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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Papers On Masonry.
PAPERS ON MASONRY .
BY A LEWIS . XI—MASONRY AND SWEDENBORG . ' * For when for the time ye ought to be teachers , ye have need that one teach you attain which be the first principles of the oracle of God . "—Hebrews v . 12 . Since the initiation of II . R . II . the Prince of Wales in Sweden much curiosity has been expressed in many Masonic quarters as to the nature of the rite
according to which his admission took place , the numbers of degrees or steps not corresponding with those adopted in Johannite Masonry . It would appear that two , if not three , rites savouring of the high grades are worked in Sweden ; the first culminating in the Honorary Knighthood of
Charles XIII ., the second professing to be instituted according to the principles of that remarkable and enigmatical man Emanuel Swedenborg , and the third being an adaptation of the Illuminism of Avignon , with additions from the Rite of Swedenborg , known as the Rite of Zinnendorff .
The Swedish rite proper , as worked under the sanction of the Grand Lodge of Sweden , consists of twelve degrees , the fifth of which ennobles the possessor of it in a social and political sense . These degrees are respectively—1 , Apprentice ; _ , Fellow Craft ; 3 , Master ; 4 , Apprentice and Fellow Craft of St .
Andrew ; 5 , Master of . St . Andrew ; 6 , Brother Stuart ; 7 , Favourite Brother of Solomon ; 8 , Favourite Brother of St . John , or White Ribbon ; 9 , Favourite Brother of St . Andrew , or Violet Ribbon ; 10 , Member of the Chapter ; 11 , Dignitary of the Chapter ; and 12 , Reigning Grand Master . I
do not know whether any modifications have taken place in this arrangement , but perhaps the degree of Brother Stuart has been in some instances replaced by the Order of Charles XIII ., a distinction existing since 1811 . At any rate , this last was established in honour of Freemasonry . The manifesto constituting
the Order contains the following decree : — " To give this ( the Masonic ) Society a proof of our gracious sentiments towards it , we will and ordain , that its first dignitaries , to the number which we may determine , shall , in future , be decorated with the most intimate proof of our confidence , and which shall be for them
a distinctive mark of the highest dignity . " There are altogether twenty-seven knights , and the reigning sovereign of Sweden is the Perpetual Grand Master . It * is evidently rather an honourable distinction , like other sovereign orders , than a symbolical degree . Whether Swedenborg himself was ever a Mason , I
think , may be fairly answered in thc negative . Neither the brilliant and eloquent biography of Dr . Garth Wilkinson , the analytical work of Professor Bush , nor the exhaustive and intensely critical and searching memoir recently published by Mr . William White , lead us to any such conclusion . Whatever opinions may
be held as to the theological value of the singular series of hermeiieuticnl works of the Swedish philosopher , it is certain that they contain many things easil y applicable for the purposes of a ritual . But the absolute actual history of the establishment of the Rite of Swedenborg appears to be this . About thc year 1760 , at a time when Swedenborg was engaged in
publishing his Arcana Ctelestia ( the first volume of which appeared in 1749 ) and his other voluminous writings and tractates , a Benedictine monk , named Pernetti , together with a Polish nobleman , the Baron Gabrianca , established a rite called the Illuininati of Avignon , mingling in this rite the reveries of Boehme with those of the Swede . In 1783 this rite was reformed and
set up de novo by the Marquis de Thome , and from it arose what is now known as Swedcnborg ' s Rite . This rile had the six grades of Apprentice , Fellow Craft , Master Thcosophite , Illuminated Theosophite , Blue Brother , and Rod Brother . It is said to be still practiced in some Swedish lodges .
