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  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • June 15, 1861
  • Page 6
  • ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, June 15, 1861: Page 6

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Page 6

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Stray Thoughts About Books.

had only one missal , and sometimes the same copy of the Bible and Book of Offices served more than one religious house . Private individuals seldom possessed any books at all . Even as late as 1471 , when Louis NI . borrowed the works of Easis from the Library of Physicians , at Paris , he was compelled to leave a large quantity of plateand procure the signature of a

noble-, man as a p ledge for ifcs security . When our Henry V . died , several books he had borrowed were 011 I 3 ' restored after the claims of the owners had been carefully investigated . The donation of a hook to a monastery was considered an offering of such consequence and value as to insure a remission of the sins of the donorwhile

, terrible anathemata were fulminated against those who alienated a book belonging to a religious house . When a book was purchased , persons of high standing witnessed the contract , and when it was bequeathed , restrictions and limitations usually accompanied the donation . Our own country has experienced many serious

drawbacks and impediments to the progress of letters , some of which have been sustained in common ivith the rest of Europe , but others have been peculiarly restricted to Great Britain . Whatever learning the Druids may have possessed they strictly kept to themselves , for the mass of the Britons were in a state of utter and

complete ignorance . At the period ofthe invasion of the Romans , the civilising effects of the example of their conquerors and of the Christian reli gion introduced by them soon became apparent . When necessity compelled the Romans to concentrate their strength , and abandon their colonies , many of the most learned Britons accompanied them . The priests they left behind neglected the schools , gave way to dissolute habits , and actively promulgated all manner of heresies . The

incursions of the Picts and Scots , and the destruction by them of all monuments and institutions of letters , only made this state of things "confusion worse confounded , " and what little glimmering of learning yet remained was confined to Wales and Caledonia . The Saxons destroyed wherever they conquered all traces ;" of Christianity ; and it was not until their partial

conversion in the seventh century that tranquillity and order began to be established . After this period , intercourse with Rome , and the schools established at Canterbury , began to have visible effects . Ireland about this period enjoyed a reputation for the proficiency of her scholarsespeciallin ecclesiastical

, y knowledge . The exertions of Alfred to . promote the study of literature among his subjects have endeared him to all posterity as one of the greatest benefactors of his country . His invitations to the learned of all countries , establishment of schools , honours conferred on the learned , his translations and disseminations of

various work's , his compulsory system of education for the children of the hi gher classes , gave such an impulse to learning that , whereas , when he began to reign , he scarce could find a priest capable of reading the service in his natii-e tongue , or translating the most rudimentary sentence iu Latin , at his death the clergy had *

become a learned body . The internal discordsand factional disputes , and the renewed incursions of the Danes , which succeeded , prevented the influence of this great man becoming permanent , and this country participated in the miseries of the " iron " age , as the ' tenth century was termed .

After the Danes had secured predominance , they relaxed in their persecutions of learning , and even established schools and restored Oxford , which , founded by Alfred , had been burned during the commotions . " \ V illiam the Conqueror encouraged learning by con-

Stray Thoughts About Books.

ferring the highest posts and honours on men of talent and ability . One hundred monasteries were founded between 1066 and 1216 ; and a library was considered to be so essential an appendage , that " a convent without a ,. library is like a castle without its armoury , " became a proverb . The Abbey of Croylandonly twenty-nine

, years after the Conquest , contained 900 ^ volumes . Mistaken religious zeal has led to the destruction of many ancient manuscripts . When the early Christians obtained possession of the Pagan temples , to which collections of books were frequently attached , they too often ' condemned these treasures to the same destruction that ,

attended the idols . At the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII ., a red letter or a diagram was sufficient , to condemn a book as Popish and diabolical ; the costl y covers were frequently torn off and carried away , while their more valuable contents were thrown aside as worthless . A portion of the magnificent library

presented by Humphrey , Duke of Gloucester , to the university of Oxford , was destroyed in the reign of Edward VI ., as the ornaments and illuminations of some of the splendid copies it contained were supposed to . resemble Popish missals and mass-hooks . The Puritans also subsequently destroyed all the ancient classics , and all manuscripts supposed to relate to the Catholic religion , that fell in their way .

Architecture And Archæology.

ARCHITECTURE AND ARCH ? OLOGY .

