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Article A CENTURY OF FREEMASONRY* ← Page 3 of 15 →
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A Century Of Freemasonry*
"Indeed , " Kloss continues , "however sliirlit the resemblance between the forms of this society ( concerning the existence and progress of ivhich there is nothing further preserved ) and the ceremonies of Preemasonry at that period , it cannot but be evident , either , that tho IOA'O of the French for the most high-sounding titles was already more general , or that ihe impulse given by these French JS ' oac / iites , soon re-acted upon Freemasonry [ iu France' ] , and in Germany gave rise to the Strict Observance and its
followers . Besides this , it 'may be remarked , that throughout the docuinenis of this anti-Masonic , purely liomish society , there cannot be found ihe least allusion to the legend introduced into Masonry by Bamsay since 1740 , concerning the origin of Masonry during the Crusades . " * We may here observe , that this is not the only one of the anti-Masonic societies used as a cat ' s paw by the governmental
and Romish authorities , but it has been instanced since its name is not to be found in the registers of Perau * j * and Thory , % AVIIO haA e , on their part , g iven considerable lists of such institutions . Everything appears at this time to have combined to try the firmness ancl temper of the French Masons , for just about this period ( 1740 ) the celebrated oration of Ramsay was held . Kloss
remarks upon this occasion , with honesty ancl pride , that" Through this speech , the straightforward Preemasonry of England , consisting of the three Degrees , was irremediably injured . It opened the way for the introduction into Preemasonry of the infinite series of so-called higher Degrees , from which , notwithstanding all the endeavours of true Masons , it has not up to this hour been freed ; on the contrary , the spirit of invention is ever at work in contriving new forms of high grades . " §
( llistoire Generate de la Franc Maconnerie , p . 141 ) , where ( under the year 1758 ) the adoption of these higher degrees by tire Grand Lodge of Scotland , is mentioned , a movement evidently induced by the ambition of the members , jealous of the Grand Lodge of England , an ambition in which they may be said to havo succeeded , since some of the higher grades are comprehended under the title of Scotch Masonry , a fact which vouches for their early adoption of the new degrees . In 1760 , we find another precedent for distorting Masonry , in the opening of the
Swedenborgian Lodge by the Benedictine Dom Pernefcti and the Pole Grabianca at Avignon , and in the same year the officers of the army of JBroglie introduced the higher degrees into the Lodges of Germany , " and , " says Heboid , " caused tire same disorders there that had been already caused by them in Prance " ( et y engendrent les inemes desordres qu'ils out deja produits en France ) , p . 142 . The degree Kosecroix was also founded about 1760 , at Strasburg , under the title of " Le Chevalier de l'Aigle Souverain de Rosecroix , " and it then was reckoned the eighteenth degree .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Century Of Freemasonry*
"Indeed , " Kloss continues , "however sliirlit the resemblance between the forms of this society ( concerning the existence and progress of ivhich there is nothing further preserved ) and the ceremonies of Preemasonry at that period , it cannot but be evident , either , that tho IOA'O of the French for the most high-sounding titles was already more general , or that ihe impulse given by these French JS ' oac / iites , soon re-acted upon Freemasonry [ iu France' ] , and in Germany gave rise to the Strict Observance and its
followers . Besides this , it 'may be remarked , that throughout the docuinenis of this anti-Masonic , purely liomish society , there cannot be found ihe least allusion to the legend introduced into Masonry by Bamsay since 1740 , concerning the origin of Masonry during the Crusades . " * We may here observe , that this is not the only one of the anti-Masonic societies used as a cat ' s paw by the governmental
and Romish authorities , but it has been instanced since its name is not to be found in the registers of Perau * j * and Thory , % AVIIO haA e , on their part , g iven considerable lists of such institutions . Everything appears at this time to have combined to try the firmness ancl temper of the French Masons , for just about this period ( 1740 ) the celebrated oration of Ramsay was held . Kloss
remarks upon this occasion , with honesty ancl pride , that" Through this speech , the straightforward Preemasonry of England , consisting of the three Degrees , was irremediably injured . It opened the way for the introduction into Preemasonry of the infinite series of so-called higher Degrees , from which , notwithstanding all the endeavours of true Masons , it has not up to this hour been freed ; on the contrary , the spirit of invention is ever at work in contriving new forms of high grades . " §
( llistoire Generate de la Franc Maconnerie , p . 141 ) , where ( under the year 1758 ) the adoption of these higher degrees by tire Grand Lodge of Scotland , is mentioned , a movement evidently induced by the ambition of the members , jealous of the Grand Lodge of England , an ambition in which they may be said to havo succeeded , since some of the higher grades are comprehended under the title of Scotch Masonry , a fact which vouches for their early adoption of the new degrees . In 1760 , we find another precedent for distorting Masonry , in the opening of the
Swedenborgian Lodge by the Benedictine Dom Pernefcti and the Pole Grabianca at Avignon , and in the same year the officers of the army of JBroglie introduced the higher degrees into the Lodges of Germany , " and , " says Heboid , " caused tire same disorders there that had been already caused by them in Prance " ( et y engendrent les inemes desordres qu'ils out deja produits en France ) , p . 142 . The degree Kosecroix was also founded about 1760 , at Strasburg , under the title of " Le Chevalier de l'Aigle Souverain de Rosecroix , " and it then was reckoned the eighteenth degree .