Masonry And Its Origin.

our lodges of instruction arc meant more for the instruction in general useful knowledge than for teaching the dry ritual , which I call the skeleton of our Order , whilst we ourselves have to fill this skeleton with flesh , and life , and soul . Let us , every and . each of us , contribute towards this end by discussing and treating at our lodge of instruction meetings as many scientific questions as possible ; let the officers make the beginning . I think there is not a single

subject of general interest—religion and politics excepted—which is not worthy to be discussed at a lodge of instruction ; and , I think , each of us in the course of his life has had occasion to gather information of some sort or another which would be of interest to his brethren , and which he might bring before the lodge in some shape or form . It would , indeed make our meetings attractive could we look forward to something new and interesting every time , and could we , besides the dry routine work , expect something refreshing for the mind . I think we refresh our bodies far too often .

Since I was made a Mason , some twelve years ago , I have tried to find out our origin and our history , as I think we cannot understand the present well without knowing the past , just as we can hardly form an estimate of a man ' s character without knowing his antecedents . But the history of Freemasonryoffers singular difficulties , owing to the fact that so little has been written regarding it and that most of our knowledge rests on tradition . But very few documents are in existenceand these of doubtful origin ; and the legends

, which our traditions transmit to us are so confused and contradictory that we really have the greatest difficulty to find our way through them and sift the right from the false . Documents are said to exist which cannot be found anywhere ; others , which were held in great veneration , and on which some of our traditions are based , have upon closer investigation proved to be quite apocryphaland so on .

, And here let me advocate an idea which I saw some time ago brought forward in a Masonic paper , viz ., an exhibition of Masonic relics and antiquities . This would , no doubt , bring to the light a good many documents and interesting jewels , etc ., which would throw light on many dark points of our history , and enable us to look more closely into things .-

I have heard it gravely asserted that Masonry is as old as Adam ; that Noah and his sons were respectively Masters and Wardens of lodges ; that Moses was a Mason ; and so on . Many see in Masonry the ori ginal pure reli gion , which all other faith and creeds have corrupted , and which we Masons alone possess in all its purity , namely , the belief in one God and His worship . This rather conceited view of the matter cannot stand any test , because the Jews before

us , and the Mahometans after us , proclaimed the one God in all His greatness and purity . And how can such an idea exist , ask I , when the Christian religion ( rig htly or wrongly I will noo examine ) teaches that the ri ght faith and truth had to be proclaimed by tho Son of God , and when our lectures and ritual frequently point to the Bible as a book given from God to man , clearl y showing Christian teaching and even Christian 'modern dogma in the constitution

of Masonry ? How can . it be conceived for one moment , that at the same time as Jesus Christ proclaimed His truths a society should have existed which exercised and put into practice all those precepts which Christ is said to have given to us as a divine revelation ? How is it the Bible does not mention one word about such a societ y ? How is it that Christ , who went to see St . John the Baptist , His brother in many of His views and ideas , did not mention any

such society , which would have been so closel y related to His work , and would have ' given Him such a splendid material to work with in His great and sublime scheme ? Would it not have been natural that all the Masonic brethren should have flocked to Him and acknowledged Him as their Lord and Master ? And would they not have given up their own individuality and their own organisation willingly in favour of the splendid work which Christ proposed to do ?