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Article THE SO-CALLED SWEDENBORG RITE. ← Page 2 of 3 Article THE SO-CALLED SWEDENBORG RITE. Page 2 of 3 →
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The So-Called Swedenborg Rite.
remained in Sfcralsund from 1713-14 to the spring of 1715 . Hero again he renewed his visits to Chapters and Commanderies of these two seaside towns , and here he was
perhaps better known amongst the fraternity from his visits during this period of his history than from his associations in Stockholm . "
Whence Brother Beswick gathered his information about Swedenborg ' s visits to Masonic Lodges in 1715 , and up to the time of his death , I cannot tell . In fact , he had no positive proof to give , but he gofc hold of a letter which
Swedenborg wrote from Stockholm in 1715 . after his return from a visit mado to his brother , in which he stated , "I might easily have arrived yesterday , had it not been for fche darkness ancl uncertainty of finding quarters with
some one in a blue dress . " Be ifc remembered that Sweden was then at war with Russia , Denmark , & c , it is not improbable thafc people in Stockholm may then have been divided in opinion , and that tho different parties may have
adopted different colours , and that a green dress may have distinguished one of the parties from the others . Bro . Beswick , however , says , that " Swedenborg ' s allusion to
the blue dress hacl no reference to any special relation or acquaintance , as the reader might suppose * * * bufc it alludes fco tho dress belonging to the Order of Sublime ancl Ineffable Masonry whioh he had joined . "
But the question still remains , where is the documentary evidence that Swedenborg was an Ineffable Mason ? or a Mason at all ? To this he replies as follows : — " In the archives of tho Chapter at Chrisfcianstaclt there
is an old record book containing the minntes of a Convention or Lodge held in Wittshoffe , 5 fch June 1785 * * * Among other things , the minutes state thafc the first ; brother of the watch , Lien tenant-Colonel ancl Knight Baltzar
Wedemar , upon this occasion delivered a Lectnre on Masonry * * * In this lecture he mentioned the writings of Swedenborg , and spoke of his career as a Freemason , that ho [ Swedenborg ] visited Charles XII . in Alfcensted
in order to have the high Orders of Masonry introduced into Sweden . That Mr . Wedemar himself had visited the Lodge in London which Swedenborg joined in the year 1706 , ancl that the signature of his name is in tho register of the Lodge . "
The said London Lodge is said to have been named Emanuel Lodge , No . 6 . Now , if Swedenborg was initiated in London , he could not also have been initiated at Lund
in the same year . To this Bro . Beswick replies : " The Swedenborgian Masons in Stockholm and Sweden generally supposed that Swedenborg was first initiated in an English Lodge , called Emanuel Lodge , No . 6 ,
London : but this is undoubtedly a mistake . The writer heard of this report over twenty years ago , when , ho and others were hunting for information in relation to Swedenborg ' s career as a Freemason , and the report proved to be without the least foundation . "
Bro . Beswick very justly objects to the " No . 6 London Lodge " theory , for the following reasons : first , Lodges in England in those days were known only by tbe names of the public-houses wherein they held their meetings , ancl
hacl no other names ; second , that in 1717 there were only four Lodges in London ; ancl third , he quotes from a letter of an English Grand Secretary , that tho records of the early Lodges did not exist ; and on the other hand , he
shows that iu some French Geographical Dictionary Lund is called Intnden , and Lunden was mistaken for London . All this , however , might have been admitted as reasoning if it was not too well known that Masonic Chapters ,
Commanderies , and high Orders in Masonry did not exist either in 1706 , or at any period during the lifetime of Charles XII . of Sweden ; and if a Bro . Wedemar delivered in Sweden in 1785 such a lecture as above
intimated , it simply proves that he was not a bit more veracious than a thousand and one of our English and American St . John ' s Day orators were , and still are . In
short , all the evidence thus far furnished by Bro . Beswick is totally worthless to prove that Swedenborg was a Mason .
