Ad00607

To A DA-ERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Half-a-million per annum , it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed o ( the influential and educated classes of society ; and as The Freemason is now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

Ar00600

NOTICE * The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now I or . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . A ol . I ., bound in cloth ... ... 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . Cd . Vol . Ill , ditto 13 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . Cd . United States of America . THE FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of the United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

¦ —* — BIRTH . GOSHEN . —On the 7 H 1 inst ., the wife of Bro . C . Gosden , of Masons' Hall , Masons ' -avenue , City , of a son .

DEATHS . ARCEDECKXE . —On the 31 st ultimo , Bro . Andrew Arcedecknc , of Glevcring I Iall , Suffolk , and Carlton Lodge , Marlhro' Hill , St . John ' s AVood , of St . Albau ' s Lod ge , 29 , P . G . Stewart ) , aged 49 . BI . ANDIN . —On the 15 th ult ., aged 37 years , Bro . John

Blandin , S . W . Royal Philanthropic Lodge , No . 405 , Port of Spain , Trinidad , leaving a widow and two young children to deplore their loss . PETTII-OR . —On the 2 Sth ult ., at Leicester , aged 51 years , Pro . William Pettifor , P . P . G . S . W . Leicestershire and Rutland .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

e—All communications for Tim FKKKMASON should be written leelhly on one side of the paper only , anil , if intended for insertion in the current number , nuist he received not Liter than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless iu very special cases . The name and address of every writer must he sent to us iu confidence .

R . M . —Wc regret being unable lo assist you , but it is not consonant wilh our ideas lo recommend particular professional men . VERIIUM SAP . —AVe cannot think of publishing anything from "Perry ' s List" respecting brother Masons , however unworthy .

"V . E ., " "A Lover of Fair Play , " "A Good Templar , " and others arc thanked for their communications respecting Sir P . Colquhoun ' s absurd notice , but really his abortive attempt to raise a Masonic storm in a teapot is so ridiculous , lhat we cannot allow it to be discussed as a serious matter .

A Aoi'NC . ROYAL AKCII . —AVe know of no such work . Comp . James Brett is the Preceptor of the Royal Arch Chapter of Improvement , at 1-Yeemasons' Hall , and under his tuition , if yuu could spate time to visit lhe metropolis , you would soon acquire the necessary proficiency in the lectures .

Ad00608

The Freemason , SATURDAY , JUNE 17 , 1 S 71 .

Ar00603

THK FKF . HMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . Thcpricc of THIS EJWKMARON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , jos . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c ., \ a lie addressed to the EDITOR 2 , 3 , and 4 , Little llritaiu , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention loal ! MSS . entrusted to him but cannot undertake lo return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Development Of Speculative Masonry.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECULATIVE MASONRY .

IT IS now generally conceded , even by the most enthusiastic members of the Craft

The Development Of Speculative Masonry.

that the speculative science of our day bears the same relation to the Freemasonry of old that the giant oak bears to the pigmy acorn . For , whether we consider it as a

lofty code of morality , or merely as a bond of union , most assuredly the symbolism of our Order has been the growth of time ; and it is even yet receiving , through the

sage researches of learned brethren , additional interpretations of wisdom , strength , and beauty . The germ of modern Masonry

Avas sown when men first gave proofs of that gregarious instinct which impelled them to build cities , and to dwell together in amicable and social communion .

Freemasonry and solitude are not akin—thepoet s sigh for " a lodge in the vast wilderdess " finds no response in the Masonic breast . The very word " brother " suggests

companionship , and is incompatible with the solitary gloom of the hermit . Freemasonry is , therefore , a twin with that human fellowship , of which it has since become the

purest and most practical exemplar . But even as the laws of society were imperfectly understood and upheld in those primitive ages , so were the coeval teachings of

Freemasonry equally crude and inoperative . Tlie dream of fraternity faded before the fierce glow of ambition and the lurid glare of war . Tradition , Avhich preserves the

memory of Tubal Cain as a mighty worker in metal , also places on melancholy record his grief for having fashioned the sword and spear as well as the implements of

husbandry . The samehandsthat built thehouse for protection erected the fortress for annoyance or defence ; and the lessons of order , and comfort , and happiness were forgotten

in the thirst for power and fame . As time rolled on the passion of conquest spread —heroes , so-called , arose whose glory rests upon the disastrous triumphs they achieved .