ON THE EEVIVAL OE STYLES * It will , I think , readily he granted , though the proposition , is by no mopms a mere truism , that , if we are to have good architecture in England , we must have a good national style ; and ifc will also be granted that ifc is not necessary for such a stle to have oriinated entirely at home ; for b

y g y discarding all that can be traced to foreign sources , we shall leave ourselves very feiv materials on ivhich we can work . The questions wo have to consider are those : — - "Have we at present any style of our own ? " "Aro ive likely to work out a new style from our own resources and from the materials we can command ? " "Ought wo to endeavour rather to revive some ancient style ? and , if so , in which of

those before us are ive most likely to bo successful ? " I assume , of course , that we are desirous of establishing a style applicable to all our purposes , capable of combinations of the highest beauty aud grandeur , and opening a sufficient field to the genius of the architect as well as to thafc of the sculptor , painter , and other artists who may contribute to the perfection of his work .

I am not suro whether we are not apt to draw too nice a distinction betiveen building and architecture , and to take away from the province of the latter such works as our ordinary dwelling-houses , cottages , street fronts , and the like , unless they claim a title to it by adopting the most prominent features of some ancient or Mediceval stylo . But , in truthever } ' structure is architectural ivhich shows that

, thought , care , and skill have been bestowed upon ifcs appearance . A very small amount of ornamental detail , if it be well designed , or well chosen , and well applied , will often be sufficient to represent , as ifc were , a more elaborate system ; while a careful stud )' of forms and proportions , oven if there bo no ornament whatever , according to the common acceptation of tho word ive a building a hih lace

, may g gp among architectural compositions ; and , therefore , I said it was no truism to assume a good national style to bo necessary , if wo ivould have good national architecture . Por a building may bo architecturally good and yet have no feature ivhich marks it as decidedly belonging to some recognised style , or the adoption of which would originate a now stylo . But ,

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1861-06-15, Page 6” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 11 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_15061861/page/6/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
FREEMASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES. Article 1
ON SYMBOLS AS APPLIED TO MASONIC INSTRUCTION.* Article 2
MEMOIRS OF THE FREEMASONS OF NAPLES. Article 4
STRAY THOUGHTS ABOUT BOOKS. Article 5
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY. Article 6
GENERAL ARCHITECTURAL INTELLIGENCE. Article 9
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF 1862. Article 9
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 10
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 11
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 12
BRO. PETER, AND A LOVER OF REGULARITY. Article 13
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 13
ROYAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION FOR AGED MASONS AND THEIR WIDOWS. Article 14
METROPOLITAN. Article 14
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
ROYAL ARCH. Article 18
NETHERLANDS. Article 18
Fine Arts. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Stray Thoughts About Books.

had only one missal , and sometimes the same copy of the Bible and Book of Offices served more than one religious house . Private individuals seldom possessed any books at all . Even as late as 1471 , when Louis NI . borrowed the works of Easis from the Library of Physicians , at Paris , he was compelled to leave a large quantity of plateand procure the signature of a

noble-, man as a p ledge for ifcs security . When our Henry V . died , several books he had borrowed were 011 I 3 ' restored after the claims of the owners had been carefully investigated . The donation of a hook to a monastery was considered an offering of such consequence and value as to insure a remission of the sins of the donorwhile

, terrible anathemata were fulminated against those who alienated a book belonging to a religious house . When a book was purchased , persons of high standing witnessed the contract , and when it was bequeathed , restrictions and limitations usually accompanied the donation . Our own country has experienced many serious

drawbacks and impediments to the progress of letters , some of which have been sustained in common ivith the rest of Europe , but others have been peculiarly restricted to Great Britain . Whatever learning the Druids may have possessed they strictly kept to themselves , for the mass of the Britons were in a state of utter and

complete ignorance . At the period ofthe invasion of the Romans , the civilising effects of the example of their conquerors and of the Christian reli gion introduced by them soon became apparent . When necessity compelled the Romans to concentrate their strength , and abandon their colonies , many of the most learned Britons accompanied them . The priests they left behind neglected the schools , gave way to dissolute habits , and actively promulgated all manner of heresies . The

incursions of the Picts and Scots , and the destruction by them of all monuments and institutions of letters , only made this state of things "confusion worse confounded , " and what little glimmering of learning yet remained was confined to Wales and Caledonia . The Saxons destroyed wherever they conquered all traces ;" of Christianity ; and it was not until their partial

conversion in the seventh century that tranquillity and order began to be established . After this period , intercourse with Rome , and the schools established at Canterbury , began to have visible effects . Ireland about this period enjoyed a reputation for the proficiency of her scholarsespeciallin ecclesiastical

