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Article ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 7 →
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On Freemasonry.
ON FREEMASONRY .
BY THE REV . GEORGE OLIVER , D . 1 ) . I have often wondered how it could happen that our forefathers , the Freemasons of England , should have omitted to work out the details of Masonry in a more particular and perfect manner than we find it accomplished iu the publications of the last century ; although it was generally believed , even then , that such discussions were extremely advantageous to the Orderbeing calculated to dissipate the mists and prejudices which
, biased the minds of men , and indisposed them for the reception of truth . Numerous evidences of this fact are scattered over the writings of the few Masonic authors , which distinguished that period . " The best way , " says Laurie , in his preface , " of refuting the calumnies which have been brought against the fraternity of Freemasons , is to lay before the public a correct and rational account of the nature , origin , ancl progress of the institution , that they may be enabled to determine whether or not its
principles are , in any shape , connected with the principles of revolutionary anarchy , and whether or not the conduct of its members has ever been similar to the conduct of traitors . " And from the publication of such sentiments , it must be evident to every Brother ' s experience , that the feeling against Freemasonry , which displayed itself so openly only a few years ago , has assumed a much milder form , if it be not entirely removed . It will not , however , be difficult to account for the dearth of Masonic writers in a preceding age . Before the eighteenth century , symbolical
Masonry had no lectures ; and , consequently , while it was confined to a simple ceremonial , needed no illustrations ; because , as the science was chiefly operative , the secrets would be those which had a reference to building—to the scientific ornaments and decorations of each particular style of architecture as it flourished in its own exclusive period , and these mysteries were communicated gradually , as the candidate rose through the different stages of his order or profession . There appears to have been one general princile which extended
p itself over every style from the early English to the florid , decorated , and perpendicular , and constituted one of the most ineffable secrets of the Masonic Lodges . It is now known to have been the hieroglyphical device styled vesica piscis ; " which may be traced from the church of St . John Lateran , and old St . Peter ' s at Rome , to the church at Bath , one of the latest Gothic buildings of any consequence in England . It was formed by two equal circles , cutting each other in their
centres , and was held in high veneration , having been invariably adopted by Master Masons in all countries . In bas-reliefs , which are seen in the most ancient churches , over doorways , it usually circumscribes the figure of our Saviour . It was indeed a principle which pervaded every building dedicated to the Christian religion , and has been exclusively attributed to a knowledge of Euclid . " The prevailing secrets of the Lodges in these early times , were the profound dogmata of Geometry and Arithmetic , by the use of which all their complicated designs were wrought out and perfected . Thes
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry.
ON FREEMASONRY .
BY THE REV . GEORGE OLIVER , D . 1 ) . I have often wondered how it could happen that our forefathers , the Freemasons of England , should have omitted to work out the details of Masonry in a more particular and perfect manner than we find it accomplished iu the publications of the last century ; although it was generally believed , even then , that such discussions were extremely advantageous to the Orderbeing calculated to dissipate the mists and prejudices which
, biased the minds of men , and indisposed them for the reception of truth . Numerous evidences of this fact are scattered over the writings of the few Masonic authors , which distinguished that period . " The best way , " says Laurie , in his preface , " of refuting the calumnies which have been brought against the fraternity of Freemasons , is to lay before the public a correct and rational account of the nature , origin , ancl progress of the institution , that they may be enabled to determine whether or not its
principles are , in any shape , connected with the principles of revolutionary anarchy , and whether or not the conduct of its members has ever been similar to the conduct of traitors . " And from the publication of such sentiments , it must be evident to every Brother ' s experience , that the feeling against Freemasonry , which displayed itself so openly only a few years ago , has assumed a much milder form , if it be not entirely removed . It will not , however , be difficult to account for the dearth of Masonic writers in a preceding age . Before the eighteenth century , symbolical
Masonry had no lectures ; and , consequently , while it was confined to a simple ceremonial , needed no illustrations ; because , as the science was chiefly operative , the secrets would be those which had a reference to building—to the scientific ornaments and decorations of each particular style of architecture as it flourished in its own exclusive period , and these mysteries were communicated gradually , as the candidate rose through the different stages of his order or profession . There appears to have been one general princile which extended
p itself over every style from the early English to the florid , decorated , and perpendicular , and constituted one of the most ineffable secrets of the Masonic Lodges . It is now known to have been the hieroglyphical device styled vesica piscis ; " which may be traced from the church of St . John Lateran , and old St . Peter ' s at Rome , to the church at Bath , one of the latest Gothic buildings of any consequence in England . It was formed by two equal circles , cutting each other in their
centres , and was held in high veneration , having been invariably adopted by Master Masons in all countries . In bas-reliefs , which are seen in the most ancient churches , over doorways , it usually circumscribes the figure of our Saviour . It was indeed a principle which pervaded every building dedicated to the Christian religion , and has been exclusively attributed to a knowledge of Euclid . " The prevailing secrets of the Lodges in these early times , were the profound dogmata of Geometry and Arithmetic , by the use of which all their complicated designs were wrought out and perfected . Thes