-
Articles/Ads
Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 4 of 8 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
accuses me of want of charity , because , I made use of the words , " poor , pitiable , " as well as " pity " and " smile , " when speaking of the uninitiated . The critic had evidently laid great stress on those words , for he took the trouble to print all those words in Italics . To avoid further misconception , I beg to state that , —which , indeed , an attentive perusal of my first lecture would inevitably have suggested , —by the " uninitiated" I do not mean good menwho are actuated and
, , guided by the precepts and injunctions of Revelation , but who are , at the same time , unacquainted with our particular mode of recognition ; such men are Freemasons in spirit , though not in letter ; such men never scoffj and never rail against our Order . I mean by the " poor , pitiable uninitiated , " individuals who scoff and rail against both Freemasonry and Revelation ; such as the readers of Carlyle are , of which there exists a considerable number .
Ihe reviewer follows up the above extract by the following startling observation : — " In another part of the Lecture , alluding to the Cowans , or uninitiated , he makes St . John , in his Apocalypse , identify them as kunai , i . e . dogs , a notion as undignified , as it is far-fetched . " Now , Mr . Editor , I am sure you will agree with me that critics ought to bear in mind that they are as much obnoxious to be laughed at , for their short-comings , as the jioor authors , notwithstanding that the former are shielded under the impervious panopl—WE . YOU
y , will also agree with me , that he who would be critic should first read and inwardly digest Pope's Essay on Criticism . If your reviewer had but perused the sheets of your last number as they passed through the press , he would not have been so off-handed with his comment , " a notion as undignified as it is far-fetched . " I must , therefore , ask him now to refer for a moment to pp . 153 , 154 , of the self-same Magazineand read the far-famed Dr . Oliver ' s " notion" on the
etymo-, logy of the word Cowan . Dr . Oliver ' s note in the pages alluded to , suggested to me the idea of examining the same writer ' s celebrated " Historical Landmarks of Freemasonry , " and see whether the Cowan was treated there in a dignified manner . The index stood me in good stead , and directed my search to vol . i . p . 349 . The reviewer must not be shocked when I inform him that the agedexperiencedand
, , learned Brother , yes , Dr . Oliver himself , indulges the same undignified and far-fetched notion , with the only difference that the erudite and acute Dr . brings more learning to the fortifying of his position , than I have done . I would venture to suggest that a reviewer of works on Freemasonry should study to show himself well qualified for the responsible office , by making himself acquainted with the whole range of literature belonging to our Order .
To the inquiry whether I meant to say , " that the path of religion and virtue lies only through the portal of' a Mason ' s Lodge , and that the way to eternal life is shut out from an uninitiated world ? " I heartily echo the solemn words , " God forbid . " No attentive reader of my Lecture would ever have made such an inquiry . An attentive reader would soon have discovered that I maintained that olden Freemasonry was only another name for TRUE religion , and I have
therefore dwelt frequently on the term " Genuine . " I am not ignorant of the fact , that in modern times Freemasonry is deprived of almost every primitive divine feature . Freemasonry in some modern Lodges is , alas ! only a profane burlesque or pantomime of a sacred
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
accuses me of want of charity , because , I made use of the words , " poor , pitiable , " as well as " pity " and " smile , " when speaking of the uninitiated . The critic had evidently laid great stress on those words , for he took the trouble to print all those words in Italics . To avoid further misconception , I beg to state that , —which , indeed , an attentive perusal of my first lecture would inevitably have suggested , —by the " uninitiated" I do not mean good menwho are actuated and
, , guided by the precepts and injunctions of Revelation , but who are , at the same time , unacquainted with our particular mode of recognition ; such men are Freemasons in spirit , though not in letter ; such men never scoffj and never rail against our Order . I mean by the " poor , pitiable uninitiated , " individuals who scoff and rail against both Freemasonry and Revelation ; such as the readers of Carlyle are , of which there exists a considerable number .
Ihe reviewer follows up the above extract by the following startling observation : — " In another part of the Lecture , alluding to the Cowans , or uninitiated , he makes St . John , in his Apocalypse , identify them as kunai , i . e . dogs , a notion as undignified , as it is far-fetched . " Now , Mr . Editor , I am sure you will agree with me that critics ought to bear in mind that they are as much obnoxious to be laughed at , for their short-comings , as the jioor authors , notwithstanding that the former are shielded under the impervious panopl—WE . YOU
y , will also agree with me , that he who would be critic should first read and inwardly digest Pope's Essay on Criticism . If your reviewer had but perused the sheets of your last number as they passed through the press , he would not have been so off-handed with his comment , " a notion as undignified as it is far-fetched . " I must , therefore , ask him now to refer for a moment to pp . 153 , 154 , of the self-same Magazineand read the far-famed Dr . Oliver ' s " notion" on the
etymo-, logy of the word Cowan . Dr . Oliver ' s note in the pages alluded to , suggested to me the idea of examining the same writer ' s celebrated " Historical Landmarks of Freemasonry , " and see whether the Cowan was treated there in a dignified manner . The index stood me in good stead , and directed my search to vol . i . p . 349 . The reviewer must not be shocked when I inform him that the agedexperiencedand
, , learned Brother , yes , Dr . Oliver himself , indulges the same undignified and far-fetched notion , with the only difference that the erudite and acute Dr . brings more learning to the fortifying of his position , than I have done . I would venture to suggest that a reviewer of works on Freemasonry should study to show himself well qualified for the responsible office , by making himself acquainted with the whole range of literature belonging to our Order .
To the inquiry whether I meant to say , " that the path of religion and virtue lies only through the portal of' a Mason ' s Lodge , and that the way to eternal life is shut out from an uninitiated world ? " I heartily echo the solemn words , " God forbid . " No attentive reader of my Lecture would ever have made such an inquiry . An attentive reader would soon have discovered that I maintained that olden Freemasonry was only another name for TRUE religion , and I have
therefore dwelt frequently on the term " Genuine . " I am not ignorant of the fact , that in modern times Freemasonry is deprived of almost every primitive divine feature . Freemasonry in some modern Lodges is , alas ! only a profane burlesque or pantomime of a sacred