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  • March 7, 1863
  • Page 5
  • ON THE ARCH AND ARCADES.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, March 7, 1863: Page 5

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    Article SCOTLAND. ← Page 4 of 4
    Article ON THE ARCH AND ARCADES. Page 1 of 4 →
Page 5

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Scotland.

Robert Walker , 69 Alexander Watson , 1 st Soj . 18 James Bryden , 50 William Turner , 2 nd Soj . 18 John Ball , Treas . 78 Arch . Eae , 18 John McLean , 67 David Dunlop , 18 gobert Morton , Jan ., 79 James Mann , 18 Daniel McKay , 50 J . S . McMurtrie , 18 Thomas Paton , 69 John H ., 18 James Aitkin , 67 John Kelly , 18

Irving Ferguson , J . 50 Quin H . Pollock , 18 William Hill , 50 John Watson , 18 Charles Brown , Scribe E . 50 John Inglis , 3 rd Soj . 18 George Cranston , 67 Archibald Guthrie , 80 Peter Agnew , 50 Neil Pollock , jun . 18 David Jack , 79 William Alexander , 18 Thomas Coward , Scribe E . 69 David J . McHutcbeson , lf . D . 18 WiBian David Henderson , 50 Jos . Erskine , 18

William Eichmond , 67 Hugh Henry , 18 James D . Porteous , 50 Dougall M'Neil , 69 L . Leffman , 50 ' James O . Park , 17 Q . A . Stevenonson , 73 Alexander J . Walker , 69 W . H . Dingley , 50 William Foulds , 69 Eobert Fleming , 69 J . B . Wig-htman , 69 J . P . Harkness , 50 Thomas Gordon , 69 David Eamsay 69 Allan Paterson 67

, , E . W . Morrison , 69 James Turnbull , 76 J . L . Duncan , 69 Robert Decker , 76 Gordon Smith , 50 J . W . Foubister , 50 Peter McKinnon , H . 78 Daniel Keith , 50 William G . Hickson , 69 Charles Boss , 50 Eobert McCallum , 69 Nicholas Black , 50 Thomas CamerondPast H . 69 Thomas TorranceZ 78

, , . Mitchell Allen , P . P . Z . 67 Alexander Bizzett , P . Z . 78 James Thomson , 69 Thomas Clark , 78 John Craig , 50 Robert Davidson , 78 William Bremner , 73 John Cross , 2 nd Soj . 78 James SIcGilvray , 73 John Spence , 78 James Campbell , P . Z . 67 James Duff , 78 James Leith , 67 Charles Burns , P . H . 78

H . D . Willock , 67 James Taylor , 1 st Soj . James Scott , 73 James Forbes , S . B . Peter Fulton , 50 Alexander W . Baxter 67 John Buchanan , 69 John Gumming , 79 James Lindsay , 69 John Cairns , 69 Wm . Pollock , P . Z . 18 AVilliam Crawford , 67 James Telfer , P . H . 18 Walker M'Leod , 69 Andrew Hunter , P . Z . 18 F . M'Rae 50

James Wallace , Scribe E . 18 E . Claasen , 50 David Bigham , Scribe N . 18 Hugh Muir , 69 R . B . Hill , Treas . 18 J . H . Hewitt , 50 In order to p lace themselves in what they consider a legal position under the Secret Societies Act , the above-signed companions deputed some of their number to before a Justice of the Peace

appear , and they have since issued the following certificate . We , the undersigned , the Pirst and Third Grand Principals , the Grand Scribe N , and the Treasurer Provisional ) of the General Grand Chapter of Eoyal Arch Masons for Scotland and the Colonies , compeared this day , before meDavid TuileEsquire

, , , one of Her Majesty ' s Justices of the Peace for the County of Lanark , and did certify on oath that the said General Grand Chapter for Scotland and the Colonies , with her subordinate or daughter Chapters , are held solely for the purposes of Preemasonry , in conformit y Avith the exemptions to the Acts 27

George III ., c . 123 and 39 George III ., c , 79 . This we do upon the thirty-first day of December , Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-two years . ( Signed ) Donald Campbell , 1 st G . Principal Z . Neil B . Dalveen , 3 rd G . Principal J . James Muir , G . Scribe N . Hutcheson Campbell , G . Treasurer .

