Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • April 12, 1890
  • Page 4
  • NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED.
Current:

The Freemason's Chronicle, April 12, 1890: Page 4

  • Back to The Freemason's Chronicle, April 12, 1890
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED. Page 1 of 2
    Article NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 4

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Not So Bad As At First Supposed.

NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED .

Bv Buo . JACOB NOUION . THE Rev . Isaac Taylor , in his attack on tho pious Puseyites , in his work called " Ancient Christianity , " after expressing bis contempt for the pious Rev . Butler ' s Lives of the Saints , goes on to say : —

"Let anyone open Bntler ' a Lives of the Saints afc hazard , and without looking afc dates of tho several lives therein related , let him select a few whioh appear the most ridiculously absurd , or which are on any account pecnlarly offensive , and I will venture to predict that these articles , so distinguished by their extravagance and folly ,

will turn ont to be nicene [ that is , of those who lived in the 3 rd or 4 th century ] , and not to popish stories . In fact they will be found to bo translations from [ the writings of ] Athanasins , Basil , Paladins , Jerome , or some of their contemporaries . On the contrary ,

any lives that may appear to be less objectionable , and in a sense edifying , will be those of modern Romanist saints . If then the lives of the saints as a whole be worthy of contempt , the principal stress of this contempt falls nofc on fche Chnrch of Rome , bufc upon the church of the third and fourth century . "

Our author then goes on to assure us that ridiculous as Butler ' s Lives of those early Saints are , they , comparatively speaking , ' aro highly rational to tho same lives as originally written by the early writers . In short , Butler left out some of the most absurd stories given by

Athanasius , Jerome and Co ., and modified and softened down others . It is evident , therefore , that the greatest pietists believed in the greatest absurdities , and thafc the Romanists to whom Butler belonged were not qnito 88 pious as their predecessors of the Nicene periods were . Hence the Romanists could not believe as much as the

more pious primitive writers believed . By the same rule we may discover the comparative piety of our Masonio writers . Take out , at hazard , a number of contributions to Masonic papers , magazines , and even from the Transactions of tho Q . C . Lodge , and you may depend

upon it that every absurd contribution was written by a pietist , and tho most intense pietist will be found fco have written the most absurd stuff . Thepre-1717 MSS ., as well as the histories and literature of the last century , wero more or less the productions of pietists . Oliver , Mackey , C . "W .

Moore , and numerous other Masonic writers of this century , were pietists , and on reading their respective writings it will bo found that those who invented the greatest number of fibs , or who believed in the most absurd Masonic fables ,

were the most pious . And that our now living pious Masonic writers still continue to write absurdities may be illustrated by contributors to the Masonic press . Thus , not long since , I read an article in the Keystone on " Ancient Landmarks . " If I had not seen the writer ' s name I should

still have been satisfied that it was written by a pietist . Tho same may be illustrated by the absurd semi-annual leaders in the said Keystone about the connection of the Saints John with Masonry . The seventy columns of that paper , during tho last twenty years , which have been

devoted to that subject , are so ridiculously absurd that , in my estimation , Bro . Mac Calla , its editor , deserves the title as one of the very greatest of our American Masonic pietists . About forty years ago , an old Lecturer of the Grand Lodge

of Massachusetts , while alluding contemptuously to some person , said , in my presence , " He understands it no more than Jews understand their oxon Scriptures . " Now , it will be conceded by every sensible man that such an absurdity could only have been uttered by a pietist .

Again , take up the absurdities still retained in some American Masonic rituals , and these are likewise the work of pietists . But that is not all , for it often happens that of a phrase introduced say sixty years ago , or even less , pious brethren will swear that it is an ancient landmark . Thus ,

in 1842 , 1 was assured that the story about Hiram Abiff ' s monument was an ancient tradition , and the late pious Bro . Rob Morris , when I last saw him , in Boston , insisted that it was an ancient tradition . But the truth is , Jeremy L . Cross invented the so-called Hiram Abiff ' s

monument in 1819 . The same Bro . Cross introduced into the ritual in 1819 " The Lion of the Tribe of Judah , " and thia has since then given rise to a phrase , viz ., " thc lion ' s paw , " or " the lion ' s grip . " And a very learned writer has

since then proved that the said phrase descended to us from the mysteries of our ancient Egyptian Masonic brethren . But here is something which Mackey gives , upon authority , as an ancient tradition preserved by English Lodges , viz .: — "From the building of the first Temple afc Jerusalem , fco the

Not So Bad As At First Supposed.

