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Article A CENTURY OF FREEMASONRY* ← Page 5 of 6 →
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A Century Of Freemasonry*
That the bishop should confirm the mode in AA'hich his minister acted , is a mere matter of course ; but it is , indeed , a great instance of the just desire of the Court to settle matters in so equitable and quiet a way . Impossible is it for me to do as I should rejoice to do , as a noble and interesting * labour , to folloAV out in detail CA'ery party movement , eveiy action , every motive , which appears to have influenced the men of that time . I must content mvself Avith
a few general observations on the condition of the Craft . The light that had been given in 1725 soon illumed the whole of France ; but , as Kloss very truly says : * " The unfortunate international political relations existing between England , the mother land , and France , the daughter , prevented that free intercourse and development that might have been expected . In later times , too , there seems to havo been some reason in the conduct of the
G . O . for those bitter ivords of Orleans , who , after twenty years of Masonic life , withdrew in 1793 , saying , ' I joined Freemasonry , which seemed to me a kind of equality , as I joined the Parliaments , which bore a semblance of Freedom . ' "
Still men joined the Order for its beauty ' s sake , overlooking the errors of the minority ; and , at the time of the Revolution , France contained nearly 400 1 Avorking Lodges . Kloss says ivell that " men of all classes came forward , and the Lodges in France rose to the number of 400 . " It would be very unworthy to impute this accession to the Masonic Order to
a vain curiosity , it is argued ; and within sixty years , Masonry , had it been what its enemies denominate it , —a puppet-show ancl a mockery , would have been discovered , ancl deservedly neglected . In these papers we have seen how , under the most adA'erse circumstances , and with the most powerful machinery in agitation against it , a vital institution established itself amongst a people , and fought its Avay onward for the enlightenment of the world .
Is it not a testimony for its vitalityand rapid progress , that betAveen the years 1779 ancl 1785 , the number of Lodges and Chapters Avorking under the supremacy of the Grancl Orient of France increased from 296 J to 598 ? § As Kloss says , the reason of the wide range which Masonry took throughout the world wasthat ( AVC will ive the passage
, g in his own animated words , as far as we may transfuse them from their original tongue)—" Her disciples were prepared in their hearts , when they presented themselves at her gates ; they bore in their bosoms the ideal of a social
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Century Of Freemasonry*
That the bishop should confirm the mode in AA'hich his minister acted , is a mere matter of course ; but it is , indeed , a great instance of the just desire of the Court to settle matters in so equitable and quiet a way . Impossible is it for me to do as I should rejoice to do , as a noble and interesting * labour , to folloAV out in detail CA'ery party movement , eveiy action , every motive , which appears to have influenced the men of that time . I must content mvself Avith
a few general observations on the condition of the Craft . The light that had been given in 1725 soon illumed the whole of France ; but , as Kloss very truly says : * " The unfortunate international political relations existing between England , the mother land , and France , the daughter , prevented that free intercourse and development that might have been expected . In later times , too , there seems to havo been some reason in the conduct of the
G . O . for those bitter ivords of Orleans , who , after twenty years of Masonic life , withdrew in 1793 , saying , ' I joined Freemasonry , which seemed to me a kind of equality , as I joined the Parliaments , which bore a semblance of Freedom . ' "
Still men joined the Order for its beauty ' s sake , overlooking the errors of the minority ; and , at the time of the Revolution , France contained nearly 400 1 Avorking Lodges . Kloss says ivell that " men of all classes came forward , and the Lodges in France rose to the number of 400 . " It would be very unworthy to impute this accession to the Masonic Order to
a vain curiosity , it is argued ; and within sixty years , Masonry , had it been what its enemies denominate it , —a puppet-show ancl a mockery , would have been discovered , ancl deservedly neglected . In these papers we have seen how , under the most adA'erse circumstances , and with the most powerful machinery in agitation against it , a vital institution established itself amongst a people , and fought its Avay onward for the enlightenment of the world .
Is it not a testimony for its vitalityand rapid progress , that betAveen the years 1779 ancl 1785 , the number of Lodges and Chapters Avorking under the supremacy of the Grancl Orient of France increased from 296 J to 598 ? § As Kloss says , the reason of the wide range which Masonry took throughout the world wasthat ( AVC will ive the passage
, g in his own animated words , as far as we may transfuse them from their original tongue)—" Her disciples were prepared in their hearts , when they presented themselves at her gates ; they bore in their bosoms the ideal of a social