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Article THE FREEMASONS' LEXICON. Page 1 of 5 →
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The Freemasons' Lexicon.
THE FREEMASONS' LEXICON .
( Continued from pane 440 , vol . 111 ., N . S . ) Goldgulden Goldthaler oder Johanisopfer . Gold Guilder , Gold Dollar , or Ut . John ' s offerings . —Those offerings are a remnant of the Union of the Strict Observance , which had derived them from the times of the ancient Order of Knighthood , and each Brother was bound to make one of those offerings to the Lodge on St . John ' s day . They are generall
y valued at one dollar and sixteen groschen , about four shillings . In many Lodges this St . John ' s gift is still customary . Grade oder Stuffen . Degrees . —Why are there degrees in Freemasonry ? The reason why this question is asked by the men of the world , is because they are men and not schoolboys who are initiated , and because the whole of the Order could be communicated to them at one time . But still there are degrees , or steps , and truly for this simple reason , as there
is no art or science which can be communicated at one time , so neither can Freemasonry ; and although they are men of mature age who are initiated , yet they require to be proved step by step . Freemasonry is a science which requires both time ancl experience , ancl more time than many Masons , especially government officers or tradesmen , can devote to it ; the onl y time they in fact can appropriate to this purpose being their hours of recreation . It is , therefore , good that it is communicated by degrees . Those degrees are communicated in the Lodge at the end of certain determined periods , or immediately after each other , according to the regulations of the Lodge , or the candidate ' s power of comprehension .
1 hose who are accepted commonly remain two years apprentice , and one year Fellow Craft . Wieland was initiated in his seventy-second year , and to have allowed such a man to wait three years before he received the Master ' s degree would have been unjust . There are three St . John ' s degrees , and in England no more are legalised , as is also the casein many German Lodges . But there are many so called higher degrees , which are wrought in some Lodges . In Germany they amount to seven , and in France to three-and-thirty . Many other Lodgesinstead of having
, higher degrees , have what they call degrees of knowledge ( Erkentnissstufen ) . Fon Grolman , Ludwig Adolph Christian . —Died Consistorial ancl Government Councillor at Giessen , the 25 th of December , 1809 . He wrought as W . M . ofthe St . John ' s Lodge , at the Three Golden Lions , in Giessen , also published anonymously a pamphlet in 1794 , with the title , " Final fate of the Order of Freemasonry . "
Grosse Logon oder Mutter Logen . Grand Lodges or Mother Lodges . —By the former title we do not understand a Lodge which has a great number of subscribing members , or which has a large Lodge room , but the Direction or Government of a Union formed of many native and foreign Lodges , and as such Directories or Governments found or warrant new Lodges , so are they also called Mother Lodges . In the place where there is a Mother Lodge , there must also be several St . John ' s Lodges , and a selection of their members form the Grand Lodge without their ceasing lo be members of the St . John ' s Lodges . It thus appears that the labours of a Mother or Grand Lodge must bo quite different from
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Lexicon.
THE FREEMASONS' LEXICON .
( Continued from pane 440 , vol . 111 ., N . S . ) Goldgulden Goldthaler oder Johanisopfer . Gold Guilder , Gold Dollar , or Ut . John ' s offerings . —Those offerings are a remnant of the Union of the Strict Observance , which had derived them from the times of the ancient Order of Knighthood , and each Brother was bound to make one of those offerings to the Lodge on St . John ' s day . They are generall
y valued at one dollar and sixteen groschen , about four shillings . In many Lodges this St . John ' s gift is still customary . Grade oder Stuffen . Degrees . —Why are there degrees in Freemasonry ? The reason why this question is asked by the men of the world , is because they are men and not schoolboys who are initiated , and because the whole of the Order could be communicated to them at one time . But still there are degrees , or steps , and truly for this simple reason , as there
is no art or science which can be communicated at one time , so neither can Freemasonry ; and although they are men of mature age who are initiated , yet they require to be proved step by step . Freemasonry is a science which requires both time ancl experience , ancl more time than many Masons , especially government officers or tradesmen , can devote to it ; the onl y time they in fact can appropriate to this purpose being their hours of recreation . It is , therefore , good that it is communicated by degrees . Those degrees are communicated in the Lodge at the end of certain determined periods , or immediately after each other , according to the regulations of the Lodge , or the candidate ' s power of comprehension .
1 hose who are accepted commonly remain two years apprentice , and one year Fellow Craft . Wieland was initiated in his seventy-second year , and to have allowed such a man to wait three years before he received the Master ' s degree would have been unjust . There are three St . John ' s degrees , and in England no more are legalised , as is also the casein many German Lodges . But there are many so called higher degrees , which are wrought in some Lodges . In Germany they amount to seven , and in France to three-and-thirty . Many other Lodgesinstead of having
, higher degrees , have what they call degrees of knowledge ( Erkentnissstufen ) . Fon Grolman , Ludwig Adolph Christian . —Died Consistorial ancl Government Councillor at Giessen , the 25 th of December , 1809 . He wrought as W . M . ofthe St . John ' s Lodge , at the Three Golden Lions , in Giessen , also published anonymously a pamphlet in 1794 , with the title , " Final fate of the Order of Freemasonry . "
Grosse Logon oder Mutter Logen . Grand Lodges or Mother Lodges . —By the former title we do not understand a Lodge which has a great number of subscribing members , or which has a large Lodge room , but the Direction or Government of a Union formed of many native and foreign Lodges , and as such Directories or Governments found or warrant new Lodges , so are they also called Mother Lodges . In the place where there is a Mother Lodge , there must also be several St . John ' s Lodges , and a selection of their members form the Grand Lodge without their ceasing lo be members of the St . John ' s Lodges . It thus appears that the labours of a Mother or Grand Lodge must bo quite different from