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Article MASONIC REPRINTS, No. 2076. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MASONIC REPRINTS, No. 2076. Page 2 of 2
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Masonic Reprints, No. 2076.
volume under review , by ordinary readers , than would be otherwise possible without a closer study of tho early history of Masonry than is either convenient or agreeable to oven the great majority of our own association—tho ever widening Circle of the Qnatuor Coronati .
The Grand Lodge of England , established in 1717 , obtained a noble Grand Master—the Duko of Montagu—in 1721 , and from the latter year the Freemasons became a flourishing and much-talked about Society .
It was at this period that the English Craft , through their Grand Lodge , and their " noble Grand Master , " confided to a Scotsman the task of " digesting " the old Constitutions of the Fraternity .
In other words , Dr . Anderson was required to bring as it were , up to date , the written laws and traditions of the earlier Masons . What he actually did , and the variances between his two
compilations , are well told by Bro . Hughan , to whose Introduction the reader is referred ; but why he was selected for the performance of such duties , I shall endeavour to explain , or at all events to put forward a possible solution of what is at first sight very difficult to comprehend .
Ancient Masonry , that is to say , the Masonry preceding tho era of Grand Lodges , came down through two channels —a Scottish , and an English one .
Each system possessed something in which the other was deficient , and it seems probable that the idea of a blend must have entered into the minds of those brethren by whom Dr . Anderson was entrusted with the combined rolo
of historian and lawgiver , in 1721 . Prior to the erection of Modern upon the ruins of Ancient Masonry , by which I mean before the formation
of the Grand Lodge of England , in 1717 , the Masonic grades were , Entered Apprentice , and Fellow Craft or Master ; and Apprentice , and Fellow or Master—in North and South Britain respectively .
In 1723 , however , we meet with the expressions Entered Apprentice , and Fellow Craft or Master , in the Constitutions " digested " by Dr . Anderson , from which it may be concluded that in the course of his labours the old
English appellations Apprentice and Fellow , as givon in the Manuscript ( or Gothic ) Constitutions , had been discarded , and their places filled by the corresponding terms in the operative phraseology of the North .
During the Ancient regime there was also a further difference between tho two systems of Masonry , which must be noticed . In Scotland , the Entered Apprentice received at his
admission " the benefit of the Masons Word , " and therewith , to use the words of Bro . D . M . Lyon , " all that might be implied in tho expression . " But the grado of Fellow Craft or Master brought with it nothing further of a symbolical or speculative character .
In England , there are reasons for sn ]) posing that there may have been two degrees or distinct ceremonies from comparatively early times . There certainly were in 1723 ,
and the inference is irresistible , from the shreds of evidence that have come down to us , that a "Master ' s part , " distinct from the formulary of initiation or first admission , must have existed before the termination of Ancient
Masonry , in 1717 . It is probable that when a gentleman was " made a Mason , " as in the case of Elias Ashmole , ono ceremony succeeded the other , on the same evening , precisely as even
at this day they are still frequently conferred in Scotland . But however this may be , it is at least a reasonable conjecture , that in the case of operatives the second ceremony was postponed until the Apprentice was free of his indentures .
In a recent lecture this subject has been very ably handled by Bro . Speth , and in the supposition last advanced I do but follow in its lines .
One thing , however , is quite clear , whatever may have been the method of imparting them , the secrets of Masonry —i . e . the essentials of the three degrees of the Craft—were known to English Masons before the year 1717 .
Anderson I believe to have been a Scottish Mason , and that to this circumstance was due the fact of his having been employed by the Grand Master and Grand Lodgo of England to remodel the Laws and Constitutions of Masonry .
In England we have at tho present time no records or minutes of Lodges which extend into the domain of Ancient Masonry , while in Scotland there is an abundant store of both . Doubtless a similar state of affairs prevailed
Masonic Reprints, No. 2076.
iu 1721 , and though there may have then existed English Masonic records , antodating tho great event of 1717 , they must have been few in number , or some of them , at all events , would have come down to us .
