The Old Charges Of The British Freemasons.

throughout ye Realm that if there was * any man that could inform them that hee should come & soe bee rewarded for his travaile as would content him after After that this was p ' claimed came this Avorth y Clark Euclid & said to ye King & to all ye great Lords , if yee will take me yo ' children to Govern & to teach them one of ye 7 liberall Sciences wherewith they may live like Gent upon Condicon will grant mee a Commission that I have r to rule

, you may pow them after ye mann ' y' ye Science ought be ruled by . And y' ye King & all his Councell granted to him one and Sealed this comon And then this worthy Docf took to him those Lords sonns and taught them ye Science of Geometry , in practise for to work in Stone all mann ' of worthy work belonginoto Churches Temples , Castles , Towers & Manners . The first was that they should bee true to ye King ancl to ye Lords that

they OAvne & serve & that they should loA'e well together & bee true each one to other & that they should call each other his fellow or brother and not his S'vant or his Slave , nor any foule name . And y' they should trul y deserve their pay of ye Lord or M that they serve , Ancl that they shall ordaine ye wises of them to bee M ' of ye work , And neither for great love nor lineage , for favour to sett another y' hath little cunning for to bee M ' of ye work , whereb Lord should bee evill served

y ye , and ye M ashamed . And alsoe that they should call them Govmours of ye work M ' for they work with him & other many more things that are too long to declare & to all these charges hee made them sweare a great Oath y' men used in y' time & ordained for them reasonable wages that they might live honestly by , and alsoe how they should come & assemble together every yearehow they might work best together &

, serve ye Lord for his profitt & their owne profitt & worshi p Ancl to correct within themselves him y had trespassed against yo Craft . And thus was ye Craft grounded there , ancl that ivorth y M Euclid gave it ye name of Geometry , and now it is clipped through all this land Masonry .

Since that time when ye children of Israeli were come into ye laud of Beheast It is now clipped amongst us ye Country of Jehelin , King David began ye Temple that is called Templu Domini & is named with us ye Temple of Jerusalem & ye same King David loved well Masons & cherished them much & gave them good pay & hee gai'e ye charges ancl ye manners as hee had learned in Egypt given by Euclid & ancl other charges more that you shall after here .

And after ye decease of King David , Solomon that was King Davids Sonn finished out ye Temple that his Father had begunn & gathered together Masons of clivers Countries & sent them into divers Lands , soe that hee had Fourscore Thousand of Workers of Stone & were all named Masons & hee chose out of them Three Thousand that were ordained to bee Masons & Gov nours of his

worke . And furthermore there ivas a King of another Nation that men clipped Irani & hee gave him Timb ' to his work and had a Sonn y' was called Aynon , a M ' of Geometry & was chiefe M . of all his Masons and was M of all his IngraA'ing and caiweing of all other Masonrie belonging to ye Temple & this is Witnessed in primo libro Regum tertio capito & this Solomon Confirmed both charges and' manners that his father had gii'en to Masons & thus was this

Avorthy Craft of Masonrie confirmed in ye Country of Jerusalem & in many other Kingdoms . Curious Craftsmen travailed into divers lands & Conntrys some because of learning more Craft & cunning and some to teach them that had but little skill & soe it befell there was one Curious Mason that Avas called Naymus Greus that had beene att ye making of Solomons Temple & hee came into France & there hee taught ye Science of Masonrie to men of France & there was one of regall line that Avas called Charles Martell & hee was one y' loved