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  • Feb. 1, 1796
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The Freemasons' Magazine, Feb. 1, 1796: Page 47

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    Article HISTORY OF MASONRY. ← Page 6 of 6
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History Of Masonry.

ment might be dictated by those sparry concretions sometimes observable in caverns . In such subterranean recesses , when water , loaded with stony particles , distils from any part of the roof , it forms a petrifaction hanging down like an icicle ; while on the floor , where the drops fall , a similar conical concrete rises . If thereof be not too high , and if the operation be constant , the two points at length meetandthickening at the junctionunite into a column

, , , , which seems designedly placed for support ; and the very irregularities of its form might assist invention in fluting , and other fanciful'decorations . The Grecian column being suggested by the trunk of a tree , felled , and dismembered of its branches , some bold genius , at the revival of architecturestruck out a new desi which wasto adopt the tree

, gn , , in full growth ; and , as far as the nature of the materials would admit , to imitate in stone those awful sacred groves , wherein the heathen nations used to worship their divinities . Then it was that mankind saw churches formed , as it were , by assemblages of trees , whose lofty intersecting branches composed a vaulted roof , with many ribs , angles , and points of junctionwhere they metliht being received through

, ; g windows of painted glass , divided into compartments by stone ribs , that meeting also in angles , resembled the branches . and leaves of an opening grove ! There was sublimity in . the idea ; and with what artit was executed , will appear from the long vistas in a Gothic

cathedral , and of a close lofty grove , mutually exciting the recollection of eachother . It has perhaps been too much the fashion to depreciate the Gothic architecture out of compliment to that of Greece and Rome ; but while the great age of many of our churches and collegiate buildings justifies the principles and proportions of the former , there appears no reason to sacrifice the one to the otheras their merits are sufficientldistinct

, y for both to be received . Good designs in either will be a source of sublimity ; but the impression will depend on the agreement of the stile with the purpose of a building . It is not easy in all cases to define our feelings ; and to attempt discriminating the sublimity of architecture into species , is perhaps an act of temerity : but under this acknowledgment , the Greek architecture appears calculated to elevate

the mind to an admiration of beauty and magnificence ; and the Gothic , to impress us with emotions of solemnity and awe ! The cathedral of St . Paul , in London , surprises us , indeed , by the harmony and grandeur of the several parts of so vast an edifice ; but that of St . Peter , in Westminster , strikes us , moreover , at the first entrance , with reverential awethat disposes the mind to ious meditationand offices

, p , of devotion . If there be any justice in this distinction , the inference will be , that the five Grecian orders are best adapted to civil purposes ; and that the Gothic may rank as a sixth , peculiarly applicable to ecclesiastical structures , and might be termed—the Collegiate order .

“The Freemasons' Magazine: 1796-02-01, Page 47” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 2 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fmm/issues/fmm_01021796/page/47/.
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
LONDON: Article 2
TO READERS, CORRESPONDENTS , &c. Article 3
THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE: AND CABINET OF UNIVERSAL LITERATURE, FOR FEBRUARY 1796. Article 4
AN ADDRESS FROM THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF MADRAS TO THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. Article 6
AN ADDRESS, DELIVERED TO THE BRETHREN OF ST. JOHN'S LODGE, NO. 534, LANCASTER. Article 7
OBSERVATIONS MADE IN A VISIT TO THE TOMBS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY, Article 10
ON THE PASSIONS OF THE ANCIENTS. Article 17
THE MODERN STATE OF FRIENDSHIP. Article 20
ORIGINAL LETTER FROM OLIVERCROMWELL, Article 22
THE STAGE. Article 23
FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE LATE THOMAS DUNCKERLEY, ESQ. Article 25
ON PARENTAL PARTIALITIES. Article 29
ACCOUNT OF DR. DEE, THE ASTROLOGER. Article 31
ON THE ABSURDITY, FOLLY, AND INCONSISTENCY OF VARIOUS FASHIONABLE CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES Article 37
TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY MR. ADDISON, IN THE YEAR I708, TO THE EARL OF WARWICK, Article 41
HISTORY OF MASONRY. Article 42
ON THE VARIOUS MODES OF EATING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. Article 48
POETRY. MASONIC SONG. Article 50
SONG. Article 50
STANZAS TO WINTER. Article 51
TO FRIENDSHIP. Article 52
MONODY ON THE DEATH OF JOHN HOWARD, ESQ. Article 53
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 55
PROLOGUE TO THE WAY TO GET MARRIED, Article 56
EPILOGUE TO THE SAME. Article 57
" HISTORY OF THE THEATRES OF LONDON, Article 58
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 63
MONTHLY CHRONICLE. Article 64
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Page 47

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

History Of Masonry.

ment might be dictated by those sparry concretions sometimes observable in caverns . In such subterranean recesses , when water , loaded with stony particles , distils from any part of the roof , it forms a petrifaction hanging down like an icicle ; while on the floor , where the drops fall , a similar conical concrete rises . If thereof be not too high , and if the operation be constant , the two points at length meetandthickening at the junctionunite into a column

, , , , which seems designedly placed for support ; and the very irregularities of its form might assist invention in fluting , and other fanciful'decorations . The Grecian column being suggested by the trunk of a tree , felled , and dismembered of its branches , some bold genius , at the revival of architecturestruck out a new desi which wasto adopt the tree

, gn , , in full growth ; and , as far as the nature of the materials would admit , to imitate in stone those awful sacred groves , wherein the heathen nations used to worship their divinities . Then it was that mankind saw churches formed , as it were , by assemblages of trees , whose lofty intersecting branches composed a vaulted roof , with many ribs , angles , and points of junctionwhere they metliht being received through

, ; g windows of painted glass , divided into compartments by stone ribs , that meeting also in angles , resembled the branches . and leaves of an opening grove ! There was sublimity in . the idea ; and with what artit was executed , will appear from the long vistas in a Gothic

cathedral , and of a close lofty grove , mutually exciting the recollection of eachother . It has perhaps been too much the fashion to depreciate the Gothic architecture out of compliment to that of Greece and Rome ; but while the great age of many of our churches and collegiate buildings justifies the principles and proportions of the former , there appears no reason to sacrifice the one to the otheras their merits are sufficientldistinct

, y for both to be received . Good designs in either will be a source of sublimity ; but the impression will depend on the agreement of the stile with the purpose of a building . It is not easy in all cases to define our feelings ; and to attempt discriminating the sublimity of architecture into species , is perhaps an act of temerity : but under this acknowledgment , the Greek architecture appears calculated to elevate

the mind to an admiration of beauty and magnificence ; and the Gothic , to impress us with emotions of solemnity and awe ! The cathedral of St . Paul , in London , surprises us , indeed , by the harmony and grandeur of the several parts of so vast an edifice ; but that of St . Peter , in Westminster , strikes us , moreover , at the first entrance , with reverential awethat disposes the mind to ious meditationand offices

, p , of devotion . If there be any justice in this distinction , the inference will be , that the five Grecian orders are best adapted to civil purposes ; and that the Gothic may rank as a sixth , peculiarly applicable to ecclesiastical structures , and might be termed—the Collegiate order .

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