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Article THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE "VOICE OF MASONRY." Page 1 of 2 Article THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE "VOICE OF MASONRY." Page 1 of 2 →
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The June Number Of The "Voice Of Masonry."
THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE "VOICE OF MASONRY . "
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
BRO . Stoinbrenner ' s " Orig in of Masonry " was printed in 18 ^ 4 . The first and second editions of Bro . Findel ' s History in the Eng-lish laug-uage appeared respectivel y in 1866 and I 860 . Bro . D . M . Lyon ' s " History of Freemasonry in Scotland" was published in 1873 ; and
three of Bro . Gould's volumes have been out for some time . Bat , strange to say , P . G . M . Bromwell , one of the principal writers for the Voice of Masonry , seems to be unacquainted with the said publications . Bro . Singleton ,
G . S . of the D . C ., and Bro . Charles E . Meyer of Philadelphia , both of whom have been illumined bij all Masonic Dcf / rees in creaHon , yet , each of the said conservative Brethren admitted that before 1717 Masons had but
oue ceremony or degree . But Bro . Bromwell still believes in the antiquity of the three first degrees . The antiquity of the so-called high degrees he seems to deny ; but the degrees of " Ancient Craft Masonry " he believes to be
trul y ancient . Whether Bro . Bromwell was cognizant of the fact that recent investigation had shaken the old belief in the antiquity of " speculative Masonry " I know not ; but , be that as it may , he certainly was induced to read
Bro . Hughan ' s latest work , viz ., " Origin of the English Bite , " wherein he found the antiquity of speculative Masonry denied ; and hence , our worthy Bro . Bromwell endeavoured in the Voice of Masonry to demolish Bro . Hughan ' s Masonic heresy .
The most amusing thing is that Bro . Hughau furnished his critic with weapons for defending the antiquity of speculative Masonry ; thus , Bro Hughan persists in denominating Ashmole and other pre-1717 non-operative
members of the Craft as " speculatives , " and of styling 1717 as the " Masonic Revival "; hence , Bro . Bromwell justly reasons , that if Ashmole was a " Specnlative Mason , " Speculative Masonry must have existed in 1646 ;
and if the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1717 was a " Masonic Revival , " then our Freemasonry with the three degrees must have been in existence before 1717 . I will now , however , proceed to reason with Bro . Bromwell from another standpoint .
Hirst . 1 he guild system originated not in England , but on the continent , and it is a well known fact that the continental Masons never associated Jewish legends with their history or ceremonies .
Second . The Halliwell poem was written by a Catholic priest some years after 1407 . It is the oldest Masonic MS . in existence . The author ascribed the origin of
Masonry to Euclid ; and , though be incidentally mentions Noah ' s flood , and Masonised Nabogodonzor as the builder of " the tower of Babyloyne seven Myle the heighte , " yet neither King Solomon or his temple are referred to in the
poem . Third . Next in order is the Matthew Cooke MS . which was written about a century after the former . The author of this MS . was an out and out Masonic crank , and he may
be called the father of Masonic cranlcism ; he Masonised scores of prominent persons of ancient , and modern times among whom were David , Solomon , King Hiram of Tyre
and he informs us that the King ' s son of Tyre was Solomon ' s Master Mason ; the name of that Master Mason , however , he did not give .
We next have about fifty pre-1717 rituals of the English Masons , which Bro . Hughan denominated as " Old Charges . " All these contain a rehash of the Matthew Cooke MS ., with some variations of course ; most of these were written in the 17 th and some of them in the 18 fch
century , and with the exception of two of these ( which I shall show to have been written after Anderson ' s Constitution had been printed ) , they all [ or nearly all ] repeat the statement of the Matthew Cooke MS ., that the King ' s son
of Tyre ivas Solomon ' s Master Mason ; but they variously name him Aynon , Anion , Aynoue , Anon , Ajnon , and Benaim ; thus showing that the pre-1717 Masons were ignorant of the connection of Hiram Abif with Masonry .
