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Article results sometimes happen, and injustice is done, not from want of heart, but rather from want of thought. ← Page 3 of 3 Article REPRINTS No. 2076. Page 1 of 2 Article REPRINTS No. 2076. Page 1 of 2 →
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Results Sometimes Happen, And Injustice Is Done, Not From Want Of Heart, But Rather From Want Of Thought.
results sometimes happen , and injustice is done , not from want of heart , but rather from want of thought .
In conclusion we can but express the opinion that in England we ^ have quite enough elective offices . We think it will be better when it is generally conceded that the collar of Treasurer is not a
permanent honour , but at the same time we regard it as undesirable that any move offices should be thrown open to competition , for fear the evils we have hinted at may prove more troublesome than is compensated
for by tho advantages which might accrue from the adop tion of foreign practices .
Reprints No. 2076.
REPRINTS No . 2076 .
By Bro . R . F . GOULD . WITH the issue of the second volume of this seriestlie first aud seventh having already appearedtho total number of tho Quatuor Coronati publications is brought up to five , of whioh three aro antiquarian reprints , and two comprise the ordinary Transactions of tho Lodge . Volume II . of the Reprints , just issued , contains : —
1 . A lithographed facsimile in three colours of the Matthew Cooko MS . ( Addl . MS . 23 , 198 , Brif . MOP . ) , which is believed to date from the first quarter of tho loth century ; together with a transcript of tho document and a commentary thereon by Bro . G . W . Speth .
2 . A facsimile and transcript of the Lausdownc MS . ( No . 98 , Art . 48 in the Brit . Mus . Collection of the same name ) . Tho date of this has been estimated on high authority at about tho year 1 G 00 , though reasons are not wanting from which a slightly higher antiquity might be claimed for it .
3 . A facsimile and transcript of Harleian MS . 1942 ( Brit . Mus . ) , which dates , according to Mv . Bond aud others , from tho beginning of the 17 th century . Nos . 2 and 3 are copies or versions of tho Manuscript
Constitutions , and No . 1 a history of or disquisition upon Masonry , though also distinguished by features which , in the opinion of the latest commentator upon it , render it almost " a typical roll of tho Constitutions . "
Of tho Manuscript Constitutions , and I shall in tho first instance speak of them in their collective form , it is not too much to say that these ancient writings havo been
strangely and unaccountably neglected by our historiansthough I am by no moans forgetting the labours of a few brethren in what may be termed the parent stem of our antiquities , and upon * 7 hioh I shall presently dilate .
But my meaning is , that no serious attempt to trace our early written traditions to their source , or sources , of origin has been attempted by Preston , Oliver , or any
other Masonic writer of a previous generation . The first step of any importance was taken by Brother Hughan , who brought out , in 1872 , an exhaustive collection—so far as then known or identified—of these
ancient manuscripts , and bestowed upon them the title , by which they are still frequently described , of the " Old Charges of British Freemasons . " To this volume the late Bro . Woodford contributed a preface , which was a
masterpiece of its kind , and even after the lapse of so many years , and the great multiplication of the class of documents , he then passed in review , will be found both interesting and instructive bv the general reader .
t But before and after the publication of this work , and indeed throughout the whole of his career as a Masonic student , Bro . Hughan has exhibited a singular liking for the Manuscri pt Constitutions . Whatever versions or forms" turned up from time to time , he straightway
m ? •P nnte "> thus ™ aking them common property . The idea was then suggested of dividing the different versions into groups or families , but though attempted , and with some slight measure of success , on a small scale , by Bro . John Tar ker . the project ultimately foil through . dim
was not revived until tho appearance on the scene of ¦ Ur . Begemann , a German student , by whom—up to a certain point—it has been carried into effect with Very great abilit y . J ni
•m 7 commentary on the Regius MS ., I have been more concerned with the points of agreement between tho everal forms of the Manuscript Constitutions , than their pewaifcies or singularities , as these can only be fully under .
