MYSTICAL NUMBERS
One of the many interesting and important assertions made by Dr. Mackey in
his History of Freemasonry, which may be found in the Wisconsin Consistory
library, Scottish Rite cathedral, is that a predilection for mystical numbers
occurs in all the churches of the mediaeval period.
Thus the cathedral of Rheims has seven entrances, and both it and the
cathedral of Charters have seven chapels around the choir.
The choir of Notre Dame at Paris has seven arcades. The cross aisle is 144
feet long, which is sixteen times nine; and 42 feet wide with is six times 7.
The towers of Notre Dame are 204 feet his, which is 17 times 12, the
astronomical number.
The length of the church of Notre Dame at Rheims is 408 feet, or 34 times 12.
The cathedral of Notre Dame has 297 columns; but 297 divided by 3 gives 99,
and this divided by 3 again produces 33.
The naves of St. Ouen, at Rouen, and of the cathedrals of Strasburg and
Charters are of the same length -- 244 feet.
The Saint Chapelle, at Paris, is 110 feet long and 27 feet wide; but 110 is
10 time 11, and 27 is 3 time 9.
In these few examples we have developed the numbers 3,7,9,10,11 and 12, all
of which have been retained in the mystical system of the Speculative
Freemasons; and their appearance among the mediaeval Masons could have been
neither by accident or coincidence, but must have arisen from a pre-determined
selection.
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