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Article MALEVOLENT UTTERANCES REBUKED. Page 1 of 3 Article MALEVOLENT UTTERANCES REBUKED. Page 1 of 3 →
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Malevolent Utterances Rebuked.
MALEVOLENT UTTERANCES REBUKED .
An Kvtract from the Allocution of Illustrious Bro Albert Pike , Soceeeian Grand Commander , to the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient Accepted Scottish llite , at Washington , . ¦ Oth October JSDO .
npHEEE arc malevolent utterances sometimes in high JL places which go out to tho world with the sanction of high authority , endorsed by one or tho other Masonic Powers , which are important enough to deserve notice . The last printed Transactions of tho Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania give circulation to such an utterance . In the report of tho committee on Correspondence contained in it , mention is made of the proceedings of a special communication of tho Grand Lodge of tho district of Columbia , convened to lay the corner-stone of the
Cathedral to be erected by fc ' io brethren of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Ilito ; and upon this the chairman of tho Committee proceeds to comment . So far as his carping , seasoned by tho salt of Attic wit , refined and delicate , is aimed at me , it is nought to me . But as his plain purpose
is defamation of our Rite and aspersion of our motives , and he speaks in Pennsylvania as one having authority , as tho Papiniau among Masonic jurisconsults , and Gamaliel among the Rabbis , and his censure is an appeal to tho nonsense of tho lloek of his fold , intended to
promote prejudice and suspicion ; and as what ho has said has gone to tho world dignified by tho sanction and supposed approval of tho Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , I reply to his comments hero in my place as Grand Commander .
Ho professes to bo " fortunately ignorant of what the purpose of a Cathedral for this rite may be ; " but proceeds to quoto from tho address which , as a Master Mason , I made to the Grand Lodge and Master Masons there present .
Tho paragraph quoted by him is that in which I said that it was proper that tho corner-stone of the house to be buildod there should be laid by the Grand Master , because in it were " regularly to assemble lodges of tho Ancient Craft of Freemasonry , as well as bodies o ( the other
degrees of later origin . ' Nobody gifted v / ith ordinary common sense could mistake the meaning of these words , and nobody did misunderstand them , the building was to be erected by and belong to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ; but in some of its rooms certain Blue
Lodges were to meet . Other parts of it were to be for tho occupation of the bodies of tho Scottish Rite , the degrees whereof are of later origin than the Craft Degrees . But upon this plain statement which I have quoted and
which I made that Masons everywhere might understand that it was proper for the Grand Lodge to lay the cornerstone , the distinguished writer , orator and statesman thus inconsequentially and frivolously expatiates .
Wo aro as much in the dark as heretofore . What " Lodges of the Ancient Craft of Freemasonry " have in common with " Bodies of the other Degrees of later origin , " wo do not comprehend . The words
include any association called secret , either Odd Fellows , Knights of Pythias , Rod Men , or any of the hundred ephemeral gatherings " of later origin " which say they have Degrees . Suroly this " Cathedral " is a name assumed for the pretentious effort to elevate it to a dignity .
" To elevate " what to a dignity ? " Cathedral a name for an effort to elevate it to a dignity ? " The criticism is like " the crackling of thorns under a pot ; " it provokes grave suspicion of insincerity ; and the English of the last sentence is barbarous . He proceeds to say :
Freemasonry has its own Temple for its home , where only the pvwbolic Degrees which circumscribe all that is Masonry , are con . fined . He fancies , I suppose , that this sentence clearly expresses the opinion that a Blue Lodge cannot meet and work
anywhere , lawfully , but in a "Temple" of the Symbolic Masonry . What it does express is not easy to say . It is not plain English , " as we were taught . " It is meant that
" only the Symbolic degrees are ' confined in the Temple " ? or that "they are ' confined' only there" ? Is it a ' function ' of the Symbolic degrees to ' circumscribe' all that is Masonry ?"
