OBELISK MASONRY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2236, 18 May 1880, Page 2

OBELISK MASONRY.

Wc publish the following report by Dr Fanton, fooling assured that it will bo of great interest to Masons, tending as it does to establish the antiquity of Free Masonry. This report is approved by the highest Masons at Cairo and in Alexandria: — Note upon the Masonic Construction or Rather the Masonic Emblems' of the Foundation of Cleopatra’s Needle— T) ic Result of the Discovery Made by Lieutenant Commander Gorringc and the Researches made by the "New York Herald.” 1. Mosaic Pavement.—This pavement represents the various races and families here below —religions, political or other. This forms the foundation of the obelisk. It is formed of eighteen stones, united by cements of two colors. This cemented pavement is the emblem of the union which binds together all Masons and makes of, them one homogeneous force. The No. 18 in the Mas/.N.'., which shows that the ancients knew the .•. degrees above those of M/.. In the mosaic pavement a stone is found of a perfect whiteness and purity. No one here has ever seen a similar stone. This stone is without doubt not only the emblem of purity but also of .•. light, which buried in the earth is the .-. emblem of truth, and it may also be the .'. emblem of the ancient sim religions, which bad for their object the worshipping of the divinity in all its brightness and brilliancy. 2. Cubic Stone.—The .*. cubic stone is found in the mosaic pavement. 3. The Perfect Ashlar.—Towards the .-. cast was a stone forming a .'. rectangle. This stone is beautifully finished. The place which it occupies in the foundation and its form constitutes a .•. Masonic_sign. It is the figure of a L 1 .’. J Moreover, it is in this figure that the fraternity place three points to designate a lodge. “ Loga ” in Sanscrit signifies the world, which the ancient Masons represented by a stone

of the shape above mentioned because they did not know that the earth was round, and by an error resulting directly from their theory, which did not take into account the Antipodes, they divided the earth into length and breadth — longitude and latitude—terms improperly employed at the present day. 4. Hough Ashlar.—On the opposite or west side—the side of night, in contradistinction to that of day, of light, of science and of the Perfect Ashlar—is found the Hough Ashlar. This is the stone of the apprentice. It represents the imperfect state of our nature. 5. Emblems of the Temple.—Two stones placed from /. west to /. east indicate the temple. The iirst represents on its west side the double columns .'. J B. The shape of this stone is also rectangular. Next it another stone represents, by a cutting on one of its corners joining the iirst stone, the capital of an lon /. column. Upon the upper part of its capital is engraved the form of a right angle. This is the Masonic sign of D .’. —“delta”—in the middle of which is placed at the present daj r the name of G /., A /.,&c. —Yod,God,Gott, Dieu—character unity. G. The Mason’s Square.—The Mason’s square found at the base is also a more palpable proof of the intention of the constructors of the foundations —and it should here be borne in mind that the priests were the architects of the great monuments of Egyptian antiquity. This square bears in miniature on its interior base the throe .•., Masonic /. degrees, which we find reproduced in the surrounding foundations of the structure. It is of red granite, and its dimensions and its delicate execution prove the care taken by the architect in its construction.

7. The Trowel—The trowel, united by means of complete oxidization to the stone upon which it reposed for nearly two thousand years, is still the .'. Masonic emblem of indulgence—to pass the trowel is to forgive on injury or fault.

8. The Three Masonic Degrees. — These three degrees which are found at the base of the" obelisk arc composed of two stones. The first is the emblem of the degree of apprentice, the second represents the degrees of comp.’, and M/. The union of the comp/, and M/. is most intimate, and consequently these two degrees arc formed of one stone. Moreover, the step of companion /. is not so large as that of M/. and that of app/., because the companion has less time to perfect himself than the apprentice has to become companion. Note. —It is unnecessary to speak here of the symbolic brandies of the Lotus, the Heliotrope, or the Acaciasyra/. of the present day, or of other Masonic emblems. But we think that all these emblems are to be found under the foundations of the oblelisks destroyed by time and not by the baud of man. Evidently the cubic stone will furnish indications and signs for the discovery of new information about the ancient Masonic organization, and in consequence revelations as to the origin of ancient society. Wo do not fora moment wish to add anything more and reserve for the future the full bearing and results of the discovery made by Lieutenant Commander Gorringc.