Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • July 23, 1864
  • Page 8
  • BROTHERLY LOVE.
Current:

The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, July 23, 1864: Page 8

  • Back to The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, July 23, 1864
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article BROTHERLY LOVE. ← Page 3 of 3
    Article ANTIQUITY OF THE THIRD DEGREE. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 8

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

Brotherly Love.

ought we also to love one another , with the charity " that suffereth long and is kind , that beareth all things , helieveth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things . " We can speak but as it were with stammering tongue , for the love of Christ surpasseth all thought , all understanding . Then only do we begin to know ib when Ave ourselves try to show forth love . In acts of love we

begin to spell our lesson , and more and more our acts of compassion for Chrisb ' s sake , our loving-kindness , our mercies , our alms-deeds , onr ministerings , our snecour of the needy , our gentleness and patience , all the various forms of charity , as they are done in us only by the grace of God , so they lead us upwards to the light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day . [ A report of the proceedings of the Prov . Grand Lodge will be found in another page . ]

Antiquity Of The Third Degree.

ANTIQUITY OF THE THIRD DEGREE .

Three Lectures delivered before Lodge Industry ( Mb . 873 ) , at Kotree , in Scinde , by Bro . W . A . BicuiSTOS , W . M . LECTURE III . "Did it ever occur to you that Freemasonry is entirely a Christian institution , and that the story of H . A . B . was got up only a few centuries ago ? . . . . There are several circum

stances which favour the hypothesis . At all events , it has undergone so many alterations to adapt it to the Christian religion , that the original secret history has probably been long lost . If this conjecture be tenable , there can be no doubt that the death of II . A . Ii . is intended to represent the crucifixion of our Saviour , and that the builder , who was smitten was Jesus Christ . " —Letter to Dr . Oliver , quoted in Preston's lllustrat . p . 449 , note ( 17 th ed ) .

BHETHH E-N , —According to the programme I laid down at the outset of my first lecture , this , the third , Avas to be devoted to a comparison between Dr . Oliver ' s " modern " theory of the Third Degree and the ono enunciated in these lectures . Bub I find on overlooking what I have wribben , that the balance of probability in favour of the antiquity of the essence of the Third Degree is so

overwhelming , that I hardly know where the two theories can be compared . A few points , hoAvever , brethren , in explanation . In discussing such matters as we have had in hand , we mustbe careful , to distinguish between conjecture founded on Masonic tradition , and downright historical fact . It Avould not he wise to bring the former largely into our

speculations . Dr . Oliver has appealed to history , and all that I told you , brethren , in my last lecture , is founded on historical fact . Next , we must be careful indeed not to dogmatise on these subjects . The whole of them are involved in mystery ; a veil so thick that the main features themselves are hardly sometimes to be distinguished . They point far away into a dim antiquity ; to

ages of which the Bibles furnishes us with only a few scant particulars . It is neibher safe nor easy , brebhren , to build , as for strength , only wibh materials hoary with a e Looking broadly ab both sides of the subject , it seems to me that were the " modern" theory correct , we should have had an instance of new cloth having been sewn

into an old garment without rending it ; of new wine being put into old bottles without bursting them . Had the Third Degree been invented and incorporated with the ancient Freemasonry in 1717 , I cannot but believe that the old garment would have been grievously torn by internal dissension—of which we have no evidence whatever . _ N " o inherent goodness in the wine will prevent the

bursting of the bottles ; it is therefore idle to say that the Third Degree caught the fancy of the general Masonic world , and that it was adopted with one consent by the whole earth in a few short years . Would nob some brace of a record of its introduction have remained bo us , beyond the contemptuous remarks of Lawrence Dennett ?

Would nob something have come down to us , telling of the earthquake shock of the putting forward of a now degree as part of pure ancient Masonry ? For when we consider the secrecy and silence , the conservatism and hatred of innovation of the Masons of those day , can Ave not see that shoch it must have been ? Would not some veteran have stood up to denounce the innovators ?

