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On Freemasonry. Evidences, Doctrines, And Traditions.
there can be no doubt but the superstitious researches of those ages formed a collateral pursuit , when learning ancl science were exerted to their utmost stretch , for the purpose of promoting new discoveries in astrology , alchymy and magic , the latter of which are termed in the manuscript , "kymistrie' ^ and the " facultye of Abrac" which formed
; the great objects of research with all ranks ; ancl a society , professedly founded on secrecy , would be expected to excel in the practice of abstruse and hidden arts . In the ancient manuscript to which I have more than once referred in this paper , the Masons of the fifteenth century boast that t other items of valuable
know-, amongs ledge , " thay concele the arte of chaunges , the wey of wynnynge the facultye of Abrac ; the skylle of becommynge gude and parfayghte wythouten the holpynges of fere and hope . " Mr . Locke professes to be utterly in the dark respecting this expression ; on which Preston remarks ,
" Mr . Locke has made several judicious observations on the answer which is given to the question here proposed . His being in the dark concerning the meaning of the facultye of Abrac , I am not surprised at , nor can I conceive how he could otherwise be . Abrac is an abbreviation of the word Abracadabra . In the days of i ancl superstition
gnorance , that word had a magical signification ; but the explanation of it is now lost . " As , however , it is here authoritativel y asserted that the facultye of Abrac constituted one of the secrets of Masonry in an age when sorcery and divination were ^ so prevalent , that the pretensions to supernatural communicationsadvanced bJoan of Arcled to such
impor-, y , tant consequences on the continent ; and even the wife of the Lord Protector of England , the noble Duchess of Gloucester , could not escape a degrading punishment on the charge of witchcraft , it may be interesting to enquire whether the explanation of that facultye be indeed lost , as it is at present totally unknown amongst the Brethren of the Craft .
Abrac , Abraxas , Abrasax or Abracadabra , was a mystical word that the Basilideans gave to the deity , symbolized by a blazing star , and referring to the Masonic virtue of Prudence . It comprehended the circle of time , represented by the solar year ; for , being composed of the Greek numerals , it made the number 365 thus—A B p A x A s 1 2 100 1 CO 1 200 = 305 :
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. Evidences, Doctrines, And Traditions.
there can be no doubt but the superstitious researches of those ages formed a collateral pursuit , when learning ancl science were exerted to their utmost stretch , for the purpose of promoting new discoveries in astrology , alchymy and magic , the latter of which are termed in the manuscript , "kymistrie' ^ and the " facultye of Abrac" which formed
; the great objects of research with all ranks ; ancl a society , professedly founded on secrecy , would be expected to excel in the practice of abstruse and hidden arts . In the ancient manuscript to which I have more than once referred in this paper , the Masons of the fifteenth century boast that t other items of valuable
know-, amongs ledge , " thay concele the arte of chaunges , the wey of wynnynge the facultye of Abrac ; the skylle of becommynge gude and parfayghte wythouten the holpynges of fere and hope . " Mr . Locke professes to be utterly in the dark respecting this expression ; on which Preston remarks ,
" Mr . Locke has made several judicious observations on the answer which is given to the question here proposed . His being in the dark concerning the meaning of the facultye of Abrac , I am not surprised at , nor can I conceive how he could otherwise be . Abrac is an abbreviation of the word Abracadabra . In the days of i ancl superstition
gnorance , that word had a magical signification ; but the explanation of it is now lost . " As , however , it is here authoritativel y asserted that the facultye of Abrac constituted one of the secrets of Masonry in an age when sorcery and divination were ^ so prevalent , that the pretensions to supernatural communicationsadvanced bJoan of Arcled to such
impor-, y , tant consequences on the continent ; and even the wife of the Lord Protector of England , the noble Duchess of Gloucester , could not escape a degrading punishment on the charge of witchcraft , it may be interesting to enquire whether the explanation of that facultye be indeed lost , as it is at present totally unknown amongst the Brethren of the Craft .
Abrac , Abraxas , Abrasax or Abracadabra , was a mystical word that the Basilideans gave to the deity , symbolized by a blazing star , and referring to the Masonic virtue of Prudence . It comprehended the circle of time , represented by the solar year ; for , being composed of the Greek numerals , it made the number 365 thus—A B p A x A s 1 2 100 1 CO 1 200 = 305 :