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Article MASONIC ARISTOCRACY. ← Page 2 of 2 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article LIVES OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, MASTER MASONS, &c. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Aristocracy.
their feelings , or show that a noble heart may beat in an ignoble breast ; this can only happen at the banquet , when the labours being at an end , social intercourse is free , and pleasure and profit are the results . It is the duty of those Masons who by Providence are
p laced high in the scale of intellect and rank to encourage those less blessed in these respects than themselves to frequent the Masonic assemblies which they attend . It is their duty by example to instruct , and by their superior know- " ledge displayed in their conversationto improve
, the minds of their humbler brethren . Can any man be bold enough to say that the poor Mason who beholds the efforts made by his rich brother to raise him in the scale of humanity , or the humble Mason who sees how anxiously the great man strives to exalt his intellectual powersby
con-, versing with him on subjects before possibly unknown and unthought of—can it be asserted that these men—and they are not individuals , but tyj . es of great classes—will feel the less respect for their superiors who thus seek their good , or will dream of trenching on the necessary difference between
them which the laws of society have established ? It is not to be believed that any man , still less any true Mason will answer , Tes . Many ills in this
world are caused by thoughtlessness , as many accidents arise from negligence . Far be it from us to be so forgetful of the spirit of the Craft we love as to attribute to those who support these aristocratic views the guilt of premeditated ^ and advisedly breaking the ties of Masonry , and
violating- its ancient landmarks ; but we only wish to recall them to a sense of a duty to which they have carelessly , not intentionally , run counter . In conclusion , let us once more state the principle for which we are contending . It is this—Masonry is freedom itselfbut it leaves its members
, , when in the world , to hold their respective ranks in the world ' s estimation . It requires them , indeed , to cast them aside when in lodge , or when a brother in distress claims their aid ; but never else . It teaches all its members to be exemplary in the performance of their civil and social duties ,
and with these any equality in society would , as the world is now constituted , be compatible . Away , then , with such terms , such distinctions , and such exclusiveness : may the lines which serve as our motto be imprinted in the heart and manifested in the actions of every Freemason , and let us hear no more of " Gentlemen " Masons , no more of "Masonic Aristocracy . " —Masonic Record of Western India .
Ar00302
ALWAYS suspect a man who affects great softness of manner , an unruffled evenness of temper , and an enunciation studied , slow , and deliberate . These things are all unnatural , and bespeak a degree of mental discipline into which he that has no purpose to answer cannot submit to drill himself . LEAKN to say "No" with decision ; "Yes" with caution whenever it implies a promise—for once given , Jit is a bond inviolable .
Lives Of English Architects, Builders, Master Masons, &C.
LIVES OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTS , BUILDERS , MASTER MASONS , & c .
A DICTIONARY SUGGESTION . I wish to point out to you a work that is sadly wanted in the literature of art in England . We have more than one dictionary of painters and engravers ; but we are without a dictionary of
architects , builders , sculptors , engineers , and masons who have wrought in England . A dictionary of the kind I mean would comprise the names , and the facts in the lives , of all who have wrought worthily among us , from Gundulphus ,
Geoffrey de Noiers , * and William of Yfykehara , to John Thorpe and Nicholas Stone ; from Inigo Jones to Sir Christopher Wren ; from Sir John Vanbrugh to Sir William Chambers , down to the days of Sir John Soane and Sir Robert Smirke ^ ,
of Wilkins , Wyatt , Wyattville , Pug-in , Cockerel ! , and Barry . Then for the engineers , much might be told of moment about them that Mr . Smiles
has missed ( interesting as his volumes are ) , from , the days of Peter of Colechurch to Mr . Bazalgette ; or from Isambard de Saintes , architect of the first bridge over the Thames at London , to Isambard Brunei and the first bridg-e under the Thames at
London . The names of living architects and of tlie engineers of the railway bridges over the Thames at Blackfriars and Charing-cross , and of the noble embankment now at last proceeding in earnest , may be safely left to another generation
and another edition of the proposed dictionaiy . In a compilation of the kind I suggest as needed , care should be taken not to omit the names of men who in former days were known as clerks of the works , masters of the works , and surveyors of the works . The general use of the designation " architect" is of comparatively recent origin .
