Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Can The Q.C. Lodge Solve The Following Puzzles?
CAN THE Q . C . LODGE SOLVE THE FOLLOWING PUZZLES ?
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
THE Regius Poem gives the following story about the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs : — Pray we now to God Almyght , And to hys moder Mary bryghfc , That we mowe keepe these artyculus here , And these poynts wel al y . fere ,
As dede these holy martyres fowre , That yn thys craffc were of gret honoure ; They were as gode masonus as on orthe schol go , Gravers and ymage-makers they were also . For fchey were werkemen of the beste .
The emperour hade to hem gret luste [ liking ]; He wylned of hem a ymage to make , That mowgh be worsoheped for his sake ; Suche mawmetya he hade yn hys da we , To turne the pepul from Crysfcua lawe .
The said pious Masons and image makers would not produce , at the Emperor ' s command , tbe desired image , and so they were imprisoned , and afterwards thoy were martyred I next consulted Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , and on page 230
I found that four means five : or , in other words , that there were five instead of four martyrs . 8 th November was the festival day of those five martyrs , and their names were Claudius , Nichostrafcus , Simphorianus , Castorias , and Simplicius .
From a book called " Sacred Archceo ! ogy , " by M . E . C . Walcott , page 433 , 1 got the following items about patron saints in general , and about the Four Crowned Martyrs in particular . Among fche former I found that St . 31 oi was patron of hangmen , & c , & c . ; St . George was patron of
soldiers , & c . ; St . Michael was patron of fencing masters , & e . ; St . John , of the Latin Gate , patronized printers , & e . ; and " IV . Coronati were patrons of masons and builders . " Afc the bottom of the same page , the names of the four
martyrs are given as follows , viz ., Severvis , Severianns , Carpophorus and Victorious . Now , these names are entirely unlike those given in Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , and only four names are here given .
I next consulted Rev . Allen Butler s " Lives of tho Saints , " and here is what he says about Q . C ., viz .: — " Four brothers during the persecution of Diocletian , emp loyed in offices of trust and honour at Rome , were apprehended for declaring against the worship of idolf ,
and whipped with scourges loaded with plummets of lead , till they expired in the Jiands of their tormentors . They were buried in the Lavican Wey , three miles from Rome , and were at first called the Four Crowned Martyrs ; their names were Severus , Severianns , Carpophorus and Victoriup . "
Butler gave the same names as Wallcott did , but on the other hand , the Regius Poem says the martyrs were Masons and gravers of images ; bufc Butler evidently did not know that the said martyrs were masons and gravers of images .
Still he knew that the four martyrs were brothers ; but our Masonic poet evidently did nofc know about their having been brothers . Now , I think that our learned brethren of the Q . C . Lodge ought to solve , if they can , the following puzzles :
1 st . Whether the patrons of the old Masons consisted of four or five martyrs ? 2 nd . What were their names ? For there is a difference
of opinion about their names . 3 rd . Were the Four Crowned Martyrs tbe children of the same parents ; or , in other words , were they brothers ? 4 th . Were the four martyrs masons and gravers of images ; or , were they employed in offices of trust and honour at Rome ?
And , 5 th . Did the four martyrs , as described by either party , ever exist ? For instance , in 1867 , I endeavoured to learn whether St . Alban , the so-called English "Protomartyr , " was a Brother Mason . Well ; I first read all thafc Bede wrote about St . Alban , and next I got hold of " Gildas
the Wise , " and I found that thongh Gildas was the very first who wrote about St . Alban , that somehow Bede knew more wonderful things about St . Alban than Gildas fche Wise . Turning to "the Preface of Gildas the Wise Chronicle , I found tbat Dr . J . A . Giles , tbe editor , had some doubts about Gildas . He says : —
" Of Gildas , the supposed author of the work . . . little or nothing is known . Mr . Stevenson , in his preface to his edition of the original Latin , lately published by the English
Can The Q.C. Lodge Solve The Following Puzzles?
