They were, with these dim but still purifying perceptions, unwilling8 to degrade the majesty9 of the First Great Cause by sharing his attributes with a Zeus and a Hera in Greece, a Jupiter and a Juno in Rome, an Osiris and an Isis in Egypt; and they did not believe that the thinking, feeling, reasoning soul, the guest and companion of the body, would, at the hour of that body's dissolution, be consigned10, with it, to total annihilation.
Hence, in the earliest ages after the era of the dispersion, there were some among the heathen who believed in the unity11 of God and the immortality12 of the soul. But these doctrines14 they durst not publicly teach. The minds of the people, grovelling15 in superstition16, and devoted17, as St. Paul testifies of the Athenians, to the worship of unknown gods, were not prepared for the philosophic18 teachings of a pure theology. It was, indeed, an axiom unhesitatingly enunciated19 and frequently repeated by their writers, that "there are many truths with which it is useless for the people to be made acquainted, and many fables21 which it is not expedient22 that they should know to be false." 6 Such is the language of Varro, as preserved by St. Augustine; and Strabo, another of their writers, exclaims, "It is not possible for a philosopher to conduct a multitude of women and ignorant people by a method of reasoning, and thus to invite them to piety23, holiness, and faith; but the philosopher must also make use of superstition, and not omit the invention of fables and the performance of wonders." 7
While, therefore, in those early ages of the world, we find the masses grovelling in the intellectual debasement of a polytheistic and idolatrous religion, with no support for the present, no hope for the future,—living without the knowledge of a supreme24 and superintending Providence25, and dying without the expectation of a blissful immortality,—we shall at the same time find ample testimony26 that these consoling doctrines were secretly believed by the philosophers and their disciples27.
But though believed, they were not publicly taught. They were heresies28 which it would have been impolitic and dangerous to have broached29 to the public ear; they were truths which might have led to a contempt of the established system and to the overthrow30 of the popular superstition. Socrates, the Athenian sage3, is an illustrious instance of the punishment that was meted31 out to the bold innovator32 who attempted to insult the gods and to poison the minds of youth with the heresies of a philosophic religion. "They permitted, therefore," says a learned writer on this subject8, "the multitude to remain plunged33 as they were in the depth of a gross and complicated idolatry; but for those philosophic few who could bear the light of truth without being confounded by the blaze, they removed the mysterious veil, and displayed to them the Deity34 in the radiant glory of his unity. From the vulgar eye, however, these doctrines were kept inviolably sacred, and wrapped in the veil of impenetrable mystery."
The consequence of all this was, that no one was permitted to be invested with the knowledge of these sublime35 truths, until by a course of severe and arduous36 trials, by a long and painful initiation37, and by a formal series of gradual preparations, he had proved himself worthy38 and capable of receiving the full light of wisdom. For this purpose, therefore, those peculiar39 religious institutions were organized which the ancients designated as the MYSTERIES, and which, from the resemblance of their organization, their objects, and their doctrines, have by masonic writers been called the "Spurious Freemasonry of Antiquity."
Warburton,9 in giving a definition of what these Mysteries were, says, "Each of the pagan gods had (besides the public and open) a secret worship paid unto him, to which none were admitted but those who had been selected by preparatory ceremonies, called initiation. This secret worship was termed the Mysteries." I shall now endeavor briefly41 to trace the connection between these Mysteries and the institution of Freemasonry; and to do so, it will be necessary to enter upon some details of the constitution of those mystic assemblies.
Almost every country of the ancient world had its peculiar Mysteries, dedicated42 to the occult worship of some especial and favorite god, and to the inculcation of a secret doctrine13, very different from that which was taught in the public ceremonial of devotion. Thus in Persia the Mysteries were dedicated to Mithras, or the Sun; in Egypt, to Isis and Osiris; in Greece, to Demeter; in Samothracia, to the gods Cabiri, the Mighty43 Ones; in Syria, to Dionysus; while in the more northern nations of Europe, such as Gaul and Britain, the initiations were dedicated to their peculiar deities44, and were celebrated45 under the general name of the Druidical rites46. But no matter where or how instituted, whether ostensibly in honor of the effeminate Adonis, the favorite of Venus, or of the implacable Odin, the Scandinavian god of war and carnage; whether dedicated to Demeter, the type of the earth, or to Mithras, the symbol of all that fructifies47 that earth,—the great object and design of the secret instruction were identical in all places, and the Mysteries constituted a school of religion in which the errors and absurdities48 of polytheism were revealed to the initiated49. The candidate was taught that the multitudinous deities of the popular theology were but hidden symbols of the various attributes of the supreme god,—a spirit invisible and indivisible,—and that the soul, as an emanation from his essence, could "never see corruption," but must, after the death of the body, be raised to an eternal life.10
That this was the doctrine and the object of the Mysteries is evident from the concurrent50 testimony both of those ancient writers who flourished contemporaneously with the practice of them, and of those modern scholars who have devoted themselves to their investigation51.