Reprints No. 2076.
stood by a limited number of experts , until the publication of tho entire series of these remarkable documents , in a collective form . . This task onr indefatigable Secretary is now engaged in carrying out , and as the number of copies wo shall
print of each volume of our publications will depend , to a afveiifc extent , upon tho subscription list , tho names of Brethren and Lodges who aro desirous of supporting this feature of our special work , will be gladly welcomed by Bro . Speth .
Volume I . of our Reprints can , indeed , no longer be acquired , as tho edition is exhausted , and copies now command a high premium , but all the remaining publications of tho Lodge are at present available to intending purchasers , though the supply of some of them is running low .
Tho selection of materials for tho volume of Reprints which has just appeared ( II . ) leaves little to be desired . Lansdowne MS . 98 is a very typical representative of the Manuscript Constitutions , and as a more archaic form of tho reading or version peculiar to tho Antiquity
and Probity MSS . ( both of whioh aro still in Lodge custody ) , constitutes an important link batvvoen tho present and tho past . Harleian MS . 1942 contains a remarkable text , which , together with that of the Roberts print , has exercised tho minds of many successions of Masonic students . If these two forms of the MS . Constitutions aro to bo
depended upon , a General Assembly of tlio Craft was held in December 1663 , when a variety of most import int Regulations were passed , but with regard to which , however , tho remaining versions of tho Old Const ' tutions aro provokingly silont . Dr . Anderson , indeed , believed iu
their authenticity , or affected to do so , as he inserted them in Part iii ., Chapter II ., of hia " Now Book of Constitutions " ( 1738 ) . Though ; he garbled them freely in tho process of reproduction , changing the date of 8 th December
to 27 th December ( St . John ' s Day ); " Master " into ' •Grand Master , " and so on , his exact feeling with regard to tho sources of authority he made auch a singular uso of , must remain to a considerable extent a mystery .
The Poclcet Companion for 1754 . points out " greafc defects" in the edition of tho " Constitutions " ( 1738 ) published the year before his death ( 1739 ) , and attributes them either to his want of health , or trusting [ the MS . ] to
the management of strangers . " The work , " ifc gojs on to say , " appeared in a very mangled condition , and tho Regulations , which had been revised and corrected by Grand Master Payne , were in many cases interpolated , and , in others , the sense left very obscure and uncertain . "
The doctor , to use homely language , seems to have gone out of Masonry in 1724 , and returned to it in 1731 , as within tho period embraced by these dates , i . e ., from St . John ' s Day ( in harvest ) 1724 , to the recurrence of the same festival in 1731 , he was not present at a single
meeting of Grand Lodge . During this interval many things had happened . The privilege of working the " Master ' s Part" had been restored to tho Lodges , but this degree had been labelled ' with a new name ( Master Mason ) , while its old one ( Fellow Craft ) bore an altered
signification . In other words , the old " Entered Apprentice ' s Part" had become subdivided , the 1 st and 2 nd steps thereof becoming tbe degrees , as wo now have them , of E . A . and F . C . respectively . The foregoing will explain in a measure why
discrepancies are met with in tho two publications ( Constitutions of 1723 and 1738 ) from which Dr . Anderson derives his title of "the Father of Masonic History . " These discrepancies he had to reconcile as best be could , and the result is not unfairly summed up in the extract already given from the Poclcet Companion of 1754 .
Bufc during the doctor ' s retirement , or , at all events , between the years 1723 and 1738 , additional copies of tho Manuscript Constitutions appear to have fallen in his way , beyond those with which he was presumably acquainted with when his first Masonic book saw the li ght .
Among these , it is probable , was Harleian MS . 1942—but even if his fount of information with regard to tha alleged " " General Assembly , " of A . D . 1663 , was the " Robert ' s " print—published in 1722—the importance of Harl . MS . 1942 in this connection is not lessened , as without arguing
that it was the original from which the compiler of the print ( 1722 ) copied—upon which English and German students differ—it will be sufficient to lay stress on the fact that the Harleian MS . is the only document extant of earlier date than the Grand Lodge itself wherein there is any
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Results Sometimes Happen, And Injustice Is Done, Not From Want Of Heart, But Rather From Want Of Thought.
results sometimes happen , and injustice is done , not from want of heart , but rather from want of thought .
