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Article THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. ← Page 3 of 3 Article RIDING THE GOAT. Page 1 of 1 Article RIDING THE GOAT. Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1
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The History Of Freemasonry.
of such an event taking place is to be found among the early records of Lodges 0 and 1 , he sees no reason to sup pose "that they were not regularly admitted . " The first mention of the kind is made in the records of No . 1 , of date December 23 , 1706 , " when William Marshall , clerk
to the Incorporation , was admitted as an ' entered apprentice and fellow-craft and clerk to the Brethren Masons , whom he is freely to serve for the honour conferred on him . ' " Three years later Robert Alison " was similarly admitted , his being the last election under the old systc m . " Of this brother we are told that he " continued to act as
clerk to the lodge for the long period of forty-three years , for though elected the first clerk to the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736 , he remained secretary of the lesser
institution , and his son subsequently followed in his steps , tho latter having been initiated on St . John ' s Day 1737 , without aught being contributed to the lodge ' s own funds , ' on account of his father ' s services . '"
After referring to somo other matters , Bro . Gould turns his attention to the reception into the Lodge of speculative , in the sense of non-operative , Masons , the earliest evidence showing the presence of such a person' among the brethren bearing date Sth June 1600 . " When" says Bro .
Gould , " the brother in question was admitted it is impossible now to decide , suffice it to say , thafc ' Jhone Boiswell of Achinflek' with the others ( ye saidis maisteris ) , 1 affixit yr markis , ' in witness of the accuracy of the entry , the clerk styling him ' ye laird of Aichenleck . ' It appears
to have been a special assembly at 'Halerudhons , the ' Master of ye werk to ye Kingis Ma ' stie ' being present , and , probably , was chiefly convened to determine what fine
' Jhone Bronne , Warden of ye Ludge of Edr ., ' had incurred through his having ' conlraveinit ane actt . '" Having carefully noted the entry , Bro . Gonld ridicules the statement of Lawrie that this Thomas Boswell of Auchinleck
was made a Warden of the lodge in the year 1600 . " He then goes on to mention other cases of speculative Masons being received into the Lodge , such as Lord Alexander , Sir Alexander Strachan , & e . & c , but with these the reader must be tolerably familiar , and , therefore , we need not dwell upon
them here . Itmaybe remarked , however , that the author considers "the term Master" was used in reference to two gentlemen— General Hamilton , admitted in 1640 , and Sir Patrick Hume , on 27 th December 1677—in a complimentary sense , and nothing more . " Certainly there was nothing
corresponding with the ceremony of a separate master mason ' s degree at that time , for we know thafc the position of master then , amongst the operatives , merely implied that certain privileges were exercised , with the approval of the trade ; this status , moreover , was generally conferred
by the Incorporation . " We may , lastly , draw attention to an entry dated 2 nd March 1653 , which is important as being " nothing more or less than the election of a 'joining member . ' " On this Bro . Gould says , " it seems that James Neilsone , 'master slaiter' to the king , who had been
' entered and past in the Lodge of Linlithgow , ' was desirous of being received as a member of the Lodge of Edinburgh , and on the day named the whole company elected him as a 'brother and fellow of their companie , ' and , in witness thereof , they all ' set to their hands or marfes . ' " ( To be continued . )
Riding The Goat.
RIDING THE GOAT .
ALL of the best things in the world at one time or another have been caricatured . Indeed , only essentiall y good things , characteristic things , are susceptible of being made excellent sport of . Much , if not all of satire , depends upon a striking contrast , and there
can be no greater contrast than between the innately sublime and the ridiculous . If the Grand Architect of the Universe has been made the subject of profane jesting , it cannot be expected that His creatures
should escape . What is the worshi p of a wooden idolthe work of men ' s hands , but practical rationalism ancl materialism ? What does it assert but this—there is no God ; but , if man thinks he needs one , let him make one for
himself ! Then recall this fact : How did the boasted wise men of earth eighteen hundred years ago treat Him whom yhnstians worship as Immannel ? By mockingly crowning Him with a crown of thorns , and placing a reed in His hand for a sceptre ! How do we find this same
Riding The Goat.
