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Article THE REVELATIONS OF A SQUARE. ← Page 5 of 12 →
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The Revelations Of A Square.
extended its stately branches to every quarter of the globe . " There was no code of laws in existence at that period to regulate the internal economy of the Lodges except a few brief by-laws of their own , which , in fact , were little more than a dead letter , for the Brethren acted pretty much
as their own judgment dictated . Any number of Masons , not less than ten , that is , the Master , two Wardens , and seven Fellow Crafts , with the consent of the magistrate , were empowered to meet as Masons , and perform all its rites and ceremonies , with no other authority than the privilege which was inherent in themselveswhich had ever
, remained unquestioned . They assembled at their option , and opened their Lodges on the highest of hills or in the lowest of valleys , in commemoration of the same custom adopted by the early Christians , who held their private assemblies in similar places during the ten great persecutions which threatened to exterminate t . hem from the face
ofthe earth . " But as this privilege led to many irregularities , " continued my companion , " and was likely to afford a pretext for many unconstitutional practices , it was resolved that every Lodge to be hereafter convened , except the four old Lodges at this time existing , should be legally authorised
to act by a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being , granted to certain individuals by petition , with the consent and approbation of the Grand Lodge in communication ; and that without such warrant no Loclge should be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional . And a few years later Bro . Desaguliers proposed in Grand Lodge that
a code of laws should be drawn up for the better government of the Craft . Accordingly , at the annual assembly on St . John ' s day , 1721 , he produced thirty-eight regulations , which passed without a dissentient voice in the most numerous Grand Lodge which had yet been seen , conditionally , that every annual Grand Lodge shall have an
inherent power and authority to make new regulations or to alter these for the real benefit of this ancient Fraternity ; provided always that the old landmarks he carefully preserved , and that such alterations and new regulations be proposed and agreed to at the quarterly communication preceding the annual Grand Feast ; and that they be offered also to the perusal of all the Brethren before dinner , in writing , even ofthe youngest apprentice , the approbation and . consent
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Revelations Of A Square.
extended its stately branches to every quarter of the globe . " There was no code of laws in existence at that period to regulate the internal economy of the Lodges except a few brief by-laws of their own , which , in fact , were little more than a dead letter , for the Brethren acted pretty much
as their own judgment dictated . Any number of Masons , not less than ten , that is , the Master , two Wardens , and seven Fellow Crafts , with the consent of the magistrate , were empowered to meet as Masons , and perform all its rites and ceremonies , with no other authority than the privilege which was inherent in themselveswhich had ever
, remained unquestioned . They assembled at their option , and opened their Lodges on the highest of hills or in the lowest of valleys , in commemoration of the same custom adopted by the early Christians , who held their private assemblies in similar places during the ten great persecutions which threatened to exterminate t . hem from the face
ofthe earth . " But as this privilege led to many irregularities , " continued my companion , " and was likely to afford a pretext for many unconstitutional practices , it was resolved that every Lodge to be hereafter convened , except the four old Lodges at this time existing , should be legally authorised
to act by a warrant from the Grand Master for the time being , granted to certain individuals by petition , with the consent and approbation of the Grand Lodge in communication ; and that without such warrant no Loclge should be hereafter deemed regular or constitutional . And a few years later Bro . Desaguliers proposed in Grand Lodge that
a code of laws should be drawn up for the better government of the Craft . Accordingly , at the annual assembly on St . John ' s day , 1721 , he produced thirty-eight regulations , which passed without a dissentient voice in the most numerous Grand Lodge which had yet been seen , conditionally , that every annual Grand Lodge shall have an
inherent power and authority to make new regulations or to alter these for the real benefit of this ancient Fraternity ; provided always that the old landmarks he carefully preserved , and that such alterations and new regulations be proposed and agreed to at the quarterly communication preceding the annual Grand Feast ; and that they be offered also to the perusal of all the Brethren before dinner , in writing , even ofthe youngest apprentice , the approbation and . consent