Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freeman's Journal And The Grand Lodge Of Ireland.
THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL AND THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND .
THE Freeman ' s Journal has rejoiced heartily and very naturally over tho recent action of Grand Lodge in Ireland in severing all connection -with tho Grand Orient of Trance undor its now Constitution . We , too , have expressed ourselves strongly in justification of the conduct of
the Irish Grand Lodge . The Grand Orient of France , as an independent body , has a perfect right to enact for itself what constitutions it pleases ; hut if it evert the old landmarks of our Society , it has no reason to be surprised , much less grieved , that other independent Masonic bodies
should take upon themselves to renounce publicly all sympathy and connection with it . The Society of Speculative or Free and Accepted Masons as constituted in the early part of last century was founded in England on certain well-defined principles , among which the
recognition of a Divine Ruler of the Universe very properly occupied the first place . Gradually this Society found its way into other countries of Europe—into France and Germany , into Holland and Italy , into Spain and Portugal , and likewise into the colonies and dependencies of European
powers in the New World . In short , Freemasonry in its new form , gradually spread itself over the face of the known world ; and as it spread itself with greater or less success according as its teachings were more or less appreciated , so did it everywhere implant the very admirable
principles on which it had been originally established . There may have been introduced from time to time certain modifications of the original ceremonies and rituals ; the innate simplicity of the Society may have been more or less signally departed from ; but the principles on which
it was established always remained the same , those who denied them being rigorously excluded from all connection with the Brotherhood . Just as Christianity has for some centuries been split into rival sections , these accepting , those rejecting certain dogmas , yet
all implicitly holding by faith in the divine founder of their religion , so has Freemasonry been divided into rival parties—Ancients and Moderns , and High Grades , for example ; but all alike have held by the known principles
of the Society , a belief in God , the study of morality , and the practice of Charity ; or , if they have denied either or all of these , they have , we repeat , been rigorously excluded from our ranks . Thus we have no hesitation in justifying the resolution of the Irish Grand Loclffo to hold no
intercourse whatever with the French Grand Orient . The latter may go on describing itself as a body composed entirely of Freemasons , but they are not Freemasons in the sense in which the term has been always interpreted . It may go on its way studying morality and practising charity ; it
may go on respecting the religious views of those among its constituent members who have any ; but it has resolved at the same time to respect the absence of all religious feeling in other of its members ; in short , it has destroyed one of the vital principles on which Freemasonry has always
been based , and therefore it has lost all claim to the sympathy and respect of those who still continue to observe the " ancient landmarks . " Brit here all sympathy on our part with the views of the Freeman ' s Journal comes to an end .
Our contemporary is not satisfied that the Irish Grand Lodge should have formally severed its intercourse with the Grand Orient of France , but must needs indulge in abuse of the old kind at the expense of Freemasonry . It may amuse our enemies , but in the minds of righteous people it
The Freeman's Journal And The Grand Lodge Of Ireland.
wi \\ TO no wise injure freemasons , to affirm that their formularies are " always grotesque , semi-idiotic and barbarous , and frequently blasphemous and revolting . " Tho truth is there is more than one opinion about barbarism and blasphemy , and wo do not , as men who claim to think and
act for ourselves , feel bound to accept tho interpretation of others of what is " grotesque , semi-idiotic , " & c , & c . It may be , of course , that our own opinion may turn out to be wrong ; but wo are quite content to wait till it is proved to be so ; and meantime our sole duty is to point out that the
mere assertion of those who differ with us is not argument . Again , it is no business of ours to speculate as to what kind of God it is which " Voltaire , and Rousseau , and Strauss , and Renan have fancied , " nor are we called upon to accept ) Proudhon ' s definition—albeit , according to the statement
of our Irish contemporary , " he ranked high in French Masonry , and knew well its tendency " —to the effect that " Freemasonry is the very negation of the religious element . " Proudhon , as an authority on Freemasonry , or on property , is not one in whom we have any confidence .
