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Article ANCIENT WRITERS AND MODERN PRACTICES. Page 1 of 9 →
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Ancient Writers And Modern Practices.
ANCIENT WRITERS AND MODERN PRACTICES .
( Continued from page 542 . ) "We now come to the consideration of the first point brought forward by our writer , viz ., " the essential characteristics of the Orders of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons . '' In the first place , our readers must be aware that this connection of the Rosicrucians
with the Free-Masons is an error , inasmuch as the Order of the Rose-Croix is not recognized by the Grand Lodge of England as a degree in Free-Masonry . It is true that as the Order now exists , it is confined by a by-law of its own to those who are at least Master Masons , in the same way that the Order of Knights Templar is restricted to Royal Arch Masons by its own internal statutes . We by no means
wish to speak disrespectfully of either of these Orders , to the former of which by the bye we do not belong , but we repeat that the mere fact of their being restricted to Free-Masons does not make them part of Free-Masonry , or even connect them with it , so long as that connection is not recognized by the governing body of the Craft . The first essential characteristic of the Order , he continues ( for where it may be done fairly , we will consider his observations—at present at any rate—as applying to Free-Masonry alone ) , is that they
assume as their fundamental maxim , " entire equality of personal rights amongst the members in relation to their final object . " All distinctions of social rank are annihilated . In the character of
Masons , the prince and the lowest citizen behaye reciprocally as free men—standing to each other in no relation of civic inequality . He then explains the different degrees through which novices have to pass before their admission to the full participation of the secrets of the Order , without which regulation , he says , dangerous persons might
sometimes have crept into the councils of the society : which in fact happened occasionally in spite of all provisions to the contrary . What can be more true or just ? So far , at least , he does not attack us . It would perhaps be well for the sake of our non-Masonic readers to remark , that the words "in the character of Masons , "
should be emphasized ; for though Free-Masons meet on an equality in their Lodges , and a tradesman if in office ranks there above a peer not in office or of a lower degree , yet as soon as the meeting is dissolved the necessary distinctions of society are again in force ; and though by means of Free-Masonry many a good understanding has been brought about , and kindly feelings engendered between persons of different social grades , yet a Free-Mason of proper feeling never takes advantage of the fact of his being a Free-Mason to
thrust himself on those of higher rank than himself , or to take any undue liberties with them . He proceeds to say , in the second place , that " Women , children , those who were not in the full possession of civic freedom , Jews ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Writers And Modern Practices.
ANCIENT WRITERS AND MODERN PRACTICES .
( Continued from page 542 . ) "We now come to the consideration of the first point brought forward by our writer , viz ., " the essential characteristics of the Orders of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons . '' In the first place , our readers must be aware that this connection of the Rosicrucians
with the Free-Masons is an error , inasmuch as the Order of the Rose-Croix is not recognized by the Grand Lodge of England as a degree in Free-Masonry . It is true that as the Order now exists , it is confined by a by-law of its own to those who are at least Master Masons , in the same way that the Order of Knights Templar is restricted to Royal Arch Masons by its own internal statutes . We by no means
wish to speak disrespectfully of either of these Orders , to the former of which by the bye we do not belong , but we repeat that the mere fact of their being restricted to Free-Masons does not make them part of Free-Masonry , or even connect them with it , so long as that connection is not recognized by the governing body of the Craft . The first essential characteristic of the Order , he continues ( for where it may be done fairly , we will consider his observations—at present at any rate—as applying to Free-Masonry alone ) , is that they
assume as their fundamental maxim , " entire equality of personal rights amongst the members in relation to their final object . " All distinctions of social rank are annihilated . In the character of
Masons , the prince and the lowest citizen behaye reciprocally as free men—standing to each other in no relation of civic inequality . He then explains the different degrees through which novices have to pass before their admission to the full participation of the secrets of the Order , without which regulation , he says , dangerous persons might
sometimes have crept into the councils of the society : which in fact happened occasionally in spite of all provisions to the contrary . What can be more true or just ? So far , at least , he does not attack us . It would perhaps be well for the sake of our non-Masonic readers to remark , that the words "in the character of Masons , "
should be emphasized ; for though Free-Masons meet on an equality in their Lodges , and a tradesman if in office ranks there above a peer not in office or of a lower degree , yet as soon as the meeting is dissolved the necessary distinctions of society are again in force ; and though by means of Free-Masonry many a good understanding has been brought about , and kindly feelings engendered between persons of different social grades , yet a Free-Mason of proper feeling never takes advantage of the fact of his being a Free-Mason to
thrust himself on those of higher rank than himself , or to take any undue liberties with them . He proceeds to say , in the second place , that " Women , children , those who were not in the full possession of civic freedom , Jews ,