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Article ESSAY ON MODERN PSEUDO-MASONIC RITES.* ← Page 4 of 9 →
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Essay On Modern Pseudo-Masonic Rites.*
named , Ist . The Masonry of the Illuminati ; 2 nd . The Masonry of the Jesuits ; 3 d . The Masonry of the Templars ; and 4 th . Hermetic Masonry . There are it is true many other institutions which bear some resemblance to Masonry , such as the Carbonari , the Theosophists , & c . of which , as they were exclusively and avowedly political , nothing can be said here . The principles of many writers before the French revolution were but
too little understood by men of unbounded ambition and unrestrained passions . These men , influenced by false notions of liberty , and of the dignity of man , overstepped the bounds imposed on them by Masonry . Others again , influenced by vice alone , sought to conceal their evil designs with the Masonic apron . —These two classes of men , equally mischievous in fact , though widely differing in their intentions , were the founders of that first and fearful class abovementionedthe Illuminati
, , the memory of which , even now , makes good men shudder . Disdaining all that was really virtuous or noble , the rulers of the Illuminati ( for most of its members were not initiated into its real mysteries ) sought to destroy governments , to upset all existing institutions , and to raise themselves to despotic power . All the fondest ties of humanity were trampled under foot , and the Illuminati resolved to eradicate all social laws which impeded their tyrannizing over their fellow-men . Revenge and
destruction were their leading principles , and they formed secret tribunals , which immolated all who stood in their way , by means of the dagger of the assassin . In more points than one did this fearful body strongly resemble the " Wehmegericht" of the middle ages ; and of the working of both it might well be
said—Non frater a fratre , non hospes ab hospite tutus . But who is it that cannot easil y distinguish this sect from genuine Masonry . The second class is the Masonry of the Jesuits ; and for obvious reasons no account of it can be inserted , nor should it have been even alluded to , had not two distinguished authors * placed it among Masonic sects .
The Masonry of the Templars is next to be considered , and it is undoubtedly the most important of the four classes to be well investigated , so many are the errors which have arisen respecting it . The annals of the Knights-templars , from the crusades to the death of Jacques Molay , are too well known to be here recapitulated ; but it is the subsequent history of that injured Order which demands the most serious attention . Several have imagined , and still think , that after the murder of the G .
Master , in 1314 , the Knights were dispersed , and the Order ceased to exist . But it may be interesting to many readers to be assured , that from that day to this there has been an uninterrupted succession of G . Masters , and that the " Militia Templi" now flourishes , and if not so rich in worldly possessions as it once was , it is at least as pure as ever in its Rites . In the possession of the Supreme Conclave in Paris are now preserved a series of authentic records of all the proceedings of the Order since the year ISOO . t The Order of Templars is a strictly religious institution , it consists of several ranks and grades , forming together what is called the Church of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essay On Modern Pseudo-Masonic Rites.*
named , Ist . The Masonry of the Illuminati ; 2 nd . The Masonry of the Jesuits ; 3 d . The Masonry of the Templars ; and 4 th . Hermetic Masonry . There are it is true many other institutions which bear some resemblance to Masonry , such as the Carbonari , the Theosophists , & c . of which , as they were exclusively and avowedly political , nothing can be said here . The principles of many writers before the French revolution were but
too little understood by men of unbounded ambition and unrestrained passions . These men , influenced by false notions of liberty , and of the dignity of man , overstepped the bounds imposed on them by Masonry . Others again , influenced by vice alone , sought to conceal their evil designs with the Masonic apron . —These two classes of men , equally mischievous in fact , though widely differing in their intentions , were the founders of that first and fearful class abovementionedthe Illuminati
, , the memory of which , even now , makes good men shudder . Disdaining all that was really virtuous or noble , the rulers of the Illuminati ( for most of its members were not initiated into its real mysteries ) sought to destroy governments , to upset all existing institutions , and to raise themselves to despotic power . All the fondest ties of humanity were trampled under foot , and the Illuminati resolved to eradicate all social laws which impeded their tyrannizing over their fellow-men . Revenge and
destruction were their leading principles , and they formed secret tribunals , which immolated all who stood in their way , by means of the dagger of the assassin . In more points than one did this fearful body strongly resemble the " Wehmegericht" of the middle ages ; and of the working of both it might well be
said—Non frater a fratre , non hospes ab hospite tutus . But who is it that cannot easil y distinguish this sect from genuine Masonry . The second class is the Masonry of the Jesuits ; and for obvious reasons no account of it can be inserted , nor should it have been even alluded to , had not two distinguished authors * placed it among Masonic sects .
The Masonry of the Templars is next to be considered , and it is undoubtedly the most important of the four classes to be well investigated , so many are the errors which have arisen respecting it . The annals of the Knights-templars , from the crusades to the death of Jacques Molay , are too well known to be here recapitulated ; but it is the subsequent history of that injured Order which demands the most serious attention . Several have imagined , and still think , that after the murder of the G .
Master , in 1314 , the Knights were dispersed , and the Order ceased to exist . But it may be interesting to many readers to be assured , that from that day to this there has been an uninterrupted succession of G . Masters , and that the " Militia Templi" now flourishes , and if not so rich in worldly possessions as it once was , it is at least as pure as ever in its Rites . In the possession of the Supreme Conclave in Paris are now preserved a series of authentic records of all the proceedings of the Order since the year ISOO . t The Order of Templars is a strictly religious institution , it consists of several ranks and grades , forming together what is called the Church of