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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Original Correspondence.

to enforce , " Peace'' on earth , and goodwill towards men . " His grand motto was , " All religion has relation to life , and the life of religion is to do good . " He strictly enjoined everyone to adhere strictly to the command of our Lord

in Matt , xxni ., io : "Neither he ye called Masters , for one is your Master , even Christ . " And if the question be put , " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? " the answer can only be , " Come and see . "

But to return to the charge made by Bro Carpenter , that I have " perverted facts . " I cannot allow this to be passed over without an attempt on the part of Bro Carpenter " to point out my errors and false teachings . " In each case I have given authority for my opinions , save one

—the Council of Nice—and I will now give you that authority , or , rather , authorities . In Dr . Mosheim ' s " Ecclesiastical History " ( which , is a standard work , and to be found in every theological library , and the orthodoxy of which I haveneverheard questioned ) hegives alamentable

account of the Christian Church , owing to the prevalent heresies during the third century , which appear to have culminated in the beginning of the fourth century by " The rise of the controversy with the Donatists , " vide Mosheim Cent , iv ., chap . 5 , sec . II . To trail through this

controversy would be to show that , under the sacred name of Christianity , men could act against each other in a manner that would scarcely have been tolerated by Pagan nations . It was the opening of the dark ages . Constantine—who , beyond all human expectation , had made his way to the

imperial throne—had done so by the assistance of the Christians in obtaining his victory over Maxentius . Constantine had hitherto discovered no religious principles of any kind , but he embraced Christianity as a means of obtaining empire , with all its splendour . From this time

he became patron and protector of Christianity , as then understood ; he entered into all their disputes , and presided at their great meetings . Eusebius , Bishop of Nicomedia , was his personal friend and historian . I will now quote Mosheim , sec . ix . : " The faction of the Donatists was not

the only one that troubled the Church during this century . Soon after its commencement , even in the year 317 , a new contention arose in Egypt upon a subject of much higher importance and with consequences of a yet more pernicious nature . The subject of this fatal controversy , which kindled suchdeploiable divisions throughout the Christian world , was the doctrine of three

persons m the Godhead—a doctrine which , in the preceding centuries , had happilyescaped the vain curiositiesofhumanresearches , and had been been left undefined and undetermined by any particular set of ideas . " And , in section 12 , he says : " The Council assembled by Constantine

at Nice , is one of the most famous and interesting events that are presented to us in ecclesiastical history , and yet , what is more surprising , there is no part of the history , of the Church that has been unfolded with such negligence , or , rather , passed over with such rapidity . The

ancient writers are neither agreed concerning the time nor place in which it was assembled , the number of those who sat in council , nor the bishop who presided in it . No authentic acts of its famous sentence have been committed to writing , or , at least , have been transmitted to our

times . " Such is the record as given by Mosheim . I will now quote another orthodox author , Dr . Jortin , who Fays ( " Ecclesiastical History , " book iii . ) : " Constantine viewed the whole question as trifling and utterly unimportant—he regretted that the peace ofthe Church

should be so vainly disturbed . " And , further on , he says : "Let us consider by what * iarious motives these various men might be influenced : by reverence to the Emperor , to his counsellors and favourites , his slaves and eunuchs ; by the fear of offending some great prelate , who had it in his power to insult , vex , and plague all the

bishops within and without his jurisdiction ; by the dread of passing for heretics , and of being calumniated , reviled , hated , anathematized , excommunicated , imprisoned , banished , fined , beggared , starved , if they refused to submit , & c , & c ., & c . " These are the orthodox authorities upon which I rely . I have not quoted the

Original Correspondence.

authority of Gibbon , as being not acceptable to the High Church party •but from what I have quoted , I call upon Bro . Carpenter to make good his assertion " that I have perverted facts , " or hereafter to hold his peace . I am afraid that I have affrighted the mind of " W . L . A , R . A . Comp . and 30 K . H . " (

whatever the latter may mean ) , from its propriety . I can't help it , and I feel no contrition for having done so . George Waddington , of Trinity College , Cambridge , in remarking upon Dr . Jortin ' s history , says : " The decision has now been followed by the great majority of Christians for fifteen centuries . " But I submit that the

establishment of Christianity must date from the time when the disciples returned from the mount called Olivet , and met in an upper room belonging to Peter , James , and John , which was A . D . 33 . There is therefore about 300 years intervening between this assembly and the Council of Nice . What is to be done with the hiatus ?