The Rite of Zinncndorff was a further adaptation of the philosopy and thcosophy of Swedenborg . Count Zinncndorfl ' , its founder , was principal physician to the Emperor CharlesVI . This system is divided into seven degrees , and these into three sections , the first of which comprises Johannite or Blue Masonry , the second Red
Masonry , with thc ( 4 ) Scotch Apprentice and Fellow Craft , and the ( 5 ) Scotch Master ; the third , denominated Capitular Masonry , consists af the ( 6 ) Favorite of St . John , and ( 7 ) Elected Brother . It may appear a paradox to say that Swedenborg , with all his mysticism , was anything but a mystic , but
such was truly the case . That his works contain veiled allusions , even in the theosophical portions , to secrets in nature which his early philosophical career had opened to him , there can be little doubt to any one carefully reading his works . And that he was fully aware of tho existence of the institution of Freemasonry cannot also be doubted . Before , however .
proceeding ^ to prove this b y quoting a remarkable vision , I wish to cite here a singular narrative to be found in Niccphorus Callistus ( Book x . e . 133 ) , in reference to the discovery of a portion of the Ancient Word under the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem . At the time , he says , when the foundation was laid , ono of thc stones to which the lowest part of the foundation was attached was removed from its place ,
Papers On Masonry.
and discovered the mouth of a cavern which had been hollowed out of the rock . Now , since the workmen could not sec to the bottom on account of its depth , the overseers of tho work , wishing to be perfectly acquainted with the place , let down one of their number by means of a long rope into the cavern .
When he came to the bottom he found himself in water as high as his ancles , and examining every part of the cavern , he found it to be square , so far as he could ascertain by feeling . On searching near the cavern ' s mouth he discovered a short pillar , very little higher than the water , and having p laced his hand upon it he found lying there a book , carefully folded
up in linen . This book he put up m his vest , and was drawn up by the rope to his companions . On producing the book the company were astonished to find it perfectly fresh and clean , although it had probably lain in the vault for many ages . But on opening it , not only the Jews present but the Greeks also , were amazed at finding it to begin with— " In the beginning was the Word , " & c .
I give the story just as it is reported . It is evidently a distortion of some legend , as no Greeks were present at the foundation of either the first or second temple , unless under Greeks we are to understand Javanim or lonians , i . e ., Tyrians or Phoenicians . Some authors , indeed , argue—as does the writer whence I extract the
legend , " Book of God , " London , without date or author ' s name )—that this was the primeval Apocalypse , and that the gospel of St . John quoted that document , now known as the Revelations . Be that as it may , the legend is well worthy of preservation . To return , however , to the Swedish seer . Whether
he trul y believed himself to have witnessed the followscene , I know not . To my own mind it would rather appear that ho wished to allude to what he conceived in his mind ' s eye to be the interior ceremonies of a Masonic lodge , and certainly the statement is both curious and striking . That he was constantly in the
habit of alluding to the affairs passing in the world around him , numberless passages show , and this might have been one method of veiling his opinions . " In departing from this place , " he says , " I found myself with spirits and angels who had passed their mortal life in Great Tartar ;/ . They informed me they
had from all antiquity possessed a Divine Word , which regulated their worship , and which was entirely by correspondences [ i . e ., symbols ] . These people , who worshipped Ieue , or Jehovah , only—some as an invisible God , and some as an invisible Power—dwelt in the spiritual world , npon a plain very much elevated ,
in the southren regions bordering upon the eastern . They allow no Christian to be among them ; but if any one enter their territories , they retain him , and never suffer him to depart again . They live separate , because they possess another Word or Scripture . Some angels then told me that Moses took from the
