-
Articles/Ads
Article THE APPROACH OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ORIGIN AND AIM OF MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article ORIGIN AND AIM OF MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approach Of The Holiday Season.
or entertainments , they will be doing a service to many excellent members of the Fraternity who like to take their pleasure in season , but are not able to afford extravagance , and perhaps are a little too proud to acknowledge it . Moreover , there is this further to be considered . Ladies are
present on these occasions , and if the charges are high , a brother who'has a wife and daughters , and considers there is no reason why they should not have a part in the day ' s pleasure , will probably think twice about joining . Ho will argue that he would like to be of the party , but he and
his belongings must find their enjoyment elsewhere , where the demands on his purse will be less formidable . We hope a sense of moderation will prevail whenever an entertainment of this description is on the carpet , so that the greatest , not the smallest , number of brethren and their friends may have part in the enjoyment .
Origin And Aim Of Masonry.
ORIGIN AND AIM OF MASONRY .
A FRAGMENT , BY BRO . W . R . WRIGHT .
I HAVE perused with great attention Sir William Drnmmond ' s observations on the origin and nature of the Institution of Freemasonry , and have derived the highest gratification from its perusal . However I may differ from Sir William in some few points of his hypothesis , as a man who as devoted much attention to Masonic pursuits and learned to contemplate the Institution itself in a very different point of view from that in which it has been generally
treated by its advocates and its enemies , I feel tho greatest satisfaction in finding my own notions of its genuine antiquity and important tendency , in so great a degree confirmed by the authority of his distinguished talents and profound erudition , for which I entertain the most sincere respect and deference . I perfectly agree in his supposition that the belief of the Zabeans was in a great degree
prevalent among the Jews ; but I consider it to have been adopted by that people in the more gross and corrupt form to which it was so evidently liable to be perverted , and not , as he seems to imagine , in that of pure and speculative Theism . But as thoso corruptions were ultimately derived from sublime , though inaccurate and imperfect conceptions of the divine nature ,
I am inclined to think that the real object of the Craft degrees of Masonry as instituted by S . ( Solomon ?) , ' was to reclaim the followers of that sect to a purer and more philosophical investigation of their original tenets , thus gradually preparing their minds for the reception of revealed religion . And in this respect I would draw a matked distinction between
what is usually termed the Craft or symbolical part of the science , and the system of H . R . D . M . —K . D . S . H ., or as it is now more commonly styled the R . A . of J . —to which I shall first advert as being the most antient branch of onr institution , and comprising what may not improperly be termed the mysteria mcy ' ora . The foundation of this most antient Masonry I apprehend to have
been coeval with the creation of man , consisting in that system of knowledge , moral , physical , and philosophical , which the Almighty Creator gave to the first being whom he animated with a spirit resembling his own divine nature , which system was preserved in the traditions of the antient Patriarchs to the time of . About the time when that eminent character appeared , these
traditions , beginning to be obscured by the lapse of seven centuries , had fallen into much neglect even among those who professed to adhere to the creed of their forefathers , and were treated as idle superstitions by those of a different character . In order , therefore , to preserve them from being farther effaced or totally forgotten , that Patriarch deposited written memorials of those
scientific and divine communications in the bosom of a holy mountain well known to the Fraternity , and the better to provide further seenrity by confining such knowledge to those who might prove themselves worthy of it , instituted certain probationary and religious observances of a secret nature , which circumstance , I apprehend , is alluded to when it is said that first taught men to call npon the name of tho Lord .
Such is my idea of Masonry in its original and simple state . Thus preserved amongst the sons of the Patriarchs to the time of the captivity of Israel in Egypt , the system became in some degree corrupted by the intercourse of their descendants with the people of the country , who for the most part adored with extravagant and fantastic rites and moustrous superstition the symbols under which the
priests of Misraim concealed the theistical doctrines derived from their progenitor , tho son of Noah . On the enfranchisement of the Israelites from their Egyptian captivity , the public worship of was re-established among the people , in general under tho injunction of solemnities and formal observances nt once suited to captivate their imaginations and keep alive
their zeal and attention by ordinances interwoven with all these civil and social relations , and tending to connect the past history of the human race with those fntnre destinations of which they were the aio ' iitype . But as the human mind , once infected with any degree of superstition or infidelity , can recover its energy aud purity only by gradual
means proportioned io its remaining and returning health . . . . Tho instruction which they there received , so far as regarded the antient ritual , was that compendious system adopted by the Ci . and R . C . of J ., which comprised under five divisions or principal decrees the several ordinances respectively established by M . and by S ., explaining under the last or 5 th degree the nature and distinctive
Origin And Aim Of Masonry.