who will supply it ? Will our friend " AV . L . A . " attempt it ? He says , " It would be easy to refute the errors into which ' W . B . ' has fallen in this and other particulars : " but he has not done

so . Will he assay it ? He says " it is easy , " and surely it ought to be a labour of love to give a reason for the hope that is in us •but until that hiatus is satisfactorily filled in , the history of the New Church down to the time of the

third or fourth century will remain as much a myth as the names of the founders of Rome or the games of Olympia . I have now replied to the two letters , and so far my task is done . Your insertion of my former attempts , you , only , had a right to decide ;

but I submit my claim to have this inserted , as it is a reply , and , if it be your will , I will here finish . Bro . Carpenter has , I think , made a great mistake in thinking that an external history of the Jews is a final one . As well give a nutshell with the kernal extracted , and call it a

perfect nut . Bro . Carpenter has been standing upon holy ground , and has not taken off his shoes . The ground upon which he is now standing , I think , he may wear his shoes , if he pleases , fhe facts which he will select will be ,

I have no doubt , made with care and impartiality ; but the results which he will draw from them , apparently , will be wild and extravagant , as forming no unison in the workings of Divine providence . Fraternallv yours ,

W . B . 742 . THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND .

( Jo the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR AND BROTHER , —1 take the liberty of entering the arena of debate , which at present owns as its denizens " X . Y . Z . " and " An Edinburgh Member of the Royal Order . " I sign my name in honour of the latter ' s scruples , and I admit myself to be a Freemason of manydegrees and of vears' standing .

In an age when Reason , after wringing the nose off the face of Faith , kicks her further off thc threshold of history , ter les , it is refreshing to find some salt of the dethroned deity extant in the human heart . Age and experience rub off the gilding from many a youthful fancy , but

until a very late period we were not doomed to find , not only the fabric of Freemasonry attacked , but even the very foundations of the Institution erased . I look around , and behold the Malcolm Canmore Charter is a forgery ; the Templars are denied a niche in the Masonic

edifice ; and , to crown all , " X . Y . Z . " seems to be about to annihilate the Roval Order . It is refreshing , I say , to find that Faith still holds her reign supreme in one bosom , and to vindicate the Royal Order from the new aspcrser ' s calumnies , I present my right hand to " An Edinburgh . Member . "

" X . \ . Z . demands proof of the antiquity of thc Order . I admit that it is difficult to produce ihc . se , and I think thc Edinburgh Member is perfectly justified in declining to comply with

" the stand-and-deliver' demand of" X . Y . Z . " As Jack Falstaff says , and a good deal of sound practical common sense had the knight-corpulent , " What ! upon compulsion ? No . Were I at the strappado , or all the racks in the world ,

Original Correspondence.

I would not tell you on compulsion . Give you a reason on compulsion ! If reasons were as plenty as blackberries , I would give no man a reason upon compulsion . I ! " Now , sir , what is the real history ofthe Royal Order ? It is as follows : —

Among the many precious things which were carefully preserved in a sacred vault of King Solomon ' s Temple was a portrait of the monarch painted by Adoniram , the son of Elkanah , priest of the second r . ourf . This vault remained

undiscovered till the time of Herod , although the secret of its existence and a description of its locality were retained by the descendants of Elkanah . During the wars of the Maccabees , certain Jews , fleeing from their native country , took refuge first in Spain and afterwards in

Britain , and amongst them was one Aholiab , the then possessor of the document necessary to find the hidden treasure . As is well known , buildings were then in progress in Edinburgh , or Dun Edwyn , as the city was then called , and thither Aholiab wended his way to find employment .

His skill in architecture speedily raised him to a prominent position in the Craft , but his premature death prevented his realising the dream of his life , which was to fetch the portrait from Jerusalem , and bestow it in the custody of the Craft . However , prior to his dissolution , he

confided the secret to certain of the Fraternity , under the bond of secrecy , and these formed a class known as " The Order of the King , " or " The Royal Order . " Time sped on , the Romans invaded Britain , and previous to the crucifixion , certain members of the old town

guard of Edinburgh , among whom were several of the Royal Order , proceeded to Rome to enter into negociations with the sovereign . From thence they proceeded to Jerusalem , and were present at the dreadful scene of the crucifixion . They succeeded in obtaining the portrait , and

also the blue veil of the temple rent upon the terrible occasion . I may dismiss these two venerable relies in a few words . Wilson , in his " Memorials of Edinburgh " ( 2 vols ., published by Hugh Paton ) , in a note to Masonic lodges , writes that this portrait was then in the possession of the

brethren of the Lodge St . David . This is an error , and arose from the fact of the Royal Order then meeting in the Lodge St . David ' s room in Hindford ' s Close . The blue veil was converted into a standard for the trades of Edinburgh , and became celebrated on many a battle-field , notably in the First Crusade , as " The Blue Blanket . "

1 'iom the presence of certain of then * number in Jerusalem on the occasion in question , the Edinburgh City Guard were often called Pontius Pilate ' s Praetorians . Now , these are facts well known to many Edinburghers still alive . Let "X . Y . Z . " go to Edinburgh , and inquire for himself .

