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Article THE CONDITION OF SCOTCH MASONRY. ← Page 3 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Condition Of Scotch Masonry.
all do not think alike ; many have not the inclination to study , even if they have the time;—too many , even yet , look upon the Institution as nothing more than a means of social entertainment , or as a sort of Benefit Society , and scarcely ever shew themselves in Lodge at all till " refreshment " is announced . If the mind be indisposed to profit by " the
secret arts and hidden mysteries of this peculiar system of morality , " the interval of a month , or even of six months , between taking the several degrees , will not suffice to make them acquainted with that mass of knowledge , which the introduction to " Light" is capable of unfolding to them . But the fault herein liesnot in the systembut in its abuse
, , —not in the manner of making Masons , but in the apathy and listlessness of those who are made . In Scotland , however , it is utterly impossible that any one can learn or discover what is before him , however anxious he may be to do
so . How is it possible he should do so , when the ceremonies , at his introduction into the Craft , are pushed on with the greatest rapidity , —when there is no opportunity for discovery of the break between each step onward , and when the work must either be hurried over for want of time , with a rapidity that bewilders the Candidate , or
destroys its beautiful proportions , and thus renders the whole proceeding absurd , rather than dignified—a solemn farce , rather than a noble reality ?—If , in fact , there be any truth in the saying ascribed to Napoleon , that "there is but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous , " it will be found verified to the letter in the proceedings of Scotch
Lodges , where all that is noble is marred—all that is instructive is disgraced , —and all that is put before the Brethren , who have a love for their'Order , tends to make them feel that they themselves are humiliated by the insult thus put upon one of the noblest institutions , which the world has ever seen established .
We once heard a P . G . Officer assert , in the Grand Lodge of England , —when the question of abbreviating the time for making Masons in the Colonies was under discussion—that when he was initiated , passed , and raised , in one night , in his native country ( Scotland ) , he hacl not the slightest idea of what was passing before
him;that when he came out of the Lodge , he was as ignorant as when he entered it , and that the next day he knew nothing at all about the matter . We believe that this honest avowal would be the general testimony of all those , who are admitted into Masonry under thc Scotch
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Condition Of Scotch Masonry.
all do not think alike ; many have not the inclination to study , even if they have the time;—too many , even yet , look upon the Institution as nothing more than a means of social entertainment , or as a sort of Benefit Society , and scarcely ever shew themselves in Lodge at all till " refreshment " is announced . If the mind be indisposed to profit by " the
secret arts and hidden mysteries of this peculiar system of morality , " the interval of a month , or even of six months , between taking the several degrees , will not suffice to make them acquainted with that mass of knowledge , which the introduction to " Light" is capable of unfolding to them . But the fault herein liesnot in the systembut in its abuse
, , —not in the manner of making Masons , but in the apathy and listlessness of those who are made . In Scotland , however , it is utterly impossible that any one can learn or discover what is before him , however anxious he may be to do
so . How is it possible he should do so , when the ceremonies , at his introduction into the Craft , are pushed on with the greatest rapidity , —when there is no opportunity for discovery of the break between each step onward , and when the work must either be hurried over for want of time , with a rapidity that bewilders the Candidate , or
destroys its beautiful proportions , and thus renders the whole proceeding absurd , rather than dignified—a solemn farce , rather than a noble reality ?—If , in fact , there be any truth in the saying ascribed to Napoleon , that "there is but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous , " it will be found verified to the letter in the proceedings of Scotch
Lodges , where all that is noble is marred—all that is instructive is disgraced , —and all that is put before the Brethren , who have a love for their'Order , tends to make them feel that they themselves are humiliated by the insult thus put upon one of the noblest institutions , which the world has ever seen established .
We once heard a P . G . Officer assert , in the Grand Lodge of England , —when the question of abbreviating the time for making Masons in the Colonies was under discussion—that when he was initiated , passed , and raised , in one night , in his native country ( Scotland ) , he hacl not the slightest idea of what was passing before
him;that when he came out of the Lodge , he was as ignorant as when he entered it , and that the next day he knew nothing at all about the matter . We believe that this honest avowal would be the general testimony of all those , who are admitted into Masonry under thc Scotch