Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
So-Called " Evidence Of Steinmetz Esoterics."
SO-CALLED " EVIDENCE OF STEINMETZ ESOTERICS . "
Br BRO . JACOB NOKTON . THE next paper after Bro . Gould'a lecture in the last Q . C . Transactions is headed " Evidence of Steinmefz Esoterics . " The writer of the said paper , of course , believes in the antiquity of speculative Masonry , and his
arguments for his opinion are based upon some poetry written in 1623 , by J . V . Andrete . The same Andreoa wrote , in 1614 , a fictitious narrative about ^ the origin of a fraternity called " Rosicrucians . '' As far as I know , no oue behoves now that such a fraternity ever existed before
1614 ( Masonio Rosicrucians of course excepted ) , nor do believe that such a society was ever organized before the latter half of the last century , by some Masonio degree monger . Tho winding up of Andrew ' s poetry is as follows : —
And if we here below would learn , By Compass , Needle , Square and Plumb , Wherewith onr God hath measnr'd us . " Upon which , saith Bro . Schnitger , the author of the paper referred to : —
" It is not my purpose now to inquire whether he ( Andrem ) was a Rosicrucian or not , although ... I may be permitted to say , th . it it is strange he should write against an Order of Rosicrucians , if such a society was not in existence before and at his time , " & o ., & e . He then goes on to reason thus : —How such a
man ( of learning and piety ) should happen to use the tools of the Steinmetzen symbolically , unless he had their application in this sense from the Steinmetzen ( or Masons ) themselves , is not easy to say . He must have invented this application himself for the purpose , unless we
admit the other and more natural explanation . Again , if such emblematical use was not readily understood by contemporary readers , and consequently known in wider circles , why did he employ terms which he know his readers would not appreciate ?
***** " Tho only logical conclusion I can come to , seems to poiut to tho Steinmetzen for the source of Andreao ' s information ; and iu tho time of their ( the Masons' ) decadence , whon Andreas wrote—say 1016—nothing id more Vikoly than tbat such a man should got hold
of some information , even assuming he was not duly initiated as u lay brother , and adept in mathematical scienoe . " I think it must be admitted , that Andreas uses the symbols exactly as they were used in 1717 , and afterwards , and that being so , we have proof that , say one hundred years before ( the ) Grand Lodge
thc same emblematic meaning did attach to these tools as the existing Lodges inculcate . This alone is a long Btop towards disproving the 1717 theory . . . . Anyhow , the theory falls to the grouud , that the esoteric meaning was added in 1717 for the purposes of what is now
called the newly founded symbolio Freemasonry . It is quite possible that some operative Lodges had forgotten their esoteric catechism , but to apply this to all the Craft , doos certainly require better proof than has hitherto been adduced . "
The above extracts , which contain tho gist of Bro Sohnitger's argument , can leave no doubt in the reader ' s mind , that he believes that the symbolic explanations of tho Masons' working tools were either confined to Masons only , until the time of Andrea ? , from whom he somehow
learned them , or that Andreas was the- original gonius who discovered a new meaning to the words , Compass , Needle , Square , and Plumb ; or , in other words , that nobody before 1 G 16 ever thought of symbolizing the said working tools .
I shall now proceed to prove that in the days of Andreas , tho figurative allusions to Masons' working tools were , metaphorically speaking , " as old as the hills " ; they were widely known and understood , and may be said to" have been " familiar as household words . " Now read the
following quotations : — 2 Kings xxi . 13 . — " And I will stretoh over Jerusalem the line of Samaria , and the plummet of tho house of Ahab . " Isaiah xxviii . 17 . — " Judgment will I lay by the line , and righteousness to the plummet . " Amos vii . 8 . — "And the Lord said unto me , Amos , what seest thon ? And I said , A plumbline . Then said the Lord , Behold , I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel : I will not again
pass by them any more . " Shakespeare , " Tempest , " act iv , eeene 1 . —Wo sleal by the liv . e nnd level . " Again , " Steal by tho line and level , is an excellent pass of pate . " " Winter ' s Tale , " act i ., scone 3 . — " Yet for this once , yen , superstitiously , I will be squared by this . " I believe there are more allusions to Masons' working tools figuratively referred to as above . But here is some-
So-Called " Evidence Of Steinmetz Esoterics."
