The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-01-19

,ne testimony OF a West Point cadet
qeIore b Congressional Board o
inquiry, who stated that he hae beer
compelled to climb the pole of his tent
Unfortunately, the court failed to brine
Out whether the pole was creased,
IL Is lar from my purpose TO sugges
10 my argument that 1t was the love n
the mysterious which prompted I'M
rounding OF our Order, yet am frank
10 say that the mysteries of all frater.
nal orders are Of paramount mportanc
10 their G and life. The origin
OF Odd Fellowship, as the historian
tells US, is implicated In much doubt,
and surrounded with considerable
~ooscurity. "Rising from obscurity and
the humblest beginnings, the founders
OF our Order builded better than thew
knew. Little did they think as they
mingled with men, fulfilling their
mission OF love, that their deeds were
to be known 70 later generations. and
that their history was to become a oart
OF the history OF the country. HAVING
10 view only the relief OF immediate
want and distress, andIthe dissemination
among themselves OF those pripciples
OF Friendship, Love and Truth which
knitted heart closer to heart. moving
themselves In the humtlest walks az
life, 1t was no. surprising hat thew
should have given less heed to %placin4
on record the daily history which thev
themselves we're creating. than To ,he
daily and hourly exempliicatiou of the
principles of their beloved Order y
This reason then Is assigned for not
preserving the records of our fraternity
In its earliest days.
The evolution of our modern ia "
~oenehcent orders from the occult
mysteries OF the past Is interesting.
Seiore discussing the origin Of our
Oroer, desire to emphasize the fact
that however our historians may differ,
u Is an automatic truth that some OF
the basic principles OF our Order are
handed down from a remote past. Not
entwioed with the copvivialities and
oftimes immoralities OF those ages, it
is true. Nothing progresses, which
does not improve as it gro VS.. On the
other hand, all organizations whose
basic principles are sound, and which
are handed down from the past, through
the evolution Of time divest themselves
OF the dross and finally shine forth 10
all their purity,-reach their colder
age-as our Order has done.s Many OF
our learned men claim that our society
had its origin in a past 10 remote as to
be descended from the Ancient Myster-
les; others, as erudite, claim that it Is
a latter century production. Basing
our argument on the theory OF evolu-
ton we are warranted to conclude that
both are right and yet wrong.
We cannot hold that the esthetic
culture OF the 10Th century, Is a pro-
duction Of the last few centuries. God
endowed man withintellect and reason.
ing power, gave him the faculty OF
cultivating them, and through them,
BY successive ages the world has
reached its present high state Of civili-
cation. | make the statement without
fear OF successful contradiction, basing
my opinion on the theory of evolution,
that it goes without argument that 10
the earliest clubs and guilds, possible
In the Ancient Mysteries, are TO be
found some of the underlying principles
Of our Order. l invite your attention
to this question from another stand
point. &
One OF the most profound scholars of
the American ministry, who spent
twelve years 10 the study of modern
languages, holds that civilization Is
not an evolution from b~arbarianism,
but rather that early civilizations may
be classed as types resembling colonies
from a central birthplace. He main
tains that this holds good with the
Accadian and Babylonian civilizations,
which were Cushite; with the Egyptian,
which was Hamite; with the Chinese
P~hoenician, Assyrian, and Semitic,
equally so with the Iranian or Aryan,
or any other OF the ancient civilizations
known 10 US. He shows that with all OF
these nations the direction from whence
they came, or from where they immi-
| grated into the countries they occupied
historically, may be gathered by one
means or another; and that all these
lines converge into one ~well-defued
geographical region, the Har-moad OF
Isaiah; the Eden Of Genesis; the ARA
rat Of the deluge; the Meru of the
| Hindos; the Abordj Of the Persians,
The Kahr-sak-Kurra OF the cuneiform
text; the Olympus and Ida OF the
Classics; the live SUBMITS Of the
Chinese; the Solar mountains OF the
Egyptians; and the Paradise OF the
Bible. BY closely studying this theory
and the symbolism with which the
learned author invests it, and by a
careful analysis Of the principles Of the
leading secret societies we find In all Of
them the same theory.
BY further a~nalogystic reasoning we
find this theory hold true of the Ancient
Mysteries Therefore. we are warrant,
ed To conclude that some Of the germ
principles Of our Order date bach
twenty centuries.
By following the learned author
further, we fipd in his Independent
research, that he has traced history
very closely, when he states that tn,
Cabiri built the first historical struct
ure following the deluge, the tower o
Babel, and thereon symbolized theiI
religion and the Har-Moad itself: tina
Nimrod a the first historical Cabi
rus; that the members OF this organiza
tion we're the earliest practicers o
mysteries 10 order to preserve a knOwl
edge Of the true God amid an age o
progressive ~idoIatry; and that al
other mysteries are derived from these
Tho learned men Of the Masonic Fra
ternity, II l mistake not, hold the sam,
theory.
II is not the purpose OF Odd Fellow
l IL a. ~ls-- 1t--s u