A Lecture On The Antiquity Of Laying Corner Stones With Religious And Mystical Ceremonies.*

A LECTURE ON THE ANTIQUITY OF LAYING CORNER STONES WITH RELIGIOUS AND MYSTICAL CEREMONIES . *

DELIVERED BEFORE THE WINSLOW LEWIS LODGE OF FREEMASONS IN 1879 ; AND BEFORE THE A . A . A . IN 1880 . BY BRO . R . W . CHARLES LEVI WOODBURY . PROPOSE to lecture on the antiquity of the laying of corner stones for

I public buildings with religious ancl mystical ceremonies . In doing this , I shall chiefly call your attention to late discoveries ancl translations from Egyptian ancl Assyrian inscriptions which have evaded the ravages of time for several thousands of years , ancl whose recent translation by scholars has let in a lig ht on the distant past of the Masonic Craft as extraordinary as it is interesting to all Masonic students .

These records , carved in stone or burnt into terra-cotta cylinders , are still extant ancl living witnesses of the facts they state , ancl may not be . denied . You know that the Grand Lodges of Freemasonry , certainl y for the past century and a half , have been in the habit of laying the corner stones of edifices of a public , religious , or benevolent character with peculiar ceremonies . The history of this usage has not , that I am aware ofbeen hitherto

, explored ; but I shall lay before you evidence of the antiquity of that usage , of undoubted authenticity as far as it goes . Properly viewed , these new facts seem to me important in the history of Masonry , whether considered as an art or as an association of men . For the Masonic student to weigh well what the stones have spoken , a few facts should be borne in mind .

1 st . We are to compare our usages , forms , and knowledge -with those in vogue among the Pharaohs , —not theirs to us . 2 nd . That the Master Mason of antiquity -was the architect and draftsman in architecture , combining these with his other practical functions , until after A . D . 1550 , when Palladio began to set the example of separating the functions of architect from those of a Master Mason .

Whilst the Freemasons were roaming through Europe , cathedral building , never permanently resident anywhere , they were able to preserve their libert y , independence , ancl class organisation , because the hi ghest and the lowest in brains , wealth , ancl skill clung together , ancl macle common cause against the assaults of feudal arrogance and monarchial cupidity . It is generall y conceded that men of brains , priests , nobles , and kings were attracted to and admitted within their lodges . In no other way than by the aid of such protection ancl

fellowship can you account for the long and successful fight they maintained in England against the statutes prohibiting their annual assemblies and general chapters , their oaths , ancl agreements of initiation . It was only when further violation was made felony , ancl modifications had enabled masters to avoid the statute of wages by contracting in gross , or by the piece , that the local laws appear to have controlled these strong organisations ; ancl traditions make it probable that this control was rather in enforcing greater secrecy than in actual suppression .