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Article A CENTURY OF FREEMASONRY* ← Page 8 of 15 →
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A Century Of Freemasonry*
Loge Generale , * in its blindness , resolved on the 11 th of December , 1743 , to regard the Masons of the fourth degree , that is to say , the Scotch Masters , only as common apprentices and fellow-Craftsmen . " 5 . The management of the finance is neither according to rule nor precept . The income and expenditure are carried on without control , without any rendering of account ; the money passing , perhaps , through careless or unfaithful hands . What extravagancies , what robberies , may
then not result therefrom ? Hoiv many Masons are left in incompetence , in want , in consequence of the waste of the money destined for benevolent purposes ! How many of the profane fly from an institution , AA-hence , in case of need , they will get as little assistance as from the non-Masonic world ! These are the abuses whieh will soon draw down upon us tho contempt of the people and the interdict of the government , if we delay to make ourselves better . I lay them before ivith tearful e )* esand
you , leave it to your wisdom and your zeal to bring forward the remedies which are required , so that it may not be said , oue day to our shame , that by our neglect the most perfect institution for the human race , in the world , has fallen into disrepute and ruin ! " + So deeply had Masonic institutions fallen in France at this time , at any rate at Paris , that a neglectful Mason and careless
man , we are told , Avas soon proverbially spoken of as a " Paris Mason . " J O ! let me ask the great body of Masons in this present year of 1853 , may there not be much to correct , much to alter , even now uncier those heads which I have italicized in the preceding address , both in London and in other parts of the Masonic fraternities ? Wh y is reform delayed at any moment , reform which is so salutary , so simple , so healthful , so divine ?
Another work of this period has an important passage . § " It is thought that in order to bring the Boyal Art in Prance , back to a part of its eminence and credit , the entrance to it must be made more difficult , by diminishing the number of Lodges , and by giving the direction of those which are permitted to continue , only to such persons , who , besides the advantages of education , possess the best spiritual qualifications , and especially that of tried probity . A work of this importance is
undoubtedly reserved for the highest chief of the Preemasons . It is therefore necessary that the truly zealous members , and chiefly the officers of that which is called Grand Lod ge , should strive to the utmost with this prince , in order to obtain from him such a reformation , without which the Order of Preemasons would gradually fall into disgrace , and at the same time would for ever lose the esteem of the public and the protection of its Grand Master . " Here was , indeed ( as Kloss observes ) , a mi ghty task and difficult problem ! II
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Century Of Freemasonry*
Loge Generale , * in its blindness , resolved on the 11 th of December , 1743 , to regard the Masons of the fourth degree , that is to say , the Scotch Masters , only as common apprentices and fellow-Craftsmen . " 5 . The management of the finance is neither according to rule nor precept . The income and expenditure are carried on without control , without any rendering of account ; the money passing , perhaps , through careless or unfaithful hands . What extravagancies , what robberies , may
then not result therefrom ? Hoiv many Masons are left in incompetence , in want , in consequence of the waste of the money destined for benevolent purposes ! How many of the profane fly from an institution , AA-hence , in case of need , they will get as little assistance as from the non-Masonic world ! These are the abuses whieh will soon draw down upon us tho contempt of the people and the interdict of the government , if we delay to make ourselves better . I lay them before ivith tearful e )* esand
you , leave it to your wisdom and your zeal to bring forward the remedies which are required , so that it may not be said , oue day to our shame , that by our neglect the most perfect institution for the human race , in the world , has fallen into disrepute and ruin ! " + So deeply had Masonic institutions fallen in France at this time , at any rate at Paris , that a neglectful Mason and careless
man , we are told , Avas soon proverbially spoken of as a " Paris Mason . " J O ! let me ask the great body of Masons in this present year of 1853 , may there not be much to correct , much to alter , even now uncier those heads which I have italicized in the preceding address , both in London and in other parts of the Masonic fraternities ? Wh y is reform delayed at any moment , reform which is so salutary , so simple , so healthful , so divine ?
Another work of this period has an important passage . § " It is thought that in order to bring the Boyal Art in Prance , back to a part of its eminence and credit , the entrance to it must be made more difficult , by diminishing the number of Lodges , and by giving the direction of those which are permitted to continue , only to such persons , who , besides the advantages of education , possess the best spiritual qualifications , and especially that of tried probity . A work of this importance is
undoubtedly reserved for the highest chief of the Preemasons . It is therefore necessary that the truly zealous members , and chiefly the officers of that which is called Grand Lod ge , should strive to the utmost with this prince , in order to obtain from him such a reformation , without which the Order of Preemasons would gradually fall into disgrace , and at the same time would for ever lose the esteem of the public and the protection of its Grand Master . " Here was , indeed ( as Kloss observes ) , a mi ghty task and difficult problem ! II