characteristics of the several intervening stages of tho Mosaic Insti . tution , the ceremonial of which it was no longer deemed necessary or expedient to retain . Among tho Crusaders the Knights of the Temple appear to have given tho most sedulous and particular attention to tho details of tho antient Masonic system on tho principles of which their own fraternal
union was founded , requiring secresy of initiation and observing the practice of mysterious ceremonies unknown to other orders of chivalry . No one who is acquainted with tho history of tho Templars can doubt that these means wero adopted by them for the purpose of concealing from general observation thoso ambitious views of
domination from which their apologists ( however successful in refuting all other charges against this illustrious body ) , have never been able to exculpate them . On the dissolution of the Order , and in consequence of the persecn . tion to which its members were exposed under the authority of the Pope and Philip tho Fair of France , many of its principal officers
took refuge in Scotland . Zealously attached to the principles of their association , they availed themselves of its ancient relation to Masonry to establish a close connection with the Lodges existing in that country , and found means to engraft on the simple plan hitherto pro . mulgated by the brethren of the Crusades , the peculiar observances which they had exclusively retained , so modified , howover , as to bear
a proximate allusion to their own circumstances , and tending to keep alive the ambitious designs of the Order by a desire to wreak vengeance on their persecutors , and to transmit these sentiments to succeeding ages , that the hour of retribution , however distant , would at length arrive . Hence originated what is generally called the Kilwinning Rite
which appears , however , to have been more generally adopted and to have taken most deep root among the nations of the Continent ( par . ticularly in France and Germany ) than among the moral and reflecting people of the country where it was originally established . And I do most fully agree with those who attribute to the silent and progressive influences of this perverted system ( co-operating with
political causes , and more especially reacting on the abuse of the secular and th « intolerance of the ecclesiastical authorities ) , a con . siderable portion of those anti-social and anti-christian doctrines which have spread such desolation throughout Europe . I have observed that this system found little acceptance with the Scotch and English Masons . In the former kingdom these
intermediate degrees are very imperfectly preserved j in the latter they were never received into practice , and even the degree of Knights Templar , as still existing in both countries , is strictly confined to the ritual of initiation antiently observed by that order , disfigured , indeed , by lapse of time and the ignorance of those into whose hands the administration of it has fallen , but still retaining palpable traces of the grand and impressive ceremonial originally practised on such
occasions . The similarity of our allegorical structure with the Temples of the Zabeans , and the resemblance which exists between the mysteries of Masonry , and those of Osiris , Mithras , and the Elcusinioi .... in various points of preparation , reception , and instruction , as well as its connection with the Pythagorean and Platonic Schools of Philosophy , have been so ably treated by Sir W . Drummond that I oannot
presume to offer any comment in addition to what he has observed on that part of the subject , further than by remarking that the universal prevalence of similar institutions amongst the civilized nations of antiquity in Asia , Africa , and Europe ( though confessedly imper . feet and obscure in their nature and tendency , and widely differing from each other in many particulars ) , afford a strong testimony in favour of the existence of some original and pure system of mysterious and traditional instruction existing from the earliest ages of the
world . To enter upon the discussion of the relations which our institution bears to the complicated system of Hindu mythology ( always beautiful and often sublime , even in its wildest extravagance of fiction ) would require far more leisure and erudition than I am possessed of or can pretend to . I cannot , however , refrain from observing the
extraordinary manner in which that system is itself connected with the hieroglyphics of Egypt , the belief of the antient Phoenicians ( probably the founders of the Druidical religion ) , and the tenets of the Pythagorean and Platonic schools as far as they relate to the mysterious doctrines of the Metempsychosis and tho .... so often descanted upon , and so little understood by contemporary and succeeding
writers . Subjects of this nature are beyoud the compass of those limits which I have prescribed to my present observations ; but I am not the less convinced that to the investigation of such subjects the deeper researches of the speculative Mason should be sedulously directed in tho more advanced stages of his progress .
