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Article "L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE." ← Page 2 of 2 Article Multum in Parbo, or Masonic Notes and Queries. Page 1 of 2 Article Multum in Parbo, or Masonic Notes and Queries. Page 1 of 2 Article Multum in Parbo, or Masonic Notes and Queries. Page 1 of 2 →
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"L'Union Fait La Force."
sphere of its influence the Red Cross Order is calculated to cultivate and maintain the principles of unity and fraternity . We cannot close these remarks without
expressing our condemnation of the course which the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland has thought fit to pursue with respect to English Mark Masons . Notwithstanding
the fact that the existence of the Mark Grand Lodge of England is acknowledged by the Grand Chapters of Ireland and Canada , the Scottish Royal Arch
authorities ignore its jurisdiction and invade its territory . This we conceive to be the height of folly and illiberality , and it cannot fail to be injurious to the best interests
of the Mark degree . It is folly , because , in the long run , English Masons are sure to prefer a central and native authority to the circumlocutory agency of— Masonically
speaking—a foreign body . And it is illiberality , because it would deny to two or three thousand English Mark Masters the right to govern themselves in the only
manner at present practicable or proper . We should be sorry to surmise that the Grand Chapter of Scotland is actuated in this matter by base or unworthy motives ,
although it is freely suggested that the hope of deriving a large revenue from English dupes is at the bottom of its opposition . Be this as it may , the attitude of the Scottish
Grand Chapter—itself an unrecognised association—is anything but fair , manly , or Masonic , and we do not believe that its proceedings will meet with the approval of the general body of the Craft .
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .
—?—R . W . L . AND THE RED CROSS ORDER . Those interested in the inquiry of late respecting this Masonic degree , and especially respecting the letters by Bros . "R . W . L . "and "Lupus , "
which were written in such excellent spirit by both brethren , will be glad to see a further communication from " R . \ V . L . " on the subject . A declaration of the principles of tlie Red Cross
Order by so eminent a Mason as Judge Waller R . AVright will beof much value and importance , and we shall be pleased to see the whole declaration made known verbatim et literatim in these pages , AV , J AMES HUGHAN .
THE MARK DEGREE . We are already reaping the fruits of the present Grand Master's excellent rule over this degree , for have we not received acknowledgment as a Grand Lodge from the Grand
Chapters of Ireland and Canada ? I consider this a great advance made , and one which must carry gre . it weight in influencing tlie deliberations of the Grand Chapter of Scotland
The sooner we can agree to hold out the right hand of fellowship to all legitimate authorities the better . I trust England and Scotland re Mark Masonry will soon be on good terms . W . J . HUGHAN .
IM . 1 I . THE PRINCE RHODOCANAKIS . A good deal has been said about this brother lately , but if he is in truth a " Prince , " how does it happen that he does not associate with his Royal brother the Prince of Wales , and is not
presented at the British court ? On his taking rank at a reception held at St . James's or Buckingham palace , we shall then believe he is a " Prince , " but not till then . A MEMBER OF AN ENGLISH LODGE .
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
CASE FOR AN OPINION . A brother hailing from a foreign jurisdiction —say , the Brazils—and who has attained to the rankof S . P . R . -f , under the S . G . C . 33 ° in that country , which is the only governing Masonic
body there , presents himself for admittance into an English Craft lodge , in the clothing of the Rose Croix Degree . Query ? Is the AV . M . justified in admitting him in that clothing , it
being perfectly understood that in the A . and A . Rite , a brother is entitled to wear , in every case , the clothing of the highest degree to which he has attained . QUERIST .
THE " HENRY VI . MS ., " ' AND THE " ANCIENTS . " As there is no authority to prove the forgery of the Henry VI . MS ., I am not prepared to go that length , all that can be safely said is , that it is not now in the Bodleian Library , I may print a
pamphlet shortly of about fifty pages showiog its truth , irrespective of the authenticity of the document ; and also touching upon the claims of the " Ancients . " It is , I may observe , impossible to understand the latter without a thorough
acquaintance with the secret life of all antiquity . I hope that the promised account of the " Son of Salatbiel" will be impartial , and something new , based upon documentary evidence ; we have already too much rambling nonsense upon this head . J YARKER .
ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY ( p . 369 ) . I am happy to find in your correspondent , Bro . C . Goodwyn , one who has carefully studied my letters which have appeared in your paper , concerning the antiquity of Freemasonry , and
who appreciates the arguments set forth in them . I may be permitted , however , to point out a slight mistake into which he has fallen as to my reference to the article " Freemasonry" in Chamber ' s Encyclopaedia . He says he does not
find it to accord with the account which I have given of it . But he mentions that the edition which he has consulted is that of 1743 , and from this I perceive that he has looked into an altogether different work from that to which I
referred . There is a work by Ephraim Chambers , who , in AVatt ' s Bibliotheca Britannica , is described as " a most ingenious and industrious author , " entitled a " Cyclopredia , or General Dictionary of Arts and Sciences , " containing the
definitionsof the terms and account of the things signified thereby—one of the first works ever published , and still valuable as a book of reference—of which the first edition was published at London , in 1728 , in two folio volumes , and
several editions , each in two folio volumes , appeared within the next twenty years , ancl , finally , an enlarged and improved edition , by Rees , in 1785 . But the work to which I referred was the recently-published Chambers ' s Encyclo
pedia ; an entirely new work , issued by the celebrated publishers Messrs . AV . and R . Chambers , of Edinburgh , and which is in many respects , I may safely venture to say , the best work of its kind at present in existence , the most convenient
for reference , and full of information . The senior partner of the firm of "W . and R . Chambers is William Chambers , Esq ., of Glenormiston , lately Lord Provost of Edinburgh , a member of the Masonic Craft , and one whose conduct in the
Craft affords a worthy example to his brethren . The article in tlie Encyclopaedia to which I referred was published before Bro . Chambers became a member of the Masonic Craft , and probably , had it been otherwise , the article
would have been of a very different character . Bro . Chambers is a scholar , a gentleman , and a man of high literary attainments , who has admirably illustrated the principles of Freemasonry in charity towards his fellow-man and in endeavours to improve their condition . CHALMERS I . PATON .
I 5 RO . " W . P . RUCUAN , " AND " THE BIBLE , " ( p . 3 69 ) . lam grieved to see Bro . AV . P . Buchan attempting to bring up "for serious consideration ,
whether or not the Bible is the proper book to place upon the altar of a Masonic Lodge . " On reference to the landmarks—and all know that these landmarks can never be changed—it is a
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
landmark that a ' Book of the Law' shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge . It is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testament shall be used . The ' Book of the Law' is that
volume which , by the religion of the country , is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the Universe . " Hence , in all lodges in Christian countries , the Book of Law is composed of the Old and New Testaments : in a
country where Judaism was the prevailing faith , the Old Testament alone would be sufficient ; and in Mahommedan countries , and among Mahommedan Masons the Koran might be substituted . Masonry does not attempt to interfere
with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples , except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God and a future state . The Book of the Law is to the Speculative Mason his spiritual trestle-board , without this he cannot labour ;
whatever he believes to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect constitutes for him this spiritual trestle-board , and must ever be before him in his hours of speculative labour , to be the rule and guide of his conduct . The " landmark ,
therefore , requires that a Book of the Law , a religious code of some kind , purporting to be an exemplar of the revealed will of God , shall form an essential part of the furniture of every lodge . "
I merely point out these facts in connection with the Bible and Freemasonry in its general use in lodges in Christian countries , and do not wish again to refer to it in any controversy which Bro . AV . P . Buchan may bring up , believing as I do , that Bro . W . P . Buchan takes it for his " Great Light . " CHALMERS I . PATON .
CUBICAL STONE . At the building of the Temple of Jerusalem , an unexpected and afflicting event occurred , which threw the Masons engaged in the work into the greatest confusion . The G . M . ( H . A .