Now , one of the two MSS wherein Hiram Abif figures is Krause ' s MS ., about which all writers agree that it was fabricated either at the end of the last century or be » -innin ° - (
of this . The second MS . is called the , Inigo Jones MS . " Bro . Gould remarks ( see Vol . I . p 63 ) . " Its right to the above title is based upon the claim
The June Number Of The "Voice Of Masonry."
made in the document itself , which was sold , 12 th November 1879 , by Messrs Pnttick and Simpson . The catalogue described it as 'The ancient Constitutions of the Free and Accepted Masons , a very curious folio manuscript ,
ornamented title and drawings by Inigo Jones , old red morocco , gilt leaves , dated 1607 . ' Mr . Woodford subsequently became its fortunate possessor , and , as usual with him , lost no timo in making the Craft acquainted with its contents . "
The said MS . was printed in the Masonic Magazine ( London ) , July 1881 , aud Bro . Woodford thus introduced it : " The MS . of which a transcript is now given to Masonic
students was originally sold by public auction in London , and fell into the hands of the well-known firm of Pickering & Co , . . . from whom it was pm-ehnsed by its present possessor . It is a curious and valuable MS . ' per se , '
not only on account of its special verbiage , but because it possesses a front-piece of Mason 3 at work , with ' Inigo Jones fecit' at the bottom . It is also highly ornamented
throughout , both in the capital letters and with ' finials . ' It is , we apprehend , pretty certain that it did belong to Inig-o Jones . It is of date 1607 . "
Now , with all due respect to Bro . Woodford , I never believed that his MS . was written in 1607 , for , in the first place , it is more free from archaisms , than the Masonic MSS . that are known to have been written late in
the 17 th century , and the beginning of the 18 th century . Second , if Hiram Abif had figured in a Masonic ritual of 1607 , in Inigo Jones Lodge , surely that name would have
been copied in later written rituals . Now , the Lodge of Antiquity MS ., written in 1688 , renders the story as follows :
" And ho [ King Hiram ] had a son called . . . that was Master of Geomitrie and was chief Master of all his Masons that belonged to the Temple , both for graving , carving and all other Masonrie . " And the Alnwick MS ,,
undoubtedly written in 1701 , has it thus : "And he [ Hiram ] had a son that was named Ajnon . " I must here add that Alnwick Lodge , whose records begin in 1703 , and continue till 17-57 , was an old-fashioned operative
Lodge ; it never joined or associated with the 1717 Masons , and its records , which Bro . Hughan examined ( see the Freemason , Jan . ~ 1 1871 ) , shows that they had but one degree . We see now , that the old operative
Masons , including the members of the Lodge of Antiquity in 1688 , were ignorant of Hiram Abif ' s connection with Masonry . But that is not all . Within a month , I had a friendly chat in London with the Rev . Bro . Woodford
himself , wheu I bluntly asked him whether he still believed that his MS . was owned in 1607 by Inigo Jones , and he frankly answered in the negative , but added , " it was not written before about 1680 . " Why Bro . W .
limited its origin to about 1680 I know not . It is certain , however , that " 1607 " and the name of "Inigo Jones " recorded on the MS . were designed for a fraudulent purpose , and as Bro . Woodford consented to reduce the
antiquity of his MS . about seventy-three years , I can see no reason why we cannot reduce its antiquity by seventythree additional years , which would bring it nearer the time of its origin . In short , Hiram Abif ' s Masonry dates
after 1717 ; and if after reading the above hints , Bro , Bromwell Avould read also Bro . Lyon ' s History , I think that he would acknowledge that Bro . Hughan was rig ht . And now we will change the subject .
Among all our American Grand Lodge dignitaries and Masouic writers , I believe that very few equal Bro . C . Diehl , G . S . of Utah , in sincere desire to write the truth , the whole truth , and nothing but the truth . I am ,
therefore , sorry to come in conflict with him . But the best disposed are sometimes apt to err , and as every error promulgated by a prominent Mason , if not immediately exploded , is apt to take root in our Masonic histories and
literature—indeed , the editor of the Voice seems to have been already converted to Bro . Diehl's opinion—I sball therefore first give the editor ' s version ( see p 516 of June Voice of Masonry ) about Bro . Diehl's new opinion , and afterwards I will show its fallacy .
" A Masonic orator in Utah [ says the editor of the Voice ] in the course of an oration , mentioned St . John ' s Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Master who signed ita
charter , Viscount Montague . Noticing the name , Bro . Diehl says , Bro . Montague was a Roman Catholic , and adds : " ' For the sake of his religion he suffered many penalties ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The June Number Of The "Voice Of Masonry."
THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE "VOICE OF MASONRY . "
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON .
BRO . Stoinbrenner ' s " Orig in of Masonry " was printed in 18 ^ 4 . The first and second editions of Bro . Findel ' s History in the Eng-lish laug-uage appeared respectivel y in 1866 and I 860 . Bro . D . M . Lyon ' s " History of Freemasonry in Scotland" was published in 1873 ; and
three of Bro . Gould's volumes have been out for some time . Bat , strange to say , P . G . M . Bromwell , one of the principal writers for the Voice of Masonry , seems to be unacquainted with the said publications . Bro . Singleton ,
G . S . of the D . C ., and Bro . Charles E . Meyer of Philadelphia , both of whom have been illumined bij all Masonic Dcf / rees in creaHon , yet , each of the said conservative Brethren admitted that before 1717 Masons had but
oue ceremony or degree . But Bro . Bromwell still believes in the antiquity of the three first degrees . The antiquity of the so-called high degrees he seems to deny ; but the degrees of " Ancient Craft Masonry " he believes to be
trul y ancient . Whether Bro . Bromwell was cognizant of the fact that recent investigation had shaken the old belief in the antiquity of " speculative Masonry " I know not ; but , be that as it may , he certainly was induced to read
Bro . Hughan ' s latest work , viz ., " Origin of the English Bite , " wherein he found the antiquity of speculative Masonry denied ; and hence , our worthy Bro . Bromwell endeavoured in the Voice of Masonry to demolish Bro . Hughan ' s Masonic heresy .
The most amusing thing is that Bro . Hughau furnished his critic with weapons for defending the antiquity of speculative Masonry ; thus , Bro Hughan persists in denominating Ashmole and other pre-1717 non-operative
members of the Craft as " speculatives , " and of styling 1717 as the " Masonic Revival "; hence , Bro . Bromwell justly reasons , that if Ashmole was a " Specnlative Mason , " Speculative Masonry must have existed in 1646 ;
and if the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1717 was a " Masonic Revival , " then our Freemasonry with the three degrees must have been in existence before 1717 . I will now , however , proceed to reason with Bro . Bromwell from another standpoint .
Hirst . 1 he guild system originated not in England , but on the continent , and it is a well known fact that the continental Masons never associated Jewish legends with their history or ceremonies .
Second . The Halliwell poem was written by a Catholic priest some years after 1407 . It is the oldest Masonic MS . in existence . The author ascribed the origin of
Masonry to Euclid ; and , though be incidentally mentions Noah ' s flood , and Masonised Nabogodonzor as the builder of " the tower of Babyloyne seven Myle the heighte , " yet neither King Solomon or his temple are referred to in the
poem . Third . Next in order is the Matthew Cooke MS . which was written about a century after the former . The author of this MS . was an out and out Masonic crank , and he may
be called the father of Masonic cranlcism ; he Masonised scores of prominent persons of ancient , and modern times among whom were David , Solomon , King Hiram of Tyre
and he informs us that the King ' s son of Tyre was Solomon ' s Master Mason ; the name of that Master Mason , however , he did not give .
We next have about fifty pre-1717 rituals of the English Masons , which Bro . Hughan denominated as " Old Charges . " All these contain a rehash of the Matthew Cooke MS ., with some variations of course ; most of these were written in the 17 th and some of them in the 18 fch
century , and with the exception of two of these ( which I shall show to have been written after Anderson ' s Constitution had been printed ) , they all [ or nearly all ] repeat the statement of the Matthew Cooke MS ., that the King ' s son
of Tyre ivas Solomon ' s Master Mason ; but they variously name him Aynon , Anion , Aynoue , Anon , Ajnon , and Benaim ; thus showing that the pre-1717 Masons were ignorant of the connection of Hiram Abif with Masonry .
