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Article PREJUDICES. ← Page 3 of 3 Article THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 1 Article THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 1
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Prejudices.
the body politic , and to be religions so far as it is the duty of every man to acknowledge one Supreme Being , the Creator of the Universe . But apart from these general charges , nv-n may be raonarchial or republican , Christian or Mohammedan ; so long as they are good citizens and
worship God conscienciously , they are safe Masonic examples to take pattern by . In a body of men thus constituted , we necessarily attain the minimum of prejudice . As regards personal likes and dislikes , we are enjoined not to meet in the same Lodge any brother from whom we are ,
momentarily perhaps , estranged , but as regards the more dangerous class of prejudice , if the laws of Masonry are properly observed , there is no fear of any of those terrible dissensions breaking out which have so often endangered the progress and even the very existence of Christianity and other faiths .
The Antiquity Of Freemasonry.
THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY .
[ COMMUNICATED . ] YOU published , in a late issue , under the worn deplume of "Neophyte , " a letter bearing on the much disputed question as to the ancient or modern origin of Freemasonry . Your correspondent expressed a desire to know whether the recent elucidations of Egyptian and other monuments had
thrown any light on this subject . I am not surprised at such a query being put , but I fear that an adequate reply is hardly yet obtainable . The best authorities differ so widely on the matter that nothing like certainty can at present be looked for . On the occasion of the Installation
of the present Most Worshi pful Grand Master , the Pro Grand Master , Lord Carnarvon , spoke of the great antiquity of the Craft , " an antiquity ascending into the sphere of immemorial tradition , " and forthwith Bro . W . P . Buchan and other respected brethren hastened to contest the
assertion . According to Bro . Buchan , our Freemasonry is not of great antiquity . " No evidence , " he asserts , " has been produced of its existence even so recently as two hundred years ago . " Who shall decide where doctors disagree ? We can but trace the records , and form , each one for himself , his own conclusion .
According to some writers , Freemasonry in its principles is coeval with the creation . This notion I confess I am unable to comprehend ; for even the fig leaf , which certain rather profane Masonic songs allege to be the
antitype of the apron , is of a somewhat later date . The tradition that King Solomon was the founder and first Grand Master rests , I fear , upon but little firmer foundation . The theory which traces the origin of Masonry to the Cabirian mysteries bears , I think , a somewhat
greater appearance of probability . Herodotus has some remarks about being " initiated in the Cabirian mysteries which the Samothracians learned of the Pelasgi . " The historian further remarks that , " by them ( the Pelasgi ) the Athenians were first of all instructed to make the figure
of Mercury with an upright priapus ; for the which the Pelasgi have a sacred tradition , which is explained in the Samothracian mysteries . " Who the Cabirians were , is , I believe , still a matter of doubt amongst the learned , but it is tolerably certain that they were believed to he three
powerful deities . Here , then , we have some mysteries , associated apparently with religion and sculpture , a process of initiation , and the mystic number three ; a slender beginning perhaps , but no more insignificant than the tiny rivulet which , by and bye , swells into the gigantic
river . ine JJionysiac artificers of Ionia may also be cited as furnishing some analogies to modern Masonry , though rather to practical than speculative Masonry . Professor Robinson , in an article in the Edinburgh Cyclopaedia , remarks that " the Dionysiacs of Ionia were a
great corporation of architects and engineers , who undertook , and even monopolised , the building of temples and stadia , precisely as the " , fraternity of Freemasons monopolised the building of Cathedrals and conventional Churches in the Middle Ages . " " Indeed , " the Professor continues , " the
. uionysiacs resembled m many respects the mystic fraternity now called Freemasons . They allowed no strangers to interfere in their employment ; they recognised each other
oy signs and tokens ; they professed certain mysterious doctrines , under the tuition and tutelage of Bacchus , to whom they built a magnificent temple at Teos , where they celebrated his mysteries at solemn festivals , and they called
The Antiquity Of Freemasonry.
all other men profanes , because not admitted to these m stories . " With regard to the Freemasons of the middle ages , it is probably true that their ' s was also an operative and practical rather than a speculative and theoretical Freemasonry . But
it would seem to offer sufficient analogies both with tho guild of Iona and the Freemasonry of the present day to make good its claim to be the connecting link between the two . There is said to be a Latin document extant , purporting to be a proclamation of the Freemasons of Europe
assembled at Cologne in 1535 for tho purpose of vindicating themselves from the charge of having attempted to revive the order of the Temple . This document declares that the Freemasons are called the " Brethren dedicated to St . John , " that prior to the year 1440 the association was called
the Johannite Brethren , but that about that time it began to be known by the name of Freemasons . If this document be authentic it would seem to fix the name , at all events , of Freemasons as of older date than Brother Buchan appears
disposed to allow for Freemasonry itself . These craftsmen of the middle ages formed , undoubtedly , a most remarkable sect . Michelet , in his " History of France , " has noted with admiration their self-denial in leaving no record of their names in connection with those wondrous Cathedrals and
Abbeys which centuries of scientific advancement have left unrivalled . Prior to the eighteenth century I think there can be no doubt whatever that Freemasonry , under whatever form or name it existed , was entirely or mainly associated with
operative masonry and architecture . Amateurs were occasionally admitted into the Fraternity , but , speaking generally , it was an association of practical men , formed for eminently practical ends . With the dawn of the eighteenth century modern Freemasonry may be said to have
commenced , and from that period to the present day the Order has extended its ramifications throughout the civilised world , admitting into its ranks men of all classes . During the last two hundred years , and this is probably what was meant by Bro . Buchan , Freemasonry , from being a mere
trade union of architects , sculptors and masons , has gradually been expanded into a gigantic fraternity , comprising men of all honourable vocations , actuated by common principles of unity and benevolence . The trowel , the plane , the compasses , formerly the active implements of
the Craft , are to-day its chief emblems and insignia . But the old cordiality , the active sympathies , the elevating principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth survive to dignify the social bond , and encourage noble effort and kindly feeling amongst the brethren .