B . ) had sent to certain F . C . ' s thirteen stones , and directed that with these they should complete a small square near the cape-stone , being the only portion of the fabric which remained unfinished . Every stone of the Temple was
formed into a square , containing five equilateral triangles , each equilateral triangle being equal to a cube , and each side and base of the triangles being equal to a plumb-line . The space , therefore , which remained to be completed was the
last triangle of the last stone , and equal to the eight part of the plumb-line , or jd of the circle , and i-isth of the triangle , which number is in Hebrew ; -p or the great name of the Almighty . The thirteen stones consisted of all the
fragments which remained from the building , and comprised two cubes in two divisions . In the first was contained one cube in an entire piece , and in the second a cube in twelve parts : viz ., A II noi * tc in r \ nt * i- \ i * ar «« * nirfe i » i * r \\ ar-ac -r •nnt- ^ 42 parts 111 one piece 2 parts 4 pieces 1 part
J , m , in 1 piece , and \ i part in 6 pieces ; total 12 pieces . The F . C . ' s carried the broken cube to S . K . I ., who in conjunction with H . K . T . directed that they should be placed along with the jewels
of the Craft , on a cubic stone encrusted with gold , in the centre of a deep cavern within the foundations of the Temple , and further ordered , that the door of this mysterious court should be built up with large stones , in order that no one
in future should be able to gain admission into this mysterious apartment . At the re-building of the Temple , however , three F . C . ' s lately returned from Babylon , in the course of their labours inadvertently stumbled upon this
mysterious recess . They discovered the fractured cube , and carried the pieces to Z . J . H ., who recognized in the four pieces the XXXX ., and accordingly advanced the F . C . 's to a new Order in Masonry for having accomplished this discovery . — Tytler .
The Catenarian arch is the only arch the bearing of which is true in all its points of the curve . If a slack chain or rope be supported by two hooks , the curve . it falls into is what is
called the Catenarian curve ; and this inverted is the mechanical arch of the same name . Such an arch , truly constructed , will stand independently of any collateral aid whatever .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
"L'Union Fait La Force."
sphere of its influence the Red Cross Order is calculated to cultivate and maintain the principles of unity and fraternity . We cannot close these remarks without
expressing our condemnation of the course which the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland has thought fit to pursue with respect to English Mark Masons . Notwithstanding
the fact that the existence of the Mark Grand Lodge of England is acknowledged by the Grand Chapters of Ireland and Canada , the Scottish Royal Arch
authorities ignore its jurisdiction and invade its territory . This we conceive to be the height of folly and illiberality , and it cannot fail to be injurious to the best interests
of the Mark degree . It is folly , because , in the long run , English Masons are sure to prefer a central and native authority to the circumlocutory agency of— Masonically
speaking—a foreign body . And it is illiberality , because it would deny to two or three thousand English Mark Masters the right to govern themselves in the only
manner at present practicable or proper . We should be sorry to surmise that the Grand Chapter of Scotland is actuated in this matter by base or unworthy motives ,
although it is freely suggested that the hope of deriving a large revenue from English dupes is at the bottom of its opposition . Be this as it may , the attitude of the Scottish
Grand Chapter—itself an unrecognised association—is anything but fair , manly , or Masonic , and we do not believe that its proceedings will meet with the approval of the general body of the Craft .
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .
—?—R . W . L . AND THE RED CROSS ORDER . Those interested in the inquiry of late respecting this Masonic degree , and especially respecting the letters by Bros . "R . W . L . "and "Lupus , "
which were written in such excellent spirit by both brethren , will be glad to see a further communication from " R . \ V . L . " on the subject . A declaration of the principles of tlie Red Cross
Order by so eminent a Mason as Judge Waller R . AVright will beof much value and importance , and we shall be pleased to see the whole declaration made known verbatim et literatim in these pages , AV , J AMES HUGHAN .