Thc brethren , 111 addition , brought with them the teachings of thc Christians , and iu their meetings they celebrated the death of the Captain and Builder of our Salvation . The oath of the Order seals my lips further as to the peculiar mysteries of the brethren . I may , however ,

state that the Ritual , in verse , as in present use , was composed by the venerable Abbot of Inchaffray , the same who , with a crucifix in his hand , passed along the Scots' line , blessing the soldiers and the cause in which they were engaged , previous to the battle of Bannockburn . Thus ,

the Order states justly that it was revived—that is , a profounder spirit of devotion infused into it—by King Robert , by whose directions the Abbot reorganised it . I may have something else to add at a future time , should " X . Y . Z . " still persevere in his blind state of carp . How many affairs of

antiquity do we take blindly upon trust , more unworthy of credence than this ? Has he never found that there are many things which he cannot prove , and yet believes •many things which he can prove , and yet disbelieves ? Quid est Veritas I asked Pilate . Have we yet the answer to " What is truth ?" Fraternally yours ,

RANDOLF HAY . 37 , Main-street , Govan , near Glasgow . In 1880 , the Templar secrets hid in Swede *

“The Freemason: 1871-09-30, Page 8” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 10 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fvl/issues/fvl_30091871/page/8/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Article 1
FREEMASONRY & ISRAELITISM. Article 1
TRADING on MASONIC REPUTATION. Article 2
PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF CHESHIRE. Article 2
PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WARWICKSHIRE. Article 4
PROV. GRAND LODGE of JERSEY. Article 5
WEST RENT MASONIC CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION. Article 5
SCOTLAND. Article 5
Untitled Ad 6
Untitled Article 6
Untitled Article 6
Untitled Article 6
Untitled Article 6
THE MASONIC SEASON. Article 6
Multum in Parbo, or Masonic Notes and Queries. Article 7
Original Correspondence. Article 7
BRO. BUCHAN AGAIN! Article 9
PROVINCIAL GRAND CHAPTER OF YORKSHIRE. Article 9
CONSECRATION OF A CHAPTER AT KIDDERMINSTER. Article 10
Reports of Masonic Meetings. Article 10
ROYAL ARCH. Article 10
MARK MASONRY. Article 10
Foreign Masonic Intelligence. Article 11
Poetry. Article 11
METROPOLITAN MASONIC MEETINGS Article 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
Untitled Ad 12
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Original Correspondence.

to enforce , " Peace'' on earth , and goodwill towards men . " His grand motto was , " All religion has relation to life , and the life of religion is to do good . " He strictly enjoined everyone to adhere strictly to the command of our Lord

in Matt , xxni ., io : "Neither he ye called Masters , for one is your Master , even Christ . " And if the question be put , " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? " the answer can only be , " Come and see . "

But to return to the charge made by Bro Carpenter , that I have " perverted facts . " I cannot allow this to be passed over without an attempt on the part of Bro Carpenter " to point out my errors and false teachings . " In each case I have given authority for my opinions , save one

—the Council of Nice—and I will now give you that authority , or , rather , authorities . In Dr . Mosheim ' s " Ecclesiastical History " ( which , is a standard work , and to be found in every theological library , and the orthodoxy of which I haveneverheard questioned ) hegives alamentable

account of the Christian Church , owing to the prevalent heresies during the third century , which appear to have culminated in the beginning of the fourth century by " The rise of the controversy with the Donatists , " vide Mosheim Cent , iv ., chap . 5 , sec . II . To trail through this

controversy would be to show that , under the sacred name of Christianity , men could act against each other in a manner that would scarcely have been tolerated by Pagan nations . It was the opening of the dark ages . Constantine—who , beyond all human expectation , had made his way to the

imperial throne—had done so by the assistance of the Christians in obtaining his victory over Maxentius . Constantine had hitherto discovered no religious principles of any kind , but he embraced Christianity as a means of obtaining empire , with all its splendour . From this time