" No Bodies , " he adds , " of other Degrees of later origin , can have co-partnership with Ancient Freemasonry in any Cathedral . Why not , if bodies of other degrees , the Scottish Rite Degrees not excepted , can renfe and occupy , and confer
Malevolent Utterances Rebuked.
their degrees in the stately " Temple of Freemasonry " in Philadelphia , aud tho Eoyal Order of Scotland be permitted to pay thirty dollars for two or three hours' use of one of its rooms ? Is that not as much a " co-partnership " f . s She renting of rooms by Bine Lodges in a Scottish Ilite
building . ' In some places the "Temple" is tho property , jointly , of Lodges , Chapters of Royal Arch , Commanderies of Templars , and bodies of the Scottish Rite ; and tho Symbolic Masonry continues nncontaminated , is not made unclean by the "co-partnership . " Perhaps there is no such joint ownership of the " Temple " in Philadelphia .
Once , some fifty years ago , when war was flagrant between tho Grand Orient of France and the Supreme Council of France , the former , npon taking possession of a hall that had been used by the latter , purified it by sprinklings and otherwise . Perhaps in Philadel phia the
hall , which wonld otherwise have become unsanctified , retains its sanctity by virtue of the rent paid for it . I have seen restaurants and bars where alcoholic liquors were dispensed on the ground-floors of " Temples " of the Symbolic Masonry . The services of religion are not forbidden to be held elsewhere than in churches . When one
thinks of it , it is rather amusing , in this age of the world , to hear men claim for one of many Orders a sanctitude of which it is exclusive possessor , and which forbids its associating with any of the othex-s , especially when , if it did not have its origin in England in ale houses and inns ,
these were for many years its " Temples" and " Sanctuaries . " Ever since then , Lodges and Grand Lodges have often enough inhabited rented rooms and houses . All that this brother says revolves round a single point , " The Symbolic Degrees circumscribe all Masonry . "
My address , he says , " implies that in the ' bodies known by other names' Freemasonry can be taught by precept aud example , equally with the Symbolic Degrees of Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry . " His uncouth phraseology tortures the ear and excruciates the nerves . I suppose
that he means by the last phrase " as well , " as fully , or as legitimately , as by the Symbolic Degrees . The address does not " imply " this . It distinctly claims that the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ia a Masonic Rite , and distinctly saya that Freemasonry is taught in its own
Scottish Rite Bodies , by precept and example . Is there any objection to teaching it anywhere , " by precept and example" ? It is taught more fully , and its symbols are
more correctly explained , in our bodies than it ever was taught , or they explained , in any Blue Lodge in the world . What does a man learn in a Blue Lodge after he receives the degrees ?
The Pennsylvania Masonry was , during the long first portion of its life , the " Ancient" or " Dermott" Masonry , and it tolerated no other . It excommunicated the Masonry revived in 1717 , that of the much-boasted-of first Lodge in the United States . By its own admission , part of our
degrees are Masonic , for the Dermott Masonry borrowed them in France , imported them into England , and worked them in its Lodges : and the Symbolic Masonry generally has , for a hundred and thirty years , recognised first , the Rite of Perfection , and then the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , as Masonic .
But this learned brother cries aloud , " We do not agree to any such doctrine . We fear that in this ' Cathedral ' error and schism will soon have a place . . . We think wo read between the lines of his speech a latent spirit" [ ' read a latent spirit' is exquisite ] " of assault on
the eternal fundamental principles of Freemasonry , if so be that' bodies of the other degrees of later origin' may demand equal rights , powers , and privileges with Ancient
Free , and Accepted Masonry . We thus write , now and here , to warn the Masonic fraternity against what we regard as an insidious attack on our ancient and honourable fraternity . "
The paragraph which he reads between the lines is this :
No human institution lives long without changes in its organic structure , in the processes of its action , in its forms and methods , and even in its principles once regarded as essential and unchangeable . Tho restless activity of humanity makes stability impossible . From the common lot of all , Freemasonry is not exempt ; but , in the
main , it has stood npon the old ways and thence mado progress . The constitutions of civil government and political organisations , whether written , or broadened from precedent to precedent , change more in a score of years than Masonry has changed in a century . For the
most part it has adhered to the spirit , if not altogether to the letter , of the old Charges and Regulations—too much , perhaps , in some things , in which it might be be better if the letter of the old law governed less , and its spirit more .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Malevolent Utterances Rebuked.
