says1#ea that ,herm4 ,vonder ,hardt1 the most celebrated philologist of our age1 remembers two singular alphabets used by the ,jews in preparing their amulets4 ,the first is #ea when the next succeeding is substituted for the preceding letter in every instance1 as to wit3 ,hebrew3 ,b for ,hebrew3 '1 ,hebrew3 ,g for ,hebrew3 ,b1 and so forth4 ,they are said to have concealed in this manner their recognition of the one true ,god1 which they recite daily1 early and toward evening1 and as to which they persuade themselves that it is the most efficacious safeguard against idolatry1 fortified wherewith they can not lapse from true to false religion4 ,the other secret alphabet consisted in this1 that in inversed order they change the last letter ,hebrew3 ,t with the first ,hebrew3 '1 and this and another in turn1 and so on through the rest1 which inversion it is the custom to call ,hebrew3 ',,tbsh4 ,from this they produce1 by such letters1 in their more elaborate amulets1 the noted symbol ,hebrew3 ,,mtspts1 which is nothing else than the name of ,god1 ,hebrew3 ,,yhwh4 ,st4 ,jerome1#eb a celebrated father of the early church1 contends that the prophet ,jeremiah used this kind of writing1 and not to irritate the king of ,babylon against the ,hebrews1 for king1 ,hebrew3 ,,bbl1 said ,hebrew3 ,,shshk4 ,but some1 also1 among the ,jews1 declare that these words in ,daniel1 ,hebrew3 ,,mn' ,,mn' ,,tql ,,wprsyn1 which1 at the supper of the ,king ,belzhazzar miraculously appeared upon the wall1 to the astonishment of all1 were written in this mode2 and hence think this artificial transposition of letters originated with ,god4 ,but these things are to be passed by as #eb uncertain4 ,if this last be true1 the handwriting on the wall would have appeared thus3 ,hebrew3 ,,yt,t ,,yt,t ',,rb ,,pwgchmt#ec ,but according to the first system referred to1 the following would have been the appearance4#ed ,illustration 7,see ,conf4 ,jan4 ,hercvles de ,svnde in ,steganologia1 lib4 v41 num4 #d41 p4 #adh4 seqq47 ,if the society of ,kabbalistae originated among the ,israelites as early as the time of ,moses1 their secret writings must having been only known to him and few besides1 with their successors4 ,solomon1 to whom ,almighty ,god declared wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee1#ee must have learned them2 or1 if it originated with him1 ,daniel and ,ezra1 who lived in a succeeding age2 after the great temple had been destroyed1 during the captivity1 and at the rebuilding of the second temple1 both inspired servants of ,god1 equally knew them2 and when the inscriptions on the wall1 or on the ark1 or in the sacred rolls1 were lost and unknown to the people1 they were easily deciphered by means of the knowledge of the ,kabbalistic character1 no matter what its form4 ,thus when ,daniel saw the handwriting on #ec the wall he read it at once1 possessed as he may have been of the knowledge how to read that cipher1 while it can readily be seen why the ,magi of ,chaldea1 and of ,media and ,persia1 were at fault4 ,it was a secret writing of the ,hebrews1 known only to the select few4 ,ezra1 in the reign of ,artaxerxes1 king of ,persia1 was chief-priest4 ,this ,ezra went up from ,babylon1 and he was a ready scribe in the law of ,moses1 which the ,lord ,god of ,israel had given4#ef ,this was1 then1 no new matter to him4 ,the book of the law had been lost during the captivity4 ,yet1 at the rebuilding of the temple1 ,ezra was a ready scribe in that lost writing4 ,as such he went up from ,babylon to ,jerusalem4 ,the wisdom of ,god granted to ,solomon1 must have provided against the foreseen loss of the sacred rolls1 and determined a way for their discovery1 and the manner of reading them4 ,the lost rolls were brought forth by ,ezra1 and were read1 notwithstanding the ignorance of their ancient language4 ,in what way1 so consistent with reason1 as by his understanding the secret writing known only to the learned of that race--the hidden scripture and instruction of a mysterious society1 whose only teaching was pure1 in accordance with the divine commands of the theocracy1 and with the oriental manner of instruction in matters of science and morality8 ,did this not furnish him a key to the original text8 ,the words of #ed the one must have been recognised by their original use in application to the reading of the other2 and though the language may have changed1 the old cipher must have interpreted all4 ,we learn that1 after the second veil1 the tabernacle1 which is called the holiest of all1 which had the golden censer1 and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold1 wherein was the golden pot that had manna1 and ,aaron's rod that budded1 and the tables of the covenant1 were entered4#eg ,the book 7or rolls7 of the law was commanded to be put within the ark4#eh ,the end of laying it there was1 that it1 as the original1 might be reserved there as the authentic copy1 by which all others were to be corrected and set right4#ei ,prideaux contends that1 the ark deposited in the second temple was only a representative of a former ark on the great day of expiation1 and to be a repository of the ,holy ,scriptures1 that is1 of the original copy of that collection which was made of them after the captivity1 by ,ezra and the men of the great synagogue2 for when this copy was perfected1 it was then laid up in it4 ,and in imitation hereof1 the ,jews1 in all their synagogues1 have a like ark or coffer1#fj of the same size or form1 in which they keep the ,scriptures belonging to the #ee ,synagogue2 and whence they take it out with great solemnity1 whenever they use it1 and return it with the like when they have done with it4 ,what became of the old ark1 on the destruction of the temple by ,nebuchadnezzar1 is a dispute among the ,rabbins4 ,the ,jews--and herein they are supported by the traditions of the most ancient secret society on earth--contend that it was hid and preserved1 by ,jeremiah1 say some1 out of the second book of ,maccabees4#fa ,but most of them will have it1 that ,king ,josiah1 being foretold by ,huldah1 the prophetess1 that the temple would speedily1 after his death1 be destroyed1 caused the ark to be put in a vault under ground1 which ,solomon1 foreseeing this destruction1 had caused of purpose to be built for the preserving of it4 ,and1 for the proof hereof1 they produce the text where ,josiah commands the ,levites#fb to put the holy ark in the house1 which ,solomon1 the son of ,david1 king of ,israel1 did build4#fc ,whether within or without the ark1 or within a secret vault or not1 ,,ezra1 the scribe1 brought forth the lost book or rolls of the law1 and established the rules for its future perpetuity1 whether by writing1 or in oral explanation4 ,and here1 again1 we note the use of secrecy in matters of power4 ,from him is derived the present method of reading ,hebrew1 by what is usually known as the #ef vowel points in the ,masoretic text4 ,the ,masorites were a set of men whose profession it was to write out copies of the ,hebrew ,scriptures4 ,and the present vowel points were used by them1 as derived from the secret writings of the ,cabbalists4 ,the ,jews believe that1 when ,god gave to ,moses the law in ,mount ,sinai1 he taught him first the true readings of it2 and1 secondly1 the true interpretation of it2 and that both these were handed down1 from generation to generation1 by oral tradition only1 till at length the readings were written by the accents and vowels1 in like manner as the interpretations were1 by the ,mishna and ,gemara4 ,the former they call ,masorah1 which signifieth tradition4 ,the other is called ,cabbala1 which signifieth reception2 but both of them denote the same thing1 that is1 a knowledge down from generation to generation1 in the doing of which1 there being tradition on the one hand1 and reception on the other1 that which relates to the readings of the ,hebrew ,scriptures hath its name from the former1 and that which relates to the interpretations of them from the latter4 ,as those who studied and taught the ,cabbala were called the ,cabbalists1 so those who studied and taught the ,masorah were called the ,masorites4 ,as the whole business of the ,cabbalists and ,masorites was the study of the true reading of the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 to preserve and teach the proper text1 they certainly are justly held the most likely to have invented1 or at least #eg received and preserved these vowel points1 because the whole use of these points is to serve to this purpose4#fd ,about this time1 in the reign of ,darius1 otherwise ,artaxerxes1 who sent ,ezra and ,nehemiah to ,jerusalem to restore the state of the ,jews1 first appeared in ,persia the famous prophet of the ,magi1 whom the ,persians call ,zerdusht1 or ,zaratush1 and the ,greeks ,zoroastres3 born of mean and obscure parentage1 with all the craft and enterprising boldness of ,mohammed1 but much more knowledge4 ,he was excellently skilled in all the learning of the ,east that was in his time2 whereas the other could neither read nor write4 ,he was thoroughly versed in the ,jewish religion1 and in all the sacred writings of the ,old ,testament that were then extant1 which makes it most likely that he was1 in his origin1 a ,jew4 ,it is generally said of him1 that he had been a servant to one of the prophets of ,israel1 and that it was by this means that he came to be so well skilled in the ,holy ,scriptures1 and all other ,jewish knowledge4 ,from the collation of authorities made by ,dr4 ,prideaux1#fe it would seem that it was ,daniel under whom he served2 besides whom there was not any other master in those times1 under whom he could acquire all that knowledge1 both in things sacred and profane1 which he was so well furnished with4 ,he founded no new #eh religion1 but only reformed the old one4 ,he found that the eminent of the ,magi usurped the sovereignty after the death of ,cambyses4 ,but they were destroyed1 and by the slaughter which was then made of all the chief men among them1 it sunk so low1 that it became almost extinct1 and ,sabianism everywhere prevailed against it1 ,darius and most of his followers on that occasion going over to it4 ,but the affection which the people had for the religion of their forefathers1 and which they had all been brought up in1 not being easily to be rooted out1 ,zoroastres saw that the revival of this was the best game of imposture that he could then play2 and having so good an old stock to engraft upon1 he with greater ease made his new scions grow4 ,he first made his appearance in ,media1 now called ,aderbijan1 in the city of ,xix1 say some2 in that of ,ecbatana1 now ,tauris1 say others4 ,the chief reformation which he made in the ,magian religion was in the first principles of it3 for whereas before they had held the being of ,,two ,,first ,,causes1 the first light1 or the good ,god1 who was the author of all good2 and the other darkness1 or the evil god1 who was the author of all evil2 and that of the mixture of these two1 as they were in a continual struggle with each other1 all things were made2 he introduced a principle superior to them both1 ,,one ,,supreme ,,god1 who created both light and darkness1 and out of these two1 according to the alone pleasure of his own will1 made all things else that are1 according to what is #ei said3#ff ,i am the ,lord1 and there is none else1 there is no ,god besides me3 ,i girded thee1 though thou hast not known me3 that they may know from the rising of the sun1 and from the west1 that there is none besides me4 ,i am the ,lord1 and there is none else4 ,i form the light1 and create darkness3 ,i make peace1 and create evil3 ,i the ,lord do all these things4 ,these words1 directed to ,cyrus1 king of ,persia1 must be understood as spoken in reference to the ,persian sect of the ,magians1 who then held light and darkness1 or good and evil1 to be the supreme beings1 without acknowledging the great ,god who is superior to both4 ,to avoid making ,god the author of evil1 ,zoroaster's doctrine was1 that ,god originally and directly created only light or good1 and that darkness1 or evil1 followed it by consequence1 as the shadow doth the person2 that light or good had only a real production from ,god1 and the other afterward resulted from it as the defect thereof4 ,in sum1 his doctrine as to this particular was1 that there was one ,supreme ,being1 independent and self-existent from all eternity4 ,that under him were two angels1 one the angel of light1 who is the author and director of all good2 and the other the angel of darkness1 who is the author and director of all evil2 and that these two1 out of the mixture of light and darkness1 made all things that are2 that they are in a perpetual struggle with each other2 and that when the angel of light prevails1 then the most #fj is good1 and when the angel of darkness prevails1 then the most is evil2 that this struggle shall continue to the end of the world2 that then there shall be a general resurrection1 and a day of judgment1 wherein just retribution shall be rendered to all according to their works1 c4 ,and all this the remainder of that sect1 which is now in ,persia and ,india do1 without any variation1 after so many ages still hold1 even to this day4 ,another reformation which he made in the ,magian religion was1 that he caused fire temples to be built wherever he came3 this being to prevent their sacred fires1 on the tops of hills1 from being put out by storms1 and that the public offices of their religion might be the better performed before the people4 ,zoroaster pretended he was taken up into heaven1 there to be instructed in those doctrines which he was to deliver unto men4 ,mohammed pretended to have seen ,god4 ,zoroaster was too well informed for such imposture4 ,he only claimed to have heard him speaking to him out of the midst of a great and most bright flame of fire2 and he1 therefore1 taught his followers that fire was the truest shechinah of the divine presence4 ,his followers thereafter worshipped the sun as the