"THE STEPS OF MAN"

by
Bro.  G. E. Harrington, M. M. Lodge No. 3525.


"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways," saith the Lord.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways
higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
(Isaiah 55, vv. 8, 9.)

"What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man
that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels and hast
crowned him with glory and honour."

(Psalm 8, vv. 4, 5.)

"What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite
in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in
action how like an angel!" (Hamlet, Act II, Sc. ii.)

"Continue to listen to the voice of nature which bears witness
that even in this perishable frame resides a vital and immortal
principle which inspires a holy confidence that the Lord of Life
will enable us to trample the King of Terrors beneath our feet
and lift our eyes to that bright Morning Star whose rising brings
peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human
race."


PREAMBLE

As the steps of man are trod in the various and uncertain
incidents of life and his days are variegated and chequered by a
strange contrariety of events, let us, as speculative Masons,
first turn our attention in retrospect to the variegated and
chequered pattern in the life of Brother Man and since the most
interesting of all human studies is the knowledge of ourselves,
let us see how we stand in relation to that pattern.

The hypothesis has been put forward by scientists that this earth
on which we dwell has been in existence for some two to four
thousand million years - more or less maybe! We do not know. 
Certain it is that despite all the theories advanced - and there
have been many - we remain in ignorance concerning the origin of
the world.  Today, we have some awareness, but very little
knowdedge really of the univene in wtich the earth figures as a
planet

From time immemorial man has recognised, tacitly and avowedly, a
Transcendent Power, a Supreme Intelligence, a Force mightily and
sweetly ordering all things, upholding and sustaining all
creation.  From the earliest period of time we have been taught
to believe in the existence of a Deity.  To this Omnipotent,
Omniscient and Omnipresent Being, man at different times and in
different places, has ascribed various names, i.e., the Chinese
"Tao"; the Hindu "Brahman"; the Hebrew "Jehovah" and the
Anglo-Saxon word for the Divine Being - "God." We, in our Order,
use the term "Great Architect of the Universe" from which can, be
inferred that we envisage a Plan.

In the Fourth Gospel, Chapter 1, it is written: -

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God."

and in the First Chapter of the Book of Genesis, we read :-

v.3 - And God said; Let there be light . . . .
v.26 - And God said; Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness . . . .

Now if we will suppose, that on any fine autumn evening we are in
the country standing on a hilltop, far removed from the sights
and sounds of human life, when the sun, the centre of our solar
system, has set in the west over which the slender crescent of
the moon has hovered and disappeared, and we gaze up to the
darkened heavens, before our eyes will be presented a truly
wonderful and awesome spectacle.  In the dark, boundless,
measureless, vault of the sky, we shall behold a mighty concourse
of stars - suns, separated from this earth - and indeed our solar
system - by millions and millions of miles.  Were our sun to
travel, for instance, as far as the nearest star (Proxima
Centauri) it would become to us on earth, as a mere speck of
light.  Right overhead extending from north-east to south-west we
observe the Milky Way or Galaxy - a stupendous girdle of stars. 
And we are told that there are millions of other galaxies.  If we
move slowly round we shall be able to pick out the constellations
named in the Zodiac "Taurus," "Aries," "Pisces" and "Aquarius" to
which further reference will be made later in this Paper.

When we thus contemplate this prodigious pattern in the heavens
and realise how astronomers by the aid of the science of geometry
have been able to show that our earth and the other planets, in
perfect form and with unfailing regularity, move round the sun,
we cannot but fail with humility and awe to recognise the
tremendous pattern or Plan that rules the universe.  Truly, the
Deity whom we serve crowns his Temple with stars as with a diadem
and with His hand extends the power and glory.  The sun and the
moon are messengers of His will and all His law is concord.

Scientists from their researches in the field of modern physics
inform us that the once so-called indivisible atom of matter
consists in fact of a nucleus with a positive charge of
electricity around which whirl negative charges called electrons. 
And so we have a miniature solar system in all that we call
matter.

Now let us consider our home, our temporary home - this earth, or
rather that very small part of it - that thin film of life of not
more than a thousandth of the radius of the earth which it
envelopes - known as the biosphere.  Here can be noted the
definite patterns of things animate and inanimate - mountains,
hills, rivers, trees and all vegetation; and the animal world
with its great phyla.  It was Kant, the German philosopher, who
remarked on the agreement of so many genera of animals with a
common plan or structure.  With all their differences, they
seemed to him to have been produced according to a common
original type.

And from the macrocosm to the microcosm - to man - whose
essential pattern would appear to have remained unchanged for the
last 500,000 years but who in the passage of time and the course
of his evolution has been able to master forces above, on, and
beneath land and sea and to conquer the animal world.  He has
learned much of the external, the objective world about him but
he has remained largely in ignorance of himself. During the vast
periods of time in which Brother Man has been very busy in
studying and developing, almost exclusively for his own use, the
plenitude of earth and the forces of nature, there has
persistently clamoured in his mind the questions: Who am I?
Whence came I? Whither am I bound? And perhaps the further
questions: Why? What for? What is it all about? Perhaps these
questions have never been put with more poignant anguish than in
recent years by so many of our fellow men in Europe and Asia.

The great characteristic of man distinguishing him from the rest
of the known world, is the power of speech.  If we turn to the
Second Chapter of the Book of Genesis verses 19 and 20: we read
as follows:-

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the
field and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to
see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every
living creature, that was the name thereof.

"And Adam gave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the air and
to every beast of the field."

