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What Is Masonry?
that it should be otherwise , and that above all it is not the fault of the Institution , but rather of the men and of circumstances , which are not and should not be the same . We have seen that Freemasonry and the ancient mysteries have such a relation between themselves , that we can , without venturing overmuch , consider one as the succession of the others . But what were the ancient mysteries ? What were the initiates taught ? What was revealed to them ?
If we consult the works which deal with the mysteries we learn that their secret was the doctrine of the wise , of the ancient philosophers , who leaving to the ignorant and stupid- people the idolatry they so much loved , assembled to adore the only God , creator and preserver of all things , an avenger and rewarder , the onlv eternal God worthy of the homage of men . The initiation
was divided into many Degrees or epochs ; the initiate did not receive light more than successively and with precaution , so as not to injure the teachings of his first education ; it was necessary that he should have passed the age of passions ; he was convinced as he was instructed , and it was not pretended to impose the belief by authority . He was formed in the human
sciences enclosed within that only sanctuary of the Masonic Temples , before showing him the truth . Only subsequent to studies which lasted at least three years , and sometimes longer , was the neophyte introduced to the interior within the most secret part of the Temple , where the veil was removed from the true object of the initiation . The initiated looked , therefore ,
with contempt on the idolatry of which they had learned to know the absurdities , and if , united to the Society , they respected the established cult and submitted to it , it was only out of deference toward the opinions that it was dangerous to combat openly . Thus in measure , as initiation has extended and philosophy and arts have illumined the people , the cult of the idols has lost its
belief and has finished up by being completely forgotten . Such was the secret object of the Grand Mysteries , and it has been attained only after countless efforts . This initiation has turned out all the philosophers who have enlightened antiquity ; to the extension of the mysteries alone is due the change that has taken place in the religion of the people .
While the mysteries have been vulgarised this great revolution has been accomplished . Moses , elevated to the Court of Pharoah in Egypt , and undoubtedly initiated in the Egyptian Mysteries , was the first who established public cult to the God of the initiated—to the true God . His decalogue was nothing more than the Law which governed the initiates , and his philosophv
was all taken from the Temple of Memphis . But the law of Moses was not then more than an imperfect essay of the application of the principles of initiation ; the time had not arrived to convert these principles into the universal religion , for that reason called Catholic . It does not enter into our plan to examine what has been opposed to the Hebraic religion making
proselytes , nor what has impeded it from extending itself beyond the House of Israel ; but after the time having arrived we see emanating from the bosom of that religion , and probably from the secret itself of its initiations , a new religion , purer than the former , and which does not call one family , one prayer , to the participation of its mysteries , but all the people of the earth .
Ancient initiation was therefore the true religion , which later has been with just title called Catholic , because it should be that of all the enlightened nations of the world ; the religion that Moses had taught anteriorly , that had been preached by St . John , and finally , that of Jesus . Yes , the Christian religion emanated from the mysteries of initiation , such as they were in
their primal simplicity , and it is this holy religion that has been carefully conserved in the Temples of Freemasonry . We could by means of similitudes without number show that the forms of cult , and that even ecclesiastic hierarchy , everything , in the Christian religion , is taken from the usages and the rituals of the initiated—the predecessors of the Freemasons—if the limits we
have laid down in this article would permit . The Gospel—that work of the sweetest and purest morality—that book truly divine , was the code of the initiated , and is still that of Masonry . If we have demonstrated that Freemasonry is a succession of the ancient mysteries , and we believe we have done so , yes , we say , the
mysteries were in themselves the true religion of Jesus , and it consequently follows that Masonry is this same religion , which has constantly combatted the materialism of idolatry , but which with the same constancy has refused to admit the mystic dogmas which superstition or the enthusiastic zeal of some ardent souls have found the means of ingrafting into the evangelical tree .