Briefly , then , Freemasonry in its present shape is the birth of modern times . It is the direct offspring of the operative Freemasonry of the middle ages , and can thus be clearly traced to the eleventh if not the tenth century . According to Roman Catholic authorities , who describe it
as a remnant of Manicheeism , it has an antiquity ascending to apostolic times ; and this contention , absurd as it may be thought , is at least worth something as pointing to an early origin . Cicero ' s remarks on the Eleusinian mysteries , " Eleusina sancta ilia et Augusta ; ubi initiantur gentes
orarum ultima ? , carry us also to , and even beyond , the Christian era . The links required to connect this period with that of the Cabirian mysteries may not all be forthcoming , but surely a fair inference may be drawn from the similarity existing between their recorded characteristics
and those of more modern Craftship . I have felt some little diffidence in touching upon a question where opinions have been so various and contradictory , and would gladly welcome any new light that your correspondents may be disposed to throw upon this most interesting topic . W . G . B .
A general meeting of the committee of the Girls' School was held on Thursday , the 30 th ult . at Freemasons ' Hall , Great Queen Street , Bro . Thos . W . White P . G . S . in the chair . Bro . Robert Wentworth Little , Secretary , read the minutes of the former meeting . Several discussions in
reference to the various notices of motion were discussed and one petition was read , but deferred , the child not being in attendance . The meeting was then adjourned . There
were present Bros . Wm . Roebuck , Joshua Munro , Wm . Paas , John Boyd , Benjamin Head , John A . Rucker , Walter Wellsman , Henry Moore , Richard Spencer , A . H . Tattershall , H . Massey , Col . J . Peters , H . Browse , H . A . Dubois , Robt . B . Webster , John Mason , S , H . Finney , H . M . Levy .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Prejudices.
the body politic , and to be religions so far as it is the duty of every man to acknowledge one Supreme Being , the Creator of the Universe . But apart from these general charges , nv-n may be raonarchial or republican , Christian or Mohammedan ; so long as they are good citizens and
worship God conscienciously , they are safe Masonic examples to take pattern by . In a body of men thus constituted , we necessarily attain the minimum of prejudice . As regards personal likes and dislikes , we are enjoined not to meet in the same Lodge any brother from whom we are ,
momentarily perhaps , estranged , but as regards the more dangerous class of prejudice , if the laws of Masonry are properly observed , there is no fear of any of those terrible dissensions breaking out which have so often endangered the progress and even the very existence of Christianity and other faiths .
The Antiquity Of Freemasonry.
THE ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY .
[ COMMUNICATED . ] YOU published , in a late issue , under the worn deplume of "Neophyte , " a letter bearing on the much disputed question as to the ancient or modern origin of Freemasonry . Your correspondent expressed a desire to know whether the recent elucidations of Egyptian and other monuments had
thrown any light on this subject . I am not surprised at such a query being put , but I fear that an adequate reply is hardly yet obtainable . The best authorities differ so widely on the matter that nothing like certainty can at present be looked for . On the occasion of the Installation
of the present Most Worshi pful Grand Master , the Pro Grand Master , Lord Carnarvon , spoke of the great antiquity of the Craft , " an antiquity ascending into the sphere of immemorial tradition , " and forthwith Bro . W . P . Buchan and other respected brethren hastened to contest the
assertion . According to Bro . Buchan , our Freemasonry is not of great antiquity . " No evidence , " he asserts , " has been produced of its existence even so recently as two hundred years ago . " Who shall decide where doctors disagree ? We can but trace the records , and form , each one for himself , his own conclusion .
