New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-06-25
THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON.
EXPLANATIONS BY PROFESSOR PAINE.


c,n. TIE TRIpuNr's long and able article OF May
% q, soomons Temple etc. calls for deep gratitude
and sincere thanks; and your reviewer mas rgn''
moth for himself and for the public, to certain uc'S
Fever before IN print. He says truly:
"As the author claims TO be discoverer anu CIV, 70
have overturned all preconceived notions as " 80. -.
fnm of the temple, we should be )usliheu ~ ~ .Ap
;ng from HIM some statement summary OF the pres
ont state of the question AMI of the points at wneh ne
takes issue with his tellow-schoars. iniS We w ~"
hDd.' ...xo
The simrIe truth explains everything :-lhe restore"
ton Of the central house temple was essen'a'y ln0
" ork of few minutes in the authors youth Nio'-'.
He was living on the home farm III inc h'ero' "a
Maine in little cabin OF chamber. WIN no iio.'
hooks in bis entire library than he could carry III DIS
arms NJ once OF these books all that he made use OF
were a cory of the Hebrew Bible and Geseuluss
Hebrew Lexicon Il anslatcd by Robinson. lie had no
lovrlcaco of what Others hau done. except what he
fouud in that dictionary He visited no library anu
read no books except the Hebrew Bible and knew
,othne Of any explorations in Assyra or Egypt lands
rich in ark. temple and tabernacle forms. When he
nubshed his first results in 1861 be was still ign"-
rant: IN TO that date he knew of no "ieI"w-
schoarsV After 1861 he purposely Kept Mmsch
ignorant of the works of modern scholars les' lie
should be influenced by them From 1868 I'LL the ias'
hours Of going to press till a few months ago-nc
studied the holy house texts III all the languages OF
antiquity: Hebrew, Chaldee. Syriac. Samaritan
Coptic Talmudic RatDiulc. etc. Alter completing
his Investigations hc found that he had discovered tue
sources of all the errors which bad mslcd bis fellow
scholars >" indeed tho of many errors onnd by
him in ancient authors even some of these errors
dating back 20 before our era. few oil them are
pointed ont in the first and second chapters but many
more in the third After discovering the ancient
sources of error the author thought that his fellow
scholars would thank him to pass by their results III
silence; and he has done so.
Following TIE TRIBUNE's article in order, 1t may
be remark that the history Of the temple IS easily
traced it did not seem necessary to speak of it, We
may also say that the second temple rebuild OF
the first and was larger than the irst Also the
author had no theory about any of the holy houses
had no notion or any idea whatever respecting the
forms of any OF them. lie simply drew. in perfectly
me chanical way all that is described precisely as an
architect OF house builder makes drawings according
to specihcations lie did not and does not hold that
the temple seen by Ezekiel in mis- vision was Solo
mons" but after drawing both temples separately he
found that the two fitted together like the two lost
halves of the thing If the critic will kindly look
az the two companion plates. the list OF complement
Ing aud identical temple texts and the many
Thousands of references in the texts Themselves OF
Ezekiel and Kings he viii have doubt of the great
fact that the Sacred Scriptures contain full dcscrp-
ton of the one and same temple The author did not
make the assumption that the prophetic vision of
Ezekiel supplies the details omitted in tie historic
record of Kings :" he made no assumption in single
instance throughout the work but in the temple text
of King. he found great numbers of details wanting,
and all the details in Ezekiel fitted in perfectly and
hist flied up all the outlines of the temple III Kings
He was therefore compelled to adopt one OF two con-
illusions eitl there two temples nj Jerusa
lem occupying the space at the time one OF
0bch was Solomons and the other Ezeklers, or Csc
the two one. and that one was SolOmcn's. They
we're both temples Of burnt offerings and sacrifices
md th, fact alone show that they both things of
the past.
A. to this combination Of historic statement with
hc revelations OF prophetic ecsacy Ezekiel gives not
one temple measure which he could not have easily
given from hi, memory; the plan of the temple
was so utterly simple that he could have helped
remembering every one Of its lie had been
IN eyewitness; and so he was just the man to be
selected to write The details not given in kings
comparaYcly as the eyewitness OF the Lords lie
earth. John, was selected TO write the wonderful
things of Revelation. Ii the reviewer will read what
the author has said of SAUNDERS large and small he
will see that Kings and Ezekiel do not diaer in the
Least in their of them: the two thousand baths
of Kings is Just mach number OF ".prophetic
ecstacv" as the large numbers IN Ezekiel; and the
exact and real. Please again what the author has
said on these two kinds Of numbers in both books III
respect TO the peculiar bias of the school of theology
represented by Dr Paine the facts In the prove
that his religious views had not the slightest influence
on his judgment any sin gle instance. Truth is the
onlvauthority. Ones religions views have nothing to
60 with building houses drawing plans according
specifications. Swedenbors constantly speaks of
Ezckies temple one thing and SolomOns temple as
another fist talking about Soiomon's temple and then
Iamcdiatoy about the new temple OF Ezekiel" lie
lad the popular notion of his time in this matter The
author may also say That one his brethren Las,pub-
hshed a bitter complain that the author has ignored
Swedcnborg altogether throu ghout It's work the
holy houses This work purely scientific one aud
has nothing do with any sect prceonceved views
OF any class of people
The critic says the side of the outer court according
to Ezekies measurem mt would be within a few feet
of an EnsIih mile" The author. the contrary,
finds Ezekel's outer court 900 feet square. The
critic mistakes the Holy Enclosure" for the outer
court the Sep,uagint made this blunder almost 200
yeas ago aud 1t is also in the Tamud The reviewer
will find drawing OF the /" reed Fig. 101l and its
description near il although the word reed" as he
ailTins. Is not III the index. Inc crltc says the
oincuity which other scholars have found in recon-
cling the measurement by the reed with the actual
area of the temple site notice and
cas,ion' On the contrary, the entire Chapter dis
this matter. There is dIicully-except the
old bluudcr.
The Professors conception OF The temple proper is
novel, and mainly shaped by the Interpretation OF
the word spreadIngs.'" Please say "spreadiI gs'
viewed from tie Outsidcs. cOntractiOns when the
temple is viewed on the inside and "pi'asters" i'll
addition 10 the three colonades OF pillars: these three
mot one words. together with the entire, solid of
texts OF ! and III Kings and Ezekiel "shape' the
temple the Professor having himself independent
conception whatever.
The tabernacle seems to have had a gable roof.
L., OH
tanned this in 1868 after Paine had published The
gable root in 1851. This great and iamened English
architect also published IN 1868 gradinc form for
the temple perfectly ike tie gradine form Of the
chambers OF the priests discovered by Paine and pub
lished in 1861. Bat in regard to the gable or span
root OF the tabernacle. the author has found that
.lns.IL Inn. | had suil fhaf