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  • July 24, 1875
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  • THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE,
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The Freemason's Chronicle, July 24, 1875: Page 2

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    Article THE RETIRING MASTERS OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. ← Page 2 of 2
    Article THE RETIRING MASTERS OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Page 2 of 2
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Retiring Masters Of The Boys' School.

are damaged to the extent of some £ 500 , more or less , within the brief space of two years . This , in short , is the pecuniary fine inflicted on the School because the governing body proves to have been unfortunate in its selection of Head Masters . Thus , on moral , educational , and financial

grounds , a frequent change of Masters , is , in our opinion , impolitic . Surely there is no bias in affirming a proposition so simple , so self-evident ? Then , as to the report of Mr . Finlaison . We may , first of all , set Bro . Binckes ' s mind at rest as to there having been any foul play on the

part of him or them who sent us a copy of it . It did not come from any one connected with the Secretary ' s office , and we presume it was sent us in order that we might either print it in extenso or quote from it . Considerations of space alone induced us to adopt the latter alternative . But does

Bro . Binckes seriously consider it an act of partisanship in us to have quoted from this report ? Should we not rather have been guilty of partiality towards tho Committee if we had suppressed what was favourable to their opponents ? We quoted fairly , that is , we took the blame and

the praise equally , just as they came . At the distribution of prizes , on the 30 th nit ., the Lord Balfour of Burleigh thanked both the Masters and the Committee , and spoke highly of the admirable discipline and demeanour of the boys . To have quoted from a

satisfactory report without giving credit to the Masters for their conduct of the School would have been an act of gross unfairness to them . There would seem to be far more of bias in Brother Binckes when he impugns that part of Mr . Finlaison ' s report in which the latter praises

the general conduct of the boys , on the grounds that they would be sure to carry themselves with propriety before a stranger , and that four days are insufficient for Mr . Finlaison to have formed a trustworthy judgment . The questions at issue between the Rev . Bro . Perrott , Bro . Tew ,

and the " Four Retiring Masters " on the one hand , and the Committee , the Secretary , and the Matron on the other , we have refrained entirely from discussing . We have pointedly refused to touch upon the matters raised by Bro . Tew . The complaints of the Assistant Masters

against the Matron we have passed by without a word of comment . We said last week , and we say again this , "They are ex parte to begin with . The Matron may be in a position to meet them , or they may be incontrovertible . At all events , it is no business of ours to pass judgment on the

merits . ' We have not the slightest doubt the Committee and the Secretary believe themselves to be right , but the retiring Head and Assistant Masters must be excused if they are not of the same mind as regards themselves . The Committe have sat in judgment on these latter , and passed

sentence , "his it was fully competent for them to do , but the masters appeal , either directly or indirectly , against this verdict—and this they havo an unquestionable ri ght to do . The Committee say of them , We are not satisfied with their conduct , and we have thought it expedient , in

the interest of the Institution , over whose welfare we have been called upon to preside , to dispense with their services . They urge , on the other hand , We have striven to do our duty and we believe we have been successful . The noble Chairman , at tho last examination , thanked us ,

and the Examiner has praised the school , both for the general excellence of the training and for tho discipline and bearing of the boys . In order to have shown any partiality towards one or other of these views , we must have said either to the Committee : We think you are in error in

your conduct towards the Masters ; or to the Masters , We do not think your conduct of the School has been satisfactory . We have done neither . We have said a frequent change of Masters is undesirable—an undeniable proposition . A Head Master , if he is to do good service ,

must be responsible to the governing body alone , all other masters and resident officials being subordinate to himanother undeniable proposition . As for Bro . Binckes ' s long and faithful services to the Institution , we shall not esteem him or them the less that we think he has utterly

misconstrued our article of last week . With the rest of Masomy , we deplore that differences connected with the Boys ' School have arisen , but we cannot shut our eyes to the fact of their existence . Those whose conduct has been impugned

must be less than men if they do not seek , by eveiy means in their power , to set themselves right in the eyes of the world . The matters to which we have been referring are matters of general noteriety throughout the Craft , but they are still , as it were , sub jvdice , and we have very carefully observed the well-known rule of journalism , not to

The Retiring Masters Of The Boys' School.

pass judgment till both sides have striven to justify themselves . Our opinion , however , would be utterly without value if we did not express it freely , at the proper time , and irrespective of all party influences .