According to some writers , Freemasonry in its principles is coeval with the creation . This notion I confess I am unable to comprehend ; for even the fig leaf , which certain rather profane Masonic songs allege to be the
antitype of the apron , is of a somewhat later date . The tradition that King Solomon was the founder and first Grand Master rests , I fear , upon but little firmer foundation . The theory which traces the origin of Masonry to the Cabirian mysteries bears , I think , a somewhat
greater appearance of probability . Herodotus has some remarks about being " initiated in the Cabirian mysteries which the Samothracians learned of the Pelasgi . " The historian further remarks that , " by them ( the Pelasgi ) the Athenians were first of all instructed to make the figure
of Mercury with an upright priapus ; for the which the Pelasgi have a sacred tradition , which is explained in the Samothracian mysteries . " Who the Cabirians were , is , I believe , still a matter of doubt amongst the learned , but it is tolerably certain that they were believed to he three
powerful deities . Here , then , we have some mysteries , associated apparently with religion and sculpture , a process of initiation , and the mystic number three ; a slender beginning perhaps , but no more insignificant than the tiny rivulet which , by and bye , swells into the gigantic
river . ine JJionysiac artificers of Ionia may also be cited as furnishing some analogies to modern Masonry , though rather to practical than speculative Masonry . Professor Robinson , in an article in the Edinburgh Cyclopaedia , remarks that " the Dionysiacs of Ionia were a
great corporation of architects and engineers , who undertook , and even monopolised , the building of temples and stadia , precisely as the " , fraternity of Freemasons monopolised the building of Cathedrals and conventional Churches in the Middle Ages . " " Indeed , " the Professor continues , " the
. uionysiacs resembled m many respects the mystic fraternity now called Freemasons . They allowed no strangers to interfere in their employment ; they recognised each other
oy signs and tokens ; they professed certain mysterious doctrines , under the tuition and tutelage of Bacchus , to whom they built a magnificent temple at Teos , where they celebrated his mysteries at solemn festivals , and they called
The Antiquity Of Freemasonry.
all other men profanes , because not admitted to these m stories . " With regard to the Freemasons of the middle ages , it is probably true that their ' s was also an operative and practical rather than a speculative and theoretical Freemasonry . But
it would seem to offer sufficient analogies both with tho guild of Iona and the Freemasonry of the present day to make good its claim to be the connecting link between the two . There is said to be a Latin document extant , purporting to be a proclamation of the Freemasons of Europe
assembled at Cologne in 1535 for tho purpose of vindicating themselves from the charge of having attempted to revive the order of the Temple . This document declares that the Freemasons are called the " Brethren dedicated to St . John , " that prior to the year 1440 the association was called
the Johannite Brethren , but that about that time it began to be known by the name of Freemasons . If this document be authentic it would seem to fix the name , at all events , of Freemasons as of older date than Brother Buchan appears
disposed to allow for Freemasonry itself . These craftsmen of the middle ages formed , undoubtedly , a most remarkable sect . Michelet , in his " History of France , " has noted with admiration their self-denial in leaving no record of their names in connection with those wondrous Cathedrals and
Abbeys which centuries of scientific advancement have left unrivalled . Prior to the eighteenth century I think there can be no doubt whatever that Freemasonry , under whatever form or name it existed , was entirely or mainly associated with
operative masonry and architecture . Amateurs were occasionally admitted into the Fraternity , but , speaking generally , it was an association of practical men , formed for eminently practical ends . With the dawn of the eighteenth century modern Freemasonry may be said to have
commenced , and from that period to the present day the Order has extended its ramifications throughout the civilised world , admitting into its ranks men of all classes . During the last two hundred years , and this is probably what was meant by Bro . Buchan , Freemasonry , from being a mere
trade union of architects , sculptors and masons , has gradually been expanded into a gigantic fraternity , comprising men of all honourable vocations , actuated by common principles of unity and benevolence . The trowel , the plane , the compasses , formerly the active implements of
the Craft , are to-day its chief emblems and insignia . But the old cordiality , the active sympathies , the elevating principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth survive to dignify the social bond , and encourage noble effort and kindly feeling amongst the brethren .
Briefly , then , Freemasonry in its present shape is the birth of modern times . It is the direct offspring of the operative Freemasonry of the middle ages , and can thus be clearly traced to the eleventh if not the tenth century . According to Roman Catholic authorities , who describe it
as a remnant of Manicheeism , it has an antiquity ascending to apostolic times ; and this contention , absurd as it may be thought , is at least worth something as pointing to an early origin . Cicero ' s remarks on the Eleusinian mysteries , " Eleusina sancta ilia et Augusta ; ubi initiantur gentes
orarum ultima ? , carry us also to , and even beyond , the Christian era . The links required to connect this period with that of the Cabirian mysteries may not all be forthcoming , but surely a fair inference may be drawn from the similarity existing between their recorded characteristics
and those of more modern Craftship . I have felt some little diffidence in touching upon a question where opinions have been so various and contradictory , and would gladly welcome any new light that your correspondents may be disposed to throw upon this most interesting topic . W . G . B .
A general meeting of the committee of the Girls' School was held on Thursday , the 30 th ult . at Freemasons ' Hall , Great Queen Street , Bro . Thos . W . White P . G . S . in the chair . Bro . Robert Wentworth Little , Secretary , read the minutes of the former meeting . Several discussions in
reference to the various notices of motion were discussed and one petition was read , but deferred , the child not being in attendance . The meeting was then adjourned . There
were present Bros . Wm . Roebuck , Joshua Munro , Wm . Paas , John Boyd , Benjamin Head , John A . Rucker , Walter Wellsman , Henry Moore , Richard Spencer , A . H . Tattershall , H . Massey , Col . J . Peters , H . Browse , H . A . Dubois , Robt . B . Webster , John Mason , S , H . Finney , H . M . Levy .