Babylonish captivity , Freemasons' Lodges were dedicated to King Solomon . From thence , to tho coming of tho Hessian , they wero dedicated to Zerubbabel , tho builder of the second Temple ; and from that time , to the final destruction of the Temple by Titus XXX ., they were dedicated to St . John the Baptist ; but owing

to tho many massacres aud disorders which attended that memorable event , Freemasonry sank very much into decay ; many Lodges wero entirely broken up , and but few could meet in sufficient numbers to constitute their legality and at a general meeting of the Craft , held in the city of Benjamin , it was observed that the principal reason for

the decline of Masonry was the want of a Grand Master to patronise it . They therefore deputed seven of their most eminent members to wait upon St . John the Evangelist , who was at that time Bishop at Ephesus , requesting him to take npon himself that office . Ho returned for answer , thafc though well stricken iu years ( being

upwards of ninety ) , yefc having been in tho early part of his life initiated into Masonry , he would tako npon himself thafc office . He thereby completed , by hia learning , what the other St . John had

completed by his zeal , and thus drew what Freemasons terra a line parallel . Ever since whioh Freemasons' Lodges in all Christian countries have been dedicated to both St . John fche Baptist and St . John fche Evangelist . "

The above tissue of lies used to be recited in Boston Lodges in a most solemn manner , adding thereto that the Saints John " were parallels in Christianity as well as in Masonry . " The fact , however is , the above story was not invented before the second decade of this century . The

earliest publication I find that story in is in the works of Krause , printed in Germany in 1820 , or somewhat later . As lato as 1822 , Frederick Dalcho , the then besfc informed Mason in America , was puzzled for a reason why the Saints John were introduced into Masonry ?

That story , therefore , must havo como to America after 1822 . Now , had our Masonic pious writers distinguished themselves by writing moro truths , and by advocating a higher standard of justice than the less pious Masonic

writers , they would indeed have been a credit to Christianity as well as to Masonry . But being as it is , they deserve to bo despised just aa much as Isaac Taylor despised tho writers of the Lives of Saints . ' '

Now , as a rule , New England Protestants do not believe in the efficacy of Saints' patronage , but on the contrary they regard it as a mere Popish superstition ; and as the only reason they can give for their adherence to Saints' patronage is tbe above ridiculous Masonic St . John

story , a story at which every man of common sense must laugh at , it therefore seems to me that their real motive for adhering to that superstition is not piety , but it arises from a deep-seated prejudice against Jews , and an inward love to insult them with impunity . In short , Masonic love in America is a mere farce .

The Massachusetts Grand Lecturer , however , lately informed me that some of the sectarian allusions , including the recital of the ridiculous story about the Saints John , as above given , are no longer heard in Massachusetts Masonic Lodges , and I have even received a ritual for

laying a corner-stone , printed in 1886 , in which the Saints John are uot mentioned . We see now that tho Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has moved onward somewhat , and this is mainly due to the liberality of the late Grand Chaplain , and to the greater liberality of the Grand

Masters for the last twelve years or so . In Rhode Island , however , piety , or the pleasure of insulting Jewish Masons in Masonic Lodges , kept the Grand Lodge at a stand still . A ritual , printed in Rhode Island in 1886 , for laying a corner-stone has in it , " under the patronage of the holy

Saints John , " & c . And the same ritual was reprinted to be used at the laying of a corner stone of a synagogue on the 23 rd of September 1889 . The said ritual was printed in the local papers * the Jewish papers in New York naturally found fault , so did the editor of the FREEMASON '

CHRONICLE , and so did I . Upon further inquiry I was informed by a Hebrew correspondent from Rhode Island , who I understand is not a Mason , and is therefore less

likely to deny an offence committed by Masons than a Jewish Brother Mason might feel disposed to do . And he informed me , by letter , that the printing of the ritual , without expunging the objectionable allusion to the Saints

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1890-04-12, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 12 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_12041890/page/4/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE ELECTIONS FOR THE SCHOOLS. Article 1
ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Article 2
KENT CHARITY COMMITTEE. Article 3
MARRIAGE. Article 3
NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED. Article 4
LIVERPOOL MASONIC LITERARY SOCIETY. Article 5
Untitled Ad 5
WHAT IS FREEMASONRY ? Article 5
THE THEATRES, &c. Article 7
ROSE CROIX. Article 7
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Ad 9
Untitled Article 9
CENTENARY OF THE LODGE OF CONFIDENCE, No. 193. Article 9
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 10
LOYAL MONMOUTH LODGE, No. 457. Article 10
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 11
DEVON MASONIC EDUCATIONAL FUND. Article 11
KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. Article 11
MELBOURNE. Article 11
Untitled Ad 11
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 12
INSTRUCTION. Article 12
Untitled Ad 13
Untitled Ad 13
Untitled Ad 13
Untitled Ad 13
Untitled Ad 13
LIST OF RARE AND VALUABLE WORKS ON FREEMASONRY. Article 14
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
THE THEATRES, AMUSEMENTS, &c. Article 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Page 1

