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Freemasonry Grave And Gay.
bull against the Freemasons in 1736 . About a century later a placard posted in the streets of Lisbon declared that " the gallows and the triangles must work conjointly and with energy , and fires must be kindled in every quarter of Portugal to reduce to ashes the bodies and property of these
vile monsters . " To this excited language a sufficient answer may be found in the names of illustrious men , such as Melanthon , Locke , Sir Isaac Newton , Sir Christopher Wren , Franklin and Washington , who were all Freemasons . Washington spoke of Freemasonry in these terms : " The
grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race . ' When the Marquis of Hastings was going out as Governor-General of India , he addressed the Lodge of which he was a member in the following terms : ' " My real relation to you may be best explained by an Asiatic
apologue . In the baths of the East perfumed clay is used instead of soap . A poet is introduced who breaks out into an enthusiastic flow of admiration at the odour of a lump of clay of this kind— ' alas '—answers the clay , ' I am only a piece of ordinary earth , but I happened to come in contact
with the rose , and I have borrowed some of its fragrance . I , he added , have borrowed the character of the virtues inherent in this institution , and my best hope is that , however minute the portion with which I have been imbued , I am not likely to lose what has been so fortuitously acquired . "
There is no need to recite at length the real or imaginary history of Masonry . Enthusiastic Freemasons have found a pleasure in tracing Masonry back to the remotest possible antiquity ; in fact , Dr . Oliver asserts that it " existed before the creation of this globe and was diffused amidst the
numerous systems with which the grand empire of universal space was furnished . " More modest authorities have been content to claim for Masonry an antiquity no higher than the time of Adam . It has been asserted , with a strange disregard of chronology , that Abraham was a Freemason
when he went into Egypt , and that he had there a worthy scholar that light Euclid , " and in the legends of Freemasons Moses is said to have been a Grand Master , Joshua his Deputy , and Aholiab and Bezaleel Wardens . But the received and diffused belief concerning Freemasonry
associates it in its orig in with the building of Solomon ' s temple . The names of Solomon , the first Grand Master , of Hiram , King of Tyre , and of the other Hiram called Abif , are the most famous names in Freemasonry . Of the building
of the temple , I need do no more than remind you that according to the Scriptural account it was mysterious and in appearance magical . " There was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building , " or as Bishop Fleber puts it in his well-known poem :
No workman ' s steel , no ponderous axes rung , Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung . Whatever may have been the origin of Freemasonry , there can be little doubt that in Europe it was derived from the mediaeval guild or craft of builders . " The first
Freemasons , " says Mackey ' were builders , they could have been nothing else . " That there were guilds of various orders of workmen is a fact familiar to the student of history . They still survive in the City Companies of London , such as the
Goldsmiths , the Grocers , the Salters , Company of which I am myself a member , the bi-dnners and Tanners . These Companies still preserve some characteristics of the ancient guilds , e . g ., the system of apprenticeship , the law of obedience to masters and of charity to the brethren , and the peculiar dress
from which they are called Livery Companies . Amongst these Companies , the Company of Masons , incorporated in the 15 th century , was one . Like other Companies , the Company of Masons possessed its secrets , but they used them to more purpose , for as Masons travelled from place to place
in the exercise of their Craft , being especially occupied in the building of the great cathedrals in Europe , it was important that they should guard themselves against intrusion of persons who did not possess a knowledge of architecture or building .
In the history of Masonry , Masons are distinguished as operative and speculative , but there is no doubt that the operative Masons were the parents of the speculative Masons and the speculative Masons have converted the signs and symbols of the art of buildino- to a moral and spiritual
significance . It may be asked , what is the origin of the name Freemason ? It has sometimes been interpreted as a corruption of Freres-Macons , or Brother Masons , sometimes as signifying that they worked in free stone and not in rough stone but it properly signifies persons who were not operative
Freemasonry Grave And Gay.