sacred Book of these people the first chapter of Genesis , which treats of the creation of the garden of Eden , & c . While meditating upon the Dragon , the Beast , and the False Prophet , of which the Revelations speak , an angel appeared to me and said , ' Come , I will show you into a place where you shall see those that the
Word denotes by the false prophets , and by the Beast issuing out of the earth with two horns like a lamb , and speaking as a dragon . ' I followed him , and saw a great body of people , in the midst of which were prelates who taught that faith alone in the merits of Jesus Christ was sufficient to salvation ; thnt in order
to govern the simple , it was necessary to preach good works , though they were not necessary to salvation . One of these prelates invited me to cuter his temple , that I might see an image which represented his faith and that of his adherents . I accordingly entered the temple , which was magnificent , and in the midst of
which a woman was represented clothed in purple , holding in her right hand a golden crown piece , and in her left a chain of pearls . The statue and the representation were only fantastic representations ; for these infernal spirits , by closing the interior degree and opening the exterior only , are able at the pleasure of
their imagination to represent magnificent objects . Perceiving that they were illusions , I prayed to tho Lord . Immediately the interior of my spirit was opened , and I saw , instead of the superb temple , a tottering house , open to the weather from the top to the bottom . In the place of the woman-statue , an
image was suspended having tho head of a dragon , thc body of a leopard , thc feet of a bear , and the mouth of a lion—in short , it was tho Beast rising out of the sea , as described in the Apocalypse xiii . 2 . In the place of a park there was a marsh full of frogs , and I was informed that under this marsh there was a great
IIKWN STONE , beneath which the WORD was entirel y hidden . Afterwards I said to the prelate , who was the fabricator of these illusions , 'Is that your temple ?' Yes , ' replied he , ' it is . ' Immediatel y his interior si ght was opened , like mine , and he saw what I did . ' How now , what do I see ? ' cried he . I told him that it wns
the effect of the celestial light , which discovers thc interior quality of everything , and which taught him at that very moment , what faith separated from good works was . While I was speaking , a wind blowing from the cast destroyed the temple and the image , dried up the marsh , and discovered the stone under
Papers On Masonry.
ivhich the Sacred Word teas concealed . A genial warmth , like that of the spring , descended from heaven ; and in the place of the temple we saw a tent , the exterior of which was very plain . I looked into the interior of it , and there I saw thc foundation stone beneath which the Sacred Word ivas concealed ,
ornamented with precious stones , the splendour of which diffusing itself over the walls of the tempie diversified the colours of the paintings , which represented cherubims . The angels perceiving me to be filled with admiration , told me that I should see still greater wonders than these . They were then permitted
toopen the Witrd heaven , inhabited by the celestial angels who dwell in love . All on a sudden the splendour of a light of fire caused the temple to disappear , and left nothing to be seen but the Lord himself , standing upon the foundation stone—the Lord , who was the Word , such as he showed Himself . ( Apocal . i . 13-16 . )
Holiness immediately filled all the interior of the spirit of the angels , upon which they made an effort to prostrate themselves , but the Lord shut the passage to the light from the third heaven , opening the passage to the light of the second , which caused the temple to reappear with the tent in the midst . "
The latter portion of this remarkable vision is ,, perhaps , the most interesting to Freemasons . I need hardly say why . The chorus of frogs reminds one of the frogs in the comedy of Aristophanes , and so points to the "ancient mysteries . " At the same time it must be remarked that some have applied the sense of this
vision purely to that section of Christians who exalt faith above works ; in which case it would not apply to the sons of candour and the brotherhood of charity . But that partially there aro points of contact between this vision and the legend reported by Niccphorus cannot be denied .
No doubt , passages of this kind led ritual-makers of the last century to use much of Swedcnborg ' s machinery , and , by ingenious dovetailing , produce something coherent , although of a character not suited to original traditions . I give them for what they may be worth . CRYPTONYMUS .
