john-r-bennett-the-origin-of-freemasonry-and-knights-templar

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARan important part in the government of state,andthe kings of Egypt were but the first subjects of itspriests. *The initiation into the Egyptian Mysteries wasof all the systems practiced by the ancients the mostsevere and impressive. The system had been organizedfor ages, and the priests, who alone werethe teachers of the Mysteries, were educated almostfrom childhood for that purpose. That "learning ofthe Egyptians," in which Moses is said to have beenso skilled, was all imparted in those Mysteries. Overthe entire history of the Land of the Pyramids aveil of mystery is drawn. Its history is a dream,not the promises of the future, but of achievementsof the past. Here empire first placed her throneand swayed her scepter. Long before Greece andRome and Assyria had been wrapped in their swaddlingclothes, Egypt was a man of war and a heroof victory. The stones that reared Athens in splendor,and spoke forth the beautiful conceptions ofPhidias* and Praxiteles,* were unused in the quarrieslong after the Colossi of Thebes had grownold with years. While Abraham, the fatherof the faithful, wandered a nomad and lived intents, a Pharaoh sat on the throne of Egypt, and,but a few years after, the Ishmaelitish merchantsled their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh,commodities only used by rich and cultivated peoples,from Gilead to the Nile. A few years fromthis and there were standing armies in Egypt, chariotsof war, bodies of infantry, and, what is still moresurprising, a large body of cavalry. It was in theEgyptian society of Isis and Osiris that this ancientand wonderful civilization had its origin. Here were5