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Article Untitled Article ← Page 7 of 7 Article FREEMASONRY IN GREAT BRITAIN. Page 1 of 5 →
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Untitled Article
the suffering Brethren abroad , expressive of our sympathy , and repudiating the aspersions of our ignorant assailants by a vindication of Masonry from being the patroness of political or schismatic discussions . We should also express our readiness to co-operate with the transmarine Fraternity in any local plan they may determine upon , and which may require our support . .
2 nd . As Light is the natural enemy to Popery , and hence the latter is most surely curbed from persecution by the diffusion of knowledge , we should advise our Brethren at home and abroad to urge upon the W . lVL ' s of the respective foreign Lodges the neces * sity of giving lectures , not only upon the privileges of Masonry , but also upon topics of universal and philanthropic interest . The
bestread Brothers , and those most conversant with the Craft , should be encouraged in this work ; and though , of course , the appearance of new sources of enlightenment through Masonry would at first stimulate to greater rancour popish opposition , yet the latter , as it ever has done , would soon give way before the hydra-headed potency of charity and knowledge . "We do no £ in the least advise any
withdrawal from our strict rule as an anti-polemical body , by engaging in any warfare of w ords ; we only desire that Masonry may be seen by the public abroad in its true aspect , as the enuneiator of the vjrtues and of intelligence , and that when the weak Brethren are attacked or impugned , they may have their own fidelity confirmed , and witness the aspersions of their slanderers discomfited ; by being able to point to many local public instructors , social improvers , and philanthropists , as distinguished Masons . The best answer a man can give to slander , the best sermon a man can preach , is—his life t
Freemasonry In Great Britain.
FREEMASONRY IN GREAT BRITAIN .
Owing to the laborious researches of enlightened men , much of the obscurity which for many years veiled the commencement of Masonic institutions has been cleared away . But the accounts given bv the old chroniclers are so deformed bv absurd fables that
little reliance can be placed on them , and sufficient mystery therefore remains relative to their first founders to render an inquiry into their rise and progress an interesting study . Many writers affirm that" there were Masonic Lodges before the building of Solomon ' s Temple , while others trace back the Craft to the Creation . But it is certain that the extension of IVeeinasonry in Britain , as elsewhere
is to be attributed to the difficulty , in the early ages of Christianity , of finding workmen sufficient to build the numerous churches and other religious edifices required by the superstition of the times . Italians , Germans , and Flemings , joined the ranks of the ancient association , which alone patronized art and morals as a system , under the appellations of Freemasons . Under the influence of various causes , those nocturnal assemblies were often held in the deep
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
the suffering Brethren abroad , expressive of our sympathy , and repudiating the aspersions of our ignorant assailants by a vindication of Masonry from being the patroness of political or schismatic discussions . We should also express our readiness to co-operate with the transmarine Fraternity in any local plan they may determine upon , and which may require our support . .
2 nd . As Light is the natural enemy to Popery , and hence the latter is most surely curbed from persecution by the diffusion of knowledge , we should advise our Brethren at home and abroad to urge upon the W . lVL ' s of the respective foreign Lodges the neces * sity of giving lectures , not only upon the privileges of Masonry , but also upon topics of universal and philanthropic interest . The
bestread Brothers , and those most conversant with the Craft , should be encouraged in this work ; and though , of course , the appearance of new sources of enlightenment through Masonry would at first stimulate to greater rancour popish opposition , yet the latter , as it ever has done , would soon give way before the hydra-headed potency of charity and knowledge . "We do no £ in the least advise any
withdrawal from our strict rule as an anti-polemical body , by engaging in any warfare of w ords ; we only desire that Masonry may be seen by the public abroad in its true aspect , as the enuneiator of the vjrtues and of intelligence , and that when the weak Brethren are attacked or impugned , they may have their own fidelity confirmed , and witness the aspersions of their slanderers discomfited ; by being able to point to many local public instructors , social improvers , and philanthropists , as distinguished Masons . The best answer a man can give to slander , the best sermon a man can preach , is—his life t
Freemasonry In Great Britain.
FREEMASONRY IN GREAT BRITAIN .
Owing to the laborious researches of enlightened men , much of the obscurity which for many years veiled the commencement of Masonic institutions has been cleared away . But the accounts given bv the old chroniclers are so deformed bv absurd fables that
little reliance can be placed on them , and sufficient mystery therefore remains relative to their first founders to render an inquiry into their rise and progress an interesting study . Many writers affirm that" there were Masonic Lodges before the building of Solomon ' s Temple , while others trace back the Craft to the Creation . But it is certain that the extension of IVeeinasonry in Britain , as elsewhere
is to be attributed to the difficulty , in the early ages of Christianity , of finding workmen sufficient to build the numerous churches and other religious edifices required by the superstition of the times . Italians , Germans , and Flemings , joined the ranks of the ancient association , which alone patronized art and morals as a system , under the appellations of Freemasons . Under the influence of various causes , those nocturnal assemblies were often held in the deep