If this squabble goes further , as we are assured it will , then , if the Rev . Bro . Perrott and his late subordinates are proved to have been guilty of misconduct in their several offices , we shall not hesitate to justify the action of

the Committee , but if the Rev . Brother and his assistants succeed in proving that the Committee ' s conduct towards them has been harsh , unjust , and unreasonable , we shall not

hesitate to speak our mind freely . At present we have said nothing to warrant Bro . Binckes ' s somewhat discourteous refusal to accept our disclaimer of last week" We are strictly impartial in the matter . "

We need say nothing , we think , as to the propriety of laying down certain general propositions in connection with what is known everywhere throughout the Craft .

We have not made these differences public , nor do we see how the interests of Masonry can suffer by referring to them in our columns . Facts are sometimes very disagreeable , but it iB seldom wise to ignore them .

The Philosopher's Stone,

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE ,

CABALA AND NECROMANCY CONSIDERED AS THE FALSE SYSTEM OF FREEMASONRY . ( FROM THE FRENCH OF J . L . LAURENS . )

IN regarding Solomon as the founder of Freemasonry , and in attributing to him a knowledge of all the speculative sciences , we establish , as has already been shown , the important fact that these sciences form the principal system , and the purpose which Freemasons propose to themselves . This view , which has its supporters ,

is a natural result of that supposed relationship which men of grave thought have brought themselves to recognise between the idea of the Temple of Jerusalem and Freemasonry . Such an inference , in fact , would suggest itself , even if it had not already an existence in an infinity of writings and oral traditions .

If the search after the philosopher ' s stone could be one of the objects of Freemasonry , its founders would have placed in its very bosom the germ of its own destruction , and the virtues which we still see illumine it would form

a striking contrast , if , indeed , they were not a wretched make-believe . What could we hope from a body of men which , under a false exterior of wisdom and philanthropy , confined their labours to searching in the midst of a mysterious obscurity for that vile metal which is

destructive of every noble principle , and which , as regards the happiness of mankind , should have remained buried in the depths of the earth ? What claims would they

possess to public esteem r By what secret means would they have attracted to themselves the good will of so many princes , who admire in them only the splendour of their wisdom ?

We know too well that the study of the cabalistic art , and the search for the philosopher ' s stone , has much occupied men , who Avere dazzled by the seductive hope of amassing wealth , or who were led astray by an ardent thirst for pleasure . We know , too , that utter failure has

always been the result of these long and difficult researches . Misery and despair at having wasted their time and means in a laborious search , such have been the fruits they have gathered . And it is in the full tide of this illusion that most of these men have taken upon themselves to write

upon these sciences , either to extort from public curiosity some trifling compensation for the loss of their time , or to conceal , amidst the number of their dupes , their shame and spite . The list of writings is immense . Some have remained in manuscript , and they are sought for by reason

of their rarity ; very many are in print . Germany , above all countries , is inundated with this class of book , nearly all written in Latin , and in a mystic sense and style , and , consequently , almost incomprehensible . When an outcry is raised against this dark obscurity , the answer seriously

given is always that each of these books has its particular key . To seek out this key , this is the special study of mankind , and to have found it is to have attained the desired end . But what man has ever been fortunate enough to disgover the key of these barbarous writings ? He must

