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Article A CENTURY OF FREEMASONRY* ← Page 3 of 6 →
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A Century Of Freemasonry*
conduct the work of Grand Lodge ; they disliked sitting in the same place with them ; they regarded them as strangers , and were minded to expel them . The others considered then- privileges equal to those of the older members ; the act of union , by which an equal number of them ivere called to take office with the ancient members , Avas a rightful privilege , of which they coulcl not be deprived without causing new dissensions in the Order .
Without pausing to consider this subject at length , I shall content myself ivith recording the singular fact , that a proposition was seriously made by Grand Orator Bro . Gaillard , on the 2 nd of October , 1766 , to divide Grand Lodge into three committees or chambers ; the first of which Avas to preside over tlie three Symbolical Degrees ; the second , over one section of the
higher grades ; and the last over the highest . This proposition of course pre-supposed a fusion of Grand Lodge with the councils of the high grades . Ancl now we quit , without regret , the stormy history of Masonry at this time . Whether there may not have been , —as is the case in most matters upon this earth—more
misappre-, hension than misrepresentation among the various bodies of men then contending for the highest place , it is , at least , just and charitable to believe so . And , in conclusion , let it be recorded solemnly , that such attempts to re-arrange and reorganize that ivhich circumstances had confused , such attempts , — no matter what immediate ambition , if any , they were
intended to serve , —are to be looked upon now as of good , ancl not of evil , and as evincing the important fact , that man ' s mind lias ever been filled with a noble , high enthusiasm in favour of that which at the time appeared a thing the best , ancl greatest , and most beneficial to the Brothers who toil , rejoice , lii'e , and die upon this earth , and undergo SOITOAA ' , that their triumph may be greater . As a Masonic curiosity , I will translate the patent of a Lodge of this period : —
" In the Orient of Paris , on ihe third day of the fifth month of the Masonic Year 5767 . " We , regular Masters of the Grand Lodge of France , tho Brethren Le Lorrain , Le Couteux , L'Eveille , and Fanquet , have entered into tho house of Br . D'Hei'bonnez , standing in St . John ' s Churchyard , in order to establish and open there , under the legally adopted Master , B . Edmund Jullien Vallee , a Lodge , to be denominated ' The United Brethren of Wisdom , St . Edmund , and St . Louis . ' * As , after the opening of the Lodge , and the celebration of the customary and constitutional toasts , we have looked
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Century Of Freemasonry*
conduct the work of Grand Lodge ; they disliked sitting in the same place with them ; they regarded them as strangers , and were minded to expel them . The others considered then- privileges equal to those of the older members ; the act of union , by which an equal number of them ivere called to take office with the ancient members , Avas a rightful privilege , of which they coulcl not be deprived without causing new dissensions in the Order .
Without pausing to consider this subject at length , I shall content myself ivith recording the singular fact , that a proposition was seriously made by Grand Orator Bro . Gaillard , on the 2 nd of October , 1766 , to divide Grand Lodge into three committees or chambers ; the first of which Avas to preside over tlie three Symbolical Degrees ; the second , over one section of the
higher grades ; and the last over the highest . This proposition of course pre-supposed a fusion of Grand Lodge with the councils of the high grades . Ancl now we quit , without regret , the stormy history of Masonry at this time . Whether there may not have been , —as is the case in most matters upon this earth—more
misappre-, hension than misrepresentation among the various bodies of men then contending for the highest place , it is , at least , just and charitable to believe so . And , in conclusion , let it be recorded solemnly , that such attempts to re-arrange and reorganize that ivhich circumstances had confused , such attempts , — no matter what immediate ambition , if any , they were
intended to serve , —are to be looked upon now as of good , ancl not of evil , and as evincing the important fact , that man ' s mind lias ever been filled with a noble , high enthusiasm in favour of that which at the time appeared a thing the best , ancl greatest , and most beneficial to the Brothers who toil , rejoice , lii'e , and die upon this earth , and undergo SOITOAA ' , that their triumph may be greater . As a Masonic curiosity , I will translate the patent of a Lodge of this period : —
" In the Orient of Paris , on ihe third day of the fifth month of the Masonic Year 5767 . " We , regular Masters of the Grand Lodge of France , tho Brethren Le Lorrain , Le Couteux , L'Eveille , and Fanquet , have entered into tho house of Br . D'Hei'bonnez , standing in St . John ' s Churchyard , in order to establish and open there , under the legally adopted Master , B . Edmund Jullien Vallee , a Lodge , to be denominated ' The United Brethren of Wisdom , St . Edmund , and St . Louis . ' * As , after the opening of the Lodge , and the celebration of the customary and constitutional toasts , we have looked