It is therefore natural to suppose that in his search for documentary evidence relating to tho Masonry of former times , Anderson turned to the archives of the Scottish Lodges . Indeed in his History of Masonry ( Constitutions , 1738 , p 91 ) he tells us : —
" The fraternity of old met in Monasteries in foul weather ; but in fair weather they met early in the morning on the tops of Hills , especially on St . John Evangelist ' s Day , aud from thence walk'd in duo Form to the Place of Dinner , according to the Tradition of the old Scots Masons , partioalarly of those in the antient Lodges of Killwinning , Sterling , Aberdeen , & o . "
Doctor Anderson was a graduate of Marischal College , Aberdeen , in which city it is also probable that he became a Freemason . There was a famous Lodge there , and for reasons which I have freely cited in other places , * I think
it is quite clear that even if the Doctor was not originally a Scottish Mason , tho records of tho Aberdeen Lodge were certainly utilized by him in the compilation of his second Masonic work , the Constitutions , 1738 .
The first Book of Constitutions appeared , as already stated , in 1723 , and between 1724 and 1731 Anderson took no part in the deliberations of Grand Lodge . This demands a passing notice , as it was within the above period that the two degrees recognized by the Grand Lodge in 1723 , blossomed into three .
In 1734 it was resolved by Grand Lodge that Doctor Anderson " Should be desired to print the Names ( in his New Book of Constitutions ) of all tho Grand Masters that could be collected from tho beginning of time" —a task
which ho performed to the satisfaction of his contemporaries , by including in the list every peraonago of great note , from Nimrod and Moses , down to Augustus Cf 63 ar , together with most of the European Sovereigns of later date .
The work saw the light in 1738 , and its merits and defects are pointed out with equal judgment and impartiality by Bro . Hughan in his Introduction . This is a perfect gem of its kind , and compresses , within a very few
pages , a masterly criticism of the acknowledged " basis of Masonic history . " A careful study of it may therefore bo confidently recommended to all who are interested in Masonic studies .
While " digesting " the old " Gothic " MSS ., Dr . Anderson indulged in a very free handling of his authorities , and the extent to which the " body of Masonic law , " as commonly understood and accepted , can be said to havo
been legitimately evolved from tho actual writings of tho Ancient Masons , those readers will be the best propared to judge , who peruse with attention the latest of our Bro . Hughan ' s contributions to the literature of tho Craft .
* History of Freomasonry ii . 293 ; Ars Quatmr Coronatorum ii . 160 , 166 ; iii , pt . i .
The Grand Lodge of England has issued a charter for the incorporation of a new Lodge in the West Lancashire Province . It will be named the Doric , No . 2359 , and its meetings will be held at tho Didsbury Hotel , Didsbury , tho Lodge-room being now in process of decoration . The
W . M . elect is Bro . Georgo S . Smith , and with a view of meeting the wishes of a number of commercial gentlemen anxious to join , it has been decided that the Lodge meetings shall be held each first Saturday in tho month . At present there is every appearance of the Lodge becoming a great success .
On Tuesday evening , the 22 nd ult ., Surgeon-Major Hutton examined the Stockton Freemasons' Ambulance Class , about fifteen members being present . The examiner complimented the class on tho proficiency they had attained during the first course , and passed tho whole of the clasp . Bro . Horner acted as instructor .
Hor . LOWAx ' s PILLS . —Important for tho Delicate . —It is dillicult to determine which is the more trying to tho human constitution , tho damp , cold ( lays of futtumu and winter , or the keen , dry , easterly wiud . s of spring . Throughout tho seasons good health may be maintained by occasional dose , of Ilolioway ' s Pills , which purify tho blood and act as wholesome stimulants to the skin , stomach , liver , bowels , aud kidneys . This celebrated modicinc needs but » . fair trial to convince the ailing nnd desponding tlat it will restore and cheer them without danger , pain or inconvenio : ce . No family should be without a supply of Ilolioway ' s Pills and Ointment , as by a timely re ; imrse to them tho first erring function may bo reclaimed , suffering may bo spared , aud life saved .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Reprints, No. 2076.
volume under review , by ordinary readers , than would be otherwise possible without a closer study of tho early history of Masonry than is either convenient or agreeable to oven the great majority of our own association—tho ever widening Circle of the Qnatuor Coronati .
