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On Freemasonry. Evidences , Doctrines, And Traditions.
ON FREEMASONRY . EVIDENCES , DOCTRINES , AND TRADITIONS .
BY THE REV . 6 . OLIVER , D . D . ( No . 9 . ) IT is remarkable that a very great similarity of rites and ceremonies , as well as of traditionsfacts and legendsexists
, , between the true and the spurious Freemasonry ; or , in other words , _ between our sublime institution and the mysteries of idolatry . This admitted coincidence has induced some few learned writers to believe , that Freemasonry , as it is now practised , is a scion taken from the heathen superstitions , and applied to Christianity in some such
manner as the Gnostics infused the Platonic philosophy into the Christian reli gion . These authors , however , are not Masons , and therefore , being imperfectl y acquainted with the secrets of the Order , were altogether incompetent to pronounce an opinion on its origin , its practices , or its tendency . Volney , in his « Ruins , " derives , not onl y Freemasonry ,
but the entire system of Christianity from the Mithratic and Eleusinian Mysteries . * On this perversion of truth , Mr . Maurice thus remarks : " In the pure and primitive
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. Evidences , Doctrines, And Traditions.
ON FREEMASONRY . EVIDENCES , DOCTRINES , AND TRADITIONS .
BY THE REV . 6 . OLIVER , D . D . ( No . 9 . ) IT is remarkable that a very great similarity of rites and ceremonies , as well as of traditionsfacts and legendsexists
, , between the true and the spurious Freemasonry ; or , in other words , _ between our sublime institution and the mysteries of idolatry . This admitted coincidence has induced some few learned writers to believe , that Freemasonry , as it is now practised , is a scion taken from the heathen superstitions , and applied to Christianity in some such
manner as the Gnostics infused the Platonic philosophy into the Christian reli gion . These authors , however , are not Masons , and therefore , being imperfectl y acquainted with the secrets of the Order , were altogether incompetent to pronounce an opinion on its origin , its practices , or its tendency . Volney , in his « Ruins , " derives , not onl y Freemasonry ,
but the entire system of Christianity from the Mithratic and Eleusinian Mysteries . * On this perversion of truth , Mr . Maurice thus remarks : " In the pure and primitive