CHA P. II. From NIMROD to Grand-Falter SOLOMON. NIMROD the Son of Cub, the Eld NIMROD fignifies a Rebel, the name that the Ifraeltes gave him; but his Friends call'd him Belus LORD. eft Son of Ham, was at the Head of those that would not difperfe; or if they muft separate, They refolved to tranfmit their Memorial illuftrious to all future Ages; and fo employed themselves under Grand Master NIMROD, in the large and fertile Vale of Shinar along the Banks of the Tygris, in building a great and stately Tower and City, the largest Work that ever the World faw (defcribed by various Authors) and foon fill'd the Vale with fplendid Edifices; but They over-built it, and knew not when to defift 'till their Vanity provoked their Maker to confound their Grand Defign, by confounding their Lip or Speech. Hence the City was called Babel Confufion. Thus they were forced to difperfe about 53 Years after they began to build, or after the Flood 154 Years, * when A. M. 1810.2 B. C. 2194.S The General MIGRATION from hinar commenced. They went off at various Times, and travell'd North, South, East and West, with their mighty Skill, and found the good Ufe of it in fettling their Colonies. But NIMROD went forth no farther than into the Land of Affyria, and founded the first Great Empire at his Capital ibh, where he long reign'd; and under him flourish'd many learned Mathematicians, whofe Succeffors were, long afterwards, called Chaldees and Magians: and though many of them turned Image-Worshippers, yet even that Idolatry occafion'd an Improvement in the Arts of *for NINUS King of NiDelgning: neveh or Affyria, ordered his best Artists to frame the Statue of Baal, that was worshipped in a gorgeous Temple. viz. Architecture, Sculp ture Statuary, Plastering and Painting. From From SHINAR, the Science and the Art were carried to the diftant Parts of the Earth, notwithstanding the Confufion of Dialects : That indeed gave Rife to the Mafons Faculty and univerfal Practice of converfing without speaking, and of knowing each other by Signs and Tokens (* which *This old Tradition is they fettled upon the Difperfion or Migra- believed firmly by the old tion, in cafe any of them fhould meet in Fraternity diftant Parts, who had been before in Shinar) but It hinder'd not the Propagation of Masonry, which was cultivated by all the first Nations; till the Negligence of their Chiefs, and their horrid Wars, made them turn ignorant, and lofe their original Skill in Arts and Sciences. Thus the Earth was again planted and replenish'd with MASONS from the Vale of SHINAR, whofe various Improvements we fhall trace. MITZRAIM or Menes, the second Son of HAM, led his Colony from Shinar to EGYPT (which is Mitzraim in Hebrew, a dual Word, fignifying both Egypts, Upper and Lower) after the Flood 160 Years, and after the Confufion fix Years, A. M. 1816. where they preserved their original Skill, and much cultivated the Art for antient History informs us * of the early fine Tafte of the Egyptians, their many magnificent Edifices and great *Diod. Sicul. lib. 1. Cities, as Memphis, Heliopolis, Thebes with 100 Gates, &c. befides their Palaces and Sepulchres, their Obelisks and Statues, the Coloffal Statue of SPHINX, whofe Head was 120 Foot round, and their famous Pyramids, the greatest * being reckoned the first or earliest of the feven Wonders of Art after the general Migration. The Egyptiaus excell'd all Nations alfo in their amafing LABYRINTHS, One of them cover'd the Ground of a whole Province, containing many fine Palaces and * Some fay it was built of Marble Stones brought from the Quarries of Arabia; for there is no Veftige of a Quarry near it. Others call them artificial Stones made on the Spot, most of them 30 Foot long. The Pile at Bottom was 700 Foot fquare, and 481 Foot high; but Others make it much higher: And in rearing it 360,000 Mafons were employ'd for 20 Years, as if all the People had join'd in the GRAND DESIGN. 100 100 Temples, difpofed in its feveral Quarters and Divifions, adorned with Columns of the best Porphyre, and the accurate Statues of their Gods and Princes; which Labyrinth the Greeks, long afterwards, endeavour'd to imitate, but never arrived at Its Extenfion and Sublime. The Succeffors of Mitzraim (who ftiled themselves the Sons of antient Kings) encouraged the Royal Art down to the last of the Race, the learned King AMASIS. See Chap. IV. But History fails us in the South and Weft of Africa. Nor have we any juft Accounts of the fair and gallant Pofterity of Noah's eldeft Son JAPHET, that firft replenish'd vaft old Scythia, from Norway Eastward to America; nor of the Japhe tites in Greece and Italy, Germany, Gaul and Britain, &c. 