And so we have, first, from common earth, man, beasts, birds,
fishes and all the fullness of the earth.  And then in man we
have, in his mind, the differentiation of these things.  And from
common sound, we have particular sound forms within the compass
of man's voice to describe those things as differentiated in his
mind.  He named them "and that was the name thereof". So there
are two worlds.  The external world and the world as
consciousness in the mind of man.  But since man can only convey
his thoughts to another by one medium - speech - and its symbols
(writing) it can truly be said, as Sir Oliver Lodge has said that
speaking and writing might be considered as incarnations of
meaning. And since incarnation brings limitation we may
appreciate the silence of the Buddha when asked to define Nirvana
and also of the Christian Master in the presence of the Roman
Procurator.

Speech is a faculty of power.  Students of the science of Mantra
or the Sacred Word recognise this. In the use of mantras for
meditation the words or sentences themselves should not just be
considered as words or sentences of a particular language but
their import realised and their meaning penetrated.  Consider the
prayer of Gayatri with its magnificent meaning: "Let us meditate
on the glorious effulgence of that Diving Being who has created
the three worlds.  May He direct our understanding."

Hindu philosophy teaches that during a state of dissolution of
the universe, Prakriti (the substantial cause of both mind and
matter) is in a state of equilibrium of the three gunas, sattwa,
rajas, and tamas.  When this state of equilibrium is removed
there is cosmic vibration.  It is interesting to reflect that one
of the laws of the modern science of mechanics states that: "If
three forces acting on the same particle can be represented in
magnitude and direction (but not in position) by the sides of a
triangle taken in order, they shall be in equilibrium."

So much for that distinguishing characteristic of man, the power
of speech.  Now let us consider one other remarkable power he
possesses and which has enabled him to gain considerable mastery
over other forms of life and not only to combat certain forces of
nature but to bend them to his own use and profit.  I refer to
the ability and capacity for making tools and instruments, called
by Gerald Heard "those extrapolated limbs". It requires little
imagination to realise how man has thus been able to extend his
activities.  It was one, Christian Thomsen who, in 1836,
suggested that the history of man could be placed in categories
chronologically according to the materials of which he made his
instruments and we have the Palaeolithic and the Neo-lithic - the
Old and the New Stone Ages, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. 
Presumably, posterity will bring our times under the categories
of the Electric and the Atomic Ages 

RETROSPECTION

But what of early man? What do we know about him? The answer I
think, must be - not much.  The archaeologists and the geologists
have all contributed to presenting pictures of early man and we
have been told among others of the Peking Man, the Heidelberg
Man, the Neanderthal Man and particularly the Cro-Magnon Man.

To quote from "The Light of Asia:" -

"Men perished in winter winds till one smote fire 
from flint stones hiding what they held,
The red spark treasured from the kindling sun.

"They gorged on flesh like wolves till one sowed corn 
Which grew a weed, yet makes the life of man.

"They mowed and babbled till some tongue struck speech

And patient fingers framed the lettered sound

"What good gift have my brothers but it came From Search and
Strive and Loving Sacrifice."

Have you ever sat in an Underground Railway Train and studied the
expressions on the face of an infant making perhaps its first
journey in such a way? Watch its open-mouthed wonderment at the
doors opening and closing; behold its enjoyment, albeit tinged
with apprehension at the movement of the train and note its
obvious pleasure at the bright lights and its expressions of
bewilderment at the constantly changing human forms entering and
leaving the train.

Now consider primitive man, the child in the world if you like,
wandering, wondering, apprehending, comprehending, enjoying and
suffering, fearsome and bewildered, speculating on the
uncertainties of life, the unknown forces, some friendly
apparently and some definitely hostile, with all the confusing
phenomena confronting him at every turn.  What did he make of it
all?

His speculation did not take the highly intellectual objective
form pursued by modern science.  He did not think in terms of "I" 
and "IT", neither did he personify the things and forces around
him.  Primitive man did not personify objects, neither did he
recognise an inanimate world at all.  Primitive man saw all the
things around him in the terms not of "I" and "It" but of "I" and
"Thou". He was as it were, in and of the cosmos; in what Levy
Bruhl has called "participation mystique". Perhaps the very first
impression conveyed to him via his senses of sight and touch
would be the differentiation of form.  Eventually he would notice
trees and animals, fishes and birds generally having certain
shapes but in particular falling into common categories.

In other words, he might have recognised a pattern in life - a
vast design faintly comprehensible by him.  And as a child
growing into maturity puts away the fantastic figures conjured up
in its mind and from experience substitutes a nearer approach to
reality, so man's fear of unknown forces gradually gave place to
an appreciation of law and order, concisely epitomised by that
great Muse and Mason, Bro. Robert Burns:-

"Ye power that presides o'er the wind and the tides, 
Who marked each element's border,
Who founded this frame with beneficent aim, 
Whose sovereign statute is order."

Man however, is a gregarious creature.  His state of helpless
indigence inculcates the useful lessons of natural equality and
mutual dependence.

"Man lives not for himself alone, 
In others good, he find his own."

Naturally then there followed the converging of nomads, the
formation of tribes, the increase of races and the birth and
growth of nations with their particular languages, cults,
religions, arts and sciences, in all of which there is every
reason to believe that at various times throughout the ages, our
ancestors have had wisdom, knowledge and skill comparable, if not
superior to, our own today.  In Western Europe there have been
discovered bones, weapons, carvings and paintings believed to
date from some 40,000 to 30,000 years ago (the Palaeolithic or
Old Stone Age) up to 12,000 to 10,000 yeus ago (when the
Neolithic or New Stone Age was commencing.)

