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Article GLAGOW CATHEDRAL. ← Page 2 of 2 Article GLAGOW CATHEDRAL. Page 2 of 2 Article CORRESPONDENCE. Page 1 of 1
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Glagow Cathedral.
the edge , that is on the thickness , there is some curious antique carving . I do not know if there be anything in the idea or not , but it has struck my fancy that this stone may have , at one time , lain inside the cathedral , within what is known as " St . Mungo ' s shrine , " in tbe crypt ; but after tbe Reformation it had been displaced . This shrine was enclosed b y four
beautiful stone pillars , with a fine groined arch above , the boss in centre of which represents a wreath of some sort of leaves which I could not distinguish . A gentleman mentioned he considered them to be oak leaves , but I cannot say . In centre of wreath are fishes , with the tail of the one in the mouth of the other . I could not distinguish them quite as clearly as I should have liked for want of a ladder . The shrine
seems to have been beautifully painted , as there are still some remnants of the paint left . The capitals of the pillars , however , are sadly mutilated . It was , perhaps , rather childish conduct of the Reformers to wreak their vengeance on the defenceless stones . If the furniture did not please them , they might have been content with making a bonfire of itwithout also smashing the
, house . They might have cleaned it without breaking it ; just as a Protestant church now worships in the choir none the less earnestly that it is still in a good state of preservation .. However , the character of the worship is of more importance than the character of the building and the teaching of the simple Gospel by
honest , truehearted , and clear-headed men , far more honouring to God and useful to man than all the worthless pomp and pageantry exhibited by the vanity of those who , forgetting the example set by their Lord and Master , and seemingly unconscious of the fact that the age of show is pastand the era of worh
, began . Let the people once begin to think in a common sense manner , and clear eyes of the dust so long thrown into them , and no amount of tinsel can thereafter pass for gold . —W . P . BUCHAN .
THE TEJtriiABS ANT ) FEEEMASOXEY . I wish I coald agree with the " Student , " at page 450 ; hut I regret to say that , with much inquiry , I am unable to concur in his half-expressed opinion , and am obliged to " go into the same lobby' ' with " Historicus . " I gather from "Student ' s" communication that he has not met with the form of
reception of the early Templars . If this be so , he will find it in a little book called , "The Secret Societies of the Middle Ages , published by C . Cox , 12 , King Williamstreet , Strand , 18-18 . It is to he found in other books , but this is the one which first occurs to me . I shall he obliged if " Student" will kindly say what is the
evidence to prove that the secret ritual of the operative Order was known to , and more or less directed by , the monastic Orders ? I assume that he here means the orders of knighthood which had a monastic constitution . At the conclusion of his letter , "Student " makes a slight allusion to the Order of St . John , and
refers to a communication iu " Notes and Queries " some years since , from the American consul , said to he to the effect that " no one but a Freemason could understand the archives" preserved at Malta . I have been a reader of " Notes and Queries , " but I do not remember this statement . I recollect , perhaps , two letters from the American consul ( the late Mr . Winthrop , who died about six months since ) ; but if lam right , I think they only went so far as saying that
Glagow Cathedral.
the Masonic emblems are plentifully found in the architectural ornaments of Malta . That the most valuable archives preserved in the library at Malta can be perfectly well understood by others than Freemasons is attested by the very interesting return of Hospitaller Lands made to the Grand Master at Malta by Prior Phili p de Thame ( Grand Prior of England
1335 ) , published by the Camden Society , as well as by the labours of Colonel Whitworth Porter , and the researches of the late Sir Luigi Yella , Gr . C . M . G-., LL . D , the accomplished librarian at Malta , who died recently . Possibly some Templars may have been admitted to the operative Masonic Orderas many
gen-, tlemen have been admitted to various operative guilds at different periods , and probably many Knights of St . John may have been initiated in the same manner . One writer says , " The G-rand Master of the Order at Malta caused the Bull of Clement XII . to be published in that island , and forbade the meetings of the
Freemasons . On this occasion several knights and many citizens left the island , and in 1741 the Inquisition pursued the Freemasons at Malta . The Grand Master proscribed their assemblies under severe penalties , and six knights were banished from the island in perpetuity , for having assisted at a meeting . " There
was no secret reception of the Knights of St . John ; There was and is a ceremonial , but not of the character of a secret reception . Most of it may he seen in the newspapers once a year , when receptions take place in the cathedral at Berlin . It is also in use in all the existing branches of the venerable Order of St . John . —LUPUS .
SOLOMON—ZBEUBBABEL . A brother at Manchester asks two questions—1 st , Was true Freemasonry possible amongst the Jews in the days of Solomon ? Next , Was it possible amongst them in the days of Zerubbabel ? My answer to the first question is , No . My answer to the second question is , Yes . — CHABLES PUETON COOPEE .
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondent SOCIETIES OF FREETHINKERS IN ITALY .. TO THE EDITOK OE TIIE rEEEMJASOXS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIHROK . Dear Sir and Brother , — -The societies of Freethinkers in Italy are not societies of Freemasonsas it has
, lately more than once been asserted . The following 1 account of societies of Freethinkers in Italy is taken from a note to a paper by Professor Delpino , of Florence , on the Darwinian Theory of Pangenesis which will be found in Scientific Opinion , Oct . 13 th , 1869 : — " We live in times whenby an incredible deficiency
, of judgment , we see acted the strangest things that it is possible to imagine . There have sprung up here and there in Italy so-called Societies of Freethinkers . Now , to be admitted into one of these congregations , one of the most highly applauded titles is the profession of the crudest materialismor of that system
, which leads directly to the absolute negation of liberty and thought— -that is to say , farewell to the two elements which constitute the very idea of a true Freethinker . Tours fraternally , CHAELES PUETOH' COOPEE .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Glagow Cathedral.
