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  • Sept. 1, 1860
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Sept. 1, 1860: Page 2

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    Article CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XXXI. ← Page 2 of 2
    Article DRAWINGS BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.* Page 1 of 4 →
Page 2

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Classical Theology.—Xxxi.

heroine ofthe ffaerie Queene , whilst pursuing the chase , got entangled in certain hunting nets , " retia citiiii , sluTia dicuntur , " whereiqion the fair maid of Crete vowed , in supplicating Diana , to build a temple for her , should she effect her escape unharmed . The goddess heard her prayer , and in grateful remembrance of the benignant aidshe consecrated a temple to Diana Dicfcjoinawheuce

, , they both became distinguished by the same titular name . This statement is in accordance with that ofthe great commentator , Aristophanes ; still , ' by the equall y learned there is another A-ersion of the story , ivhich we are rather disposed to regard as a- continuation of it : Britomartis was the beloved and loving friend of Diana .

They enjoyed the pleasures of the chase constantly together ; but it so happened , as it was of old , is now , and doubtless ever will be , a- lovely young lady may , quite unsuspectingly , kindle the fires of love , independent of the torch of Hymen , even in the breast of a king . Herehoweverwe have only to state the recorded fact .

, , The ardent lover of the beauteous Cretan maiden was the renowned Minos , whose wife , Pasiphae , whom they styled a daughter of Sol , brought forth the monster , Minotaur . "Beauty" does not always fly from the "beast , " particularly when st yled "royal ; " if she lingers , she is soon devoured , the fascination is overpowering ;

the first spring is too often fatal . Poor thing ! she does not know that her beauty is her virtue , and if she keeps that she may do what she likes besides—she may pull the nose of a king with more favour than offence , and bring down the lords of creation on their knees before her . So much the better for the fair in these glorious times of religion , justiceand freedom . In those other earlier

, " good old times , " when the will of the despot was law , Britomartis chose rather to lose her life than her virtue . She fled from Minos ( whom they styled a son of Jupiter ) , and east herself from a rock into tlie sea . The maiden was said to be the inventress of nets , therefore they made out that she was caught in some fishing-netsand

, hence , in one way or the other , her name Diclynna . Diana made her a goddess , as a lasting reward of her virtue , which is said to be its own reward . The ancients , they say , ( Brodceus in Anlhol . ex Bcholiast . Bintlari ) , decreed that as Diana left off hunting on the ides of August , it should not be lawful for any fo hunt during

that time ; though , be it observed , they celebrated a festival in remembrance of it , at which with much merriment , and hanging of garlands of wild flowers round tlie necks of their clogs , by the light of large torches , made of dried and not unfragrant stubble , they hung up their winding horns , boar spears , and other hunting implements .

DA 2 .-GE 110 U 3 JIiMHiiiis . — "Yet there is a class of persons , who , ivhen attracted to the altar of Freemasonry , though free from moral blemish , and ' under the tongue ' of good report / arc far more noxious members of the fraternity than those who arc stained hy vice , and are otherwise unfit to mingle in our mystic rites . They whoso intuitive wisdom scorns the dull labour of extracting knowledge of our institution from the dusty records of its past historybut with the celeritof

, y inspiration , comprehend the defects of our organization , and divines the remedy ; although possessing no hostility against the order , yet dissatisfied with some of its minor details , in their blind haste " to amend , they proceed to demolish ; and while pluming themselves upon thoir successful efforts to improve , arc industriously laying a train that must eventually explode in utter destruction . They sap the foundation of the Order by innovations , which , in thoir

shortsighted notions of policy aud expediency , arc demanded by the progress of the ago ; ancl altera course , more or less extended , in miserable strife and contention , feel , when too late , the necessity of retracing their steps ; or , stupidly hardened in their blundering folly pull down the pillars of the institution , and like Sampson at Gaza , vindictively overwhelm the innocent ancl the guilty in one common ruin . Ilcware , my Brethren , of the wise in their own conceit ,. " —Grand- Master of Georgia , 185 S .

Drawings By Sir Christopher Wren.*

DRAWINGS BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . *

SIR CirBiSTOPiiEB WEEN ' S drawings , preserved in the library of All Souls' College , Oxford , are known to all interested in the biography of the great English architect , though known onl y bj * " hearsay : few of our readers are likety to have seen them ; and better knowledge of them is much to be desired . Such particulars as Ave are able to give from a recent examinationthereforemay

, , be welcome . Mr . Elmes , indeed , refers to the drawings in his ivell-known volume on the life of Wren , and gives somo extracts from the manuscri pt matter in the same collection , including reports and estimates ; but he gives no list of them in that volume , or sufficient account of their general character . He refers , however , to a list

which he had contributed some years earlier , or in 1812 , to the " General Chronicle "; and which was the result of an examination in tlie year 1807 , occupying three or four days . That list , and the comments and particulars interspersed , should be looked at by anyfuture biographer . Although the services of Mr . Elmes are not to be lightly

spoken of , there is still need of an adequate memoir of one respecting whose life , and whose influence on our art , much has been left unsaid in print . The " General Chronicle" was a- periodical of short existence , and is not likely to be found in many architects' libraries ; and the volumes of that work in the library of the British .