In expert opinion there is little doubt that thousands of years
before the civilisations of Babylon and Egypt there lived peoples
who for creative and artistic ability have not been surpassed. At
any rate, we are justified, I think in believing that some 25,000
to 20,000 years ago another great faculty of man was manifest;
that of the creative expression and appreciation of art.

PROCEEDING ONWARDS

Proceeding onward, we can think of man through the ages winding
his way through the intricate paths of his existence through
trial and error, success and failure, triumph and defeat, one
millennium following another.  With a growing knowledge of
agriculture man became expert in ploughing, sowing and reaping. 
Gradually he became more proficient in the making of tools and
weapons.  Nomads settled - villages appeared - cities were built
- and small states grew.

Now apart from a realisation of his own impotence on the earth in
a mighty universe, there are certain factors which by their
effect upon his life, and his own close and almost continuous
contact with them, have forcibly impressed themselves upon the
consciousness of man.  The most important of these are the light
of day and the darkness of night, the sun and the moon, moisture
or water, seasonal variations especially spring and autumn and
last but by no means least, mother earth.  In the sun, early man
would see a Power both friendly and hostile, its kindly rays
which warmed his body and gave life to his crops could alas, also
be turned to parch his throat, blister his skin and dry up all
vegetation.  To him, the sun also had its own trials and
tribulations, rising triumphant in the morning only to be
engulfed at eventide.  In the waxing and waning of the moon he
visualised a battle in the firmament or the new moon held in the
arms of the old and so on.  Early man would be awestruck by
thunder and lightning, disheartened by torrential rains and
floods yet thankful for rain to promote growth and to quench his
thirst.  The feminine attribute of this planet as mother-earth
extends far back into antiquity.  The Babylonian earth-goddess
Ishtar was equated with Venus possibly because of the latter's
twofold aspect as evening and morning star whilst the former had
two aspects, one in the season of growth and vegetation and the
other in the winter season when as was then supposed she was
imprisoned in the bowels of the earth by her hostile sister - the
goddess of the lower regions.  At a later period we have the myth
of Persephone and Demeter (called Ceres by the Romans - hence our
word "cereal").  This tells how Persephone strayed away from
Arcadia and whilst plucking flowers in the meads of Enna, the
earth suddenly opened and she was carried off by Aidoneus to whom
Zeus had promised her.  The despair of Demeter at her loss caused
Zeus to send Hermes into the lower world to fetch back
Persephone.  The latter however, had partaken of a pomegranate in
the lower world and was thereby obliged to spend one-third of the
year with Aidoneus and the remainder with her mother at Olympus. 
That this is a vegetation myth is obvious but it is also the
story of the soul to be paralleled with the Mosaic myth of Adam
and Eve.  As a vegetation myth it is connected with seasonal
variations.

As stated above, early man did not recognise an inanimate
universe but saw himself with the Powers about him which affected
his daily life as a living actor in a mighty drama in which his
relationship stood as "I" and "Thou". It is not surprising
therefore, that these Powers, the sun, the moon, moisture, storm,
vegetation, the seasons, and mother-earth should be incorporated
in his cults and religious beliefs, as indeed they were, and some
of which, as far as the magnitude of this Paper allows, we will
examine later in a little detail.  However, interwoven as it
were, with these more concrete ideas, there are certain abstract
notions which appear in one form or another like a common vein or
strata in many of the various myths, cults and religions in
history.  Amongst these there are the ideas of the Priest King or
Divine King with magics-religious attributes and his relation to
the well-being of the community, the Virgin Birth, the Hero
God-Son, the murder or other form of death of the King or the
God-Son and resurrection.

It can be noted that through the ages, culture, and intellectual
achievement have followed religions, whilst social conditions and
political ideas have often been built upon the foundations of a
particular religion.

Obviously in a Paper of this length it is not possible to touch
even the fringe of all the beliefs, myths, cults and great
religions of the peoples of the world in history.  Tomes could be
written and indeed have been.  That monumental work of Sir James
Fraser, "The Golden Bough" deals at very great length with such
subjects and runs into a considerable number of volumes.  There
is, however, an abridged edition of this comprehensive work in
the Library of the Dormer Masonic Study Circle.  It seems to me
that for those who seek to draw aside the veil and penetrate into
the Mysteries of Antient Freemasonry, a study of comparative
religion is necessary, for, although our Masonic Order is not a
religion, it is religious in the true meaning of the word (re-
ligare - to bind back) and can be considered a synthesis of all
the verities contained in the leading teachings and great
religions of the past and present.

"Magna est veritas et prevalebit".  I would therefore, with
humility suggest to my Brethren, that through its Transactions
and its very fine and comprehensive Library, the Dormer Masonic
Study Circle can provide for aspiring students of the Mysteries
whatever their particular status, a good deal of the information
that they require.

And now to pass on to a very brief review of some of the myths,
cults, teachings and religions of the past.

The ancient civilisation, the Aztecs of Mexico had a polytheistic
religion which had for its purpose the attraction of natural
forces favourable to human existence and the repulsion of those
harmful and so they had rain-gods, water-goddesses, gods of the
day, gods of the night and gods of the weeks all of whom had to
be honoured and placated at the appropriate day and time. 
Unfortunately the Aztecs had recourse to human sacrifice one form
of which was literally to tear the victim's heart from his
breast.