most perfect fire of ,god4 ,but this was an original usage of the ,magi 7referred to in ,ezekiel viii4 #af71 where it is related1 that the prophet being carried in a vision to ,jerusalem1 had there shown him about five-and-twenty men standing between the porch and the altar1 with #fa their backs toward the temple of the ,lord1 and their faces toward the east2 and they worshipped the sun4 ,the meaning of which is1 that they had turned their backs upon the true worship of ,god1 and had gone over to that of the ,magians4#fg ,the ,kebla1 or point of the heavens toward which they directed their worship being toward the rising sun1 that of the ,jews in ,jerusalem to the ,holy of ,holies on the west end of the temple2 of those elsewhere toward ,jerusalem2 of the ,mohammedans toward ,mecca1 and the ,sabians toward the meridian4 ,come whence it may1 what is the meaning of the use of fire in any divine worship8 #a4 ,burnt-offerings of old required it4 #b4 ,it descended on the altars of ,elijah1 and of ,solomon1 from ,god himself4 #c4 ,the ,magi1 from the time of ,zoroaster1 have deemed it the symbol of purity4 #d4 ,the pagan mysteries in ,egypt1 ,greece1 and ,rome1 all preserved the sacred fire4 ,most religions seem to have adopted its use4 ,why8 #e4 ,the ,catholic church has ever preserved its use in burning tapers1 lamps1 and smoking incense4 ,in his reformation of the customs and rites of the ,magi1 ,zoroaster1 as has been hereinbefore said1 preserved their three grades of ,,apprentices1 ,,masters1 and ,,perfect ,,masters4#fh ,the first were the inferior clergy1 who served in all the common offices of their #fb divine worship2 next above them were the superintendents1 who in their several districts governed the inferior clergy1 as bishops do with us2 and above all was the perfect-master1 the archimagus1 who was the head of the whole religion4 ,accordingly their places of worship were of three sorts4 ,the lowest sort were parochial oratories served by the inferior clergy1 where they read the daily offices out of their liturgy1 and on solemn occasions read part of their sacred writings to the people4 ,in these churches there were no fire altars2 but the small scintilla of sacred fire preserved in them1 was kept only in a lamp4 ,next above these were their fire temples1 in which fire was continually burning on a sacred altar4 ,the highest church of all was the fire-temple1 the residence of the archimagus1 first established by ,zoroaster at ,balch1 but removed in the seventh century to ,kerman1 a province in ,persia on the southern ocean4 ,to gain the better reputation to his pretensions1 ,zoroaster first retired to a cave1 and there lived a long time as a recluse1 pretending to be abstracted from all earthly considerations1 and to be given wholly to prayer and divine meditations2 and the more to amuse the people who there resorted to him1 he dressed up his cave with several mystical figures1 representing ,mithra1 and other mysteries of their religion4 ,in this cave he wrote his book1 called ,zendavesta1 or ,zend1 meaning fire-kindler1 or tinder-box4 ,this book contains much borrowed #fc from the ,old ,testament4 ,he even called it the book of ,abraham1 and his religion the religion of ,abraham2 for he pretended that the reformation which he introduced was no more than to bring back the religion of the ,persians to that original purity in which ,abraham practised it1 by purging it of all those defects1 abuses1 and innovations1 which the corruptions of after-times had introduced into it4#fi ,is it not singular that all the nations of the earth still trace their teaching in pure religion to ,abraham1 whether under the name of ,brahma1 or otherwise8 ,these ancient ,magi were great mathematicians1 philosophers1 and divines of the ages in which they lived1 and had no other knowledge but what by their own study1 and the instructions of the ancients of their sect they had improved themselves in4 ,all of the ,magi were not thus learned1 only those of the higher order4 ,the priesthood1 like the ,jewish1 was communicated only from father to son1 except to the royal family1#gj whom they were bound to instruct1 the better to fit them for government4 ,whether it were that these ,magians thought it would bring the greater credit to them1 or the kings1 that it would add a greater sacredness to their persons1 or from both these causes1 the royal family of ,persia1 so long as the ,magi prevailed among them1 was always reckoned #fd of the sacerdotal tribe4#ga ,the kings of ,persia were looked on to be of that sacerdotal order1 and were always initiated into the sacred rites of the ,magians1 before they took on them the crown1 or were inaugurated into the kingdom4#gb ,,pythagoras next assumed1 in the west1 the most prominent place for learning4 ,he was the scholar of ,zoroaster at ,babylon1 and learned of him most of that knowledge which afterward rendered him so famous4 ,so saith ,apulcius 7,floridorum secundo71 and so say ,jamblichus 7in vita ,pythag4 c4 #d71 ,porphyry 7,ibid4 p4 #ahe4 edit4 ,cant471 and ,clemens ,alexandrinus 7,stromata i4 p4 #bbc7 for the ,zabratus or ,zaratus of ,porphyry1 and the ,na-,zaratus of ,clemens1 were none other than this ,zoroaster2 and they relate the matter thus3 that when ,cambyses conquered ,egypt he found ,pythagoras there on his travels1 for the improvement of himself in the learning of that country2 that1 having taken him prisoner1 he sent him1 with other captives1 to ,babylon1 where ,zoroaster 7or ,zabratus1 as ,porphyry calls him7 then lived2 and that he there became his disciple1 and learned many things of him in the eastern learning4 ,there may be error as to date1 but that ,pythagoras was at ,babylon1 and learned there a great part of that knowledge which he was afterward so famous for1 is agreed by #fe all4 ,his stay there1 ,jamblichus tells us1 was twelve years2 and that1 in his converse with the ,magians1 he learned from them arithmetic1 music1 the knowledge of divine things1 and the sacred mysteries pertaining thereto4 ,but the most important doctrine which he brought home thence1 was that of the immortality of the soul2 for it was generally agreed among the ancients 7,porphysius in vita ,pythagorae p4 #ahh1 edit41 ,cant4 ,jamblichus in vita ,pyth4 c4 #cj71 that he was the first of all the ,greeks that taught it4 ,prideaux says he takes this for certain1 that ,pythagoras had this from ,zoroaster1 for it was his doctrine1 and he is the earliest heathen on record who taught it4#gc ,but ,pythagoras seems to have combined the notions he then received with those of the ,egyptian ,magi2 for he taught immortality to consist in constant transmigration from one body to another4 ,the ,egyptian ,magi claimed to be judges of the dead1#gd and taught this doctrine4 ,zoroaster taught a resurrection from the dead1 and an immortal state as we understand it4 ,and it is probable ,pythagoras adopted this notion after he fled from ,samos to ,egypt to escape from the government of ,polycrates4 ,be this as it may1 he was a master-spirit in a secret society with its lodges spread through ,magna ,graecia1 originating in one he established at ,crotona in ,lower ,italy4 ,like that of the ,cabbalists1 this society had no connection whatever with the dominant religion4 #ff ,the ,kabbalistae taught virtue and science1 and thus were1 perhaps1 an auxiliary1 but certainly no opponent to the sacred teachings of the holy law4 ,the ,pythagorean league taught philosophy alone2 full instruction was given in the liberal arts and sciences in accordance with the learning of that age4 ,but1 after it was thought destroyed 7and it was suppressed by ,cylon and his faction1 about the year #ejj ,b4,c471 it still exercised a great influence over all ,greece1 in such manner as that ,heeren speaks of it as a phenomenon which is in many respects without a parallel4 ,the grand object of the moral reform of ,pythagoras was ,,self-,,government4 ,by his dignity1 moral purity1 dress1 and eloquence1 he excited not only attention but enthusiasm4 ,in that day an aristocracy prevailed in ,magna ,graecia1 based chiefly on the corrupting tendencies of wealth and luxury4 ,against this class a popular movement commenced1 by the influence whereof ,sybaris was destroyed1 and thereupon five hundred nobles fled for safety to ,crotona1 and prayed for protection from that city1 which they obtained principally by the advice of ,pythagoras4 7,diod4 ,sic4 xii4 p4 #gg4 ,wechel47 ,aristocratic evils he abrogated4 ,a friend of the people1 he recognised their equal rights3 and it would seem that1 while he adopted grades in knowledge and moral worth1 he considered mankind on a level so far as all political power was concerned4 ,to accomplish this end1 he prescribed in his own society1 and their affiliated #fg lodges1 or meetings1 a certain manner of life1 distinguished by a most cleanly but not luxurious clothing1 a regular diet1 a methodical division of time1 part of which was to be appropriated to one's self1 and part to the state4 ,heeren remarks1 that when a secret society pursues political ends1 it naturally follows that an opposing party increases in the same degree in which the preponderating influence of such a society becomes more felt4 ,in this case1 the opposition existed already in the popular party4 ,it therefore only needed a daring leader1 like ,cylon1 to scatter the society by violence2 the assembly was surprised1 and most of them cut down1 while a few only1 with their master1 escaped4 ,they are said1 so far as their political views were concerned1 to have regarded anarchy as the greatest evil1 because man can not exist without social order4 ,they held that everything depended on the relation between the governing and the governed2 that the former should be not only prudent but mild2 and that the latter should not only obey1 but love their magistrates2 that it was necessary to grow accustomed1 even in boyhood1 to regard order and harmony as beautiful and useful1 disorder and confusion as hateful and injurious4 ,they were not blindly attached to a single form of government1 but insisted that there should be no unlawful tyranny4 ,where a regal government existed1 kings should be subject to the laws1 and act only as the chief magistrates4 ,they regarded a #fh mixed constitution as the best1 and where the administration rested principally in the hands of the upper class1 they reserved a share of it for the people4 ,the writings of the ,pythagoreans commanded high prices1 but gained political importance only so far as they contributed to the education of distinguished men1 of whom ,epaminondas was one4#ge ,another scion of these methods of secret instruction1 wherein1 however1 religion was the engine of political power1 came from the ancient ,assyrian stock with ,phoenician emigration to ,great ,britain4 ,the ,,druids controlled the learning of that country in religion as in science2 and by their mysteries exerted an overwhelming influence upon the rulers and the masses4 ,dr4 ,parsons#gf says1 what were the filids1 and bards1 and the ,druids1 but professors of the sciences among the ,gomerians1 and ,magogians or ,scythians1 and it is plain that1 from ,phenius downward1 there were always1 in every established kingdom among the ,scythians1 philosophers and wise men1 who1 at certain times1 visited the ,greek sages1 after they had found their schools8 ,it is no easy matter to point out the first rise and ages of the ,druids4 ,they taught the same opinions of the renovated state of the earth1 and of souls1 with the ,magi4 ,according to ,caesar1 in his time these ,druids instructed their youth in the #fi nature and motion of the stars1 in the theory of the earth1 its magnitude1 and of the world1 and in the power of the immortal gods4 ,on the continent of ,europe1 he says1 the ,druids grew into such power and ascendency over the minds of the people1 that even the kings themselves paid an implicit slavish obedience to their dictates2 insomuch1 that their armies were brave in battle1 or abject enough to decline even the most advantageous prospects of success1 according to the arbitrary prognostics of this set of religious tyrants2 and their decisions became at last peremptory in civil1 as well as in the affairs of religion4 ,one of the kings of ,ireland1 the learned ,carmac o' ,quin1 great in law and philosophy1 who was not afraid to inveigh openly against the corruptions and superstition of the ,druids1 and maintained1 in his disputations against them1 that the original theology consisted in the worship of one omnipotent1 eternal ,being1 that created all things2 that this was the true religion of their ancestors2 and that the numerous gods of the ,druids were only absurdity and superstition--proved fatal to him4 ,for1 as this society saw an impending danger of their dissolution1 they formed a deep conspiracy against him1 and he was murdered4 ,the ,druids on the continent never committed their mysteries to writing1 but taught their pupils memoriter4 ,the ,irish and ,scotch ,druids wrote theirs1 but in secret character4 ,these were well understood by the learned men who were in great numbers1 and had #gj not only genius but an ardent inclination to make researches into science4 ,st4 ,patrick1 then1 with the general consent and applause of the learned of that day1 committed to the flames almost two hundred tracts of their pagan mysteries4#gg ,and with his day ended the last of druidical superstition4 ,the ,druids preserved the mistletoe evergreen as an emblem of nature's fructifying energy1 and of immortality4 ,the ,thugs1 ,assassins1 ,phanzigars1 or by what other name they may be known1 were no society for the development of philosophy or religion2 and1 although they began about this time1 are unworthy of farther mention4 ,their mysteries1 if any1 were only those of the highway robber1 murderer1 or other violater of ,god's law4 ,their only secrecy was the concealment of their crime4 99 99 99 99 99 #ga ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,discipline of the ,secret in the ,origin of the ,christian ,church4--,the ,inquisition4--,the ,mystics4--,the rise of ,monachism4--,the ,mendicant ,orders4--,the ,order of ,knighthood4--,the ,jesuits1 their ,organization1 and ,history4--,the ,rosicrucians1 c4 ,but next appeared upon the stage of human life1 our ,lord and ,saviour1 ,,jesus ,,christ2 ,the sun of ,righteousness1 rising with healing on his wings3 that ,,light of this world1 which was to draw all men unto him1 at the mention of whose name every knee should bow1 of things in heaven1 and things in earth1 and things under the earth4#gh ,his lessons to man were all oral4 ,the church he established received none but traditional instruction4 ,the gospels of his life were written more than half a century after the crucifixion4 ,the apostles1 commissioned to go forth and preach the ,gospel1 held their meetings in upper chambers1 and in secrecy1 and part of their manner of teaching1 if not all1 was founded upon the still-prevailing systems of the ,kabbalistae and philosophers4 ,there were grades observed in the orders of ministry4 ,the diaconate1 the #gb presbyter1 priest or elder1 and the ,greek3 episkopos or bishop4 ,so there were three grades of the laity--catechumens1 7not yet baptized17 baptized persons1 and the faithful4 ,the policy of the apostles 7who1 when they were taught to be harmless1 were to be wise7 adapted itself to the then existing state of affairs4 ,it was not only for fear of the ,jews1 as at first1 that they adopted the method of instruction in secret1 and which is to this day recognised by the catholic church as the then disciplina arcani1 or discipline of the secret2 but they kept it up even during the times of persecution1 down to the time of ,st4 ,augustin4 ,when our ,saviour was insulted by the scribes and ,pharisees1 saying1 why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders8 c4 ,he said to them1 why do ye also transgress the commandment of ,god by your tradition8#gi ,still more did he rebuke them1 when they asked him1 why walk not thy disciples according to the traditions of the elders1 but eat bread with unwashen hands8 ,in his answer1 he replied1 laying aside the commandment of ,god1 ye hold the tradition of men1 as the washing of pots and cups1 c41 c4 ,and he said unto them1 ,full well ye reject the commandment of ,god1 that ye may keep your own tradition4#hj ,st4 ,paul afterward1 well knowing the then systems of philosophy1 and their then traditional instruction1 wrote to them at ,philippi1#ha ,beware lest any man spoil you through #gc philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men1 after the rudiments 7or elements7 of this world1 and not after ,christ4 ,then ,st4 ,paul1 guarding the early ,christians so carefully1 writes to the faithful in ,thessaly1 ,now we command you1 brethren1 in the name of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly1 and not after the tradition which ye have received of us1#hb c4 ,when ,st4 ,paul preached on the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread1 it was in an upper chamber where they were gathered together4#hc ,at an earlier date1 the first day of the week after the crucifixion1 in the evening1 when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled1 for fear of the ,jews1 came ,jesus1 and stood in the midst1 c4#hd ,when ,pliny was proconsul in ,judea1 such charges were made against the ,christians on account of their secrecy1 as caused severe persecution1 not for matters of religion1 but for supposed cannibalism4 ,he writes to ,trajan1 that he took all pains to inform himself as to the character of the ,christian sect4 ,to do this he questioned such as had for many years been separated from the ,christian community1 but though apostates rarely speak well of the society to which they formerly belonged1 he could find out nothing4 ,he then applied torture to two female-slaves1 deaconesses1 to extort from them the truth4 ,after all1 he could learn only that the #gd ,christians were in the habit of meeting together on a certain day2 that they then united in a hymn of praise to their ,god1 ,christ2 and that they bound one another--not to commit crimes1 but to refrain from theft1 from adultery1 to be faithful in performing their promises1 to withhold from none the property intrusted to their keeping2 and then separated and afterward assembled at a simple and innocent meal4#he ,evidently1 the ,christian mysteries were preserved secret from the ,romans as from the ,jews1 or such crime could never have been imputed to them4 ,alluding to the secret traditional instruction prevalent in ,judea and adopted by the early church1 ,st4 ,augustin writes1 ,you have heard the great mystery4 ,ask a man1 ',are you a ,christian8' ,he answers you1 ',i am not4' ',perhaps you are a pagan1 or a ,jew8' ,but if he has answered ',i am not2' then put this question to him1 ',are you a catechumen1 or one of the faith8' ,if he shall answer you1 ',i am a catechumen2' he is anointed but not yet baptized4 ,but1 whence anointed8 ask him4 ,and he replies4 ,ask of him in whom he believes4 ,from the fact that he is a catechumen1 he says1 in ,christ4 ,this is the third lecture of ,st4 ,augustin on the ninth chapter of ,st4 ,john's gospel1 where our ,saviour is portrayed as healing the blind man1 by mixing earth with spittle and anointing his eyes therewith4 ,and ,st4 ,augustin adds1 ,why have ,i spoken of #ge spittle and of mud8 ,because the word is made flesh2 this the catechumens hear2 but it is not sufficient for them as to what they were anointed2 let them hasten to the font1 if they desire light4#hf ,but still further to mark the distinction between these grades of ,christian secret instruction1 ,st4 ,augustin1 in the eleventh tract on the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 treating of the conversation between ,nicodemus and our ,saviour1 as to regeneration1 says1 ,if1 therefore1 ,nicodemus was of the multitude who believed in his name1 now in that ,nicodemus we comprehend why ,jesus did not trust them4 ,jesus answered and said to him1 ',verily1 verily ,i say unto you1 unless any one shall have been born again1 he can not see the kingdom of ,god4' ,jesus placed faith1 therefore1 in those who were born again4 ,lo6 they believed in him1 and ,jesus did not trust in them4 ,such are all catechumens3 they now believe in the name of ,christ1 but ,jesus does not confide in them4 ,let your love comprehend and understand this4 ,if we say to a catechumen1 ',do you believe in ,christ8' ,he answers1 #gf ',i do1' and signs himself with ,christ's cross3 he bears it on his forehead1 and blushes not at his ,lord's cross4 ,lo6 he believes in his name4 ,let us ask him1 ',do you eat the flesh of the son of man1 and drink his blood8' ,he knows not what we say1 because ,jesus has not trusted him4#hg ,now we are told in ,holy ,writ in reference to this matter4 ,st4 ,paul1 alluding to this secret traditional instruction in the several degrees of ,christian learning1 says to those advanced to a higher or more perfect degree3 and ,i1 brethren1 could not speak unto you as unto spiritual1 but as unto carnal1 even as to babes in ,christ4 ,i have fed you with milk1 and not with meat3 for hitherto ye were not able to bear it1 neither yet now are ye able4#hh ,even their first lessons in the great mystery were imperfect4 ,other and further instruction was to complete it4 ,so also ,st4 ,peter saith in his general letter1 ,wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies #gg and all evil speakings1 as new-born babes1 desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby4#hi ,and again1 ,st4 ,paul saith1#ij ,for when for the time ye ought to be teachers1 ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of ,god2 and are become such as have need of milk1 and not of strong meat4 ,for every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness3 for he is a babe4 ,but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age1 even those who by reason of use 7habit1 or perfection7 have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil4 ,therefore leaving the principles 7the word of the beginning of ,christ7 of the doctrine of ,christ1 let us go on to perfection1#ia c4 ,we need not here refer to the wonderful spread of ,christianity4 ,we learn a plain and simple lesson taught by ,jesus1 as to the administration of his church4 ,these twelve ,jesus sent forth1 and commanded them1 saying1 ,go not into the way of the ,gentiles1 c4 ,heal the sick1 cleanse the lepers1 raise the dead1 cast out devils3 freely have ye received1 freely give4 ,provide neither gold1 nor silver1 nor brass1 in your purses3 nor scrip for your journey1 neither two coats1 neither shoes1 nor yet a staff2 for the workman is worthy of his meat4#ib ,when questioned before ,pilate1 he declared1 ,my kingdom is not of this world4#ic ,whether the successors of the #gh apostles have or not1 since that day1 established a kingdom of this world1 is not for us here to discuss4 ,whether those that claim such succession obey the precept quoted1 or not1 we do not interfere with4 ,to insure unity in the church throughout the world1 prudence would suggest that there should be some place1 free from the control of worldly politics1 whence its teachings should issue1 and its counsels be heard4 ,in its infancy the ,christian church suffered bitterly from persecution4 ,the faithful everywhere received a crown of martyrdom4 ,when earthly terrors interposed1 the blood of the martyrs proved the seed of the church4 ,it is for us1 however1 to trace in history the secret teachings of those who have claimed its highest authority in any denomination1 and if we do not reach their private counsels1 their acts proclaim them4 ,has1 or not1 each ,christian church been tempted by worldly power1 wealth1 and honor1 like all other systems of religion8 ,have there existed within their jurisdiction1 confraternities1 with secular power1 directly or indirectly under their control1 seeking by secret measures to manage the government of the nations of this earth8 ,that great ,creator1 whose word is truth which can not change1 declared as law to govern all his creatures1 ,,thou ,,shalt ,,not ,,kill4 ,what saith history of those who claim to have acted in his name8 ,why1 and in what manner did they act8 #gi ,the south of ,france in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries became a scene of blood1 the immediate cause of which was the erections of the tribunals of faith1 better known to us as a secret society called ,,the ,,inquisition4 ,innocent ,,iii41 who ascended the papal chair in #aaih1 conceived the project thereof1 to extirpate the rebellious members of the church--the ,albigenses--and to extend the papal power at the expense of the bishops3 and his successors carried out his plan4 ,this tribunal1 the holy office or inquisition 7sanctum officium71 was under the immediate direction of the papal chair3 it was to seek out heretics and adherents of false doctrines1 and to pronounce its dreadful sentence against their fortune1 their honor1 and their lives1 without appeal4 ,the process of this tribunal differed entirely from that of the civil courts4 ,the informer was not only concealed1 but rewarded by the inquisition4 ,the accused was obliged to be his own accuser4 ,suspected persons were secretly seized and thrown into prison4 ,no better instruments could be found for inquisitors than the mendicant orders of monks1 particularly the ,franciscans and ,dominicans1 whom the pope employed to destroy the heretics1 and inquire into the conduct of bishops4 ,pope ,gregory ,,ix41 in #abcc1 completed the design of his predecessors1 and1 as they had succeeded in giving these inquisitorial monks1 who were wholly dependent on the pope1 an unlimited power1 and in rendering the interference #hj of the temporal magistrates only nominal1 the inquisition was successively introduced into several parts of ,italy1 and into some provinces of ,france2 its power in the latter country being more limited than in the former4 ,the tribunals of faith were admitted into ,spain in the middle of the thirteenth century1 but a firm opposition was made to them1 particularly in ,castile and ,leon1 and the bishops there maintained their exclusive jurisdiction in spiritual matters4 ,for a time this power waned1 when1 afterward in the fifteenth century1 it assumed an aspect truly alarming4 ,three religions then prevailed in ,spain3 ,christians1 ,jews1 and ,mahommedans4 ,the power of the nobles was a bar1 at the same time1 to the absolute power of ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,but this engine of religious tyranny accomplished their ends1 and became the most powerful instrument of their policy4 ,owing to the fanatical preaching of ,fernando ,nunez1 who taught the persecution of the ,jews to be a good work1 popular tumults prevailed1 in which this people was plundered1 robbed1 and murdered4 ,cardinal ,mendoza1 at ,seville1 in #adgg1 condemned and punished many who persevered in opposition to the doctrines of his faith4 ,mendoza recommended the establishment of the inquisition to ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,dependent entirely upon the court1 what better engine could they use to render their power absolute1 by confiscation of estates to fill their treasury1 and to limit the #ha power of the nobles and superior clergy8 ,in the assembly of the estates1 therefore1 held at ,toledo1 #adhj1 in spite of all opposition1 it was determined to establish a tribunal1 under the name of the general inquisition 7general inquisicion suprema74 ,this was opened in ,seville1 #adha4 ,thomas de ,torquenada1 prior of the ,dominican convent at ,segovia1 father-confessor to ,mendoza1 had been appointed first grand inquisitor by the king and queen1 in #adgh4 ,the peaceful teachings of the meek and lowly ,jesus do not seem to have had much influence on this political ,boanerges4 ,he had two hundred familiars1 and a guard of fifty horsemen1 but he lived in continual fear of poison4 ,the ,dominican monastery at ,seville