MALEVOLENT UTTERANCES REBUKED .
An Kvtract from the Allocution of Illustrious Bro Albert Pike , Soceeeian Grand Commander , to the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient Accepted Scottish llite , at Washington , . ¦ Oth October JSDO .
npHEEE arc malevolent utterances sometimes in high JL places which go out to tho world with the sanction of high authority , endorsed by one or tho other Masonic Powers , which are important enough to deserve notice . The last printed Transactions of tho Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania give circulation to such an utterance . In the report of tho committee on Correspondence contained in it , mention is made of the proceedings of a special communication of tho Grand Lodge of tho district of Columbia , convened to lay the corner-stone of the
Cathedral to be erected by fc ' io brethren of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Ilito ; and upon this the chairman of tho Committee proceeds to comment . So far as his carping , seasoned by tho salt of Attic wit , refined and delicate , is aimed at me , it is nought to me . But as his plain purpose
is defamation of our Rite and aspersion of our motives , and he speaks in Pennsylvania as one having authority , as tho Papiniau among Masonic jurisconsults , and Gamaliel among the Rabbis , and his censure is an appeal to tho nonsense of tho lloek of his fold , intended to
promote prejudice and suspicion ; and as what ho has said has gone to tho world dignified by tho sanction and supposed approval of tho Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , I reply to his comments hero in my place as Grand Commander .
Ho professes to bo " fortunately ignorant of what the purpose of a Cathedral for this rite may be ; " but proceeds to quoto from tho address which , as a Master Mason , I made to the Grand Lodge and Master Masons there present .
Tho paragraph quoted by him is that in which I said that it was proper that tho corner-stone of the house to be buildod there should be laid by the Grand Master , because in it were " regularly to assemble lodges of tho Ancient Craft of Freemasonry , as well as bodies o ( the other
degrees of later origin . ' Nobody gifted v / ith ordinary common sense could mistake the meaning of these words , and nobody did misunderstand them , the building was to be erected by and belong to the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ; but in some of its rooms certain Blue
Lodges were to meet . Other parts of it were to be for tho occupation of the bodies of tho Scottish Rite , the degrees whereof are of later origin than the Craft Degrees . But upon this plain statement which I have quoted and
which I made that Masons everywhere might understand that it was proper for the Grand Lodge to lay the cornerstone , the distinguished writer , orator and statesman thus inconsequentially and frivolously expatiates .
Wo aro as much in the dark as heretofore . What " Lodges of the Ancient Craft of Freemasonry " have in common with " Bodies of the other Degrees of later origin , " wo do not comprehend . The words
include any association called secret , either Odd Fellows , Knights of Pythias , Rod Men , or any of the hundred ephemeral gatherings " of later origin " which say they have Degrees . Suroly this " Cathedral " is a name assumed for the pretentious effort to elevate it to a dignity .
" To elevate " what to a dignity ? " Cathedral a name for an effort to elevate it to a dignity ? " The criticism is like " the crackling of thorns under a pot ; " it provokes grave suspicion of insincerity ; and the English of the last sentence is barbarous . He proceeds to say :
Freemasonry has its own Temple for its home , where only the pvwbolic Degrees which circumscribe all that is Masonry , are con . fined . He fancies , I suppose , that this sentence clearly expresses the opinion that a Blue Lodge cannot meet and work
anywhere , lawfully , but in a "Temple" of the Symbolic Masonry . What it does express is not easy to say . It is not plain English , " as we were taught . " It is meant that
" only the Symbolic degrees are ' confined in the Temple " ? or that "they are ' confined' only there" ? Is it a ' function ' of the Symbolic degrees to ' circumscribe' all that is Masonry ?"
