t, a portable temple, and contained one place within it more
holy and secret than the others, called the _Holy of Holies_, and to which
the _adytum_ in the pagan temples corresponded. The first heathen temple
mentioned in Scripture is that of Dagon, the god of the Philistines. The
Greeks, who were indebted to the Phoenicians for many things, may be
supposed to have learned from them the art of building temples; and it is
certain that the Romans borrowed from the Greeks both the worship of the
gods and the construction of temples."

TEMPLE BUILDER. The title by which Hiram Abif is sometimes designated.

TEMPLE OF SOLOMON. The building erected by King Solomon on Mount Moriah,
in Jerusalem, has been often called "the cradle of Freemasonry," because
it was there that that union took place between the operative and
speculative masons, which continued for centuries afterwards to present
the true organization of the masonic system.

As to the size of the temple, the dimensions given in the text may be
considered as accurate so far as they agree with the description given in
the First Book of Kings. Josephus gives a larger measure, and makes the
length 105 feet, the breadth 35 feet, and the height 210 feet; but even
these will not invalidate the statement in the text, that in size it was
surpassed by many a parish church.

TEMPLE SYMBOLISM. That symbolism which is derived from the temple of
Solomon. It is the most fertile of all kinds of symbolism in the
production of materials for the masonic science.

TERMINUS. One of the most ancient of the Roman deities. He was the god of
boundaries and landmarks, and his statue consisted only of a cubical
stone, without arms or legs, to show that he was immovable.

TETRACTYS. A figure used by Pythagoras, consisting of ten points, arranged
in a triangular form so as to represent the monad, duad, triad, and
quarterniad. It was considered as very sacred by the Pythagoreans, and was
to them what the tetragrammaton was to the Jews.

TETRAGRAMMATON. (From the Greek [Greek: tetra\s], _four_,
and [Greek: gra\mma], a letter. The four-lettered name of God in the Hebrew
language, which consisted of four letters, viz. [Hebrew: yod-heh-vau-heh]
commonly, but incorrectly, pronounced _Jehovah_. As a symbol it greatly
pervaded the rites of antiquity, and was perhaps the earliest symbol
corrupted by the Spurious Freemasonry of the pagan Mysteries.

It was held by the Jews in profound veneration, and