thing older than Shakspeare ' s play . In Richardson ' s Dictionary , under the word square , is the following quotation from Piers Ploughman , viz . : —
" And contrevede ( counterfeit ) the comjpass , And cast by iquire ( meaning square ) both lyne aud levell . " Under the same heading , viz ., square , ho gives again : — " And when he gave me the bishopric of Winchester , ho said he had often squared with me . " ( This was written in 1551 . )
Under the word plumb and plummet I find tho following old quotation : — ( "I saw , that very many things ) were by the perfect lyne ( line ) and plummet of God's word . " In Johnson's unabridged Dictionary I find similar quotations , here is one of them from Shakespeare : —
" Antony and Cleopatra . "— " I have kept my square , bnt that to some Bhall be done by tho level . " The fact is , orators , poets and writers of the earliest period , naturally seized certain subjects , and referred to them metaphorically or symbolically , especially so tho
names of implements that wero designed to test tho exactness of either measure , weight , size , shape , and so forth ; hence such phrases as " scales of justice , " or " as true as a needle" & c , were commonly said , and well understood . In a like manner , a bad man was referred to as a snake , a viper ,
& c , and a bad woman was alluded to as a Jezebel . Hence we need not be surprised to find John Valentine Andrea ) refer to the needle ( meaning the magnetic needle ) , tho square , tho compass and the plumb , as religious symbols in 1616 . And now I must repeat Bro . Sohnitger ' s argumonf , namely : —
" I think it rauBt bo admitted , that Andrea ) uses the symbols exaotly as they were used in 1717 and afterwards , aud that being so , we have proof that , say one hundred years before Graud Lodge , the Fame emblematio meaning did attach to these tools as tho existing Lodges inouloate . "
Now , first . Bro . Schnitger certainly overshot his mark by saying , " exactly as they were used , " becanso the needle is never symbolized in a Masonic Lodge . Second . The square , compass & xio \ plumb wore not symbolized in Masonic Lodges in 1717 , nor very soon after 1717 .
Indeed , even as late as 1765 , that is , forty-eight years after 1717 , tho compass , square and plumb were not symbolized in Masonic Lodges , and even then , tho working tools in tho first degree only were symbolized , and as tho compass ,
sqtiwe and plumb were not then , and aro not now , tbo working tools of tho first degree , hence Bro . Schnitgor ' s assumption , that Masons in 1717 symbolized tho coir ^ oss , square and plumb , is therefore incorrect .
Third . Although , for reasons above given , it is certain that Andrea ) was not tho originator of applying Masons ' working tools as symbolic of religion , yet it is equally certain that ho did not obtain the symbolizing idea in 1616 from the Steinmefz .
Fourth . Bro . Schnitger claims , that a Masons' Guild in 1695 , at Halberstadt , had or used a secret word . But supposing even that the said Guild had half-a-dozen secret words , that would bo no evidence that tho said Guild symbolized either their working tools or anything clso .
And fifth . There is an old and true proverb , viz ., " A thousand probabilities do not make one truth . " Hence , as Bro . Sohnitger ' s " Evidence of Steinmetz Esoterics " is wholly based upon imaginary probabilities , his " Evidence " is , therefore , no evidence at all . BOSTON , U . S ., 30 th May 1890 .
Messrs . Dean and Son also announce an important work on " Canary Birds , " from the pen of Dr . KarlHuss , the eminent German ornithologist , and author of " Foreign Aviary Birds . " The work will contain an account of the history of the canary , full details as to tho various breeds of canaries , and chapters on pairing , colour , breeding ,
feeding , aviaries , nesting and diseases . The Stock-Keeper , referring to the forthcoming work , says that " Dr . Karl Russ has been for many years a large breeder of canaries , and is therefore able to speak with all the authority of a practical observer , as well as a learned naturalist . "
HOLLOWAY ' S OINTMENT AJTD PIUS . —Old Wounds , Sores , and Ulcers . — Daily experience confirms the fact which has triumphed over opposition for more than forty years—viz ., that no moans are known equal to Holloway ' s remedies , for curing bad logs , sores , wounds , discuses of tho skin , erysipelas , abscesses , burns , scalds , and , in truth , all cases wove tho akin is brokon . To
cure these infirmities quickly is of primary importanco , as tho compulsory confinement indoors weakens the general health . The roady moans of cure nro found in Hoiloway ' s Ointment and Pills , which henl tho soroi and expel their cause . In the very worst cases tho Ointment has succeeded in effecting ii perfect cure , after overy other means has failed of giving any roliot . Dosperatc cases best display its virtues ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
So-Called " Evidence Of Steinmetz Esoterics."