" No Bodies , " he adds , " of other Degrees of later origin , can have co-partnership with Ancient Freemasonry in any Cathedral . Why not , if bodies of other degrees , the Scottish Rite Degrees not excepted , can renfe and occupy , and confer
Malevolent Utterances Rebuked.
their degrees in the stately " Temple of Freemasonry " in Philadelphia , aud tho Eoyal Order of Scotland be permitted to pay thirty dollars for two or three hours' use of one of its rooms ? Is that not as much a " co-partnership " f . s She renting of rooms by Bine Lodges in a Scottish Ilite
building . ' In some places the "Temple" is tho property , jointly , of Lodges , Chapters of Royal Arch , Commanderies of Templars , and bodies of the Scottish Rite ; and tho Symbolic Masonry continues nncontaminated , is not made unclean by the "co-partnership . " Perhaps there is no such joint ownership of the " Temple " in Philadelphia .
Once , some fifty years ago , when war was flagrant between tho Grand Orient of France and the Supreme Council of France , the former , npon taking possession of a hall that had been used by the latter , purified it by sprinklings and otherwise . Perhaps in Philadel phia the
hall , which wonld otherwise have become unsanctified , retains its sanctity by virtue of the rent paid for it . I have seen restaurants and bars where alcoholic liquors were dispensed on the ground-floors of " Temples " of the Symbolic Masonry . The services of religion are not forbidden to be held elsewhere than in churches . When one
thinks of it , it is rather amusing , in this age of the world , to hear men claim for one of many Orders a sanctitude of which it is exclusive possessor , and which forbids its associating with any of the othex-s , especially when , if it did not have its origin in England in ale houses and inns ,
these were for many years its " Temples" and " Sanctuaries . " Ever since then , Lodges and Grand Lodges have often enough inhabited rented rooms and houses . All that this brother says revolves round a single point , " The Symbolic Degrees circumscribe all Masonry . "
My address , he says , " implies that in the ' bodies known by other names' Freemasonry can be taught by precept aud example , equally with the Symbolic Degrees of Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry . " His uncouth phraseology tortures the ear and excruciates the nerves . I suppose
that he means by the last phrase " as well , " as fully , or as legitimately , as by the Symbolic Degrees . The address does not " imply " this . It distinctly claims that the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ia a Masonic Rite , and distinctly saya that Freemasonry is taught in its own
Scottish Rite Bodies , by precept and example . Is there any objection to teaching it anywhere , " by precept and example" ? It is taught more fully , and its symbols are
more correctly explained , in our bodies than it ever was taught , or they explained , in any Blue Lodge in the world . What does a man learn in a Blue Lodge after he receives the degrees ?
The Pennsylvania Masonry was , during the long first portion of its life , the " Ancient" or " Dermott" Masonry , and it tolerated no other . It excommunicated the Masonry revived in 1717 , that of the much-boasted-of first Lodge in the United States . By its own admission , part of our
degrees are Masonic , for the Dermott Masonry borrowed them in France , imported them into England , and worked them in its Lodges : and the Symbolic Masonry generally has , for a hundred and thirty years , recognised first , the Rite of Perfection , and then the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , as Masonic .
But this learned brother cries aloud , " We do not agree to any such doctrine . We fear that in this ' Cathedral ' error and schism will soon have a place . . . We think wo read between the lines of his speech a latent spirit" [ ' read a latent spirit' is exquisite ] " of assault on
the eternal fundamental principles of Freemasonry , if so be that' bodies of the other degrees of later origin' may demand equal rights , powers , and privileges with Ancient
Free , and Accepted Masonry . We thus write , now and here , to warn the Masonic fraternity against what we regard as an insidious attack on our ancient and honourable fraternity . "
The paragraph which he reads between the lines is this :
No human institution lives long without changes in its organic structure , in the processes of its action , in its forms and methods , and even in its principles once regarded as essential and unchangeable . Tho restless activity of humanity makes stability impossible . From the common lot of all , Freemasonry is not exempt ; but , in the
main , it has stood npon the old ways and thence mado progress . The constitutions of civil government and political organisations , whether written , or broadened from precedent to precedent , change more in a score of years than Masonry has changed in a century . For the
most part it has adhered to the spirit , if not altogether to the letter , of the old Charges and Regulations—too much , perhaps , in some things , in which it might be be better if the letter of the old law governed less , and its spirit more .