, y knowledge . The exertions of Alfred to . promote the study of literature among his subjects have endeared him to all posterity as one of the greatest benefactors of his country . His invitations to the learned of all countries , establishment of schools , honours conferred on the learned , his translations and disseminations of

various work's , his compulsory system of education for the children of the hi gher classes , gave such an impulse to learning that , whereas , when he began to reign , he scarce could find a priest capable of reading the service in his natii-e tongue , or translating the most rudimentary sentence iu Latin , at his death the clergy had *

become a learned body . The internal discordsand factional disputes , and the renewed incursions of the Danes , which succeeded , prevented the influence of this great man becoming permanent , and this country participated in the miseries of the " iron " age , as the ' tenth century was termed .

After the Danes had secured predominance , they relaxed in their persecutions of learning , and even established schools and restored Oxford , which , founded by Alfred , had been burned during the commotions . " \ V illiam the Conqueror encouraged learning by con-

Stray Thoughts About Books.

ferring the highest posts and honours on men of talent and ability . One hundred monasteries were founded between 1066 and 1216 ; and a library was considered to be so essential an appendage , that " a convent without a ,. library is like a castle without its armoury , " became a proverb . The Abbey of Croylandonly twenty-nine

, years after the Conquest , contained 900 ^ volumes . Mistaken religious zeal has led to the destruction of many ancient manuscripts . When the early Christians obtained possession of the Pagan temples , to which collections of books were frequently attached , they too often ' condemned these treasures to the same destruction that ,

attended the idols . At the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII ., a red letter or a diagram was sufficient , to condemn a book as Popish and diabolical ; the costl y covers were frequently torn off and carried away , while their more valuable contents were thrown aside as worthless . A portion of the magnificent library

presented by Humphrey , Duke of Gloucester , to the university of Oxford , was destroyed in the reign of Edward VI ., as the ornaments and illuminations of some of the splendid copies it contained were supposed to . resemble Popish missals and mass-hooks . The Puritans also subsequently destroyed all the ancient classics , and all manuscripts supposed to relate to the Catholic religion , that fell in their way .

Architecture And Archæology.

ARCHITECTURE AND ARCH ? OLOGY .

ON THE EEVIVAL OE STYLES * It will , I think , readily he granted , though the proposition , is by no mopms a mere truism , that , if we are to have good architecture in England , we must have a good national style ; and ifc will also be granted that ifc is not necessary for such a stle to have oriinated entirely at home ; for b

y g y discarding all that can be traced to foreign sources , we shall leave ourselves very feiv materials on ivhich we can work . The questions wo have to consider are those : — - "Have we at present any style of our own ? " "Aro ive likely to work out a new style from our own resources and from the materials we can command ? " "Ought wo to endeavour rather to revive some ancient style ? and , if so , in which of

those before us are ive most likely to bo successful ? " I assume , of course , that we are desirous of establishing a style applicable to all our purposes , capable of combinations of the highest beauty aud grandeur , and opening a sufficient field to the genius of the architect as well as to thafc of the sculptor , painter , and other artists who may contribute to the perfection of his work .

I am not suro whether we are not apt to draw too nice a distinction betiveen building and architecture , and to take away from the province of the latter such works as our ordinary dwelling-houses , cottages , street fronts , and the like , unless they claim a title to it by adopting the most prominent features of some ancient or Mediceval stylo . But , in truthever } ' structure is architectural ivhich shows that

, thought , care , and skill have been bestowed upon ifcs appearance . A very small amount of ornamental detail , if it be well designed , or well chosen , and well applied , will often be sufficient to represent , as ifc were , a more elaborate system ; while a careful stud )' of forms and proportions , oven if there bo no ornament whatever , according to the common acceptation of tho word ive a building a hih lace

, may g gp among architectural compositions ; and , therefore , I said it was no truism to assume a good national style to bo necessary , if wo ivould have good national architecture . Por a building may bo architecturally good and yet have no feature ivhich marks it as decidedly belonging to some recognised style , or the adoption of which would originate a now stylo . But ,

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