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Article THE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM. ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Library And Museum.
ordinate Lodge . The style of writing , aud its general appearance , would induce a belief that it was an official document . The following facts may , perhaps , confirm this statement . * There is a long extract in Preston , from a manuscript or record of the society , said to have perished in the revolution , and which bore date in the reign of Edward IV . Some of the passages in this extract are very similar to the corresponding parts of the manuscript under considerationbut the
, latter is much more ancient , and therefore , a difference in expression may naturally be expected . Again : in Prestonf are certain ancient charges , said to have been extracted from a manuscript of the time of James II ., now in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity . ^ The greatest similarity prevails between these and the present manuscript ; in most places it is copied verbatim , yet there is nearly five hundred years difference in their date .
It is most probable that this document , by some accident , escaped being destroyed when the ill-judged zeal of some Brethren led them to tear up and burn all manuscripts on the subject of Freemasonry . The contents of the present document may be thus concisely stated—First , a prayer . Then follow six sections , as above mentioned . The first of these treats chiefly of the seven liberal arts and sciences .
The second gives a curious account of Masonry in very early timesduring the life of Noah , & c . The third contains a narrative of Abraham ' s age , after he had gone into Egypt . It would appear that the king and magistrates were in
considerable doubt how to provide for their numerous children , and how to bring them up "honestly as gentlemen , " wherefore a grand council was held , and rewards offered for the solution of this difficulty . Abraham came forward , and instructed them how to work in stones and metals , how to build temples , houses , & c , and for their good government gave certain rules . The fourth section commences with these rules , and contains the history of Masonry in the time of David .
The fifth gives an account of the assistance rendered by King Hiram in building the Temple , and thence proceeds as far as the introduction of Masonry into England , by St . Alban , the king of England being then , in the language of the manuscript , " a Paynim . " It also states how he obtained from the king a charter for Masons . The sixth shows that , after the death of St . Alban , Masonry declined in England until the time of Athelstanewho warmly patronized it .
, His brother Edwin ( supposed to have been murdered by him ) also warmly upheld the Order . Edwin is said to have been Grand Master , and to have built many " towers arrd temples . " This section also gives the particulars of the Grand Lodge of York ( A . D . 926 ) , over which Edwin presided ; and the manuscript concludes in the very words quoted in Preston , p . 71 : — "Tunc units ex senioribus tenet librmn , et illi ponunt manum suam super librum . "
The remainder of this document consists of the charges , many of which , as before stated , are to be found in Preston . The conclusion is an exhortation to the Brethren to pay deference to the charges . The indorsement , from John i . I ., is evidently of very recent date ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Library And Museum.
ordinate Lodge . The style of writing , aud its general appearance , would induce a belief that it was an official document . The following facts may , perhaps , confirm this statement . * There is a long extract in Preston , from a manuscript or record of the society , said to have perished in the revolution , and which bore date in the reign of Edward IV . Some of the passages in this extract are very similar to the corresponding parts of the manuscript under considerationbut the
, latter is much more ancient , and therefore , a difference in expression may naturally be expected . Again : in Prestonf are certain ancient charges , said to have been extracted from a manuscript of the time of James II ., now in possession of the Lodge of Antiquity . ^ The greatest similarity prevails between these and the present manuscript ; in most places it is copied verbatim , yet there is nearly five hundred years difference in their date .
It is most probable that this document , by some accident , escaped being destroyed when the ill-judged zeal of some Brethren led them to tear up and burn all manuscripts on the subject of Freemasonry . The contents of the present document may be thus concisely stated—First , a prayer . Then follow six sections , as above mentioned . The first of these treats chiefly of the seven liberal arts and sciences .
The second gives a curious account of Masonry in very early timesduring the life of Noah , & c . The third contains a narrative of Abraham ' s age , after he had gone into Egypt . It would appear that the king and magistrates were in
considerable doubt how to provide for their numerous children , and how to bring them up "honestly as gentlemen , " wherefore a grand council was held , and rewards offered for the solution of this difficulty . Abraham came forward , and instructed them how to work in stones and metals , how to build temples , houses , & c , and for their good government gave certain rules . The fourth section commences with these rules , and contains the history of Masonry in the time of David .
The fifth gives an account of the assistance rendered by King Hiram in building the Temple , and thence proceeds as far as the introduction of Masonry into England , by St . Alban , the king of England being then , in the language of the manuscript , " a Paynim . " It also states how he obtained from the king a charter for Masons . The sixth shows that , after the death of St . Alban , Masonry declined in England until the time of Athelstanewho warmly patronized it .
, His brother Edwin ( supposed to have been murdered by him ) also warmly upheld the Order . Edwin is said to have been Grand Master , and to have built many " towers arrd temples . " This section also gives the particulars of the Grand Lodge of York ( A . D . 926 ) , over which Edwin presided ; and the manuscript concludes in the very words quoted in Preston , p . 71 : — "Tunc units ex senioribus tenet librmn , et illi ponunt manum suam super librum . "
The remainder of this document consists of the charges , many of which , as before stated , are to be found in Preston . The conclusion is an exhortation to the Brethren to pay deference to the charges . The indorsement , from John i . I ., is evidently of very recent date ,