Masons , but who were admitted by special privilege to the Masonic Guild , and who received the freedom of the Guild or were made free of it as distinguished persons still receive the freedom of the City of London . The great change from operative to speculative Freemasonry took place in the
beginning of the 18 th century . It was then , on St . John the Baptist ' s day , 24 th June 1717 , that the new Grand Lodge of Speculative Masons was formed at the Goose and Gridiron ; the hostel where Sir Christopher Wren for eighteen years presided over the meetings of St . Paul ' s Lodge in London .
The name of Sir Christopher Wren , indeed , connects the old order of things with the new , for he was the architect of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , and it is not a little remarkable that when , after an interval of nearly three centuries , a new cathedral was once more built under Masonic auspices , its
foundation stone was laid by Masonic ceremonies . In Masonry , as it exists at the present day , there is a gay side and a grave , on its gay side , which is sometimes exposed to the laughter of the multitude , may be set the predilection of Masons for high-sounding titles , for distinctive
dresses , for dinners which sometimes err in the direction of prolixity , and for amusements such as dances , to which the outer world is invited . All this gay side is regarded by Masons as a vestibule to the solemn temple of Masonic doctrine . In itself it is harmless , if not particularly useful . The fondness for titles is a human weakness not confined to
the Masonic Brotherhood . In the early days of the United States of America , when it was decided that the President should not be called His Highness or by any other title , Jefferson wrote in a fit of enthusiasm : " I hope the terms of Excellency , Honour , Worship and Esquire will for ever
disappear from among us from this moment , I wish that of Mr . would follow them . " His heroic policy has not been followed in the world . His indifference to titular distinction is said not to be characteristic of his countrymen and countrywomen at the present day . The Masonic Brotherhood had
discovered what others , whether in secular or sacred life , have discovered since—that mankind are easily led by titles and badges , that they associate themselves under voluntary authority , and are encouraged by association to works . As with titles , so with dresses . The dresses in Freemasonry
correspond with the medals and ribbons of the outer world , ; but there is this difference , that their aprons , their sashes , their gloves and their jewels either represent some characteristic of Masonic history , or are fraught with some lesson of Masonic doctrine . It would ill become a Bishop in whose
profession the symbolism of dress has assumed a large proportion , to make light of the meaning of costume . What he does . say is that society owes all its propriety and much of its beauty and dignity to the care so freely lavished by men , and still more by women , upon dress .
In the practice of dinners the Masons are not distinguished from their human fellow beings . They find dinners in India as elsewhere are motives to charity . The love of dinners all the world over is a characteristic of the English race . Nor can it be said that the Masons in giving dances
are departing from a common'custom of social lite , although they remember that dancing , in its origin , is not a light , but serious institution . It was connected in its early history
with Divine worship , as was seen of old m the dancing of the Greek chorus , and may be said still to survive in the dancing before the High Altar in the Cathedral of Seville in Spain .
But the gay side of Freemasonry is only its shell ; its kernel is the symbolism by which . Masons aspire to impress the lessons of moral and spiritual significance upon men ' s hearts . It is by the use of symbolism that Masonic teacning differs from others . What is a symbol ? A symbol is an
external means of impressing truth . A flag is a symbol , nothing more , but it is a symbol of interest and affections , that moves human nature to its core . The use of symbols in Masonry depends upon the principle that teaching conveyed to the eye is more forcible than if conveyed through
the ear . Of the symbolisms used in Masonry it is permitted me to speak explicity , but I quote a passage respecting it from Dr . Oliver , the historian of Freemasonry . " It opens , " he says , " with morality in its feeblest state , poor and penniless , blind and naked , and conducts the pious enquirer
to a glorious immortality . It begins on earth and eno ,. ui heaven . The path , below is cloudy and dark , but the summit , like the glory of Mount Sinai , is illuminated with brilliant light . The probation is arduous and severe , but the result clear and pellucid as the fountain of life . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry Grave And Gay.