It is believed that the ancient sacred literature of India the
Veda had its origin in the First or Second millennium B.C. if not
earlier.  The Rigveda is a collection of hymns addressed to the
Gods of the Vedic pantheon.  Amongst the vast literature of
ancient India there are the Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the
Sutras.  The Dharma Sutras deal with the secular and religious
law and the most famous of these is the Manavadharmasastra or the
Law Book of Manu, wherein is laid down the principles of the
caste system which divided the peoples into four classes, first
the Brahmans (the priests, the scholars and the teachers), next
the Kshatriyas (soldiers and rulers), then the Vasiyas (farmers
and merchants) and finally the Sudras (the servants, the
labourers, the non twice-born).

The Sumerians, the inhabitants of the Sumer region of
Mesopotamia, have been credited with the invention of the wheel,
of a type of plough and of a certain kind of writing - the
cuneiform.  Sumeria in the third millennium B.C. consisted of
small states ruled by theocratic government.  We have the Laws of
Hammurapi promulgated incorporating a moral code and with a sense
of universal justice, we have the construction of canals (so
important for agriculture) and we have the building up of
industry and commerce.

Between 3000 B.C. and 2500 B.C., the Semetic race the Canaanites
settled in Palestine and further north the Amorites had settled. 
At the eastern end of what has been called the "fertile
crescent", along the courses of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates
lies the plain of Babylonia and there it was that the non-semetic
race of the Sumerians settled.

"And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they
found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there."
(Genesis II, v. 2.)

"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose
top may reach unto heaven."

(Genesis II, v. 4.)

It is possible that primitive peoples considered the expanse of
heaven to be not so very far from earth and at Nippur and Ashur
there have been found remains of the "ziggurats" or towers.  On
the other hand it cannot be overlooked that the gods of ancient
peoples were localised on mountain tops such as Zeus on Mt. 
Olympus and there is the further symbolism which is repeated many
times in the Bible that mountains and high places are expressive
of high planes in the spiritual sense.  A further significance is
found in the fact that many, if not most, of these "ziggurats"
had seven stories or stages.

We are informed that the Sumerians were defeated by invaders (the
Akkads under Sargon), that north of Sumer there was a small town
called Babylon which was seized by the Amorites, that this city
grew until the time of Hammurapi who made himself ruler over
Sumer and Akkad and from then, the lands of Sumer and Akkad lost
their individuality and the area was called Babylonia after the
name of the city of Babylon.

The dates of the reign of Hammurapi, the Fourth King of the First
Dynasty of Babylon have been given as between 1728 and 1686 B.C.
The Fourteenth Chapter of the Book of Genesis has reference to
Chedorlaomer, the King of Elam (a country lying east of
Babylonia) and it has been suggested that the reference in that
Chapter to Amraphel is to Ammurapi, otherwise Hammurapi.

This brings us to a consideration of the beliefs of the early
Mesopotamian which were largely influenced by the climatic and
geographic conditions of the country.  The sudden risings of the
rivers, torrential rains, warm violent winds and terrific
thunderstorms, these awesome and powerful forces of Nature could
not but fail to make a deep impression upon the minds of the
people.  These forces together with inanimate objects they
personified.  Stone and grain, thunderstorm, rain and flood were
endowed with will and personality.

Briefly, the Sumerians held that the universe was controlled by
an assembly of gods.  These differed in particular locations: for
instance at Lagash, Cuthah and Sippar we have respectively
Ningersu, Nergal and Shamash, all solar deities; whilst at Nippur
we have Enlil "personification of the storm" and his consort
Ninkharsag "the lady of the mountain" and at Ur - Sin, the moon
god.  Soon we find they are forming into triads such as Anu,
Enlil and Ea, gods of heaven, earth and water respectively and
Ninib, Shamash and Nergal, chief solar deities and Sin, the
moon-god with Ea and Nebo, water deities.  Even later we have
Marduk as the universal ruler.  Mention must also be made of the
goddess lshtar.  She was the great mother goddess, a fertility
goddest goddess of war and of love, image of the moon and
worshipped as queen of heaven, the Astoreth of the Zidonians and
the Philistines, the Ashtart of the Phoenicians, the Greek
Astarte, known also as Istar or Astar whence we derive our word
Easter.

In the second millennium B.C., however, a further myth takes
precedence over the others in which Marduk, the god of Babylon
becomes the hero.  Babylon was subsequently annexed by Assyria
and the Assyrians replaced Marduk with their own god, Assur. We
learn, however, that Nabopolassar, a Chaidean, overthrew Assyrian
authority and made himself King of Babylon.  He was succeeded by
Nebuchadnezzar, the captor of the Jews.  In the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became a city of considerable importance
with much grandeur and splendour.

Babylon eventually fell to Cyrus, King of Persia, of whom we read
in verses 22 and 23 of Chapter 36 of the Second Book of
Chronicles that the Lord stirred up his spirit that he made a
proclamation saying:-

"All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of Heaven given
me; and He hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem
which is in Judah.  Who is there among you of all his people? The
Lord his God be with him and let him go up."

With the advent of Cyrus and Persian control there came a great
change over Babylonia.  Zoroastrianism was introduced - a
monotheistic religion with the allwise, all-good Ahura-Mazda as
its god.  The god of light, opposed only by the power of
darkness, a personification of evil in the form of another god
Ahriman who eventually must be vanquished by Ahura-Mazda.  This,
of course, is the old, old problem of good versus evil in the
world, and reminds us that our Lodges are furnished with Mosaic
work to point out the uncertainty of all things here on earth. 
Today we may travel in prosperity, tomorrow we may totter on the
uneven paths of weakness, temptation and adversity.  Then while
such emblems are before us we are morally instructed not to boast
of anything but "to give heed to our ways, to walk uprightly and
with humility before God . . ."