SO-CALLED " EVIDENCE OF STEINMETZ ESOTERICS . "
Br BRO . JACOB NOKTON . THE next paper after Bro . Gould'a lecture in the last Q . C . Transactions is headed " Evidence of Steinmefz Esoterics . " The writer of the said paper , of course , believes in the antiquity of speculative Masonry , and his
arguments for his opinion are based upon some poetry written in 1623 , by J . V . Andrete . The same Andreoa wrote , in 1614 , a fictitious narrative about ^ the origin of a fraternity called " Rosicrucians . '' As far as I know , no oue behoves now that such a fraternity ever existed before
1614 ( Masonio Rosicrucians of course excepted ) , nor do believe that such a society was ever organized before the latter half of the last century , by some Masonio degree monger . Tho winding up of Andrew ' s poetry is as follows : —
And if we here below would learn , By Compass , Needle , Square and Plumb , Wherewith onr God hath measnr'd us . " Upon which , saith Bro . Schnitger , the author of the paper referred to : —
" It is not my purpose now to inquire whether he ( Andrem ) was a Rosicrucian or not , although ... I may be permitted to say , th . it it is strange he should write against an Order of Rosicrucians , if such a society was not in existence before and at his time , " & o ., & e . He then goes on to reason thus : —How such a
man ( of learning and piety ) should happen to use the tools of the Steinmetzen symbolically , unless he had their application in this sense from the Steinmetzen ( or Masons ) themselves , is not easy to say . He must have invented this application himself for the purpose , unless we
admit the other and more natural explanation . Again , if such emblematical use was not readily understood by contemporary readers , and consequently known in wider circles , why did he employ terms which he know his readers would not appreciate ?
***** " Tho only logical conclusion I can come to , seems to poiut to tho Steinmetzen for the source of Andreao ' s information ; and iu tho time of their ( the Masons' ) decadence , whon Andreas wrote—say 1016—nothing id more Vikoly than tbat such a man should got hold
of some information , even assuming he was not duly initiated as u lay brother , and adept in mathematical scienoe . " I think it must be admitted , that Andreas uses the symbols exactly as they were used in 1717 , and afterwards , and that being so , we have proof that , say one hundred years before ( the ) Grand Lodge
thc same emblematic meaning did attach to these tools as the existing Lodges inculcate . This alone is a long Btop towards disproving the 1717 theory . . . . Anyhow , the theory falls to the grouud , that the esoteric meaning was added in 1717 for the purposes of what is now
called the newly founded symbolio Freemasonry . It is quite possible that some operative Lodges had forgotten their esoteric catechism , but to apply this to all the Craft , doos certainly require better proof than has hitherto been adduced . "
The above extracts , which contain tho gist of Bro Sohnitger's argument , can leave no doubt in the reader ' s mind , that he believes that the symbolic explanations of tho Masons' working tools were either confined to Masons only , until the time of Andrea ? , from whom he somehow
learned them , or that Andreas was the- original gonius who discovered a new meaning to the words , Compass , Needle , Square , and Plumb ; or , in other words , that nobody before 1 G 16 ever thought of symbolizing the said working tools .
I shall now proceed to prove that in the days of Andreas , tho figurative allusions to Masons' working tools were , metaphorically speaking , " as old as the hills " ; they were widely known and understood , and may be said to" have been " familiar as household words . " Now read the
following quotations : — 2 Kings xxi . 13 . — " And I will stretoh over Jerusalem the line of Samaria , and the plummet of tho house of Ahab . " Isaiah xxviii . 17 . — " Judgment will I lay by the line , and righteousness to the plummet . " Amos vii . 8 . — "And the Lord said unto me , Amos , what seest thon ? And I said , A plumbline . Then said the Lord , Behold , I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel : I will not again
pass by them any more . " Shakespeare , " Tempest , " act iv , eeene 1 . —Wo sleal by the liv . e nnd level . " Again , " Steal by tho line and level , is an excellent pass of pate . " " Winter ' s Tale , " act i ., scone 3 . — " Yet for this once , yen , superstitiously , I will be squared by this . " I believe there are more allusions to Masons' working tools figuratively referred to as above . But here is some-
So-Called " Evidence Of Steinmetz Esoterics."