bull against the Freemasons in 1736 . About a century later a placard posted in the streets of Lisbon declared that " the gallows and the triangles must work conjointly and with energy , and fires must be kindled in every quarter of Portugal to reduce to ashes the bodies and property of these
vile monsters . " To this excited language a sufficient answer may be found in the names of illustrious men , such as Melanthon , Locke , Sir Isaac Newton , Sir Christopher Wren , Franklin and Washington , who were all Freemasons . Washington spoke of Freemasonry in these terms : " The
grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race . ' When the Marquis of Hastings was going out as Governor-General of India , he addressed the Lodge of which he was a member in the following terms : ' " My real relation to you may be best explained by an Asiatic
apologue . In the baths of the East perfumed clay is used instead of soap . A poet is introduced who breaks out into an enthusiastic flow of admiration at the odour of a lump of clay of this kind— ' alas '—answers the clay , ' I am only a piece of ordinary earth , but I happened to come in contact
with the rose , and I have borrowed some of its fragrance . I , he added , have borrowed the character of the virtues inherent in this institution , and my best hope is that , however minute the portion with which I have been imbued , I am not likely to lose what has been so fortuitously acquired . "
There is no need to recite at length the real or imaginary history of Masonry . Enthusiastic Freemasons have found a pleasure in tracing Masonry back to the remotest possible antiquity ; in fact , Dr . Oliver asserts that it " existed before the creation of this globe and was diffused amidst the
numerous systems with which the grand empire of universal space was furnished . " More modest authorities have been content to claim for Masonry an antiquity no higher than the time of Adam . It has been asserted , with a strange disregard of chronology , that Abraham was a Freemason
when he went into Egypt , and that he had there a worthy scholar that light Euclid , " and in the legends of Freemasons Moses is said to have been a Grand Master , Joshua his Deputy , and Aholiab and Bezaleel Wardens . But the received and diffused belief concerning Freemasonry
associates it in its orig in with the building of Solomon ' s temple . The names of Solomon , the first Grand Master , of Hiram , King of Tyre , and of the other Hiram called Abif , are the most famous names in Freemasonry . Of the building
of the temple , I need do no more than remind you that according to the Scriptural account it was mysterious and in appearance magical . " There was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building , " or as Bishop Fleber puts it in his well-known poem :
No workman ' s steel , no ponderous axes rung , Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung . Whatever may have been the origin of Freemasonry , there can be little doubt that in Europe it was derived from the mediaeval guild or craft of builders . " The first
Freemasons , " says Mackey ' were builders , they could have been nothing else . " That there were guilds of various orders of workmen is a fact familiar to the student of history . They still survive in the City Companies of London , such as the
Goldsmiths , the Grocers , the Salters , Company of which I am myself a member , the bi-dnners and Tanners . These Companies still preserve some characteristics of the ancient guilds , e . g ., the system of apprenticeship , the law of obedience to masters and of charity to the brethren , and the peculiar dress
from which they are called Livery Companies . Amongst these Companies , the Company of Masons , incorporated in the 15 th century , was one . Like other Companies , the Company of Masons possessed its secrets , but they used them to more purpose , for as Masons travelled from place to place
in the exercise of their Craft , being especially occupied in the building of the great cathedrals in Europe , it was important that they should guard themselves against intrusion of persons who did not possess a knowledge of architecture or building .
In the history of Masonry , Masons are distinguished as operative and speculative , but there is no doubt that the operative Masons were the parents of the speculative Masons and the speculative Masons have converted the signs and symbols of the art of buildino- to a moral and spiritual
significance . It may be asked , what is the origin of the name Freemason ? It has sometimes been interpreted as a corruption of Freres-Macons , or Brother Masons , sometimes as signifying that they worked in free stone and not in rough stone but it properly signifies persons who were not operative
Freemasonry Grave And Gay.
