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Article THE RITES OF MEMPHIS AND MIZRAIM. Page 1 of 1 Article CONSECRATION OF THE RICHMOND LODGE, No. 2032. Page 1 of 2 Article CONSECRATION OF THE RICHMOND LODGE, No. 2032. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Rites Of Memphis And Mizraim.
THE RITES OF MEMPHIS AND MIZRAIM .
We hear a good deal of these rites just now , and it seems well in the Freemason , which seeks to cater for all members of the Fraternity , to pass by no questions which fairly come before us , while it endeavours to impart useful information to all its readers as well as giving a careful and critical account of their actual history . One great difficulty supervenes here . Are these two rites or only one ? Bro . Kenneth Mackenzie says one
practically , the editor of " Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia " says two . The truth is , and thus the difficulty is solved , Memphis is an after-thought to Mizraim , or Misphraim , which was put together about 1805 at Milan by a Bro . Lechangeur . It seems to have been existent at Naples , Venice , and the Ionian Islands , according to Thory , about i 8 t I , and to have been introduced into France about iSi 4 by the Bros . Bedarride , Lechangeur , and Joly .
They seem to have taken the idea of the Strict Observance , of the " Supreme Unknown Directors , " and to have divided the grades into Symbolical , Philosophical , Mystical , Cabalistical , up to 87 , though in all 90 . The names of these grades seem to be gathered indifferently almost from numerous MS . and printed collections of grades , without much sense of coherence or order or uniformity . The claim to be an Egyptain Rite is , of course , pure
nonsense . According to " Hermes , " written by E . J . Marconis de Negrc , the Rite of Memphis was founded by an Egytian sage or priest of the name of Ormus , converted by St . Mark . Of him history is , however , silent . He is alleged to have purified the Egyptian mysteries by Christian teaching , and to have incorporated with his wisdom of the Temple , the Solomonic Cabala , and secret teaching of the Essenes and Therapeutae and other
Jewish sects . Until n 18 the disciples of Ormus who had formed a secret and mysterious association , remained the only depositaries of the Antient Egyptian Wisdom , added to by Solomonic learning and Christianity . ' 1 he Templars arc said to have learned this hidden wisdom , and as they were well-known in the east as the Knights of Palestine or Rose Croix ,
the Rite of Memphis recognizes them as its " immediate founders . " Such were the words of Marconis in 1 S 46 ; he apparently knew nothing of the more recent statements of the revival of the Order and its reproduction in France under Kebcr and Napoleon I . Marconis goes on to say that Gariond landed in 1150 with 24 of these disciples of Ormus in Sweden , and that these 24 Masons established Masonry in Europe .
After the death of Molay , the Scottish Templars formed themselves into a new Order , and thus two Rites were in existence at the end of the fifteenth century , namely , the Rite of Memphis and the Rite Ecossais . Marconis knew nothing certainl y of the story of Napoleon , & c , but seems to ignore any question of either its open existence or legal countenance . He says , indeed , that the Rite of Mizraim was invented about 1813 , and the Rite of
Memphis was of much higher antiquity , dating from Ormus . When Thory wrote in 1815 he seems to know nothing of the Rite of Memphis , and Ragon tells us that it was put together by the Bros . Marconis and Mouttet in Paris in 1 S 39 , and afterwards at Brussels . Marconis repeats in " L'Hierophante" substantially what had been said in ' * Hermes , "—that the knights of Palestine , or Brethren Rose Croix of the East , were its immediate
founders . This system was composed of 92 degrees . We can only remark as before , that there is no reality in this claim of Egyptian wisdom or origin , that the names of the grades arc arbitrary and meaningless in themselves , and though we understand the number has been reduced , after an assembly or revival in America , we give the account such as Marconis , the
founder , actually put forth . It will be seen then , we think , that the Rite of Mizraim dates from really about 1810 , and Memphis from 1839-40 . The alleged history of Marconis is , of course , pure fable , and if Ormus existed , or if his name be not appropriated from " Hormus" or " Ormuszd , " any such preservation of the " wisdom of the Temple " b y him is alike mythical , and , to speak openly , absolutely ridiculous .
Consecration Of The Richmond Lodge, No. 2032.