In conclusion we can but express the opinion that in England we ^ have quite enough elective offices . We think it will be better when it is generally conceded that the collar of Treasurer is not a
permanent honour , but at the same time we regard it as undesirable that any move offices should be thrown open to competition , for fear the evils we have hinted at may prove more troublesome than is compensated
for by tho advantages which might accrue from the adop tion of foreign practices .
Reprints No. 2076.
REPRINTS No . 2076 .
By Bro . R . F . GOULD . WITH the issue of the second volume of this seriestlie first aud seventh having already appearedtho total number of tho Quatuor Coronati publications is brought up to five , of whioh three aro antiquarian reprints , and two comprise the ordinary Transactions of tho Lodge . Volume II . of the Reprints , just issued , contains : —
1 . A lithographed facsimile in three colours of the Matthew Cooko MS . ( Addl . MS . 23 , 198 , Brif . MOP . ) , which is believed to date from the first quarter of tho loth century ; together with a transcript of tho document and a commentary thereon by Bro . G . W . Speth .
2 . A facsimile and transcript of the Lausdownc MS . ( No . 98 , Art . 48 in the Brit . Mus . Collection of the same name ) . Tho date of this has been estimated on high authority at about tho year 1 G 00 , though reasons are not wanting from which a slightly higher antiquity might be claimed for it .
3 . A facsimile and transcript of Harleian MS . 1942 ( Brit . Mus . ) , which dates , according to Mv . Bond aud others , from tho beginning of the 17 th century . Nos . 2 and 3 are copies or versions of tho Manuscript
Constitutions , and No . 1 a history of or disquisition upon Masonry , though also distinguished by features which , in the opinion of the latest commentator upon it , render it almost " a typical roll of tho Constitutions . "
Of tho Manuscript Constitutions , and I shall in tho first instance speak of them in their collective form , it is not too much to say that these ancient writings havo been
strangely and unaccountably neglected by our historiansthough I am by no moans forgetting the labours of a few brethren in what may be termed the parent stem of our antiquities , and upon * 7 hioh I shall presently dilate .
But my meaning is , that no serious attempt to trace our early written traditions to their source , or sources , of origin has been attempted by Preston , Oliver , or any
other Masonic writer of a previous generation . The first step of any importance was taken by Brother Hughan , who brought out , in 1872 , an exhaustive collection—so far as then known or identified—of these
ancient manuscripts , and bestowed upon them the title , by which they are still frequently described , of the " Old Charges of British Freemasons . " To this volume the late Bro . Woodford contributed a preface , which was a
masterpiece of its kind , and even after the lapse of so many years , and the great multiplication of the class of documents , he then passed in review , will be found both interesting and instructive bv the general reader .
t But before and after the publication of this work , and indeed throughout the whole of his career as a Masonic student , Bro . Hughan has exhibited a singular liking for the Manuscri pt Constitutions . Whatever versions or forms" turned up from time to time , he straightway
m ? •P nnte "> thus ™ aking them common property . The idea was then suggested of dividing the different versions into groups or families , but though attempted , and with some slight measure of success , on a small scale , by Bro . John Tar ker . the project ultimately foil through . dim
was not revived until tho appearance on the scene of ¦ Ur . Begemann , a German student , by whom—up to a certain point—it has been carried into effect with Very great abilit y . J ni
•m 7 commentary on the Regius MS ., I have been more concerned with the points of agreement between tho everal forms of the Manuscript Constitutions , than their pewaifcies or singularities , as these can only be fully under .