Museum , arc imperfect , or do not include the portion of the publication wherein tho list appeared . Those , however , who may be able to procure access to the drawings at Oxford , will find the printed list cut from a number of the " General Chronicle , " bound in the copy of Mr . Elmes' memoir which there is in the same library of All Souls '; and they will also find manuscript catalogues , old ancl new , more or less imperfect and at variance .

The drawings themselves , in several cases , bear memoranda , chiefly iu pencil , which appear to have been made , at the time of the inspection , by the Eev . Mr . Crutch , late librarian of the college , and editor of the " Oxford Annals" of Anthony a Wood , and should have been erased , —or rather not made at all ; for , we can speak to the difficulty which results from them . The printed list

, however , we take as representing the best information to be derived from the combined labours of Mr . Elmes and Mr . Crutch ; and though we have notes of many features of interest in the drawings , ivhich are not mentioned in it , we found its general accuracy , as well as grounds for opinions ivhich Mr . Elmes expresses on the

authorship of a considerable portion of the collection , established , wherever time permitted us comparison and minute inspection . Subsequent to the preparation of the matter of this article , we called to mind that some notice of drawings by Wren hacl been given many years ago at the Institute

of British Architects . All efforts , however , to refresh our recollection from printed records of proceedings of tlie Institute ivere unavailing . Wc were about to conclude that no paper had been read—at least , on the drawings at Oxford , when we came to a rough list of some of the early papers , anclafter a long searchdiscovered the

, , title of a MS . ivhich was subsequentl y found . The paper , which is by Mr . Gulch , the architect , son of the late librarian of All Souls ' , is dated Peb . 10 , IS 3 G , and is entitled " Some Account ofthe ori g inal Drawings and Designs by Inigo Jones , Sir 0 . Wren , and James Gibbs , preserved at Oxford ; with two Catalogues and Eemarks

thereupon by James Elmes , Esq ., architect . " The list of Wren ' s drawings appears to be the same ( copied in MS . ) as that in the ' " ¦ General Chronicle . " The paper includes

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-09-01, Page 2” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 April 2023, www.masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_01091860/page/2/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XXXI. Article 1
DRAWINGS BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.* Article 2
KENT ARCHÆOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Article 6
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 8
Literature. Article 9
SONNET Article 10
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 11
GRAND LODGE. Article 11
PROVINCIAL. Article 11
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 18
MARK MASONRY. Article 18
INDIA. Article 18
NOTES ON MUSIC AND THE DRAMA. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Classical Theology.—Xxxi.

heroine ofthe ffaerie Queene , whilst pursuing the chase , got entangled in certain hunting nets , " retia citiiii , sluTia dicuntur , " whereiqion the fair maid of Crete vowed , in supplicating Diana , to build a temple for her , should she effect her escape unharmed . The goddess heard her prayer , and in grateful remembrance of the benignant aidshe consecrated a temple to Diana Dicfcjoinawheuce

, , they both became distinguished by the same titular name . This statement is in accordance with that ofthe great commentator , Aristophanes ; still , ' by the equall y learned there is another A-ersion of the story , ivhich we are rather disposed to regard as a- continuation of it : Britomartis was the beloved and loving friend of Diana .

They enjoyed the pleasures of the chase constantly together ; but it so happened , as it was of old , is now , and doubtless ever will be , a- lovely young lady may , quite unsuspectingly , kindle the fires of love , independent of the torch of Hymen , even in the breast of a king . Herehoweverwe have only to state the recorded fact .

, , The ardent lover of the beauteous Cretan maiden was the renowned Minos , whose wife , Pasiphae , whom they styled a daughter of Sol , brought forth the monster , Minotaur . "Beauty" does not always fly from the "beast , " particularly when st yled "royal ; " if she lingers , she is soon devoured , the fascination is overpowering ;

the first spring is too often fatal . Poor thing ! she does not know that her beauty is her virtue , and if she keeps that she may do what she likes besides—she may pull the nose of a king with more favour than offence , and bring down the lords of creation on their knees before her . So much the better for the fair in these glorious times of religion , justiceand freedom . In those other earlier

, " good old times , " when the will of the despot was law , Britomartis chose rather to lose her life than her virtue . She fled from Minos ( whom they styled a son of Jupiter ) , and east herself from a rock into tlie sea . The maiden was said to be the inventress of nets , therefore they made out that she was caught in some fishing-netsand

, hence , in one way or the other , her name Diclynna . Diana made her a goddess , as a lasting reward of her virtue , which is said to be its own reward . The ancients , they say , ( Brodceus in Anlhol . ex Bcholiast . Bintlari ) , decreed that as Diana left off hunting on the ides of August , it should not be lawful for any fo hunt during

that time ; though , be it observed , they celebrated a festival in remembrance of it , at which with much merriment , and hanging of garlands of wild flowers round tlie necks of their clogs , by the light of large torches , made of dried and not unfragrant stubble , they hung up their winding horns , boar spears , and other hunting implements .

