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Article ANCIENT WRITERS AND MODERN PRACTICES ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Ancient Writers And Modern Practices
It was , however , at the time , much more the object of reflection and thought than had been formerly the case , as he could remember the time when a Mason ' s Lodge was considered merely as a pretext u passing an hour or two in a sort of decent conviviality , not altogether void of some rational occupation . " Then , as now , it appears , the Order of Eree-Masons was watched with a jealous eye by the external world ; and if then , so now does it behove us as
cussed at a dinner party , and the major declaimed loudly against the system , " which , of course , " in the words of Mr . Cuthbert Becle , in " Verdant Green , " "he was eminently qualified to do , from his intimate acquaintance with the subject . " Upon this two young Master Masons who happened to be present , charged the gallant major , in their zeal , with breaking his Masonic obligation ; the
consequence of which was , that althougli they were mistaken ( for a Eree-Mason does not bind himself not to speak ill of his Order ) , the major was so indignant that he forthwith rushed into print , and published a book against the Order , whicli caused us to come into it at the first Lodge that was held after our twenty-first birthday . To return , however , to Professor Eobison ' s work . Whatever Eobison may say about other societies , he does not seem to lay much evil to the charge of the Eree-Masons . He begins with lamenting the deviation from the simple ceremonial of England , which was then beginning to gain ground in . Germany and other parts of the continent . He doubtless , however , foresaw the evils arising from this diversity of working , from the words of Horace which he quotes on his title-page : — " Nam tua res agitur paries , cum proximus ardet . " ( Eor your property is in danger w'heri your next neighbour ' s house is on fire . )
Masons to give no occasion to any to carp at the Order through the failings of individual members ; and the more careful must we be to exclude all w ho , by the licentiousness of their lives or the laxity of their morals , might cast upon the Order at large the discredit which should attach only to themselves . Still , notwithstanding Professor Eobison ' s disapproval of departure from simplicity of ritual , though he had heard differences of doctrines or ceremonies spoken of in terms whicli marked them as frivolities , he found them on the
Continent matters of serious concern and debate , Such , too , was the contagion of example , that he could not hinder himself from thinking one opinion better founded , or one ritual more apposite and significant than another , or even something like an anxiety for its adoption , and a / , eal for making it a general practice . How many instances of this same kind do wo daily meet with now . The young and enthusiastic Mason dissatisfied , it may bo , with one portion or
other of the ritual , or gifted with an ear perhaps too nice to appreciate the quaintness of some of the Masonic language , whicli , like that of many other rituals now changed was good enough for our forefathers , straightway desires a change ., and like the Athenians ot
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Writers And Modern Practices
It was , however , at the time , much more the object of reflection and thought than had been formerly the case , as he could remember the time when a Mason ' s Lodge was considered merely as a pretext u passing an hour or two in a sort of decent conviviality , not altogether void of some rational occupation . " Then , as now , it appears , the Order of Eree-Masons was watched with a jealous eye by the external world ; and if then , so now does it behove us as
cussed at a dinner party , and the major declaimed loudly against the system , " which , of course , " in the words of Mr . Cuthbert Becle , in " Verdant Green , " "he was eminently qualified to do , from his intimate acquaintance with the subject . " Upon this two young Master Masons who happened to be present , charged the gallant major , in their zeal , with breaking his Masonic obligation ; the
consequence of which was , that althougli they were mistaken ( for a Eree-Mason does not bind himself not to speak ill of his Order ) , the major was so indignant that he forthwith rushed into print , and published a book against the Order , whicli caused us to come into it at the first Lodge that was held after our twenty-first birthday . To return , however , to Professor Eobison ' s work . Whatever Eobison may say about other societies , he does not seem to lay much evil to the charge of the Eree-Masons . He begins with lamenting the deviation from the simple ceremonial of England , which was then beginning to gain ground in . Germany and other parts of the continent . He doubtless , however , foresaw the evils arising from this diversity of working , from the words of Horace which he quotes on his title-page : — " Nam tua res agitur paries , cum proximus ardet . " ( Eor your property is in danger w'heri your next neighbour ' s house is on fire . )
Masons to give no occasion to any to carp at the Order through the failings of individual members ; and the more careful must we be to exclude all w ho , by the licentiousness of their lives or the laxity of their morals , might cast upon the Order at large the discredit which should attach only to themselves . Still , notwithstanding Professor Eobison ' s disapproval of departure from simplicity of ritual , though he had heard differences of doctrines or ceremonies spoken of in terms whicli marked them as frivolities , he found them on the
Continent matters of serious concern and debate , Such , too , was the contagion of example , that he could not hinder himself from thinking one opinion better founded , or one ritual more apposite and significant than another , or even something like an anxiety for its adoption , and a / , eal for making it a general practice . How many instances of this same kind do wo daily meet with now . The young and enthusiastic Mason dissatisfied , it may bo , with one portion or
other of the ritual , or gifted with an ear perhaps too nice to appreciate the quaintness of some of the Masonic language , whicli , like that of many other rituals now changed was good enough for our forefathers , straightway desires a change ., and like the Athenians ot