he became patron and protector of Christianity , as then understood ; he entered into all their disputes , and presided at their great meetings . Eusebius , Bishop of Nicomedia , was his personal friend and historian . I will now quote Mosheim , sec . ix . : " The faction of the Donatists was not

the only one that troubled the Church during this century . Soon after its commencement , even in the year 317 , a new contention arose in Egypt upon a subject of much higher importance and with consequences of a yet more pernicious nature . The subject of this fatal controversy , which kindled suchdeploiable divisions throughout the Christian world , was the doctrine of three

persons m the Godhead—a doctrine which , in the preceding centuries , had happilyescaped the vain curiositiesofhumanresearches , and had been been left undefined and undetermined by any particular set of ideas . " And , in section 12 , he says : " The Council assembled by Constantine

at Nice , is one of the most famous and interesting events that are presented to us in ecclesiastical history , and yet , what is more surprising , there is no part of the history , of the Church that has been unfolded with such negligence , or , rather , passed over with such rapidity . The

ancient writers are neither agreed concerning the time nor place in which it was assembled , the number of those who sat in council , nor the bishop who presided in it . No authentic acts of its famous sentence have been committed to writing , or , at least , have been transmitted to our

times . " Such is the record as given by Mosheim . I will now quote another orthodox author , Dr . Jortin , who Fays ( " Ecclesiastical History , " book iii . ) : " Constantine viewed the whole question as trifling and utterly unimportant—he regretted that the peace ofthe Church

should be so vainly disturbed . " And , further on , he says : "Let us consider by what * iarious motives these various men might be influenced : by reverence to the Emperor , to his counsellors and favourites , his slaves and eunuchs ; by the fear of offending some great prelate , who had it in his power to insult , vex , and plague all the

bishops within and without his jurisdiction ; by the dread of passing for heretics , and of being calumniated , reviled , hated , anathematized , excommunicated , imprisoned , banished , fined , beggared , starved , if they refused to submit , & c , & c ., & c . " These are the orthodox authorities upon which I rely . I have not quoted the

Original Correspondence.

authority of Gibbon , as being not acceptable to the High Church party •but from what I have quoted , I call upon Bro . Carpenter to make good his assertion " that I have perverted facts , " or hereafter to hold his peace . I am afraid that I have affrighted the mind of " W . L . A , R . A . Comp . and 30 K . H . " (

whatever the latter may mean ) , from its propriety . I can't help it , and I feel no contrition for having done so . George Waddington , of Trinity College , Cambridge , in remarking upon Dr . Jortin ' s history , says : " The decision has now been followed by the great majority of Christians for fifteen centuries . " But I submit that the

establishment of Christianity must date from the time when the disciples returned from the mount called Olivet , and met in an upper room belonging to Peter , James , and John , which was A . D . 33 . There is therefore about 300 years intervening between this assembly and the Council of Nice . What is to be done with the hiatus ?

who will supply it ? Will our friend " AV . L . A . " attempt it ? He says , " It would be easy to refute the errors into which ' W . B . ' has fallen in this and other particulars : " but he has not done

so . Will he assay it ? He says " it is easy , " and surely it ought to be a labour of love to give a reason for the hope that is in us •but until that hiatus is satisfactorily filled in , the history of the New Church down to the time of the

third or fourth century will remain as much a myth as the names of the founders of Rome or the games of Olympia . I have now replied to the two letters , and so far my task is done . Your insertion of my former attempts , you , only , had a right to decide ;

but I submit my claim to have this inserted , as it is a reply , and , if it be your will , I will here finish . Bro . Carpenter has , I think , made a great mistake in thinking that an external history of the Jews is a final one . As well give a nutshell with the kernal extracted , and call it a

perfect nut . Bro . Carpenter has been standing upon holy ground , and has not taken off his shoes . The ground upon which he is now standing , I think , he may wear his shoes , if he pleases , fhe facts which he will select will be ,

I have no doubt , made with care and impartiality ; but the results which he will draw from them , apparently , will be wild and extravagant , as forming no unison in the workings of Divine providence . Fraternallv yours ,

W . B . 742 . THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND .

( Jo the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR AND BROTHER , —1 take the liberty of entering the arena of debate , which at present owns as its denizens " X . Y . Z . " and " An Edinburgh Member of the Royal Order . " I sign my name in honour of the latter ' s scruples , and I admit myself to be a Freemason of manydegrees and of vears' standing .