The Grand Lodge of England , established in 1717 , obtained a noble Grand Master—the Duko of Montagu—in 1721 , and from the latter year the Freemasons became a flourishing and much-talked about Society .
It was at this period that the English Craft , through their Grand Lodge , and their " noble Grand Master , " confided to a Scotsman the task of " digesting " the old Constitutions of the Fraternity .
In other words , Dr . Anderson was required to bring as it were , up to date , the written laws and traditions of the earlier Masons . What he actually did , and the variances between his two
compilations , are well told by Bro . Hughan , to whose Introduction the reader is referred ; but why he was selected for the performance of such duties , I shall endeavour to explain , or at all events to put forward a possible solution of what is at first sight very difficult to comprehend .
Ancient Masonry , that is to say , the Masonry preceding tho era of Grand Lodges , came down through two channels —a Scottish , and an English one .
Each system possessed something in which the other was deficient , and it seems probable that the idea of a blend must have entered into the minds of those brethren by whom Dr . Anderson was entrusted with the combined rolo
of historian and lawgiver , in 1721 . Prior to the erection of Modern upon the ruins of Ancient Masonry , by which I mean before the formation
of the Grand Lodge of England , in 1717 , the Masonic grades were , Entered Apprentice , and Fellow Craft or Master ; and Apprentice , and Fellow or Master—in North and South Britain respectively .
In 1723 , however , we meet with the expressions Entered Apprentice , and Fellow Craft or Master , in the Constitutions " digested " by Dr . Anderson , from which it may be concluded that in the course of his labours the old
English appellations Apprentice and Fellow , as givon in the Manuscript ( or Gothic ) Constitutions , had been discarded , and their places filled by the corresponding terms in the operative phraseology of the North .
During the Ancient regime there was also a further difference between tho two systems of Masonry , which must be noticed . In Scotland , the Entered Apprentice received at his
admission " the benefit of the Masons Word , " and therewith , to use the words of Bro . D . M . Lyon , " all that might be implied in tho expression . " But the grado of Fellow Craft or Master brought with it nothing further of a symbolical or speculative character .
In England , there are reasons for sn ]) posing that there may have been two degrees or distinct ceremonies from comparatively early times . There certainly were in 1723 ,
and the inference is irresistible , from the shreds of evidence that have come down to us , that a "Master ' s part , " distinct from the formulary of initiation or first admission , must have existed before the termination of Ancient
Masonry , in 1717 . It is probable that when a gentleman was " made a Mason , " as in the case of Elias Ashmole , ono ceremony succeeded the other , on the same evening , precisely as even
at this day they are still frequently conferred in Scotland . But however this may be , it is at least a reasonable conjecture , that in the case of operatives the second ceremony was postponed until the Apprentice was free of his indentures .
In a recent lecture this subject has been very ably handled by Bro . Speth , and in the supposition last advanced I do but follow in its lines .
One thing , however , is quite clear , whatever may have been the method of imparting them , the secrets of Masonry —i . e . the essentials of the three degrees of the Craft—were known to English Masons before the year 1717 .
Anderson I believe to have been a Scottish Mason , and that to this circumstance was due the fact of his having been employed by the Grand Master and Grand Lodgo of England to remodel the Laws and Constitutions of Masonry .
In England we have at tho present time no records or minutes of Lodges which extend into the domain of Ancient Masonry , while in Scotland there is an abundant store of both . Doubtless a similar state of affairs prevailed
Masonic Reprints, No. 2076.
iu 1721 , and though there may have then existed English Masonic records , antodating tho great event of 1717 , they must have been few in number , or some of them , at all events , would have come down to us .
