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Article ANCIENT MASONS' MARKS. ← Page 6 of 9 →
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Ancient Masons' Marks.
design , and for ages the secret is unknown , the plan unfinished , until , in the dark north , light springs up ; it is carried from the north towards the centre , and thence radiates to the far vrest . The cross is now completed , the mystic 7 again re-united , and the star of Masonry , though here in brightest sunshine , there in darkest shade , still
exists to surround , as it were , with a chain of beauty , the fast rising nations of a western and a southern world . In bidding adieu to what we shall venture to call this part of the subject , we do so with no self-pleasing delusion , but with the conviction that what is written with an honest purpose , will , if right , endure ; and the earnest desire that what is
wrong may attract the notice of zealous and learned Brethren , able and willing to refute the error and give instruction on other important points . We shall now briefly advert to the analogy between the Order of St . John of Jerusalem and Freemasonry , about the era of the origin of the former ; glance at what evidence there is of architecture having been in a flourishing state in Malta
before the tenth century ; and proceed to give marks from buildings , chiefly fortifications . The accompanying sketch is copied from a work , styled " Malta lllustrata , " published at Valettain 1774 ; dedicated
, to the Grand Master of the Order of St . John . The members , I doubt not , of the higher Orders of Masonry will readily appreciate its deep symbolic import .
The analogy visible between the respective ceremonials of the Order of St . John and Freemasonry , although that of the former was not secret , need not be insisted on ; but the period at which the Hospitallers arose , about the middle of the eleventh century , the era of the Crusades , when the first rays of returning light were dawning upon Europe , when
the Syrian Fraternity were active and powerful—the especial object of the former body being to assist the sick and weary pilgrims who visited the Holy City , and brotherl y relief being one of the leading principles of the latter—would at least render the supposition of a connection probable . In the twelfth centurywhen the Order of St . John had become
, military , we find that the same monarch who introduced it into Scotland , David I . ( the sore saint for the crown ) , also " sent for some of those foreign architects , ( who were VOL . II . 3 M
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Masons' Marks.
design , and for ages the secret is unknown , the plan unfinished , until , in the dark north , light springs up ; it is carried from the north towards the centre , and thence radiates to the far vrest . The cross is now completed , the mystic 7 again re-united , and the star of Masonry , though here in brightest sunshine , there in darkest shade , still
exists to surround , as it were , with a chain of beauty , the fast rising nations of a western and a southern world . In bidding adieu to what we shall venture to call this part of the subject , we do so with no self-pleasing delusion , but with the conviction that what is written with an honest purpose , will , if right , endure ; and the earnest desire that what is
wrong may attract the notice of zealous and learned Brethren , able and willing to refute the error and give instruction on other important points . We shall now briefly advert to the analogy between the Order of St . John of Jerusalem and Freemasonry , about the era of the origin of the former ; glance at what evidence there is of architecture having been in a flourishing state in Malta
before the tenth century ; and proceed to give marks from buildings , chiefly fortifications . The accompanying sketch is copied from a work , styled " Malta lllustrata , " published at Valettain 1774 ; dedicated
, to the Grand Master of the Order of St . John . The members , I doubt not , of the higher Orders of Masonry will readily appreciate its deep symbolic import .
The analogy visible between the respective ceremonials of the Order of St . John and Freemasonry , although that of the former was not secret , need not be insisted on ; but the period at which the Hospitallers arose , about the middle of the eleventh century , the era of the Crusades , when the first rays of returning light were dawning upon Europe , when
the Syrian Fraternity were active and powerful—the especial object of the former body being to assist the sick and weary pilgrims who visited the Holy City , and brotherl y relief being one of the leading principles of the latter—would at least render the supposition of a connection probable . In the twelfth centurywhen the Order of St . John had become
, military , we find that the same monarch who introduced it into Scotland , David I . ( the sore saint for the crown ) , also " sent for some of those foreign architects , ( who were VOL . II . 3 M