Some new names might be worthily added tothe catalogue of builders of note in former times . Thus it was my good fortune to discover the name of the architect of the palace of the Protector Somerset , on the Thames , in London . Hisname ivas Henry Lawes , and he was called " clerk
of the works . " When Inigo Jones was in London as " surveyor of our works , " his master , King Charles I ., had another builder or architect in Scotland . This was Sir Anthony Alexander , sou of Alexander Earl of Stirling ( the statesman and poet ) . The
name is not in "Walpole , " though in the works of so charming a poet as Drummond , of Hawthornden , is a " Pastoral Elegy" on his death . He was master of the King ' s works in Scotland , and dying in London in August , 1637 , was buried
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Aristocracy.
their feelings , or show that a noble heart may beat in an ignoble breast ; this can only happen at the banquet , when the labours being at an end , social intercourse is free , and pleasure and profit are the results . It is the duty of those Masons who by Providence are
p laced high in the scale of intellect and rank to encourage those less blessed in these respects than themselves to frequent the Masonic assemblies which they attend . It is their duty by example to instruct , and by their superior know- " ledge displayed in their conversationto improve
, the minds of their humbler brethren . Can any man be bold enough to say that the poor Mason who beholds the efforts made by his rich brother to raise him in the scale of humanity , or the humble Mason who sees how anxiously the great man strives to exalt his intellectual powersby
con-, versing with him on subjects before possibly unknown and unthought of—can it be asserted that these men—and they are not individuals , but tyj . es of great classes—will feel the less respect for their superiors who thus seek their good , or will dream of trenching on the necessary difference between
them which the laws of society have established ? It is not to be believed that any man , still less any true Mason will answer , Tes . Many ills in this
world are caused by thoughtlessness , as many accidents arise from negligence . Far be it from us to be so forgetful of the spirit of the Craft we love as to attribute to those who support these aristocratic views the guilt of premeditated ^ and advisedly breaking the ties of Masonry , and
violating- its ancient landmarks ; but we only wish to recall them to a sense of a duty to which they have carelessly , not intentionally , run counter . In conclusion , let us once more state the principle for which we are contending . It is this—Masonry is freedom itselfbut it leaves its members
, , when in the world , to hold their respective ranks in the world ' s estimation . It requires them , indeed , to cast them aside when in lodge , or when a brother in distress claims their aid ; but never else . It teaches all its members to be exemplary in the performance of their civil and social duties ,
and with these any equality in society would , as the world is now constituted , be compatible . Away , then , with such terms , such distinctions , and such exclusiveness : may the lines which serve as our motto be imprinted in the heart and manifested in the actions of every Freemason , and let us hear no more of " Gentlemen " Masons , no more of "Masonic Aristocracy . " —Masonic Record of Western India .
Ar00302
ALWAYS suspect a man who affects great softness of manner , an unruffled evenness of temper , and an enunciation studied , slow , and deliberate . These things are all unnatural , and bespeak a degree of mental discipline into which he that has no purpose to answer cannot submit to drill himself . LEAKN to say "No" with decision ; "Yes" with caution whenever it implies a promise—for once given , Jit is a bond inviolable .
Lives Of English Architects, Builders, Master Masons, &C.
LIVES OF ENGLISH ARCHITECTS , BUILDERS , MASTER MASONS , & c .
A DICTIONARY SUGGESTION . I wish to point out to you a work that is sadly wanted in the literature of art in England . We have more than one dictionary of painters and engravers ; but we are without a dictionary of
architects , builders , sculptors , engineers , and masons who have wrought in England . A dictionary of the kind I mean would comprise the names , and the facts in the lives , of all who have wrought worthily among us , from Gundulphus ,
Geoffrey de Noiers , * and William of Yfykehara , to John Thorpe and Nicholas Stone ; from Inigo Jones to Sir Christopher Wren ; from Sir John Vanbrugh to Sir William Chambers , down to the days of Sir John Soane and Sir Robert Smirke ^ ,
of Wilkins , Wyatt , Wyattville , Pug-in , Cockerel ! , and Barry . Then for the engineers , much might be told of moment about them that Mr . Smiles
has missed ( interesting as his volumes are ) , from , the days of Peter of Colechurch to Mr . Bazalgette ; or from Isambard de Saintes , architect of the first bridge over the Thames at London , to Isambard Brunei and the first bridg-e under the Thames at
London . The names of living architects and of tlie engineers of the railway bridges over the Thames at Blackfriars and Charing-cross , and of the noble embankment now at last proceeding in earnest , may be safely left to another generation
and another edition of the proposed dictionaiy . In a compilation of the kind I suggest as needed , care should be taken not to omit the names of men who in former days were known as clerks of the works , masters of the works , and surveyors of the works . The general use of the designation " architect" is of comparatively recent origin .
Some new names might be worthily added tothe catalogue of builders of note in former times . Thus it was my good fortune to discover the name of the architect of the palace of the Protector Somerset , on the Thames , in London . Hisname ivas Henry Lawes , and he was called " clerk
of the works . " When Inigo Jones was in London as " surveyor of our works , " his master , King Charles I ., had another builder or architect in Scotland . This was Sir Anthony Alexander , sou of Alexander Earl of Stirling ( the statesman and poet ) . The
name is not in "Walpole , " though in the works of so charming a poet as Drummond , of Hawthornden , is a " Pastoral Elegy" on his death . He was master of the King ' s works in Scotland , and dying in London in August , 1637 , was buried