It is therefore natural to suppose that in his search for documentary evidence relating to tho Masonry of former times , Anderson turned to the archives of the Scottish Lodges . Indeed in his History of Masonry ( Constitutions , 1738 , p 91 ) he tells us : —
" The fraternity of old met in Monasteries in foul weather ; but in fair weather they met early in the morning on the tops of Hills , especially on St . John Evangelist ' s Day , aud from thence walk'd in duo Form to the Place of Dinner , according to the Tradition of the old Scots Masons , partioalarly of those in the antient Lodges of Killwinning , Sterling , Aberdeen , & o . "
Doctor Anderson was a graduate of Marischal College , Aberdeen , in which city it is also probable that he became a Freemason . There was a famous Lodge there , and for reasons which I have freely cited in other places , * I think
it is quite clear that even if the Doctor was not originally a Scottish Mason , tho records of tho Aberdeen Lodge were certainly utilized by him in the compilation of his second Masonic work , the Constitutions , 1738 .
The first Book of Constitutions appeared , as already stated , in 1723 , and between 1724 and 1731 Anderson took no part in the deliberations of Grand Lodge . This demands a passing notice , as it was within the above period that the two degrees recognized by the Grand Lodge in 1723 , blossomed into three .
In 1734 it was resolved by Grand Lodge that Doctor Anderson " Should be desired to print the Names ( in his New Book of Constitutions ) of all tho Grand Masters that could be collected from tho beginning of time" —a task
which ho performed to the satisfaction of his contemporaries , by including in the list every peraonago of great note , from Nimrod and Moses , down to Augustus Cf 63 ar , together with most of the European Sovereigns of later date .
The work saw the light in 1738 , and its merits and defects are pointed out with equal judgment and impartiality by Bro . Hughan in his Introduction . This is a perfect gem of its kind , and compresses , within a very few
pages , a masterly criticism of the acknowledged " basis of Masonic history . " A careful study of it may therefore bo confidently recommended to all who are interested in Masonic studies .
While " digesting " the old " Gothic " MSS ., Dr . Anderson indulged in a very free handling of his authorities , and the extent to which the " body of Masonic law , " as commonly understood and accepted , can be said to havo
been legitimately evolved from tho actual writings of tho Ancient Masons , those readers will be the best propared to judge , who peruse with attention the latest of our Bro . Hughan ' s contributions to the literature of tho Craft .
* History of Freomasonry ii . 293 ; Ars Quatmr Coronatorum ii . 160 , 166 ; iii , pt . i .
The Grand Lodge of England has issued a charter for the incorporation of a new Lodge in the West Lancashire Province . It will be named the Doric , No . 2359 , and its meetings will be held at tho Didsbury Hotel , Didsbury , tho Lodge-room being now in process of decoration . The
W . M . elect is Bro . Georgo S . Smith , and with a view of meeting the wishes of a number of commercial gentlemen anxious to join , it has been decided that the Lodge meetings shall be held each first Saturday in tho month . At present there is every appearance of the Lodge becoming a great success .
On Tuesday evening , the 22 nd ult ., Surgeon-Major Hutton examined the Stockton Freemasons' Ambulance Class , about fifteen members being present . The examiner complimented the class on tho proficiency they had attained during the first course , and passed tho whole of the clasp . Bro . Horner acted as instructor .
Hor . LOWAx ' s PILLS . —Important for tho Delicate . —It is dillicult to determine which is the more trying to tho human constitution , tho damp , cold ( lays of futtumu and winter , or the keen , dry , easterly wiud . s of spring . Throughout tho seasons good health may be maintained by occasional dose , of Ilolioway ' s Pills , which purify tho blood and act as wholesome stimulants to the skin , stomach , liver , bowels , aud kidneys . This celebrated modicinc needs but » . fair trial to convince the ailing nnd desponding tlat it will restore and cheer them without danger , pain or inconvenio : ce . No family should be without a supply of Ilolioway ' s Pills and Ointment , as by a timely re ; imrse to them tho first erring function may bo reclaimed , suffering may bo spared , aud life saved .