Tmmanuel burlesqued on certain Roman inonunien . ? For example , on the wall of the Palatine , whore there is a p ' etnro of an ass on a Cross ! The pagans often assorted
that the Christians worshipped the hear ! of an ass . Tertullian notices this in his "Apology , " as Tacitus does , in his " Annals , " ancl Apnleius also ridicules the idea , and the Christians and Jews toorether .
Of course Freemasonry has nofc escaped this profane tendency to burlesque the trne , the good , the beautiful . If it had , ifc might be suspected that ifc was not all it professed to be . Ifc furnishes an excellent opportunity lo confound tho high with the low , the trne with the false ,
the good with tho evil This is tho way its enemies reason , one with another : Freemasonry is the champion of Truih—we will endeavour to make it appear to be the apostlo of error . It is tho practical exponent of Charitywe will represent it as the impairer of the fortunes of its
members , and the devonrer of widows houses . Ifc is tho advocate of Temperance , —wo will portray it ns the fosterer of inebriety . It is the handmaid of Religion—we will malign it as anti-Christian and anti-religious . Its ceremonies are pervaded throughout by a sublime
symbology—we will write them down as frivolous and degrading . It is the supporter of the spirit of nationality , and an upholder of the nation's laws—we will say it is disloyal to the government . Its teachings tend to make good citizens—we will allege that they give birth to rebels and
foster rebellion . After this manner do these profane , these anti -Masons , reason—or rather ( for they cannot reason , not having the power ) , so they wildly charge , in their burlesques and caricatures upon Ancient , Free and
Accepted Masonry . Yes , say they , pretty ceremonies are those which induct the candidate into Freemasonry—he nobly enters it , riding npon a goat ! This , for years , was the vulgar idea of Masonry . Far back in Greek and Roman times must we seek for
the origin of this goafc-riding burlesque . The Mystic Pan was repr sented as horned and hoofed , and wearing a shaggy hide . So , in the middle ages , the devil was said to ride a goat when he appeared on the earth ; and when , as Bro . the Rev . Dr . Oliver says , the profane of the last
century wished to deride Freemasonry , they charged Freemasons with seeking to " raise the devil , in a circle . " It is curious to note how early after the Revival of Masonry , in England in the year 1717 , anti-Masons began
to burlesque fche Craft . In 1724 a secret society was organized in opposition to thafc of the Freemasons , styled the " Gormogons . " One of its rules was , that no Freemason shonld be received into it until after he had
renounced Masonry , and been degraded as a Freemason . These " Gormogons" filled the profane newspapers with squibs adverse to Freemasonry . Their society was probably the result of the publication of the first vaunted expose of Masonry , under the pretentious title of the " The
Great Mystery of Freemasons Discovered , " which appeared in London in 1724 . The two arose and fell together . The " Gormogons " flourished but for a brief time , and then disappeared , like lead in the sea . But their existence
afforded too good an opportunity for the exercise of his talent for tbe noted satirist , Hogarth , to miss , and so he aimed one of his characteristic cartoons at " The mystery of Masonry brought to light by the Gormogons . " This appeared about the year 1742 .
It is a laudable feature of the civilization of the present day that it gives little heed to burlesques of Masonry . There are still a very few anti-Masonic cranks , but they evidently feel that their vocation is gone . They can gather but a handful of sympathisers . They cannot enthuse their
followers . We may hear the " riding of the goat " playfully alluded to in general circles , but this is usually in the purest and most innocent spirit of mirth . There is ordinarily nothing unfriendly in the allusion . There is no intent to deride the ceremonies of Freemasonrv . The
sting of the old time satire is gone . The schoolmaster is abroad , and the wide spread of intelligence , the general and well-founded conviction that the basic principles of Freemasonry are no part of its secrets , and that these
principles are noble , jnst and true , have disarmed the satirists of the Craft , and made the work of antagonising its progress one of the most laborious , least productive , and least honourable in the world . We have met the enemy , and they are onrs . —Keystone .
