Feeemasoney And Christianity.

the authenticity of the old lecture from which I -quote , and because , from the representation of the resurrection of our Blessed Saviour contained in the upper triangle of one of them it is evident that our ancient brethren looked upon Christianity as

the " ne plus ultra" and " summum bonuni" of craft Masonry ; this is also evidenced by the old floor-cloth now or formerly in the possession of a Chester Lodge ( of which an engraving appears in u the Revelations of a Square " ) whereon the portrait of our Savour is depicted as the cape-stone of the Masonic Arch .

The second degree of Masonry , being devoted -mainly to the study of the hidden mysteries of nature and science , contains but little reference to Christianity , but even in this degree , on turning ¦ io the old lecture I find , in allusion to the science

of Geometry : " It is no wonder that the first institutors of tills society , who had their eye on the revelation of the Deity , from the earliest ages of the world u- ; ito the days of ils perfection under the ministry of the Son of God , should hold that

science hallowed amongst them , whereby such lights were obtained by man , in the discovery of the great wisdom of the Creator in the beginning ; " also iu reply to the query , Q . "There is likewise a 3 rd reason why 5 hold a L . ? " The

¦ answer is , " The Birth , Life , Death , Resurrection , and Ascension of our Saviour , " ( see also Revelations of a Square , ed . 185 D , p . 270 ); and again , "Q . What do we learn by his birth ? A . He being the day star of mercy hath risen to conduct

¦ our feet in the paths of health and peace . Q . What by his life ? A . All virtues requisite for us to follow , He being the Way , the Truth , and the Life . Q . What by his Death ? A . That our debt of nature is fully paid , and the rigour of the

law fully satisfied wherein standeth onr redemption . Q . What by his Resurrection ? A . A firm conquest over sin , death , the devil , and hell , wherein standeth our justification . Q . What by his glorious Ascension ? A . That He is gone

before us to open the gates of Paradise , that have long been shut against us , for he said , ' In my father ' s house there are many mansions ; if there were not I would have told you , but I go to pre . pare a place for you , for where I am there shall

my servants be also . ' " How much must not he have to answer for , who eliminated such beautiful matter from onr Lectures

with a view to the promotion of a false universality at the expense of Gospel Truth ! Again , in the second Lecture we have .-"Q . What is the P . O . degree ? A . It is emblematic of that period from God ' s covenant

with Abraham , and the establishment of the Jewish economy to the era of the last , full , and perfect revelation from Heaven to mankind made by our great redeemer . Q . Explain it ! A . As the darkness of heathenism , on NATURAL RELIGION ,

preceded the Divine revelation vouchsafed , to the favourite people of God ; so by our initiation into the second degree we advance still further into the dawn figured out by the Mosaic dispensation , which preceded the more perfect Christian

day , & c , & o . " To the observant Mason , the third degree , in itself , unexplained by lectures , or otherwise contains unmistakeable proof of a Christian

origin , "'The Lord of Life , " " the Bri g ht morning Star , " & c ., can have but one signification placed upon them : Bro . the Rev- Jonathan Ashe , D . D ., in his " Masonic Manual" ed . 1825 , p . 145 , says : •' The ceremonies of Masons prove that the

testimonials and insignia of the Master ' s order , in the present state of Masonry were devised within the ages of Christianity , & c . —( see also Hutchinson's Spirit of Masonry ed . 1797 , p . 106 . )—but in this degree also the lectures have been deprived of their

original beauty through the same mistaken notion of contributing to the universality of Masonry . Would that the learned and zealous brethren , who are so anxious to insure a uniform system of working , would also turn their attention to the propriety of

restoring to the ritual the Christian element whicli has been so ruthlessly torn from it ! The old . Lecture of the third degree is full of Christian references , many of them I am precluded from publishing , but I subjoin the following as