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Article M. MICHELET ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 4 →
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M. Michelet On Freemasonry.
M . MICHELET ON FREEMASONRY .
IT is at all times pleasing to our better feelings , as xvell as gratifying to our vanity , to fincl a fax'ourite principle of our oxx'n recognized by those xx'hose name is great in the intellectual xx'orld . It is no less agreeable to us , during our search after knowledge , to fincl the antiquity ofthe study Ave pursue , and its influence on the humanization of our race , established ancl
corroborated by the profound and varied erudition of the scholar and the historian . For both these reasons , the " History of France" of M . Michelet has an especial claim on the notice ofthe Masonic Craft ; but as a demonstration of its influence , a series of proofs in AA'hich the value of the facts is only equalled by the poetical genius xvhich has combined them into one great xxdiole ,
and xvhich , Avhile teaching the absurdity of looking upon architecture as a dry and tedious science , as a science disconnected Avith human feelings , and merely mechanical in its effects and operations , has at the same time taught us to penetrate deeply into the recesses of the past , and to watch the progress of man ' s grand struggle after the beauty of outward formand the greater
, moral beauty of AA'hich the human soul is the receptacle . It is an especial feature in M . Michelet's style , that he dxdy looks upon facts as the parts of a AA'hole , ancl that , Avhether in the events of history , or in the architecture of a church , he always seeks for a reason founded on the state of the human mind at the period in question . Although the exuberance of
a poetical fancy AA'ill at all times eA'ince some tendency to run . riot , Ave can but press the hearty force and zeal of M . Michelet ' s broad Mstorical painting in contrast to the listlessness of such writers as Lingard , whose professed avoidance of the "Philosophy of History" is , nevertheless , no guarantee for their impartiality .
But it is xxith M . Michelet ' s remarks on Gothic architecture , and its Masonic associations , that xve are at present concerned . I shall , for obxdous reasons , not attempt in the passages I quote , to avoid entering into disquisitions on the Masonic import of certain allusions , freely persuaded that they xvill be readily appreciated by every Master Masonwhom they alone
, concern . After a most spirited defence of the manner in which ceremonies and symbols , now degenerated into obscurity and ridicule , once served as the most efficient experiments ofthe sublime K 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
M. Michelet On Freemasonry.
M . MICHELET ON FREEMASONRY .
IT is at all times pleasing to our better feelings , as xvell as gratifying to our vanity , to fincl a fax'ourite principle of our oxx'n recognized by those xx'hose name is great in the intellectual xx'orld . It is no less agreeable to us , during our search after knowledge , to fincl the antiquity ofthe study Ave pursue , and its influence on the humanization of our race , established ancl
corroborated by the profound and varied erudition of the scholar and the historian . For both these reasons , the " History of France" of M . Michelet has an especial claim on the notice ofthe Masonic Craft ; but as a demonstration of its influence , a series of proofs in AA'hich the value of the facts is only equalled by the poetical genius xvhich has combined them into one great xxdiole ,
and xvhich , Avhile teaching the absurdity of looking upon architecture as a dry and tedious science , as a science disconnected Avith human feelings , and merely mechanical in its effects and operations , has at the same time taught us to penetrate deeply into the recesses of the past , and to watch the progress of man ' s grand struggle after the beauty of outward formand the greater
, moral beauty of AA'hich the human soul is the receptacle . It is an especial feature in M . Michelet's style , that he dxdy looks upon facts as the parts of a AA'hole , ancl that , Avhether in the events of history , or in the architecture of a church , he always seeks for a reason founded on the state of the human mind at the period in question . Although the exuberance of
a poetical fancy AA'ill at all times eA'ince some tendency to run . riot , Ave can but press the hearty force and zeal of M . Michelet ' s broad Mstorical painting in contrast to the listlessness of such writers as Lingard , whose professed avoidance of the "Philosophy of History" is , nevertheless , no guarantee for their impartiality .
But it is xxith M . Michelet ' s remarks on Gothic architecture , and its Masonic associations , that xve are at present concerned . I shall , for obxdous reasons , not attempt in the passages I quote , to avoid entering into disquisitions on the Masonic import of certain allusions , freely persuaded that they xvill be readily appreciated by every Master Masonwhom they alone
, concern . After a most spirited defence of the manner in which ceremonies and symbols , now degenerated into obscurity and ridicule , once served as the most efficient experiments ofthe sublime K 2