Just as , if we are desirous of learning Avhafc Judaism or Christianity is , we should in the one case turn to the Old Testament , and in the other to the New , so if we wish to know what Freemasonry is , we turn to our " Old Charges , " which have been handed down to us from generation to
generation , and aro still , spiritually if not literally , the Masonic exposition of Faith . •We have no need to get our information second-hand , when we can go straight to the fountain head for it ; and assuredly we shall not accept M , Proudhon ' s exposition as acourate , when it must be
manifest to every reasonably well-informed Mason that , for all his high rank in French Masonry , he did not know what Freemasonry really was . Otherwise he would not have deliberately stated that which he knew to he false . We are content to know that our Society has Theism for its
fundamental principle . The particular form of Theism which a brother may profess , is a matter between himself and his conscience , but the Atheist we turn contemptuously away . There is then no reason whatever , why the
Freeman ' s Journal should persist in describing Freemasonry such as it is not . As to the assertion that " it was from a French Masonic Lodge that the founder of the infamous sect of the Illuminati went forth with his credentials of
propagandism , and recorded his commission to teach and corrupt , " we would remark that either our contemporary has access to unknown sources of knowledge , or else the Masonic world has been misled by its ablest historians for the last hundred years . We have always laboured under the belief
that the founder of the order of the Illuminati was one Adam Weishaupt , a native of Ingoldstadt in Bavaria , who , in 1775 , was appointed Professor of Canon and Natural Law in the University of that town ; that he was educated by the Jesuits and had , therefore , a
full knowledge of the principles and proceedings of that order ; that he was a most enlightened man , and had at heart the good of mankind ; and that between him and the Jesuits there existed feelings amounting on the part of
the latter to the most determined hostility . Our readers will find much valuable information about this famous order in the pages of the Masonic historian Findel , and in the works of Fessler and others . We shall content
ourselves , therefore , with remarking , on the authority of the first named of these authors " that Weishaupt established the Order of the Illuminati for the purpose of opposing moral depravity , civilising the members , and securing the general good of mankind . " It had , in the first instance , no connection whatever with Freemasonry . It was first estab-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freeman's Journal And The Grand Lodge Of Ireland.
THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL AND THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND .
THE Freeman ' s Journal has rejoiced heartily and very naturally over tho recent action of Grand Lodge in Ireland in severing all connection -with tho Grand Orient of Trance undor its now Constitution . We , too , have expressed ourselves strongly in justification of the conduct of
the Irish Grand Lodge . The Grand Orient of France , as an independent body , has a perfect right to enact for itself what constitutions it pleases ; hut if it evert the old landmarks of our Society , it has no reason to be surprised , much less grieved , that other independent Masonic bodies
should take upon themselves to renounce publicly all sympathy and connection with it . The Society of Speculative or Free and Accepted Masons as constituted in the early part of last century was founded in England on certain well-defined principles , among which the
recognition of a Divine Ruler of the Universe very properly occupied the first place . Gradually this Society found its way into other countries of Europe—into France and Germany , into Holland and Italy , into Spain and Portugal , and likewise into the colonies and dependencies of European
powers in the New World . In short , Freemasonry in its new form , gradually spread itself over the face of the known world ; and as it spread itself with greater or less success according as its teachings were more or less appreciated , so did it everywhere implant the very admirable
principles on which it had been originally established . There may have been introduced from time to time certain modifications of the original ceremonies and rituals ; the innate simplicity of the Society may have been more or less signally departed from ; but the principles on which
it was established always remained the same , those who denied them being rigorously excluded from all connection with the Brotherhood . Just as Christianity has for some centuries been split into rival sections , these accepting , those rejecting certain dogmas , yet
all implicitly holding by faith in the divine founder of their religion , so has Freemasonry been divided into rival parties—Ancients and Moderns , and High Grades , for example ; but all alike have held by the known principles
of the Society , a belief in God , the study of morality , and the practice of Charity ; or , if they have denied either or all of these , they have , we repeat , been rigorously excluded from our ranks . Thus we have no hesitation in justifying the resolution of the Irish Grand Loclffo to hold no
intercourse whatever with the French Grand Orient . The latter may go on describing itself as a body composed entirely of Freemasons , but they are not Freemasons in the sense in which the term has been always interpreted . It may go on its way studying morality and practising charity ; it
may go on respecting the religious views of those among its constituent members who have any ; but it has resolved at the same time to respect the absence of all religious feeling in other of its members ; in short , it has destroyed one of the vital principles on which Freemasonry has always
been based , and therefore it has lost all claim to the sympathy and respect of those who still continue to observe the " ancient landmarks . " Brit here all sympathy on our part with the views of the Freeman ' s Journal comes to an end .