P . S . —As to " Allegorical Sculptures in Mediaeval Churches , " Bro . " Leo , " I am pleased to see , is a persistent critic . He will not let me have it all my own way But , surely , his position is not very tenable , for now he has shifted his ground of attack , basing it , in his return to the assault , upon the practices of the Romish
priests in the time of Luther . His very anecdote proves the necessity of Luther ' s protest which ended in the Reformation . It is very natural , that a monk brought up in the sombre and simple North should gaze with amazement and sorrow at the pedantic and idolatrous South , where the primeval Spirit had fallen
before the Letter . To keep faith to the eye and lip , and break faith to the heart , marks an era in every institution becoming untrue to itself and its hi gher signification . But Bro . "Leo'' cannot but see that the actions of prelates in the sixteenth century cannot explain the causes of certain carving completed in thc
thirteenth and fourteenth . There is another view which might be advanced with some show of reason . The ludicrous carvings might have been intended as solemn reproofs in stone to vice , in some cases ; or as evidences of the heretical notions of fanatics , in others . A third way of accounting for them would be to ascribe their
origin to the confused conceptions current in those days of classic symbolism which , as the works of demons , the builders of churches perpetuated in contrast to the new and growing Christian faith . But the Romish Church , difiering widely from the primitive and pure Church , the centre of which was the British
Islands , loved to adopt into its body corporate , all of Paganism that might render tho transition from Pol ytheism more easy , in this following the ancient policy of the Roman people of tho republic and the empire . Referring to Bro . "Leo ' s" anecdote , it might be worth while to discover the time of year in which such a
circumstance took place , as in that case there is another explanation of it . The semi-paganized Popes would wink , with their infallibility , at heresy in high p laces , when combined with wit . For many other reasons ,, however , I retainjiiy previously expressed opinions , ns otherwise I can seo little reason to be alleged for tho continued hostility of the Romish Church , either
in very remote times , through the butchery of Molay , to the anathema of Pius IX . ( himself said to have been made a Freemason in Switzerland ) hurled at the Fraternity in 1865 , with a mild pendant in the form of Cardinal Cullen ' s letter in 1869 . I would rather say , in termination of this long note , Fiat Lux in pcrpetuis ! C .
Dunisa the Derby and Ascot Races , the police arrangements were admirably carried out by tha Chief Superintendent , Bro . Mott , assisted by Bros . Grant , Graham , Fife , Robarts , Trycson , & c . Bro-Mott , previous to his leaving the Islington district ,
was presented by the inhabitants with an elegant and substantial testimonial , iu testimony of the great esteem he was held iu ; and it was stated that a more worthy successor to the late Superintendent Walker ( who had filled tl at post for 25 years ) could not have been selected .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Papers On Masonry.
PAPERS ON MASONRY .
BY A LEWIS . XI—MASONRY AND SWEDENBORG . ' * For when for the time ye ought to be teachers , ye have need that one teach you attain which be the first principles of the oracle of God . "—Hebrews v . 12 . Since the initiation of II . R . II . the Prince of Wales in Sweden much curiosity has been expressed in many Masonic quarters as to the nature of the rite
according to which his admission took place , the numbers of degrees or steps not corresponding with those adopted in Johannite Masonry . It would appear that two , if not three , rites savouring of the high grades are worked in Sweden ; the first culminating in the Honorary Knighthood of
Charles XIII ., the second professing to be instituted according to the principles of that remarkable and enigmatical man Emanuel Swedenborg , and the third being an adaptation of the Illuminism of Avignon , with additions from the Rite of Swedenborg , known as the Rite of Zinnendorff .
The Swedish rite proper , as worked under the sanction of the Grand Lodge of Sweden , consists of twelve degrees , the fifth of which ennobles the possessor of it in a social and political sense . These degrees are respectively—1 , Apprentice ; _ , Fellow Craft ; 3 , Master ; 4 , Apprentice and Fellow Craft of St .