'till their original Skill was loft: But, no doubt, they were good Architects at their firft Migration from Shinar. *The old Conftitutions affirm this ftrongly, and expati SHEM, the fecond Son of Noah, remain'd at UR of the Chaldees in Shinar, with his Father and great Grandfon HEBER, where they liv'd private and died in Peace; but Shem's Off-fpring travell'd into the South and Eaft of Great Afia, viz. ELAM, ASHUR, ARPHAXAD, LUD and ARAM, with SALA the Father of Heber; and their Off-fpring propagatd the Science and the Art as far as CHINA and Japan: while NOAH, SHEM and HEBER diverted themselves at Ur, in Mathematical Studies, teaching Peleg the Father of Rebu, Father of Serug, Father of Nachor, Father of Terab, Father of ABRAM, a learned Race of Mathematicians and Geometricians *. Skill in Geometry, and ate on ABRAM's great of his teaching it to many Scholars, tho' all the Sons of the Freeborn only. A. M. 2008. Thus ABRAM, born two Years after the Death of Noah, * had learned well the Science and the Art, before the GOD of GLORY call'd him to travel from Ur of the Chaldees, and to live a Peregrin, not in Stone and Brick, but in Lents erected alfo by Geometry. So travelling with his Family and Flocks through Mefopotamia, he pitched at at Charran, where old TERAH in 5 Years died and then ABRAM aged 75 Years, travell❜d into the Land of the Canaanites*: but a Famine foon forced him down to Egypt; and returning next Year, he began to communicate * A. M: 2078. * A. M., 2083.7 B. C. 1921. S his great Skill to the Chiefs of the Canaanites, for which they honour'd him as a Prince. ABRAM tranfmitted his Geometry to all his Off-fpring; Ifaac did the fame to his two Sons, and JACOB well inftructed his Family; while his Son JOSEPH was Grand-Batter of the Egyptian Mafons; and employ'd them in building many Granaries and Store-Cities throughout the Land of Egypt before the Defcent of Jacob and his Family. Indeed this peculiar Nation were chiefly converfant in Tents and Flocks and military Skill, for about 350 Years after Abram came to Canaan, till their Perfecution began in Egypt, about 80 Years before the Exodus of Mofes But then the Egyptians having fpoil'd and enflaved the Hebrews, train'd them up in Mafonry of Stone and ick, and made them build two ftrong and ftately Cities for the Royal Treafures, Pithom and Raamfes. Thus the divine Wifdom appeared in permitting them to be thus employ'd, before they poffefs'd the promis'd Land then abounding with fine Architecture. A. M. - 2513.2 1491. S At length, after Abram left Charran 430 Years, Moses marched out of Egypt at the Head of 600,000 Hebrew Males, marfhall'd in due Form; for whofe fake God divided the Red Sea, to let them pafs through, and drowned Pharaoh and the Egyptians that purfu'd them. While marching through Arabia to Canaan, God was pleased to infpire their and allir MOSES, Jebuah his Deputy, and Aboliab and Crand Wardens. with Wifdom of Heart; and fo next Exod XXXII. 6. Bezaleel Year they raised the curious TARERNACLE or Tent (where the divine Shechinah refided refided, and the holy Ark or Chest, the Symbole of God's Pre fence) which, though not of Stone or Brick, was framed by Geometry, a most beautiful Piece of true fymmetrica! Architecture, according to the Pattern that GOD difcover'd to Mofes on Mount Sinai, and it was afterwards the Model of SOLOMON'S Temple. MOSES being well skill'd in all the Egyptian Learning, and alfo divinely inspired, excell'd all Grand Masters before him, and ordered the more skillful to meet him, as in a Grand Lodge, near the Tabernacle in the Paffover-Week, and gave them wife Charges, Regulations, &c. though we wish they had been more distinctly tranfmitted by Oral Tradition. But of this enough. When MOSES King of Jeffurun died A. M. 2553. JOSHUAH fucceeded in the Direction, with Kaleb as Deputy, and Eleazar with his Son Phineas as Grand Wardens. He marshall'd his Ifraelites, and led them over the Jordan (which God made dry for their March) into the promis'd Land and Joshuab foon found the Canaanites had fo regularly fortified their great Cities and Paffes, that without the fpecial Intervention of EL SHADDAI, in behalf of his Peculiar, They were impregnable and invincible. JOSHUAH having finifh'd his Wars in 6 Years, A. M. 2559. fixed the Tabernacle at Shiloh in Ephraim, ordering the Chiefs of Ifrael not only to ferve JEHOVAH their God, and to cultivate the Land, but also to carry on the Grand Design of Architecture in the best ofaic Stile. Indeed the Ifraelites, refined in Cities and Manfions, having many expert Artists in every Tribe that met in Lodges or Societies. for that Purpose, except when for their Sins they came under Servitude; but their occafional Princes, call'd Judges and Saviours, revived the Mofaic Stile along with Liberty and the Mofaic Conftitution; and only came fhort of the Phenicians and Canaanites in facted Architecture of Stone; for the Phenicians had many Temples for their many Gods and yet the one Temple or Tabernacle of the one true God at Shiloh, exceeded them all in Wisdom and Beauty, though not in Strength and Dimensions. |