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Article THE RISE AND PURPOSES OF SPECULATIVE MASONRY. ← Page 3 of 4 Article THE RISE AND PURPOSES OF SPECULATIVE MASONRY. Page 3 of 4 →
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The Rise And Purposes Of Speculative Masonry.
I have thus , brethren , sketched the rise and purposes of Speculative or Symbolic Masonry . I confess that the outline has been but rudely drawn , and that the colours have been but faintly washed in , yet more could not have been done ;
for to have discussed at one time minutel y and forcibly the whole range of the subject embraced in the foregoing observations would have exceeded my capabilities and have exhausted your patience . We left the Grand Lodge of England re-established
under Most Worshipful Grand Master Sayer , and how widely its branches have by this time extended themselves is evidenced by the fact that it is not long since the highest Masonic anthority in England evinced perplexity as well as
gratification at the numerical increase of the order , and charged its heads in all provinces and districts to strictly enforce care and discrimination in the admission of candidates . It must not be imagined that from the date of the revival the Grand Lodge
of England Avas enabled to hold a smooth and unchequered course ; very different indeed was the fact . About 1750 a schism broke out , which divided the craft until 1813 , when by the august
influence of the Dukes of Kent and Sussex , the same Avas healed , and the United Grand Lodge of England established upon the firm basis that she has ever since enjoyed , and I trust ever will enjoy until time shall be no more . Yet truth compels
me to add that Freemasonry in Great Britain , very probably in consequence of the vast recent increase in its numbers there , and the consequent absence of necessity for the exertion of its more fervent genius , has for the time become rather a means
of elegant relaxation and a graceful and bountiful source of charity than an object of serious occupation ; but in some parts of the European continent , in the vast territories of the United States of America , amongst the populations of South
America , and in the British colonies and possessions , the craft , flourishing in all , has an unbounded field of usefulness before it ; and recognising this fact , we may content ourselves with the knowledge that Avherever freedem of thought is to be won ,
or the confines of art and civilisation extended , the lamp of Masonry , trimmed clear and bright , is zealously borne forward by numerous bands of earnest brethren .
I Avould terminate this address by some speculations , for more they cannot be called , as to the origin , UOAV some three thousand years ago , of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons . The
The Rise And Purposes Of Speculative Masonry.
traditions of the fraternity lead many to believe that the craft was founded by the first of those three great Masonic worthies whom in rude strain our ancient brethren commemorated
as"Him who most things understood , Him who found the stones and wood , And him who nobly ahed his blood Whilst doing of his duty ;" But this is true only in the sense that King SoIo » mon , of his heaven-bestowed wisdom , conferred
upon the order its organisation , and invented those signs , tokens , and Avords whereby to this hour we are enabled to guard ourselves against impostors , distinguish each other's rank in the brotherhood , and recognise Masons by night as well as by day .
The science of architecture and the art of stonecutting were no new things in Solomon's day , though little known at that time to the Jews , and tradition tells us that the great majority of the skilled workmen employed at the erection of the
first temple were not Hebrews , but Egyptians and Tyrians , most of whom , after the completion of that edifice , wandered away to other lands in search of more work . It is my belief that these non-Jewish brethren were either allied to , or that from
them sprang , the Dionysian architects , subsequently so well known in Asia Minor , and from whom in turn took their rise the Architectural
Colleges , existing in Rome long prior to and after the commencement of the Christian era . Such is the manner in which I conceive Masonry to have come down to us from the days of King Solomon . The Roman Architectural Colleges were
the foreruuners of the Teutonic and Italian Freemasons of the early and middle ages ; these first appeared in England , A . D . 287 , invited by St . Albau , and after the lapse of many centuries the fraternity was placed under an organisation by
King Athelstan and Prince Edwin , A . D . 926 . In Scotland the order dates from A . D . 1140 , when the monastery of Kilwinning was erected ; and without interruption it has since more or less prospered there , giving rise to the singular reflection that
although Masonry flourished in most parts of the continent in the middle ages , and Avas certainly translated thence to Great Britain , it has only been in that island that it has continuously preserved its vitality . The symbolic secrets of the art became
utterly lost upon the continent during the excitement and persecution which attended the Reformation , and not until after the English revival did Freemasonry revisit Fsance , Germany , and Italy ,.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Rise And Purposes Of Speculative Masonry.
