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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 3 of 3 Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Page 3 of 3 Article UNIFORMITY OF RITUAL. Page 1 of 2 →
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Masonic Notes And Queries.
soon found another enemy against its bigotry springing up , and the instinct of self-preservation led it to attempt to crush it ; hut it failed , aye , and it will fail . The Tyrant has waded exultantly through the blood of the good , the noble , and the true ( even of its own members ) , declaring its eternal antipathy to li
ght and progress ; but his days are numbered . " Mene , _ Mene , Tekel U pharsin . " He may sit in his cave biting his nails with rage , and scoAvling at the passers by , but his old power is gone . However , " distance lends enchantment to the view , " and we therefore find many who fancy the old man is still
in the full bloom ancl vigour of his youth , they are unable to perceive the props by which he is upheld , and their heated imagination leads them to fancy the effete humanity a God , and the crumbling dwelling a new Jerusalem .
We pit y the poor slaves of Rorae , Avho , throwing aside , or virtually despising , the liberty ( not licence ) they have in Jesus Christ , prostrate themselves before their brother mortals , licking the dust off their feet with grovelling servility . When will our Roman Catholic brethren receive sufficient li ght to enable
them to perceive how foolishl y they are selling their birthri ght—their manhood ? Speak of Negro slavery in America ! what is it in comparison with the bondage of Rome ? Neither a man ' s soul nor his body is his own when he comes under the yoke of Rome . The chains of Rome are often gilded , hut they are also
ten times heavier than any Negroes ' . The Negro , hotvever , could say he was a slave only through compulsion ; but thousands of Rome ' s slaves are such l y choice , and truly the return they receive , is indeed a most miserable mess of potage . Let us trust , however , that the day is draAving nigh Avhen our brethren
will not be as mere stones upon which the rays of the sun or the moon are all one , but be men , with courage to use the li ght , to judge for themselves , and with sufficient discrimination to perceive what is due to their manhood in contradistinction to the usurpations of their priestly taskmastersAvhose insolence of
, course grows apace , as their pretensions , however absurd , are tamely submitted to ; then Avill our Catholic brethren duly understand and know how a man can be a good Christian , and also a—FREEMASON .
BRO . MELVILLE AND RICTUS . I quite agree with the remarks of Pictus in the last week ' s Magazine about Bro . Melville . If what Bro . Melville has written is a fair sample of the remainder , all I can say is , he will not have me for a convert , as I fail to see any liht on Masonry in of his
g any articles . AVhen he does mention Masonry ( which is rarely done , as his talk is mostly about unmasonic matters ) , he makes mistakes , aud so I shall refuse to " pin my faith" up to his dictum . Page 305 , April 17 th , e . g ., Bro . Melville writes , — "No living English brother ever heard read a single verse ( of the Biblein
) open lodge . " I know this to be an error , as I have been present as a visitor at a lodge within the last four years , and heard a Psalm read , and know also the members do so every time they meet . What is more , this is not an exceptional case . I have carefull y examined Bro . Melville ' s articles , and haA'e come to the conclusion that he , Bro . Godfrey , and Bro . Crawford are better fitted for the '
Masonic Notes And Queries.
former ' s " Celestial Empire" than to discuss Masonry with Pictus , or , in fact , to lower themselves to dwell in the region of common sense or pure Freemasonry . —RES NON YERBA . EREEMASON—DERIVATION OF THE WORD . I confess that when Bro . W . P . Buchan gave me
his explanation of the Avord " Freemason " before he sent it to the Magazine , I thought tt very probable the true one . Since then , however , Bro . C . J . Carleton , of Dublin , has shown me an old book , entitled " Hiram ; or , the Grand Master Key to the Door of both Ancient and Modern Freemasonry , " published
about a hundred years ago , in the appendix to Avhich it is stated that " the Avord FREE AA'as added because they ( the Masons ) taught their art to the free-born only . " This definition , which is strictly in accordance Avith the ancient st yle of address , " Enter free and of good report , " seems to me to settle the question . — J . A . H .
Uniformity Of Ritual.
UNIFORMITY OF RITUAL .
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor h not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents
TO inn EDITOR OF TUB FHKKjrASOXS' ITAGAZCIfE AXD MASONIC 1 TIER 0 B . Dear Sir and Brother , —I quite agree Avith your correspondent A , page 232 , that now the amalgamation of the Briti sh branch of the United Orders of the Temple and Hospital has been happily effected , no time should be lost in establishing uniformity of ritual , the absolute necessity for which , and a thorough revision of the Order must be apparent to all Avho have its true interest at heart . The absurdities that
from time to time have crept in since its connection Avith Freemasonry too clearly show how little was known or understood of the ancient ceremonies . Yiewed merely as a high degree of Freemasonry , Masonic usages have been adopted quite foreign to its original formation . Unfortunately it happens that ,
from the facility of admission afforded as a Masonic degree , the government of the Order is frequently entrusted to persons Avhose social rank , pursuits , and attainments render them totally unfitted for the position , and AA'ho have helped to perpetuate the evils complained of , and bring into disrepute the noblest of
the ancient Orders of Chivalry . It has been long a subject of regret that more stringent rules have not been enacted , and the social rank ( as Avell as Masonic ) defined of candidates ; but constituted as society now is , great care will be required in drawing the line necessary to maintain the
Order in its proper position and avoid wounding the feelings and prejudices of Avorthy Masonic brethren . We must , however , look forward hopefully to the committee of the three kingdoms on ritual and observances .