THE MARK DEGREE . We are already reaping the fruits of the present Grand Master's excellent rule over this degree , for have we not received acknowledgment as a Grand Lodge from the Grand
Chapters of Ireland and Canada ? I consider this a great advance made , and one which must carry gre . it weight in influencing tlie deliberations of the Grand Chapter of Scotland
The sooner we can agree to hold out the right hand of fellowship to all legitimate authorities the better . I trust England and Scotland re Mark Masonry will soon be on good terms . W . J . HUGHAN .
IM . 1 I . THE PRINCE RHODOCANAKIS . A good deal has been said about this brother lately , but if he is in truth a " Prince , " how does it happen that he does not associate with his Royal brother the Prince of Wales , and is not
presented at the British court ? On his taking rank at a reception held at St . James's or Buckingham palace , we shall then believe he is a " Prince , " but not till then . A MEMBER OF AN ENGLISH LODGE .
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
CASE FOR AN OPINION . A brother hailing from a foreign jurisdiction —say , the Brazils—and who has attained to the rankof S . P . R . -f , under the S . G . C . 33 ° in that country , which is the only governing Masonic
body there , presents himself for admittance into an English Craft lodge , in the clothing of the Rose Croix Degree . Query ? Is the AV . M . justified in admitting him in that clothing , it
being perfectly understood that in the A . and A . Rite , a brother is entitled to wear , in every case , the clothing of the highest degree to which he has attained . QUERIST .
THE " HENRY VI . MS ., " ' AND THE " ANCIENTS . " As there is no authority to prove the forgery of the Henry VI . MS ., I am not prepared to go that length , all that can be safely said is , that it is not now in the Bodleian Library , I may print a
pamphlet shortly of about fifty pages showiog its truth , irrespective of the authenticity of the document ; and also touching upon the claims of the " Ancients . " It is , I may observe , impossible to understand the latter without a thorough
acquaintance with the secret life of all antiquity . I hope that the promised account of the " Son of Salatbiel" will be impartial , and something new , based upon documentary evidence ; we have already too much rambling nonsense upon this head . J YARKER .
ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY ( p . 369 ) . I am happy to find in your correspondent , Bro . C . Goodwyn , one who has carefully studied my letters which have appeared in your paper , concerning the antiquity of Freemasonry , and
who appreciates the arguments set forth in them . I may be permitted , however , to point out a slight mistake into which he has fallen as to my reference to the article " Freemasonry" in Chamber ' s Encyclopaedia . He says he does not
find it to accord with the account which I have given of it . But he mentions that the edition which he has consulted is that of 1743 , and from this I perceive that he has looked into an altogether different work from that to which I
referred . There is a work by Ephraim Chambers , who , in AVatt ' s Bibliotheca Britannica , is described as " a most ingenious and industrious author , " entitled a " Cyclopredia , or General Dictionary of Arts and Sciences , " containing the
definitionsof the terms and account of the things signified thereby—one of the first works ever published , and still valuable as a book of reference—of which the first edition was published at London , in 1728 , in two folio volumes , and
several editions , each in two folio volumes , appeared within the next twenty years , ancl , finally , an enlarged and improved edition , by Rees , in 1785 . But the work to which I referred was the recently-published Chambers ' s Encyclo
pedia ; an entirely new work , issued by the celebrated publishers Messrs . AV . and R . Chambers , of Edinburgh , and which is in many respects , I may safely venture to say , the best work of its kind at present in existence , the most convenient
for reference , and full of information . The senior partner of the firm of "W . and R . Chambers is William Chambers , Esq ., of Glenormiston , lately Lord Provost of Edinburgh , a member of the Masonic Craft , and one whose conduct in the
Craft affords a worthy example to his brethren . The article in tlie Encyclopaedia to which I referred was published before Bro . Chambers became a member of the Masonic Craft , and probably , had it been otherwise , the article
would have been of a very different character . Bro . Chambers is a scholar , a gentleman , and a man of high literary attainments , who has admirably illustrated the principles of Freemasonry in charity towards his fellow-man and in endeavours to improve their condition . CHALMERS I . PATON .
