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On Freemasonry. The Spurious Freemasonry Of Ancient Times.
ON FREEMASONRY . THE SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY OF ANCIENT TIMES .
( No . VI . ) BY THE REV . G . OLIVER , D . D . IN all public institutions some form of admission has ever been adopted , with an approach to sublimity proportioned to
the rank and importance which each society may sustain in public estimation . In most cases the ceremony is preceded by a ballot to ascertain whether the proposed candidate may be acceptable to the members at large ; that harmony may not be interrupted , nor discord fomented , by the introduction of improper persons . This being satisfactorily arranged ,
admission is accompanied with various degrees of solemnity , from the simple signature of a name , to the imposing rite of initiation into Masonry , or the solemn ceremony of appropriating a candidate for the ministry to God's service by episcopal ordination . Such have been the usages of society from the earliest times ; and I am persuaded that the pure Freemasonry of
our antediluvian Brethren was accompanied by a characteristic rite of initiation , which forcibly impressed on the candidate's enquiring mind an historical legend or tradition , which it was of the utmost consequence should be preserved ; and was hence transmitted through those ages when letters or alphabetical characters were unknown , and oral
communication could alone be adopted as a method of recording past events . The length to which human life was extended , rendered such a course equally simple and effective ; nor do any doubts exist that this Freemasonry ( so to call it ) was deteriorated in the slightest degree , either in its facts or ceremonies , while it remained in the custody of the pure and
holy race who erected their superstructure on the firm and solid basis of the being and attributes of God . I am restricted by obligations the most sacred , from attempting to describe this ceremonial , or to name the legend on which it was founded ; yet every Brother who is in the habit of investigating the true nature and tendency of the science into VOL . V . 3 I
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Freemasonry. The Spurious Freemasonry Of Ancient Times.
ON FREEMASONRY . THE SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY OF ANCIENT TIMES .
( No . VI . ) BY THE REV . G . OLIVER , D . D . IN all public institutions some form of admission has ever been adopted , with an approach to sublimity proportioned to
the rank and importance which each society may sustain in public estimation . In most cases the ceremony is preceded by a ballot to ascertain whether the proposed candidate may be acceptable to the members at large ; that harmony may not be interrupted , nor discord fomented , by the introduction of improper persons . This being satisfactorily arranged ,
admission is accompanied with various degrees of solemnity , from the simple signature of a name , to the imposing rite of initiation into Masonry , or the solemn ceremony of appropriating a candidate for the ministry to God's service by episcopal ordination . Such have been the usages of society from the earliest times ; and I am persuaded that the pure Freemasonry of
our antediluvian Brethren was accompanied by a characteristic rite of initiation , which forcibly impressed on the candidate's enquiring mind an historical legend or tradition , which it was of the utmost consequence should be preserved ; and was hence transmitted through those ages when letters or alphabetical characters were unknown , and oral
communication could alone be adopted as a method of recording past events . The length to which human life was extended , rendered such a course equally simple and effective ; nor do any doubts exist that this Freemasonry ( so to call it ) was deteriorated in the slightest degree , either in its facts or ceremonies , while it remained in the custody of the pure and
holy race who erected their superstructure on the firm and solid basis of the being and attributes of God . I am restricted by obligations the most sacred , from attempting to describe this ceremonial , or to name the legend on which it was founded ; yet every Brother who is in the habit of investigating the true nature and tendency of the science into VOL . V . 3 I