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1875-07-24, Page 2” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 9 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_24071875/page/2/.
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WHAT NEXT ? Article 1
THE RETIRING MASTERS OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 1
THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, Article 2
GRAND LODGE OF MARK MASTER MASONS. Article 3
SPENCER'S GREAT LIBRARY. Article 4
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 5
REPORT OF LODGE MEETINGS. Article 5
OUR FREEMASONRY.—SIR C. WREN, &c. Article 5
PRACTICE versus PRECEPT. Article 6
" WHAT FREEMASONRY HAS DONE." Article 6
REVIEWS. Article 7
THE DRAMA. Article 7
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OUR WEEKLY BUDGET Article 8
COUNCIL OE ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS. Article 10
SYSTEMATIC CHARITY. Article 10
ENGLISH AND ITALIAN FREEMASONS. Article 10
MARRIAGE. Article 10
ESSEX PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE. Article 11
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 12
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 12
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Retiring Masters Of The Boys' School.

are damaged to the extent of some £ 500 , more or less , within the brief space of two years . This , in short , is the pecuniary fine inflicted on the School because the governing body proves to have been unfortunate in its selection of Head Masters . Thus , on moral , educational , and financial

grounds , a frequent change of Masters , is , in our opinion , impolitic . Surely there is no bias in affirming a proposition so simple , so self-evident ? Then , as to the report of Mr . Finlaison . We may , first of all , set Bro . Binckes ' s mind at rest as to there having been any foul play on the

part of him or them who sent us a copy of it . It did not come from any one connected with the Secretary ' s office , and we presume it was sent us in order that we might either print it in extenso or quote from it . Considerations of space alone induced us to adopt the latter alternative . But does

Bro . Binckes seriously consider it an act of partisanship in us to have quoted from this report ? Should we not rather have been guilty of partiality towards tho Committee if we had suppressed what was favourable to their opponents ? We quoted fairly , that is , we took the blame and

the praise equally , just as they came . At the distribution of prizes , on the 30 th nit ., the Lord Balfour of Burleigh thanked both the Masters and the Committee , and spoke highly of the admirable discipline and demeanour of the boys . To have quoted from a

satisfactory report without giving credit to the Masters for their conduct of the School would have been an act of gross unfairness to them . There would seem to be far more of bias in Brother Binckes when he impugns that part of Mr . Finlaison ' s report in which the latter praises

the general conduct of the boys , on the grounds that they would be sure to carry themselves with propriety before a stranger , and that four days are insufficient for Mr . Finlaison to have formed a trustworthy judgment . The questions at issue between the Rev . Bro . Perrott , Bro . Tew ,

and the " Four Retiring Masters " on the one hand , and the Committee , the Secretary , and the Matron on the other , we have refrained entirely from discussing . We have pointedly refused to touch upon the matters raised by Bro . Tew . The complaints of the Assistant Masters

against the Matron we have passed by without a word of comment . We said last week , and we say again this , "They are ex parte to begin with . The Matron may be in a position to meet them , or they may be incontrovertible . At all events , it is no business of ours to pass judgment on the

merits . ' We have not the slightest doubt the Committee and the Secretary believe themselves to be right , but the retiring Head and Assistant Masters must be excused if they are not of the same mind as regards themselves . The Committe have sat in judgment on these latter , and passed

sentence , "his it was fully competent for them to do , but the masters appeal , either directly or indirectly , against this verdict—and this they havo an unquestionable ri ght to do . The Committee say of them , We are not satisfied with their conduct , and we have thought it expedient , in

the interest of the Institution , over whose welfare we have been called upon to preside , to dispense with their services . They urge , on the other hand , We have striven to do our duty and we believe we have been successful . The noble Chairman , at tho last examination , thanked us ,

and the Examiner has praised the school , both for the general excellence of the training and for tho discipline and bearing of the boys . In order to have shown any partiality towards one or other of these views , we must have said either to the Committee : We think you are in error in

your conduct towards the Masters ; or to the Masters , We do not think your conduct of the School has been satisfactory . We have done neither . We have said a frequent change of Masters is undesirable—an undeniable proposition . A Head Master , if he is to do good service ,

must be responsible to the governing body alone , all other masters and resident officials being subordinate to himanother undeniable proposition . As for Bro . Binckes ' s long and faithful services to the Institution , we shall not esteem him or them the less that we think he has utterly

misconstrued our article of last week . With the rest of Masomy , we deplore that differences connected with the Boys ' School have arisen , but we cannot shut our eyes to the fact of their existence . Those whose conduct has been impugned

must be less than men if they do not seek , by eveiy means in their power , to set themselves right in the eyes of the world . The matters to which we have been referring are matters of general noteriety throughout the Craft , but they are still , as it were , sub jvdice , and we have very carefully observed the well-known rule of journalism , not to