Zoroastrianism recognised inexorable law and order in the
universe and in time the old belief of the Babylonians in the
acts of capricious gods passed away.  Something of a more
scientific outlook took hold and when eventually some 300 B.C.
Alexander the Great conquered Babylonia, with the introduction of
Greek ideas and thought, the old pantheon of Babylon and Assyria
was obliterated.

I am now going back again to 4000 years B.C. to follow the
fortunes of that other great and early civilisation - Egypt. 
Before beginning, however, on a survey of Egyptian civilisation
and beliefs which survey will be even briefer than the very
sketchy one I have given of Mesopotamia, I would like to draw
your attention to something of which in cosmology the
Mesopotamian and the Egyptian held a common idea and to something
which geographically and climatically differentiated them.  In
the later myths of Mesopotamia we are told of the universe in
chaos consisting of three watery elements: Apsu, the sweet
waters; Ti'amat, the sea and Mummu, the mist, intermingled in a
mass. The Egyptian held the earth to float in water, the abysmal
waters Nun were below and they were the primordial waters from
which all life issued.

The peoples of Egypt enjoyed a more regular and consistent cycle
of climatic and atmospheric conditions than did those of
Mesopotamia.  The river Nile, truly the very pivot of Egyptian
life and thought, rose, inundated and ferrilied the banks and
lands thereby: it receded, the sun shone and the crops grew.  The
Egyptians saw in this a sort of birth and death of the river just
as they saw and concentrated on what they considered the birth
and death daily of the sun; its risings and settings as we say
today.  The sun appeared to them as a disc journeying across the
sky.  A familiar emblem of the Egyptians was also the scarabeus
beetle with a disc, which conveys a rather beautiful piece of
symbolism.  Actually, the beetle rolls the element of life in a
ball and leaves it to be brought to life by the warmth of the
sun.  Hence the appropriate symbolism depicting the Divine or
Solar Spark in man placed in the earth sphere that it may be
regenerated and brought to the "birth from above" by the rays of
the Solar Force.

Now whereas the Mesopotamian considered himself and mankind in
general as but a passing phase - "here today: gone tomorrow" - in
the words of Job (Chapter 14) :-

"Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. 
He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down; he fleeth also as
a shadow and continueth not "

the Egyptian directed his thoughts day in and day out to the life
after death.  He was very much concerned as to his welfare and
even his personal comforts when the period on this earth should
cease for him.  Some have attributed the ultimate decline of
Egypt as due to the fact that undue attention to the cultivation
of the dead and the future state resulted in a neglect of the
living and earthly state.

The Egyptian religion was polytheistic and the religious beliefs
very confusing.  The religion was theriomorphic, that is, opposed
to anthropomorphic and we find their gods manifesting themselves
with the heads of dogs, jackals, hawks, etc., such as ram-headed
Amen-Re, King of the Gods; Ibis-headed Thoth god of writing and
talking and lioness-headed Tefnut, a rain goddess, and so on. 
There were also human-headed gods as for instance, Ptah, who
could be equated with Hephaistos of the Greeks, Vulcan of the
Romans and Tubal Cain, artificers in metals.

Among the cosmogonic ideas of the Egyptians was that of the
Sun-God Re, divine and legendary first king of Egypt and as such
gave himself to other gods who took the title "Re". Also that of
the Ennead or "the Nine" consisting of the sun-god Atum-Re who
produced Shu and Tefnut (air and moisture) who in turn produced
Gb and Nut (eart-god and sky-goddess) who produced Osiris and
Isis, Seth and Nepthys.  I cannot do better Brethren than to
recommend you to read carefully Transaction No. 47 of the Circle
entitled "The Great Work in Speculative Freemasonry," wherein the
President, W. Bro.  R. A. L. Harland deals with the ancient cult
in Egypt attached to the legend of Osiris, Isis and their son
Horus and with both the historical tradition and the metaphysical
speculation connected with the Egypthn pantheon and their
relation to our Masonk Order of today.  As with many relgions, if
studied carefully and not accepted too literally, but rather in a
mystical sense, we find concealed in the varied and complex
mythology of the Egyptians, profound ideas; wisdom - the eternal
verities.  Their philosophers; unwilling to expose their
mysteries to vulgar eyes, concealed their particular tenets and
principles of policy and philosophy under hieroglyphical figures
and expressed their notions of government by signs and symbols
which were communicated to their Priests or Magi alone, who were
bound by oath never to reveal them.

There was one who was "learned in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians," namely, that other great lawgiver, Moses, and this
brings us to the Pentateuch or five books of Moses and to a
consideration of the Hebrews, that "peculiar people" of whom we
remark that their religion was and is monotheistic.  As we do
today, they recognised one God and one God only, the Lord and
Ruler, not only of Israel but of all nations and peoples of the
earth - the Most High.

Of the five books: "Genesis" means beginning or origin - in
Hebrew it is called "Bereshith" (in the beginning): Exodus deals
with the exit from Egypt: Leviticus (of the Levites) with
sacrificial and ritual laws: Numbers with the counting of the
tribes and Deuteronomy takes the form of a recapitulation by
Moses of the wanderings and deliverance of the Children of Israel
and is distinctive in its emphasis of the need of love towards
God " Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.  And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy
soul and with all thy might." The Pentateuch comprises the first
five books of the Bible.  There are in addition the eight
historical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles,
the four books of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah (and
Lamentations) and Ezekiel, and the twelve books of the minor
prophets, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, lectors and expounders
of the sacred law, the apocalyptic book of Daniel, the books of
Ruth, Esther and Job, the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and
the poetic books of the Psalms and the Song of Solomon, thirty
nine books in all.

