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Article among their ranks were many learned eccl... ← Page 2 of 12 →
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Among Their Ranks Were Many Learned Eccl...
Weshall XLOt so far insult the common sense and intelligence of the readers of this magazine as to enter upon any refutation of the absurdities contained in this extract . The writer ' s comparison of the costume of the Assassins and Templars the slanderous assertion of the irreligious and revolutionary
principles which he attributes to Freemasonry would be laughable , were we not moved rather to pity his ignorance and malice ; However , as Masons we can well afford to treat with contempt attacks of this kind , well knowing that the principles of our Order have for so many centuries blazed forth with undimmed lustre , even in the eyes of the profane , that an ignorance of its undoubted virtues can hardly be
otherwise than assumed , and as such may be left to a well-merited contempt . -We have , however , entered upon this subject in consequence of another author * of a ' very different kind , having suggested that Freemasonry was introduced into Europe from the east by the Templars , who had received it from the Ismaelitans . f We think , on the contrary , that there is abundant evidence that it was carried , to the east by the learned men who joined the second crusade . It is not however by any means improbable , that the Templars , in the course of their long sojourn in Asia , during the frequent truces between
the infidels and the Christians , became acquainted ( as far as men of differing feith could honestly do ) with the Isniaelitans , which body doubtless in its constitution and government had some points of resemblance to their own . Of this tribe ( the Ismaelitans ) little is distinctly known , and we are inclined to think that the prejudices of
the earlier Christian writers has given them a far worse character than was really their due . For their other name of " Assassins , " which has come to be a term of infamy in Europe , we presume our readers are aware that it was derived from the eastern drug hashish , a vile preparation of hemp used by devotees in the east to-this day —and in which no doubt the followers of the " Old Man of the
Mountain" ( as their chief was called ) indulged when about to undertake any desperate enterprise . The Crusaders who suffered from the daring attacks of this tribe , naturally ascribed every crime to the hated " liasMsheen" and the word has come down to our time as the most degrading epithet which can be applied to man . The Druses of Mount Lebanon are the undoubted descendants of this tribe of Ismaelitans . AH travellers agree that these people have preserved a strict morality and a sober and decent
deport-* Adler ; "De Drusis Montis Lebani ; " Roma ., 1786 . f With regard to the supposed Oriental source of western architecture , a writer in the Builder says : —* I remember once standing before the magnificent front of Peterborough Cathedral with an old Indian officer , when he said , 'Why , this is just what we see throughout the east ; huge pointed portals running rip to the top of the building ; spires , pinnacles , everything like the minarets , the aspiring character of Mussulman architecture . ' And this style came into general use after the crusades . We do not say thiit the dogma post hoc , ergo prompter hoe , is always correct , but surely it is in this instance . " The Indian officer ' s theory is curious , but in our opinion not capable of being sustained .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Among Their Ranks Were Many Learned Eccl...
Weshall XLOt so far insult the common sense and intelligence of the readers of this magazine as to enter upon any refutation of the absurdities contained in this extract . The writer ' s comparison of the costume of the Assassins and Templars the slanderous assertion of the irreligious and revolutionary
principles which he attributes to Freemasonry would be laughable , were we not moved rather to pity his ignorance and malice ; However , as Masons we can well afford to treat with contempt attacks of this kind , well knowing that the principles of our Order have for so many centuries blazed forth with undimmed lustre , even in the eyes of the profane , that an ignorance of its undoubted virtues can hardly be
otherwise than assumed , and as such may be left to a well-merited contempt . -We have , however , entered upon this subject in consequence of another author * of a ' very different kind , having suggested that Freemasonry was introduced into Europe from the east by the Templars , who had received it from the Ismaelitans . f We think , on the contrary , that there is abundant evidence that it was carried , to the east by the learned men who joined the second crusade . It is not however by any means improbable , that the Templars , in the course of their long sojourn in Asia , during the frequent truces between
the infidels and the Christians , became acquainted ( as far as men of differing feith could honestly do ) with the Isniaelitans , which body doubtless in its constitution and government had some points of resemblance to their own . Of this tribe ( the Ismaelitans ) little is distinctly known , and we are inclined to think that the prejudices of
the earlier Christian writers has given them a far worse character than was really their due . For their other name of " Assassins , " which has come to be a term of infamy in Europe , we presume our readers are aware that it was derived from the eastern drug hashish , a vile preparation of hemp used by devotees in the east to-this day —and in which no doubt the followers of the " Old Man of the
Mountain" ( as their chief was called ) indulged when about to undertake any desperate enterprise . The Crusaders who suffered from the daring attacks of this tribe , naturally ascribed every crime to the hated " liasMsheen" and the word has come down to our time as the most degrading epithet which can be applied to man . The Druses of Mount Lebanon are the undoubted descendants of this tribe of Ismaelitans . AH travellers agree that these people have preserved a strict morality and a sober and decent
deport-* Adler ; "De Drusis Montis Lebani ; " Roma ., 1786 . f With regard to the supposed Oriental source of western architecture , a writer in the Builder says : —* I remember once standing before the magnificent front of Peterborough Cathedral with an old Indian officer , when he said , 'Why , this is just what we see throughout the east ; huge pointed portals running rip to the top of the building ; spires , pinnacles , everything like the minarets , the aspiring character of Mussulman architecture . ' And this style came into general use after the crusades . We do not say thiit the dogma post hoc , ergo prompter hoe , is always correct , but surely it is in this instance . " The Indian officer ' s theory is curious , but in our opinion not capable of being sustained .