Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

"THE DEFENCE . " " What ? We who have reared the Temple , and had King David , King Solomon , and Zerubbabel for our Grand Masters , and Ezra aud Nehemiah for our Scribes , not believers in revealed religion ? The idea is

preposterous . " This is oue of very numerous extracts of a like kind which an esteemed correspondent has forwarded . These extracts are intended as " the defence" of a clergyman against a letter which he has just learned appeared a few months ago in the column of our periodical * on the occasion of a

masonic sermon printed for distribution amongst friends—a letter made extremely offensive by a mixture of strange coarseness and causeless violence of language . The extracts go to everything that has been made the subject of vituperation , and it is

desired that the whole should be printed . This * however , is quite unnecessary , most of them being known to the instructed . I have thought it enough to select the extract at the head of this commuuication . The words are those of the Editor of the former series of the "Freemasons' Magazine . "CHARLES PURTOBT COOPEE .

THE TWO PARTS OF FREEMASONRY . "Freemasonry , like the human being , consists of two parts , body and soul , The body of Fremasonry is the covering , the garment , the external p hasis , the totality of the Masonic ceremonies , symbols . The

soul of Freemasonry is the essence , the spirit , this Masonic ideal , the totality of the fundamental of ideas and principles which have existed and prevailed among men ; therefore the spirit of Masonry , but not Free masonry , is as ancient as humanit y itself . —From a bundle of Masonic excerpts . " f—CHARLES PURTON COOPER .

SPINOZISM . See the communication "Eeligions which true Freemasonry does not recognize" page 9 , of the present volume . S p iuozism by some strange inadvertauce has not a place in that communication ; the

ensuing lists shows what upon the subject has been seut by me to our periodical ; Spiuozism , aud Freemasonry , "Freemasons Magazine , vol . 11 , page , 3 SS . Spinozism , ibid , vol . 14-, page , 488 ; Spinozism , ibid , vol . 15 , page 289 ; Spinozism and Voltaire , ibid , page ,

388 ; Schleiermachet- and Voltaire , ibid ; Voltairain ism and Spinozism , ibid ; Spinoza , ibid , vol . 17 , page 69 . —CHARLES FIIRTON COOPER . ARCHITECTURE OF INSECTS . A " Past Provincial Grand Master" page 209

, , , says : —>' The architecture of man has profitted by the architecture of insects . " It has profitted much more by the architecture of plants . Taking root in the firm foundation of faith , the plant reaches ever towards the light . The insect builds from instinct , based on

self-preservation , and its mission is accomplished . The plant teaches its never-ending lessons in the architecture of science and of morality that have no parallel in nature . Its first thought is to take firm root , aud the foundation is laid . Expanding in its

growth , it looks always towards the sua in mute adoration ; and as it drinks in with gratitude the benign gifts of heaven , it laughs out in perfect fulness of branch , of leaf , and of blossom , till it stands in itself a mouument of architectural beauty , and a tribute to the divine genius that created it . —Bro . J " . C . MANNING-.

MUTUAL CONCESSION . The two ends of a straight line , continued , will never meet ; while the slig htest possible convergance will bring them together eventually . Thus mutual concession ( a Masonic characteristic ) leads on to friendly attachment ; while rig id exclusiveness ends in utter estrangement . —Bro . J . C . MANNING .

FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION . I have read the Address of the District Grand 'Warden of British Burmah , and I consider it simply Freemasonry upon stilts . How truly masonic , e . g . is the following ( page 224 ) : — " proving their own

spuriousnes by the necessary localisation of their tenets , as Hindooism , Buddhism , Mahonxedanism . " Now it so happens that there are about 550 millions of Brahmins and Buddhists , which , with 130 millions of Mahommedans , g ives 680 millions of these against

335 millions Christians of all sorts ; so , if numbers were to go for anything , Christianity would be in the background . Then , seeing there are Christians of different " sorts , " which sort or sect is the right one ? The Eoman Catholics call the Protestants heretics ,

and so on , consecpaently , our worthy lecturer , to be logical , should have enlig htened his brethren as to what constituted real Christianity in his view . It appears to me that an address of this sort has rather too much of the Sunday-school teaching in it to be

entitled a "Masonic Address . '' Freemasonry is a friend , relig ion is a wife ; our lecturer , however , caunot understand ' . the difference , and wants to make Freeaxasonry his wife too . He utterly ignores the