We shall be told , perhaps , that such being the case , the mysteries have remained without reasonable object , from the moment of the establishment and the public profession of the cult , and the belief of the initiates ; that the secrecy of its
meetings remained at least useless . We feel all the force of-this ' objection ; but who does not know that the catholic religion has struggled during over centuries against paganism , which was the dominant cult , and against the numberless persecutions that this religion , its natural enemy , has raised against it ? Who will not
What Is Masonry?
comprehend that secrecy had long been necessary before obtaining tolerance alone , and finally until the moment when Constantino placed it on the throne ? And , moreover , after the triumph of the catholic religion , which has been the epoch of the
greatest , schisms , aud the most bloody theological , disputeswould not the wise and pacific men who desired to preserve pure the divine science remain aloof from the disputants ? Would they not indulge anew in the secrecy of initiations , and by that means transmit ; its spirit , or sense , in all its integrity ?
We think that this is the manner how we can give the reason for the perpetuity of the secret meetings of the initiated , and explain the transmission of their mysteries to our days . ; hence the persecutions against Masons by the ministers oi religion , who should have been one of its most solid aid and firm support . However it may be as regards the succession of the mysteries ,
it appears evident by the emblems used to decorate the Lodges of Masons of all rites , that since their introduction into Europe under the name of Freemasonry , that their religious end has been recognised . But Masonry had yet another object—that of hospitality towards Christain soldiers , towards the widows and
orphans of warriors who died for the sake of religion on the fields of Asia—and we should recognise in the latter intention the cause of the credit which' from its origin was obtained by thiB philanthropic Institution . Europe finally ceased to send the flower of its citizens to perish in a country so direful for its
. The calamities that had accompanied a distant and disastrous war ceased ; but love toward their neighbours did not cease to animate the initiated Freemasons ; the leagues that united them were not broken by this ; and the ordinary misfortunes of life did not omit to offer to their virtues the means to exercise themselves .
Soon a terrible occasion presented itself . The Knights of the Temple , as its institutors , perished in a terrible catastrophe ; those who escaped from the gibbet took refuge among the . Freemasons , who received them as a father would his sons , and sustained and protected them with all their strength . Little inclined to theological disputes , the Freemasons made it a law
never to interfere with religious opinions . They forgot in a certain manner that their Institution was the deposit of a true catholic religion , and they limited themselves to preaching within their temples the morality of the Gospel , recommending submission to the civil laws , the exaltation of all social virtues , and particularly hospitality and benevolence .
It does not follow , however , that all Masons individually are virtuous , but the Masonic Order is so in essence , and could not otherwise exist . How many particular deeds of generosity could we not cite to prove that Masonry is a true benefit to . society ? How many establishments of Benevolence founded and supported by the Lodges could we not mention for
public recognition ? But to name them would be to afflict the Masons . Their first maxim is to carefully conceal What the hand gives . We have seen that Freemasonry is a religious and philanthropic Institution . From the first point of view , the wisdom of its principles , the pureness ana sweetness of its morality , so consistent with that of the Gospel , must necessarily
make it an object of profound respect . From the second point of view—which makes it so recommendable—it is an Institution that cannot be too much encouraged . It is , we need not doubt , by a magnanimous action on the part of the Freemasons that the religious side is abandoned to the sagacity of the initiated , and we
disregard the revealing of the mysteries that are hidden from the superficial eyes by the emblematic signs of Masonry ; while all its discourses , and all its examples , are directed to the better means of recommending love towards their fellow man as the distinctive virtue of true Masons .
Such is the real object of this Institution so unjustly despised by those who are not acquainted with it . The initiates know that we have said nothing that is not true . If our good faith cannot persuade the initiates , we expect , at least , from their spirit of justice , that they will not in future condemn our Brethren without hearing them , and that they will confess that if Masonry is as we have represented , it is worthy of the respect of all honest people . — " Masonry . "
The will of the late Bro . Sir Polydore de Keyser , Lord Mayor of London , has been proved , the personalty being £ 142 , 419 , the bulk of which is bequeathed to his nephew Polydore Weichand de Keyser ,- of the Royal Hotel , Blackfriars , E . C . :
. . Mr . Martin D . Rucker , Managing Director of Humber ' s , has , says the " Sportsman , " presented the hundred guineas paid him by the proprietor of the " St . James ' s Gazette " to the funds of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and thus qualified himself as a Vice-Patron .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
What Is Masonry?
that it should be otherwise , and that above all it is not the fault of the Institution , but rather of the men and of circumstances , which are not and should not be the same . We have seen that Freemasonry and the ancient mysteries have such a relation between themselves , that we can , without venturing overmuch , consider one as the succession of the others . But what were the ancient mysteries ? What were the initiates taught ? What was revealed to them ?
