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Article A MASONIC HEEO: ← Page 6 of 8 →
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A Masonic Heeo:
Lodges ; when otherwise , a nobleman was selected who received from the king a pension ; at his election a money gift from all beside . That Queen Elizabeth ascending the English throne in unsettled times , took um ^ at all secret societies , and resolved to suppress them ; but first of all she commanded certain of her privy council , with the archbishop of
Canterbury , to enrol themselves in that of Masoniyv Obeying the queen ' s orders , they made so advantageous a report of their loyalty as removed her majesty ' s alarm , and Freemasons have ever since enjoyed in Great Britain and the places subject to it , the most perfect countenance and all due liberty , which it is their proud boast never to have once abused .
The inquisitors next demanded what w as the tendency of this society . I replied , * every Freemason is obliged at his admission to take an oath on the Holy Gospel , that he will be faithful to the king , nor enter into any plot or conspiracy against his sacred person , or against the liberty of-the country where he resides ; and that lie will cheerfully submit to its established laws . That charity was the foundation , soul , and bond of unity , linking us together by the tie of fraternal love , and making it an imperative duty to assist poverty in the most liberal spirit , without
distinction of religious belief . ' . " 'Twas then they called me £ liar / declaring it to be impossible we should practise these good maxims , and yet be so jealous of our secret as ,. to exclude women from its participation . The judicious reader will smile at the inference , which if true , would certainly apply to the dark and mysterious tyranny of the Holy Office itself . However , I answered them , ¦ Women , my lords , are excluded in order to suppress occasion of scaiidal ,
and because in society , they are usually found to be unsafe guardians of a secret . The founders of Masonry are , therefore , by their exclusion , thought to have given a signal proof of their wisdom and foresight . ' "They now insisted I should reveal to them the symbols and tokens of a Lodge . " 'The oath / said T , ' taken at my admission , never to divulge directly or indirectly what then transpired , forbids me ; and I humbly trust to your lordships' justice that my principles may find favour in your sight . ' To this they answered , In our presence your heretical vow avails not-
we absolve you from it / ' The nature of my reply they seemed to anticipate . I was at once thrust back into my damp , noisome dungeon , where I fell sick . Partially recovered , I was sent for to be interrogated whether , since my abode in Lisbon , any Portuguese had been received into a Lodge . I replied No . ' True it was , indeed , that Dom Emanuel de Sousa , lord of Calliaris , and captain of the German guards , hearing that the person was at Lisbon who had made the Duke de Villeroy a Freemason by order of the French king , Louis XV ., had desired M . de Chavigny , ambassador of
France , to find me out . But knowing Freemasonry to be forbidden , and aware that M . de Calliaris was a nobleman of great economy , I found an expedient to disengage myself from him by asking fifty moidores for his reception , a demand which , I was persuaded , would at once put an end to his desire to be enrolled amongst us . As regarded their threats of torture in case I did not reveal the nature of our symbols , I referred them to Mr . Dogood , an English Roman Catholic and Freemason , who had settled a Lodge in Lisbon fifteen years before , and who , being of their own persuasion , could more properly appreciate their power to absolve us from an oath .
" Again referring to a previous examination , when I said it was a duty incumbent on Freemasons to assist the needy , they asked whether I hall ever relieved a necessitous object . I named to them a poor woman , a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Masonic Heeo:
Lodges ; when otherwise , a nobleman was selected who received from the king a pension ; at his election a money gift from all beside . That Queen Elizabeth ascending the English throne in unsettled times , took um ^ at all secret societies , and resolved to suppress them ; but first of all she commanded certain of her privy council , with the archbishop of
Canterbury , to enrol themselves in that of Masoniyv Obeying the queen ' s orders , they made so advantageous a report of their loyalty as removed her majesty ' s alarm , and Freemasons have ever since enjoyed in Great Britain and the places subject to it , the most perfect countenance and all due liberty , which it is their proud boast never to have once abused .
The inquisitors next demanded what w as the tendency of this society . I replied , * every Freemason is obliged at his admission to take an oath on the Holy Gospel , that he will be faithful to the king , nor enter into any plot or conspiracy against his sacred person , or against the liberty of-the country where he resides ; and that lie will cheerfully submit to its established laws . That charity was the foundation , soul , and bond of unity , linking us together by the tie of fraternal love , and making it an imperative duty to assist poverty in the most liberal spirit , without
distinction of religious belief . ' . " 'Twas then they called me £ liar / declaring it to be impossible we should practise these good maxims , and yet be so jealous of our secret as ,. to exclude women from its participation . The judicious reader will smile at the inference , which if true , would certainly apply to the dark and mysterious tyranny of the Holy Office itself . However , I answered them , ¦ Women , my lords , are excluded in order to suppress occasion of scaiidal ,
and because in society , they are usually found to be unsafe guardians of a secret . The founders of Masonry are , therefore , by their exclusion , thought to have given a signal proof of their wisdom and foresight . ' "They now insisted I should reveal to them the symbols and tokens of a Lodge . " 'The oath / said T , ' taken at my admission , never to divulge directly or indirectly what then transpired , forbids me ; and I humbly trust to your lordships' justice that my principles may find favour in your sight . ' To this they answered , In our presence your heretical vow avails not-
we absolve you from it / ' The nature of my reply they seemed to anticipate . I was at once thrust back into my damp , noisome dungeon , where I fell sick . Partially recovered , I was sent for to be interrogated whether , since my abode in Lisbon , any Portuguese had been received into a Lodge . I replied No . ' True it was , indeed , that Dom Emanuel de Sousa , lord of Calliaris , and captain of the German guards , hearing that the person was at Lisbon who had made the Duke de Villeroy a Freemason by order of the French king , Louis XV ., had desired M . de Chavigny , ambassador of
France , to find me out . But knowing Freemasonry to be forbidden , and aware that M . de Calliaris was a nobleman of great economy , I found an expedient to disengage myself from him by asking fifty moidores for his reception , a demand which , I was persuaded , would at once put an end to his desire to be enrolled amongst us . As regarded their threats of torture in case I did not reveal the nature of our symbols , I referred them to Mr . Dogood , an English Roman Catholic and Freemason , who had settled a Lodge in Lisbon fifteen years before , and who , being of their own persuasion , could more properly appreciate their power to absolve us from an oath .
" Again referring to a previous examination , when I said it was a duty incumbent on Freemasons to assist the needy , they asked whether I hall ever relieved a necessitous object . I named to them a poor woman , a