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Article COIRESPGNDENCE. ← Page 6 of 11 →
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Coirespgndence.
"Where was the universality of Masonry at that period ? The fact is , no such figment was ever entertained by our ancient Brethren . For how can a society that systematically rejects certain classes of men , claim for itself so untenable an attribute ? In the laws of Masonry promulgated by the Grand Lodge in the remn of Charles II .. a . d . 1663 . this exclusion is ' distinctly enunciated . " That no
person be hereafter accepted , but such as are able of body , honest in parentage * of good reputation , and observers of the laws of the land , Arid the Master of every Lodge shall enrol the same on parchment , and shall give an account of such acceptation at every general assembly . " And , in our present Constitutions , the disability is extended to women , minors , private soldiers , and all unlearned men , of whatever description , who are unable to sign their names to the declaration .
These statements are fatal to the doctrine of universality ; for nothing can be universal that is in the slightest degree exclusive . And this brings in the third definition , that universality cannot be confined to any isolated institution } but must be an absolute ( genus comprising all partimlars . " Hence no religion or church at present existing , can claim this attribute , No
Christian Church , any more than Freemasonry , is or can be universal , Neither the Eastern , nor the Western ; neither the Greek , the Latin , nor the reformed churches , nor dissenters from them ail , any more than the religion of Mahomet or Buddha , or of the worshippers of the Great Spirit on the prairies of either America , are able to establish for their respective codes an universal application , JEven the wildest of them all would not be so inconsistent as to advance such a baseless
claim ; for itwould be ignored by the common consent of mankind . And further , it is a novel demand in the system of Freemasonry , introduced only about a century ago by Bro . Dunkerly , who was an amiable enthusiast , and never dreamt that it would be distorted to the meaning which has been assigned to it at the present day . And he only asserts that as there are Masons dispersed over the whole face of the globe , so ought a Mason ' s character to be equally uni ^ versal . "
Now it will be observed that Bro . Dunkerley , by this expression , could have no intention of inculcating or asserting the universality of the entire Order , but only that of a Mason ' s character . And yet , on such a feeble foundation , many of our Brethren speak of the universality of Masonry as if it were an indisputable and well-established fact , as ancient as the hills , Eut in reality it is neither the one
nor the other . For what proportion do the Masons bear to the population of the world ? One in twenty—one in a hundred—or one in a hundred thousand ? The latter computation would approximate nearest to the truth . Away then with this incredible figment ; for Freemasonry does not—cannot—nor ever will , embrace the whole human species , and consequently never can be universal .
What then is universal over this globe of earth , and its superincumbent orbs oi heaven ? The all seeing eye of God is universal ; for our Grand Master David says , as the passage is beautifully rendered in Brady and Tate ' s version of Psalm cxxxix . 8 " If up to heav ' n I take my flight , "Tis there Thou dwelfst enthron'd in light ; Or dive to hell's infernal plains , 'Tis there Almighty vengeance reigns . If I the morning ' s wings could gain ,
And fly beyond the western main , Thy swifter hand would first arrive , And there arrest thy fugitive . Or should I try to shun thy sight Beneath the sable wings of night , One glance from Thee , one piercing ray , Would kindle darkness into day . The veil of night is no disguise , No scroon from thine all-searching eyea ; Through midnight shadesThou find'st thy way , As in the blazing noon of day . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Coirespgndence.
"Where was the universality of Masonry at that period ? The fact is , no such figment was ever entertained by our ancient Brethren . For how can a society that systematically rejects certain classes of men , claim for itself so untenable an attribute ? In the laws of Masonry promulgated by the Grand Lodge in the remn of Charles II .. a . d . 1663 . this exclusion is ' distinctly enunciated . " That no
person be hereafter accepted , but such as are able of body , honest in parentage * of good reputation , and observers of the laws of the land , Arid the Master of every Lodge shall enrol the same on parchment , and shall give an account of such acceptation at every general assembly . " And , in our present Constitutions , the disability is extended to women , minors , private soldiers , and all unlearned men , of whatever description , who are unable to sign their names to the declaration .
These statements are fatal to the doctrine of universality ; for nothing can be universal that is in the slightest degree exclusive . And this brings in the third definition , that universality cannot be confined to any isolated institution } but must be an absolute ( genus comprising all partimlars . " Hence no religion or church at present existing , can claim this attribute , No
Christian Church , any more than Freemasonry , is or can be universal , Neither the Eastern , nor the Western ; neither the Greek , the Latin , nor the reformed churches , nor dissenters from them ail , any more than the religion of Mahomet or Buddha , or of the worshippers of the Great Spirit on the prairies of either America , are able to establish for their respective codes an universal application , JEven the wildest of them all would not be so inconsistent as to advance such a baseless
claim ; for itwould be ignored by the common consent of mankind . And further , it is a novel demand in the system of Freemasonry , introduced only about a century ago by Bro . Dunkerly , who was an amiable enthusiast , and never dreamt that it would be distorted to the meaning which has been assigned to it at the present day . And he only asserts that as there are Masons dispersed over the whole face of the globe , so ought a Mason ' s character to be equally uni ^ versal . "
Now it will be observed that Bro . Dunkerley , by this expression , could have no intention of inculcating or asserting the universality of the entire Order , but only that of a Mason ' s character . And yet , on such a feeble foundation , many of our Brethren speak of the universality of Masonry as if it were an indisputable and well-established fact , as ancient as the hills , Eut in reality it is neither the one
nor the other . For what proportion do the Masons bear to the population of the world ? One in twenty—one in a hundred—or one in a hundred thousand ? The latter computation would approximate nearest to the truth . Away then with this incredible figment ; for Freemasonry does not—cannot—nor ever will , embrace the whole human species , and consequently never can be universal .
What then is universal over this globe of earth , and its superincumbent orbs oi heaven ? The all seeing eye of God is universal ; for our Grand Master David says , as the passage is beautifully rendered in Brady and Tate ' s version of Psalm cxxxix . 8 " If up to heav ' n I take my flight , "Tis there Thou dwelfst enthron'd in light ; Or dive to hell's infernal plains , 'Tis there Almighty vengeance reigns . If I the morning ' s wings could gain ,
And fly beyond the western main , Thy swifter hand would first arrive , And there arrest thy fugitive . Or should I try to shun thy sight Beneath the sable wings of night , One glance from Thee , one piercing ray , Would kindle darkness into day . The veil of night is no disguise , No scroon from thine all-searching eyea ; Through midnight shadesThou find'st thy way , As in the blazing noon of day . "