soon became insufficient to contain the numerous prisoners1 and the king removed the court to the castle in the suburb of ,triana4 ,at the first auto da fe 7act of faith71 seven apostate ,christians were burnt1 and the number of penitents was much greater4 ,spanish writers relate that above seventeen thousand were given up to the inquisition4 ,more than two thousand were condemned to the flames the first year1 and great numbers fled to neighboring countries4 ,the then pope1 ,sixtus ,,iv41 opposed the establishment of this court1 as being the conversion of an ecclesiastical into a secular tribunal3 but he was compelled to submit to circumstances1 and actually promulgated a bull subjecting ,aragon1 ,valencia1 and ,sicily1 the hereditary dominions of ,ferdinand1 to the #hb inquisitor-general of ,castile4 ,the introduction of the new tribunal was attended with risings and oppositions in many places1 excited by the cruelty of the inquisitors1 and encouraged1 perhaps1 by the jealousy of the bishops4 ,saragossa and other places refused admission to the inquisitors1 many of whom lost their lives2 but the people were obliged to yield in the contest2 and the kings not only became the absolute judges in matters of faith1 but the honor1 property1 and life of every subject were in their hands4 ,the political importance of this institution may be estimated by the following statement4 ,in every community1 the grand inquisitor must fix a period1 from thirty to forty days1 within which time heretics1 and those who have lapsed from the faith1 shall deliver themselves up to the inquisition4 ,penitent heretics and apostates1 although pardoned1 could hold no public office1 nor become lessees1 lawyers1 physicians1 apothecaries1 or grocers2 nor wear gold1 silver1 or precious stones2 nor ride2 nor carry arms2 during their whole life1 under a penalty of being declared guilty of a relapse into heresy3 and they were obliged to give up a part of their property for the support of the war against the ,moors4 ,those who did not surrender themselves within the time fixed were deprived of their property irrevocably4 ,the absent1 also1 and those who had been long dead1 could be condemned1 provided there was sufficient evidence against them4 ,the bones of those who were condemned after death were dug up1 #hc and the property which they had left escheated to the king4 ,at first the jurisdiction of the inquisition was not accurately defined2 but it was regularly organized by the ordinance of #adhd1 establishing branches in the different provinces of ,spain1 under the direction of the inquisitor-general4 ,the inquisitor-general presided1 with aid of six or seven counsellers nominated by the king2 and his officers were a fiscal 7or quasi prosecuting attorney71 two secretaries1 a receiver1 two relators1 a secuestrador 7or escheator71 and officials4 ,in an ordinance of #agcb1 it was made the duty of all believers1 to inform the inquisition1 if they knew any one1 living or dead1 present or absent1 who had wandered from the faith1 who did observe1 or had observed the laws of ,moses1 or even spoken favorably of them3 if they knew any one who followed1 or had followed the doctrines of ,luther2 any one who had concluded an alliance with the devil1 either expressly or virtually2 any one who possessed any heretical book1 or the ,koran1 or the ,bible in the ,spanish tongue2 or1 in fine1 if they knew any one who had harbored1 received1 or favored heretics4 ,if the accused did not appear at the third summons he was excommunicated4 ,from the moment that the prisoner was in the power of the court he was cut off from the world4 ,then followed tortures1 solitary confinement1 and death in flames1 with every attendant of abject humiliation1 while his name1 with that #hd of his children and grand-children1 was officially declared infamous4 ,napoleon crushed this monstrous iniquity ,december #d1 #ahjh4 ,according to the estimate of ,llorente1 the number of victims of the ,spanish inquisition1 from #adha to #ahjh1 amounted to #cda1jba persons4 ,in ,portugal the inquisition was established in #aeeg4 ,whence they also carried a branch of it to ,goa1 in the ,east ,indies2 in like manner as the ,spaniards established one in ,america4#id ,from the earlier days1 however1 of the ,christian religion we find a select few known as the ,,mystics1 steadily pursuing a peaceful course in the investigation of truth4 ,of them it is said1 that they exercised a powerful influence both upon life and literature3 and1 although the inculcation of meekness and self-humiliation paralyzed active exertion1 and a life devoted to emotions and sentiments occasionally produced fanaticism1 yet this influence1 especially in the middle ages was highly beneficial4 ,john ,tauler1 of ,strasbourg1 ,henry ,suss1 of ,constance1 and ,thomas a ,kempis1 were active mystics1 and eminent among their fraternity which was called the brethren of the common life4 ,theirs was a religion of feeling1 poetry1 and imagination1 in contrast with philosophical rules and forms of reasoning1 as taught by the school-men4 ,they excused their fanaticism1 by appealing to the words of ,st4 ,paul3 #he ,the spirit prays in us by sighs and groans that are unutterable4 ,now1 if the spirit1 say they1 prays in us1 we must resign ourselves to its motions1 and be swayed and guided by its impulse1 by remaining in mere inaction4 ,hence1 passive contemplation they considered the highest state of perfection4 ,the number of the mystics increased in the fourth century under the influence of the ,grecian fanatic1 who gave himself out as ,dionysius1 the ,areopagite1 a disciple of ,st4 ,paul1 and probably lived about this period2 and by pretending to higher degrees of perfection than other ,christians1 and practising greater austerities1 their cause gained ground1 especially in the eastern provinces in the fifth century4 ,a copy of the pretended works of ,dionysius1 was sent by ,balbus to ,louis the ,meek1 in the year #hbd1 which kindled the flame of mysticism in the western provinces1 and filled the ,latins with the most enthusiastic admiration of this new religion4 ,in the twelfth century these mystics took the lead in their method of expounding ,scripture2 and by searching for mysteries and hidden meanings in the plainest expressions1 forced the word of ,god into a conformity with their visionary doctrines1 their enthusiastic feelings1 and the system of discipline which they had drawn from the excursion of their irregular fancies4 ,in the thirteenth century they were the most formidable antagonists of the schoolmen1 and toward the close of the fourteenth many of them resided and propagated their tenets in #hf almost every part of ,europe4 ,in the fifteenth century they had many persons of distinguished merit in their number2 and in the sixteenth1 previously to the ,reformation1 it is said that the only true sparks of real piety were to be found among them4#ie ,let us1 then1 examine the rise of confraternities attached to1 and of1 the ,christian church1 yet not necessarily more than its other laity entitled to authority which they afterward usurped4 ,monachism took its rise in the ,east1 where a solitary and contemplative life1 devoted to the consideration of divine subjects1 had always been considered more meritorious than active exertion4 ,this calling was gradually adopted by so many1 that at the end of the third century1 the ,egyptian ,antonius1 who had cast away his vast possessions1 and chosen the desert for his residence1 collected together the hitherto dispersed anchorites 7monachi7 into fenced places 7monasteria1 caenobia1 claustra1 cloisters71 that they might live together in fellowship2 and his disciple1 ,pachomius1 soon gave the brotherhood a rule4 ,monachism soon extended to the west4 ,in the sixth century1 ,benedict1 of ,nursia1 established the first monastery on ,mount ,casius1 in ,lower ,italy1 and became1 by this means1 the founder of the widely-spread order of ,benedictines1 which rapidly extended itself among all nations1 and built many convents4 ,these monasteries1 erected1 for the most part1 in #hg beautiful and remote situations1 and the inhabitants of which were obliged to take the three vows of chastity 7celibacy71 personal poverty1 and obedience1 proved in those days of lawlessness and barbarism1 a blessing to mankind4 ,they converted heaths and forests into flourishing farms4 ,they afforded a place of refuge 7asylum7 to the persecuted and oppressed4 ,they ennobled the rude minds of men by the preaching of the ,gospel4 ,they planted the seeds of morality and civilization in the bosoms of the young by their schools for education4 ,and they preserved the remains of ancient literature and philosophy from utter destruction4 ,many of the ,benedictine monasteries were the nurseries of education1 the arts1 and the sciences1 as ,st4 ,gallen1 ,fulda1 ,reichenau1 and ,corvey 7in ,westphalia71 and many others4 ,when the ,benedictine order became relaxed1 the monastery in ,clugny1 in ,burgundy1 separated itself from them in the tenth century1 and introduced a more rigid discipline4 ,in the twelfth century the monks of ,clugny numbered upward of two thousand cloisters4 ,but this order1 also1 soon proved insufficient to satisfy the strong demands of the middle age1 against the allurements of sin1 and the seductions of the flesh2 so that1 at the end of the eleventh century1 the ,cistercians1 and1 a few decades later1 the ,premonstrants sprang up3 the former in ,burgundy 7,citeaux71 the latter in a woody country near ,laon 7,premontre74 ,the order of ,carthusians1 founded about the year #hh #ajhd1 which commenced with a cloister of anchorites 7,carthusia1 ,chartreuse7 in a rugged valley near ,grenoble1 was the most austere in its practice4 ,a life of solitude and silence in a cell1 a spare and meagre diet1 a penitential garment of hair1 flagellations1 and the rigid practices of devotional exercises1 were duties imposed upon every member of this fraternity4 ,they deserve1 at our hands1 the full benefit of an honest and severe ,christian effort to find out and nurture truth2 so long as government and political power did not control them4 ,history next tells us of the so-called ,,mendicant ,,orders4 ,they originated in the thirteenth century1 and this establishment was productive of remarkable results4 ,francis of ,assisi 7,a4,d4 #abbf71 the son of a rich merchant1 renounced all his possessions1 clothed himself in rags1 and wandered through the world1 begging1 and preaching repentance4 ,his fiery zeal procured him disciples1 who1 like himself1 renounced their worldly possessions1 fasted1 prayed1 tore their backs with scourges1 and supplied their slender wants from voluntary alms and donations4 ,the order of ,franciscans then spread rapidly through all countries4 ,about the same time arose the order of ,dominicans1 or preaching monks1 founded by an illustrious and learned ,spaniard1 ,dominicus4 ,their chief objects were the maintenance of the predominant faith in its considered purity1 and the extinction of heretical opinions4 ,in #hi carrying these out1 they became endowed with the greatest worldly and temporal privileges1 received the powerful patronage of the pope1 gradually obtained the chairs in the universities1 and took the lead in the murder of their fellow creatures through the inquisition4 ,what a temptation to brawling mendicants1 too lazy to earn a living1 authorized to beg1 and the supple tools of political leaders2 and all this by a mysterious society1 under the guise and pretence of the ,christian religion6 ,laic tools for such clerical workmen6 ,while1 from the mystics of that date1 valuable works have been preserved1 what has been left us from these mendicant orders8 ,anything save the cry of blood from the earth8 ,aught else than servile obedience in accomplishing the mandates of those in power8 ,in the eleventh century1 the crusades had given rise to a singular class of men1 half-military1 half-monk4 ,they had their secret means of recognition1 a peculiar garb1 and a professed object4 ,religion was the motive cause1 while science and philosophy seem to have been secondary with them4 ,they were knights1 of three orders1 viz43 the ,knights of ,st4 ,john1 or ,hospitallers2 the ,templars2 and the ,teutonic ,knights4 ,the ,knights of ,st4 ,john are known equally by the name of the ,knights of ,malta1 because1 in #aecj1 ,charles ,v4 granted them the islands of ,malta1 ,gozzo1 and ,comino1 on condition of perpetual war #ij against the infidels and pirates1 and the restoration of these islands to ,naples1 if the order should succeed in recovering ,rhodes4 ,the chief of this order had immense possessions in most parts of ,europe4 ,their chief was called ,grand ,master of the ,holy ,hospital of ,st4 ,john of ,jerusalem1 and ,guardian of the ,army of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he was chosen by vote1 and lived at ,la ,villette in ,malta4 ,foreign powers addressed him as ,altezza eminentissima4 ,his income equalled a million of guilders annually4 ,this order still exists4 ,originally the affairs of the order were exercised by ,,the ,,chapter1 which consisted of eight balliages 7ballivi conventuali71 of the different languages of which the knights of the order consisted1 that is1 ,provence1 ,auvergne1 ,france1 ,italy1 ,aragon1 ,germany1 ,castile1 and ,england4 ,the lands of these ballivi conventuali of languages were divided into three classes1 priories1 balliages1 and commanderies4 ,of the priories the ,german had the preference1 and was called the ,grand ,priory4 ,this confraternity were free-masons4 ,and their organization was framed accordingly4 ,such was their kindness and benevolence to a wandering and unprotected pilgrim1 that when afterward accosted on his journey with the customary inquiry1 ,whence came you8 one and multitudes would answer1 ,from a lodge of the ,holy ,st4 ,john of ,jerusalem1 having experienced their hospitality and kindness in their pilgrimage4 ,their duty was to nurse1 accommodate1 #ia and protect