Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • July 28, 1866
  • Page 9
Current:

The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, July 28, 1866: Page 9

  • Back to The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, July 28, 1866
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article LECTURE ON THE ORIGIN, NATURE, OBJECT, AND TENDENCY OF FREEMASONRY. ← Page 2 of 5 →
Page 9

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Lecture On The Origin, Nature, Object, And Tendency Of Freemasonry.

from the Great Architect of the Universe , and practised it in the Garden of Eden . This idea is an evident absurdity , for how could a society Avhich Masonry necessarily is , exist Avith only one member ? for Ave know that our mother Eve ( if Masonry

then bore any resemblance to what it is now ) , could not have been a participator in its privileges , still , if these advocates for the remotest antiquity of the Craft , would content themselves with stating that the principles inculcated by

Freemasonry , have been recognised as truth from the beginning of time , they would undoubtedly have right on their side , for Ave can have no doubt , that adoration of and obedience to his Creator , and a reverence for truth and justice were amongst the first lessons learnt by Adam in Paradise .

Others attribute the formation of the society to the would-be builders of the Tower of Babel , and state that Avhen God thought fit to stop that impious enterprize , by confusing the tongues of the projectors , they , finding that language failed as a

medium of communication , organised another system of intercourse , and thus laid the foundation of the Craft ; we knoAV , however , that this view is not consonant Avith Masonry as known to us , as all its leading features have reference to a

much later period . The most generally received opinion is , that Masonry originated with the building of King Solomon's Temple , when , the employment in that vast undertaking of a multitude of workmen of all nations , necessitated the adoption of some means of intercommunication other than

the ordinary one of language , this idea bears the impress of reason , but is incapable of actual proof . I Avill only refer to two other periods suggested as eras of the origination of Masonry , namely , one which has been in some quarters favourably

received , the time of the Crusades , the other suggested by parties inimical to the Craft , the period immediately subsequent to the execution of King-Charles the II ., this latter notion is happily capable of refutation , and in a manner most interesting to

us as a lodge , for Ave know , from the diary of that eminent antiquary Eiias Ashmole , that he Avas made a Freemason at Warrington in 1646 , a period antecedent to the accession of Cromwell to almost regal power , and when , from the fact of there then

being a lodge held in so comparatively unimportant a place , as Warrington , Masonry must have had a prior " existence of many years . Before leaving this part of my subject I cannot refrain from stating , that I believe much undeserved ridicule

has been brought upon the Graft by the injudicious , and , in some instances , absurd advocacy of unfounded theories as to its origin and univeiT-ality We have or have had amongst us enthusiasts AVIIO have found , or rather have imagined- that they

have found Freemasonry existing amongst savage tribes , AVIIO had never had any intercommunication Avith civilised communities , and others Avho have discovered a verisimilitude between the Croft and the rites and ceremonies of the secret or

select societies of the Greeks , Romans , Brahmins , Druids , and others , as to the former , whilst totally disbelieving' the actual existeuce of the institution amongst the unenlightened savages , I can without difficulty understand that individuals

unacquainted Avith one another ' s language , and able to converse only by signs , might casually meet and attempt to communicate , and there might , amongst the eccentric gesticulation , Avhich would necessarily occur , be accidental resemblances

sufficient to lead an ardent and active imagination to suppose the existence of Freemasonry ; as to the verisimilitude in the latter instance , I accept it , to the same extent that I believe that all phases of religion , however erroneous , have features in

common , and are corruptions and distortions of truth , and have , in fact , a common origin . In Avhatever age Freemasonry may have originated , I verily believe that , at the present time , there is no Masonic body in the Avorld , out of England ,

that can trace its origin from any older source than the Grand Lodge of England , instituted at the revival in 1717 , and , although satisfied of the Craft having existed for centuries antecedent to that date , I consider any man injudicious and

unwise Avho seeks to impose upon the community at large his OAVII theory of its origin ; and , in dismissing this portion of the subject , let us content ourselves with knowing ' , that the institution is t undoubtedly , ancient , as "having subsisted from time immemorial . "

We noAV pass to the important consideration ci the nature of Freemasonry , or in other words , I have to answer the oft-reiterated question , " What is Freemasonry ? " We have a stereotyped answer , "It is a system of morality , veiled in allegory ,

and illustrated by symbols . " This answer is undoubtedly correct , so far as it goes , but I hope to be able to show—and if I do not succeed the fault must be mine—that Freemasonry is more than this ; in giving this stereotyped answer to the uninitiated , I have been met Avith the remark that

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1866-07-28, Page 9” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_28071866/page/9/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE CHIEF CORNER STONE. Article 1
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LODGE OF FREEMASONS AT THORNHILL. Article 7
LECTURE ON THE ORIGIN, NATURE, OBJECT, AND TENDENCY OF FREEMASONRY. Article 8
SYMPATHY WITH ITALY. Article 12
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 12
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 13
ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Article 13
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
Untitled Article 14
ROYAL ARCH. Article 14
MARK MASONRY. Article 14
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 15
IRELAND. Article 15
CHANNEL ISLANDS. Article 15
TURKEY. Article 16
ROYAL GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION. Article 17
THE WEEK. Article 17
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
Page 1