CONSECRATION OF THE RICHMOND LODGE , No . 2032 .
The Richmond Lodge , No . 2032 , was consecrated on Monday last , a large number of brethren assembling to take part in the proceedings , amongst those present were the following : Bros . T . Fenn , P . G . D ., acting W . M . ; Rohert Grey , P . G . D ., S . W . j VV . T . Howe , J . W . j Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , Chap . ; and Frank Richardson , D . of C . Founders : Bros . P . E . Blasby , C . J . Dieby , F . Reynolds , W . R . Phillips , E . Dare , J . P . Haughton ,
H . Sapsworth , J . Ireland , Chas . Morton , T . Callander , and E . J . Goodall . Visitors : Bros . J . Stedman , W . M . 1765 ; C . E . Tinney , S . W . 1319 ; J . Hodges , P . M . 170 G ; A . L . Fryer , 1624 j W . Goss , P . M . 17 S 0 J E . H . Sugg-, P . M . 452 , P . P . G . Org . Surrey ; R . H . Pearson , P . M . uoGi C . Sims , 861 ; O . L . Latreille , P . M . 1260 ; R . Mezzell , 890 ; W . E . Scantlebury , 975 ; S . Blasby , 7 S 0 ; R . Southey , T . Weaver , 8 S 9 ; G . T . Thomas , P . M . 1632 ; T . McDonald , 820 ; J . Hooke , P . M . 463 ; W . J . Braham , 1471 ; G . E . Young , 820 j C . Hubbard , 820 ; VV . H . Myers , P . M . 820 ; VV . VV . Morgan , W . M . 211 j
F . C . Moufiet , 1305 ; H . Davies , P . M . 865 ; G . T . Hickwood , 870 ; T . G . Smith , 194 ; VV . Helton , P . M . 780 ; H . Sadler , G . Tyler ; J . Lucas , F . D . Kennedy , P . P . G . D . ; T . Skewes-Cox , 8 ; J . Pearson , 1196 ; E , T . Smith , 1765 ; A . A . Richards , P . M . Grand Stewards Lodge ; C . J . Turner , P . M . 157 ; C . Phillips , P . M . 820 j F . Albert Crew , 1363 ; Chas . J . Wade , P . M . 180 ; Arthur Turner , 1818 ; VV . Clifford , 975 ; Banks , Tyler ; and \ V . Lake , P . P . G . Reg . Cornwall ( Freemason ) . In the unavoidable and regrettable absence of our esteemed Grand
Secretary through indisposition , Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . D ., officiated as consecrating officer , assisted b y Bros . Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . Chap ., as Chap . ; Robert Grey , P . G . D ., as S . W . ; Howe , P . G . P ., as J . W . ; and Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., as D . of C . Bro . Fenn , opened the proceedings with some forcible words and the following oration was then delivered by Bro . WOODFORD . It is my privilege once again , V . W . Consecrating Officer , to deliver the customary
oration on the " Nature and Principles of Freemasonry , " and it has struck me when putting together some thoughts and considerations suitable for the day ' s ceremonial that perhaps the most efficient way in which I could perform my allotted task to your satisfaction and the edification of my brethren would be to keep close to the lines marked out for us by the ceremonial ; words which serve to intimate what the oration should be , an address on the nature and principles of Freemasonry , as best calculated to remind us all of those truths we profess to believe , to keep us all in harmony with the ceremonial of to-day , and to encourage us in our loyal adherence to that great institution which has
outlived even Time ' s destroying hand , and under the goodly regime of our Royal Grand Master is today flourishing more markedly and happily than ever . It might , indeed , seem , at first sight , as if hardly anything was left for the orator to say on such an occasion as this , remembering as we do how many eloquent addresses we have listened to ; how we have often all been gratified and moved by the happy words of some genial speaker . But still keeping close , as I said before , to the " idea" of our own effective ceremonial , let us hope that we may manage yet to discover some topics and some teachings , both suitable and seasonable for us all alike who are assembled happily here to-day to add another lodge to the lengthening roll of lodges under the peaceful and prosperous Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England . What , then , first of all , is the nature of
Consecration Of The Richmond Lodge, No. 2032.