Without in any way belittling the valuable historical traditions
and records contained in these books, it must be remembered that
they are religious books to be studied for the message they are
designed to convey which often, more often than not, lies deeply
concealed.  In this connection I would say that apprehension and
appreciation of the books of the Pentateuch are deepened and
heightened by some knowledge of the Kabalah and for students who
have no acquaintance with the Kabalah I would recommend as an
introduction Transaction No. 10.

Contained also within the Bible are the books of the New
Testament comprising the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles,
twenty-one Epistles and the book of the Revelations of St. John
the Divine . . . a total of twenty-seven books.  In all,
therefore, there are sixty-six books to constitute the Bible. 
This is the Volume of the Sacred Law, derived from God to man in
general, the rule and guide for our faith and practice, the
unerring standard of truth and justice by which as Initiate or
Master we are to regulate our lives and actions.

A serious contemplation of the V. of the S.L. involves a careful
study of the deep allegory and rich symbolism in which it
abounds.  Concealed thereunder lies true wisdom with
understanding and richly rewarded is he who succeeds in finding
it.  But just as the mere studying of any text-book is of little
avail without personal application, so must the aspirant who
would know the doctrine, tread the way indicated in that Great
Book.  Along this Way must be trod the most important steps that
man must take to lead him to the Truth and the Life.

Let us consider one allegorical story in the V. of the S.L. which
employs a symbol familiar indeed to Freemasons - the Ladder.  It
is recorded of Jacob in Chapter 28 of the Book of Genesis, verses
11 and 12: -

"And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night
because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place
and put them for his pillows and lay down in that place to sleep.

"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the
top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God
ascending and descending on it."

Here Jacob represents Man asleep at the bottom of the scale of
his possible development - as so many of us are today.  Above him
is the Higher Universe, even the Heavens, towards which he may
ascend by many staves or rounds of the Ladder heedless of time or
space.  For the steps Brethren, the rungs or the staves are not
in time or space.  Like Heaven itself, they are a state, a level
of being in the Eternal Now.  Therefore, if we would ascend this
ladder, we must awaken, we must bestir ourselves, we must
commence and persevere in the Great Work devoutly praying that
the work so begun in us may continue to His glory and evermore be
enabbhed in us by obedience to His Divine Precepts.  Then shall
we say with the Psalmist :-

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of
the Lord,

Our feet shall stand within thy gates O Jerusalem, Jerusalem is
builded as a city that is compact together . . .

. . . Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy
palaces.  For my Brethren and Companions' sakes, I will now say
Peace be within thee "

This is the Jerusalem, the City which is above "not made with
hands eternal in the Heavens." Jerusalem translated means - a
house or habitation of peace" whilst Babylon nmeans literally "a
state of confusion."

At the commencement of this Paper we were imagining ourselves
alone on a hilltop in the countryside on a fine autumn evening
comemplating the works of the creation.  We remarked on certain
constellations named in the Zodiac "Taurus", "Aries", "Pisces"
and "Aquarius". Let us now consider this further.

We are told that the level at which the sun and the earth are
taken to be moving in space is called the ecliptic.  Also that
the earth's axis is tilted at an angle of about 66 1/2 deg. to
the plane of the ecliptic, the Equator therefore being
approximately 23 1/2 deg. to that plane. Further that there are
twelve constellations lying on or about the ecliptic and this 16
deg. belt is called the Zodiac so called because several of the
twelve constellations take the names of animals, each of the
twelve being given a sign with a name.  In what is known as the
Lesser Zodiacal Year the sun passes through each of the signs, a
sign a month, and the tilt of the earth breaks up the year into
the four seasons of spring, summer, antumn and winter and gives
us the vernal and autumnal equinoxes or points when the ecliptic
cuts the Equator.  The earth, however, not being a perfect
sphere, but having a bulging at the Equator upon which the
gravitational pull of the sun works, does not revolve truly on
its axis the points of which (the Poles) move in a circle.  This
means in effect that the points of intersection of the Equator
and the ecliptic are not fixed and we get what is known as the
precession of the equinoxes with the result that it takes
approximately 25,920 years (The Greater Zodiacal Year) for the
solar system to make the complete cycle.  Thus a new sign is
entered every 2,160 years.

The autumnal equinox is ushered in by shorter days and longer
nights, the dying off of vegetation, the descent of sap reminding
us of the descent of the soul into incarnation.  With the advent
of the vernal equinox, however, the commencement of spring, we
have the reverse effects, days get longer, nights get shorter,
more light, less darkness, the sap rises, vegetation grows and we
have the symbol of rebirth.

At the time of the vernal equinox are the Festivals of the Jewish
Passover and the Christian Easter.  Also at this time used to
take place the ceremonies of Mithra, the cult that was once
concurrent with Christianity and a Degree of which was known as
"the soldier of Mithra." In this Degree the candidate was offered
a crown three times, he declining it on each occasion.  If you
care to turn to your copy of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" Act I
Sc. 2, you will read Casca's description of Mark Antony offering
Caesar a crown three times and Caesar declining it each time.

The festival of Easter is pre-Christian and festivals coinciding
with the time of the vernal equinox and based on the idea of
death and resurrection, are to be found in many religions and
cults, i.e., Osiris (the risen One) in Egypt, Bacchus in Greece,
Mithra in Iran and so on.