Our contemporary is not satisfied that the Irish Grand Lodge should have formally severed its intercourse with the Grand Orient of France , but must needs indulge in abuse of the old kind at the expense of Freemasonry . It may amuse our enemies , but in the minds of righteous people it
The Freeman's Journal And The Grand Lodge Of Ireland.
wi \\ TO no wise injure freemasons , to affirm that their formularies are " always grotesque , semi-idiotic and barbarous , and frequently blasphemous and revolting . " Tho truth is there is more than one opinion about barbarism and blasphemy , and wo do not , as men who claim to think and
act for ourselves , feel bound to accept tho interpretation of others of what is " grotesque , semi-idiotic , " & c , & c . It may be , of course , that our own opinion may turn out to be wrong ; but wo are quite content to wait till it is proved to be so ; and meantime our sole duty is to point out that the
mere assertion of those who differ with us is not argument . Again , it is no business of ours to speculate as to what kind of God it is which " Voltaire , and Rousseau , and Strauss , and Renan have fancied , " nor are we called upon to accept ) Proudhon ' s definition—albeit , according to the statement
of our Irish contemporary , " he ranked high in French Masonry , and knew well its tendency " —to the effect that " Freemasonry is the very negation of the religious element . " Proudhon , as an authority on Freemasonry , or on property , is not one in whom we have any confidence .
Just as , if we are desirous of learning Avhafc Judaism or Christianity is , we should in the one case turn to the Old Testament , and in the other to the New , so if we wish to know what Freemasonry is , we turn to our " Old Charges , " which have been handed down to us from generation to
generation , and aro still , spiritually if not literally , the Masonic exposition of Faith . •We have no need to get our information second-hand , when we can go straight to the fountain head for it ; and assuredly we shall not accept M , Proudhon ' s exposition as acourate , when it must be
manifest to every reasonably well-informed Mason that , for all his high rank in French Masonry , he did not know what Freemasonry really was . Otherwise he would not have deliberately stated that which he knew to he false . We are content to know that our Society has Theism for its
fundamental principle . The particular form of Theism which a brother may profess , is a matter between himself and his conscience , but the Atheist we turn contemptuously away . There is then no reason whatever , why the
Freeman ' s Journal should persist in describing Freemasonry such as it is not . As to the assertion that " it was from a French Masonic Lodge that the founder of the infamous sect of the Illuminati went forth with his credentials of
propagandism , and recorded his commission to teach and corrupt , " we would remark that either our contemporary has access to unknown sources of knowledge , or else the Masonic world has been misled by its ablest historians for the last hundred years . We have always laboured under the belief
that the founder of the order of the Illuminati was one Adam Weishaupt , a native of Ingoldstadt in Bavaria , who , in 1775 , was appointed Professor of Canon and Natural Law in the University of that town ; that he was educated by the Jesuits and had , therefore , a
full knowledge of the principles and proceedings of that order ; that he was a most enlightened man , and had at heart the good of mankind ; and that between him and the Jesuits there existed feelings amounting on the part of
the latter to the most determined hostility . Our readers will find much valuable information about this famous order in the pages of the Masonic historian Findel , and in the works of Fessler and others . We shall content
ourselves , therefore , with remarking , on the authority of the first named of these authors " that Weishaupt established the Order of the Illuminati for the purpose of opposing moral depravity , civilising the members , and securing the general good of mankind . " It had , in the first instance , no connection whatever with Freemasonry . It was first estab-