I 5 RO . " W . P . RUCUAN , " AND " THE BIBLE , " ( p . 3 69 ) . lam grieved to see Bro . AV . P . Buchan attempting to bring up "for serious consideration ,
whether or not the Bible is the proper book to place upon the altar of a Masonic Lodge . " On reference to the landmarks—and all know that these landmarks can never be changed—it is a
Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.
landmark that a ' Book of the Law' shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge . It is not absolutely required that everywhere the Old and New Testament shall be used . The ' Book of the Law' is that
volume which , by the religion of the country , is believed to contain the revealed will of the Grand Architect of the Universe . " Hence , in all lodges in Christian countries , the Book of Law is composed of the Old and New Testaments : in a
country where Judaism was the prevailing faith , the Old Testament alone would be sufficient ; and in Mahommedan countries , and among Mahommedan Masons the Koran might be substituted . Masonry does not attempt to interfere
with the peculiar religious faith of its disciples , except so far as relates to the belief in the existence of God and a future state . The Book of the Law is to the Speculative Mason his spiritual trestle-board , without this he cannot labour ;
whatever he believes to be the revealed will of the Grand Architect constitutes for him this spiritual trestle-board , and must ever be before him in his hours of speculative labour , to be the rule and guide of his conduct . The " landmark ,
therefore , requires that a Book of the Law , a religious code of some kind , purporting to be an exemplar of the revealed will of God , shall form an essential part of the furniture of every lodge . "
I merely point out these facts in connection with the Bible and Freemasonry in its general use in lodges in Christian countries , and do not wish again to refer to it in any controversy which Bro . AV . P . Buchan may bring up , believing as I do , that Bro . W . P . Buchan takes it for his " Great Light . " CHALMERS I . PATON .
CUBICAL STONE . At the building of the Temple of Jerusalem , an unexpected and afflicting event occurred , which threw the Masons engaged in the work into the greatest confusion . The G . M . ( H . A .
B . ) had sent to certain F . C . ' s thirteen stones , and directed that with these they should complete a small square near the cape-stone , being the only portion of the fabric which remained unfinished . Every stone of the Temple was
formed into a square , containing five equilateral triangles , each equilateral triangle being equal to a cube , and each side and base of the triangles being equal to a plumb-line . The space , therefore , which remained to be completed was the
last triangle of the last stone , and equal to the eight part of the plumb-line , or jd of the circle , and i-isth of the triangle , which number is in Hebrew ; -p or the great name of the Almighty . The thirteen stones consisted of all the
fragments which remained from the building , and comprised two cubes in two divisions . In the first was contained one cube in an entire piece , and in the second a cube in twelve parts : viz ., A II noi * tc in r \ nt * i- \ i * ar «« * nirfe i » i * r \\ ar-ac -r •nnt- ^ 42 parts 111 one piece 2 parts 4 pieces 1 part
J , m , in 1 piece , and \ i part in 6 pieces ; total 12 pieces . The F . C . ' s carried the broken cube to S . K . I ., who in conjunction with H . K . T . directed that they should be placed along with the jewels
of the Craft , on a cubic stone encrusted with gold , in the centre of a deep cavern within the foundations of the Temple , and further ordered , that the door of this mysterious court should be built up with large stones , in order that no one
in future should be able to gain admission into this mysterious apartment . At the re-building of the Temple , however , three F . C . ' s lately returned from Babylon , in the course of their labours inadvertently stumbled upon this
mysterious recess . They discovered the fractured cube , and carried the pieces to Z . J . H ., who recognized in the four pieces the XXXX ., and accordingly advanced the F . C . 's to a new Order in Masonry for having accomplished this discovery . — Tytler .
The Catenarian arch is the only arch the bearing of which is true in all its points of the curve . If a slack chain or rope be supported by two hooks , the curve . it falls into is what is
called the Catenarian curve ; and this inverted is the mechanical arch of the same name . Such an arch , truly constructed , will stand independently of any collateral aid whatever .