Thus Isocrates, speaking of them in his Panegyric52, says, "Those who have been initiated in the Mysteries of Ceres entertain better hopes both as to the end of life and the whole of futurity." 11
Epictetus12 declares that everything in these Mysteries was instituted by the ancients for the instruction and amendment53 of life.
And Plato13 says that the design of initiation was to restore the soul to that state of perfection from which it had originally fallen.
Thomas Taylor, the celebrated Platonist, who possessed54 an unusual acquaintance with the character of these ancient rites, asserts that they "obscurely intimated, by mystic and splendid visions, the felicity of the soul, both here and hereafter, when purified from the defilements of a material nature, and constantly elevated to the realities of intellectual vision." 14
Creuzer,15 a distinguished55 German writer, who has examined the subject of the ancient Mysteries with great judgment56 and elaboration, gives a theory on their nature and design which is well worth consideration.
This theory is, that when there had been placed under the eyes of the initiated symbolical57 representations of the creation of the universe, and the origin of things, the migrations58 and purifications of the soul, the beginning and progress of civilization and agriculture, there was drawn59 from these symbols and these scenes in the Mysteries an instruction destined60 only for the more perfect, or the epopts, to whom were communicated the doctrines of the existence of a single and eternal God, and the destination of the universe and of man.
Creuzer here, however, refers rather to the general object of the instructions, than to the character of the rites and ceremonies by which they were impressed upon the mind; for in the Mysteries, as in Freemasonry, the Hierophant, whom we would now call the Master of the Lodge61, often, as Lobeck observes, delivered a mystical lecture, or discourse62, on some moral subject.
Faber, who, notwithstanding the predominance in his mind of a theory which referred every rite20 and symbol of the ancient world to the traditions of Noah, the ark, and the deluge63, has given a generally correct view of the systems of ancient religion, describes the initiation into the Mysteries as a scenic64 representation of the mythic descent into Hades, or the grave, and the return from thence to the light of day.
In a few words, then, the object of instruction in all these Mysteries was the unity of God, and the intention of the ceremonies of initiation into them was, by a scenic representation of death, and subsequent restoration to life,16 to impress the great truths of the resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul.
I need scarcely here advert65 to the great similarity in design and conformation which existed between these ancient rites and the third or Master's degree of Masonry40. Like it they were all funereal66 in their character: they began in sorrow and lamentation67, they ended in joy; there was an aphanism, or burial; a pastos, or grave; an euresis, or discovery of what had been lost; and a legend, or mythical68 relation,—all of which were entirely69 and profoundly symbolical in their character.
And hence, looking to this strange identity of design and form, between the initiations of the ancients and those of the modern Masons, writers have been disposed to designate these mysteries as the SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY OF ANTIQUITY.
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1
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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oases
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| n.（沙漠中的）绿洲( oasis的名词复数 )；（困苦中）令人快慰的地方（或时刻）；乐土；乐事 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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sages
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| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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15
grovelling
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| adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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enunciated
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| v.（清晰地）发音( enunciate的过去式和过去分词 )；确切地说明 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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heresies
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| n.异端邪说，异教( heresy的名词复数 ) | |
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broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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meted
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| v.（对某人）施以，给予（处罚等）( mete的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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innovator
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| n.改革者；创新者 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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initiation
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| n.开始 | |
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38
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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41
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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42
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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43
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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44
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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45
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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46
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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47
fructifies
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| vi.结果实（fructify的第三人称单数形式） | |
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48
absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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49
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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50
concurrent
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| adj.同时发生的，一致的 | |
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51
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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52
panegyric
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| n.颂词，颂扬 | |
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53
amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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54
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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55
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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56
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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57
symbolical
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| a.象征性的 | |
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58
migrations
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| n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 ) | |
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59
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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61
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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62
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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63
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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64
scenic
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| adj.自然景色的，景色优美的 | |
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65
advert
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| vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告 | |
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66
funereal
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| adj.悲哀的；送葬的 | |
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67
lamentation
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| n.悲叹，哀悼 | |
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68
mythical
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| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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