Blood flowed in torrents , and the will of one man—too frequently a tyrant—became the arbiter of life and death . But the work of Craft Masonry still went on , amid the

turmoil and strife ; obscured , but not destroyed . Nor can we doubt that tlie genius of architecture—revelling as it did in the creation of beautiful or stupendous

forms—aided to a superlative degree the progress , while it directed the course , of enlightenment and civilisation . Every temple was a landmark of thought and a

monument of reason . Intellect shone through every pillar and illuminated every dome . The perfection of such kingly Masonry became to all a hope and an

inspiration . Men gazed upon the structures they had reared , and exulted in the grandeur of the conception to which they had given such immortal shape and

substance . It is also evident that the peaceful labours of those ancient Craftsmen must have banded them together in enormous masses . The Pyramids alone attest

this fact , and the mighty ruins of ancient Greece and Rome speak eloquently of the vast Masonic confederations of old . AVhat do AVC infer from all this ? In the first place , that a common task begat a common

The Development Of Speculative Masonry.

sympathy , and that a common sympathy begat a common brotherhood . It may be said , and with great plausibility , that other classes of workmen Avere likewise called

together in great numbers ; but it must not be forgotten that the art of building Avas the centre upon Avhich nearly all other useful trades depended . Without

protection from the Aveather , the exquisite visions of the painter , and even the less delicate creations of the sculptor , must speedily have perished and decayed . Operative

Masonry supplies this want ; and as " Order is heaven ' s first law , and this confessed , it is , and must be , greater than the rest" of the handicrafts , however useful or

ornamental . In the second place , the tools or implements made use of by working Masons are far more susceptible of a hidden significance—an occult symbolism—than those

of any other art or trade . The square , level , and plumb-rule—their uses ? Taken , both in an operative and speculative sense , the relationship is perfect , and the

metaphorical connection complete . The pencil , the compasses , and , in other branches of Masonry , the mallet , the chisel , and the trowel , are apposite emblems of the highest

moral truths , and forcibly inculcate the fulfilment of every social and religious duty . In this manner Avas built up , day by day and year by year , the wondrous system

now called Freemasonry . Through the various stages of architecture—amidst its proudest triumphs , graven in stone as everlasting memorials of the will and power of

man—Ave can trace the operative leading to the speculative , the material to the immaterial and sublime . Not merely in the chef d ' evuvrcs of ancient art , in the arches of

the Colosseum or thehigh-domed temples of - Greece , but in the mediajval cathedralsthe modern palaces and pavilions which

gem many European lands . We have no need to look for a mysterious origin in the occult ceremonies of the Persian Magi or

Pagan Cabiri . The builder ' s science is ours , and if we no longer erect earthly temples , we are

taught by the symbolism of the royal art to raise a spiritual structure , strong in good works and fashioned after the model of a

perfect man . In short , we must realise the splendid imagery of our great Masonic poet , Bro . Augustine Duganne : " AVhen the pillars of strength in our porch shall

abide With the lilies of beauty above , And the vail of the Presence , encompassing

wide , Overshadow the Ark of our Love ; And the peace of the blessed Shckinah Enfold , like the wings of a dove !"

Vain disquisitions upon the antiquity ot the Craft are not to the purpose ; it is now , and has ever been , to some extent at

least , a school of morality and virtue . Let us profit by its lessons , and exemplify its real grandeur by deeds of charity and beneficence . The man who acts as a

Mason is the only true one , whether he be an Entered Apprentice or a Grand Master ; and this fact is daily impressed upon our minds by sorrowful experience . But the