I have mentioned the festival of the "pass-over" in the Lesser
Zodiacal Year.  At the end of each of 2,160 years there is
another "pass-over" marked in that great Bible of the Universe,
the Zodiac - there is a "passover" from one sign to another.  A
"pass-over" of enormous significance for humanity it being
traditional that the passage is marked by spiritual growth and
evolution - another great "step" to be trod by Brother Man.  What
is of further significance is that the religious ideas evolved
during the period under a particular sign bears relation to that
sign.  For instance I mentioned the Cult of Mithra which had as
one of its concepts, the shying of the bull by Mithra.  There are
also the Bulls of Nineveh mentioned in the V.S.L. These came
under the Sign of Taurus (The Bull) next we have Aries, the Ram,
and in the V.S.L. we read of "the Ram caught in a thicket", the
burnt offering of a Ram and so on.  And in the story of the
"passing over" of the Angel of Death we read that the Israelites
marked the linters of their doors with the blood of a lamb, the
Paschal Lamb, or "pass-over" lamb and we read of the sacrifice of
lambs.  The next "pass-over" is to the sign of Pisces (the
fishes) and we come to the advent of the Christian Master who
chose as his disciples fishermen, to become "fishers of men," He
who fed the multitude with two small fishes, who brought about
the draught of fishes (one hundred and fifty-three in the net as
recorded in St. John, Chap. 20, v. 11) and of whom it was
recorded that His last meal was of broiled fish.

And it is recorded that that self-same Master instructed his
disciples with the words :-

" Go ye into the City and there shall meet you A MAN BEARING A
PITCHER OF WATER, FOLLOW HIM " (Mark 14 (xiii) - Luke 22 (x) ).

A man bearing a pitcher of water! - the Sign of Aquarius.

As we contemplate with awe the measured movements of the mighty
orbs on their appointed paths in the celestial regions and as we
meditate upon this wondrous "pass-over" into the constellation of
the Sign of Aquarius - the Man bearing the Pitcher of Water - we
may reflect upon the sign of the times on this our earth.  The
last century has seen an unprecedented acceleration in men's
mental mastery and material achievement.  Even we, who have lived
in the last half-century have witnessed astonishing changes and
have passed through remarkable and perilous times.  We have seen,
for instance, horse-drawn traction almost completely superseded
by motor traction, we have passed from the novelty of balloons
with passengers in a basket floating in the air to fully equipped
jet propelled aeroplanes with speeds exceeding that of sound,
from the magic lantern of our early boyhood days we have passed
to three-dimensional coloured films, from telephone to
television, to wireless and radar, from the elementary physics of
heat, light and sound to splitting the atom, the transmutation of
metals (the dream of the ancient alchemist) to nuclear fission
and all that that portends.  We have passed through two of the
most ferocious sanguinary wars in history in which were employed
weapons of diabolical ingenuity.  These have been followed by
political, social and economic upheavals in nearly every part of
the world-truly the death throes of an old order and the birth
pangs of a new.  There has been a rushing hither and thither with
men's hearts failing them.  We have stood aghast and horrified at
the possibilities of suffering and destruction potential in our
new discoveries and inventions.  The end of our so-called
civilisation, nay even the annihilation of most of mankind has
loomed up before our terror-stricken eyes.  This fearsome
spectacle is only just beginning to recede as we realise that
only a change of heart can avoid such a major catastrophe.

Aquarius the Waterman bears a Pitcher of Water.  We have some
knowledge of like symbolism in the manner in which the p.w. is
depicted in the Second Degree, but we might ask ourselves that in
the spiritual evolution and growth to take place in the
collective consciousness of mankind under this Sign, what form
will it take? What, mystically speaking, will be the effect of
this "Water of Life" which is to be poured forth?

We are approaching the end of the twentieth century. Towards the
end of the nineteenth century there was, with ever increasing
progress in scientific knowledge, a conflict between religion and
science.  That has ended.  Furze Morrish neatly puts it that
scientific materialism having trampled religious literalism to
death, proceeded to commit suicide by successfully splitting the
atom, and indeed there seems to be on the one hand every
indication today of an intolerance of mere conventional religion
as on the other there seems to be a lessening of dogmatic
assertive authority - that unless science can prove a thing by
its own methods - it cannot be.  It is being realised that the
laboratory is not the only place where knowledge is obtained. 
The word "science" is derived from "scire" - "to know" implying
all and not just specialised knowledge.

It would seem that we have a converging of religious and
scientific philosophy and I use the term "philosophy"
deliberately because it means "love of wisdom" and knows not the
bounds set down by conventional religion or specialised science.

In the different Schools of Philosophy and in the ideas set forth
by their individual exponents, we can recognise, as we can in
many of the ancient cults, myths and religions of the world - a
common vein or strata - an eclectic philosophy - the Perennial
Philosophy - the Ancient Wisdom.

"Get Wisdom and with thy getting get understanding." Yes! But how
do we set about the getting? Tuition is teaching by tutors,
books, institutions - all very excellent agencies but not the
source of knowledge.  Intuition is an inner spiritual sense
through which illumination, inner vision and direct insight is
obtained, where the knowledge of truth is gained, and held with
unerring certitude.  Great knowledge, the accumulation of facts,
depends upon a retentive memory; wisdom comes from intuition. 
Now if we reflect upon the Sign of Aquarius we realise that the
"pouring-out" implies a receptacle.  You and I and all mankind
are the receptacles but only so far and in direct proportion as
we first empty ourselves of all intellectual pride, prejudices,
preconceived and conceited opinions, Only then can we receive
this illumination, this intuition.  "Ye shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free."

In the past in the search for knowledge by both science and
philosophy the trend has been to look outward.  Brother Man has
sought knowledge and understanding of the things and happenings
in the outer world and universe.  His speculations have taken on
an highly intellectual objective form and there is no gain-saying
the fact that he has made progress in that direction.  But
unfortunately he has been too busy to look within and he has not
learned very much about himself.

