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Correspondence
and most properly so ; and yet they are slow and loth to recognise Christians at home ; as real Masons , they only tolerate them , and that toleration is sometimes even denied by the inveterate disciples of the old school , —men high in office , and from Avhose liberal education we were taught to look for better things , but with vs-hom , I fear , table Masonry and convivialitwere formerly more
commonlculy y tivated than the pure doctrines of this most holy rite . It mattered not then if a man could open and close a Loclge , could go through a ceremony Avithout missing a Avord ( and perhaps not understanding a Arord ) , and , after these solemnities , could be the boon companion of others like himself , this maiiAvas pronounced . a good working Mason ; but in our present enlihtened days such things cannot be permitted
g , and a Mason must be able to do something more than a mechanical discharge of his duty in Lodge and at table . I would ask those Brethren who say that the Christian Degrees are not universal , and do not extend to the relief of all who need it , good fellowship and brotherly love , where would they have found ( as a general rule ) a Jew give relief to one of another sect ? Charity , universal love ,
relief , and truth came into Masonry in full force witb Christianity , as any one , who reads the Gospels and Epistles of St . Paul , will find . in every page ; and as Christianity is , and is to be , the most widelydiffused religion , its effects , Masonic ancl otherwise , must be the most universal ¦ and , therefore , Christian Masonry must clo more good in the Avorld . than that confined alone to the narrow limits uncier the Jewish dispensation . The illiberality of those who condemn the Christian Degrees , also , is very striking , for , by the rules and constitutions of our Order , until admitted , tliey can know nothing of their object , their Avorking , or their qualities , either good or bad .
There are many who confound the pure Christian Degrees under the Thirty-third Avitli Knight Templarism ; this is now perfectly distinct , though , for some years , whilst the Supreme Grand Council was in abeyance , Encampments of Knights Templars gave the degree of Rose Croix . JSTow , all that is necessary to enable a candidate to receive the Eighteenth , or Rose Croix Degree , is being a Master Masonand of good repute . I can understandthat the mind Avhich
, , cannot grapple with the idea of the utility and necessity of the Christian Degrees , may confound them AA'ith Knights Templars ; but I trust the foregoing notice Avill . disabuse them of the idea , and . that hereafter they Avill comprehend that Knight Templarism is consentaneous with , but is not included in , the degrees of Christian Masonry . Knihts Templarsby mistakenly persecuting Christians
g , , endeavoured to force their religion at tbe point of tbe sword ; but the Rose Croix Degree breathes the peaceful doctrines of Jesus Christ , and is more suited to our refined age than the barbarous times of the Crusaders .
The Degree ot Knight Templar , as given in the present da } -, is a very interesting one , and also very useful if abroad , for in " many parts of tbe south of Europe it is kept up strictly , and a Brother Knight is welcomed and protected with true chivalric feeling . It is
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence
and most properly so ; and yet they are slow and loth to recognise Christians at home ; as real Masons , they only tolerate them , and that toleration is sometimes even denied by the inveterate disciples of the old school , —men high in office , and from Avhose liberal education we were taught to look for better things , but with vs-hom , I fear , table Masonry and convivialitwere formerly more
commonlculy y tivated than the pure doctrines of this most holy rite . It mattered not then if a man could open and close a Loclge , could go through a ceremony Avithout missing a Avord ( and perhaps not understanding a Arord ) , and , after these solemnities , could be the boon companion of others like himself , this maiiAvas pronounced . a good working Mason ; but in our present enlihtened days such things cannot be permitted
g , and a Mason must be able to do something more than a mechanical discharge of his duty in Lodge and at table . I would ask those Brethren who say that the Christian Degrees are not universal , and do not extend to the relief of all who need it , good fellowship and brotherly love , where would they have found ( as a general rule ) a Jew give relief to one of another sect ? Charity , universal love ,
relief , and truth came into Masonry in full force witb Christianity , as any one , who reads the Gospels and Epistles of St . Paul , will find . in every page ; and as Christianity is , and is to be , the most widelydiffused religion , its effects , Masonic ancl otherwise , must be the most universal ¦ and , therefore , Christian Masonry must clo more good in the Avorld . than that confined alone to the narrow limits uncier the Jewish dispensation . The illiberality of those who condemn the Christian Degrees , also , is very striking , for , by the rules and constitutions of our Order , until admitted , tliey can know nothing of their object , their Avorking , or their qualities , either good or bad .
There are many who confound the pure Christian Degrees under the Thirty-third Avitli Knight Templarism ; this is now perfectly distinct , though , for some years , whilst the Supreme Grand Council was in abeyance , Encampments of Knights Templars gave the degree of Rose Croix . JSTow , all that is necessary to enable a candidate to receive the Eighteenth , or Rose Croix Degree , is being a Master Masonand of good repute . I can understandthat the mind Avhich
, , cannot grapple with the idea of the utility and necessity of the Christian Degrees , may confound them AA'ith Knights Templars ; but I trust the foregoing notice Avill . disabuse them of the idea , and . that hereafter they Avill comprehend that Knight Templarism is consentaneous with , but is not included in , the degrees of Christian Masonry . Knihts Templarsby mistakenly persecuting Christians
g , , endeavoured to force their religion at tbe point of tbe sword ; but the Rose Croix Degree breathes the peaceful doctrines of Jesus Christ , and is more suited to our refined age than the barbarous times of the Crusaders .
The Degree ot Knight Templar , as given in the present da } -, is a very interesting one , and also very useful if abroad , for in " many parts of tbe south of Europe it is kept up strictly , and a Brother Knight is welcomed and protected with true chivalric feeling . It is