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  • April 1, 1834
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The Freemasons' Quarterly Review, April 1, 1834: Page 72

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    Article THE TRAPPISTS. Page 1 of 5 →
Page 72

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

The Trappists.

THE TRAPPISTS .

THE monastic establishments are generally the first objects which excite the attention of tbe English traveller . Their gloomy grandeur and solitary situation , so different from the simple temples of his own country , render them subjects almost of fear as well as admiration . To his mind no punishment would equal that of perpetual incarceration within their walls ; ancl unless he is sufficiently versed in that great

mystery the human heart to comprehend the enthusiasm which has led , ancl still leads , men to prefer the solitary privation of the cloister to the social enjoyments of life , he passes them over as subjects ivhich have excited his curiosity , but- whose purposes and philosophy are too deep for his investigation . Profound and many were the cogitations on . this subject of a

simpleminded north country baronet whom I stumbled upon in Rome , where some extraordinary caprice , or still more extraordinary accident , had misplaced him . The pope did not so much ] mzzle his judgment ; he readily conceived him to be a sort of king in petticoats , ancl the red-legged body of cardinals his house of lords ; but the monks , with their shaven crown and bare feet , he candidly confessed he could not comprehend .

They were too serious for jesters , and too dirty even for Roman gentlemen ! They lived in palaces , yet begged like mendicants . As we were frequently thrown into each other ' s society , I became the confidant of his thoughts upon the subject , and was amused by their ingenious speculations . He arrived at last at this conclusion—that the monks were priests who had been guilty of crimes , ancl were sentenced to the

monasteries as a sort of ecclesiastical hulks . Delighted ivith the originality of Ms discovery , he became a champion of its truth , and finding all argument upon the subject thrown away , I left him to the enjoyment of his opinion . His last words to me on my quitting the eternal city were , " Rely upon it , . the monks are no better than they should be . "

By a singular coincidence we met again at Amiens , just as I was on the point of setting out to visit an establishment of Trappists situated in its immediate neighbourhood . The very name was sufficient for the baronet ; it was au order he had never visited , and he immediately offered to accompany me , entertaining me with a history of his adventures during our ride to the place of destination , a description of which may not he uninteresting . AVithin seven miles of Amiens stands the Monastery of La Trappe ,

“The Freemasons' Quarterly Review: 1834-04-01, Page 72” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 23 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fqr/issues/fqr_01041834/page/72/.
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Title Category Page
THE FREEMASON'S QUARTERLY REVIEW. Article 1
Bt &* Article 2
TO THAT DISTINGUISHED Jfwtmason (Whateve... Article 3
CONTENTS. Article 4
THE FREEMASON'S QUARTERLY REVIEW. Article 5
ON FREEMASONRY. Article 13
THE MASON. Article 18
BOARDS, COMMITTEES, &c. Article 41
MASONIC INTELLIGENCE. Article 43
Masonic Obituary. Article 52
PROVINCIAL. Article 53
OFFICERS OF THE GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. Article 59
KNIGHTS TEMPLARS OF SCOTLAND. Article 60
OFFICERS OF THE GRAND LODGE OF IRELAND. Article 60
THE SECOND JUBILEE IN COMMEMORATION OF HANDEL. Article 61
THE FATE OF GENIUS. Article 67
LOVES OF THE FLOWERS. Article 71
THE TRAPPISTS. Article 72
THE BIRTH AND PROGRESS OF MUSIC. Article 77
MISCELLANEOUS. Article 79
REVIEW OF LITERATURE—FINE ARTS—EXHIBITIONS—THE DRAMA, &c. Article 85
PARLIAMENTARY ANALYSIS. Article 94
HOUSE OF COMMONS. Article 99
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY. Article 104
THE FREEMASON'S QUARTERLY REVIEW. Article 111
fe. ^&* *£¦* ^-^ ' ~ ~ - * " -™ ~^ ^c ^r... Article 112
GRAY'S INN WINE ESTABLISHMENT, Article 113
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Page 72

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

The Trappists.

THE TRAPPISTS .

THE monastic establishments are generally the first objects which excite the attention of tbe English traveller . Their gloomy grandeur and solitary situation , so different from the simple temples of his own country , render them subjects almost of fear as well as admiration . To his mind no punishment would equal that of perpetual incarceration within their walls ; ancl unless he is sufficiently versed in that great

mystery the human heart to comprehend the enthusiasm which has led , ancl still leads , men to prefer the solitary privation of the cloister to the social enjoyments of life , he passes them over as subjects ivhich have excited his curiosity , but- whose purposes and philosophy are too deep for his investigation . Profound and many were the cogitations on . this subject of a

simpleminded north country baronet whom I stumbled upon in Rome , where some extraordinary caprice , or still more extraordinary accident , had misplaced him . The pope did not so much ] mzzle his judgment ; he readily conceived him to be a sort of king in petticoats , ancl the red-legged body of cardinals his house of lords ; but the monks , with their shaven crown and bare feet , he candidly confessed he could not comprehend .

They were too serious for jesters , and too dirty even for Roman gentlemen ! They lived in palaces , yet begged like mendicants . As we were frequently thrown into each other ' s society , I became the confidant of his thoughts upon the subject , and was amused by their ingenious speculations . He arrived at last at this conclusion—that the monks were priests who had been guilty of crimes , ancl were sentenced to the

monasteries as a sort of ecclesiastical hulks . Delighted ivith the originality of Ms discovery , he became a champion of its truth , and finding all argument upon the subject thrown away , I left him to the enjoyment of his opinion . His last words to me on my quitting the eternal city were , " Rely upon it , . the monks are no better than they should be . "

By a singular coincidence we met again at Amiens , just as I was on the point of setting out to visit an establishment of Trappists situated in its immediate neighbourhood . The very name was sufficient for the baronet ; it was au order he had never visited , and he immediately offered to accompany me , entertaining me with a history of his adventures during our ride to the place of destination , a description of which may not he uninteresting . AVithin seven miles of Amiens stands the Monastery of La Trappe ,

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