If we consult the works which deal with the mysteries we learn that their secret was the doctrine of the wise , of the ancient philosophers , who leaving to the ignorant and stupid- people the idolatry they so much loved , assembled to adore the only God , creator and preserver of all things , an avenger and rewarder , the onlv eternal God worthy of the homage of men . The initiation
was divided into many Degrees or epochs ; the initiate did not receive light more than successively and with precaution , so as not to injure the teachings of his first education ; it was necessary that he should have passed the age of passions ; he was convinced as he was instructed , and it was not pretended to impose the belief by authority . He was formed in the human
sciences enclosed within that only sanctuary of the Masonic Temples , before showing him the truth . Only subsequent to studies which lasted at least three years , and sometimes longer , was the neophyte introduced to the interior within the most secret part of the Temple , where the veil was removed from the true object of the initiation . The initiated looked , therefore ,
with contempt on the idolatry of which they had learned to know the absurdities , and if , united to the Society , they respected the established cult and submitted to it , it was only out of deference toward the opinions that it was dangerous to combat openly . Thus in measure , as initiation has extended and philosophy and arts have illumined the people , the cult of the idols has lost its
belief and has finished up by being completely forgotten . Such was the secret object of the Grand Mysteries , and it has been attained only after countless efforts . This initiation has turned out all the philosophers who have enlightened antiquity ; to the extension of the mysteries alone is due the change that has taken place in the religion of the people .
While the mysteries have been vulgarised this great revolution has been accomplished . Moses , elevated to the Court of Pharoah in Egypt , and undoubtedly initiated in the Egyptian Mysteries , was the first who established public cult to the God of the initiated—to the true God . His decalogue was nothing more than the Law which governed the initiates , and his philosophv
was all taken from the Temple of Memphis . But the law of Moses was not then more than an imperfect essay of the application of the principles of initiation ; the time had not arrived to convert these principles into the universal religion , for that reason called Catholic . It does not enter into our plan to examine what has been opposed to the Hebraic religion making
proselytes , nor what has impeded it from extending itself beyond the House of Israel ; but after the time having arrived we see emanating from the bosom of that religion , and probably from the secret itself of its initiations , a new religion , purer than the former , and which does not call one family , one prayer , to the participation of its mysteries , but all the people of the earth .
Ancient initiation was therefore the true religion , which later has been with just title called Catholic , because it should be that of all the enlightened nations of the world ; the religion that Moses had taught anteriorly , that had been preached by St . John , and finally , that of Jesus . Yes , the Christian religion emanated from the mysteries of initiation , such as they were in
their primal simplicity , and it is this holy religion that has been carefully conserved in the Temples of Freemasonry . We could by means of similitudes without number show that the forms of cult , and that even ecclesiastic hierarchy , everything , in the Christian religion , is taken from the usages and the rituals of the initiated—the predecessors of the Freemasons—if the limits we
have laid down in this article would permit . The Gospel—that work of the sweetest and purest morality—that book truly divine , was the code of the initiated , and is still that of Masonry . If we have demonstrated that Freemasonry is a succession of the ancient mysteries , and we believe we have done so , yes , we say , the
mysteries were in themselves the true religion of Jesus , and it consequently follows that Masonry is this same religion , which has constantly combatted the materialism of idolatry , but which with the same constancy has refused to admit the mystic dogmas which superstition or the enthusiastic zeal of some ardent souls have found the means of ingrafting into the evangelical tree .