Tho existence , nature , and attributes of the Creator and of those spiritual essences which derived there being from Him—tho origin of evil , the existence of man , the existence of matter—as taught or rewarded by the followers of the Epicurean , Platonic , or Brahminic philosophy . The end proposed in the creation of the system to which wo
be-The original nature and destination of man and of the amma ( 3 subject to his power . The primary laws and properties of the vegetable and mineral kingdoms . # Tho physical and moral .... introduced by the corruption ot
mankind . Tho institution of sacrificial worship as well with reference to its own nature as the end for which it was designed . Tho effects of that great convulsion of nature recorded in tho Scriptures and in the imperfect tradition of all nations . Tho confusion of languages and the analogy which all tho variotiea still bear towards each other through the medium of their common original .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approach Of The Holiday Season.
or entertainments , they will be doing a service to many excellent members of the Fraternity who like to take their pleasure in season , but are not able to afford extravagance , and perhaps are a little too proud to acknowledge it . Moreover , there is this further to be considered . Ladies are
present on these occasions , and if the charges are high , a brother who'has a wife and daughters , and considers there is no reason why they should not have a part in the day ' s pleasure , will probably think twice about joining . Ho will argue that he would like to be of the party , but he and
his belongings must find their enjoyment elsewhere , where the demands on his purse will be less formidable . We hope a sense of moderation will prevail whenever an entertainment of this description is on the carpet , so that the greatest , not the smallest , number of brethren and their friends may have part in the enjoyment .
Origin And Aim Of Masonry.
ORIGIN AND AIM OF MASONRY .
A FRAGMENT , BY BRO . W . R . WRIGHT .
I HAVE perused with great attention Sir William Drnmmond ' s observations on the origin and nature of the Institution of Freemasonry , and have derived the highest gratification from its perusal . However I may differ from Sir William in some few points of his hypothesis , as a man who as devoted much attention to Masonic pursuits and learned to contemplate the Institution itself in a very different point of view from that in which it has been generally
treated by its advocates and its enemies , I feel tho greatest satisfaction in finding my own notions of its genuine antiquity and important tendency , in so great a degree confirmed by the authority of his distinguished talents and profound erudition , for which I entertain the most sincere respect and deference . I perfectly agree in his supposition that the belief of the Zabeans was in a great degree
prevalent among the Jews ; but I consider it to have been adopted by that people in the more gross and corrupt form to which it was so evidently liable to be perverted , and not , as he seems to imagine , in that of pure and speculative Theism . But as thoso corruptions were ultimately derived from sublime , though inaccurate and imperfect conceptions of the divine nature ,
I am inclined to think that the real object of the Craft degrees of Masonry as instituted by S . ( Solomon ?) , ' was to reclaim the followers of that sect to a purer and more philosophical investigation of their original tenets , thus gradually preparing their minds for the reception of revealed religion . And in this respect I would draw a matked distinction between
what is usually termed the Craft or symbolical part of the science , and the system of H . R . D . M . —K . D . S . H ., or as it is now more commonly styled the R . A . of J . —to which I shall first advert as being the most antient branch of onr institution , and comprising what may not improperly be termed the mysteria mcy ' ora . The foundation of this most antient Masonry I apprehend to have
been coeval with the creation of man , consisting in that system of knowledge , moral , physical , and philosophical , which the Almighty Creator gave to the first being whom he animated with a spirit resembling his own divine nature , which system was preserved in the traditions of the antient Patriarchs to the time of . About the time when that eminent character appeared , these
traditions , beginning to be obscured by the lapse of seven centuries , had fallen into much neglect even among those who professed to adhere to the creed of their forefathers , and were treated as idle superstitions by those of a different character . In order , therefore , to preserve them from being farther effaced or totally forgotten , that Patriarch deposited written memorials of those
scientific and divine communications in the bosom of a holy mountain well known to the Fraternity , and the better to provide further seenrity by confining such knowledge to those who might prove themselves worthy of it , instituted certain probationary and religious observances of a secret nature , which circumstance , I apprehend , is alluded to when it is said that first taught men to call npon the name of tho Lord .
Such is my idea of Masonry in its original and simple state . Thus preserved amongst the sons of the Patriarchs to the time of the captivity of Israel in Egypt , the system became in some degree corrupted by the intercourse of their descendants with the people of the country , who for the most part adored with extravagant and fantastic rites and moustrous superstition the symbols under which the
priests of Misraim concealed the theistical doctrines derived from their progenitor , tho son of Noah . On the enfranchisement of the Israelites from their Egyptian captivity , the public worship of was re-established among the people , in general under tho injunction of solemnities and formal observances nt once suited to captivate their imaginations and keep alive
their zeal and attention by ordinances interwoven with all these civil and social relations , and tending to connect the past history of the human race with those fntnre destinations of which they were the aio ' iitype . But as the human mind , once infected with any degree of superstition or infidelity , can recover its energy aud purity only by gradual
means proportioned io its remaining and returning health . . . . Tho instruction which they there received , so far as regarded the antient ritual , was that compendious system adopted by the Ci . and R . C . of J ., which comprised under five divisions or principal decrees the several ordinances respectively established by M . and by S ., explaining under the last or 5 th degree the nature and distinctive
Origin And Aim Of Masonry.