Compeared before me , one of Her Majesty ' s Justices of the Peace , Donald Campbell , Neil B . Dalveen , James Muir , and Hutcheson Campbell , who being solemnly sworn , declare the above to be true . ( Signed ) - DAVID YUILE , J . P . for Lanarkshire .

On The Arch And Arcades.

ON THE ARCH AND ARCADES .

A EGCTURE DELIA EHED BY PHOEESSOK SMIRKE AT THE EOYAL ACADEMl * . I think ifc may fairly be said thafc most of man ' s greatest discoveries have been the result , humanly speaking , of accident . The manufacture of glass , and gunpowder , the discovery of the magnetic needle , and of

the steam engine , are striking , although perhaps somewhat trite , illustrations of this truth . Indeed , the history of science is full of examples of what may be , in some sense , regarded as the fortuitous origin , not only of the great inventions of human ingenuity , but of many of the subordinate improvements and accessories in art and

science . It is not my purpose , however , on the present occasion , to expatiate on this wide field of inquiry , or to consider with what propriety the process of the human mind by which it observes , and applies , and appropriates the suggestions offered by external objects , can be termed accidental .

My only reason for adverting to it , is , to introduce to your notice a very early and important discovery in the art of construction ; a discovery , indeed , which led the way to some of the most important revolutions which have ever influenced the practice of architectural art . I refer to the discovery of the arch . I believe that this

discovery may really , Avith great probability , be attributed to accident . This idea forcibly struck me when examining the remains of Pelasgic art in Efcruria . " We see no traces of the use of the arch , ib is true , but we see in the peculiar masonry of that early period , what I cannot but believe to have been the germ of the arch , namely , that fortuitous fitting together of several stones which

would admit of the removal of some op them without causing the disturbance of the rest . The pains-taking masons of that period could not have been long without perceiving the convenience resulting from this peculiar collocation to which I refer , and which is the special characteristic of the masonry of the Pelasgi , who are assumed to be the earliest civilized inhabitants of Italy .

I may add in corroboration of this conjecture , that in one of the early vestiges of ancient Rome , namely , the Emmissario at the Lago d'Albano , is a flat arch , such as is technically called a skeme arch , which is just the kind of arch that AVOUM naturally suggest itself as one of the first applications of the principle . I must not , however , detain you many minutes on this subject ; it is too

archseological to be suitable for our consideration here . In thus suggesting the possibility that the arch may have its origin among the Etruscan masons , on observing the facilities occasionally offered by the collocation of stones in their opus incertum , I fear that I cannot claim for them the exclusive merit of the discovery , for there is no fact more certain than that arches were used

by builders so Avidely separated from them and from each other , both by time and space , that Ave cannot reasonably suppose that one borrowed from the other , or that there was any interchange of knoAvledge . Sir Gardner "Wilkinson tells us of arches in Egyptian masonry , to which he considers himself justified in attributing the early date of 1200 B . C . "We have , too ,

brought under our OAVII eyes , in the British Museum , bas-reliefs carved with beautiful precision , and in perfect preservation , the representations of walled cities , in which arch-headed doorways repeatedly occur . The date attributable to these examples , is , according to our best authorities , the seventh or ei ghth century B . C . I am informed that quite recently certain excavations made by one of the religious societies , in a vineyard on the Aventine hill , in Eome , have brought to light well-preserved portions of the ramparts attributed " to the regal

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1863-03-07, Page 5” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 13 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_07031863/page/5/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND THE CRAFT. Article 1
GRAND LODGE. Article 1
SCOTLAND. Article 2
ON THE ARCH AND ARCADES. Article 5
Untitled Article 8
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 9
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 10
THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Article 11
THE BOARD OF BENEVOLENCE. Article 11
NEW MASONIC HALL FOR MANCHESTER. Article 11
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 12
GRAND LODGE. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
CHINA. Article 16
ROYAL ARCH. Article 16
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 16
Untitled Article 16
Poetry. Article 17
NOT LOST. Article 17
THE WEEK. Article 18
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Scotland.