thing older than Shakspeare ' s play . In Richardson ' s Dictionary , under the word square , is the following quotation from Piers Ploughman , viz . : —
" And contrevede ( counterfeit ) the comjpass , And cast by iquire ( meaning square ) both lyne aud levell . " Under the same heading , viz ., square , ho gives again : — " And when he gave me the bishopric of Winchester , ho said he had often squared with me . " ( This was written in 1551 . )
Under the word plumb and plummet I find tho following old quotation : — ( "I saw , that very many things ) were by the perfect lyne ( line ) and plummet of God's word . " In Johnson's unabridged Dictionary I find similar quotations , here is one of them from Shakespeare : —
" Antony and Cleopatra . "— " I have kept my square , bnt that to some Bhall be done by tho level . " The fact is , orators , poets and writers of the earliest period , naturally seized certain subjects , and referred to them metaphorically or symbolically , especially so tho
names of implements that wero designed to test tho exactness of either measure , weight , size , shape , and so forth ; hence such phrases as " scales of justice , " or " as true as a needle" & c , were commonly said , and well understood . In a like manner , a bad man was referred to as a snake , a viper ,
& c , and a bad woman was alluded to as a Jezebel . Hence we need not be surprised to find John Valentine Andrea ) refer to the needle ( meaning the magnetic needle ) , tho square , tho compass and the plumb , as religious symbols in 1616 . And now I must repeat Bro . Sohnitger ' s argumonf , namely : —
" I think it rauBt bo admitted , that Andrea ) uses the symbols exaotly as they were used in 1717 and afterwards , aud that being so , we have proof that , say one hundred years before Graud Lodge , the Fame emblematio meaning did attach to these tools as tho existing Lodges inouloate . "
Now , first . Bro . Schnitger certainly overshot his mark by saying , " exactly as they were used , " becanso the needle is never symbolized in a Masonic Lodge . Second . The square , compass & xio \ plumb wore not symbolized in Masonic Lodges in 1717 , nor very soon after 1717 .
Indeed , even as late as 1765 , that is , forty-eight years after 1717 , tho compass , square and plumb were not symbolized in Masonic Lodges , and even then , tho working tools in tho first degree only were symbolized , and as tho compass ,
sqtiwe and plumb were not then , and aro not now , tbo working tools of tho first degree , hence Bro . Schnitgor ' s assumption , that Masons in 1717 symbolized tho coir ^ oss , square and plumb , is therefore incorrect .
Third . Although , for reasons above given , it is certain that Andrea ) was not tho originator of applying Masons ' working tools as symbolic of religion , yet it is equally certain that ho did not obtain the symbolizing idea in 1616 from the Steinmefz .
Fourth . Bro . Schnitger claims , that a Masons' Guild in 1695 , at Halberstadt , had or used a secret word . But supposing even that the said Guild had half-a-dozen secret words , that would bo no evidence that tho said Guild symbolized either their working tools or anything clso .
And fifth . There is an old and true proverb , viz ., " A thousand probabilities do not make one truth . " Hence , as Bro . Sohnitger ' s " Evidence of Steinmetz Esoterics " is wholly based upon imaginary probabilities , his " Evidence " is , therefore , no evidence at all . BOSTON , U . S ., 30 th May 1890 .
Messrs . Dean and Son also announce an important work on " Canary Birds , " from the pen of Dr . KarlHuss , the eminent German ornithologist , and author of " Foreign Aviary Birds . " The work will contain an account of the history of the canary , full details as to tho various breeds of canaries , and chapters on pairing , colour , breeding ,
feeding , aviaries , nesting and diseases . The Stock-Keeper , referring to the forthcoming work , says that " Dr . Karl Russ has been for many years a large breeder of canaries , and is therefore able to speak with all the authority of a practical observer , as well as a learned naturalist . "
HOLLOWAY ' S OINTMENT AJTD PIUS . —Old Wounds , Sores , and Ulcers . — Daily experience confirms the fact which has triumphed over opposition for more than forty years—viz ., that no moans are known equal to Holloway ' s remedies , for curing bad logs , sores , wounds , discuses of tho skin , erysipelas , abscesses , burns , scalds , and , in truth , all cases wove tho akin is brokon . To
cure these infirmities quickly is of primary importanco , as tho compulsory confinement indoors weakens the general health . The roady moans of cure nro found in Hoiloway ' s Ointment and Pills , which henl tho soroi and expel their cause . In the very worst cases tho Ointment has succeeded in effecting ii perfect cure , after overy other means has failed of giving any roliot . Dosperatc cases best display its virtues ,