Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry

72."A very limited knowledge of the history of primitive worship and Mysteries is necessary to enable any person to recognize in the Master Mason Hiram, the Osiris of the Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the Greeks, the Atys of the Phrygians, of which these people celebrated the passion, death and resurrection, as Christians celebrate to-day that of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, this is the eternal and unvarying type of all the religions which have succeeded each other upon the earth.

^[62] 73. "In an astronomical connection, Hiram is the representative of the Sun, the symbol of his apparent progress, which appearing at the south gate, so to speak, is smote downward and more downward as he advances toward the west, which passing, he is immediately vanquished and put to death by darkness, represented, in following the same allegory by the spirit of evil; but, returning, he rises again, conqueror and resurrected." *

74."Khurum, therefore, improperly called Hiram, is Khur-om, the same as Her-ra, Hermes, and Heracles, the personification of Light and the Sun, the Mediator, Redeemer and Savior. "

75."It is merely absurd to add the word, 'Abif,' or ' Abiff,' as part of the name of the architect. Abin (which we read Abif) means 'of my father's.'

1 formerly one of my father 's servants ' or ' slave. ' " **

76."Modern Masonry being but an imitation of Ancient genuine Mysteries, the writer has no design of reading into it a meaning which cannot be fully verified. For the greater part, modern Masons are dealing with symbols, the Key for the real interpretation of which they never possessed, or even suspected that it existed. It remains for the future to determine whether any considerable number of our Masonic Brethren really desire to possess in fuller measure the Living Truth which the dead-letter text conceals. That Living Truth exists, and is as accessible to every ^[63] Mason as is the dead-letter or the dumb-show under which it masquerades in every Lodge. " *

77."The genuine Acacia also is the thorny tamarisk, the same tree which grew up around the body of Osiris. It is a sacred tree among the Arabs, who made of it the Idol Al-Uzza, which Mohammed destroyed. It is abundant as a bush in the desert of Thur, and of it the 'crown of Thorns' was composed, which was set on the forehead of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a fit type of Immortality on account of its tenacity of life; for it has been known, when planted as a door-post, to take root and shoot out budding boughs above the threshold. " **