Reprints No. 2076.
stood by a limited number of experts , until the publication of tho entire series of these remarkable documents , in a collective form . . This task onr indefatigable Secretary is now engaged in carrying out , and as the number of copies wo shall
print of each volume of our publications will depend , to a afveiifc extent , upon tho subscription list , tho names of Brethren and Lodges who aro desirous of supporting this feature of our special work , will be gladly welcomed by Bro . Speth .
Volume I . of our Reprints can , indeed , no longer be acquired , as tho edition is exhausted , and copies now command a high premium , but all the remaining publications of tho Lodge are at present available to intending purchasers , though the supply of some of them is running low .
Tho selection of materials for tho volume of Reprints which has just appeared ( II . ) leaves little to be desired . Lansdowne MS . 98 is a very typical representative of the Manuscript Constitutions , and as a more archaic form of tho reading or version peculiar to tho Antiquity
and Probity MSS . ( both of whioh aro still in Lodge custody ) , constitutes an important link batvvoen tho present and tho past . Harleian MS . 1942 contains a remarkable text , which , together with that of the Roberts print , has exercised tho minds of many successions of Masonic students . If these two forms of the MS . Constitutions aro to bo
depended upon , a General Assembly of tlio Craft was held in December 1663 , when a variety of most import int Regulations were passed , but with regard to which , however , tho remaining versions of tho Old Const ' tutions aro provokingly silont . Dr . Anderson , indeed , believed iu
their authenticity , or affected to do so , as he inserted them in Part iii ., Chapter II ., of hia " Now Book of Constitutions " ( 1738 ) . Though ; he garbled them freely in tho process of reproduction , changing the date of 8 th December
to 27 th December ( St . John ' s Day ); " Master " into ' •Grand Master , " and so on , his exact feeling with regard to tho sources of authority he made auch a singular uso of , must remain to a considerable extent a mystery .
The Poclcet Companion for 1754 . points out " greafc defects" in the edition of tho " Constitutions " ( 1738 ) published the year before his death ( 1739 ) , and attributes them either to his want of health , or trusting [ the MS . ] to
the management of strangers . " The work , " ifc gojs on to say , " appeared in a very mangled condition , and tho Regulations , which had been revised and corrected by Grand Master Payne , were in many cases interpolated , and , in others , the sense left very obscure and uncertain . "
The doctor , to use homely language , seems to have gone out of Masonry in 1724 , and returned to it in 1731 , as within tho period embraced by these dates , i . e ., from St . John ' s Day ( in harvest ) 1724 , to the recurrence of the same festival in 1731 , he was not present at a single
meeting of Grand Lodge . During this interval many things had happened . The privilege of working the " Master ' s Part" had been restored to tho Lodges , but this degree had been labelled ' with a new name ( Master Mason ) , while its old one ( Fellow Craft ) bore an altered
signification . In other words , the old " Entered Apprentice ' s Part" had become subdivided , the 1 st and 2 nd steps thereof becoming tbe degrees , as wo now have them , of E . A . and F . C . respectively . The foregoing will explain in a measure why
discrepancies are met with in tho two publications ( Constitutions of 1723 and 1738 ) from which Dr . Anderson derives his title of "the Father of Masonic History . " These discrepancies he had to reconcile as best be could , and the result is not unfairly summed up in the extract already given from the Poclcet Companion of 1754 .
Bufc during the doctor ' s retirement , or , at all events , between the years 1723 and 1738 , additional copies of tho Manuscript Constitutions appear to have fallen in his way , beyond those with which he was presumably acquainted with when his first Masonic book saw the li ght .
Among these , it is probable , was Harleian MS . 1942—but even if his fount of information with regard to tha alleged " " General Assembly , " of A . D . 1663 , was the " Robert ' s " print—published in 1722—the importance of Harl . MS . 1942 in this connection is not lessened , as without arguing
that it was the original from which the compiler of the print ( 1722 ) copied—upon which English and German students differ—it will be sufficient to lay stress on the fact that the Harleian MS . is the only document extant of earlier date than the Grand Lodge itself wherein there is any