Ad00303
FTTWIJ-R- -LS .-Bros . W . K . L . & G . A . HUTTOIf , Coffin Makc-a and Undertakers . 17 Newcastle Street , Strand , "W . C . and 30 Forest Hill Bond , Peckham Bye , S . E .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The History Of Freemasonry.
of such an event taking place is to be found among the early records of Lodges 0 and 1 , he sees no reason to sup pose "that they were not regularly admitted . " The first mention of the kind is made in the records of No . 1 , of date December 23 , 1706 , " when William Marshall , clerk
to the Incorporation , was admitted as an ' entered apprentice and fellow-craft and clerk to the Brethren Masons , whom he is freely to serve for the honour conferred on him . ' " Three years later Robert Alison " was similarly admitted , his being the last election under the old systc m . " Of this brother we are told that he " continued to act as
clerk to the lodge for the long period of forty-three years , for though elected the first clerk to the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736 , he remained secretary of the lesser
institution , and his son subsequently followed in his steps , tho latter having been initiated on St . John ' s Day 1737 , without aught being contributed to the lodge ' s own funds , ' on account of his father ' s services . '"
After referring to somo other matters , Bro . Gould turns his attention to the reception into the Lodge of speculative , in the sense of non-operative , Masons , the earliest evidence showing the presence of such a person' among the brethren bearing date Sth June 1600 . " When" says Bro .
Gould , " the brother in question was admitted it is impossible now to decide , suffice it to say , thafc ' Jhone Boiswell of Achinflek' with the others ( ye saidis maisteris ) , 1 affixit yr markis , ' in witness of the accuracy of the entry , the clerk styling him ' ye laird of Aichenleck . ' It appears
to have been a special assembly at 'Halerudhons , the ' Master of ye werk to ye Kingis Ma ' stie ' being present , and , probably , was chiefly convened to determine what fine
' Jhone Bronne , Warden of ye Ludge of Edr ., ' had incurred through his having ' conlraveinit ane actt . '" Having carefully noted the entry , Bro . Gonld ridicules the statement of Lawrie that this Thomas Boswell of Auchinleck
was made a Warden of the lodge in the year 1600 . " He then goes on to mention other cases of speculative Masons being received into the Lodge , such as Lord Alexander , Sir Alexander Strachan , & e . & c , but with these the reader must be tolerably familiar , and , therefore , we need not dwell upon
them here . Itmaybe remarked , however , that the author considers "the term Master" was used in reference to two gentlemen— General Hamilton , admitted in 1640 , and Sir Patrick Hume , on 27 th December 1677—in a complimentary sense , and nothing more . " Certainly there was nothing
corresponding with the ceremony of a separate master mason ' s degree at that time , for we know thafc the position of master then , amongst the operatives , merely implied that certain privileges were exercised , with the approval of the trade ; this status , moreover , was generally conferred
by the Incorporation . " We may , lastly , draw attention to an entry dated 2 nd March 1653 , which is important as being " nothing more or less than the election of a 'joining member . ' " On this Bro . Gould says , " it seems that James Neilsone , 'master slaiter' to the king , who had been
' entered and past in the Lodge of Linlithgow , ' was desirous of being received as a member of the Lodge of Edinburgh , and on the day named the whole company elected him as a 'brother and fellow of their companie , ' and , in witness thereof , they all ' set to their hands or marfes . ' " ( To be continued . )
Riding The Goat.
RIDING THE GOAT .
ALL of the best things in the world at one time or another have been caricatured . Indeed , only essentiall y good things , characteristic things , are susceptible of being made excellent sport of . Much , if not all of satire , depends upon a striking contrast , and there
can be no greater contrast than between the innately sublime and the ridiculous . If the Grand Architect of the Universe has been made the subject of profane jesting , it cannot be expected that His creatures
should escape . What is the worshi p of a wooden idolthe work of men ' s hands , but practical rationalism ancl materialism ? What does it assert but this—there is no God ; but , if man thinks he needs one , let him make one for
himself ! Then recall this fact : How did the boasted wise men of earth eighteen hundred years ago treat Him whom yhnstians worship as Immannel ? By mockingly crowning Him with a crown of thorns , and placing a reed in His hand for a sceptre ! How do we find this same
Riding The Goat.