Freemasonry ? Now , we all know that when we talk of the nature of a thing , or of a society like this , vie mean its inherent qualities , its essential conditions , which give to it marked characteristics or special attributes , which , in fact , distinguish it from other like institutions , and constitute alike its " raison d'etre , " its utility , its need , and its value for ourselves and the world in which we live . When we come then to regard Freemasonry , ( though it is of English Freemasonry alone I am speaking of to-day ) , in the abstract , calmly and scrutinizingly , both in what it professes to be and what it really is , we note at once three great features which seem to express felicitiously its nature , meaning , and obiect . The first of these is its universality , the second is its neutrality , and
the third is its religious reverence . Freemasonry is in its very constitution cosmopolitan and oecumenical . Wherever men do congregate on this wide earth of ours , there is , there can be , there well may be—Freemasonry . By its actual idea , by its universal scope , it can enclose within its ample fold men of every country , sect , and opinion , and can conciliate firm friendships amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance . It seems equally to be found amid nations civilized and savage , and thus it comes to pass , that explain the fact as you may , Freemasonry is dicoverable
amid all countries at the present hour , and sometimes indigenous , sometimes evidently imported , it is yet existent and flourishing amid different and differing conditions of government , race , tongue , and colour . It has been said that this very universality constitutes a danger to society . We , on the contrary , Sir , think and hold , that this universal spread of Freemasonry may be esteemed its peculiarity , its utility , and its pride . All over the world to-day it seems to bring the distant and the near within the happy influences of that electrical chain , so to say , of brotherly kindness and good-will , which serves as it were to girdle the world in which we live with adamantine chains of living
interest and sympathy one with another . It is in truth one of the most startling and moving facts connected with the history of Freemasonry , and its actuality , its life and its outcome among men , that wherever the foot of man has trod there seems to have been and to be Freemasonry . Travellers tell us how they can yet trace its marks on the crumbling ruinsof forgotten peoples , dynasties , and empires , how its symbols can still be beheld on mystic edifices and monumental remains . At this hour more than a million and half of Masons claim to belong to our Universal Brotherhood in all quarters of the world . The universality of Freemasonry is accompanied , necessarily and especially for our Enrrlish
Body _ since 1 S 13 , with the proclamation also of a universal profession of faith and practice . By this I mean that despite the attacks of heated and partizan writers , our English Grand Lodge in its public declarations and actual teaching declines to attempt to force down uoon the conscience of others what is subjective for what is objective . Thus English Freemasonry is universal in its teaching , as well as in its organization . It sets before us Belief in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man , as the one essential colouring of all its doctrines , the one unchanging condition of all its work and outcome , but refuses to permit any discussion on points , on subiects . on facts ,
which constitutes the "tests" of differing Denominational Bodies , and which , however sacred and important in themselves , are altogether outside the purview of Freemasonry . Hence it accepts as its fundamental truth , passing by all others , the declaration of a Great , Divine , Eternal , Maker , Preserver , Ruler , Judge of all men ! Let us rejoice to think that English Freemasonry is thus universal in its design and in its practical verity among men . The neutrality of Freemasonry constitutes its vital power and its sustaining influence , as well as its promise of prosperity and permanence . The world , as we survey it philosophically and Masonically
to-day , is divided into numerous bodies of religious denominations , some boldly contending for this , some loudly battling for that . And not only so , but the necessities of the social state and the natural tendencies and diverging views of men lead to the formation of political associations , with special " Shibboleths " and formal " dogmata , " and which in consequence often divide men from men , fellow citizen from fellow citizen , in Our daily life . In a Freemasons'lodge we happily know nothing whatever of religious differences or political discussions . And long may this neutrality continue . We are forbidden , ana properly so , to introduce any subiect whatever in our lodges which might
serve to foment religious disputes ; we are equally enjoined never to allow political differences to find a footing , so as to mar our harmony or cloud our happy intercourse brother with brother . Freemasonry has a mission of peace and goodwill to man , and therefore in England we most persistently and fitly proscribe in our lodges the introduction of any topics of discussion which might add fuel to the flame of controversial zeal , or tend to Cromote the severances of the outer world . All such things are opposed to the non-comatant genius of Freemasonry , and if in the slightest degree ever carelessly overlooked or apathetically tolerated , or glossed over in any manner , they will infallibly uproot and
