-
Articles/Ads
Article AN ADDRESS ON THE SUBJECT OF FREEMASONRY, ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Address On The Subject Of Freemasonry,
we turn over the pages of the history of past ages , —when we learn not only the events which have occurred in this world , but the reasons which caused those events to occur , and the consequences they have produced upon mankind after they had occurred , —then it is certain that Christianity , the Crusades , the Discovery of the New World , the Reformation , and tbe Discovery of the Art of Printing , are the five principal events which have given an impulse to the dissemination of
Light in our western hemisphere . If , then , we admit that the order of Freemasonry was formed after the foundation of Christianity , it will not be difficult to trace its origin to one of those five principal events which have been the cause of the enlightening of tbe west . Without either admittin _ r or denvinst the oninion of some of our
learned and respected Brethren , that Freemasonry is a continuation of the celebrated Eleusinian , or other mysteries of the ancients , we believe rather , that if even this opinion is well founded , that the order , with respect to its present form , first appeared after the birth of Jesus Christ , while its spiritual essence may be tbe same as that which was honoured in the ancient mysteries . Christianity , the Crusades , the Discovery of the New Worldthe Reformationand the Discovery of the Art of
, , Printing , are then the springs from which the stream of Light and Truth have flowed . From which of those five springs have the founders of our order drawn ? Should we be able to answer this question with a degree of probability and certainty , then shall the Light spring from the darkness , and our Brethren will be able to judge whether or not the origin of our order is to be sought for and to be found there , —where we will endeavour to direct their attention .
Whole nations , aye , even whole continents have been disturbed and thrown into confusion by things of apparently little or no importance , and have thereby been induced to commit acts which have filled their successors with astonishment , and which have produced consequences of the greatest importance unto themselves . One woman brought the whole force of Greece in arms before , the walls of Troy . One monk brought the whole force of Europe before the walls of Jerusalem . Both
events , more especially the last , unto which I shall more particularly direct your attention , had the greatest influence upon the people . A small corner of Syria was the Golden Fleece , to obtain possession of which the Christian Argonauts were filled with ardour . This small spot of land , despicable in the eyes of the statesman , was holy in those of the ancient Christians , whose minds , in consequence of the moral condition of the Christians of the 11 th century , had lost nothing of that
holy reverence , and spiritual subjection to their religious teachers—the loss of which is so much lamented ( though probably with very little justice ) by many believers in the present day . Upon that spot of ground the Founder of the Christian religion was born , had lived , and , according to their belief , had died for the salvation of mankind;—with this holy spot their dearest reminiscences were united . Towards this holy place the eyes of the Israelites were turned as to the place where their fathers had lived in gloryand wherein
, , accordance with their belief , they had worshipped the only true God . Towards this holy place the Mahommedans drew the whole of their forces , it heing considered by them one of their principal religious duties to defend it . The professors of those principal religions strove zealously to visit Palestine , and this zeal was the occasion of the Crusades . Many Christians went on Pilgrimage to Palestine , and in the 11 th
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Address On The Subject Of Freemasonry,
we turn over the pages of the history of past ages , —when we learn not only the events which have occurred in this world , but the reasons which caused those events to occur , and the consequences they have produced upon mankind after they had occurred , —then it is certain that Christianity , the Crusades , the Discovery of the New World , the Reformation , and tbe Discovery of the Art of Printing , are the five principal events which have given an impulse to the dissemination of
Light in our western hemisphere . If , then , we admit that the order of Freemasonry was formed after the foundation of Christianity , it will not be difficult to trace its origin to one of those five principal events which have been the cause of the enlightening of tbe west . Without either admittin _ r or denvinst the oninion of some of our
learned and respected Brethren , that Freemasonry is a continuation of the celebrated Eleusinian , or other mysteries of the ancients , we believe rather , that if even this opinion is well founded , that the order , with respect to its present form , first appeared after the birth of Jesus Christ , while its spiritual essence may be tbe same as that which was honoured in the ancient mysteries . Christianity , the Crusades , the Discovery of the New Worldthe Reformationand the Discovery of the Art of
, , Printing , are then the springs from which the stream of Light and Truth have flowed . From which of those five springs have the founders of our order drawn ? Should we be able to answer this question with a degree of probability and certainty , then shall the Light spring from the darkness , and our Brethren will be able to judge whether or not the origin of our order is to be sought for and to be found there , —where we will endeavour to direct their attention .
Whole nations , aye , even whole continents have been disturbed and thrown into confusion by things of apparently little or no importance , and have thereby been induced to commit acts which have filled their successors with astonishment , and which have produced consequences of the greatest importance unto themselves . One woman brought the whole force of Greece in arms before , the walls of Troy . One monk brought the whole force of Europe before the walls of Jerusalem . Both
events , more especially the last , unto which I shall more particularly direct your attention , had the greatest influence upon the people . A small corner of Syria was the Golden Fleece , to obtain possession of which the Christian Argonauts were filled with ardour . This small spot of land , despicable in the eyes of the statesman , was holy in those of the ancient Christians , whose minds , in consequence of the moral condition of the Christians of the 11 th century , had lost nothing of that
holy reverence , and spiritual subjection to their religious teachers—the loss of which is so much lamented ( though probably with very little justice ) by many believers in the present day . Upon that spot of ground the Founder of the Christian religion was born , had lived , and , according to their belief , had died for the salvation of mankind;—with this holy spot their dearest reminiscences were united . Towards this holy place the eyes of the Israelites were turned as to the place where their fathers had lived in gloryand wherein
, , accordance with their belief , they had worshipped the only true God . Towards this holy place the Mahommedans drew the whole of their forces , it heing considered by them one of their principal religious duties to defend it . The professors of those principal religions strove zealously to visit Palestine , and this zeal was the occasion of the Crusades . Many Christians went on Pilgrimage to Palestine , and in the 11 th