Andrew ; 5 , Master of . St . Andrew ; 6 , Brother Stuart ; 7 , Favourite Brother of Solomon ; 8 , Favourite Brother of St . John , or White Ribbon ; 9 , Favourite Brother of St . Andrew , or Violet Ribbon ; 10 , Member of the Chapter ; 11 , Dignitary of the Chapter ; and 12 , Reigning Grand Master . I
do not know whether any modifications have taken place in this arrangement , but perhaps the degree of Brother Stuart has been in some instances replaced by the Order of Charles XIII ., a distinction existing since 1811 . At any rate , this last was established in honour of Freemasonry . The manifesto constituting
the Order contains the following decree : — " To give this ( the Masonic ) Society a proof of our gracious sentiments towards it , we will and ordain , that its first dignitaries , to the number which we may determine , shall , in future , be decorated with the most intimate proof of our confidence , and which shall be for them
a distinctive mark of the highest dignity . " There are altogether twenty-seven knights , and the reigning sovereign of Sweden is the Perpetual Grand Master . It * is evidently rather an honourable distinction , like other sovereign orders , than a symbolical degree . Whether Swedenborg himself was ever a Mason , I
think , may be fairly answered in thc negative . Neither the brilliant and eloquent biography of Dr . Garth Wilkinson , the analytical work of Professor Bush , nor the exhaustive and intensely critical and searching memoir recently published by Mr . William White , lead us to any such conclusion . Whatever opinions may
be held as to the theological value of the singular series of hermeiieuticnl works of the Swedish philosopher , it is certain that they contain many things easil y applicable for the purposes of a ritual . But the absolute actual history of the establishment of the Rite of Swedenborg appears to be this . About thc year 1760 , at a time when Swedenborg was engaged in
publishing his Arcana Ctelestia ( the first volume of which appeared in 1749 ) and his other voluminous writings and tractates , a Benedictine monk , named Pernetti , together with a Polish nobleman , the Baron Gabrianca , established a rite called the Illuininati of Avignon , mingling in this rite the reveries of Boehme with those of the Swede . In 1783 this rite was reformed and
set up de novo by the Marquis de Thome , and from it arose what is now known as Swedcnborg ' s Rite . This rile had the six grades of Apprentice , Fellow Craft , Master Thcosophite , Illuminated Theosophite , Blue Brother , and Rod Brother . It is said to be still practiced in some Swedish lodges .
The Rite of Zinncndorff was a further adaptation of the philosopy and thcosophy of Swedenborg . Count Zinncndorfl ' , its founder , was principal physician to the Emperor CharlesVI . This system is divided into seven degrees , and these into three sections , the first of which comprises Johannite or Blue Masonry , the second Red
Masonry , with thc ( 4 ) Scotch Apprentice and Fellow Craft , and the ( 5 ) Scotch Master ; the third , denominated Capitular Masonry , consists af the ( 6 ) Favorite of St . John , and ( 7 ) Elected Brother . It may appear a paradox to say that Swedenborg , with all his mysticism , was anything but a mystic , but
such was truly the case . That his works contain veiled allusions , even in the theosophical portions , to secrets in nature which his early philosophical career had opened to him , there can be little doubt to any one carefully reading his works . And that he was fully aware of tho existence of the institution of Freemasonry cannot also be doubted . Before , however .
proceeding ^ to prove this b y quoting a remarkable vision , I wish to cite here a singular narrative to be found in Niccphorus Callistus ( Book x . e . 133 ) , in reference to the discovery of a portion of the Ancient Word under the foundations of the Temple of Jerusalem . At the time , he says , when the foundation was laid , ono of thc stones to which the lowest part of the foundation was attached was removed from its place ,
Papers On Masonry.
and discovered the mouth of a cavern which had been hollowed out of the rock . Now , since the workmen could not sec to the bottom on account of its depth , the overseers of tho work , wishing to be perfectly acquainted with the place , let down one of their number by means of a long rope into the cavern .
When he came to the bottom he found himself in water as high as his ancles , and examining every part of the cavern , he found it to be square , so far as he could ascertain by feeling . On searching near the cavern ' s mouth he discovered a short pillar , very little higher than the water , and having p laced his hand upon it he found lying there a book , carefully folded
up in linen . This book he put up m his vest , and was drawn up by the rope to his companions . On producing the book the company were astonished to find it perfectly fresh and clean , although it had probably lain in the vault for many ages . But on opening it , not only the Jews present but the Greeks also , were amazed at finding it to begin with— " In the beginning was the Word , " & c .