But yet , as Swedenborg was an indefatigable writer , and he left many of his writings , in the shape of books , letters , & c , hence some evidence of Swedenborg ' s knowledge of
Masonry I thought might have been discovered in Swedenborg ' s writings . Such , however , is not the case , as the following admission of Bro . Beswick himselt shows . In the last chapter of his book he says : — " From the very moment of his initiation , Swedenborg appears to have resolved never to allude to his member-
The So-Called Swedenborg Rite.
ship or to his knowledge of Freemasonry either publicly or privately . He appears to have mado np his mind to keep ifc a profound secret . * * * We have search-d hi .- ? Itinerary , which contains brief references to everything he
saw , heard , and read during his travels , for something having relation to his Masonic knowledge , intercourse , correspondence , visits to Lodges , places or persons ; bufc there is a studied silence ancl systematic avoidance of
allusion to it . The time which ho devotes ( meaning devoted ) to Masonic intercourse is always a perfect blank in his journal . The whole of 1737 , and the spring of 1738 , is a blank . * * * Exactly twelve months aftei' , he
returns to Paris , and again his journal is a blank during tho whole of 1739 aud 1740 , including the Masonic visits he made on his way home . Many Masonic letters must
have been sent to him during the last twenty years of his life , from France especially , but nofc one can bo found . All Masonic correspondence seems to have been systematically destroyed . "
A man endowed with an ounce of common sense would have taken Swedenborg ' s silence about Masonry as an evi . donee that he knew nothing about ifc . Bufc our high degree Masons , though they may have pounds of learning , as a
rule lack the proverbial ounce of common sense . Hence , Swedenborg ' s silence , according to the marvellous reasoning of Bro . Beswick , is the strongest proof thafc Swedenborg was a Mason . He says :
" Knowing it as well as he did , he ( Swedenborg ) would undoubtedly have condemned it , ancl illustrated its tendency in the memorable relations of his theological writings ; if he had disapproved of it , his month would not
have remained sealed * * * His silence proves his great consistency as a Mason , even if he approved of it . " To which he adds , " We think we are justified in affirming that Swedenborg never hacl any official position in a Lodge . "
I confess that up to the time I got hold of Beswick ' s book I had not mofc in a Masonic publication any information relating to tho " Swedenborg Rite ; and I ' naturally
supposed that Swedenborg was a Mason , and was fche manu facturer of a Rite . The book before me , however , con vinced me that Swedenborg never was a Mason at all .
After I had copied the above questions from Bro . Beswick ' s book , and hacl interlarded them with some comments , I consulted our three standard Masonic Cyclopaedias . Well , Bro . Mackenzie says , "It can hardly be admitted
thafc he ( Swedenborg ) was of the Fraternity . " Broiher Woodford , in Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , says , " We deny that Swedenborg was a Mason . " And Dr . Mackey , after giving several extracts from Swedenborg ' s theological
writings , says , " Such passages as these mighfc lead one to suppose that Swedenborg was familiar with the system of Masonic ritualism . His complete reticence from the subject , however , and the whole tenour of his life , his studies ,
and his habits , assure us that such was not the case ; ancl that if there was any borrowing of one from another , and nofc an accidental coincidence , it was the Freemasons of the
high degrees who borrowed from Swedenborg , and not Swedenborg from them ; ancl if so , we cannot deny that he has unwittingly exercised a powerful influence on Masonry . "
Or , in other words , instead of Swedenborg having been Masonised by the high degreers , the high degrees were Swedenborgianised through the writings of Swedenborg . The general opinion however is , that one of the French
degree fabricators manufactured three new degrees and clapped them on to the original English three degrees , ancl palmed them off as a " Swedenborg Rite . " The said Rite is thus explained by Bro . Beswick :
1 st . York Rite or Templar Masonry of three degrees , being an embodiment of fche ancient original ritual , dating back to the period of building Solomon ' s Temple .
