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Article MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. ← Page 4 of 9 →
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Masonic Intelligence.
provement of the Craft over whom he had the honour to preside . He loved Masonry from his soul : and as his attachment was not the effect of a hasty impression upon a lively imagination , but the result of a long and well directed scrutiny into the nature and utility of the institution , he seldom failed to communicate a portion of his zeal to those with whom he conversed . In this county he may be
considered to have been the Father of the Craft ; and his death has been accordingly felt with a degree of filial regret—a regret which , I am sorry to think , will be increased by a comparison between him and his successor . ' I confess , Brethren , that when I contrast my own inexperience with his knowledge , and consider that I am going to build on
foundations laid by so able an architect , I feel dispirited at what I have undertaken ; and find nothing to console me but the reflection , that with the foundation he has left a design of the superstructure , and a number of wel ! instructed craftsmen to assist me in carrying it on . ' From my first initiation into the mysteries of our venerable order , they have been subjects of my continual admiration , not so "
much on account of their antiquity as their moral tendency : —for though the former may attract the inquiiy and gratify the research of the antiquarian , it is the latter which invites the cultivation , givesenergy to the exertion , and insures the final perseverance of the genuine Freemason . Let us not , however , affect to think li g htly of the venerable sanction which our mysteries have acquired b y the adoption of successive ages . Of their antiquity there is a sort of evidence
wnich eclipses tradition . The method adopted by the craft for communicating instruction to their disciples , was in use before the invention of letters . All the learning of the ancient world was convoyed in symbols , and intrenched in mysteries : and surely that is not only the most ancient , but the most impressive vehicle of knowledge , which , by applying sensible objects to a figurative use , affords amusement as well as instructionand renders even the playfulness of the imagination
, , that most ungovernable of all the human faculties , instrumental to moral improvement . ' Those who' have made inquiries into the rise and progress of science , have found that in the early ages all speculative knowledge was confined to a few , and by them carefully concealed from vulgar curiosity under the veil of mysteries , into which none were initiated ,
till not only their intellectual capacities , but the firmness of their characters , had been put to a severe test : the result of which determined the degree of probability that they would resist the stratagems of curiosity and the imperious demands of authority . The most famous mysteries on record are those in Persia , which were celebrated in honour of the God Mythra , and those at Eleusis , in Greece , in
honour of the Goddess Ceres . Many arguments might be adduced to prove that both these were corruptions of Freemasonry , and- hereafter I shall not want the inclination , if 1 do not want the opportunity ^ to discuss them . At present , however , I shall content myself with pointing out the similarity which subsists between the initiatory rites practised by the professors of these mysteries and by our Brethren ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Intelligence.
provement of the Craft over whom he had the honour to preside . He loved Masonry from his soul : and as his attachment was not the effect of a hasty impression upon a lively imagination , but the result of a long and well directed scrutiny into the nature and utility of the institution , he seldom failed to communicate a portion of his zeal to those with whom he conversed . In this county he may be
considered to have been the Father of the Craft ; and his death has been accordingly felt with a degree of filial regret—a regret which , I am sorry to think , will be increased by a comparison between him and his successor . ' I confess , Brethren , that when I contrast my own inexperience with his knowledge , and consider that I am going to build on
foundations laid by so able an architect , I feel dispirited at what I have undertaken ; and find nothing to console me but the reflection , that with the foundation he has left a design of the superstructure , and a number of wel ! instructed craftsmen to assist me in carrying it on . ' From my first initiation into the mysteries of our venerable order , they have been subjects of my continual admiration , not so "
much on account of their antiquity as their moral tendency : —for though the former may attract the inquiiy and gratify the research of the antiquarian , it is the latter which invites the cultivation , givesenergy to the exertion , and insures the final perseverance of the genuine Freemason . Let us not , however , affect to think li g htly of the venerable sanction which our mysteries have acquired b y the adoption of successive ages . Of their antiquity there is a sort of evidence
wnich eclipses tradition . The method adopted by the craft for communicating instruction to their disciples , was in use before the invention of letters . All the learning of the ancient world was convoyed in symbols , and intrenched in mysteries : and surely that is not only the most ancient , but the most impressive vehicle of knowledge , which , by applying sensible objects to a figurative use , affords amusement as well as instructionand renders even the playfulness of the imagination
, , that most ungovernable of all the human faculties , instrumental to moral improvement . ' Those who' have made inquiries into the rise and progress of science , have found that in the early ages all speculative knowledge was confined to a few , and by them carefully concealed from vulgar curiosity under the veil of mysteries , into which none were initiated ,
till not only their intellectual capacities , but the firmness of their characters , had been put to a severe test : the result of which determined the degree of probability that they would resist the stratagems of curiosity and the imperious demands of authority . The most famous mysteries on record are those in Persia , which were celebrated in honour of the God Mythra , and those at Eleusis , in Greece , in
honour of the Goddess Ceres . Many arguments might be adduced to prove that both these were corruptions of Freemasonry , and- hereafter I shall not want the inclination , if 1 do not want the opportunity ^ to discuss them . At present , however , I shall content myself with pointing out the similarity which subsists between the initiatory rites practised by the professors of these mysteries and by our Brethren ,