In recent years, however, there has come to the front a branch 
of Philosophy by the name of Psychology: "psyche" the soul and 
"logos" systematic principle.

Psychology has been defined as the science of behaviour and also
as the study of mental processes.  Perhaps a more accurate
definition would be, the science of consciousness (the whole
consciousness).  Most of us I suppose, know of the teaching of
psychology to the effect that our awareness is but a minor part
of our total consciousness and has been compared to the top of a
floating iceberg appearing above water level whilst the major and
submerged part of the iceberg corresponds with the
unconsciousness of ourselves.  This Paper, however, is not
intended to be a treatise on Psychology.  In any case, the writer
has not sufficient knowledge of the science.  Nevertheless, I
would like to mention that even my very modest study of
Psychology has impressed upon my mind and instilled in my heart
the profound truth of three well-known injunctions - (i) Man-Know
Thyself; (ii) "Judge not - lest ye also art judged"; (iii) to
shed a tear of sympathy over the failings of a Brother.

In the new era that is dawning, we as Freemasons have serious
responsibilities.  Ours, is the only Institution in the world
today where men may meet as brothers under a common banner
regardless of colour, race or creed and it is natural that one is
inclined to ask and indeed, should ask.  "What then must I, as an
individual and as a Freemason, do in the important years that lie
ahead? Our Order is not wanting in instruction as to our several
duties but there must be a spirit of dedication if we wish to
advance and be qualified to assist in the Great Work of
Freemasonry.  Obviously we can only tread the steps along the
path at the stage we have attained and I am reminded of the
following supplication to the Most High contained in a Collect: -
"May we quickly attain that for which Thou has destined us: may
we love the path which Thou hast ordained." No matter how keen
the aspirant may be, he is not free for higher duties unless and
until, he performs the tasks allotted to him.  "Be careful to
perform your allotted task while it is yet day." Our present
state in life is the one that we have attained in our individual
evolution and is the most suited for our Spiritual progress - if
we will make use of it!

With self-dedication comes the implication of self-sacrifice.

SACRFICE

From time immemorial, the idea of sacrifice has been held in the
mind of man. Human beings have been sacrificed ritually, and
animals and birds likewise, and still are in some parts of the
world.  Zoroaster abolished blood sacrifices and the Pythagoreans
forbade them.  Apollonius of Tyanna stated that "one should never
sacrifice to the great God who is above everything: it would
honour Him fittingly if a man should, without immolating victims
or lighting fire, merely offer Him the logos without words, the
mightiest of all and should solicit the noblest beings by that
which is noblest within us: thought ". There is a deep mystery of
sacrifice - Creation itself a sacrifice - the submerging of
Infinite Spirit in finite matter - the Formless into form - the
Eternal into the limitations of time and the Boundless in the
boundaries of space - the Manifesting of the Archetypal Thought
in phenomena: everywhere exhibiting the symbol of the Cross as
witness the crystal, the snowflake, the opened cube and the
upright human frame with arms outstretched. Did not the Christian
Master say "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit"
(John 12, v. 24).  And since man is made in the image of God: his
mind in the image of the Mind of God, sacrifice appears in the
cults, myths and religions of Brother Man, through the ages.

The word "Sacrifice" comes from the Latin " sacrificio" - "I make
holy". The Hindus have an equivalent word "Yajna" meaning "to
make all things holy". Sacrifice does not necessarily mean
parting with something.  It is a translation of force.  Students
of the Kabalah are well acquainted with the import of the
relation of "Chokmah" to "Binah of Wisdom (Force) to
Understanding (Form) on The Tree of Life". We are not then
required to empty our pockets but to transfer our energy, if we
wish to assist in the great work of Freemasonry, exercising to
the full those talents wherewith God has blessed us, to his glory
and the welfare of our fellow creatures.

And with all this, we should not seek the fruits of action or
reward.

I have endeavoured Brethren in this Paper, perhaps somewhat
ambitiously, certainly rather clumsily, to take, as it were, a
"bird's eye view" of some of the steps of Brother Man in the
past, the present and the future, through this, his mortal
existence, which, though sometimes attended by prosperous
circumstances is often beset by a multitude of evils. I have
tried to some extent to outline, "pari passu", his progress
spiritually and materially.  Regard has been had to that Great
Light of the Lodge to which our attention is drawn at every step
in our Masonic career and there has not been forgotten the
dispensations of Divine Providence considered under the Zodiacal
Signs of Taurus, of Aries, of Pisces and, coming to our time, of
Aquarius.

"And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three: but the
greatest of these is charity" (I Cor. 13, v. 13).  To appreciate
exactly what is meant by charity it is necessary to study the
whole of the 13th Chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians, but I doubt not that many of you know it by heart. 
Certainly you will know that the charity concerned is not that of
the purse alone: it is of the heart. Charity comprehends the
whole and the Freemason who is in possession of this virtue may
justly be deemed to have attained the summit of his profession. 
It is the first grand principle; the fulfilling of the law - the
fount of sacrifice - the all embracing, all pervading power that
man can share with God.  To love is to edify: to edify is to
build: to build that Temple "not made with hands eternal in the
heavens".

Then while our feet tread on the Mosaic work, let our ideas recur
to the original whence we copy, let us as good men and Masons,
act as the dictates of reason pronnpt us, practise charity,
maintain harmony and endeavour to live in unity and brotherly
love and may the God of Infinite Life, Love and Light " in whom
we live and move and have our being " enkindle in us the fire of
His Love and the flame of everlasting charity.

So Mote It Be.