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Article ON FREEMASONRY. THE NUMBER THREE. ← Page 14 of 16 →
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On Freemasonry. The Number Three.
of the country in which he resides , and is no longer allowed to interfere in causing an alteration of the government . In calculating the present number of Freemasons , we will take the average number of the members of the Lodges under the Grand Lodge at the Three Globes , for a standard . In the year 1817 , there were 70 Lodges , with 6300 members , or an average of 90 members to each Lodge .
Number of Lodges under the Grand Lodge , Three Globes , Berlin 70 " " " National Grand Lodge . . 44 " " " Royal York Grand Lodge . 20 " " " Grand Lodge , Hamburgh . . 11 " " " Grand Lodge , Frankfort-on-the-Mame 4 " " " Grand Lodge , Hanover . . 14 ' " " Grand Lodge , Dresden . . 10
Independent Lodges in Germany 25 Under the Grand Lodge in Great Britain * 300 " " " of France 300 " " " of Holland 100 " " " of Switzerland 20 " " " of Denmark 10 " " of Sweden 10 " " " of Russia 15
Making together . . Lodges 953 According to the average number taken above of 90 members to a Lodge , we have , in Europe alone , 85 , 770 Freemasons . We may take 100 , 000 for the number ; for many Brethren live inactive , or in countries where there are no Lodges allowed to be held , as Bavaria , Baden , Wirtemberg , Austria , Italy , Spain , and Portugal , without taking into account the members of the order who live in the other parts of the
world . The author of the " Flaming Star" gives the number at 10 , 000 , 000 ; Nicolai , in his Inquiries into the Accusations brought against the Templars , at 5 , 000 , 000 ; Meiners , in his "Anecdotes of Religion , " at 2 , 000 , 000 ; and Stark , in his work upon the " Ancient and " Modern Mysteries , " at 1 , 000 , 000 . How much good may be done , if each of those Brethren , and they are all pledged to do so , gave only a small sum more to the poor annually than he would have done
if he had not had this extra motive for so doing . If the Spirit of Freemasonry could point the inquiring mind to nothing but to the numbers who have been initiated into its sacred mysteries , and the benefits which its disciples have conferred upon mankind from its commencement to the present moment , it would still present a most extraordinary phenomenon , —more extraordinary than any other mysterious or profane order ; of which it is certain that none have everby
, their own strength , arrived at such a degree of greatness , durability , and extension . He who collects materials for the history of this society acts a more important part than all the monkish chroniclers put together , who have left so many journals of the pious inactivity of their brethren .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Number Three.
of the country in which he resides , and is no longer allowed to interfere in causing an alteration of the government . In calculating the present number of Freemasons , we will take the average number of the members of the Lodges under the Grand Lodge at the Three Globes , for a standard . In the year 1817 , there were 70 Lodges , with 6300 members , or an average of 90 members to each Lodge .
Number of Lodges under the Grand Lodge , Three Globes , Berlin 70 " " " National Grand Lodge . . 44 " " " Royal York Grand Lodge . 20 " " " Grand Lodge , Hamburgh . . 11 " " " Grand Lodge , Frankfort-on-the-Mame 4 " " " Grand Lodge , Hanover . . 14 ' " " Grand Lodge , Dresden . . 10
Independent Lodges in Germany 25 Under the Grand Lodge in Great Britain * 300 " " " of France 300 " " " of Holland 100 " " " of Switzerland 20 " " " of Denmark 10 " " of Sweden 10 " " " of Russia 15
Making together . . Lodges 953 According to the average number taken above of 90 members to a Lodge , we have , in Europe alone , 85 , 770 Freemasons . We may take 100 , 000 for the number ; for many Brethren live inactive , or in countries where there are no Lodges allowed to be held , as Bavaria , Baden , Wirtemberg , Austria , Italy , Spain , and Portugal , without taking into account the members of the order who live in the other parts of the
world . The author of the " Flaming Star" gives the number at 10 , 000 , 000 ; Nicolai , in his Inquiries into the Accusations brought against the Templars , at 5 , 000 , 000 ; Meiners , in his "Anecdotes of Religion , " at 2 , 000 , 000 ; and Stark , in his work upon the " Ancient and " Modern Mysteries , " at 1 , 000 , 000 . How much good may be done , if each of those Brethren , and they are all pledged to do so , gave only a small sum more to the poor annually than he would have done
if he had not had this extra motive for so doing . If the Spirit of Freemasonry could point the inquiring mind to nothing but to the numbers who have been initiated into its sacred mysteries , and the benefits which its disciples have conferred upon mankind from its commencement to the present moment , it would still present a most extraordinary phenomenon , —more extraordinary than any other mysterious or profane order ; of which it is certain that none have everby
, their own strength , arrived at such a degree of greatness , durability , and extension . He who collects materials for the history of this society acts a more important part than all the monkish chroniclers put together , who have left so many journals of the pious inactivity of their brethren .