I have thus , brethren , sketched the rise and purposes of Speculative or Symbolic Masonry . I confess that the outline has been but rudely drawn , and that the colours have been but faintly washed in , yet more could not have been done ;
for to have discussed at one time minutel y and forcibly the whole range of the subject embraced in the foregoing observations would have exceeded my capabilities and have exhausted your patience . We left the Grand Lodge of England re-established
under Most Worshipful Grand Master Sayer , and how widely its branches have by this time extended themselves is evidenced by the fact that it is not long since the highest Masonic anthority in England evinced perplexity as well as
gratification at the numerical increase of the order , and charged its heads in all provinces and districts to strictly enforce care and discrimination in the admission of candidates . It must not be imagined that from the date of the revival the Grand Lodge
of England Avas enabled to hold a smooth and unchequered course ; very different indeed was the fact . About 1750 a schism broke out , which divided the craft until 1813 , when by the august
influence of the Dukes of Kent and Sussex , the same Avas healed , and the United Grand Lodge of England established upon the firm basis that she has ever since enjoyed , and I trust ever will enjoy until time shall be no more . Yet truth compels
me to add that Freemasonry in Great Britain , very probably in consequence of the vast recent increase in its numbers there , and the consequent absence of necessity for the exertion of its more fervent genius , has for the time become rather a means
of elegant relaxation and a graceful and bountiful source of charity than an object of serious occupation ; but in some parts of the European continent , in the vast territories of the United States of America , amongst the populations of South
America , and in the British colonies and possessions , the craft , flourishing in all , has an unbounded field of usefulness before it ; and recognising this fact , we may content ourselves with the knowledge that Avherever freedem of thought is to be won ,
or the confines of art and civilisation extended , the lamp of Masonry , trimmed clear and bright , is zealously borne forward by numerous bands of earnest brethren .
I Avould terminate this address by some speculations , for more they cannot be called , as to the origin , UOAV some three thousand years ago , of the Society of Free and Accepted Masons . The
The Rise And Purposes Of Speculative Masonry.
traditions of the fraternity lead many to believe that the craft was founded by the first of those three great Masonic worthies whom in rude strain our ancient brethren commemorated
as"Him who most things understood , Him who found the stones and wood , And him who nobly ahed his blood Whilst doing of his duty ;" But this is true only in the sense that King SoIo » mon , of his heaven-bestowed wisdom , conferred
upon the order its organisation , and invented those signs , tokens , and Avords whereby to this hour we are enabled to guard ourselves against impostors , distinguish each other's rank in the brotherhood , and recognise Masons by night as well as by day .
The science of architecture and the art of stonecutting were no new things in Solomon's day , though little known at that time to the Jews , and tradition tells us that the great majority of the skilled workmen employed at the erection of the
first temple were not Hebrews , but Egyptians and Tyrians , most of whom , after the completion of that edifice , wandered away to other lands in search of more work . It is my belief that these non-Jewish brethren were either allied to , or that from
them sprang , the Dionysian architects , subsequently so well known in Asia Minor , and from whom in turn took their rise the Architectural
Colleges , existing in Rome long prior to and after the commencement of the Christian era . Such is the manner in which I conceive Masonry to have come down to us from the days of King Solomon . The Roman Architectural Colleges were
the foreruuners of the Teutonic and Italian Freemasons of the early and middle ages ; these first appeared in England , A . D . 287 , invited by St . Albau , and after the lapse of many centuries the fraternity was placed under an organisation by
King Athelstan and Prince Edwin , A . D . 926 . In Scotland the order dates from A . D . 1140 , when the monastery of Kilwinning was erected ; and without interruption it has since more or less prospered there , giving rise to the singular reflection that
although Masonry flourished in most parts of the continent in the middle ages , and Avas certainly translated thence to Great Britain , it has only been in that island that it has continuously preserved its vitality . The symbolic secrets of the art became
utterly lost upon the continent during the excitement and persecution which attended the Reformation , and not until after the English revival did Freemasonry revisit Fsance , Germany , and Italy ,.