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Article THE SONGS OF MASONRY. ← Page 3 of 7 →
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The Songs Of Masonry.
liiued , would be tame and spiritless—and that is inspiration . I he poet s heart must he undivided ! " } ' occupied by his subject ; and he must not slh'iit the invaluable moments when the muse is powerful within him , else how arc those magnificent flights of fancy—those lofty sentinlr ., its —• that glow of imagery , which are so far above the reach ot ordinary men . to be developed in all their elegance and rorce ? He must himself ' have been charmed with the beauties which his verse
embodies , or he will assuredly produce no corresponding sensation m the reader ' s bosom ; he is no poet who fails to interest the feelings or affect the heart . Poetry can scarcely be considered an art ; it is rather a gift , for in its perfection it includes
. " Xamefcss "races ivhirh no methods teach . And which a master hand alone can roach . "—l ' ol'E . I rc-ret that the mantle of none of our old poets has fallen on the Brotherhood ; or if any of them have been thus favoured , that they have expended so little of their talent to illustrate the beauties ot 1-reemasonry . 1 am afraid we must be content to p lace Masonic minstrelsy in a class comparatively modem ; although , in the Drmdical branch ot the science " the principal vehicle of instruction—the most
, song was certain avenue to power and popularity . The Bardic songs could sootiie the fiercest feelings of public or domestic deprivation , and allay the excited rage of hostile armies ; or , as Diodorus has expressed it , they could induce rage to give way to wisdom , and disarm Mars by the Muses . It is -to he lamented that they left nothing behind them that can be satisfactorily applied to Freemasonry . And if we search the annals of a still more recent date , Masonic song cannot be traced m this h flourished
or any other country , even to the crusades , althougMasonry abundantly at that period in the persons of the much abused templars ; but we have no specimens extant of a metrical ballad , either by the minstrels or troubadours , which bear any reference to our science . 1 he " light of song" did not shed any efful gence on the light of Masonry ; for the lyric effusions of the g ifted few were expended on the absorbing these formed the chief animus of music and
topics of love and war ; poetry , and hence the troubadours became such prime favourites at the courts of princes , with the noble , the valiant , and the fair . It is true the Deity was frequently appealed to in these productions , but it did not spring from a true , religious feeling , for the "ladye love appears to have been the chief object of chivalric idolatry . I hus , a minstrel is made to say in the satires of Pierce Ploughman ,
1 c-n not ueii ' llv mv paler nosier as the priest it siiigeth Uut i can rvms uYllo'Vm Undo , anil Randoi erl of Chester lint of our lord or our lady 1 lei no iiollims : lt ;; U - It is clear , therefore , that the true princip les of Freemasonry were not embodied in these productions ; and we must come down to the seventeenth century before we are able to meet with a legitimate Masonic "" train of I insensiblled to commit my
Pursuing this thought , was y ideas to paper , and I soon found myself in the very middle of an aiticle on the songs of Masonry ; nor do 1 regret the : circumstances which produced this result , because it may chance to furnish an ansvvct to hose cowan cavillers who affect to believe that ours is a mere convma society and the subject will certainly find a responsive feeling in the bosom ol every worthy Brother . Masonry is a tunehd theme-harmony u > - moving princip le ; which is Ihcoiiscd during the hours of laboiu , and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Songs Of Masonry.
liiued , would be tame and spiritless—and that is inspiration . I he poet s heart must he undivided ! " } ' occupied by his subject ; and he must not slh'iit the invaluable moments when the muse is powerful within him , else how arc those magnificent flights of fancy—those lofty sentinlr ., its —• that glow of imagery , which are so far above the reach ot ordinary men . to be developed in all their elegance and rorce ? He must himself ' have been charmed with the beauties which his verse
embodies , or he will assuredly produce no corresponding sensation m the reader ' s bosom ; he is no poet who fails to interest the feelings or affect the heart . Poetry can scarcely be considered an art ; it is rather a gift , for in its perfection it includes
. " Xamefcss "races ivhirh no methods teach . And which a master hand alone can roach . "—l ' ol'E . I rc-ret that the mantle of none of our old poets has fallen on the Brotherhood ; or if any of them have been thus favoured , that they have expended so little of their talent to illustrate the beauties ot 1-reemasonry . 1 am afraid we must be content to p lace Masonic minstrelsy in a class comparatively modem ; although , in the Drmdical branch ot the science " the principal vehicle of instruction—the most
, song was certain avenue to power and popularity . The Bardic songs could sootiie the fiercest feelings of public or domestic deprivation , and allay the excited rage of hostile armies ; or , as Diodorus has expressed it , they could induce rage to give way to wisdom , and disarm Mars by the Muses . It is -to he lamented that they left nothing behind them that can be satisfactorily applied to Freemasonry . And if we search the annals of a still more recent date , Masonic song cannot be traced m this h flourished
or any other country , even to the crusades , althougMasonry abundantly at that period in the persons of the much abused templars ; but we have no specimens extant of a metrical ballad , either by the minstrels or troubadours , which bear any reference to our science . 1 he " light of song" did not shed any efful gence on the light of Masonry ; for the lyric effusions of the g ifted few were expended on the absorbing these formed the chief animus of music and
topics of love and war ; poetry , and hence the troubadours became such prime favourites at the courts of princes , with the noble , the valiant , and the fair . It is true the Deity was frequently appealed to in these productions , but it did not spring from a true , religious feeling , for the "ladye love appears to have been the chief object of chivalric idolatry . I hus , a minstrel is made to say in the satires of Pierce Ploughman ,
1 c-n not ueii ' llv mv paler nosier as the priest it siiigeth Uut i can rvms uYllo'Vm Undo , anil Randoi erl of Chester lint of our lord or our lady 1 lei no iiollims : lt ;; U - It is clear , therefore , that the true princip les of Freemasonry were not embodied in these productions ; and we must come down to the seventeenth century before we are able to meet with a legitimate Masonic "" train of I insensiblled to commit my
Pursuing this thought , was y ideas to paper , and I soon found myself in the very middle of an aiticle on the songs of Masonry ; nor do 1 regret the : circumstances which produced this result , because it may chance to furnish an ansvvct to hose cowan cavillers who affect to believe that ours is a mere convma society and the subject will certainly find a responsive feeling in the bosom ol every worthy Brother . Masonry is a tunehd theme-harmony u > - moving princip le ; which is Ihcoiiscd during the hours of laboiu , and