characteristics of the several intervening stages of tho Mosaic Insti . tution , the ceremonial of which it was no longer deemed necessary or expedient to retain . Among tho Crusaders the Knights of the Temple appear to have given tho most sedulous and particular attention to tho details of tho antient Masonic system on tho principles of which their own fraternal
union was founded , requiring secresy of initiation and observing the practice of mysterious ceremonies unknown to other orders of chivalry . No one who is acquainted with tho history of tho Templars can doubt that these means wero adopted by them for the purpose of concealing from general observation thoso ambitious views of
domination from which their apologists ( however successful in refuting all other charges against this illustrious body ) , have never been able to exculpate them . On the dissolution of the Order , and in consequence of the persecn . tion to which its members were exposed under the authority of the Pope and Philip tho Fair of France , many of its principal officers
took refuge in Scotland . Zealously attached to the principles of their association , they availed themselves of its ancient relation to Masonry to establish a close connection with the Lodges existing in that country , and found means to engraft on the simple plan hitherto pro . mulgated by the brethren of the Crusades , the peculiar observances which they had exclusively retained , so modified , howover , as to bear
a proximate allusion to their own circumstances , and tending to keep alive the ambitious designs of the Order by a desire to wreak vengeance on their persecutors , and to transmit these sentiments to succeeding ages , that the hour of retribution , however distant , would at length arrive . Hence originated what is generally called the Kilwinning Rite
which appears , however , to have been more generally adopted and to have taken most deep root among the nations of the Continent ( par . ticularly in France and Germany ) than among the moral and reflecting people of the country where it was originally established . And I do most fully agree with those who attribute to the silent and progressive influences of this perverted system ( co-operating with
political causes , and more especially reacting on the abuse of the secular and th « intolerance of the ecclesiastical authorities ) , a con . siderable portion of those anti-social and anti-christian doctrines which have spread such desolation throughout Europe . I have observed that this system found little acceptance with the Scotch and English Masons . In the former kingdom these
intermediate degrees are very imperfectly preserved j in the latter they were never received into practice , and even the degree of Knights Templar , as still existing in both countries , is strictly confined to the ritual of initiation antiently observed by that order , disfigured , indeed , by lapse of time and the ignorance of those into whose hands the administration of it has fallen , but still retaining palpable traces of the grand and impressive ceremonial originally practised on such
occasions . The similarity of our allegorical structure with the Temples of the Zabeans , and the resemblance which exists between the mysteries of Masonry , and those of Osiris , Mithras , and the Elcusinioi .... in various points of preparation , reception , and instruction , as well as its connection with the Pythagorean and Platonic Schools of Philosophy , have been so ably treated by Sir W . Drummond that I oannot
presume to offer any comment in addition to what he has observed on that part of the subject , further than by remarking that the universal prevalence of similar institutions amongst the civilized nations of antiquity in Asia , Africa , and Europe ( though confessedly imper . feet and obscure in their nature and tendency , and widely differing from each other in many particulars ) , afford a strong testimony in favour of the existence of some original and pure system of mysterious and traditional instruction existing from the earliest ages of the
world . To enter upon the discussion of the relations which our institution bears to the complicated system of Hindu mythology ( always beautiful and often sublime , even in its wildest extravagance of fiction ) would require far more leisure and erudition than I am possessed of or can pretend to . I cannot , however , refrain from observing the
extraordinary manner in which that system is itself connected with the hieroglyphics of Egypt , the belief of the antient Phoenicians ( probably the founders of the Druidical religion ) , and the tenets of the Pythagorean and Platonic schools as far as they relate to the mysterious doctrines of the Metempsychosis and tho .... so often descanted upon , and so little understood by contemporary and succeeding
writers . Subjects of this nature are beyoud the compass of those limits which I have prescribed to my present observations ; but I am not the less convinced that to the investigation of such subjects the deeper researches of the speculative Mason should be sedulously directed in tho more advanced stages of his progress .
Tho existence , nature , and attributes of the Creator and of those spiritual essences which derived there being from Him—tho origin of evil , the existence of man , the existence of matter—as taught or rewarded by the followers of the Epicurean , Platonic , or Brahminic philosophy . The end proposed in the creation of the system to which wo
be-The original nature and destination of man and of the amma ( 3 subject to his power . The primary laws and properties of the vegetable and mineral kingdoms . # Tho physical and moral .... introduced by the corruption ot
mankind . Tho institution of sacrificial worship as well with reference to its own nature as the end for which it was designed . Tho effects of that great convulsion of nature recorded in tho Scriptures and in the imperfect tradition of all nations . Tho confusion of languages and the analogy which all tho variotiea still bear towards each other through the medium of their common original .