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Article THE FREEMASONS' REPOSITORY. ← Page 3 of 3
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The Freemasons' Repository.
thousands who were admitted intoa full participation of all the secrets . ' . Mr . Robison ' s account of the wretched condition of the men of rank and genius in France , in respect to reli gious views , appears to be just ; nor will I contend , that the swarms of sceptics which have abounded in that unhappy land for above half a century past , did not lay hold of every means to propagate infidelity among all ranks . Under this persuasion , I am far from denying , that the secret court of Masonic
assemblies mi ght be made use of for this iniquitous purpose . Religion herself , the meek , pure , and benevolent offspring of Heaven , has been often pressed into the basest of services ! - —In this very land , have men been called upon from the pulpit , in temples consecrated to the God of peace , to marshal themselves in battle array against their brethren and their king ! Shall we , therefore , attribute to the institution of the priesthood , to the national establishment of religion , or to Christianity itself , these abominable acts and their dreadful
consequences ? It is possible that a body of men , religiously associated , may at length absolutely pervert the design for which they were instituted , to the very worst of all purposes . But when others are professing the same design , shall we , on account of the apostacy of the others , suspect or coerce them r In like manner , is Masonry herself chargeable with the follies , with the ini
quities , and infidelity of any of her sons : or shall the institution beheld up to general opprobrium , because some apostatized Masons have acted in violation of their principles ? It remains to be proved , and Mr . Robison is called upon to prove it , that the institution is , of itself , favourable to scepticism and insurrection . He has covertly made the assertion , but it disgraces him , because he . has done it in the way of sneer , without advancing any thing like evidence either external or internal .
To make men enthusiasts , in order to prepare them for becoming sceptics , is rather an odd sort of process , much like that of the affinity between Jesuitism and infidelity . But according to our ingenious philosopher , this was the precise plan adopted by the designing unbelievers in France , to spread the wretched poison of Pyrrhonism . They brought into Freemasonry ail the whimsies of the Cabala . The Chevalier Ramsay is represented as having had a principal hand in
this curious business . The Chevalier , every body knows , was far indeed from being an infidel . Pie was a warm advocate for revelation , though he undoubtedly held many fanciful notions . ' But to . charge this worthy and ingenious man with any design in favour of free-thinking properly so called , is just as becoming as it would be to bring the like accusation against his friend , the excellent FENELON . fTO BE CONCLUDED IN OUR NEXT . )]
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Repository.
thousands who were admitted intoa full participation of all the secrets . ' . Mr . Robison ' s account of the wretched condition of the men of rank and genius in France , in respect to reli gious views , appears to be just ; nor will I contend , that the swarms of sceptics which have abounded in that unhappy land for above half a century past , did not lay hold of every means to propagate infidelity among all ranks . Under this persuasion , I am far from denying , that the secret court of Masonic
assemblies mi ght be made use of for this iniquitous purpose . Religion herself , the meek , pure , and benevolent offspring of Heaven , has been often pressed into the basest of services ! - —In this very land , have men been called upon from the pulpit , in temples consecrated to the God of peace , to marshal themselves in battle array against their brethren and their king ! Shall we , therefore , attribute to the institution of the priesthood , to the national establishment of religion , or to Christianity itself , these abominable acts and their dreadful
consequences ? It is possible that a body of men , religiously associated , may at length absolutely pervert the design for which they were instituted , to the very worst of all purposes . But when others are professing the same design , shall we , on account of the apostacy of the others , suspect or coerce them r In like manner , is Masonry herself chargeable with the follies , with the ini
quities , and infidelity of any of her sons : or shall the institution beheld up to general opprobrium , because some apostatized Masons have acted in violation of their principles ? It remains to be proved , and Mr . Robison is called upon to prove it , that the institution is , of itself , favourable to scepticism and insurrection . He has covertly made the assertion , but it disgraces him , because he . has done it in the way of sneer , without advancing any thing like evidence either external or internal .
To make men enthusiasts , in order to prepare them for becoming sceptics , is rather an odd sort of process , much like that of the affinity between Jesuitism and infidelity . But according to our ingenious philosopher , this was the precise plan adopted by the designing unbelievers in France , to spread the wretched poison of Pyrrhonism . They brought into Freemasonry ail the whimsies of the Cabala . The Chevalier Ramsay is represented as having had a principal hand in
this curious business . The Chevalier , every body knows , was far indeed from being an infidel . Pie was a warm advocate for revelation , though he undoubtedly held many fanciful notions . ' But to . charge this worthy and ingenious man with any design in favour of free-thinking properly so called , is just as becoming as it would be to bring the like accusation against his friend , the excellent FENELON . fTO BE CONCLUDED IN OUR NEXT . )]