Where is the record of this ? Could the degree have been universally received as quietly as we are asked to believe it was ? On the other hand , is nob the probability ovei-whelm ing that our Third Degree is the form in which theancient pagan mysteries have come down to us ? Bros . Drs . Desaguliers and Andersonand the joyous crafts ,

, may all have been very clever men . But do you think that their united talents could have invented the Third-Degree , with all its sublimity and beauty , and have sointerwoven it with the earlier degrees as to fovea one harmonious whole P * The Third Degree , brethren , teachesus all that is most interesting to man . It shadows forth deathcorruptiontho resurrection of the bodyand life

, , , the everlasting . The light of the bright morning star enables us to see these things in the dim grey of the opening dawn of future knowledge , and , bo assured , none other light but that which is from Above . We are enjoined to perform onr allotted task while we can ; faithful to every sacred trust , to follow that straight and undeviabing line of duby laid down for us in the Volume

of the Sacred Law : that man may be ready when called ' to his long home ; ready , ere the silver cord be loosed ,, or the golden bowl be broken , or the pitcher broken at the fountain , or the wheel broken ab the cistern ; ready ,, for the dust shall return to earth as ib was , and bhe spirit shall return to God who gave it . f Need I recapitulate the teaching of the Third Degree with regard to our

duty to our neighbour ? The five-pointed star of the- - Master Mason , its rays issuing from the Most Holy Name , is too well remembered by all of us . Can we forget our duty to our fellow mortals , when we call to mind the glorious rays of charity and love emanating from-Jehovah , the Light of the World ? J Was all this manufacturedbrethren ; made to order ,

, as it were , to fill up a vacancy caused by the bad memoriesof the joyous Crafts ? Suffer me to say a few words more , brethren , whereby you will be enabled to trace the connection between theold mysteries I have told you of , the Third Degree , and the everlasting truth itself . Whatever , brethren , may he the age of the Third

Degree , or its prototypes , of some lessons which it teaches ; us the antiquity , is inestimable . Through all the mysteries of days gone by we find identical currents of thought running ; for instance , the Lost and Found - Something losb through sin and death , not to be found again this side the grave . We all know what man haslost , never to be restored on earth . Another thought . Death must come before Perfection ..

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1864-07-23, Page 8” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 24 June 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_23071864/page/8/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE HIDDEN MYSTERIES OF NATURE AND SCIENCE.—PART V. Article 1
Untitled Article 2
EARLY MASONRY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S. Article 3
SYMBOLIC MASONRY. Article 5
MASONIC HALL AT MOULMAIN. Article 5
BROTHERLY LOVE. Article 6
ANTIQUITY OF THE THIRD DEGREE. Article 8
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 9
Untitled Article 12
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 12
THE GIRLS' SCHOOL. Article 12
PROVINCIAL. Article 12
ROYAL ARCH. Article 16
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 16
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 16
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 17
THE WEEK. Article 17
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
Page 1

Page 1

1 Article
Page 2

Page 2

3 Articles
Page 3

Page 3

1 Article
Page 4

Page 4

1 Article
Page 5

Page 5

3 Articles
Page 6

Page 6

2 Articles
Page 7

Page 7

1 Article
Page 8

Page 8

2 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

2 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

1 Article
Page 11

Page 11

1 Article
Page 12

Page 12

5 Articles
Page 13

Page 13

1 Article
Page 14

Page 14

1 Article
Page 15

Page 15

1 Article
Page 16

Page 16

5 Articles
Page 17

Page 17

3 Articles
Page 18

Page 18

1 Article
Page 19

Page 19

1 Article
Page 20

Page 20

3 Articles
Page 8

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

Brotherly Love.

ought we also to love one another , with the charity " that suffereth long and is kind , that beareth all things , helieveth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things . " We can speak but as it were with stammering tongue , for the love of Christ surpasseth all thought , all understanding . Then only do we begin to know ib when Ave ourselves try to show forth love . In acts of love we

begin to spell our lesson , and more and more our acts of compassion for Chrisb ' s sake , our loving-kindness , our mercies , our alms-deeds , onr ministerings , our snecour of the needy , our gentleness and patience , all the various forms of charity , as they are done in us only by the grace of God , so they lead us upwards to the light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day . [ A report of the proceedings of the Prov . Grand Lodge will be found in another page . ]

Antiquity Of The Third Degree.

ANTIQUITY OF THE THIRD DEGREE .

Three Lectures delivered before Lodge Industry ( Mb . 873 ) , at Kotree , in Scinde , by Bro . W . A . BicuiSTOS , W . M . LECTURE III . "Did it ever occur to you that Freemasonry is entirely a Christian institution , and that the story of H . A . B . was got up only a few centuries ago ? . . . . There are several circum

stances which favour the hypothesis . At all events , it has undergone so many alterations to adapt it to the Christian religion , that the original secret history has probably been long lost . If this conjecture be tenable , there can be no doubt that the death of II . A . Ii . is intended to represent the crucifixion of our Saviour , and that the builder , who was smitten was Jesus Christ . " —Letter to Dr . Oliver , quoted in Preston's lllustrat . p . 449 , note ( 17 th ed ) .

