such a laudable and sacred undertaking, its superiority was fully manifested; it burst upon the world with irresistible conviction, and stood unrivalled amidst the proud and ostentatious productions of art which had previously elicited the admiration of mankind. The massive Tower of Babel, the gigantic pyramids of Egypt, exceeded it in solidity, but fell far short of it in magnificence. The idolatrous temples of Jupiter, in Tyre and Lybian Africa, of Dagon at Gaza, and many others which had been regarded with wonder and astonishment, faded into nothing before it; and the architects of those respective nations, forsaking the principles of their former practice, resolved to model their future works upon the improvements exhibited in this famous structure. Hence Jerusalem became the resort of all other nations; and hence the true principles of ancient Lux became more visibly disseminated subsequently to the building of this temple, which has induced a belief that this epoch is the earliest date that can be assigned to Masonry. It is indeed true that the initiated were, at this time, declared FREE, and exempted from all imposts, duties, and taxes, for them and their descendants: for as the remnant of the Canaanites, employed as labourers and bearers of burdens, were associated with the free-born at the erection of this edifice, a distinguishing epithet became ne

cessary to prevent confusion, as well as peculiar privileges to excite emulation. This epithet was, ACCEPTED, and the privileges were a perfect immunity from all contributions to the service of the State. A similar plan was pursued by Zerubabel at the building of the second temple, when Masonry was revived after the Babylonish captivity. These occurrences affixed to Masons the honourable and permanent appellations of FREE and

ACCEPTED.

But the union of speculative with operative Masonry produced advantages much more substantial. The idolatrous nations of Tyre, Phoenicia, Carthage, &c. were much addicted to the shocking and abominable practice of human sacrifices, to avert a general calamity. This barbarous custom, according to the Rabbins, took its rise from the offering of Isaac; for Salomon makes God expostulate with them in these words: "I never commanded that you should sacrifice your sons or your daughters, either by myself or my prophets; nor did I intend that Abraham should actually sacrifice his son; but the command was given to him to display his righteousness."* But I am

Salomon Jarchi, in Jer. vii. 31. "The Carthaginians and Phoenicians knowingly and wittingly themselves devoted their own children; and they that had none of their own, bought some of poor people, and then sacrificed them like lambs or pigeons, the poor mother standing by all the while, without either a sigh or tear; or if, by chance, she fetched a sigh, or let fall a tear, she lost the price

rather inclined to think that the practice originated long before the offering of Isaac; for Sanchoniatho records that Ham, "in the time of a great plague, offered up his son Isoud as a whole burnt offering to his father Ouranus or Noah." *

Our excellent brother Hiram Abiff, by the influence which he had acquired, not only over the Tyrians themselves, but also over their monarch, by the superiority of his understanding, was successful in abolishing this practice in his native country; and the neighbouring nations who had visited Jerusalem for Masonic instruction, were induced in a great measure to relinquish a practice so destructive of the true principles on which Masonry is founded. These Masons, in gratitude to the memory of Hiram Abiff, and to perpetuate the love and affection of his wife (daughter to the noble Prince Adoniram), who, from excess of grief at the untimely end of her husband, terminated her own existence by casting herself from the summit of a precipice, erected three statues of cast brass; one at Jerusalem, another at Joppa, and a third at Tyre: the former of which remained until the final destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish polity, by Titus Vespasian.

of her child, and it was nevertheless sacrificed. All the places round the image were, in the mean time, filled with the noise of hautboys and tabors, to drown the poor infant's crying."-Plut. de Superst. Sanch. in Euseb. Præp. Evan.

The distinguishing excellence of our ancient Brethren, was the silence or secrecy they religiously observed respecting the mysteries of our science, except to those whom they found WORTHY of a participation in them, by a previous trial and probation: they were imparted only to those who were free-born and well reported of.

The true way of gaining a knowledge of these secrets, is pointed out by Jesus Christ in his Sermon on the Mount: "Ask, and it shall be given you; SEEK, and ye shall find; KNOCK, and it shall be opened unto you."* And this was an advice venerable for its antiquity, though used by philosophical paganism to direct the inquiries of its disciples to human learning. Philosophy," says Shuckford, "was not disputative until it came into Greece; the ancient professors had no con troversies about it; they received what was handed down to them, and out of the treasure of their traditions imparted to others; and the principles they went upon to teach or to learn by, were not to search into the nature of things, or to consider what they could find by philosophical examination, but Ask, and it shall be told you; SEARCH the records of antiquity, and you shall find what you inquire after.' These were the maxims and directions of their studies."+

* Matt. vii. 7.

+ Connect. Pref. vol. 1.

Hence something more than the mere forms of initiation is required to constitute a good Mason: for every one is not acquainted with the true secrets of Masonry who has been initiated into the Order. What ability has denied to one, another loses by his indolence. Honour and probity, diligence and assiduity, truth and fidelity, years, learning, and experience, are unitedly necessary to constitute "a good and virtuous Mason;" for Masonry is the perfection of all the arts and sciences. As a knowledge of medicine, astronomy, morality, and legislation formed the great essentials of the ancient mysteries; so faith, hope, and charity, temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice, united with grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy, form constituent parts of the ONE Science of Masonry, which has been held in the greatest estimation in every age of the world; has been honoured with the approbation and public patronage of kings, peers, and prelates; and still shines with unabated lustre :the perfection of human nature, supported by the high and unequivocal sanction of revealed truth.