DA 2 .-GE 110 U 3 JIiMHiiiis . — "Yet there is a class of persons , who , ivhen attracted to the altar of Freemasonry , though free from moral blemish , and ' under the tongue ' of good report / arc far more noxious members of the fraternity than those who arc stained hy vice , and are otherwise unfit to mingle in our mystic rites . They whoso intuitive wisdom scorns the dull labour of extracting knowledge of our institution from the dusty records of its past historybut with the celeritof

, y inspiration , comprehend the defects of our organization , and divines the remedy ; although possessing no hostility against the order , yet dissatisfied with some of its minor details , in their blind haste " to amend , they proceed to demolish ; and while pluming themselves upon thoir successful efforts to improve , arc industriously laying a train that must eventually explode in utter destruction . They sap the foundation of the Order by innovations , which , in thoir

shortsighted notions of policy aud expediency , arc demanded by the progress of the ago ; ancl altera course , more or less extended , in miserable strife and contention , feel , when too late , the necessity of retracing their steps ; or , stupidly hardened in their blundering folly pull down the pillars of the institution , and like Sampson at Gaza , vindictively overwhelm the innocent ancl the guilty in one common ruin . Ilcware , my Brethren , of the wise in their own conceit ,. " —Grand- Master of Georgia , 185 S .

Drawings By Sir Christopher Wren.*

DRAWINGS BY SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . *

SIR CirBiSTOPiiEB WEEN ' S drawings , preserved in the library of All Souls' College , Oxford , are known to all interested in the biography of the great English architect , though known onl y bj * " hearsay : few of our readers are likety to have seen them ; and better knowledge of them is much to be desired . Such particulars as Ave are able to give from a recent examinationthereforemay

, , be welcome . Mr . Elmes , indeed , refers to the drawings in his ivell-known volume on the life of Wren , and gives somo extracts from the manuscri pt matter in the same collection , including reports and estimates ; but he gives no list of them in that volume , or sufficient account of their general character . He refers , however , to a list

which he had contributed some years earlier , or in 1812 , to the " General Chronicle "; and which was the result of an examination in tlie year 1807 , occupying three or four days . That list , and the comments and particulars interspersed , should be looked at by anyfuture biographer . Although the services of Mr . Elmes are not to be lightly

spoken of , there is still need of an adequate memoir of one respecting whose life , and whose influence on our art , much has been left unsaid in print . The " General Chronicle" was a- periodical of short existence , and is not likely to be found in many architects' libraries ; and the volumes of that work in the library of the British .

Museum , arc imperfect , or do not include the portion of the publication wherein tho list appeared . Those , however , who may be able to procure access to the drawings at Oxford , will find the printed list cut from a number of the " General Chronicle , " bound in the copy of Mr . Elmes' memoir which there is in the same library of All Souls '; and they will also find manuscript catalogues , old ancl new , more or less imperfect and at variance .

The drawings themselves , in several cases , bear memoranda , chiefly iu pencil , which appear to have been made , at the time of the inspection , by the Eev . Mr . Crutch , late librarian of the college , and editor of the " Oxford Annals" of Anthony a Wood , and should have been erased , —or rather not made at all ; for , we can speak to the difficulty which results from them . The printed list

, however , we take as representing the best information to be derived from the combined labours of Mr . Elmes and Mr . Crutch ; and though we have notes of many features of interest in the drawings , ivhich are not mentioned in it , we found its general accuracy , as well as grounds for opinions ivhich Mr . Elmes expresses on the

authorship of a considerable portion of the collection , established , wherever time permitted us comparison and minute inspection . Subsequent to the preparation of the matter of this article , we called to mind that some notice of drawings by Wren hacl been given many years ago at the Institute

of British Architects . All efforts , however , to refresh our recollection from printed records of proceedings of tlie Institute ivere unavailing . Wc were about to conclude that no paper had been read—at least , on the drawings at Oxford , when we came to a rough list of some of the early papers , anclafter a long searchdiscovered the

, , title of a MS . ivhich was subsequentl y found . The paper , which is by Mr . Gulch , the architect , son of the late librarian of All Souls ' , is dated Peb . 10 , IS 3 G , and is entitled " Some Account ofthe ori g inal Drawings and Designs by Inigo Jones , Sir 0 . Wren , and James Gibbs , preserved at Oxford ; with two Catalogues and Eemarks

thereupon by James Elmes , Esq ., architect . " The list of Wren ' s drawings appears to be the same ( copied in MS . ) as that in the ' " ¦ General Chronicle . " The paper includes

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