In an age when Reason , after wringing the nose off the face of Faith , kicks her further off thc threshold of history , ter les , it is refreshing to find some salt of the dethroned deity extant in the human heart . Age and experience rub off the gilding from many a youthful fancy , but

until a very late period we were not doomed to find , not only the fabric of Freemasonry attacked , but even the very foundations of the Institution erased . I look around , and behold the Malcolm Canmore Charter is a forgery ; the Templars are denied a niche in the Masonic

edifice ; and , to crown all , " X . Y . Z . " seems to be about to annihilate the Roval Order . It is refreshing , I say , to find that Faith still holds her reign supreme in one bosom , and to vindicate the Royal Order from the new aspcrser ' s calumnies , I present my right hand to " An Edinburgh . Member . "

" X . \ . Z . demands proof of the antiquity of thc Order . I admit that it is difficult to produce ihc . se , and I think thc Edinburgh Member is perfectly justified in declining to comply with

" the stand-and-deliver' demand of" X . Y . Z . " As Jack Falstaff says , and a good deal of sound practical common sense had the knight-corpulent , " What ! upon compulsion ? No . Were I at the strappado , or all the racks in the world ,

Original Correspondence.

I would not tell you on compulsion . Give you a reason on compulsion ! If reasons were as plenty as blackberries , I would give no man a reason upon compulsion . I ! " Now , sir , what is the real history ofthe Royal Order ? It is as follows : —

Among the many precious things which were carefully preserved in a sacred vault of King Solomon ' s Temple was a portrait of the monarch painted by Adoniram , the son of Elkanah , priest of the second r . ourf . This vault remained

undiscovered till the time of Herod , although the secret of its existence and a description of its locality were retained by the descendants of Elkanah . During the wars of the Maccabees , certain Jews , fleeing from their native country , took refuge first in Spain and afterwards in

Britain , and amongst them was one Aholiab , the then possessor of the document necessary to find the hidden treasure . As is well known , buildings were then in progress in Edinburgh , or Dun Edwyn , as the city was then called , and thither Aholiab wended his way to find employment .

His skill in architecture speedily raised him to a prominent position in the Craft , but his premature death prevented his realising the dream of his life , which was to fetch the portrait from Jerusalem , and bestow it in the custody of the Craft . However , prior to his dissolution , he

confided the secret to certain of the Fraternity , under the bond of secrecy , and these formed a class known as " The Order of the King , " or " The Royal Order . " Time sped on , the Romans invaded Britain , and previous to the crucifixion , certain members of the old town

guard of Edinburgh , among whom were several of the Royal Order , proceeded to Rome to enter into negociations with the sovereign . From thence they proceeded to Jerusalem , and were present at the dreadful scene of the crucifixion . They succeeded in obtaining the portrait , and

also the blue veil of the temple rent upon the terrible occasion . I may dismiss these two venerable relies in a few words . Wilson , in his " Memorials of Edinburgh " ( 2 vols ., published by Hugh Paton ) , in a note to Masonic lodges , writes that this portrait was then in the possession of the

brethren of the Lodge St . David . This is an error , and arose from the fact of the Royal Order then meeting in the Lodge St . David ' s room in Hindford ' s Close . The blue veil was converted into a standard for the trades of Edinburgh , and became celebrated on many a battle-field , notably in the First Crusade , as " The Blue Blanket . "

1 'iom the presence of certain of then * number in Jerusalem on the occasion in question , the Edinburgh City Guard were often called Pontius Pilate ' s Praetorians . Now , these are facts well known to many Edinburghers still alive . Let "X . Y . Z . " go to Edinburgh , and inquire for himself .

Thc brethren , 111 addition , brought with them the teachings of thc Christians , and iu their meetings they celebrated the death of the Captain and Builder of our Salvation . The oath of the Order seals my lips further as to the peculiar mysteries of the brethren . I may , however ,

state that the Ritual , in verse , as in present use , was composed by the venerable Abbot of Inchaffray , the same who , with a crucifix in his hand , passed along the Scots' line , blessing the soldiers and the cause in which they were engaged , previous to the battle of Bannockburn . Thus ,

the Order states justly that it was revived—that is , a profounder spirit of devotion infused into it—by King Robert , by whose directions the Abbot reorganised it . I may have something else to add at a future time , should " X . Y . Z . " still persevere in his blind state of carp . How many affairs of

antiquity do we take blindly upon trust , more unworthy of credence than this ? Has he never found that there are many things which he cannot prove , and yet believes •many things which he can prove , and yet disbelieves ? Quid est Veritas I asked Pilate . Have we yet the answer to " What is truth ?" Fraternally yours ,

RANDOLF HAY . 37 , Main-street , Govan , near Glasgow . In 1880 , the Templar secrets hid in Swede *

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