2 nd . Swedenborg Rite of Symbolic Masonry of three degrees , ancl dating back to a period preceding the building of Solomon ' s Temple . "
He also explains the Rite as follows . After naming in succession the first three English degrees , he says : " 4 th . Enlightened Freemason , or green brother ; 5 fch , Sublime Freemason , or blue brother ; and 6 th , Perfect Freemason , or red brother . "
I shall only add that Bro . Gould merely refers to Swedenborg ' s influence on the Swedish Rite . Bro . Findel , though he gave a sketch of Swedenborg ' s life , never seems to have doubted Swedenborg ' s Masonry . Bro . Rebold is emphatic , aud refers to him as " one of fche most
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The So-Called Swedenborg Rite.
remained in Sfcralsund from 1713-14 to the spring of 1715 . Hero again he renewed his visits to Chapters and Commanderies of these two seaside towns , and here he was
perhaps better known amongst the fraternity from his visits during this period of his history than from his associations in Stockholm . "
Whence Brother Beswick gathered his information about Swedenborg ' s visits to Masonic Lodges in 1715 , and up to the time of his death , I cannot tell . In fact , he had no positive proof to give , but he gofc hold of a letter which
Swedenborg wrote from Stockholm in 1715 . after his return from a visit mado to his brother , in which he stated , "I might easily have arrived yesterday , had it not been for fche darkness ancl uncertainty of finding quarters with
some one in a blue dress . " Be ifc remembered that Sweden was then at war with Russia , Denmark , & c , it is not improbable thafc people in Stockholm may then have been divided in opinion , and that tho different parties may have
adopted different colours , and that a green dress may have distinguished one of the parties from the others . Bro . Beswick , however , says , that " Swedenborg ' s allusion to
the blue dress hacl no reference to any special relation or acquaintance , as the reader might suppose * * * bufc it alludes fco tho dress belonging to the Order of Sublime ancl Ineffable Masonry whioh he had joined . "
But the question still remains , where is the documentary evidence that Swedenborg was an Ineffable Mason ? or a Mason at all ? To this he replies as follows : — " In the archives of tho Chapter at Chrisfcianstaclt there
is an old record book containing the minntes of a Convention or Lodge held in Wittshoffe , 5 fch June 1785 * * * Among other things , the minutes state thafc the first ; brother of the watch , Lien tenant-Colonel ancl Knight Baltzar
Wedemar , upon this occasion delivered a Lectnre on Masonry * * * In this lecture he mentioned the writings of Swedenborg , and spoke of his career as a Freemason , that ho [ Swedenborg ] visited Charles XII . in Alfcensted
in order to have the high Orders of Masonry introduced into Sweden . That Mr . Wedemar himself had visited the Lodge in London which Swedenborg joined in the year 1706 , ancl that the signature of his name is in tho register of the Lodge . "
The said London Lodge is said to have been named Emanuel Lodge , No . 6 . Now , if Swedenborg was initiated in London , he could not also have been initiated at Lund
in the same year . To this Bro . Beswick replies : " The Swedenborgian Masons in Stockholm and Sweden generally supposed that Swedenborg was first initiated in an English Lodge , called Emanuel Lodge , No . 6 ,
London : but this is undoubtedly a mistake . The writer heard of this report over twenty years ago , when , ho and others were hunting for information in relation to Swedenborg ' s career as a Freemason , and the report proved to be without the least foundation . "
Bro . Beswick very justly objects to the " No . 6 London Lodge " theory , for the following reasons : first , Lodges in England in those days were known only by tbe names of the public-houses wherein they held their meetings , ancl
hacl no other names ; second , that in 1717 there were only four Lodges in London ; ancl third , he quotes from a letter of an English Grand Secretary , that tho records of the early Lodges did not exist ; and on the other hand , he
shows that iu some French Geographical Dictionary Lund is called Intnden , and Lunden was mistaken for London . All this , however , might have been admitted as reasoning if it was not too well known that Masonic Chapters ,
Commanderies , and high Orders in Masonry did not exist either in 1706 , or at any period during the lifetime of Charles XII . of Sweden ; and if a Bro . Wedemar delivered in Sweden in 1785 such a lecture as above
intimated , it simply proves that he was not a bit more veracious than a thousand and one of our English and American St . John ' s Day orators were , and still are . In
short , all the evidence thus far furnished by Bro . Beswick is totally worthless to prove that Swedenborg was a Mason .
But yet , as Swedenborg was an indefatigable writer , and he left many of his writings , in the shape of books , letters , & c , hence some evidence of Swedenborg ' s knowledge of
Masonry I thought might have been discovered in Swedenborg ' s writings . Such , however , is not the case , as the following admission of Bro . Beswick himselt shows . In the last chapter of his book he says : — " From the very moment of his initiation , Swedenborg appears to have resolved never to allude to his member-
The So-Called Swedenborg Rite.
ship or to his knowledge of Freemasonry either publicly or privately . He appears to have mado np his mind to keep ifc a profound secret . * * * We have search-d hi .- ? Itinerary , which contains brief references to everything he
saw , heard , and read during his travels , for something having relation to his Masonic knowledge , intercourse , correspondence , visits to Lodges , places or persons ; bufc there is a studied silence ancl systematic avoidance of
allusion to it . The time which ho devotes ( meaning devoted ) to Masonic intercourse is always a perfect blank in his journal . The whole of 1737 , and the spring of 1738 , is a blank . * * * Exactly twelve months aftei' , he
returns to Paris , and again his journal is a blank during tho whole of 1739 aud 1740 , including the Masonic visits he made on his way home . Many Masonic letters must
have been sent to him during the last twenty years of his life , from France especially , but nofc one can bo found . All Masonic correspondence seems to have been systematically destroyed . "
A man endowed with an ounce of common sense would have taken Swedenborg ' s silence about Masonry as an evi . donee that he knew nothing about ifc . Bufc our high degree Masons , though they may have pounds of learning , as a
rule lack the proverbial ounce of common sense . Hence , Swedenborg ' s silence , according to the marvellous reasoning of Bro . Beswick , is the strongest proof thafc Swedenborg was a Mason . He says :
" Knowing it as well as he did , he ( Swedenborg ) would undoubtedly have condemned it , ancl illustrated its tendency in the memorable relations of his theological writings ; if he had disapproved of it , his month would not
have remained sealed * * * His silence proves his great consistency as a Mason , even if he approved of it . " To which he adds , " We think we are justified in affirming that Swedenborg never hacl any official position in a Lodge . "
I confess that up to the time I got hold of Beswick ' s book I had not mofc in a Masonic publication any information relating to tho " Swedenborg Rite ; and I ' naturally
supposed that Swedenborg was a Mason , and was fche manu facturer of a Rite . The book before me , however , con vinced me that Swedenborg never was a Mason at all .
After I had copied the above questions from Bro . Beswick ' s book , and hacl interlarded them with some comments , I consulted our three standard Masonic Cyclopaedias . Well , Bro . Mackenzie says , "It can hardly be admitted
thafc he ( Swedenborg ) was of the Fraternity . " Broiher Woodford , in Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , says , " We deny that Swedenborg was a Mason . " And Dr . Mackey , after giving several extracts from Swedenborg ' s theological
writings , says , " Such passages as these mighfc lead one to suppose that Swedenborg was familiar with the system of Masonic ritualism . His complete reticence from the subject , however , and the whole tenour of his life , his studies ,
and his habits , assure us that such was not the case ; ancl that if there was any borrowing of one from another , and nofc an accidental coincidence , it was the Freemasons of the
high degrees who borrowed from Swedenborg , and not Swedenborg from them ; ancl if so , we cannot deny that he has unwittingly exercised a powerful influence on Masonry . "
Or , in other words , instead of Swedenborg having been Masonised by the high degreers , the high degrees were Swedenborgianised through the writings of Swedenborg . The general opinion however is , that one of the French
degree fabricators manufactured three new degrees and clapped them on to the original English three degrees , ancl palmed them off as a " Swedenborg Rite . " The said Rite is thus explained by Bro . Beswick :
1 st . York Rite or Templar Masonry of three degrees , being an embodiment of fche ancient original ritual , dating back to the period of building Solomon ' s Temple .
2 nd . Swedenborg Rite of Symbolic Masonry of three degrees , ancl dating back to a period preceding the building of Solomon ' s Temple . "
He also explains the Rite as follows . After naming in succession the first three English degrees , he says : " 4 th . Enlightened Freemason , or green brother ; 5 fch , Sublime Freemason , or blue brother ; and 6 th , Perfect Freemason , or red brother . "
I shall only add that Bro . Gould merely refers to Swedenborg ' s influence on the Swedish Rite . Bro . Findel , though he gave a sketch of Swedenborg ' s life , never seems to have doubted Swedenborg ' s Masonry . Bro . Rebold is emphatic , aud refers to him as " one of fche most