Historical Society , says : ' We are unable to speak with certainty as to his ( Gildas's ) parentage , his country , or even his name ; the period when be lived , or tbe works oi which ho was the author . ' Such a statement ( says the Rov . Dr . Giles ) is surely sufficient to excuse us at present
from saying more on tho subject thau that he is supposed to havo lived , and to havo written what remains under his name during some part of the sixth century . There are two legends of the life of Gildas , as he is termed , but both of them abound with sucli absurdities , that they scarcel y
deserve to be noticed io a serious history . ... It haa been remarked by Polydor Virgil thafc Gildas quotes no other book but the Bible ; and ifc may be added thafc his quotations are in other words than those of the Vulgato or common authorised translation , "
In order . to reconcile the statements in the two legends above named , some writers came to the conclnsion thafc there were two men enjoying the name of Gildas . In short , I came to the conclusion that no such a man as Sfc . Alban ever existed . My reasons were ( I givo from memory );
First , as the martyrdom of St . Alban is said to have taken place in the beginning of the third century , and that Gildas is said to have written his Chronicle after 560 , we ought to know where Gildas got his information ; and , second , Consfcantius was Emperor of Britain during fche Diocletian .
persecution , and it is a well-known facfc that Constautius did not persecute Christians . For these and other reasons , I disbelieved in the Sfc . Alban story . The magazine in which I discussed the above question in 1867 ( I forget its
name ) , I senfc to Bro . Gould , when he was about beginning to write his history of Freemasonry . Such was my opinion in 1867 .
Recently , however , I got hold or a book , viz ., Biography Britannica Literary Anglo-Saxon Period , " by Mr . Thomas Wright , who devoted about fifteen pages to " Gildas the Wise , " and ho arrived at the conclusion that no such a per sonagoas Gildas the Wise ever existed , and that the Gildas
Chronicle was forged by a priest in the seventh century . He says , " Indeed , the supposition tbat there were two men bearing this ( Gildas ) name , will only partially aid us in solving the difficulty , and , therefore , other writers have ventured to suppose six or seven " men by the name of
Gildas . In short , he shows that Gildas was a myth ; and as the story of St . Alban was first found in the so-called Gildas Chronicle , St . Alban must also have been a myth . Now , all that the Rev . Father Butler gives to prove the existence of four holy martyrs , is as follows : —
" Pope Gregory the Great mentions an old Church of the Four Crowned Martyrs in Rome . Pope Leo IV ., in 841 , caused the church to be repaired , and fche relics of those martyrs to be translated thither out of the Cemetery on the Lavican Way . "
But , first , I want to know whether Gregory the Great mentioned an old Church of the Four Martyrs ? Second , as Gregory flourished between 590 and 604 , where did he get his information about events that occurred in 303 ? Third , may not Gregory the Great have been deceived by
some inventing priest , similar to the one that invented the St . Alban martyrdom ? In short , it is a well known fact that lying for the sake of promoting the interest of fche Church in those days was regarded as a virtue , and I
would like to find out how fche Masonic Poet got his information that the Four Martyrs were Masons and gravers of images ; and where Father Allen Butler learned thafc the said martyrs held in Rome positions 6 f trust and honour ? BOSTON , UNITED STATES , 24 th October 1890 .
Bro . James Stevens asks us to notify that the Arboretum Lodge , No . 731 , have arranged for the delivery of his lecture on "The Eitual and Ceremonial of the Svmbolic Degrees in Freemasonry , " afc Derby , in the early
part of the ensuing month ; and he intimates to the brethren of the Province of Derby thafc he would be glad to make similar arrangements with other Lodges in tbat Province for visits at about that time .
Hoixo-ww's OINTMENT AKD Pitts . —Counsel for tho Delicate . - Those to whom t- e changeable temperature is a protracted period of trial should sees tbe earliest opportunity of removing all obstacles to good health . This coolmf . Ointment petsuveringly rubbed upon the skin , is the most reliable remedy tor overcoming all diseases of the throat and chest . Qninsey , relaxed tonsils , sore
throat , swollen glands , ordinary catarrh , and bronchitis , usually previ """ B » - this season , may be arrested as soon fls discovered , and ovory symptoi " banished by Holloway ' s simple and effective treatment . This Ointment anu Pills are highly commended for the facility with which they successfully contend with influenza ; they allay in an incredibly short time the distressin g fever and teasing cough .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Can The Q.C. Lodge Solve The Following Puzzles?
