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

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARbered among the gods, and as such had divine honorsand veneration, and was buried at Memphis,where they show her senuldhr^ at this day in thegrove of Vulcan."The sacred rites which Osiris is said to have institutedreceived many additions in course -of time,and finally were divided into two degrees. These,as in their copy at Eleusis, Greece, were called theGreat and Less, the former being the Mysteries ofOsiris, the latter those of Isis, the latter being apreparation to the fuller revelation of the secretscontained in the former.In the Great Mystery was represented the allegoricalhistory of Osiris, which the Egyptians regardedas the most solemn mystery of their religion,and which Herodotus and all other ancientwriters mention with great caution. To be initiatedin these was the great privilege of the priest, thoughthis caste were not all admitted indiscriminately tothis honor. This was reserved for the heir-apparentto the throne, and for such priests as excelledin virtue and wisdom.The principal seat of the Egyptian Mysteries wasat Memphis, in the neighborhood of the great Pyramid.The legend was as follows: Osiris, a wiseking of Egypt, left the care of his kingdom to hiswife Isis, and traveled for three years to communicateto other nations the arts of civilization. Duringhis absence his brother Typhon formed a secretconspiracy to destroy him and to usurp his throne.On his return Osiris was invited by Typhon toan entertainment in the month of November, atwhich all the conspirators were present. Typhonproduced a chest inlaid with gold, and promised7