We shall be told , perhaps , that such being the case , the mysteries have remained without reasonable object , from the moment of the establishment and the public profession of the cult , and the belief of the initiates ; that the secrecy of its
meetings remained at least useless . We feel all the force of-this ' objection ; but who does not know that the catholic religion has struggled during over centuries against paganism , which was the dominant cult , and against the numberless persecutions that this religion , its natural enemy , has raised against it ? Who will not
What Is Masonry?
comprehend that secrecy had long been necessary before obtaining tolerance alone , and finally until the moment when Constantino placed it on the throne ? And , moreover , after the triumph of the catholic religion , which has been the epoch of the
greatest , schisms , aud the most bloody theological , disputeswould not the wise and pacific men who desired to preserve pure the divine science remain aloof from the disputants ? Would they not indulge anew in the secrecy of initiations , and by that means transmit ; its spirit , or sense , in all its integrity ?
We think that this is the manner how we can give the reason for the perpetuity of the secret meetings of the initiated , and explain the transmission of their mysteries to our days . ; hence the persecutions against Masons by the ministers oi religion , who should have been one of its most solid aid and firm support . However it may be as regards the succession of the mysteries ,
it appears evident by the emblems used to decorate the Lodges of Masons of all rites , that since their introduction into Europe under the name of Freemasonry , that their religious end has been recognised . But Masonry had yet another object—that of hospitality towards Christain soldiers , towards the widows and
orphans of warriors who died for the sake of religion on the fields of Asia—and we should recognise in the latter intention the cause of the credit which' from its origin was obtained by thiB philanthropic Institution . Europe finally ceased to send the flower of its citizens to perish in a country so direful for its
. The calamities that had accompanied a distant and disastrous war ceased ; but love toward their neighbours did not cease to animate the initiated Freemasons ; the leagues that united them were not broken by this ; and the ordinary misfortunes of life did not omit to offer to their virtues the means to exercise themselves .
Soon a terrible occasion presented itself . The Knights of the Temple , as its institutors , perished in a terrible catastrophe ; those who escaped from the gibbet took refuge among the . Freemasons , who received them as a father would his sons , and sustained and protected them with all their strength . Little inclined to theological disputes , the Freemasons made it a law
never to interfere with religious opinions . They forgot in a certain manner that their Institution was the deposit of a true catholic religion , and they limited themselves to preaching within their temples the morality of the Gospel , recommending submission to the civil laws , the exaltation of all social virtues , and particularly hospitality and benevolence .
It does not follow , however , that all Masons individually are virtuous , but the Masonic Order is so in essence , and could not otherwise exist . How many particular deeds of generosity could we not cite to prove that Masonry is a true benefit to . society ? How many establishments of Benevolence founded and supported by the Lodges could we not mention for
public recognition ? But to name them would be to afflict the Masons . Their first maxim is to carefully conceal What the hand gives . We have seen that Freemasonry is a religious and philanthropic Institution . From the first point of view , the wisdom of its principles , the pureness ana sweetness of its morality , so consistent with that of the Gospel , must necessarily
make it an object of profound respect . From the second point of view—which makes it so recommendable—it is an Institution that cannot be too much encouraged . It is , we need not doubt , by a magnanimous action on the part of the Freemasons that the religious side is abandoned to the sagacity of the initiated , and we
disregard the revealing of the mysteries that are hidden from the superficial eyes by the emblematic signs of Masonry ; while all its discourses , and all its examples , are directed to the better means of recommending love towards their fellow man as the distinctive virtue of true Masons .
Such is the real object of this Institution so unjustly despised by those who are not acquainted with it . The initiates know that we have said nothing that is not true . If our good faith cannot persuade the initiates , we expect , at least , from their spirit of justice , that they will not in future condemn our Brethren without hearing them , and that they will confess that if Masonry is as we have represented , it is worthy of the respect of all honest people . — " Masonry . "
The will of the late Bro . Sir Polydore de Keyser , Lord Mayor of London , has been proved , the personalty being £ 142 , 419 , the bulk of which is bequeathed to his nephew Polydore Weichand de Keyser ,- of the Royal Hotel , Blackfriars , E . C . :
. . Mr . Martin D . Rucker , Managing Director of Humber ' s , has , says the " Sportsman , " presented the hundred guineas paid him by the proprietor of the " St . James ' s Gazette " to the funds of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , and thus qualified himself as a Vice-Patron .