Page 1

1 Article
Page 2

Page 2

1 Article
Page 3

Page 3

1 Article
Page 4

Page 4

1 Article
Page 5

Page 5

1 Article
Page 6

Page 6

1 Article
Page 7

Page 7

2 Articles
Page 8

Page 8

3 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

1 Article
Page 10

Page 10

1 Article
Page 11

Page 11

1 Article
Page 12

Page 12

4 Articles
Page 13

Page 13

4 Articles
Page 14

Page 14

5 Articles
Page 15

Page 15

4 Articles
Page 16

Page 16

2 Articles
Page 17

Page 17

4 Articles
Page 18

Page 18

1 Article
Page 19

Page 19

1 Article
Page 20

Page 20

3 Articles
Page 9

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Lecture On The Origin, Nature, Object, And Tendency Of Freemasonry.

from the Great Architect of the Universe , and practised it in the Garden of Eden . This idea is an evident absurdity , for how could a society Avhich Masonry necessarily is , exist Avith only one member ? for Ave know that our mother Eve ( if Masonry

then bore any resemblance to what it is now ) , could not have been a participator in its privileges , still , if these advocates for the remotest antiquity of the Craft , would content themselves with stating that the principles inculcated by

Freemasonry , have been recognised as truth from the beginning of time , they would undoubtedly have right on their side , for Ave can have no doubt , that adoration of and obedience to his Creator , and a reverence for truth and justice were amongst the first lessons learnt by Adam in Paradise .

Others attribute the formation of the society to the would-be builders of the Tower of Babel , and state that Avhen God thought fit to stop that impious enterprize , by confusing the tongues of the projectors , they , finding that language failed as a

medium of communication , organised another system of intercourse , and thus laid the foundation of the Craft ; we knoAV , however , that this view is not consonant Avith Masonry as known to us , as all its leading features have reference to a

much later period . The most generally received opinion is , that Masonry originated with the building of King Solomon's Temple , when , the employment in that vast undertaking of a multitude of workmen of all nations , necessitated the adoption of some means of intercommunication other than

the ordinary one of language , this idea bears the impress of reason , but is incapable of actual proof . I Avill only refer to two other periods suggested as eras of the origination of Masonry , namely , one which has been in some quarters favourably

received , the time of the Crusades , the other suggested by parties inimical to the Craft , the period immediately subsequent to the execution of King-Charles the II ., this latter notion is happily capable of refutation , and in a manner most interesting to

us as a lodge , for Ave know , from the diary of that eminent antiquary Eiias Ashmole , that he Avas made a Freemason at Warrington in 1646 , a period antecedent to the accession of Cromwell to almost regal power , and when , from the fact of there then

being a lodge held in so comparatively unimportant a place , as Warrington , Masonry must have had a prior " existence of many years . Before leaving this part of my subject I cannot refrain from stating , that I believe much undeserved ridicule

has been brought upon the Graft by the injudicious , and , in some instances , absurd advocacy of unfounded theories as to its origin and univeiT-ality We have or have had amongst us enthusiasts AVIIO have found , or rather have imagined- that they

have found Freemasonry existing amongst savage tribes , AVIIO had never had any intercommunication Avith civilised communities , and others Avho have discovered a verisimilitude between the Croft and the rites and ceremonies of the secret or

select societies of the Greeks , Romans , Brahmins , Druids , and others , as to the former , whilst totally disbelieving' the actual existeuce of the institution amongst the unenlightened savages , I can without difficulty understand that individuals

unacquainted Avith one another ' s language , and able to converse only by signs , might casually meet and attempt to communicate , and there might , amongst the eccentric gesticulation , Avhich would necessarily occur , be accidental resemblances

sufficient to lead an ardent and active imagination to suppose the existence of Freemasonry ; as to the verisimilitude in the latter instance , I accept it , to the same extent that I believe that all phases of religion , however erroneous , have features in

common , and are corruptions and distortions of truth , and have , in fact , a common origin . In Avhatever age Freemasonry may have originated , I verily believe that , at the present time , there is no Masonic body in the Avorld , out of England ,

that can trace its origin from any older source than the Grand Lodge of England , instituted at the revival in 1717 , and , although satisfied of the Craft having existed for centuries antecedent to that date , I consider any man injudicious and

unwise Avho seeks to impose upon the community at large his OAVII theory of its origin ; and , in dismissing this portion of the subject , let us content ourselves with knowing ' , that the institution is t undoubtedly , ancient , as "having subsisted from time immemorial . "

We noAV pass to the important consideration ci the nature of Freemasonry , or in other words , I have to answer the oft-reiterated question , " What is Freemasonry ? " We have a stereotyped answer , "It is a system of morality , veiled in allegory ,

and illustrated by symbols . " This answer is undoubtedly correct , so far as it goes , but I hope to be able to show—and if I do not succeed the fault must be mine—that Freemasonry is more than this ; in giving this stereotyped answer to the uninitiated , I have been met Avith the remark that

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 8
  • You're on page9
  • 10
  • 20
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy