Masonry And Its Origin.

And had anything of the kind happened , would not the historians of tho founder of the Christian religion have mentioned so important a fact ? They do not mention it , because no such society existed ; anyhow , not as a speculative or philosophical society , although it may have existed as a society of operative Masons , and may even have had an organisation resembling ours . I therefore take it that all the part of our ritual referring to King

Solomon and the building of the temple , as well as the legend of Hiram , are beautiful adornments , introduced into the order by members of the craft legitimately proud of their achievements , and wishful to trace their ori gin back as far as possible . This is a common human weakness . I think every man who has been successful in life tries to trace his family as far back as possible ; even Napoleon I . who could be so justlproud of his own greatnesstried to

, y , make himself greater by tracing his pedigree back to the Greek Emperors . Only very few men have the moral courage to say " I am my own ancestor . " Let me only show you how the legend of Hiram , as taught at the raising to the Third Degree , does not even stand the test of the Scriptures . In the fifth chapter of the book of Kings , we hear that Hiram , king of Tyre , made a truce with Solomon , and for a consideration provided him with materials for his

building the temple , which Solomon himself built ; whilst in the seventh chapter we find in the fourteenth verse that Hiram , a son of the widow of the tribe of Napthali , and quite another person , although bearing the same name , was sent for , after the temple was finished , to erect the two columns which were placed into the temple after its completion . So the widow ' s son did not onl y not build the temple , and was not an architect at all , but only a worker in brass .

Tou see that this legend in itself has contradictions . But it does not make our order any the worse if we cannot trace it back so far in its present forms ; many much older institutions have been swept away because they had no vitalit y in them , and had became worthless . It does not make Masonry any worse if we find it is not as old as we think . Its excellency consists in its principles and its organisation ; and if it has spread so rapidly , this has not

been because it is so old but because it is so good , and appeals so forcibly to the best and hi ghest instincts of mankind . I cannot even go so far as to trace Masonry to the E gyptian and Eleusian mysteries . The founders of Masonry in its present form may have known them and learned from them ; very probably they did know them , as they were men of classical culture and education . We closelresemble themthis I

may y , will not deny ; we may have certain symbols which you can trace back to either of these , this I will not deny ; but Masonry , as it at present is practised , has not historically developed itself out of them ; anyhow , there is not one single atom of evidence to this effect , whilst we have historical and documentary evidence of quite a different nature leading to entirel y different conclusions .

Masonry , in its present form , dates from the year 1717 or thereabouts , when a general revival took place in the Craft , which had almost become extinct , and when its constitutions were newl y formed . As this part of the history is , I suppose , known to most of my hearers , I need not enter minutel y into it . Suffice it to say , that in the year 1717 the then existing only four lodges joined and met at the A pple Tree tavern in London , and there constituted the first

Grand Lodge and first Grand Master , Anthony Sayers , followed by Payne , Desaguliers , Duke of Montague and the Duke of Wharton , Avho afterwards proved himself an unworth y Mason , but whose name is affixed to the Constitution really worked out b y Desaguliers . England is the country where modern Masonry saw the li ght first ; from here it was spread over the rest of Europe . France is the birth-place of the hi gh degrees , which seem to have been invented more to gratif y a wish for outward show than for a real necessity or any really good work . And the English Masons , the fathers of