Tmmanuel burlesqued on certain Roman inonunien . ? For example , on the wall of the Palatine , whore there is a p ' etnro of an ass on a Cross ! The pagans often assorted
that the Christians worshipped the hear ! of an ass . Tertullian notices this in his "Apology , " as Tacitus does , in his " Annals , " ancl Apnleius also ridicules the idea , and the Christians and Jews toorether .
Of course Freemasonry has nofc escaped this profane tendency to burlesque the trne , the good , the beautiful . If it had , ifc might be suspected that ifc was not all it professed to be . Ifc furnishes an excellent opportunity lo confound tho high with the low , the trne with the false ,
the good with tho evil This is tho way its enemies reason , one with another : Freemasonry is the champion of Truih—we will endeavour to make it appear to be the apostlo of error . It is tho practical exponent of Charitywe will represent it as the impairer of the fortunes of its
members , and the devonrer of widows houses . Ifc is tho advocate of Temperance , —wo will portray it ns the fosterer of inebriety . It is the handmaid of Religion—we will malign it as anti-Christian and anti-religious . Its ceremonies are pervaded throughout by a sublime
symbology—we will write them down as frivolous and degrading . It is the supporter of the spirit of nationality , and an upholder of the nation's laws—we will say it is disloyal to the government . Its teachings tend to make good citizens—we will allege that they give birth to rebels and
foster rebellion . After this manner do these profane , these anti -Masons , reason—or rather ( for they cannot reason , not having the power ) , so they wildly charge , in their burlesques and caricatures upon Ancient , Free and
Accepted Masonry . Yes , say they , pretty ceremonies are those which induct the candidate into Freemasonry—he nobly enters it , riding npon a goat ! This , for years , was the vulgar idea of Masonry . Far back in Greek and Roman times must we seek for
the origin of this goafc-riding burlesque . The Mystic Pan was repr sented as horned and hoofed , and wearing a shaggy hide . So , in the middle ages , the devil was said to ride a goat when he appeared on the earth ; and when , as Bro . the Rev . Dr . Oliver says , the profane of the last
century wished to deride Freemasonry , they charged Freemasons with seeking to " raise the devil , in a circle . " It is curious to note how early after the Revival of Masonry , in England in the year 1717 , anti-Masons began
to burlesque fche Craft . In 1724 a secret society was organized in opposition to thafc of the Freemasons , styled the " Gormogons . " One of its rules was , that no Freemason shonld be received into it until after he had
renounced Masonry , and been degraded as a Freemason . These " Gormogons" filled the profane newspapers with squibs adverse to Freemasonry . Their society was probably the result of the publication of the first vaunted expose of Masonry , under the pretentious title of the " The
Great Mystery of Freemasons Discovered , " which appeared in London in 1724 . The two arose and fell together . The " Gormogons " flourished but for a brief time , and then disappeared , like lead in the sea . But their existence
afforded too good an opportunity for the exercise of his talent for tbe noted satirist , Hogarth , to miss , and so he aimed one of his characteristic cartoons at " The mystery of Masonry brought to light by the Gormogons . " This appeared about the year 1742 .
It is a laudable feature of the civilization of the present day that it gives little heed to burlesques of Masonry . There are still a very few anti-Masonic cranks , but they evidently feel that their vocation is gone . They can gather but a handful of sympathisers . They cannot enthuse their
followers . We may hear the " riding of the goat " playfully alluded to in general circles , but this is usually in the purest and most innocent spirit of mirth . There is ordinarily nothing unfriendly in the allusion . There is no intent to deride the ceremonies of Freemasonrv . The
sting of the old time satire is gone . The schoolmaster is abroad , and the wide spread of intelligence , the general and well-founded conviction that the basic principles of Freemasonry are no part of its secrets , and that these
principles are noble , jnst and true , have disarmed the satirists of the Craft , and made the work of antagonising its progress one of the most laborious , least productive , and least honourable in the world . We have met the enemy , and they are onrs . —Keystone .
Ad00303
FTTWIJ-R- -LS .-Bros . W . K . L . & G . A . HUTTOIf , Coffin Makc-a and Undertakers . 17 Newcastle Street , Strand , "W . C . and 30 Forest Hill Bond , Peckham Bye , S . E .