CAN THE Q . C . LODGE SOLVE THE FOLLOWING PUZZLES ?
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
THE Regius Poem gives the following story about the Four Holy Crowned Martyrs : — Pray we now to God Almyght , And to hys moder Mary bryghfc , That we mowe keepe these artyculus here , And these poynts wel al y . fere ,
As dede these holy martyres fowre , That yn thys craffc were of gret honoure ; They were as gode masonus as on orthe schol go , Gravers and ymage-makers they were also . For fchey were werkemen of the beste .
The emperour hade to hem gret luste [ liking ]; He wylned of hem a ymage to make , That mowgh be worsoheped for his sake ; Suche mawmetya he hade yn hys da we , To turne the pepul from Crysfcua lawe .
The said pious Masons and image makers would not produce , at the Emperor ' s command , tbe desired image , and so they were imprisoned , and afterwards thoy were martyred I next consulted Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , and on page 230
I found that four means five : or , in other words , that there were five instead of four martyrs . 8 th November was the festival day of those five martyrs , and their names were Claudius , Nichostrafcus , Simphorianus , Castorias , and Simplicius .
From a book called " Sacred Archceo ! ogy , " by M . E . C . Walcott , page 433 , 1 got the following items about patron saints in general , and about the Four Crowned Martyrs in particular . Among fche former I found that St . 31 oi was patron of hangmen , & c , & c . ; St . George was patron of
soldiers , & c . ; St . Michael was patron of fencing masters , & e . ; St . John , of the Latin Gate , patronized printers , & e . ; and " IV . Coronati were patrons of masons and builders . " Afc the bottom of the same page , the names of the four
martyrs are given as follows , viz ., Severvis , Severianns , Carpophorus and Victorious . Now , these names are entirely unlike those given in Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia , and only four names are here given .
I next consulted Rev . Allen Butler s " Lives of tho Saints , " and here is what he says about Q . C ., viz .: — " Four brothers during the persecution of Diocletian , emp loyed in offices of trust and honour at Rome , were apprehended for declaring against the worship of idolf ,
and whipped with scourges loaded with plummets of lead , till they expired in the Jiands of their tormentors . They were buried in the Lavican Wey , three miles from Rome , and were at first called the Four Crowned Martyrs ; their names were Severus , Severianns , Carpophorus and Victoriup . "
Butler gave the same names as Wallcott did , but on the other hand , the Regius Poem says the martyrs were Masons and gravers of images ; bufc Butler evidently did not know that the said martyrs were masons and gravers of images .
Still he knew that the four martyrs were brothers ; but our Masonic poet evidently did nofc know about their having been brothers . Now , I think that our learned brethren of the Q . C . Lodge ought to solve , if they can , the following puzzles :
1 st . Whether the patrons of the old Masons consisted of four or five martyrs ? 2 nd . What were their names ? For there is a difference
of opinion about their names . 3 rd . Were the Four Crowned Martyrs tbe children of the same parents ; or , in other words , were they brothers ? 4 th . Were the four martyrs masons and gravers of images ; or , were they employed in offices of trust and honour at Rome ?
And , 5 th . Did the four martyrs , as described by either party , ever exist ? For instance , in 1867 , I endeavoured to learn whether St . Alban , the so-called English "Protomartyr , " was a Brother Mason . Well ; I first read all thafc Bede wrote about St . Alban , and next I got hold of " Gildas
the Wise , " and I found that thongh Gildas was the very first who wrote about St . Alban , that somehow Bede knew more wonderful things about St . Alban than Gildas fche Wise . Turning to "the Preface of Gildas the Wise Chronicle , I found tbat Dr . J . A . Giles , tbe editor , had some doubts about Gildas . He says : —
" Of Gildas , the supposed author of the work . . . little or nothing is known . Mr . Stevenson , in his preface to his edition of the original Latin , lately published by the English
Can The Q.C. Lodge Solve The Following Puzzles?