I will now briefly endeavour to point out what appears to demand correction . What can be more preposterous than the name " Royal , Exalted , Religious , and Military Order of Masonic Knights Templar ? ' ' Why not adopt the Scottish title , "Religious and Military Order of the Temple . " The term encampment is quite modern , and incorrect , adopted no doubt when detached and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
soon found another enemy against its bigotry springing up , and the instinct of self-preservation led it to attempt to crush it ; hut it failed , aye , and it will fail . The Tyrant has waded exultantly through the blood of the good , the noble , and the true ( even of its own members ) , declaring its eternal antipathy to li
ght and progress ; but his days are numbered . " Mene , _ Mene , Tekel U pharsin . " He may sit in his cave biting his nails with rage , and scoAvling at the passers by , but his old power is gone . However , " distance lends enchantment to the view , " and we therefore find many who fancy the old man is still
in the full bloom ancl vigour of his youth , they are unable to perceive the props by which he is upheld , and their heated imagination leads them to fancy the effete humanity a God , and the crumbling dwelling a new Jerusalem .
We pit y the poor slaves of Rorae , Avho , throwing aside , or virtually despising , the liberty ( not licence ) they have in Jesus Christ , prostrate themselves before their brother mortals , licking the dust off their feet with grovelling servility . When will our Roman Catholic brethren receive sufficient li ght to enable
them to perceive how foolishl y they are selling their birthri ght—their manhood ? Speak of Negro slavery in America ! what is it in comparison with the bondage of Rome ? Neither a man ' s soul nor his body is his own when he comes under the yoke of Rome . The chains of Rome are often gilded , hut they are also
ten times heavier than any Negroes ' . The Negro , hotvever , could say he was a slave only through compulsion ; but thousands of Rome ' s slaves are such l y choice , and truly the return they receive , is indeed a most miserable mess of potage . Let us trust , however , that the day is draAving nigh Avhen our brethren
will not be as mere stones upon which the rays of the sun or the moon are all one , but be men , with courage to use the li ght , to judge for themselves , and with sufficient discrimination to perceive what is due to their manhood in contradistinction to the usurpations of their priestly taskmastersAvhose insolence of
, course grows apace , as their pretensions , however absurd , are tamely submitted to ; then Avill our Catholic brethren duly understand and know how a man can be a good Christian , and also a—FREEMASON .
BRO . MELVILLE AND RICTUS . I quite agree with the remarks of Pictus in the last week ' s Magazine about Bro . Melville . If what Bro . Melville has written is a fair sample of the remainder , all I can say is , he will not have me for a convert , as I fail to see any liht on Masonry in of his
g any articles . AVhen he does mention Masonry ( which is rarely done , as his talk is mostly about unmasonic matters ) , he makes mistakes , aud so I shall refuse to " pin my faith" up to his dictum . Page 305 , April 17 th , e . g ., Bro . Melville writes , — "No living English brother ever heard read a single verse ( of the Biblein
) open lodge . " I know this to be an error , as I have been present as a visitor at a lodge within the last four years , and heard a Psalm read , and know also the members do so every time they meet . What is more , this is not an exceptional case . I have carefull y examined Bro . Melville ' s articles , and haA'e come to the conclusion that he , Bro . Godfrey , and Bro . Crawford are better fitted for the '
Masonic Notes And Queries.
former ' s " Celestial Empire" than to discuss Masonry with Pictus , or , in fact , to lower themselves to dwell in the region of common sense or pure Freemasonry . —RES NON YERBA . EREEMASON—DERIVATION OF THE WORD . I confess that when Bro . W . P . Buchan gave me
his explanation of the Avord " Freemason " before he sent it to the Magazine , I thought tt very probable the true one . Since then , however , Bro . C . J . Carleton , of Dublin , has shown me an old book , entitled " Hiram ; or , the Grand Master Key to the Door of both Ancient and Modern Freemasonry , " published
about a hundred years ago , in the appendix to Avhich it is stated that " the Avord FREE AA'as added because they ( the Masons ) taught their art to the free-born only . " This definition , which is strictly in accordance Avith the ancient st yle of address , " Enter free and of good report , " seems to me to settle the question . — J . A . H .
Uniformity Of Ritual.
UNIFORMITY OF RITUAL .
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor h not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondents
TO inn EDITOR OF TUB FHKKjrASOXS' ITAGAZCIfE AXD MASONIC 1 TIER 0 B . Dear Sir and Brother , —I quite agree Avith your correspondent A , page 232 , that now the amalgamation of the Briti sh branch of the United Orders of the Temple and Hospital has been happily effected , no time should be lost in establishing uniformity of ritual , the absolute necessity for which , and a thorough revision of the Order must be apparent to all Avho have its true interest at heart . The absurdities that
from time to time have crept in since its connection Avith Freemasonry too clearly show how little was known or understood of the ancient ceremonies . Yiewed merely as a high degree of Freemasonry , Masonic usages have been adopted quite foreign to its original formation . Unfortunately it happens that ,
from the facility of admission afforded as a Masonic degree , the government of the Order is frequently entrusted to persons Avhose social rank , pursuits , and attainments render them totally unfitted for the position , and AA'ho have helped to perpetuate the evils complained of , and bring into disrepute the noblest of
the ancient Orders of Chivalry . It has been long a subject of regret that more stringent rules have not been enacted , and the social rank ( as Avell as Masonic ) defined of candidates ; but constituted as society now is , great care will be required in drawing the line necessary to maintain the
Order in its proper position and avoid wounding the feelings and prejudices of Avorthy Masonic brethren . We must , however , look forward hopefully to the committee of the three kingdoms on ritual and observances .
I will now briefly endeavour to point out what appears to demand correction . What can be more preposterous than the name " Royal , Exalted , Religious , and Military Order of Masonic Knights Templar ? ' ' Why not adopt the Scottish title , "Religious and Military Order of the Temple . " The term encampment is quite modern , and incorrect , adopted no doubt when detached and