BHETHH E-N , —According to the programme I laid down at the outset of my first lecture , this , the third , Avas to be devoted to a comparison between Dr . Oliver ' s " modern " theory of the Third Degree and the ono enunciated in these lectures . Bub I find on overlooking what I have wribben , that the balance of probability in favour of the antiquity of the essence of the Third Degree is so

overwhelming , that I hardly know where the two theories can be compared . A few points , hoAvever , brethren , in explanation . In discussing such matters as we have had in hand , we mustbe careful , to distinguish between conjecture founded on Masonic tradition , and downright historical fact . It Avould not he wise to bring the former largely into our

speculations . Dr . Oliver has appealed to history , and all that I told you , brethren , in my last lecture , is founded on historical fact . Next , we must be careful indeed not to dogmatise on these subjects . The whole of them are involved in mystery ; a veil so thick that the main features themselves are hardly sometimes to be distinguished . They point far away into a dim antiquity ; to

ages of which the Bibles furnishes us with only a few scant particulars . It is neibher safe nor easy , brebhren , to build , as for strength , only wibh materials hoary with a e Looking broadly ab both sides of the subject , it seems to me that were the " modern" theory correct , we should have had an instance of new cloth having been sewn

into an old garment without rending it ; of new wine being put into old bottles without bursting them . Had the Third Degree been invented and incorporated with the ancient Freemasonry in 1717 , I cannot but believe that the old garment would have been grievously torn by internal dissension—of which we have no evidence whatever . _ N " o inherent goodness in the wine will prevent the

bursting of the bottles ; it is therefore idle to say that the Third Degree caught the fancy of the general Masonic world , and that it was adopted with one consent by the whole earth in a few short years . Would nob some brace of a record of its introduction have remained bo us , beyond the contemptuous remarks of Lawrence Dennett ?

Would nob something have come down to us , telling of the earthquake shock of the putting forward of a now degree as part of pure ancient Masonry ? For when we consider the secrecy and silence , the conservatism and hatred of innovation of the Masons of those day , can Ave not see that shoch it must have been ? Would not some veteran have stood up to denounce the innovators ?

Where is the record of this ? Could the degree have been universally received as quietly as we are asked to believe it was ? On the other hand , is nob the probability ovei-whelm ing that our Third Degree is the form in which theancient pagan mysteries have come down to us ? Bros . Drs . Desaguliers and Andersonand the joyous crafts ,

, may all have been very clever men . But do you think that their united talents could have invented the Third-Degree , with all its sublimity and beauty , and have sointerwoven it with the earlier degrees as to fovea one harmonious whole P * The Third Degree , brethren , teachesus all that is most interesting to man . It shadows forth deathcorruptiontho resurrection of the bodyand life

, , , the everlasting . The light of the bright morning star enables us to see these things in the dim grey of the opening dawn of future knowledge , and , bo assured , none other light but that which is from Above . We are enjoined to perform onr allotted task while we can ; faithful to every sacred trust , to follow that straight and undeviabing line of duby laid down for us in the Volume

of the Sacred Law : that man may be ready when called ' to his long home ; ready , ere the silver cord be loosed ,, or the golden bowl be broken , or the pitcher broken at the fountain , or the wheel broken ab the cistern ; ready ,, for the dust shall return to earth as ib was , and bhe spirit shall return to God who gave it . f Need I recapitulate the teaching of the Third Degree with regard to our

duty to our neighbour ? The five-pointed star of the- - Master Mason , its rays issuing from the Most Holy Name , is too well remembered by all of us . Can we forget our duty to our fellow mortals , when we call to mind the glorious rays of charity and love emanating from-Jehovah , the Light of the World ? J Was all this manufacturedbrethren ; made to order ,

, as it were , to fill up a vacancy caused by the bad memoriesof the joyous Crafts ? Suffer me to say a few words more , brethren , whereby you will be enabled to trace the connection between theold mysteries I have told you of , the Third Degree , and the everlasting truth itself . Whatever , brethren , may he the age of the Third

Degree , or its prototypes , of some lessons which it teaches ; us the antiquity , is inestimable . Through all the mysteries of days gone by we find identical currents of thought running ; for instance , the Lost and Found - Something losb through sin and death , not to be found again this side the grave . We all know what man haslost , never to be restored on earth . Another thought . Death must come before Perfection ..

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 7
  • You're on page8
  • 9
  • 20
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy