Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Historical Account Of Master And Free Masons.
AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF MASTER AND FREE MASONS .
BY THE EEV . JAMES DALLAAVAY . Cough , and ery hem ! if anybody come—A mystery—a mystery ! Othello . I APPROACH this investigation Avith much diffidence , confining it entirely to historical
facts : and it would have g iven me satisfaction if I had gained more than to be referred to a modern Avork of high estimation . * The mysteries of the masonic oracle are there darkly shadoAved forth , and hid from my comprehension . A very
superficial vieAv is given of the history Avhich was the sole object of my research . A justly-esteemed modern author t has
sensibly observed— " that the curious subject of Freemasonry has unfortunately been treated of only by panegyrists or calumniators , both equally mendacious . I clo not Avish to pry into the mysteries of the craft , but it Avoidd be interesting to know more of their history during the period in
Avhich they Avere literally architects . " Concerning the extremely remote origin of the fraternities , I shall waive any inquiry , by excluding legendary tradition , or conjecture formed upon it , confining my research to evidence alone , which will be succinctl y given . That the sumptuous temples in Avhich Ancient Greece abounded , were the works
of architects in combination with a fraternity of masons ( xoiviavia , ) no reasonable doubt can be entertained . ;] : That Avith the Romans , such fraternities ( Collegia ) , including the ( Fabri ) Avorkmen Avho Avere employed in any kind of construction , Avere
subject to the laws of Numa Pompilius , is an apparent fact . Need the modern Freemasons require a better authenticated antiquity , and not prefer a Roman origin to the mystified traditions of Jachin and Boaz 1 | 1
To particularise even a few of the architects during the progress of the Roman empire , and the stupendous edifices which Avere designed and completed by them , is beyond the scope of this attempt . The first notice that occurs of an associated body of artificers , Romans , who
had established themselves in Britain , is a votive inscription , in Avhich the College of Masons dedicate a temple to Neptune and Minerva , and the safety of the family of Claudius Csesar . § It Avas discovered at Chichester in 1725 , in a fragmented state ,
and having been placed together , is now preserved at Goodwood , near that city , the seat of the Duke of Richmond . Pliny , the author of the Avell-known epistles , Avhen pro-consul of Asia Minor , in one which he addressed to the
Emperor-Trajan , informs him of a most destructive fire at Nicomedia , and requests him to establish a Collegium Fabrorum for the rebuilding of the city . f
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
An Historical Account Of Master And Free Masons.
AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF MASTER AND FREE MASONS .
BY THE EEV . JAMES DALLAAVAY . Cough , and ery hem ! if anybody come—A mystery—a mystery ! Othello . I APPROACH this investigation Avith much diffidence , confining it entirely to historical
facts : and it would have g iven me satisfaction if I had gained more than to be referred to a modern Avork of high estimation . * The mysteries of the masonic oracle are there darkly shadoAved forth , and hid from my comprehension . A very
superficial vieAv is given of the history Avhich was the sole object of my research . A justly-esteemed modern author t has
sensibly observed— " that the curious subject of Freemasonry has unfortunately been treated of only by panegyrists or calumniators , both equally mendacious . I clo not Avish to pry into the mysteries of the craft , but it Avoidd be interesting to know more of their history during the period in
Avhich they Avere literally architects . " Concerning the extremely remote origin of the fraternities , I shall waive any inquiry , by excluding legendary tradition , or conjecture formed upon it , confining my research to evidence alone , which will be succinctl y given . That the sumptuous temples in Avhich Ancient Greece abounded , were the works
of architects in combination with a fraternity of masons ( xoiviavia , ) no reasonable doubt can be entertained . ;] : That Avith the Romans , such fraternities ( Collegia ) , including the ( Fabri ) Avorkmen Avho Avere employed in any kind of construction , Avere
subject to the laws of Numa Pompilius , is an apparent fact . Need the modern Freemasons require a better authenticated antiquity , and not prefer a Roman origin to the mystified traditions of Jachin and Boaz 1 | 1
To particularise even a few of the architects during the progress of the Roman empire , and the stupendous edifices which Avere designed and completed by them , is beyond the scope of this attempt . The first notice that occurs of an associated body of artificers , Romans , who
had established themselves in Britain , is a votive inscription , in Avhich the College of Masons dedicate a temple to Neptune and Minerva , and the safety of the family of Claudius Csesar . § It Avas discovered at Chichester in 1725 , in a fragmented state ,
and having been placed together , is now preserved at Goodwood , near that city , the seat of the Duke of Richmond . Pliny , the author of the Avell-known epistles , Avhen pro-consul of Asia Minor , in one which he addressed to the
Emperor-Trajan , informs him of a most destructive fire at Nicomedia , and requests him to establish a Collegium Fabrorum for the rebuilding of the city . f