I give the story just as it is reported . It is evidently a distortion of some legend , as no Greeks were present at the foundation of either the first or second temple , unless under Greeks we are to understand Javanim or lonians , i . e ., Tyrians or Phoenicians . Some authors , indeed , argue—as does the writer whence I extract the
legend , " Book of God , " London , without date or author ' s name )—that this was the primeval Apocalypse , and that the gospel of St . John quoted that document , now known as the Revelations . Be that as it may , the legend is well worthy of preservation . To return , however , to the Swedish seer . Whether
he trul y believed himself to have witnessed the followscene , I know not . To my own mind it would rather appear that ho wished to allude to what he conceived in his mind ' s eye to be the interior ceremonies of a Masonic lodge , and certainly the statement is both curious and striking . That he was constantly in the
habit of alluding to the affairs passing in the world around him , numberless passages show , and this might have been one method of veiling his opinions . " In departing from this place , " he says , " I found myself with spirits and angels who had passed their mortal life in Great Tartar ;/ . They informed me they
had from all antiquity possessed a Divine Word , which regulated their worship , and which was entirely by correspondences [ i . e ., symbols ] . These people , who worshipped Ieue , or Jehovah , only—some as an invisible God , and some as an invisible Power—dwelt in the spiritual world , npon a plain very much elevated ,
in the southren regions bordering upon the eastern . They allow no Christian to be among them ; but if any one enter their territories , they retain him , and never suffer him to depart again . They live separate , because they possess another Word or Scripture . Some angels then told me that Moses took from the
sacred Book of these people the first chapter of Genesis , which treats of the creation of the garden of Eden , & c . While meditating upon the Dragon , the Beast , and the False Prophet , of which the Revelations speak , an angel appeared to me and said , ' Come , I will show you into a place where you shall see those that the
Word denotes by the false prophets , and by the Beast issuing out of the earth with two horns like a lamb , and speaking as a dragon . ' I followed him , and saw a great body of people , in the midst of which were prelates who taught that faith alone in the merits of Jesus Christ was sufficient to salvation ; thnt in order
to govern the simple , it was necessary to preach good works , though they were not necessary to salvation . One of these prelates invited me to cuter his temple , that I might see an image which represented his faith and that of his adherents . I accordingly entered the temple , which was magnificent , and in the midst of
which a woman was represented clothed in purple , holding in her right hand a golden crown piece , and in her left a chain of pearls . The statue and the representation were only fantastic representations ; for these infernal spirits , by closing the interior degree and opening the exterior only , are able at the pleasure of
their imagination to represent magnificent objects . Perceiving that they were illusions , I prayed to tho Lord . Immediately the interior of my spirit was opened , and I saw , instead of the superb temple , a tottering house , open to the weather from the top to the bottom . In the place of the woman-statue , an
image was suspended having tho head of a dragon , thc body of a leopard , thc feet of a bear , and the mouth of a lion—in short , it was tho Beast rising out of the sea , as described in the Apocalypse xiii . 2 . In the place of a park there was a marsh full of frogs , and I was informed that under this marsh there was a great
IIKWN STONE , beneath which the WORD was entirel y hidden . Afterwards I said to the prelate , who was the fabricator of these illusions , 'Is that your temple ?' Yes , ' replied he , ' it is . ' Immediatel y his interior si ght was opened , like mine , and he saw what I did . ' How now , what do I see ? ' cried he . I told him that it wns
the effect of the celestial light , which discovers thc interior quality of everything , and which taught him at that very moment , what faith separated from good works was . While I was speaking , a wind blowing from the cast destroyed the temple and the image , dried up the marsh , and discovered the stone under
Papers On Masonry.