destroy the harmony and happiness of our Order . Our Royal Grand Master once bade us and all English Freemasons keep clear of political and religious discussions , and no sounder advice was ever given , no safer course was ever marked out with unerring precision for the tranquil progress and happy continuance of English Freemasonry . Let us sir , try and keep at a distance from our peaceful lodges ( for Freemasonry , remember , is a Temple of Peace ) , any tendencies to party spirit or party strife , those manifestations of an intolerant " animus" whatever shape it assumes which have wrought such evil in the world , and so greatly oppose the iiinucnccs masonic civilization 1
ucnign unu Kinuiy ur progressive . ne religious reverence of English Freemasonry is a most remarkable reality . Acknowled g ing the Great and Divine "Architcknos , '' it bases all its moral teaching on the Bible , the inspired Word of the Most High , as the one great moral law of all mankind . We shall all be sensible , and none more than yourself , sir , of the very religious and reverential character of Freemasonry , which breathes out of every portion of its ancient ritual , is indelibly impressed on every ceremony , and which dominates every rite , we carefully guard , and peacefull y celebrate . The spirit of religious reverence greets us , if we may so say , whenever and wherever we Emrlish Masons meet toe-ether : confronts us from the
first moment when we see the Light , opens and closes every gathering , and constitutes an unfailing criterion of the moral excellence and beauty of Freemasonry , its enduring recommendation to countless faithful brethren . We may also gladl y call to mind today that in England the open Bible is ever in our midst , the great Light of Masonry , without which alt our lectures and catechisms , if dependent only on human teaching , would become to us necessarily almost as "darkness visible . " It is this distinguishing feature of religious reverence , I venture to repeat , sir , which is the permeating and enduring characteristic of our great Enzlish Order , and which we should ever be clad to
realize and sedulously to guard against the attacks of the ignorant and profane . We see , sir , then in the first place , though very shortly stated , that the nature of Freemasonry ri g htly understood , the actuality of our ancient mysteries and peculiar confraternity , is such as to commend it to the admiration and appreciation of the wise and the good . And , in the second place , what are its principles ? I take them to be mainly four , —loyalty , charity , brotherly love , and toleration . All English Freemasons are loyal citizens and honest patriots , inasmuch as loyalty to the Sovereign of their native land and
to lawfully constituted authority is impressed upon them at their initiation . Theycan have nothing to do with plots and conspiracies against the State . They are bound at all hazards to obey the injunction of the civil power ; they cannot honesty or legally belong to any of those secret political associations which too often pave the way for national convulsions , and are most inimical and antagonistic to true liberty in the world . Freemasonry , as recognizing its benevolent aims , has been legalized by the Legislature , and is entirely opposed , both in its principles and views , to those surreptitious and unlawful bodies , by whatever name they are termed , whose main theory
appears to be the plunder of the honest and industrious , whose gaol the overthrow of proper authority , and whose triumph the hateful reign of license , anarchy , and revolution . And , just as of old in more unquiet days , the whole English Craft addressed another Prince of Wales , the then Grand Master , in exalted terms of loyal unity and patriotic devotion , so in these happily more peaceful days loyalty still profoundly distinguishes English brethren and English Freemasonry . Amid countless incentives to agrarian violence , the outcome of forbidden secret associations of the most dangerous tendency , the loyal attitude of our good Irish brethren may well commend itself to our
notice as a happy example of the ever loyal teachings and reality of true Freemasonry . And what can I , need I , say of Charity ? Never at any time in the history of English Freemasonry did this great virtue more prevail amongst us , and without parade , without ostentation . Time would fail me were I to tell what English Freemasonry yearl y does in various ways to prove that its professions are true , its words are real , and that its practice squares with its utterances . In every portion of our Masonic work and life
today Charity meets us in the way , gladdening our hearts and warming our enthusiasm by the thorough , real , hearty , invaluable proof it affords that Masons' hearts are in the right p lace , and that the golden law of love , agape , and Charity controls our Order , and rules its developement and practice in wondrous measure . We never should forget our Charities , which are the "decus columenque" of English Freemasonry ; and just as we rejoiced to note the success of the Festival of the Benevolent Institution , so let us hope that equally gratifying results may attend the coming Festivalsof the Girls' and Boys' Schools . II any opponent attacks Freemasonry to-day , asking its use and value
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Rites Of Memphis And Mizraim.
