General History, Cyclopedia And Dictionary Of Freemasonry (1872)
Robert Macoy, 1815-1895 · leaf 241
the eastern nations, it was the practice to place the remains of the dead in excavated sepulchres, with monu¬ mental structures over them. Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Persia and Rome abounded with monuments of this char¬ acter. In Egypt the monarch’s burial-place began to be excavated as soon as he… … ul Lae length of his reign. Masonic monuments, as memorials of fraternal affection, and rewards of well-merited honor are often erected over the remains of the illustrious dead, with appropriate hieroglyphic symbols, or the following emblematic legend delineated thereon : A virgin weeping over a…