Historical Society , says : ' We are unable to speak with certainty as to his ( Gildas's ) parentage , his country , or even his name ; the period when be lived , or tbe works oi which ho was the author . ' Such a statement ( says the Rov . Dr . Giles ) is surely sufficient to excuse us at present
from saying more on tho subject thau that he is supposed to havo lived , and to havo written what remains under his name during some part of the sixth century . There are two legends of the life of Gildas , as he is termed , but both of them abound with sucli absurdities , that they scarcel y
deserve to be noticed io a serious history . ... It haa been remarked by Polydor Virgil thafc Gildas quotes no other book but the Bible ; and ifc may be added thafc his quotations are in other words than those of the Vulgato or common authorised translation , "
In order . to reconcile the statements in the two legends above named , some writers came to the conclnsion thafc there were two men enjoying the name of Gildas . In short , I came to the conclusion that no such a man as Sfc . Alban ever existed . My reasons were ( I givo from memory );
First , as the martyrdom of St . Alban is said to have taken place in the beginning of the third century , and that Gildas is said to have written his Chronicle after 560 , we ought to know where Gildas got his information ; and , second , Consfcantius was Emperor of Britain during fche Diocletian .
persecution , and it is a well-known facfc that Constautius did not persecute Christians . For these and other reasons , I disbelieved in the Sfc . Alban story . The magazine in which I discussed the above question in 1867 ( I forget its
name ) , I senfc to Bro . Gould , when he was about beginning to write his history of Freemasonry . Such was my opinion in 1867 .
Recently , however , I got hold or a book , viz ., Biography Britannica Literary Anglo-Saxon Period , " by Mr . Thomas Wright , who devoted about fifteen pages to " Gildas the Wise , " and ho arrived at the conclusion that no such a per sonagoas Gildas the Wise ever existed , and that the Gildas
Chronicle was forged by a priest in the seventh century . He says , " Indeed , the supposition tbat there were two men bearing this ( Gildas ) name , will only partially aid us in solving the difficulty , and , therefore , other writers have ventured to suppose six or seven " men by the name of
Gildas . In short , he shows that Gildas was a myth ; and as the story of St . Alban was first found in the so-called Gildas Chronicle , St . Alban must also have been a myth . Now , all that the Rev . Father Butler gives to prove the existence of four holy martyrs , is as follows : —
" Pope Gregory the Great mentions an old Church of the Four Crowned Martyrs in Rome . Pope Leo IV ., in 841 , caused the church to be repaired , and fche relics of those martyrs to be translated thither out of the Cemetery on the Lavican Way . "
But , first , I want to know whether Gregory the Great mentioned an old Church of the Four Martyrs ? Second , as Gregory flourished between 590 and 604 , where did he get his information about events that occurred in 303 ? Third , may not Gregory the Great have been deceived by
some inventing priest , similar to the one that invented the St . Alban martyrdom ? In short , it is a well known fact that lying for the sake of promoting the interest of fche Church in those days was regarded as a virtue , and I
would like to find out how fche Masonic Poet got his information that the Four Martyrs were Masons and gravers of images ; and where Father Allen Butler learned thafc the said martyrs held in Rome positions 6 f trust and honour ? BOSTON , UNITED STATES , 24 th October 1890 .
Bro . James Stevens asks us to notify that the Arboretum Lodge , No . 731 , have arranged for the delivery of his lecture on "The Eitual and Ceremonial of the Svmbolic Degrees in Freemasonry , " afc Derby , in the early
part of the ensuing month ; and he intimates to the brethren of the Province of Derby thafc he would be glad to make similar arrangements with other Lodges in tbat Province for visits at about that time .
Hoixo-ww's OINTMENT AKD Pitts . —Counsel for tho Delicate . - Those to whom t- e changeable temperature is a protracted period of trial should sees tbe earliest opportunity of removing all obstacles to good health . This coolmf . Ointment petsuveringly rubbed upon the skin , is the most reliable remedy tor overcoming all diseases of the throat and chest . Qninsey , relaxed tonsils , sore
throat , swollen glands , ordinary catarrh , and bronchitis , usually previ """ B » - this season , may be arrested as soon fls discovered , and ovory symptoi " banished by Holloway ' s simple and effective treatment . This Ointment anu Pills are highly commended for the facility with which they successfully contend with influenza ; they allay in an incredibly short time the distressin g fever and teasing cough .