THE RITES OF MEMPHIS AND MIZRAIM .
We hear a good deal of these rites just now , and it seems well in the Freemason , which seeks to cater for all members of the Fraternity , to pass by no questions which fairly come before us , while it endeavours to impart useful information to all its readers as well as giving a careful and critical account of their actual history . One great difficulty supervenes here . Are these two rites or only one ? Bro . Kenneth Mackenzie says one
practically , the editor of " Kenning ' s Cyclopaedia " says two . The truth is , and thus the difficulty is solved , Memphis is an after-thought to Mizraim , or Misphraim , which was put together about 1805 at Milan by a Bro . Lechangeur . It seems to have been existent at Naples , Venice , and the Ionian Islands , according to Thory , about i 8 t I , and to have been introduced into France about iSi 4 by the Bros . Bedarride , Lechangeur , and Joly .
They seem to have taken the idea of the Strict Observance , of the " Supreme Unknown Directors , " and to have divided the grades into Symbolical , Philosophical , Mystical , Cabalistical , up to 87 , though in all 90 . The names of these grades seem to be gathered indifferently almost from numerous MS . and printed collections of grades , without much sense of coherence or order or uniformity . The claim to be an Egyptain Rite is , of course , pure
nonsense . According to " Hermes , " written by E . J . Marconis de Negrc , the Rite of Memphis was founded by an Egytian sage or priest of the name of Ormus , converted by St . Mark . Of him history is , however , silent . He is alleged to have purified the Egyptian mysteries by Christian teaching , and to have incorporated with his wisdom of the Temple , the Solomonic Cabala , and secret teaching of the Essenes and Therapeutae and other
Jewish sects . Until n 18 the disciples of Ormus who had formed a secret and mysterious association , remained the only depositaries of the Antient Egyptian Wisdom , added to by Solomonic learning and Christianity . ' 1 he Templars arc said to have learned this hidden wisdom , and as they were well-known in the east as the Knights of Palestine or Rose Croix ,
the Rite of Memphis recognizes them as its " immediate founders . " Such were the words of Marconis in 1 S 46 ; he apparently knew nothing of the more recent statements of the revival of the Order and its reproduction in France under Kebcr and Napoleon I . Marconis goes on to say that Gariond landed in 1150 with 24 of these disciples of Ormus in Sweden , and that these 24 Masons established Masonry in Europe .
After the death of Molay , the Scottish Templars formed themselves into a new Order , and thus two Rites were in existence at the end of the fifteenth century , namely , the Rite of Memphis and the Rite Ecossais . Marconis knew nothing certainl y of the story of Napoleon , & c , but seems to ignore any question of either its open existence or legal countenance . He says , indeed , that the Rite of Mizraim was invented about 1813 , and the Rite of
Memphis was of much higher antiquity , dating from Ormus . When Thory wrote in 1815 he seems to know nothing of the Rite of Memphis , and Ragon tells us that it was put together by the Bros . Marconis and Mouttet in Paris in 1 S 39 , and afterwards at Brussels . Marconis repeats in " L'Hierophante" substantially what had been said in ' * Hermes , "—that the knights of Palestine , or Brethren Rose Croix of the East , were its immediate
founders . This system was composed of 92 degrees . We can only remark as before , that there is no reality in this claim of Egyptian wisdom or origin , that the names of the grades arc arbitrary and meaningless in themselves , and though we understand the number has been reduced , after an assembly or revival in America , we give the account such as Marconis , the
founder , actually put forth . It will be seen then , we think , that the Rite of Mizraim dates from really about 1810 , and Memphis from 1839-40 . The alleged history of Marconis is , of course , pure fable , and if Ormus existed , or if his name be not appropriated from " Hormus" or " Ormuszd , " any such preservation of the " wisdom of the Temple " b y him is alike mythical , and , to speak openly , absolutely ridiculous .
Consecration Of The Richmond Lodge, No. 2032.
CONSECRATION OF THE RICHMOND LODGE , No . 2032 .