ivhich the Sacred Word teas concealed . A genial warmth , like that of the spring , descended from heaven ; and in the place of the temple we saw a tent , the exterior of which was very plain . I looked into the interior of it , and there I saw thc foundation stone beneath which the Sacred Word ivas concealed ,
ornamented with precious stones , the splendour of which diffusing itself over the walls of the tempie diversified the colours of the paintings , which represented cherubims . The angels perceiving me to be filled with admiration , told me that I should see still greater wonders than these . They were then permitted
toopen the Witrd heaven , inhabited by the celestial angels who dwell in love . All on a sudden the splendour of a light of fire caused the temple to disappear , and left nothing to be seen but the Lord himself , standing upon the foundation stone—the Lord , who was the Word , such as he showed Himself . ( Apocal . i . 13-16 . )
Holiness immediately filled all the interior of the spirit of the angels , upon which they made an effort to prostrate themselves , but the Lord shut the passage to the light from the third heaven , opening the passage to the light of the second , which caused the temple to reappear with the tent in the midst . "
The latter portion of this remarkable vision is ,, perhaps , the most interesting to Freemasons . I need hardly say why . The chorus of frogs reminds one of the frogs in the comedy of Aristophanes , and so points to the "ancient mysteries . " At the same time it must be remarked that some have applied the sense of this
vision purely to that section of Christians who exalt faith above works ; in which case it would not apply to the sons of candour and the brotherhood of charity . But that partially there aro points of contact between this vision and the legend reported by Niccphorus cannot be denied .
No doubt , passages of this kind led ritual-makers of the last century to use much of Swedcnborg ' s machinery , and , by ingenious dovetailing , produce something coherent , although of a character not suited to original traditions . I give them for what they may be worth . CRYPTONYMUS .
P . S . —As to " Allegorical Sculptures in Mediaeval Churches , " Bro . " Leo , " I am pleased to see , is a persistent critic . He will not let me have it all my own way But , surely , his position is not very tenable , for now he has shifted his ground of attack , basing it , in his return to the assault , upon the practices of the Romish
priests in the time of Luther . His very anecdote proves the necessity of Luther ' s protest which ended in the Reformation . It is very natural , that a monk brought up in the sombre and simple North should gaze with amazement and sorrow at the pedantic and idolatrous South , where the primeval Spirit had fallen
before the Letter . To keep faith to the eye and lip , and break faith to the heart , marks an era in every institution becoming untrue to itself and its hi gher signification . But Bro . "Leo'' cannot but see that the actions of prelates in the sixteenth century cannot explain the causes of certain carving completed in thc
thirteenth and fourteenth . There is another view which might be advanced with some show of reason . The ludicrous carvings might have been intended as solemn reproofs in stone to vice , in some cases ; or as evidences of the heretical notions of fanatics , in others . A third way of accounting for them would be to ascribe their
origin to the confused conceptions current in those days of classic symbolism which , as the works of demons , the builders of churches perpetuated in contrast to the new and growing Christian faith . But the Romish Church , difiering widely from the primitive and pure Church , the centre of which was the British
Islands , loved to adopt into its body corporate , all of Paganism that might render tho transition from Pol ytheism more easy , in this following the ancient policy of the Roman people of tho republic and the empire . Referring to Bro . "Leo ' s" anecdote , it might be worth while to discover the time of year in which such a
circumstance took place , as in that case there is another explanation of it . The semi-paganized Popes would wink , with their infallibility , at heresy in high p laces , when combined with wit . For many other reasons ,, however , I retainjiiy previously expressed opinions , ns otherwise I can seo little reason to be alleged for tho continued hostility of the Romish Church , either
in very remote times , through the butchery of Molay , to the anathema of Pius IX . ( himself said to have been made a Freemason in Switzerland ) hurled at the Fraternity in 1865 , with a mild pendant in the form of Cardinal Cullen ' s letter in 1869 . I would rather say , in termination of this long note , Fiat Lux in pcrpetuis ! C .
Dunisa the Derby and Ascot Races , the police arrangements were admirably carried out by tha Chief Superintendent , Bro . Mott , assisted by Bros . Grant , Graham , Fife , Robarts , Trycson , & c . Bro-Mott , previous to his leaving the Islington district ,
was presented by the inhabitants with an elegant and substantial testimonial , iu testimony of the great esteem he was held iu ; and it was stated that a more worthy successor to the late Superintendent Walker ( who had filled tl at post for 25 years ) could not have been selected .