Page 1

2 Articles
Page 2

Page 2

3 Articles
Page 3

Page 3

4 Articles
Page 4

Page 4

2 Articles
Page 5

Page 5

4 Articles
Page 6

Page 6

2 Articles
Page 7

Page 7

3 Articles
Page 8

Page 8

6 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

7 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

3 Articles
Page 11

Page 11

6 Articles
Page 12

Page 12

4 Articles
Page 13

Page 13

8 Articles
Page 14

Page 14

1 Article
Page 15

Page 15

10 Articles
Page 16

Page 16

10 Articles
Page 4

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Not So Bad As At First Supposed.

NOT SO BAD AS AT FIRST SUPPOSED .

Bv Buo . JACOB NOUION . THE Rev . Isaac Taylor , in his attack on tho pious Puseyites , in his work called " Ancient Christianity , " after expressing bis contempt for the pious Rev . Butler ' s Lives of the Saints , goes on to say : —

"Let anyone open Bntler ' a Lives of the Saints afc hazard , and without looking afc dates of tho several lives therein related , let him select a few whioh appear the most ridiculously absurd , or which are on any account pecnlarly offensive , and I will venture to predict that these articles , so distinguished by their extravagance and folly ,

will turn ont to be nicene [ that is , of those who lived in the 3 rd or 4 th century ] , and not to popish stories . In fact they will be found to bo translations from [ the writings of ] Athanasins , Basil , Paladins , Jerome , or some of their contemporaries . On the contrary ,

any lives that may appear to be less objectionable , and in a sense edifying , will be those of modern Romanist saints . If then the lives of the saints as a whole be worthy of contempt , the principal stress of this contempt falls nofc on fche Chnrch of Rome , bufc upon the church of the third and fourth century . "

Our author then goes on to assure us that ridiculous as Butler ' s Lives of those early Saints are , they , comparatively speaking , ' aro highly rational to tho same lives as originally written by the early writers . In short , Butler left out some of the most absurd stories given by

Athanasius , Jerome and Co ., and modified and softened down others . It is evident , therefore , that the greatest pietists believed in the greatest absurdities , and thafc the Romanists to whom Butler belonged were not qnito 88 pious as their predecessors of the Nicene periods were . Hence the Romanists could not believe as much as the

more pious primitive writers believed . By the same rule we may discover the comparative piety of our Masonio writers . Take out , at hazard , a number of contributions to Masonic papers , magazines , and even from the Transactions of tho Q . C . Lodge , and you may depend

upon it that every absurd contribution was written by a pietist , and tho most intense pietist will be found fco have written the most absurd stuff . Thepre-1717 MSS ., as well as the histories and literature of the last century , wero more or less the productions of pietists . Oliver , Mackey , C . "W .

Moore , and numerous other Masonic writers of this century , were pietists , and on reading their respective writings it will bo found that those who invented the greatest number of fibs , or who believed in the most absurd Masonic fables ,

were the most pious . And that our now living pious Masonic writers still continue to write absurdities may be illustrated by contributors to the Masonic press . Thus , not long since , I read an article in the Keystone on " Ancient Landmarks . " If I had not seen the writer ' s name I should

still have been satisfied that it was written by a pietist . Tho same may be illustrated by the absurd semi-annual leaders in the said Keystone about the connection of the Saints John with Masonry . The seventy columns of that paper , during tho last twenty years , which have been

devoted to that subject , are so ridiculously absurd that , in my estimation , Bro . Mac Calla , its editor , deserves the title as one of the very greatest of our American Masonic pietists . About forty years ago , an old Lecturer of the Grand Lodge

of Massachusetts , while alluding contemptuously to some person , said , in my presence , " He understands it no more than Jews understand their oxon Scriptures . " Now , it will be conceded by every sensible man that such an absurdity could only have been uttered by a pietist .