The Retiring Masters Of The Boys' School.

pass judgment till both sides have striven to justify themselves . Our opinion , however , would be utterly without value if we did not express it freely , at the proper time , and irrespective of all party influences .

If this squabble goes further , as we are assured it will , then , if the Rev . Bro . Perrott and his late subordinates are proved to have been guilty of misconduct in their several offices , we shall not hesitate to justify the action of

the Committee , but if the Rev . Brother and his assistants succeed in proving that the Committee ' s conduct towards them has been harsh , unjust , and unreasonable , we shall not

hesitate to speak our mind freely . At present we have said nothing to warrant Bro . Binckes ' s somewhat discourteous refusal to accept our disclaimer of last week" We are strictly impartial in the matter . "

We need say nothing , we think , as to the propriety of laying down certain general propositions in connection with what is known everywhere throughout the Craft .

We have not made these differences public , nor do we see how the interests of Masonry can suffer by referring to them in our columns . Facts are sometimes very disagreeable , but it iB seldom wise to ignore them .

The Philosopher's Stone,

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE ,

CABALA AND NECROMANCY CONSIDERED AS THE FALSE SYSTEM OF FREEMASONRY . ( FROM THE FRENCH OF J . L . LAURENS . )

IN regarding Solomon as the founder of Freemasonry , and in attributing to him a knowledge of all the speculative sciences , we establish , as has already been shown , the important fact that these sciences form the principal system , and the purpose which Freemasons propose to themselves . This view , which has its supporters ,

is a natural result of that supposed relationship which men of grave thought have brought themselves to recognise between the idea of the Temple of Jerusalem and Freemasonry . Such an inference , in fact , would suggest itself , even if it had not already an existence in an infinity of writings and oral traditions .

If the search after the philosopher ' s stone could be one of the objects of Freemasonry , its founders would have placed in its very bosom the germ of its own destruction , and the virtues which we still see illumine it would form

a striking contrast , if , indeed , they were not a wretched make-believe . What could we hope from a body of men which , under a false exterior of wisdom and philanthropy , confined their labours to searching in the midst of a mysterious obscurity for that vile metal which is

destructive of every noble principle , and which , as regards the happiness of mankind , should have remained buried in the depths of the earth ? What claims would they

possess to public esteem r By what secret means would they have attracted to themselves the good will of so many princes , who admire in them only the splendour of their wisdom ?

We know too well that the study of the cabalistic art , and the search for the philosopher ' s stone , has much occupied men , who Avere dazzled by the seductive hope of amassing wealth , or who were led astray by an ardent thirst for pleasure . We know , too , that utter failure has

always been the result of these long and difficult researches . Misery and despair at having wasted their time and means in a laborious search , such have been the fruits they have gathered . And it is in the full tide of this illusion that most of these men have taken upon themselves to write

upon these sciences , either to extort from public curiosity some trifling compensation for the loss of their time , or to conceal , amidst the number of their dupes , their shame and spite . The list of writings is immense . Some have remained in manuscript , and they are sought for by reason

of their rarity ; very many are in print . Germany , above all countries , is inundated with this class of book , nearly all written in Latin , and in a mystic sense and style , and , consequently , almost incomprehensible . When an outcry is raised against this dark obscurity , the answer seriously

given is always that each of these books has its particular key . To seek out this key , this is the special study of mankind , and to have found it is to have attained the desired end . But what man has ever been fortunate enough to disgover the key of these barbarous writings ? He must

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