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Article THE REVELATIONS OF A SQUARE. ← Page 10 of 20 →
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The Revelations Of A Square.
ously circulated to its prejudice . Several pamphlets had already appeared , as the Oration of the celebrated Martin Clare , J . G . W ., in 1735 , before the Grand Lodge ; the ' Freemasons' Pocket Companion , ' by Dr . Smith ; and the ' Freemasons' Vade Mecum ; ' but this latter book was condemned by the Grand Lodge as ' a piratical silly production , done without leave , ' and the Brethren Avere warned not to use it , nor encourage the sale thereof . " In the meanwhile Dr . Anderson Avrote his celebrated
Defence of Masonry , in which he treated the work of Prichard Avith great consideration . He took his stand on high ground—gave his adversary every fair and reasonable advantage , by assuming that if all he had advanced were correct , still Masonry would be an admirable institution , and answered his book seriatim like a gentleman and a
scholar . When the Defence came out , and the subject vras canvassed over in the Lodge , some thought he had conducted the dispute with greater mildness than the felloAV deserved ; but Bro . Anderson contended—and truly as I
thought at the time—that ' it would be giving our opponents too serious an advantage to treat their productions , how absurd soever they might be , either with flippancy or severity . ' He commenced the defence by conceding certain points which were thought to be discreditable to the Order . ' Let , ' says he , ' for once , this dissection contain
all the secrets- of Freemasonry ; admit that every word of it is genuine and literally true , yet , under all these concessions—under all disadvantages and prejudices whatever , I cannot but still believe there have been impositions upon mankind more ridiculous , and that many have been drawn into a society more pernicious . ' He then proceeded step by
step to prove its manifold advantages ; and admitting that ' although Masonry has in some circumstances declined from its original purity , by running in muddy streams , and as it were under ground , yet , notwithstanding the great rust it may have contracted , and the forbidding light in Avhich it is placed by the Dissector , there is still much of the old fabric remaining ; the essential pillars of the build-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Revelations Of A Square.
ously circulated to its prejudice . Several pamphlets had already appeared , as the Oration of the celebrated Martin Clare , J . G . W ., in 1735 , before the Grand Lodge ; the ' Freemasons' Pocket Companion , ' by Dr . Smith ; and the ' Freemasons' Vade Mecum ; ' but this latter book was condemned by the Grand Lodge as ' a piratical silly production , done without leave , ' and the Brethren Avere warned not to use it , nor encourage the sale thereof . " In the meanwhile Dr . Anderson Avrote his celebrated
Defence of Masonry , in which he treated the work of Prichard Avith great consideration . He took his stand on high ground—gave his adversary every fair and reasonable advantage , by assuming that if all he had advanced were correct , still Masonry would be an admirable institution , and answered his book seriatim like a gentleman and a
scholar . When the Defence came out , and the subject vras canvassed over in the Lodge , some thought he had conducted the dispute with greater mildness than the felloAV deserved ; but Bro . Anderson contended—and truly as I
thought at the time—that ' it would be giving our opponents too serious an advantage to treat their productions , how absurd soever they might be , either with flippancy or severity . ' He commenced the defence by conceding certain points which were thought to be discreditable to the Order . ' Let , ' says he , ' for once , this dissection contain
all the secrets- of Freemasonry ; admit that every word of it is genuine and literally true , yet , under all these concessions—under all disadvantages and prejudices whatever , I cannot but still believe there have been impositions upon mankind more ridiculous , and that many have been drawn into a society more pernicious . ' He then proceeded step by
step to prove its manifold advantages ; and admitting that ' although Masonry has in some circumstances declined from its original purity , by running in muddy streams , and as it were under ground , yet , notwithstanding the great rust it may have contracted , and the forbidding light in Avhich it is placed by the Dissector , there is still much of the old fabric remaining ; the essential pillars of the build-