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Article TREVILIAN ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 19 of 34 →
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Trevilian On Freemasonry.
was 1 " —if the Major ' s candour had been sufficient to induce him to quote the whole passage from the obituary notice , instead of craftily selecting only so much as suited his own purpose , he would have given the reason—namely , " the high feeling that the honours of office should accompany the performance of its duties , " —but this high feeling the Major denies the Doctor , because he did not resign
his Living . Let the Major tell his overtaxed countrymen whether , during years of idleness , he continued to draw the half-pay of his military rank , or whether he conscientiously resigned an emolument belonging to services which he did not ancl had no intention to perform . This specimen of the Major ' s fairness is very probably paralleled by his quotation of the opinion of the Dean of Exeter on the Orderof
, which the Dean is not a member , and of whose principles , therefore , he can know nothing . No man is entitled to or receives greater reverence than the Dean , no name commands greater or more merited respect , no authority can be of greater weight in relation to subjects of his study . But let Major Trevilian publish the whole of the Dean ' s letterand not that onlybut the correspondenceor an accurate
, , , detail of the conversations which produced it , —and I think few will be surprised to find the quoted opinion materially modified by the suppressed context . To the opinions of other clergymen adduced in the advertisement ,
I attach no importance , till it is proved to me that they have the materials for forming au accurate judgment . It is possible , aud most probable that , as Major Trevilian says he has done , they may have halted on the very threshhold of the Order , aud are , therefore , nearly as disqualified as himself to give a sound opinion . When I know the Masonic Degrees those gentlemen have taken , and the quantity of attention they have bestowed on the subjectI shall be
, better enabled to judge how far then opinions on this question are entitled to respect . How unfair , how uncandid , how unjust , is the concluding paragraph of M . C . Trevilian ' s advertisement ! The obituary notice alludes to " lasting testimonials of Dr . Carwithen's true view of Masonic Charity , " namely , Charities advocated by the Masonic
Order , apart from its peculiar Society . And this enlargement of Masonic views beyond its own pale , that too , in furtherance of direct Christian objects , the Major feels justified in stigmatising as " a detestable insult to Christianity . " The Major has himself shewn how ignorant he is of the principles of the Institution which he thus vilifies ; I will presently add further proofs ; it will then not be difficult to estimate the quality of
his " Christian " feeling . " The " gallant" soldier is not satisfied with the lacerated feelings of the family and friends of the recently departed , but he must disturb the ashes of one whose grave has been unmolested ( save by him ) for a dozen years and more—a side blow at " the tailor , John
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Trevilian On Freemasonry.
was 1 " —if the Major ' s candour had been sufficient to induce him to quote the whole passage from the obituary notice , instead of craftily selecting only so much as suited his own purpose , he would have given the reason—namely , " the high feeling that the honours of office should accompany the performance of its duties , " —but this high feeling the Major denies the Doctor , because he did not resign
his Living . Let the Major tell his overtaxed countrymen whether , during years of idleness , he continued to draw the half-pay of his military rank , or whether he conscientiously resigned an emolument belonging to services which he did not ancl had no intention to perform . This specimen of the Major ' s fairness is very probably paralleled by his quotation of the opinion of the Dean of Exeter on the Orderof
, which the Dean is not a member , and of whose principles , therefore , he can know nothing . No man is entitled to or receives greater reverence than the Dean , no name commands greater or more merited respect , no authority can be of greater weight in relation to subjects of his study . But let Major Trevilian publish the whole of the Dean ' s letterand not that onlybut the correspondenceor an accurate
, , , detail of the conversations which produced it , —and I think few will be surprised to find the quoted opinion materially modified by the suppressed context . To the opinions of other clergymen adduced in the advertisement ,
I attach no importance , till it is proved to me that they have the materials for forming au accurate judgment . It is possible , aud most probable that , as Major Trevilian says he has done , they may have halted on the very threshhold of the Order , aud are , therefore , nearly as disqualified as himself to give a sound opinion . When I know the Masonic Degrees those gentlemen have taken , and the quantity of attention they have bestowed on the subjectI shall be
, better enabled to judge how far then opinions on this question are entitled to respect . How unfair , how uncandid , how unjust , is the concluding paragraph of M . C . Trevilian ' s advertisement ! The obituary notice alludes to " lasting testimonials of Dr . Carwithen's true view of Masonic Charity , " namely , Charities advocated by the Masonic
Order , apart from its peculiar Society . And this enlargement of Masonic views beyond its own pale , that too , in furtherance of direct Christian objects , the Major feels justified in stigmatising as " a detestable insult to Christianity . " The Major has himself shewn how ignorant he is of the principles of the Institution which he thus vilifies ; I will presently add further proofs ; it will then not be difficult to estimate the quality of
his " Christian " feeling . " The " gallant" soldier is not satisfied with the lacerated feelings of the family and friends of the recently departed , but he must disturb the ashes of one whose grave has been unmolested ( save by him ) for a dozen years and more—a side blow at " the tailor , John