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Article ON THE INSTITUTION OF FREEMASONRY.* ← Page 2 of 13 →
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On The Institution Of Freemasonry.*
and the knowledge of a few elementary princi ples in p hysics often proved but a passport to the stake . * B y what men then , b y what set of men , differing so from their fellows , were these proud ancl indubitable , evidences of superiority imagined ancl constructed ? And b y what strange chain of circumstances was the knowledge here
displayed gained by , and confined to , them alone ? A little further inquiry leads to the belief that these buildings were mostl y executed by a heterogeneous band of men , Greeks , Italians , French , Flemings , and Germans , who were religiousl y bound to certain observances , kept up a peculiar system of disci p line , and , possessing ( as is asserted ) various
protecting bulls from the Church of Rome , maintained a perfect independence of the states in which they sojourned . This was the Fraternitj * of Free and Master Masons . To their talents and industry , it need , then , hardl y be said , architecture owes much ; but , accustomed to regard them onl y in the li ght of a bod y of men associated for convivial
and charitable purposes , we have long since ceased to connect them in any way with the ori ginal results of their combination ; and it may not be uninteresting to g ive a brief view of some points connected with their history and
progress . Were I to adopt the opinion set forth , ancl , with probability , sincerel y entertained b y some of the chroniclers ol the Craft , this account should commence with Ham , the second son of Noah ; and should attempt to show that their first undertaking was the building of the Tower of Babel . The Israelites are b y them proved to be a band of
Freemasons , having Moses for Grand Master ; and the pyramids , with the other mi ghty works remaining in Egypt , are triumphantl y pointed at as the results of their labours . Others , however , more modest , commence with the building of the Temple b y Solomon , about 1012 years before Christ ; and contend that Hiramthe widow ' s son , of the
, tribe of Napthali , was a Master of the Craft , sent b y Hiram , or Huram , King of Tyre , with others of his fellows , to assist Solomon in his great undertaking . From what evidence such a conclusion was satisfactoril y arrived at does not appear ; but , finding this opinion is constantl y and confidentl y repeated by the older writers upon the subject , we
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Institution Of Freemasonry.*
and the knowledge of a few elementary princi ples in p hysics often proved but a passport to the stake . * B y what men then , b y what set of men , differing so from their fellows , were these proud ancl indubitable , evidences of superiority imagined ancl constructed ? And b y what strange chain of circumstances was the knowledge here
displayed gained by , and confined to , them alone ? A little further inquiry leads to the belief that these buildings were mostl y executed by a heterogeneous band of men , Greeks , Italians , French , Flemings , and Germans , who were religiousl y bound to certain observances , kept up a peculiar system of disci p line , and , possessing ( as is asserted ) various
protecting bulls from the Church of Rome , maintained a perfect independence of the states in which they sojourned . This was the Fraternitj * of Free and Master Masons . To their talents and industry , it need , then , hardl y be said , architecture owes much ; but , accustomed to regard them onl y in the li ght of a bod y of men associated for convivial
and charitable purposes , we have long since ceased to connect them in any way with the ori ginal results of their combination ; and it may not be uninteresting to g ive a brief view of some points connected with their history and
progress . Were I to adopt the opinion set forth , ancl , with probability , sincerel y entertained b y some of the chroniclers ol the Craft , this account should commence with Ham , the second son of Noah ; and should attempt to show that their first undertaking was the building of the Tower of Babel . The Israelites are b y them proved to be a band of
Freemasons , having Moses for Grand Master ; and the pyramids , with the other mi ghty works remaining in Egypt , are triumphantl y pointed at as the results of their labours . Others , however , more modest , commence with the building of the Temple b y Solomon , about 1012 years before Christ ; and contend that Hiramthe widow ' s son , of the
, tribe of Napthali , was a Master of the Craft , sent b y Hiram , or Huram , King of Tyre , with others of his fellows , to assist Solomon in his great undertaking . From what evidence such a conclusion was satisfactoril y arrived at does not appear ; but , finding this opinion is constantl y and confidentl y repeated by the older writers upon the subject , we