Reviews Of New Books.

without question and without objection . He who cannot be satisfied with the received ideas and history of the Order as handsel down in the ancient ritual witli its venerable oral commentary—he who would upset the generally accepted theory of our history and development as a body , should surely be most cautious to advance no argument that he is not prepared to ' substantiate in every minute particular . He should start with a

determination to put forth nothing but well-established facts ; otherwise he can merely hope to succeed with the weak and the thoughtless , by overthrowing their confidence in the system they have adopted , without substituting anything tangible in its place ; scepticism would he thus encouraged and the affection and respect of the simple-minded diminished towards the Craft of which they are members . And if a faithful Mason should , in meditating upon the polity of the Order , find that doubts arise in his mind as to the

interpretation or proper acceptation of that whicli may seem obscure , his whole thoughts should be devoted to the object of elevating that which may seem feeble or unworthy . If , in the place of giving to the subject an increase of dignity , and of adding weight to that which he loves , aud believes . to be of the highest value , his remarks are characterized by puerility and vapid platitudes—to him is the blame of making that appear absurd which before was vested with solemnity—of turning the majesty of Masonry into

a byeword and a laughing-stock to the profane who come into possession of his published lucubrations . The volume before us , written no doubt witli the best intentions , contains many passages at whicli the cowan may well sneer ; and however high the aim of the author may have been , we cannot hut consider that a work which throws the Craft open to ridicule is no less than a positive injury to our Order . The author commences by a wholesale condemnation of all former

hypotheses with regard to the origin of Freemasonry , which he styles " improbable , unreasonable , and irrational . " After a highly coloured sketch of the debased condition of the antediluvian inhabitants of the earth aud of the vices of the immediate generation which succeeded the flood , he describes the patriarch Abraham " a contemporary of Noah , " as tbe first postdiluvian recipient of the principles of true religion . He proceeds to state some particulars of the patriarch ' s conversion from heathenism which have at least the merit of novelty : —

' Abraham did not , iu his investigations , tit onco arrive at the truth . There are a great many legends in existence , related in all the beauty and poetry of tho Eastern style , showing in what manner be , by reasoning , gradually came to correct conclusions as to the power which produced all the wonderful works of nature , and at whose command they moved and existed , and that thia Being was alone worthy of man ' s adoration and entitled to be worshipped . "

Wc have here in the first place an impression conveyed to the reader that the knowledge of the true Gocl had left the world until revived in Abraham ; and next , a reference to "Eastern legends , " which should not by any means have been made use of by a devoted searcher after truth ; since he gives us no part of the " legends" in question , by which to test the value of his inferences . Proceeding with an outline of the history of the forefathers of the Jewish race , our author wisely takes the sacred volume for his guide

and adheres to the account as there laid down , adding some observations iu his progress , which , if not remarkably novel , are at least edifying and religious . He traces the preservation of the knowledge of the Great Architect to Joseph in the period of his captivity . Upon the manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians Bro . Hynemaii comments with great severity , and accuses them not only of the most 3 L