Masons , but who were admitted by special privilege to the Masonic Guild , and who received the freedom of the Guild or were made free of it as distinguished persons still receive the freedom of the City of London . The great change from operative to speculative Freemasonry took place in the
beginning of the 18 th century . It was then , on St . John the Baptist ' s day , 24 th June 1717 , that the new Grand Lodge of Speculative Masons was formed at the Goose and Gridiron ; the hostel where Sir Christopher Wren for eighteen years presided over the meetings of St . Paul ' s Lodge in London .
The name of Sir Christopher Wren , indeed , connects the old order of things with the new , for he was the architect of St . Paul ' s Cathedral , and it is not a little remarkable that when , after an interval of nearly three centuries , a new cathedral was once more built under Masonic auspices , its
foundation stone was laid by Masonic ceremonies . In Masonry , as it exists at the present day , there is a gay side and a grave , on its gay side , which is sometimes exposed to the laughter of the multitude , may be set the predilection of Masons for high-sounding titles , for distinctive
dresses , for dinners which sometimes err in the direction of prolixity , and for amusements such as dances , to which the outer world is invited . All this gay side is regarded by Masons as a vestibule to the solemn temple of Masonic doctrine . In itself it is harmless , if not particularly useful . The fondness for titles is a human weakness not confined to
the Masonic Brotherhood . In the early days of the United States of America , when it was decided that the President should not be called His Highness or by any other title , Jefferson wrote in a fit of enthusiasm : " I hope the terms of Excellency , Honour , Worship and Esquire will for ever
disappear from among us from this moment , I wish that of Mr . would follow them . " His heroic policy has not been followed in the world . His indifference to titular distinction is said not to be characteristic of his countrymen and countrywomen at the present day . The Masonic Brotherhood had
discovered what others , whether in secular or sacred life , have discovered since—that mankind are easily led by titles and badges , that they associate themselves under voluntary authority , and are encouraged by association to works . As with titles , so with dresses . The dresses in Freemasonry
correspond with the medals and ribbons of the outer world , ; but there is this difference , that their aprons , their sashes , their gloves and their jewels either represent some characteristic of Masonic history , or are fraught with some lesson of Masonic doctrine . It would ill become a Bishop in whose
profession the symbolism of dress has assumed a large proportion , to make light of the meaning of costume . What he does . say is that society owes all its propriety and much of its beauty and dignity to the care so freely lavished by men , and still more by women , upon dress .
In the practice of dinners the Masons are not distinguished from their human fellow beings . They find dinners in India as elsewhere are motives to charity . The love of dinners all the world over is a characteristic of the English race . Nor can it be said that the Masons in giving dances
are departing from a common'custom of social lite , although they remember that dancing , in its origin , is not a light , but serious institution . It was connected in its early history
with Divine worship , as was seen of old m the dancing of the Greek chorus , and may be said still to survive in the dancing before the High Altar in the Cathedral of Seville in Spain .
But the gay side of Freemasonry is only its shell ; its kernel is the symbolism by which . Masons aspire to impress the lessons of moral and spiritual significance upon men ' s hearts . It is by the use of symbolism that Masonic teacning differs from others . What is a symbol ? A symbol is an
external means of impressing truth . A flag is a symbol , nothing more , but it is a symbol of interest and affections , that moves human nature to its core . The use of symbols in Masonry depends upon the principle that teaching conveyed to the eye is more forcible than if conveyed through
the ear . Of the symbolisms used in Masonry it is permitted me to speak explicity , but I quote a passage respecting it from Dr . Oliver , the historian of Freemasonry . " It opens , " he says , " with morality in its feeblest state , poor and penniless , blind and naked , and conducts the pious enquirer
to a glorious immortality . It begins on earth and eno ,. ui heaven . The path , below is cloudy and dark , but the summit , like the glory of Mount Sinai , is illuminated with brilliant light . The probation is arduous and severe , but the result clear and pellucid as the fountain of life . "