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Article FREEMASONRY VINDICATED. ← Page 5 of 7 →
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Freemasonry Vindicated.
castigator has drawn frfsmighty weapons . He " hopesbe does not offend " by calling Sir A , Alison ' s attention to Eobison ' s Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religious Governments of Europe carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons , fyc . To this opponent , more feeble even than " Medicus , " we are really surprised that any reply was made at all on the
part of our brethren , unless indeed some benevolent individual in the Craft had thought proper to enclose a copy of u Pinnock ' s History of England " to the reverend editor . A different view of the case was taken in Edinburgh , and an answer was prepared , which we fancy was elicited more by the position of Mr . Wright as a clergyman , than try the force of his arguments and eloquence , or by the depth of his research . A long and most interesting paper was put forth under the signature of " | c Lapicida , which teems with
learning , forcible reasoning , and fervent eloquence . It is impossible in our limited space to do even scanty justice to this valuable contribution to our literature , we must refer our readers to the original , and we are confident that those who have not already perused it , will thank us for drawing their attention to it . A few points we may notice . The author , after a curious and interesting dissertation upon the various modes of greeting with the right hand , tracing the custom from the remotes ^ antiquity , proceeds to
notice the accusation of u Freemasonry versus Christianity , " which he enters upon at great length , and disposes of most completely , giving in the course of his argument extracts from the writings of Masonic authors , all of them ministers of the gospel , which go to prove that the opinions held by the Rev . James Wright are not common among the members of his profession . With regard to an absurd sneer of this person at the timehonoured badge of our order , Lapicida '' says : —
" Sir A . Alison has certainly intellect enough to enable him to understand the design of the peculiar clothing of Freemasons ; and that being the case , he is most unlikely to laugh when he sees it applied to its special and legitimate use . The chief article of the Masonic dress is the apron . It was the first article of dress that was ever worn by man . It was specially worn by operative Masons , with whom speculative Masonry was early associated ; and , therefore , it now forms the
distinguishing badge of a speculative Mason . He is invested with it in a formal manner , in the course of initiation , and it serves the same purpose to him as the girdle , ephod , and mitre did to the Jewish priests ,- —as the ribbons , collars , and mantles do to the Knights of the Garter , or the Thistle , —as surplices , cloaks , and bands to ministers of the gospel , —or as gowns , cravats , and wigs to the judges of our supreme courts . If the Masonic apron is childish , so in like manner are those parts of dress which distinguish these and other orders of men /'
But the greater part of Lapicida ' s letter is devoted to the demolition of Professor Kobison ' s absurd theory ; and into this wc need not enter - , as that work has been recently dissected in the pages of this Magazine . Our author winds up his denunciation as follows : — " Professor Robison ' s book , as might be expected , is now considered to be utterly worthless and contemptible . It is never referred to as an authority . It is scouted by all men who lay any claim to common sense or discrimination . When
the passions of men began to cool , and when the smoke and dust of the French Revolution gradually cleared away , and the mental eye could more distinctly note the causes which had been at work during that eventful era , it was seen that many of his statements were destitute of foundation , and , in fact , were purely visionary and absurd;—the product of a mind irritated by disease , and bewildered and perverted by the terrors inspired by the commotions and atrocities of the French Revolution . " The last attack upon Freemasonry upon which wc are at present called to remark , appeared in the Edinburgh News , of last June , under the very
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry Vindicated.
castigator has drawn frfsmighty weapons . He " hopesbe does not offend " by calling Sir A , Alison ' s attention to Eobison ' s Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religious Governments of Europe carried on in the Secret Meetings of Freemasons , fyc . To this opponent , more feeble even than " Medicus , " we are really surprised that any reply was made at all on the
part of our brethren , unless indeed some benevolent individual in the Craft had thought proper to enclose a copy of u Pinnock ' s History of England " to the reverend editor . A different view of the case was taken in Edinburgh , and an answer was prepared , which we fancy was elicited more by the position of Mr . Wright as a clergyman , than try the force of his arguments and eloquence , or by the depth of his research . A long and most interesting paper was put forth under the signature of " | c Lapicida , which teems with
learning , forcible reasoning , and fervent eloquence . It is impossible in our limited space to do even scanty justice to this valuable contribution to our literature , we must refer our readers to the original , and we are confident that those who have not already perused it , will thank us for drawing their attention to it . A few points we may notice . The author , after a curious and interesting dissertation upon the various modes of greeting with the right hand , tracing the custom from the remotes ^ antiquity , proceeds to
notice the accusation of u Freemasonry versus Christianity , " which he enters upon at great length , and disposes of most completely , giving in the course of his argument extracts from the writings of Masonic authors , all of them ministers of the gospel , which go to prove that the opinions held by the Rev . James Wright are not common among the members of his profession . With regard to an absurd sneer of this person at the timehonoured badge of our order , Lapicida '' says : —
" Sir A . Alison has certainly intellect enough to enable him to understand the design of the peculiar clothing of Freemasons ; and that being the case , he is most unlikely to laugh when he sees it applied to its special and legitimate use . The chief article of the Masonic dress is the apron . It was the first article of dress that was ever worn by man . It was specially worn by operative Masons , with whom speculative Masonry was early associated ; and , therefore , it now forms the
distinguishing badge of a speculative Mason . He is invested with it in a formal manner , in the course of initiation , and it serves the same purpose to him as the girdle , ephod , and mitre did to the Jewish priests ,- —as the ribbons , collars , and mantles do to the Knights of the Garter , or the Thistle , —as surplices , cloaks , and bands to ministers of the gospel , —or as gowns , cravats , and wigs to the judges of our supreme courts . If the Masonic apron is childish , so in like manner are those parts of dress which distinguish these and other orders of men /'
But the greater part of Lapicida ' s letter is devoted to the demolition of Professor Kobison ' s absurd theory ; and into this wc need not enter - , as that work has been recently dissected in the pages of this Magazine . Our author winds up his denunciation as follows : — " Professor Robison ' s book , as might be expected , is now considered to be utterly worthless and contemptible . It is never referred to as an authority . It is scouted by all men who lay any claim to common sense or discrimination . When
the passions of men began to cool , and when the smoke and dust of the French Revolution gradually cleared away , and the mental eye could more distinctly note the causes which had been at work during that eventful era , it was seen that many of his statements were destitute of foundation , and , in fact , were purely visionary and absurd;—the product of a mind irritated by disease , and bewildered and perverted by the terrors inspired by the commotions and atrocities of the French Revolution . " The last attack upon Freemasonry upon which wc are at present called to remark , appeared in the Edinburgh News , of last June , under the very