The Richmond Lodge , No . 2032 , was consecrated on Monday last , a large number of brethren assembling to take part in the proceedings , amongst those present were the following : Bros . T . Fenn , P . G . D ., acting W . M . ; Rohert Grey , P . G . D ., S . W . j VV . T . Howe , J . W . j Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , Chap . ; and Frank Richardson , D . of C . Founders : Bros . P . E . Blasby , C . J . Dieby , F . Reynolds , W . R . Phillips , E . Dare , J . P . Haughton ,
H . Sapsworth , J . Ireland , Chas . Morton , T . Callander , and E . J . Goodall . Visitors : Bros . J . Stedman , W . M . 1765 ; C . E . Tinney , S . W . 1319 ; J . Hodges , P . M . 170 G ; A . L . Fryer , 1624 j W . Goss , P . M . 17 S 0 J E . H . Sugg-, P . M . 452 , P . P . G . Org . Surrey ; R . H . Pearson , P . M . uoGi C . Sims , 861 ; O . L . Latreille , P . M . 1260 ; R . Mezzell , 890 ; W . E . Scantlebury , 975 ; S . Blasby , 7 S 0 ; R . Southey , T . Weaver , 8 S 9 ; G . T . Thomas , P . M . 1632 ; T . McDonald , 820 ; J . Hooke , P . M . 463 ; W . J . Braham , 1471 ; G . E . Young , 820 j C . Hubbard , 820 ; VV . H . Myers , P . M . 820 ; VV . VV . Morgan , W . M . 211 j
F . C . Moufiet , 1305 ; H . Davies , P . M . 865 ; G . T . Hickwood , 870 ; T . G . Smith , 194 ; VV . Helton , P . M . 780 ; H . Sadler , G . Tyler ; J . Lucas , F . D . Kennedy , P . P . G . D . ; T . Skewes-Cox , 8 ; J . Pearson , 1196 ; E , T . Smith , 1765 ; A . A . Richards , P . M . Grand Stewards Lodge ; C . J . Turner , P . M . 157 ; C . Phillips , P . M . 820 j F . Albert Crew , 1363 ; Chas . J . Wade , P . M . 180 ; Arthur Turner , 1818 ; VV . Clifford , 975 ; Banks , Tyler ; and \ V . Lake , P . P . G . Reg . Cornwall ( Freemason ) . In the unavoidable and regrettable absence of our esteemed Grand
Secretary through indisposition , Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . D ., officiated as consecrating officer , assisted b y Bros . Rev . A . F . A . Woodford , P . G . Chap ., as Chap . ; Robert Grey , P . G . D ., as S . W . ; Howe , P . G . P ., as J . W . ; and Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., as D . of C . Bro . Fenn , opened the proceedings with some forcible words and the following oration was then delivered by Bro . WOODFORD . It is my privilege once again , V . W . Consecrating Officer , to deliver the customary
oration on the " Nature and Principles of Freemasonry , " and it has struck me when putting together some thoughts and considerations suitable for the day ' s ceremonial that perhaps the most efficient way in which I could perform my allotted task to your satisfaction and the edification of my brethren would be to keep close to the lines marked out for us by the ceremonial ; words which serve to intimate what the oration should be , an address on the nature and principles of Freemasonry , as best calculated to remind us all of those truths we profess to believe , to keep us all in harmony with the ceremonial of to-day , and to encourage us in our loyal adherence to that great institution which has
outlived even Time ' s destroying hand , and under the goodly regime of our Royal Grand Master is today flourishing more markedly and happily than ever . It might , indeed , seem , at first sight , as if hardly anything was left for the orator to say on such an occasion as this , remembering as we do how many eloquent addresses we have listened to ; how we have often all been gratified and moved by the happy words of some genial speaker . But still keeping close , as I said before , to the " idea" of our own effective ceremonial , let us hope that we may manage yet to discover some topics and some teachings , both suitable and seasonable for us all alike who are assembled happily here to-day to add another lodge to the lengthening roll of lodges under the peaceful and prosperous Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England . What , then , first of all , is the nature of
Consecration Of The Richmond Lodge, No. 2032.