pilgrims to the ,holy ,land3 and everywhere on their travels1 in whatever country1 these lodges 7or hutten7 were found for their comfort4 ,in the beginning of the twelfth century a secret order was formed1 for the defence of the ,holy ,sepulchre1 and the protection of ,christian ,pilgrims4 ,they were first called ,the poor of the ,holy ,city1 and afterward assumed the appellation of ,templars1 because their house was near the ,temple4 ,the order was founded by ,baldwin ,,ii41 then king of ,jerusalem1 with the concurrence of the pope4 ,many of the noblest knights connected themselves therewith1 and they became known1 then1 as the ,,knights ,,templars4 ,but the order degenerated1 became faithless to their vows1 and used the wealth and power they had attained in such manner as to occasion their public condemnation4 ,in the beginning of the fourteenth century a sect of soi-disant philosophers appeared1 known as the ,,rosicrucians4 ,they bound themselves together by a solemn secret1 which they all swore inviolably to preserve2 and obliged themselves1 at their admission into the order1 to a strict observance of certain established rules4 ,they pretended chiefly to devote themselves to medicine1 but above all that1 to be masters of important secrets1 and among others1 that of the philosopher's stone2 all which they affirmed to have received by tradition from the ancient ,egyptians1 #ib ,chaldeans1 the ,magi1 and the ,gymnosophists4 ,by their pretences that they could restore youth1 they received the name of ,immortelles4 ,their pretension to all knowledge1 acquired for them the title of ,illuminati4 ,for years they were lost sight of4 ,consequently1 when in later years they once more appeared under their original organization1 they have been recognised as ,the invisible brothers4 ,their name is not1 as generally supposed1 derived from rosa and crux3 but it is from ros 7dew71 the then supposed solvent of gold1 and crux 7the cross74 ,to see1 perhaps1 a badge of this order1 mark the arms of ,luther6 a cross placed upon a rose4 ,true1 a mistake as to the definition1 yet does it not indicate the reason of its use politically and otherwise8 ,passing by1 then1 the middle ages1 we commence a new era with the rise and progress of a religious secret order1 without a parallel in the history of the world2 one which has risen in influence and power far above all the other orders of the church1 prohibiting its members to accept office in the church1 yet which1 in the art of ruling1 has excelled the governments of the world hitherto1 no less than any of its ecclesiastical rivals of any age or country4 ,the ,society of ,jesus--known as ,,the ,,jesuits--early raised itself to a degree of historical importance unparalleled in its kind4 ,this order was founded 7#aeci7 by ,ignatius ,loyola1 who called it the ,society of ,jesus1 in consequence of a vision1 and bound the #ic members1 in addition to the usual vows of poverty1 chastity1 and implicit obedience to their superiors1 to a fourth1 viz3 to go1 unhesitatingly1 and without recompense1 whithersoever they should be sent1 as missionaries for the conversion of infidels and heretics1 or for the service of the church in any other way1 and to devote all their powers and means to the accomplishment of the work4 ,the intention of ,ignatius ,loyola was originally directed rather to mystic and ascetic contemplations2 but the order1 from the nature of its fourth vow1 soon took a shape adapted to the wants of the church4 ,the origin of this society seems to have been a vision to the over-wrought mind of ,loyola3 may we call it a temporary inflammation of the brain8 ,he was a ,spaniard of very warm imagination1 and a man of great sensibility4 ,he declared he saw ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus1 in a vision3 that she gave him the power of chastity3 that ,jesus and ,satan appeared to him in the form of military officers enlisting men for service2 whereupon he followed ,christ4 ,the society designated their object by ,loyola's motto--,omnia ad majorem ,dei gloriam4 ,the intimate union of this society has been insured by severe trials1 constant inspection1 and unconditional obedience4 ,thoroughly organized by past experience1 it now quietly pursues a policy deep1 powerful1 and difficult to be met on account of its mysticism4 ,after ,loyola's death the society was farther developed by ,lainez1 #id and after him1 by ,aquaviva1 men of deep knowledge of mankind1 and steadfast purpose1 who became the real authors of the present society4 ,the seat of the society was1 in so far1 in ,rome1 as the general of the order resided there1 with the committee of the society1 and the monitor1 who1 totally independent of him1 controlled the general as if he were his conscience4 ,the order was divided into provinces1 each of which was superintended by a provincial4 ,under the care of these officers were the professed-houses1 with each a praepositus at its head1 and the colleges1 with each a rector4 ,in the latter there were also novices4 ,the mutual dependence of all parts of the system resemble the structure of a well-built fabric4 ,the relations of subordination are so well ordered that the society is simplex duntaxat unum1 without interrupting the free will of the individual1 as is said1 who only had to obey in permitted things4 ,the popes ,paul ,,iii4 and ,julius ,,iii41 seeing what a support they would have in the ,jesuits against what is usually called the ,reformation1 which was rapidly gaining ground1 granted to them privileges such as no body of men1 in church1 or state1 had ever before obtained4 ,they were permitted not only to enjoy all the rights of the mendicant and secular orders1 and to be exempt from all episcopal and civil jurisdiction and taxes1 so that they acknowledged no authority but that of the pope and the superiors of their order1 and were permitted to exercise every #ie priestly function1 parochial rights notwithstanding1 among all classes of men1 even during an interdict2 but1 also 7what is not even permitted to archbishops unconditionally71 they could absolve from all sins and ecclesiastical penalties1 change the objects of the vows of the laity1 acquire churches and estates without further papal sanction1 erect houses for the order1 and might1 according to circumstances1 dispense themselves from the canonical observance of hours of fasts and prohibition of meats1 and even from the use of the breviary4 ,besides this1 their general was invested with unlimited power over the members2 could send them on missions of every kind1 even among excommunicated heretics2 could appoint them professors of theology at his discretion1 wherever he chose1 and confer academical dignities1 which were to be reckoned equal to those given by universities4 ,these privileges1 which secured to the ,jesuits a spiritual power almost equal to that of the pope himself1 together with a greater impunity1 in point of religious observance1 than the laity possessed1 were granted them to aid their missionary labors1 so that they might accommodate themselves to any profession or mode of life1 among heretics1 and infidels1 and be able1 wherever they found admission1 to organize ,catholic churches without a further authority4 ,a general dispersion1 then1 of the members throughout society with the most entire union and subordination1 formed the basis of their constitution4 #if ,in the education of youth1 there has been a very unjust charge against them1 that is1 that they mutilated the classics4 ,would to ,god that every pure ,christian would follow such an example2 and that we might thereby present such an expurgated edition1 as would create all the good they may contain1 devoid of evil4 ,any who have read ,virgil1 ,ovid1 ,terence1 or other classic works1 must acknowledge this necessity4 ,even ,shakespeare's plays can not be read1 as printed1 in a modest company4 ,there is not1 either1 any prudery in this4 ,and1 accordingly1 a family expurgated edition has been published by ,dr4 ,bowdler1 demanding a far greater circulation than it may have as yet received4 ,praise1 then1 be awarded to all instructors of youth who will promote such expurgation from the classics as will blot out their immorality6 ,the latitude in which this society has understood its rights and immunities has given occasion to fear an unlimited extension and exercise of them1 dangerous to all existing authority1 civil and ecclesiastical1 as the constitution of the order1 and its erection into an independent monarchy in the bosom of other governments1 have assumed a more fixed character4 ,this society seems to have been divided into different ranks or classes4 ,the novices1 chosen from the most talented and well-educated youths1 and men without regard to birth or external circumstances2 and who were tried for two years1 in separate #ig novitiate houses1 in all imaginable exercises of self-denial and obedience1 to determine whether they would be useful to the purposes of the order1 were not ranked among the actual members1 the lowest of whom are the secular coadjutors1 who take no monastic vows1 and may1 therefore1 be dismissed4 ,they serve the order partly as subalterns1 partly as confederates1 and may be regarded as the people of the ,jesuit state4 ,distinguished laymen1 public officers1 and other influential personages 7e4g41 ,louis ,,xiv41 in his old age71 were honored with admission into this class1 to promote the interests of the order4 ,higher in rank1 stand the scholars and spiritual coadjutors1 who are instructed in the higher branches of learning1 take upon themselves solemn monastic vows1 and are bound to devote themselves particularly to the education of youth4 ,these1 as it were1 the artists of the ,jesuit community1 are employed as professors in academies1 as preachers in cities1 and at courts2 as rectors1 and professors in colleges1 as tutors and spiritual guides in families which they wish to gain or to watch1 and as assistants in the missions4 ,finally1 the nobility1 or highest class1 is made up of the professed1 among whom are admitted only the most-experienced members1 whose address1 energy1 and fidelity to the order1 have been eminently tried and proved4 ,according to one statement1 they make profession1 that is1 take the vows of their order1 by binding themselves in addition to the common #ih monastic vows by the fourth vow1 to the undertaking of missions1 among whom they consider heathen and heretics1 as governors in colonies in remote parts of the world1 as father-confessors of princes1 and as residents of the order in places where it has no college4 ,they are entirely exempt1 on the other hand1 from the care of the education of youth4 ,none but the professed have a voice in the election of a general1 who must himself be of their number1 and who has the right of choosing from them the assistants1 provincials1 superiors1 and rectors4 ,the general holds his office for life1 and has his residence in ,rome1 where he is attended by a monitor1 and five assistants or counsellors1 who also represent the five chief nations3 the ,italians1 ,germans1 ,french1 ,spanish1 and ,portuguese4 ,he is the centre of the government of the whole order1 and receives monthly reports from the provincials1 and one every quarter from the superiors of the professed-houses1 from the rectors of the colleges1 and from the masters of the novices4 ,these reports detail all remarkable occurrences1 political events1 and the characters1 capacities1 and services of individual members1 and thereupon the general directs what is to be done1 and how to make use of tried and approved members4 ,all are bound to obey him implicitly1 and even contrary to their own convictions4 ,there is no appeal from his orders4 ,loyola died ,july #ca1 #aeef1 leaving to the order a sketch of this constitution1 and a mystical treatise #ii called ,exercitia ,spiritualia1 which work occupies the first four weeks of every novice4 ,the rapid increase of the order1 and the previous purity of ,loyola's life1 obtained canonization for him in #affb4 ,their first great missionary was ,st4 ,francis ,xavier1 whose labors 7#aeda7 in the ,portuguese ,east ,indies1 where he died ten years afterward1 have obtained for him the name of the apostle of ,india1 and the honor of canonization4 ,we are told that1 at ,goa1 ,travancore1 ,cochin1 ,malacca1 ,ceylon1 and ,japan1 some hundred thousand were by him converted to the ,christian religion4 ,if so1 at present the light of it has become very dim4 ,stat nominis umbra4 ,the inquisition at ,goa1 perhaps1 may have shown the people the difference between theory and practice4 ,claudius ,aquaviva1 of the family of the dukes of ,atri1 general of the ,jesuits from #aeha to #afae1 is the author of their system of education4 ,the want of deep1 critical learning1 with the mutilation of the classics 7for which last they deserve praise1 not blame71 exposed their teachers1 for a time1 to the censure of philologists4 ,viewed with suspicion by the ,french1 they only were admitted into that nation in #aefb1 under the name of the ,fathers of the ,college of ,clermont1 with a humiliating renunciation of their most important privileges1 but they soon united in the factions of that country1 and1 notwithstanding a strong suspicion of their having had a share in the murder of ,henry ,,iii41 under the #ajj protection of the ,guises1 they contrived to establish themselves1 regain their privileges1 and deprive the ,french ,protestants of their rights4 ,one of their pupils1 ,john ,chatel1 attempted ,henry's life 7#aeid71 and this caused their banishment until #afjc1 when1 at the intercession of the pope1 they were again restored by ,henry ,,iv4 ,that they participated in the crime of ,ravaillac could never be proved4 ,they became the confidential advisers in ,germany1 of ,ferdinand ,,ii4 and ,,iii4 ,they discovered remarkable political talent in the thirty years' war2 the league of the ,catholics could do nothing without them4 ,father ,lamormain1 a ,jesuit1 and confessor to the emperor1 effected the