Again , take up the absurdities still retained in some American Masonic rituals , and these are likewise the work of pietists . But that is not all , for it often happens that of a phrase introduced say sixty years ago , or even less , pious brethren will swear that it is an ancient landmark . Thus ,

in 1842 , 1 was assured that the story about Hiram Abiff ' s monument was an ancient tradition , and the late pious Bro . Rob Morris , when I last saw him , in Boston , insisted that it was an ancient tradition . But the truth is , Jeremy L . Cross invented the so-called Hiram Abiff ' s

monument in 1819 . The same Bro . Cross introduced into the ritual in 1819 " The Lion of the Tribe of Judah , " and thia has since then given rise to a phrase , viz ., " thc lion ' s paw , " or " the lion ' s grip . " And a very learned writer has

since then proved that the said phrase descended to us from the mysteries of our ancient Egyptian Masonic brethren . But here is something which Mackey gives , upon authority , as an ancient tradition preserved by English Lodges , viz .: — "From the building of the first Temple afc Jerusalem , fco the

Not So Bad As At First Supposed.

Babylonish captivity , Freemasons' Lodges were dedicated to King Solomon . From thence , to tho coming of tho Hessian , they wero dedicated to Zerubbabel , tho builder of the second Temple ; and from that time , to the final destruction of the Temple by Titus XXX ., they were dedicated to St . John the Baptist ; but owing

to tho many massacres aud disorders which attended that memorable event , Freemasonry sank very much into decay ; many Lodges wero entirely broken up , and but few could meet in sufficient numbers to constitute their legality and at a general meeting of the Craft , held in the city of Benjamin , it was observed that the principal reason for

the decline of Masonry was the want of a Grand Master to patronise it . They therefore deputed seven of their most eminent members to wait upon St . John the Evangelist , who was at that time Bishop at Ephesus , requesting him to take npon himself that office . Ho returned for answer , thafc though well stricken iu years ( being

upwards of ninety ) , yefc having been in tho early part of his life initiated into Masonry , he would tako npon himself thafc office . He thereby completed , by hia learning , what the other St . John had

completed by his zeal , and thus drew what Freemasons terra a line parallel . Ever since whioh Freemasons' Lodges in all Christian countries have been dedicated to both St . John fche Baptist and St . John fche Evangelist . "

The above tissue of lies used to be recited in Boston Lodges in a most solemn manner , adding thereto that the Saints John " were parallels in Christianity as well as in Masonry . " The fact , however is , the above story was not invented before the second decade of this century . The

earliest publication I find that story in is in the works of Krause , printed in Germany in 1820 , or somewhat later . As lato as 1822 , Frederick Dalcho , the then besfc informed Mason in America , was puzzled for a reason why the Saints John were introduced into Masonry ?

That story , therefore , must havo como to America after 1822 . Now , had our Masonic pious writers distinguished themselves by writing moro truths , and by advocating a higher standard of justice than the less pious Masonic

writers , they would indeed have been a credit to Christianity as well as to Masonry . But being as it is , they deserve to bo despised just aa much as Isaac Taylor despised tho writers of the Lives of Saints . ' '

Now , as a rule , New England Protestants do not believe in the efficacy of Saints' patronage , but on the contrary they regard it as a mere Popish superstition ; and as the only reason they can give for their adherence to Saints' patronage is tbe above ridiculous Masonic St . John

story , a story at which every man of common sense must laugh at , it therefore seems to me that their real motive for adhering to that superstition is not piety , but it arises from a deep-seated prejudice against Jews , and an inward love to insult them with impunity . In short , Masonic love in America is a mere farce .

The Massachusetts Grand Lecturer , however , lately informed me that some of the sectarian allusions , including the recital of the ridiculous story about the Saints John , as above given , are no longer heard in Massachusetts Masonic Lodges , and I have even received a ritual for

laying a corner-stone , printed in 1886 , in which the Saints John are uot mentioned . We see now that tho Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has moved onward somewhat , and this is mainly due to the liberality of the late Grand Chaplain , and to the greater liberality of the Grand

Masters for the last twelve years or so . In Rhode Island , however , piety , or the pleasure of insulting Jewish Masons in Masonic Lodges , kept the Grand Lodge at a stand still . A ritual , printed in Rhode Island in 1886 , for laying a corner-stone has in it , " under the patronage of the holy

Saints John , " & c . And the same ritual was reprinted to be used at the laying of a corner stone of a synagogue on the 23 rd of September 1889 . The said ritual was printed in the local papers * the Jewish papers in New York naturally found fault , so did the editor of the FREEMASON '

CHRONICLE , and so did I . Upon further inquiry I was informed by a Hebrew correspondent from Rhode Island , who I understand is not a Mason , and is therefore less

likely to deny an offence committed by Masons than a Jewish Brother Mason might feel disposed to do . And he informed me , by letter , that the printing of the ritual , without expunging the objectionable allusion to the Saints

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 3
  • You're on page4
  • 5
  • 16
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy