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Article MODERN WRITERS UPON FREEMASONRY.—I. ← Page 5 of 8 →
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Modern Writers Upon Freemasonry.—I.
strong . What would he have said could he but have seen , before the publication of the above ( 1847 ) , the following passage from the "Symbol of Glory" ( 1850 )?—" After our Lord's resurrection , the disciples changed their time of assembling together in closely tyled Lodges , for fear of their enemies , from the seventh to the first day of the week ; and on that day our Lord
appeared to Mary , and directed her to go to his brethren , & c , " We cannot quote the whole , ancl quote only what is relevant to our purpose" And in the evening when they were assembled together , ' the doors being shut , ' or in other words , the Lodge being tyled (!!!) , came Jesus and stood in * the midst of themmaking use of the Masonic (!) greeting
, , ' Peace be ivith you . ' * Our brethren would naturally feel surprised at the presence of a stranger in a closely tyled Lodge ; but when he had given them proof , by showhig them those signs of distress in his hands ancl feet and left breast , that he was their brother (!) , they dismissed all fear , and rejoiced exceedingly . "
Or if he could have seen the Masonic application of the fifteenth Psalm ? In returning to wliich , and asking pardon for our long digression , we beg to quote the passage entire , whicli is a kind of paraphrase on the greater portion of the Psalm" Every candidate for the honour of Masonry , as our ancient Grand Master David predicates in the fifteen Psalm , ought to lead an uncorrupt life , and do the thing which is right , always speaking the truth from his
heart ; to use no deceit in his tongue , nor to do evil , or slander his neighbour . He must be lowly in his own eyes , and give due honours to good ancl pious men . If he swears unto Ms neighbour he must not disappoint him , even though it should subject himself to temporary (!) inconvenience ; neither must he lend money to his brother on exorbitant (!) usury , f or take reward against the innocent . In conformity (?) with this primitive recommendation , our constitutions pronounce that ' every candidate must be a free man and his own master , aud at the time of his initiation , be known to be in reputable circumstances . He should be a lover of the liberal arts and sciences , and have made some progress in one or other of them . '"
True , the requirements of the constitutions do not contain anything forbidden by the Psalmist ; ancl iu this sense , though not a common one , they may be "in conformity" with them , though we cannot exactly see the connexion between a requirement to be free , one ' s own master , in reputable' circumstances , and a lover of science , and the hol y and upright life set forth by David as the standard for acceptation with God . Is it also in accordance with David ' s recraire-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Modern Writers Upon Freemasonry.—I.
strong . What would he have said could he but have seen , before the publication of the above ( 1847 ) , the following passage from the "Symbol of Glory" ( 1850 )?—" After our Lord's resurrection , the disciples changed their time of assembling together in closely tyled Lodges , for fear of their enemies , from the seventh to the first day of the week ; and on that day our Lord
appeared to Mary , and directed her to go to his brethren , & c , " We cannot quote the whole , ancl quote only what is relevant to our purpose" And in the evening when they were assembled together , ' the doors being shut , ' or in other words , the Lodge being tyled (!!!) , came Jesus and stood in * the midst of themmaking use of the Masonic (!) greeting
, , ' Peace be ivith you . ' * Our brethren would naturally feel surprised at the presence of a stranger in a closely tyled Lodge ; but when he had given them proof , by showhig them those signs of distress in his hands ancl feet and left breast , that he was their brother (!) , they dismissed all fear , and rejoiced exceedingly . "
Or if he could have seen the Masonic application of the fifteenth Psalm ? In returning to wliich , and asking pardon for our long digression , we beg to quote the passage entire , whicli is a kind of paraphrase on the greater portion of the Psalm" Every candidate for the honour of Masonry , as our ancient Grand Master David predicates in the fifteen Psalm , ought to lead an uncorrupt life , and do the thing which is right , always speaking the truth from his
heart ; to use no deceit in his tongue , nor to do evil , or slander his neighbour . He must be lowly in his own eyes , and give due honours to good ancl pious men . If he swears unto Ms neighbour he must not disappoint him , even though it should subject himself to temporary (!) inconvenience ; neither must he lend money to his brother on exorbitant (!) usury , f or take reward against the innocent . In conformity (?) with this primitive recommendation , our constitutions pronounce that ' every candidate must be a free man and his own master , aud at the time of his initiation , be known to be in reputable circumstances . He should be a lover of the liberal arts and sciences , and have made some progress in one or other of them . '"
True , the requirements of the constitutions do not contain anything forbidden by the Psalmist ; ancl iu this sense , though not a common one , they may be "in conformity" with them , though we cannot exactly see the connexion between a requirement to be free , one ' s own master , in reputable' circumstances , and a lover of science , and the hol y and upright life set forth by David as the standard for acceptation with God . Is it also in accordance with David ' s recraire-