the edge , that is on the thickness , there is some curious antique carving . I do not know if there be anything in the idea or not , but it has struck my fancy that this stone may have , at one time , lain inside the cathedral , within what is known as " St . Mungo ' s shrine , " in tbe crypt ; but after tbe Reformation it had been displaced . This shrine was enclosed b y four
beautiful stone pillars , with a fine groined arch above , the boss in centre of which represents a wreath of some sort of leaves which I could not distinguish . A gentleman mentioned he considered them to be oak leaves , but I cannot say . In centre of wreath are fishes , with the tail of the one in the mouth of the other . I could not distinguish them quite as clearly as I should have liked for want of a ladder . The shrine
seems to have been beautifully painted , as there are still some remnants of the paint left . The capitals of the pillars , however , are sadly mutilated . It was , perhaps , rather childish conduct of the Reformers to wreak their vengeance on the defenceless stones . If the furniture did not please them , they might have been content with making a bonfire of itwithout also smashing the
, house . They might have cleaned it without breaking it ; just as a Protestant church now worships in the choir none the less earnestly that it is still in a good state of preservation .. However , the character of the worship is of more importance than the character of the building and the teaching of the simple Gospel by
honest , truehearted , and clear-headed men , far more honouring to God and useful to man than all the worthless pomp and pageantry exhibited by the vanity of those who , forgetting the example set by their Lord and Master , and seemingly unconscious of the fact that the age of show is pastand the era of worh
, began . Let the people once begin to think in a common sense manner , and clear eyes of the dust so long thrown into them , and no amount of tinsel can thereafter pass for gold . —W . P . BUCHAN .
THE TEJtriiABS ANT ) FEEEMASOXEY . I wish I coald agree with the " Student , " at page 450 ; hut I regret to say that , with much inquiry , I am unable to concur in his half-expressed opinion , and am obliged to " go into the same lobby' ' with " Historicus . " I gather from "Student ' s" communication that he has not met with the form of
reception of the early Templars . If this be so , he will find it in a little book called , "The Secret Societies of the Middle Ages , published by C . Cox , 12 , King Williamstreet , Strand , 18-18 . It is to he found in other books , but this is the one which first occurs to me . I shall he obliged if " Student" will kindly say what is the
evidence to prove that the secret ritual of the operative Order was known to , and more or less directed by , the monastic Orders ? I assume that he here means the orders of knighthood which had a monastic constitution . At the conclusion of his letter , "Student " makes a slight allusion to the Order of St . John , and
refers to a communication iu " Notes and Queries " some years since , from the American consul , said to he to the effect that " no one but a Freemason could understand the archives" preserved at Malta . I have been a reader of " Notes and Queries , " but I do not remember this statement . I recollect , perhaps , two letters from the American consul ( the late Mr . Winthrop , who died about six months since ) ; but if lam right , I think they only went so far as saying that
Glagow Cathedral.
the Masonic emblems are plentifully found in the architectural ornaments of Malta . That the most valuable archives preserved in the library at Malta can be perfectly well understood by others than Freemasons is attested by the very interesting return of Hospitaller Lands made to the Grand Master at Malta by Prior Phili p de Thame ( Grand Prior of England
1335 ) , published by the Camden Society , as well as by the labours of Colonel Whitworth Porter , and the researches of the late Sir Luigi Yella , Gr . C . M . G-., LL . D , the accomplished librarian at Malta , who died recently . Possibly some Templars may have been admitted to the operative Masonic Orderas many
gen-, tlemen have been admitted to various operative guilds at different periods , and probably many Knights of St . John may have been initiated in the same manner . One writer says , " The G-rand Master of the Order at Malta caused the Bull of Clement XII . to be published in that island , and forbade the meetings of the
Freemasons . On this occasion several knights and many citizens left the island , and in 1741 the Inquisition pursued the Freemasons at Malta . The Grand Master proscribed their assemblies under severe penalties , and six knights were banished from the island in perpetuity , for having assisted at a meeting . " There
was no secret reception of the Knights of St . John ; There was and is a ceremonial , but not of the character of a secret reception . Most of it may he seen in the newspapers once a year , when receptions take place in the cathedral at Berlin . It is also in use in all the existing branches of the venerable Order of St . John . —LUPUS .
SOLOMON—ZBEUBBABEL . A brother at Manchester asks two questions—1 st , Was true Freemasonry possible amongst the Jews in the days of Solomon ? Next , Was it possible amongst them in the days of Zerubbabel ? My answer to the first question is , No . My answer to the second question is , Yes . — CHABLES PUETON COOPEE .
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed by Correspondent SOCIETIES OF FREETHINKERS IN ITALY .. TO THE EDITOK OE TIIE rEEEMJASOXS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIHROK . Dear Sir and Brother , — -The societies of Freethinkers in Italy are not societies of Freemasonsas it has
, lately more than once been asserted . The following 1 account of societies of Freethinkers in Italy is taken from a note to a paper by Professor Delpino , of Florence , on the Darwinian Theory of Pangenesis which will be found in Scientific Opinion , Oct . 13 th , 1869 : — " We live in times whenby an incredible deficiency
, of judgment , we see acted the strangest things that it is possible to imagine . There have sprung up here and there in Italy so-called Societies of Freethinkers . Now , to be admitted into one of these congregations , one of the most highly applauded titles is the profession of the crudest materialismor of that system
, which leads directly to the absolute negation of liberty and thought— -that is to say , farewell to the two elements which constitute the very idea of a true Freethinker . Tours fraternally , CHAELES PUETOH' COOPEE .