Freemasonry ? Now , we all know that when we talk of the nature of a thing , or of a society like this , vie mean its inherent qualities , its essential conditions , which give to it marked characteristics or special attributes , which , in fact , distinguish it from other like institutions , and constitute alike its " raison d'etre , " its utility , its need , and its value for ourselves and the world in which we live . When we come then to regard Freemasonry , ( though it is of English Freemasonry alone I am speaking of to-day ) , in the abstract , calmly and scrutinizingly , both in what it professes to be and what it really is , we note at once three great features which seem to express felicitiously its nature , meaning , and obiect . The first of these is its universality , the second is its neutrality , and
the third is its religious reverence . Freemasonry is in its very constitution cosmopolitan and oecumenical . Wherever men do congregate on this wide earth of ours , there is , there can be , there well may be—Freemasonry . By its actual idea , by its universal scope , it can enclose within its ample fold men of every country , sect , and opinion , and can conciliate firm friendships amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance . It seems equally to be found amid nations civilized and savage , and thus it comes to pass , that explain the fact as you may , Freemasonry is dicoverable
amid all countries at the present hour , and sometimes indigenous , sometimes evidently imported , it is yet existent and flourishing amid different and differing conditions of government , race , tongue , and colour . It has been said that this very universality constitutes a danger to society . We , on the contrary , Sir , think and hold , that this universal spread of Freemasonry may be esteemed its peculiarity , its utility , and its pride . All over the world to-day it seems to bring the distant and the near within the happy influences of that electrical chain , so to say , of brotherly kindness and good-will , which serves as it were to girdle the world in which we live with adamantine chains of living
interest and sympathy one with another . It is in truth one of the most startling and moving facts connected with the history of Freemasonry , and its actuality , its life and its outcome among men , that wherever the foot of man has trod there seems to have been and to be Freemasonry . Travellers tell us how they can yet trace its marks on the crumbling ruinsof forgotten peoples , dynasties , and empires , how its symbols can still be beheld on mystic edifices and monumental remains . At this hour more than a million and half of Masons claim to belong to our Universal Brotherhood in all quarters of the world . The universality of Freemasonry is accompanied , necessarily and especially for our Enrrlish
Body _ since 1 S 13 , with the proclamation also of a universal profession of faith and practice . By this I mean that despite the attacks of heated and partizan writers , our English Grand Lodge in its public declarations and actual teaching declines to attempt to force down uoon the conscience of others what is subjective for what is objective . Thus English Freemasonry is universal in its teaching , as well as in its organization . It sets before us Belief in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man , as the one essential colouring of all its doctrines , the one unchanging condition of all its work and outcome , but refuses to permit any discussion on points , on subiects . on facts ,
which constitutes the "tests" of differing Denominational Bodies , and which , however sacred and important in themselves , are altogether outside the purview of Freemasonry . Hence it accepts as its fundamental truth , passing by all others , the declaration of a Great , Divine , Eternal , Maker , Preserver , Ruler , Judge of all men ! Let us rejoice to think that English Freemasonry is thus universal in its design and in its practical verity among men . The neutrality of Freemasonry constitutes its vital power and its sustaining influence , as well as its promise of prosperity and permanence . The world , as we survey it philosophically and Masonically
to-day , is divided into numerous bodies of religious denominations , some boldly contending for this , some loudly battling for that . And not only so , but the necessities of the social state and the natural tendencies and diverging views of men lead to the formation of political associations , with special " Shibboleths " and formal " dogmata , " and which in consequence often divide men from men , fellow citizen from fellow citizen , in Our daily life . In a Freemasons'lodge we happily know nothing whatever of religious differences or political discussions . And long may this neutrality continue . We are forbidden , ana properly so , to introduce any subiect whatever in our lodges which might
serve to foment religious disputes ; we are equally enjoined never to allow political differences to find a footing , so as to mar our harmony or cloud our happy intercourse brother with brother . Freemasonry has a mission of peace and goodwill to man , and therefore in England we most persistently and fitly proscribe in our lodges the introduction of any topics of discussion which might add fuel to the flame of controversial zeal , or tend to Cromote the severances of the outer world . All such things are opposed to the non-comatant genius of Freemasonry , and if in the slightest degree ever carelessly overlooked or apathetically tolerated , or glossed over in any manner , they will infallibly uproot and