downfall of ,wallenstein1 and by means of his agents1 kept the jealous ,bavarians in their alliance with ,austria4 ,then burst upon them in ,france and the ,netherlands1 the hurricane of the ,jansenist controversy1 when ,pascal's ,provincial ,letters scathed them1 and his sentiments were even quoted 7#afgi7 by ,innocent ,,ix41 against sixty-five of their offensive propositions4 ,complaints were made against some of them by the ,iroquois1 who had been converted by them1 as would appear by the treaty of peace 7#afhb74 ,in #agei1 by an edict1 they were declared guilty of high-treason1 and expelled from ,portugal4 ,owing to difficulties at ,martinique under their deputy1 ,father ,la ,vallette1 and the declaration of their general1 ,lorenzo ,ricci1 refusing to make any change in their constitution 7sint aut non sint71 let them be as they #aja are1 or not be1 the king of ,france 7#agfd7 issued a decree for abolishing the order in all the ,french states1 as being a mere political society1 dangerous to religion1 whose object was self-aggrandizement4 ,in #agfg they were driven out of ,spain1 and soon after from ,naples1 ,parma1 and ,malta4 ,and the voice of public opinion at length compelled ,pope ,clement ,,xiv4 to publish his famous bull1 ,dominus ac ,redemptor noster1 of ,july #ba1 #aggc1 by which the society of ,jesus was totally abolished in all the states of ,christendom4 ,the society1 however1 did not become extinct4 ,in #aghj they were thought to have possessed themselves of the secrets of the ,rosicrucians1 and to have taken a part in the schemes of the ,illuminati4 ,in #aghg1 an unsuccessful attempt was made to revive the order under the name of the ,vicentines4 ,pius ,,vii4 restored the order1 in #ahad1 upon the issuance of the bull1 ,august #g1 ,solicitudo omnium4 ,in #ahae they were restored in ,spain4 ,russia1 by an imperial ukase1 ,march #be1 #ahbj1 banished them thence4 ,since then they have been driven from ,mexico1 again restored by ,santa ,anna1 and now1 though resident1 they are politically powerless under the administration of ,president ,comonfort4 ,they now seem to rely on the ,united ,states of ,america as their chief asylum1 and upon the valley of the ,mississippi river and its tributaries1 as their basis of operations4 ,full and perfect freedom of thought and speech1 of religious toleration1 and of mode of life1 monastic or #ajb otherwise1 insures to them a safe home in this country4 ,they possess a flourishing college at ,georgetown1 which may almost be considered as part of the city of ,washington1 the capital of the ,united ,states4 ,also one at ,cincinnati1 and one at ,st4 ,louis1 well endowed1 and possessed of great wealth4 ,they exercise a powerful yet unseen influence over the minds of the members of the ,catholic faith where they reside1 each naturalized citizen of which has an equal voice in selecting all officers of state and general government4 ,an eminent writer has remarked1 that everything in history has its time1 and the order of ,jesuits can never rise to any great eminence in an age in which knowledge is so rapidly spreading4 ,we think differently4 ,a society so capable of adaptation to any circumstances1 whether political1 religious1 or social1 plastic in nature to meet every desired impression1 talented1 highly learned1 wealthy1 and among others1 embracing in its order some men of such pure and admirable life as to be cited as examples of virtue and ,christian character1 with the protection the ,american flag throws around all under its folds1 is to be carefully observed4 ,human nature is always the same4 ,the past history1 then1 of this society merits the study of every philanthropist and patriot4 ,once1 in ,paraguay1 it became a blessing to mankind4 ,within due limits1 it may be so anywhere4 ,but its interference in any political affairs1 under pretence of serving him1 whose kingdom is not of this #ajc world1 is not to be tolerated1 as it may prove a most dangerous engine in the struggle of the cause of popular self-government4 ,an unconditional surrender of one's own convictions to the will of another man is at variance with every principle of republicanism4 99 99 99 99 99 #ajd ,,chapter ,v4 ,the ,struggle between an alleged ,jus ,divinum ,regum1 and ,popular ,sovereignty4--,and the ,efforts now attempted to destroy our ,grand ,experiment of ,self-,government4--,practical ,results4 ,with the differences of religious bodies as to dogmas of faith1 this essay has nothing to do2 but so far as churches connected with any religion1 interfere with temporal governments1 by mystic confraternities1 that is a topic directly within our scope4 ,any union of church and state must1 from these authorities1 appear in opposition to the unprejudiced action of the citizen in the government of his country4 ,the great struggle for political power1 the contest as to the source thereof--whether a fancied divine right 7jus divinum7 in any family1 or in an individual by anointment of a priest2 or the free voice of a free people governing themselves by framing a constitution1 limiting power in the hands of rulers1 who are only their agents--is now undergoing a severe test4 ,of this1 however1 more hereafter4 ,the history of ,england1 from the days of ,james ,,ii4--yes1 even from ,henry ,,viii41 whose crimes form a strange contrast to his assumption of a title to being #aje head of a church--presents a singular contest for political power1 by means of religious domination4 ,from the days of ,william of ,orange1 the parties in ,ireland 7which seems to have formed the battleground of these contestants7 have been not only well-defined1 but they have been organized in the most perfect mysticism1 into ,orange men and ,ribbon men4 ,let the days of ,curran1 ,grattan1 and of the persecuting government tell that story4 ,the blood of an ,emmett has crowned a noble effort with martyrdom4 ,his last speech will be read as long as school-books can perpetuate one of the finest efforts of oratory4 ,meantime1 a secret society still existed which softened down asperity1 and extended the blessings of fraternity even among those arrayed against each other--not only there1 but over the world4 ,by its teachings and its obligations1 universal charity was inculcated4 ,is there an intelligent ,,free-,,mason who has perused our previous pages1 but what has recognised the history of his own society from the origin of the ,kabbalistae8 ,spread everywhere1 under whatever name1 emanating from a common origin1 recognised by common principles and instruction1 enforcing the study of the liberal arts and sciences1 teaching philosophy throughout the world1 and the hope of a future immortality1 it has1 as a mystic order1 taken deep root in every nation1 but more so in republics1 not having fear of an interdict1 or other religious #ajf fulmination4 ,it has not and does not interfere in politics1 nor seek political power in any shape4 ,like its brothers of old under ,pythagoras in ,magna ,graecia1 it teaches philosophy1 and is well calculated to promote such education as must form true statesmen4 ,so catholic is its every teaching1 and such are its fraternal tendencies1 that one church has placed it under ban4 ,throughout the world1 whether among the descendants of the ancient ,magi1 the ,hebrew ,cabbalist1 the ,rosicrucian1 or ,templar1 in the deserts of ,africa1 the forests of ,america1 or on the wide-spread ocean1 the symbols of recognition are known and received4 ,such have been its tendencies that spurious imitations for mere political purposes have been frequent4 ,the ,illuminati1 the ,carbonari1 and other secret political societies have been supposed to be ,masonic lodges4 ,but it is a great mistake4 ,the ,kabbalists never interfered with1 or acted in opposition to the ,hebrew ,theocracy4 ,their brothers of a later date have never interfered with politics1 even to the present day2 nor have they1 in any wise1 inculcated a single maxim at variance with their duty to ,god1 their neighbor1 or themselves4 ,they have simply preserved and obeyed the original traditional instruction handed down to them4 ,another benevolent secret society has sprung up1 chiefly in the ,united ,states1 calling themselves the ,independent ,order of ,odd ,fellows4 ,this is a charitable confraternity1 intended1 mainly1 to promote #ajg benevolence1 aid the sick and distressed1 and cultivate the warmer sympathies of our nature4 ,it is of modern origin1 and in most things seems to be an imitation of ,free-,masonry4 ,it has been productive of great good in the accomplishment of its benevolent purposes4 ,having no leaning whatever toward politics1 it quietly pursues its mission of love4 ,thus1 then1 we have arrived at a point where we must pause4 ,the summary of the past seems to be as follows3-- ,i4 ,from the earliest history of the world there seems to have been an effort on the part of those who pretended to control the consciences and religious views of others to preserve in their own hands1 the predominant political power4 #a4 ,the first government recorded is that of ,nimrod4 ,he discarded patriarchal instruction2 united tribes in cities2 and formed their combination into an empire4 ,the ,magi controlled him1 and1 at his death1 under the pretence of his deification1 preserved his power in the priesthood4 #b4 ,in the extension of the ,magi1 every great leader1 or king1 was one of them2 and obedient to the rules and instructions of their general1 the ,hierophant4 #c4 ,when1 in the assertion of popular right1 ,pythagoras was driven away by ,cylon1 the then imperfect effort of self-government fell through4 ,but little understood1 its then dim light faded4 #d4 ,the society of the ,kabbalistae1 part of whom #ajh were afterward known as the ,pythagorean league1 as the ,collegio fabrorum of ,numa ,pompilius1 as the ,liberi ,architectonici of the middle ages1 and as the ,free-,masons of the present day2 this society1 ,i repeat1 never interfered in politics4 #e4 ,the ,christian church was tempted to forget1 that ,christ's kingdom was not of this world4 ,and its two great branches1 that of ,rome and ,england1 were seduced into the error of seeking to obtain power through public policy4 ,rome exerted her influences through her praetorian cohorts1 the confraternities of mendicants and of ,jesus--the ,jesuits4 ,unknown1 and in silence1 they were domiciliated in courts and in families1 throughout all nations2 and some roamed as itinerants4 ,the will of their general1 on their unconditional subserviency to his behest1 seemed to create an almost omnipresent power to be controlled by ,rome alone4 ,has not the exercise of it been exemplified in the inquisition8 ,was it not felt in the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew8 ,i will not stop to ask the power and control of a ,madame ,maintenon1 or ,du ,barry3 nor whose influences controlled them4 ,does not all history portray their one effort8 ,but has not the ,church of ,england endeavored to obtain temporal power1 also1 by interference in the affairs of this world1 politically8 ,shame6 shame66 ,if the priesthood are honest in giving an undivided allegiance to ,,him1 whom they #aji have taken an oath only to serve2 and yet1 whose kingdom is not of this world2 how dare they violate that obligation8 ,ne sutor ultra crepidam1 c4 ,but we in the ,united ,states are not better than our neighbors4 ,man is the same everywhere1 but for education4 ,and this brings us to the great1 practical lesson1 to which end all that has thus far been detailed has been directed4 ,americans6 no matter of what nation you came1 consider this lesson4 ,we have ignored and thrown aside the priestly fable of an anointment by a man conferring an hereditary right to rule his brother man1 by any family4 ,this jus divinum regum is an absurdity1 practically discarded by those who assert it4 ,what divine right has been granted either to ,napoleon the ,great1 or to ,napoleon the little8 ,whence came it8 ,by whose hands8 ,how is it preserved8 ,is not the same religious power ready to crown a ,bourbon one day1 and1 in spite of the hereditary jus divinum already granted1 crown a ,corsican 7who has waded through blood to his throne7 the next day2 over the very rights of the ,bourbon1 who relies on that jus divinum as his title8 ,a divine right 7if any7 is here granted to both--to the ,bourbon1 and to the ,corsican4 ,can truth contradict itself8 ,if there be a contradiction must there not be error somewhere8 #aaj ,this jus divinum that began with the deification of ,nimrod1 is still perpetuated though in other hands4 ,but we must look into this a little further4 ,,ii4 ,although the ,theocracy in the days of ,moses was of temporary duration1 and human power afterward asserted a kingly right1 was that divine right ever preserved8 ,if divine1 it is immutable4 ,does history show this8 ,when ,titus conquered ,jerusalem1 does not ,jewish history tell us the voice was heard saying1 ,,let ,,us ,,go ,,hence8 ,,iii4 ,history shows1 among men1 two classes who have governed others3-- #a4 ,kings1 emperors1 and rulers4 #b4 ,priests and clergy1 controlling the superstitious feelings of mankind2 yes1 even these kings1 emperors1 and rulers1 by mysticism4 ,,iv4 ,there have been throughout history two classes of secret societies4 ,one always endeavoring to govern and control the masses politically1 by religious mysteries1 c4 ,the other endeavoring to persuade to the study of science and philosophy1 and trying to wean men from the mere struggle of this world's power1 to a preparation for another world1 into which we must be born spiritually1 by human death1 and as to which this earth is only the school-house4 ,and this class has not interfered in any manner with politics in any country4 #aaa ,this bring us to the present condition of our own beloved country at this time4 ,a secret society1 also political1 was formed here1 known as ,,the ,,know-,,nothings4 ,and its secrecy was about to destroy it1 when that secrecy1 under the power of the press1 vanished into mist4 ,but what was the origin thereof8 ,and when1 after gentlemen and statesmen controlled it1 and expelled its rubbish1 it assumed a powerful influence1 and a new form1 as an ,american ,party1 what were the deep moving causes which led to its prominent position8 ,from the days of ,nimrod to the present day1 all history shows an effort on the part of a few to control temporal power1 at the expense of the many4 ,they have always acted on the superstitions of man to accomplish this end4 ,but the ,american theory 7esto perpetua7 is1 that all men are free and equal in their political rights1 when their intellect is that of control1 not of servitude2 and that the people are the source and fountain of political power4 ,it cometh not from a priest4 ,it is the voice of freemen speaking and acting through their agents1 whom they select4 ,this antagonism is now to be severely tested in coming history4 ,what is the source of temporal power8 ,rome1 ,england1 ,france1 and other countries1 say it is from the church1 meaning their own particular #aab designation of a religion4 ,that it is a divine right communicated by priestly anointment1 attended by public ceremonies1 imposing in appearance1 and ad captandum1 for the public eye4 ,the ,american theory1 going far beyond the bare and imperfect teaching of ,pythagoras1 boldly asserts what is believed to be the true and only origin of temporal power1 the free will of a people exercised through agents of its own selection4 ,for about eighty years past this first great experiment has been successful4 ,but that success has induced the most insidious attacks of those who advocate the opposite policy4 ,we must be watchful1 or our liberties will be gone4 ,the game they now play is new in history2 but1 it is one easily comprehended4 ,it has been well said that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance4 ,but two centuries since this land was the home of the savage4 ,the ,caucasian intellect1 however1 has assumed its supremacy here2 and the ,indian1 incapable of mental culture1 is gradually1 but surely passing1 like other forms of animal existence1 from the world4 ,one of the highest efforts of the human mind1 is the ,constitution of the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,the great principles of freemen governing themselves1 as there enunciated1 must and will necessarily be attacked by the asserters of divine right in temporal government4 ,if our experiment succeeds the powers of ,europe must fall1 or undergo an entire change4 #aac ,england's nobility must acknowledge1 sooner or later1 the equality of the commonalty and gentry with themselves4 ,distinctions in ,france have already gone1 except as to the assertion of the power of an emperor by virtue of a priestly coronation4 ,the popular masses of ,europe have only displayed their first1 but1 as yet1 imperfect efforts to assert their political rights4 ,it is the reflex action of the great principle we have successfully1 thus far1 practised4 ,and will not the powers who have conquered the masses then thus far1 use every effort to destroy this experiment of ours and perpetuate thereby their own existence8 ,if we continue to succeed1 our lesson to the world is the death-knell of monarchy and imperial power4 ,foreign powers and priestly powers are making this effort4 ,and if we are doomed to fail1 it will be by the ,,disunion their emissaries here endeavor to produce4 ,with us1 again1 is religious influence exerted4 ,servitude is recognised and practised in the south4 ,but the clergy of the north have commenced a fanatical crusade against it4 ,we should guard well against these influences1 foreign and domestic1 now operating against us4 ,as a part of the history of the times1 it may be proper to give the rise and progress of the so-called order of ,know-,nothings4 ,the plan of the organization was conceived by a gentleman of the city of ,new ,york1 who1 in #ahdi1 prepared and embodied into a system1 a plan for uniting the ,american #aad sentiment of the ,american people throughout the ,united ,states4 ,it was meant as a combined resistance1 on the part of the native ,american population1 to foreign and papal influence in this country4 ,the progress of the plan was so slow in its development1 that at the end of two years1 the number of members uniting in the organization did not exceed thirty4 ,in #aheb the plan was examined by a few gentlemen connected with the ,order of ,united ,americans1 another secret and ,american organization1 but not directly political or partisan in its aims and objects4 ,a society was formed1 and forty-three members signed their names to it1 and from that small beginning was formed a body of native ,americans which1 in a year or two after1 exceeded1 in the state of ,new ,york alone1 two hundred thousand members4 ,this state organization soon extended its ramifications all over the country1 and is now known as the ,american party4 ,it has held three national conventions1 one in ,philadelphia1 one at ,new ,york1 and one in ,louisville1 and is now no more of a secret party than either of the two great parties opposed to it3 the national conventions having abolished all secret meetings1 and the state conventions or councils having generally concurred in this abolition of all oaths and all forms of obligation but those of personal honor and mutual good faith4 ,the ban of secrecy had made it1 doubtless1 an object of suspicion4 ,its adversaries hurl at it these #aae unfortunate antecedents4 ,but now all secrecy has been abolished1 and the party claims to assert only1 the great principle of an ,,intelligent ,,self-,,government4 ,they recognise the secret and insidious influences of the ,jesuit1 and deprecate it4 ,they call attention to it1 and to its increasing importance in this valley2 but still1 in the spirit of liberty1 leave the ,jesuit free to act as he pleases4 ,they perceive that it is irreconcilable with freedom of thought and conscience to surrender1 unconditionally1 one's own views and thoughts to the will of any one man1 whether he be at ,rome or elsewhere4 ,still he is not interfered with4 ,let him act with all freedom4 ,you can vote for him for office or not1 as you please2 and1 here1 we have reason to fear the secret influence controlled alone at ,rome4 ,but1 with all this freedom1 it is called persecution to say ,i will not vote for such a man4 ,let ,europe send over all her emissaries1 and our country tells them you shall have the protection of our flag4 ,you shall think1 and speak what you will1 if it be not to the injury of your neighbor4 ,but is there not a spirit of self-preservation which demands that eternal vigilance which is the price of freedom8 ,is it proscription in saying to another man1 ,i will not vote for you8 ,if you can not exercise your own will1 where is your freedom8 ,if a whig refuses to vote for a democrat is that proscription8 ,then1 if ,i believe another man has surrendered his #aaf own will to the unconditional control of another1 in a foreign country1 can ,i trust him--regarding the antecedents hereinbefore referred to8 ,it has been said1 perhaps unjustly 7at least ,i hope so71 that the teaching of this important society1 the ,jesuit1 so deeply-rooted here1 is1 that the end justifies the means4 ,if this be so1 and if they can exercise over the immigrant population from ,europe the power imputed to them--all this also controlled at ,rome by the general of the order and his monitor--where can freedom be preserved to us1 if they can control a majority of votes here8 ,in such case our liberties are gone4 ,in such case1 they have simply adopted and ingeniously carried out the ancient powers of the priestly ,magi4 ,has not an ,englishman1 a member of parliament1 come to this country1 and lectured in ,new ,england on the abolition of slavery1 expressly to aid in creating disunion of our states8 ,has not the leaven of ,puritanism been excited to new action to accomplish the same result8 ,have not three thousand clergymen been induced to interfere in our temporal and political affairs2 just as in past history we find the ,magi and the priests did8 ,has not the word of ,god been set at naught8 ,where the command is1 ,thou shalt not kill1 are not ,sharpe's rifles purchased by their command8 ,a clever book of fiction1 written by a fanatical old #aag woman1 although untrue even as a picture of southern society1 has obtained for her the cordial entree of ,british aristocracy4 ,then1 again1 regard the immense immigration from ,europe4 ,no sooner is it possible1 but we find politicians busy to influence them1 and obtain their votes4 ,and they chiefly are opposed to slavery4 ,as patriots1 ,americans should say1 you may vote4 ,we throw around you no restraint4 ,your home is our home4 ,you are in every sense a brother1 and you shall be deprived of no privilege4 ,but while in no manner the privileges of a freeman should be denied to any1 we must not shut our eyes to the influences that surround us4 ,the ,magi controlled the then known world4 ,the ,roman church has done the same4 ,in ,england a church has assumed secular power4 ,in each instance it was the fabulous jus divinum by which it was accomplished4 ,shall they be allowed by such influences to control and so break down our great experiment of self-government8 ,rather let those peaceful and benevolent influences prevail1 which were inculcated by societies who taught equality of rights1 and peace and charity among men4 ,this bring us then to the great motive power which alone can save our country4 ,it is the education of the people1 and the freedom of the press1 directed through a unity of language4 #aah ,through these1 if properly conducted1 unless they be controlled by the hostile influences hereinbefore spoken of1 we shall be a happy and united nation4 ,there is no need1 hereafter1 of any secret teaching4 ,secret societies may promote social good1 but they are no longer necessary to teach either traditional philosophy1 or promote public welfare1 except by benevolence4 ,our duty is to encourage thought1 foster public schools1 create a unity of feeling and ideas1 by means of a unity of language1 and a freedom of the press4 ,but1 in doing so1 from the history of the past1 can we be too careful in guarding against the insidious influences of societies1 whose antecedents in history have proved so dangerous8 ,societies having for their object a religious influence1 and1 thereby intending to control political power1 are dangerous4 ,the past has shown it4 ,societies of benevolence1 like the ,free-,masons and ,odd-,fellows1 have done much good2 but each member therein votes1 in political matters1 as he pleases1 and without control4 ,these societies do good to all1 without view to any particular faith4 ,each person that binds himself1 by an obligation1 to serve only ,,him1 whose kingdom is not of this world1 should be debarred thereby from interfering in the politics of this world1 which he has thus forsworn4 ,but what are the facts8 ,do not even the clergy #aai of ,new ,england try to control our government8 ,are they not even endeavoring to create ,,disunion8 ,is this not with the desire and empressement of foreign power8 ,how far may not the praetorian bands of ,rome aid therein to carry out the result8 ,can we be too guarded as to our great experiment8 ,the first practical result1 then1 indicated by past history1 is1 that political power1 in monarchies1 empires1 c41 has been under the control of mere priestly mysteries4 ,the next is1 that human nature is always the same1 and will endeavor to accomplish the same result4 ,take the history of the past1 what are we to anticipate for the future8 ,can we judge but from the past8 ,have they not endeavored to govern ,europe8 ,we can only allow the will of freemen to govern us4 ,the will that has1 on oath1 submitted itself to the control of a foreign power1 is not that of a free man1 and our duty is to watch it4 ,let1 then1 every secret become a mystery2 or1 a revealed secret4 ,if it be good to one1 let it be good to all4 ,secure equality of rights4 ,collision of mind strikes out the sparks of truth4 ,secure universal education by free schools1 ensuring unity of language1 but leaving thought free2 and the result will be1 that secrecy will have become a mystery1 or revealed knowledge to all4 ,education1 and the freedom of the press1 are the #abj true safeguards of a republic4 ,interfere with the exercise of no religion2 but let no one system of faith control your government4 ,frown down every effort of priests or clergy to meddle with politics4 ,then shall we avoid the errors of the past1 preserve our present union1 and hope for the spread of the true principles of liberty4 ,with education will be united true piety1 each assisting the other1 no matter what the peculiar system of faith4 ,do away with secrecy altogether1 and let every blessing that knowledge can confer1 be devoted to public information1 and the good of all4 ,so1 shall the abuses of secrecy be done away with for ever--and it shine forth only in the holy sphere to which it should be confined1 to modesty and domestic virtue1 religious meditation and prayer1 and prudence in the transactions of life4 ,,the ,,end4 99 99 99 99 99 ,notes #a ,st4 ,matt4 xi4 #bh4 #b ,montgomery4 ,hymn #acd4 ,book of ,common ,prayer4 #c ,st4 ,john1 ,gospel1 iv4 #dd4 #d ,mal4 i4 #b4 #e #a ,corinthians ii4 #g-aj1 #ab1 #ac1 #af4 ,ibid4 iv4 #a1 #e4 #f #b ,corinthians iv4 #g4 #g #a ,corinthians xv4 #bb4 #h ,st4 ,matthew xxv4 #ad to #bi1 inclusive4 #i ,st4 ,paul 7,rom4 xvi4 #be1 #bf7 defines mystery as above given3 ,now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel1 and the preaching of ,jesus ,christ according to the revelation of the mystery1 which was kept secret since the world began1 but now is made manifest1 and by the scriptures of the prophets1 c4 #aj ,exodus vi4 #b1 #c4 ,and ,god spake unto ,moses1 and said unto him1 ,i am the ,lord or ,,jehovah1 and ,i appeared unto ,abraham1 unto ,isaac1 and unto ,jacob1 by the name of ,god ,almighty2 but by my name ,,jehovah was ,i not known to them4 #aa ,genesis vii4 #b1 #c4 #ab ,ibid vii4 #i4 #ac ,ibid xii4 #ad ,ibid xx4 #ae ,ibid xxvi4 #af ,exodus iv4 #bg1 #bh4 ,and the ,lord said unto ,aaron1 ,go into the wilderness to meet ,moses4 ,and he went1 and met him in the mount of ,god1 and kissed him4 #ag ,weber4 ,outlines of ,universal ,history4 ,am4 ,ed41 p4 #d4 #ah ,exodus vii4 #aa4 ,then ,pharaoh also called the wise men1 and the sorcerers3 now the magicians of ,egypt1 they also did in like manner with their enchantments4 #ai ,weber4 ,outlines ,univ4 ,hist4 ,sec4 #ab1 p4 #ab4 #bj ,christ4 ,breithaupt4 ,prof4 c4 ,de arte decifratoria4 ,helmstadtii1 apud ,ch4 ,fried4 ,weygand4 ,m,dccxxxvii4 p4 #ac4 ,apud veteres ,a,egyptios1 vt ab his dicendi initium faciamus1 praeter vulgares litteras1 tria adhuc alia characterum genera celebrantur1 quibus ad mysteria sua condenda fuerunt usi4 ,diserte hoc celebris ille stromatum conditor1 ,clem4 ,alexandrinus 7lib4 v4 ,stromatum1 pag4 #efc1 edit4 ,paris1 de an4 #afab71 docet1 ita scribens4 s3 ',qui docentur ab ,a,egyptiis primum quidem discunt ,a,egyptiarum litterarum viam ac rationem1 quae vocatur ,greek3 epizolographike1 i4e41 apta ad scribendas epistolas3 secundam autem1 sacerdotalem1 qua vtuntur ,greek3 hierogrammateis1 i4e41 qui de rebus sacris scribunt3 vltimam autem ,greek3 hierogluphiken1 i4e41 sacram1 quae insculpitur1 scripturam1 cuius vna quidem est per prima elementa ,greek3 kuriologike1 i4e41 propria loquens1 altera vero symbolica1 i4e41 per signa significans4' ,cum ,clementi conferendus est ,arabs ,abenephi1 cuius verba ita se habent3 7,scriptum hoc ,arabicum asseruatur in bibliotheca ,vaticana1 et typis nondum expressum est2 ab ,ath4 ,kirchero autem in ,obelisco ,pamphilio saepius citatur3 vnde etiam ea1 quae hic ex illo adduximus1 depromta sunt47 ',erant autem ,a,egyptus quatuor litterarum genera3 primum erat in vsu apud populum et idiotas2 secundum apud philosophos et sapientes3 tertium erat mixtum ex litteris et symbolis sive imaginibus3 quartum vsupabatur a sacerdotalibus1 erant que litterae avium1 quibus sacramenta indicabant divinitatis4' ,ex quo posteriori testamento hoc discimus1 quod erudite inter ,a,egyptios peculiari et a communibus litteris diuerso scripturae genere vsi sint ad doctrinas suas propagandas4 ,vti exempla ostendunt1 constitit hoec scriptura partim ex certis sententiis et argutis symbolis1 partim ex historicis fictionibus1 secretiori docendi methodo accommodatis4 444 ,omnes1 qui de rebus diuinis tractarunt1 tam ,barbari quam ,graeci rerum quidem principia occultaverint3 veritatem autem aenigmatibus1 signisque symbolis1 allegoriis rursus1 metaphoris1 quibusdam tropis modisque tradiderunt4 #ba ,exodus vii4 #aa1 #ab4 #bb ,ibid vii4 #bb4 #bc ,ibid viii4 #g4 #bd ,rheinisches ,conversations-,lexicon4 ,koeln und ,bonn4 #ahbg4 ,vol4 #g1 page #dcb4 ,magier1 ,magie1 ein urspruenglich medischer ,volksstamm1 dem1 der ,sitte des ,orients zufolge1 die ,erhaltung der wissenschaftlichen ,kenntnisse und die ,ausuebung der heiligen ,gebraeuche der ,religion ueberlassen war2 nachher im speziellen ,sinne die ,priesterkaste der ,perser und ,meder4 ,der ,name kommt aus dem ,pehlei2 ,mag oder ,mog heisst in dieser ,sprache ueberhaupt ein ,priester4 ,als eigner ,stamm der ,meder werden sie ausdruecklich von ,herodot erwaehnt4 ,zoroaster war nicht der ,stifter1 sondern nur der ,reformator der ,magier oder vielmehr ihrer ,lehrsaetze4 ,daher widersetzten sich die zu seiner ,zeit vorhandenen ,magier anfangs seinen ,neuerungen und werden von ihm verstucht4 ,nachdem sie seine ,verbesserungen angenommen hatten1 organisirte er auch ihre inneren ,einrichtungen und theilte sie in ,lehrlinge1 ,meister und vollendete ,meister4 ,ihr ,studium und ihre ,wissenschaft bestand in der ,beobachtung der heiligen ,gebraeuche1 in der ,kenntniss der heiligen ,gebetformeln oder ,liturgien1 mit denen ,ormuzd verehrt wurde2 und der bei ,gebeten und ,opfern gebraeuchlichen ,zeremonien4 ,nur durch sie konnte man ,gebete und ,opfer der ,gottheit darbringen2 nur sie waren die ,mittelpersonen zwischen der ,gottheit und den ,menschen2 nur ihnen offenbarte jene ihren ,willen2 nur sie blickten in die ,zukunft1 und enthuellten sie dem1 der bei ihnen darnach forsichte4 ,spaeter hat man ,magier ueberhaupt1 ,zauberer1 ,wundershaeter1 ,goldmacher und dergl4 genannt4 #be ,heeren's ,politics of ,ancient ,greece1 ch4 iii41 p4 #fe4 ,bancroft1 ,amed41 #ahbd4 #bf ,delafield's ,antiquities of ,america1 pp4 #fi-ga1 et notae4 #bg ,sir ,william ,jones1 vol4 i41 p4 #ib4 #bh ,heeren's ,politics of ,ancient ,greece3 ,am4 ed41 #ahbd1 p4 #fd4 ,also ,bryant's ,ancient ,mythology1 ii41 #cij4 #bi ,encyclopaedia ,americana1 vol4 ix4 7#ahce71 p4 #aah4 #cj ,gen4 x4 #h-ab4 ,this is adopting the marginal for the text reading of the passage1 and the reason for it is this3 ,the above is a clear historical account of those who journeyed to the plains of ,shinar1 which were only the descendants of ,cush the father of ,nimrod2 though ,asshur is said to have gone and builded the city of ,nineveh1 with the others mentioned in the text--which ,asshur was one of the sons of ,shem1 who perhaps was blended by marriage1 or other connections1 with his relations the sons of ,ham1 unless it can be shown that there was one of that name in ,ham's descendants as well as ,shem's son4 ,it was something particular 7if correct7 that ,moses should bring in ,asshur into his account of ,ham's issue1 because he was very strict in giving such relations of ,japheth and ,shem in their own places4 ,would ,noah1 who was so much disgusted at his son ,ham as to curse him1 permit the children of his other sons1 whom he blessed1 to have any communication with his children8 ,bishop ,cumberland1 in the last century1 took some pains to unravel this1 and concluded that the marginal translation in our bibles is the right one--that in the text being1 ,out of that land went forth ,asshur1 and builded ,nineveh1 c42 that in the margin1 ,and he ,nimrod went out of that land into ,assyria--for ,asshur generally in scripture signifies the ,assyrian1 excepting only in the genealogies3 and in support of this he brings forward many authentic testimonies4 7,see ,parsons's ,remains of ,japheth1 p4 #ae3 ,london1 #agfg47 #ca ,encyclopaedia ,americana1 title ,mysteries1 vol4 ix41 p4 #aah4 #cb ,deut4 xviii4 #aj4 #cc ,livy1 iv41 c4 #bb4 #cd #a ,sam4 xxviii4 #ai4 #ce ,eccles4 xlvi4 #cf ,lib4 v41 c4 #ib4 #cg ,isaiah xxix4 #d2 also viii4 #ai4 #ch ,alcestis1 #aabg4 #ci ,oedipus1 ,act iii41 #ecj4 #dj ,see ,rufinius1 i41 #aee4 #da ,phars41 vi41 #fgj4 ,this writer proposes hereafter to publish an essay on the intercourse between the living and the dead1 as connected with natural magic1 even to the present day4 #db ,lib4 i41 ,el4 ii41 #de4 #dc ,heeren4 ,politics ,anc4 ,greece2 ,am4 ,ed41 p4 #fh4 ,see also page following4 #dd ,rees' ,cyclop4 vol4 vii4 voc4 ,chaldean ,philosophy4 #de ,daniel ii4 #df ,the true ,god1 ,,jah1 was ,god over the false deities1 ,baalim4 #dg ,daniel v4 #f1 #g4 #dh ,acts vii4 #bc4 #di ,disq4 ,hist4 de variis modis occvlte scribendi1 ,helmstadt4 ,m,dccxxxvii4 pp4 #bc-bf4 ,illud memorandum1 quod ,kabbalistarum antiquiores etiam ex figura quatuor linearum1 quae inuicem sese intersecant1 in medio quadratum efficiunt1 occultum scripturae genus excogitarint sequentem in modum4 ,in singulis sectionibus tres collocant litteras a dextra ad sinistram4 ,quando igitur primam extribus intelligunt1 figuram sectionis istuis1 in qua reperitur1 cum vno puncto scribunt2 si alteram1 eandam figuram cum duobus punctis2 si tertiam1 rursus eandem cum tribus punctis4 #ej ,illorum philosophia sublimis1 quam ,kabbalam vocant1 diuersas sub se complectitur species1 quarum quaedam huc pertinent4 ,in famossissimo illo libello magico ,rasiel1 quem ,kabbalistae in magna veneratione habent1 tria imprimis secreta alphabeta leguntur1 quae a communi ,ebraicarum litterarum forma ductu in multis abeunt4 ,primum vocatur scriptura coelestis2 alterum scriptura angelorum sive regum2 tertium scriptura transitus fluvii4--,disq4 ,hist4 c41 ibidem4 #ea ,herm4 ,von der ,hardt1 celeberrimus aetatis nostrae philologus1 duorum etiam singularium alphabetorum meminit1 quibus ,judaei in amuletis suis conficiendis utuntur4 ,primum est1 si proxima semper pro proecedente substituitur littera1 nimirum ,hebrew3 ,b pro ,hebrew3 '1 ,hebrew3 ,g pro ,hebrew3 ,b sic porro4 ,hoctegere dicuntur confessionem suam de vno vero ,deo1 quam quotidie mane circa vesperam recitant1 de qua sibi persuadent1 quod effica cissimum contra idololatriam proesidium sit1 quo quasi proemuniantur1 ne a veritate ad falsam religionem desciscant4 ,alterum alphabetum occultum in eo consistit1 quod ordine elementorum in uerso vltimam litteram ,hebrew3 ,t cum prima ,hebrew3 '1 hanc cum illa vicissim permutent1 sic etiam reliquas3 quam inversionem ,hebrew3 ',,tbsh dicere moris est4 ,ex hoc maiusculis litteris in nobilioribus amuletis conspicuum symbolum ,hebrew3 ,,mtspts conficiunt1 quod nihil iterum aliud1 quam nomen ,dei ,hebrew3 ,,yhwh4 ,,hieronymus1 non incelebris primae ecclesiae pater contendit 7hereinafter quoted7 prophetam ,jeremiam hoc scribendi genere vsum fuisse1 1 ne regem ,babyloniae adversus ,ebraeos irritaret1 pro rege ,hebrew3 ,,bbl dixisse ,hebrew3 ,,shshk4 ,quin etiam sunt inter ,judaeos1 qui verba illa apud ,danielem ,hebrew3 ,,mn' ,,mn' ,,tql ,,wprsyn1 quae super caenam regis ,belsazaris e pariete per miraculum ad stuporem omnium prodibant1 eodem modo scripta fuisse1 atque iccirco hanc artificiosam litterarum transpositionem a ,deo ipso primam originem suam trahere existimant4 ,sed incerta hoec transeunda4 #eb ,tom4 iv4 ,oper4 comment4 in ,jerem4 cxxv41 #bf1 p4 #bhf1 edit4 ,coloniens4 de an4 #afaf4 #ec ,see ,conf4 ,lud4 ,henr4 ,hillerus1 in praefat4 mysterii artis stenographicae nouissimi ,vlmae an4 #afhb editi4 #ed ,breithaupt1 ,disq4 ,hist41 p4 #be1 notis4 #ee #b ,chron4 i4 #ab4 #ef ,ezra vii4 #a-f4 #eg ,heb4 ix4 #d3 and hereto agree ,abarbanel on #a ,kings viii4 #i1 and ,r4 ,levi ,ben ,gersom4--,prideaux ,conn4 i4 #big4 #eh ,deut4 xxxi4 #bf3 ,or1 as others interpret it1 by the side of the ark4 ,mittzad4 #a ,sam4 vi4 #h4 #b ,kings xxii4 #h4 ,prideaux i4 #big4 #ei ,prideaux i4 #big4 #fj ,vide ,buxtorfii ,synagogam4 c4 #ad4 #fa #b ,maccabees ii4 #fb #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #c4 #fc ,prideaux i4 #cjc-'d4 ,it were well to call to the reader's attention here1 the remarkable subterranean discoveries made this year 7#ahef71 and still going on in ,jerusalem1 under the ,austrian authorities there4 #fd ,prideaux i4 #bhe4 #fe ,vol4 i41 ,connex4 pp4 #chc1 #chd4 #ff ,isaiah xlv4 #e-g4 #fg ,prideaux1 ,con4 i4 #chi4 #fh ,page #be4 #fi ,prideaux i4 #cch-'i4 #gj ,plato in ,alcibiade i4 ,stobases1 p4 #dif4 ,clem4 ,alex4 in ,paedagogo i4 p4 #ha4 #ga ,prideaux ,con4 i4 #cie4 #gb ,cicero de ,divinatione1 l4 i4 ,philo ,judaeus de spec4 leg4 ,plutarch in ,artaxerxe4 #gc ,prideaux i4 #djd-'e4 #gd ,see page #ba1 antea4 #ge ,heeren1 ,politics ,anc4 ,greece1 p4 #bib4 #gf ,remains of ,japheth1 #acf4 #gg ,a bad way to extirpate error4 ,education1 reason1 and piety will meet error openly4 #gh #b ,phil4 ii4 #i1 #aj4 #gi ,matthew xv4 #b1 #c4 #hj ,mark vii4 #e-i4 #ha ,coloss4 ii4 #h4 #hb #b ,thess4 iii4 #f1 #g4 #hc ,acts xx4 #g1 #h4 #hd ,john xx4 #ai4 #he ,neander1 ,gen4 ,hist4 of ,christ4 ,rel4 c41 p4 #ih4 #hf ,brev4 ,rom41 p4 #bea4 ,lectio iij4 infra ,hebd4 quartam ,quadragesimae4 ,audistis grande mysterium4 ,interroga hominem3 ,christianus es8 ,respondet tibi3 non sum4 ,si paganus es1 aut ,judaeus8 ,si autem dixerit1 non sum3 adhuc quaeris ab eo1 ,catechumenus1 an fidelis8 ,si responderet tibi1 ,catechumenus3 inunctus est1 nondum lotus4 ,sed unde inunctus8 ,quaere1 et respondet4 ,quaere ab illo1 in quem credat8 ,eo ipso quo ,catechumenus est1 dicit1 ,in ,christum4 ,ecce modo loquor et fidelibus et catechumenis4 ,quid dixi de sputo et luto8 ,quia verbum caro factum est2 hoc catechumeni audiunt3 sed non eis sufficit ad quod inuncti sunt3 festinent ad lavacrum1 si lumen inquirunt4 #hg ,brev4 ,rom4 p4 #feb4 ,festa ,maji4 ,lectio viii4 ,si ergo ,nicodemus de illis multis erat qui crediderunt in nomine ejus1 jam in isto ,nicodemo attendamus1 quare ,jesus non se credebat eis4 ,respondit ,jesus1 et dixit ei3 ,amen1 ,amen dico tibi1 nisi quis renatus fuerit denuo1 non potest videre regnum ,dei4 ,ipsis ergo se credit ,jesus1 qui nati fuerint denuo4 ,ecce illi crediderant in eum1 et ,jesus non se credebat eis4 ,tales sunt1 omnes ,catechumeni3 ipsi jam credunt in nomine ,christi1 sed ,jesus non se credit eis4 ,intendat et intelligat charitas vestra4 ,si dixerimus catechumeno3 credis in ,christum8 ,respondet1 credo1 et signat se cruce ,christi3 portat in fronte1 et non erubescit de cruce ,domini sui4 ,ecce credit in nomine ejus4 ,interrogemus cum3 ,manducas carnem filii hominis1 et bibis sanguinem filii hominis8 ,nescit quid dicimus1 quia ,jesus non se credidit ei4 #hh #a ,corinth4 iii4 #a1 #b4 #hi #a ,peter ii4 #b4 #ij ,hebrews v4 #ab-ad4 #ia ,hebrews vi4 #a4 #ib ,matt4 x4 #e1 c4 #ic ,john xviii4 #cf4 #id ,llorente1 ,hist4 ,span4 ,inq4 ,london4 #ahbg4 #ie ,enc4 ,brit4 xv4 #fgd4 99 99 99 99 99 ,corrections made to printed original4 p4 #ag4 ,pharaoh1 king of ,egypt3 ',pharoah' in original4 ,also in ,note #ah4 p4 #dd4 more easily be employed3 'he' 7for 'be'7 in original4 ibid4 the human mind is an emanation3 'humid' 7for 'human'7 in original4 p4 #di1 diagram4 ,actual ,hebrew letters in original4 mem and tet are transposed1 kaph and vav look just like resh4 99 final forms4 p4 #eb1 note #ed4 ,footnote marker missing1 inserted in what seems to me the most likely place4 p4 #fg4 kings should be subject to the laws3 'king' 7ungrammatically7 in original4 p4 #gb4 ,greek3 episkopos or bishop4 ,greek3 episkokos in original4 p4 #ih4 ,all are bound to obey him implicitly3 'implicity' in original4 ,note #bj4 ,christ4 ,breithaupt3 ',breithaurpt' in original4 ,m,dccxxxvii3 ,,md in apostrophus form in text4 ,so also in note #di1 where an apostrophus is put wrongly for the cc4 ,notes #fh1 #gd4 ,the page numbers omitted in the original4