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

FREEMASONRY AND KNIGHTS TEMPLARor Mysteries of Osiris. Its resemblance to theHiramic legend of the Masonic system will be readilyseen, and itssymbolism will be easily understood.Osiris and Typhon are representatives ofthe two antagonistic principles good and evil,light and darkness, life and death.Osiris as an Egyptian deity was worshiped underthe form of an ox, personifying the power of goodand the sunlight, united in history and in worshipa sacred triad with Isis as his wife and Horus* astheir child. Some of the Egyptian philosophersregarded him as a river god, and called him Nilus.But the truth Osiris is, represented the male, activeor generative powers of nature; while Isis representedits female, passive or prolific powers. Thus,when Osiris was the sun, Isis was the earth, to bevivified by his rays; when he was the Nile, Isiswas the land of Egypt, fertilized by his overflow.The researches in the last few years have thrownmuch light on the Egyptian Mysteries. Amongthe ceremonies of the ancient people was one calledthe "Procession of Shrines," which is mentionedin the Rosetta stone,* and depicted on the templewalls. One of these shrines was an ark, which wascarried in procession by the priests, who supportedit on their shoulders by staves passing throughmetal rings. It was thus brought into the templeand deposited on a stand or altar, that the ceremoniesprescribed in the ritual might be performedbefore it. The contents of these arks were various,but always of a mystical character. Sometimesthe ark would contain symbols of life and stability,sometimes the sacred beetle, the symbol of .the sun ;and there was always a representation of two fig-9