Robert Walker , 69 Alexander Watson , 1 st Soj . 18 James Bryden , 50 William Turner , 2 nd Soj . 18 John Ball , Treas . 78 Arch . Eae , 18 John McLean , 67 David Dunlop , 18 gobert Morton , Jan ., 79 James Mann , 18 Daniel McKay , 50 J . S . McMurtrie , 18 Thomas Paton , 69 John H ., 18 James Aitkin , 67 John Kelly , 18

Irving Ferguson , J . 50 Quin H . Pollock , 18 William Hill , 50 John Watson , 18 Charles Brown , Scribe E . 50 John Inglis , 3 rd Soj . 18 George Cranston , 67 Archibald Guthrie , 80 Peter Agnew , 50 Neil Pollock , jun . 18 David Jack , 79 William Alexander , 18 Thomas Coward , Scribe E . 69 David J . McHutcbeson , lf . D . 18 WiBian David Henderson , 50 Jos . Erskine , 18

William Eichmond , 67 Hugh Henry , 18 James D . Porteous , 50 Dougall M'Neil , 69 L . Leffman , 50 ' James O . Park , 17 Q . A . Stevenonson , 73 Alexander J . Walker , 69 W . H . Dingley , 50 William Foulds , 69 Eobert Fleming , 69 J . B . Wig-htman , 69 J . P . Harkness , 50 Thomas Gordon , 69 David Eamsay 69 Allan Paterson 67

, , E . W . Morrison , 69 James Turnbull , 76 J . L . Duncan , 69 Robert Decker , 76 Gordon Smith , 50 J . W . Foubister , 50 Peter McKinnon , H . 78 Daniel Keith , 50 William G . Hickson , 69 Charles Boss , 50 Eobert McCallum , 69 Nicholas Black , 50 Thomas CamerondPast H . 69 Thomas TorranceZ 78

, , . Mitchell Allen , P . P . Z . 67 Alexander Bizzett , P . Z . 78 James Thomson , 69 Thomas Clark , 78 John Craig , 50 Robert Davidson , 78 William Bremner , 73 John Cross , 2 nd Soj . 78 James SIcGilvray , 73 John Spence , 78 James Campbell , P . Z . 67 James Duff , 78 James Leith , 67 Charles Burns , P . H . 78

H . D . Willock , 67 James Taylor , 1 st Soj . James Scott , 73 James Forbes , S . B . Peter Fulton , 50 Alexander W . Baxter 67 John Buchanan , 69 John Gumming , 79 James Lindsay , 69 John Cairns , 69 Wm . Pollock , P . Z . 18 AVilliam Crawford , 67 James Telfer , P . H . 18 Walker M'Leod , 69 Andrew Hunter , P . Z . 18 F . M'Rae 50

James Wallace , Scribe E . 18 E . Claasen , 50 David Bigham , Scribe N . 18 Hugh Muir , 69 R . B . Hill , Treas . 18 J . H . Hewitt , 50 In order to p lace themselves in what they consider a legal position under the Secret Societies Act , the above-signed companions deputed some of their number to before a Justice of the Peace

appear , and they have since issued the following certificate . We , the undersigned , the Pirst and Third Grand Principals , the Grand Scribe N , and the Treasurer Provisional ) of the General Grand Chapter of Eoyal Arch Masons for Scotland and the Colonies , compeared this day , before meDavid TuileEsquire

, , , one of Her Majesty ' s Justices of the Peace for the County of Lanark , and did certify on oath that the said General Grand Chapter for Scotland and the Colonies , with her subordinate or daughter Chapters , are held solely for the purposes of Preemasonry , in conformit y Avith the exemptions to the Acts 27

George III ., c . 123 and 39 George III ., c , 79 . This we do upon the thirty-first day of December , Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-two years . ( Signed ) Donald Campbell , 1 st G . Principal Z . Neil B . Dalveen , 3 rd G . Principal J . James Muir , G . Scribe N . Hutcheson Campbell , G . Treasurer .

Compeared before me , one of Her Majesty ' s Justices of the Peace , Donald Campbell , Neil B . Dalveen , James Muir , and Hutcheson Campbell , who being solemnly sworn , declare the above to be true . ( Signed ) - DAVID YUILE , J . P . for Lanarkshire .

On The Arch And Arcades.

ON THE ARCH AND ARCADES .

A EGCTURE DELIA EHED BY PHOEESSOK SMIRKE AT THE EOYAL ACADEMl * . I think ifc may fairly be said thafc most of man ' s greatest discoveries have been the result , humanly speaking , of accident . The manufacture of glass , and gunpowder , the discovery of the magnetic needle , and of

the steam engine , are striking , although perhaps somewhat trite , illustrations of this truth . Indeed , the history of science is full of examples of what may be , in some sense , regarded as the fortuitous origin , not only of the great inventions of human ingenuity , but of many of the subordinate improvements and accessories in art and

science . It is not my purpose , however , on the present occasion , to expatiate on this wide field of inquiry , or to consider with what propriety the process of the human mind by which it observes , and applies , and appropriates the suggestions offered by external objects , can be termed accidental .

My only reason for adverting to it , is , to introduce to your notice a very early and important discovery in the art of construction ; a discovery , indeed , which led the way to some of the most important revolutions which have ever influenced the practice of architectural art . I refer to the discovery of the arch . I believe that this

discovery may really , Avith great probability , be attributed to accident . This idea forcibly struck me when examining the remains of Pelasgic art in Efcruria . " We see no traces of the use of the arch , ib is true , but we see in the peculiar masonry of that early period , what I cannot but believe to have been the germ of the arch , namely , that fortuitous fitting together of several stones which

would admit of the removal of some op them without causing the disturbance of the rest . The pains-taking masons of that period could not have been long without perceiving the convenience resulting from this peculiar collocation to which I refer , and which is the special characteristic of the masonry of the Pelasgi , who are assumed to be the earliest civilized inhabitants of Italy .

I may add in corroboration of this conjecture , that in one of the early vestiges of ancient Rome , namely , the Emmissario at the Lago d'Albano , is a flat arch , such as is technically called a skeme arch , which is just the kind of arch that AVOUM naturally suggest itself as one of the first applications of the principle . I must not , however , detain you many minutes on this subject ; it is too

archseological to be suitable for our consideration here . In thus suggesting the possibility that the arch may have its origin among the Etruscan masons , on observing the facilities occasionally offered by the collocation of stones in their opus incertum , I fear that I cannot claim for them the exclusive merit of the discovery , for there is no fact more certain than that arches were used

by builders so Avidely separated from them and from each other , both by time and space , that Ave cannot reasonably suppose that one borrowed from the other , or that there was any interchange of knoAvledge . Sir Gardner "Wilkinson tells us of arches in Egyptian masonry , to which he considers himself justified in attributing the early date of 1200 B . C . "We have , too ,

brought under our OAVII eyes , in the British Museum , bas-reliefs carved with beautiful precision , and in perfect preservation , the representations of walled cities , in which arch-headed doorways repeatedly occur . The date attributable to these examples , is , according to our best authorities , the seventh or ei ghth century B . C . I am informed that quite recently certain excavations made by one of the religious societies , in a vineyard on the Aventine hill , in Eome , have brought to light well-preserved portions of the ramparts attributed " to the regal

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