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Article MASONIC JIIEISPRUDENCE. Page 1 of 1
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Masonic Jiieisprudence.
MASONIC JIIEISPRUDENCE .
It has often been remarked as a singular circumstance in the history of a great and influential society , that Preemasonry , amidst all its fluctuations—whether in times of its most palmy prosperity or during seasons of dire adversity and persecution—whether numbering
kings , peers , and prelates amongst its patrons and defenders , or broken into fragments by discreditable schisms among of its own body— -should have existed for so many centuries without some attempt being made to illustrate and explain its peculiar laws and regulations . Is it because they are self-interpreting and need not the aid of glasses ? This cannot be , for there is scarcely a single article in the Book of Constitutions which has not been productive
of adverse opinions at one time or another ; which like many other differences , has sometimes led to feelings of hostility at variance with the peaceful character of the institutiou . Who can tell us the reason why apparent contradictions have not been reconciled , and doubtful laws exemplified , before the middle of the nineteenth
century ? How is this anomaly to be explained ? "Who shall saywhy Preemasonry thus lags behind , when everything else in our social system is moving forward in the onward march of progressive improvement ? The civil and ecclesiastical lawyers have no such complaint , because the statues and canons ordained by authority for the regulation of human actions in society are amply illustrated by reports , commentaries , digests , and year-books , without end—treatise
after treatise treading on each others' heels , and trying to jostle their predecessors off the stage ; while the Eree and Accepted Mason has no reference , under circumstances of doubt and difficulty , but to the naked text of the Book of Constitutions . We do not , therefore , hesitate to congratulate / the fraternity on the fact that arrangements are now in progress to remedy the
deficiency . Bro . Spencer has in the press a work on Masonic Jurisprudence from the pen of that veteran writer , the Rev . Dr . Oliver , which can be considered in no other light than as a valuable boon to the Craft ; because a competent knowledge of the law , which it is
the object of such a work to furnish , constitutes an indispensable preliminary towards the establishment of a bright Masonic reputation , without which no brother can hope to share in the honours and dignities of the Order . It is a book which is sure to be in great request ; for no one that cares anything about Masonry , with such a source of reference at his command , would refuse to avail himself of a gift by which all his doubts may be removed , his errors corrected , and truth and certainty substituted in their places .
Thu . k Brotherhood . —The Brother who defends the chai \ acter of u friend behind his back as he would do before his face , executes most nobly one of the high characteristics of Masonry . —Boole of the Lodge .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Jiieisprudence.
MASONIC JIIEISPRUDENCE .
It has often been remarked as a singular circumstance in the history of a great and influential society , that Preemasonry , amidst all its fluctuations—whether in times of its most palmy prosperity or during seasons of dire adversity and persecution—whether numbering
kings , peers , and prelates amongst its patrons and defenders , or broken into fragments by discreditable schisms among of its own body— -should have existed for so many centuries without some attempt being made to illustrate and explain its peculiar laws and regulations . Is it because they are self-interpreting and need not the aid of glasses ? This cannot be , for there is scarcely a single article in the Book of Constitutions which has not been productive
of adverse opinions at one time or another ; which like many other differences , has sometimes led to feelings of hostility at variance with the peaceful character of the institutiou . Who can tell us the reason why apparent contradictions have not been reconciled , and doubtful laws exemplified , before the middle of the nineteenth
century ? How is this anomaly to be explained ? "Who shall saywhy Preemasonry thus lags behind , when everything else in our social system is moving forward in the onward march of progressive improvement ? The civil and ecclesiastical lawyers have no such complaint , because the statues and canons ordained by authority for the regulation of human actions in society are amply illustrated by reports , commentaries , digests , and year-books , without end—treatise
after treatise treading on each others' heels , and trying to jostle their predecessors off the stage ; while the Eree and Accepted Mason has no reference , under circumstances of doubt and difficulty , but to the naked text of the Book of Constitutions . We do not , therefore , hesitate to congratulate / the fraternity on the fact that arrangements are now in progress to remedy the
deficiency . Bro . Spencer has in the press a work on Masonic Jurisprudence from the pen of that veteran writer , the Rev . Dr . Oliver , which can be considered in no other light than as a valuable boon to the Craft ; because a competent knowledge of the law , which it is
the object of such a work to furnish , constitutes an indispensable preliminary towards the establishment of a bright Masonic reputation , without which no brother can hope to share in the honours and dignities of the Order . It is a book which is sure to be in great request ; for no one that cares anything about Masonry , with such a source of reference at his command , would refuse to avail himself of a gift by which all his doubts may be removed , his errors corrected , and truth and certainty substituted in their places .
Thu . k Brotherhood . —The Brother who defends the chai \ acter of u friend behind his back as he would do before his face , executes most nobly one of the high characteristics of Masonry . —Boole of the Lodge .