destroy the harmony and happiness of our Order . Our Royal Grand Master once bade us and all English Freemasons keep clear of political and religious discussions , and no sounder advice was ever given , no safer course was ever marked out with unerring precision for the tranquil progress and happy continuance of English Freemasonry . Let us sir , try and keep at a distance from our peaceful lodges ( for Freemasonry , remember , is a Temple of Peace ) , any tendencies to party spirit or party strife , those manifestations of an intolerant " animus" whatever shape it assumes which have wrought such evil in the world , and so greatly oppose the iiinucnccs masonic civilization 1
ucnign unu Kinuiy ur progressive . ne religious reverence of English Freemasonry is a most remarkable reality . Acknowled g ing the Great and Divine "Architcknos , '' it bases all its moral teaching on the Bible , the inspired Word of the Most High , as the one great moral law of all mankind . We shall all be sensible , and none more than yourself , sir , of the very religious and reverential character of Freemasonry , which breathes out of every portion of its ancient ritual , is indelibly impressed on every ceremony , and which dominates every rite , we carefully guard , and peacefull y celebrate . The spirit of religious reverence greets us , if we may so say , whenever and wherever we Emrlish Masons meet toe-ether : confronts us from the
first moment when we see the Light , opens and closes every gathering , and constitutes an unfailing criterion of the moral excellence and beauty of Freemasonry , its enduring recommendation to countless faithful brethren . We may also gladl y call to mind today that in England the open Bible is ever in our midst , the great Light of Masonry , without which alt our lectures and catechisms , if dependent only on human teaching , would become to us necessarily almost as "darkness visible . " It is this distinguishing feature of religious reverence , I venture to repeat , sir , which is the permeating and enduring characteristic of our great Enzlish Order , and which we should ever be clad to
realize and sedulously to guard against the attacks of the ignorant and profane . We see , sir , then in the first place , though very shortly stated , that the nature of Freemasonry ri g htly understood , the actuality of our ancient mysteries and peculiar confraternity , is such as to commend it to the admiration and appreciation of the wise and the good . And , in the second place , what are its principles ? I take them to be mainly four , —loyalty , charity , brotherly love , and toleration . All English Freemasons are loyal citizens and honest patriots , inasmuch as loyalty to the Sovereign of their native land and
to lawfully constituted authority is impressed upon them at their initiation . Theycan have nothing to do with plots and conspiracies against the State . They are bound at all hazards to obey the injunction of the civil power ; they cannot honesty or legally belong to any of those secret political associations which too often pave the way for national convulsions , and are most inimical and antagonistic to true liberty in the world . Freemasonry , as recognizing its benevolent aims , has been legalized by the Legislature , and is entirely opposed , both in its principles and views , to those surreptitious and unlawful bodies , by whatever name they are termed , whose main theory
appears to be the plunder of the honest and industrious , whose gaol the overthrow of proper authority , and whose triumph the hateful reign of license , anarchy , and revolution . And , just as of old in more unquiet days , the whole English Craft addressed another Prince of Wales , the then Grand Master , in exalted terms of loyal unity and patriotic devotion , so in these happily more peaceful days loyalty still profoundly distinguishes English brethren and English Freemasonry . Amid countless incentives to agrarian violence , the outcome of forbidden secret associations of the most dangerous tendency , the loyal attitude of our good Irish brethren may well commend itself to our
notice as a happy example of the ever loyal teachings and reality of true Freemasonry . And what can I , need I , say of Charity ? Never at any time in the history of English Freemasonry did this great virtue more prevail amongst us , and without parade , without ostentation . Time would fail me were I to tell what English Freemasonry yearl y does in various ways to prove that its professions are true , its words are real , and that its practice squares with its utterances . In every portion of our Masonic work and life
today Charity meets us in the way , gladdening our hearts and warming our enthusiasm by the thorough , real , hearty , invaluable proof it affords that Masons' hearts are in the right p lace , and that the golden law of love , agape , and Charity controls our Order , and rules its developement and practice in wondrous measure . We never should forget our Charities , which are the "decus columenque" of English Freemasonry ; and just as we rejoiced to note the success of the Festival of the Benevolent Institution , so let us hope that equally gratifying results may attend the coming Festivalsof the Girls' and Boys' Schools . II any opponent attacks Freemasonry to-day , asking its use and value