Crazy And Partizan Masonic Writers.

tho said letter could invent the miracle , he could also have invented the martyrology , and therefore censured the modern ecclesiastical writers for their inconsistency . I can give instances of partizan Masonic writers who have been guilty of similar tricks , one will , however , for the present suffice .

Bro . Simon Greenleaf issued a book in Portland , Maine ,

in 1820 , viz . : " A brief inquiry into the origin and principles of Freemasonry . " The writer ridicules the alleged Masonry of Grand Master Adam and Co ., but he does not hesitate to assert as " heijoud reasonable doubt" that Prince Edwin was Grand Master at York in 926 , and that

the York brethren were always sty led " Ancient York Masons . " Besides which he accepts the story about St . Alban , & c , and he refers to Anderson and Preston for his authorities ; but as the Masonry of Adam and Co .

rests also upon the authority of Anderson and Preston , why did Bro . Greenleaf reject their histories about Adam , and why did he believe , " beyond reasonable doubt , " their histories about Prince Edwin , & c . ?

The same writer has given long histories about the Eleusinian , Pythagorean , and Druid mysteries ; the lastnamed mysteries , he says , were preserved by the English people even after Christianity was introduced into England , he defends the Druids from the charge of human

sacrifices . He also says , " It is worthy of observation that the Supreme Being was worshipped by the Gauls and Britons , and nnder the name of Hestts , a word expressive of omnipotence , as Hizzus in the Hebrew , " & c , and refers in a note to Psalm xiv . 8 . As Hizzus sounded strange to me ,

I consulted the Bible . Yes , three different versions of the Bible ; but the fourteenth Psalm does not mention Hizzus , and , what is more , there are no eight verses in the said Psalm ; only seven could I find . I next looked into Cruden ' s Concordance , and into Smith ' s Bible Dictionary ,

but no Hizzus could I find anywhere in the Bible . Another of his references to the Bible I was equally as unsuccessful in finding . Now , if there is no truth in his statement " about Hizzus , why should I believe in the rest of Bro . Greenleaf ' s statements ?

Bro . Greenleaf , however , wrote more than sixty years ago , when the only authorities ho could consult were Anderson , Preston , Hutchinson , ancl Laurie . These , together with the legends he received in the high Christian degrees , were enough to bamboozle his half , or

little-informed mind . Indeed , he wrote in what may justly be called the dark Masonic ages , and he must have possessed considerable courage to deny even the Masonry of Adam . But what shall we say to the nonsense promulgated in 1881 , by Bro . John D . Jennings , 33 ° , of Michigan ,

in an official pamphlet of the liigh degrees . He says , " The archives of the Rite can reckon among its votaries such men as Orpheus , Pythagoras , Thales , "Virgil , Hippocrates , Socrates , Plato , and many other great names in Greece . . The sages educated in the Solomon

mysteries of Heliopolis , Thebes , and Memphis were the conservators of the Divine fire . The sacred fire of Masonry glowed a thousand years , and no attempt was made to extinguish or weaken it . . . St . John , of the Apocalypse , was an initiate of the Cabiri , and alluded to the

mystic stone just noticed when he says : "To him that overcometh will I give to eat the hidden manna , and will give him a White Stone . " This is a fair specimen of Bro . Jenning ' s knowledge of the history of Masonry , and

can any one blame me for believing ( supposing he is sincere ) that he , and all who believe like him , are fit subjects for a lunatic asylum ? But here is even a more recent candidate for Bedlam .

Appleton and Co ., of Nexv York , have jusfc issued a new book , by Robert Hewitt Brown , 32 ° , viz ., " Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy , " the book is illustrated with numerous heathen and high degree woodcuts , coloured astronomical plate , & c . Bro . Brown throws overboard

the Solomonic and Hiram legends , but insists that Masonry originated from the pagan mysteries . It is no use to try to select the most ridiculous passage in his book , for the whole of ifc is alike ridiculous . But here is a specimen of his lecturing : —

Q . " By what name were Masons anciently known ? A . " Long before the building of King Solomon ' s temple Masons were known as the Sons of Light ; Masonry was practised by the ancients under the name of Lux ( light ) , or its equivalent in various languages of antiquity . " Q . ' . ' What is said to be the origin of the word Masonry ?"

Crazy And Partizan Masonic Writers.

A . " Wo are informed by several distinguished writers that it is a corruption of the Greek word mesouraneo , which signifies I am in the midst of heaven , alluding to

the sun , which being in the midst of heaven is the great source of light . Others derive it directly from the ancient Egyptians , Phve , the sun ; Mas , a child . Phre-Masen ; children of the sun , or sons of light . "

In the concluding part of the book the author complacently says , " We believe that the key is at length restored , " and then goes on thus : " And why is not the explanation correct ? Have you ever considered the ' calculus of probabilities , ' as applied to a subject like

this ? " The Boston Advertiser of 4 th December gives a brief notice of the said " Stellar Theology , " & c , and goodnaturedly winds up thus : " It is sad to have to despair of Adam . The full regular meetings in Eden must have been very entertaining . "

But the ridiculous pranks of our high degree Masons are by no means exhausted . About fourteen years ago , our great American Masonic writer , and possessor of all the Masonic degrees in creation , " and move too , " as Paddy would say , made a pilgrimage to what he called " the five

Masonic centres , " viz ., Jerusalem , York , Kilwinning , Rhodes , and Malta . How he could designate these places as "Masonic centres , " after Brother Findel demonstrated that our Masonry had no more connection with them than it had with Timbuctoo , & c , is more than I can tell . Brother

Morris has since then again visited Jerusalem once or twice . Upon one occasion he opened ( in one of the caves he visited there ) a Masonic Lodge , with all imaginable solemnity , and to commemorate the great event , he scratched on the wall of the cave a Square ancl Compass ,

Probably , some future enthusiastic Masonic visitor to the said cave , may jump- to the conclusion that the Square and Compass on the wall was placed by order of King Solomon . In a Lecture recently delivered by Bro . Morris in Boston , he claimed to have been initiated in the Holy

Land into a Dervish Lodge . He assured his hearers that the Dervishes gave him three degrees , and some important parts in the said three degrees are precisely the same as in our Craffc degrees . I shall nofc be afc all surprised to learn of Bro . Morris receiving a Dervish Commission to establish the Dervish Order in America . But the latest scheme of

Bro . Morris may be learned from the following editorial , copied from Loomis' " Musical and Masonic Journal , " of Newhaven , Connecticut . Here it is :- * -

"PALM AND SHELL . " We learn from an exchange that a new Order , by the above name , has been organised in the city of New York , founded by Bro . Eobert Morris . One of the objects is to gain possession of Mount Mori ah , and construct thereon a Masonio Temple worthy the site and society of Ancient Masonry . We would mildly suggest , when possession is

gained , to remove the Mount to America , and place it beside the Egyptian obelisk , before the erection of the Temple is began , so that the American Mason can have a slight chance of witnessing it at its completion , and , perchance , take a part in its dedication . It is nofc stated whether plans are yet decided on , bnt we have no doubt ifc

will be an exact imitation of King Solomon s Temple , with its roof of olive wood covered with gold . Nothing less would suffice to satisfy the demands of many of tne " temple builders " of the present generation . Let all hands join the " Palm and Shell , " and assist in carrying out the following extremely modest practical aims which

this new Order has taken upon itself to perform : 1 . To open the way broadly for Masonic intercourse between the East and the West . 2 . To soften the fanaticism of Oriental sects—Christian , Jewish , Moslem , —by tbe soothing influence of freemasonry .

3 . To encourage Pilgrim Knights to make profound researches in the Orient , under the auspices of the Oriental Order , thus establishing onr claims as a Scientific Association . 4 . To encourage onr Oriental brethren to visit America , thafc we may learn from them the legends and traditions transmitted to fchem

by their fathers . 5 . To organise Lodges in the cities of the Holy Land , and combine them , in due time , into a Grand Lodge at Jerusalem . 6 . To establish a hospital in Jerusalem for the care of Masonio pilgrims sojourning there .

7 . To gain possession of Mount Moriah , the birthplace and cradle of Ancient Masonry , and construct thereon a Masonic Temple worthy the site and society . 8 . To prosecute special inquiries into the crypts thafc exist in Mount Moriah for objects believed to be concealed there .

Now , if Bro . Morris is nofc a downright humbug , he must certainly be afflicted with a deranged mind ; ancl the fact that he could muster a sufficient number of demented Masons in New York to form an

Order for such a Quixotic scheme , indicates an insanit y among American Masons ; and if our Grand Lodges cannot stop or check this Masonic malady , the best thing