Now , one of the two MSS wherein Hiram Abif figures is Krause ' s MS ., about which all writers agree that it was fabricated either at the end of the last century or be » -innin ° - (
of this . The second MS . is called the , Inigo Jones MS . " Bro . Gould remarks ( see Vol . I . p 63 ) . " Its right to the above title is based upon the claim
The June Number Of The "Voice Of Masonry."
made in the document itself , which was sold , 12 th November 1879 , by Messrs Pnttick and Simpson . The catalogue described it as 'The ancient Constitutions of the Free and Accepted Masons , a very curious folio manuscript ,
ornamented title and drawings by Inigo Jones , old red morocco , gilt leaves , dated 1607 . ' Mr . Woodford subsequently became its fortunate possessor , and , as usual with him , lost no timo in making the Craft acquainted with its contents . "
The said MS . was printed in the Masonic Magazine ( London ) , July 1881 , aud Bro . Woodford thus introduced it : " The MS . of which a transcript is now given to Masonic
students was originally sold by public auction in London , and fell into the hands of the well-known firm of Pickering & Co , . . . from whom it was pm-ehnsed by its present possessor . It is a curious and valuable MS . ' per se , '
not only on account of its special verbiage , but because it possesses a front-piece of Mason 3 at work , with ' Inigo Jones fecit' at the bottom . It is also highly ornamented
throughout , both in the capital letters and with ' finials . ' It is , we apprehend , pretty certain that it did belong to Inig-o Jones . It is of date 1607 . "
Now , with all due respect to Bro . Woodford , I never believed that his MS . was written in 1607 , for , in the first place , it is more free from archaisms , than the Masonic MSS . that are known to have been written late in
the 17 th century , and the beginning of the 18 th century . Second , if Hiram Abif had figured in a Masonic ritual of 1607 , in Inigo Jones Lodge , surely that name would have
been copied in later written rituals . Now , the Lodge of Antiquity MS ., written in 1688 , renders the story as follows :
" And ho [ King Hiram ] had a son called . . . that was Master of Geomitrie and was chief Master of all his Masons that belonged to the Temple , both for graving , carving and all other Masonrie . " And the Alnwick MS ,,
undoubtedly written in 1701 , has it thus : "And he [ Hiram ] had a son that was named Ajnon . " I must here add that Alnwick Lodge , whose records begin in 1703 , and continue till 17-57 , was an old-fashioned operative
Lodge ; it never joined or associated with the 1717 Masons , and its records , which Bro . Hughan examined ( see the Freemason , Jan . ~ 1 1871 ) , shows that they had but one degree . We see now , that the old operative
Masons , including the members of the Lodge of Antiquity in 1688 , were ignorant of Hiram Abif ' s connection with Masonry . But that is not all . Within a month , I had a friendly chat in London with the Rev . Bro . Woodford
himself , wheu I bluntly asked him whether he still believed that his MS . was owned in 1607 by Inigo Jones , and he frankly answered in the negative , but added , " it was not written before about 1680 . " Why Bro . W .
limited its origin to about 1680 I know not . It is certain , however , that " 1607 " and the name of "Inigo Jones " recorded on the MS . were designed for a fraudulent purpose , and as Bro . Woodford consented to reduce the
antiquity of his MS . about seventy-three years , I can see no reason why we cannot reduce its antiquity by seventythree additional years , which would bring it nearer the time of its origin . In short , Hiram Abif ' s Masonry dates
after 1717 ; and if after reading the above hints , Bro , Bromwell Avould read also Bro . Lyon ' s History , I think that he would acknowledge that Bro . Hughan was rig ht . And now we will change the subject .
Among all our American Grand Lodge dignitaries and Masouic writers , I believe that very few equal Bro . C . Diehl , G . S . of Utah , in sincere desire to write the truth , the whole truth , and nothing but the truth . I am ,
therefore , sorry to come in conflict with him . But the best disposed are sometimes apt to err , and as every error promulgated by a prominent Mason , if not immediately exploded , is apt to take root in our Masonic histories and
literature—indeed , the editor of the Voice seems to have been already converted to Bro . Diehl's opinion—I sball therefore first give the editor ' s version ( see p 516 of June Voice of Masonry ) about Bro . Diehl's new opinion , and afterwards I will show its fallacy .
" A Masonic orator in Utah [ says the editor of the Voice ] in the course of an oration , mentioned St . John ' s Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Master who signed ita
charter , Viscount Montague . Noticing the name , Bro . Diehl says , Bro . Montague was a Roman Catholic , and adds : " ' For the sake of his religion he suffered many penalties ,