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Article WHAT WAS THE HERMETIC SOCIETY OF 1721 ? Page 1 of 3 →
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What Was The Hermetic Society Of 1721 ?
WHAT WAS THE HERMETIC SOCIETY OF 1721 ?
B \ " THE EDITOR . A GOOD deal of discussion has latel y taken place respecting Masonic Hermeticism , ancl I have therefore thought it Avell to call tbe attention of tbe readers of this magazine to that curious preface to " Long Livers , " on which tbe existence of an Hermetic Grade in 1721 is clearly asserted . Tlie
general theory is that hermetic Masonry is to be attributed to Ramsay ; but that fact is now rendered more than doubtful . Ramsay undoubtedly was the ori g inator of the cbivalric theory , and perhaps of the high grades with a Stewart leaning ; but hermetic Masonry generally seems rather tbe " outcome " of Matrinism . What Ramsay ' s real connection with French Masonry was seemsowing to Bro . Dainty ' s recent " Recherches Historiques" still more
, , difficult to say . He seems— -we agree Avith Bro . Darnt y on the evidence he has been tbe first of any Masonic writer to adduce—to have left Masonry probably about 1737 . The famous address of 1740 , on which so much has turned , seems to have been delivered really in 1737 . But then boAV are we to deal with the "fact , " first , I think , publicly made use of by Bro . Mackey , as to the evidence of " Long Livers . "
" Long Livers " is a work published in London in 1722 , by J . Holland , Bible ancl Ball , iu St . Paul's Church-yard , and L . Stoboe at Charing Cross . Tbe preface , which onl y concerns us , was published in extenso in tbe October number of the Masonic Magazine for 1876 . It is Avritten by an anonymous writer , with the pseudonym of Eugenius Philaletbes , F . R . S . —perhajis some Masonic student can identify him—and is dedicated " most humbly " to " tbe Grand MasterMastersWardensand Brethren of the Most Antient ancl
, , , Most Honourable fraternity of the Freemasons of Great Britain ancl Ireland . " Such a dedication would prima facie appear to be offered to English and Irish Craft Masonry ; but when we read his words we see at once that he also alludes to a superior organization of some kind , a higher body , a supreme degree , more exalted mysteries . I may observe here that from the beginning he assumes that Freemasonry ancl early Christianity are convertible termsand
, seems to liken tbe secret ceremonial and system of Freemasonry to the " disciplina arcani " of tbe first Christians . But as I clo not wish to lengthen my " extracts " too much , I will only HOAV transcribe those which contain the ¦ E
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
What Was The Hermetic Society Of 1721 ?
WHAT WAS THE HERMETIC SOCIETY OF 1721 ?
B \ " THE EDITOR . A GOOD deal of discussion has latel y taken place respecting Masonic Hermeticism , ancl I have therefore thought it Avell to call tbe attention of tbe readers of this magazine to that curious preface to " Long Livers , " on which tbe existence of an Hermetic Grade in 1721 is clearly asserted . Tlie
general theory is that hermetic Masonry is to be attributed to Ramsay ; but that fact is now rendered more than doubtful . Ramsay undoubtedly was the ori g inator of the cbivalric theory , and perhaps of the high grades with a Stewart leaning ; but hermetic Masonry generally seems rather tbe " outcome " of Matrinism . What Ramsay ' s real connection with French Masonry was seemsowing to Bro . Dainty ' s recent " Recherches Historiques" still more
, , difficult to say . He seems— -we agree Avith Bro . Darnt y on the evidence he has been tbe first of any Masonic writer to adduce—to have left Masonry probably about 1737 . The famous address of 1740 , on which so much has turned , seems to have been delivered really in 1737 . But then boAV are we to deal with the "fact , " first , I think , publicly made use of by Bro . Mackey , as to the evidence of " Long Livers . "
" Long Livers " is a work published in London in 1722 , by J . Holland , Bible ancl Ball , iu St . Paul's Church-yard , and L . Stoboe at Charing Cross . Tbe preface , which onl y concerns us , was published in extenso in tbe October number of the Masonic Magazine for 1876 . It is Avritten by an anonymous writer , with the pseudonym of Eugenius Philaletbes , F . R . S . —perhajis some Masonic student can identify him—and is dedicated " most humbly " to " tbe Grand MasterMastersWardensand Brethren of the Most Antient ancl
, , , Most Honourable fraternity of the Freemasons of Great Britain ancl Ireland . " Such a dedication would prima facie appear to be offered to English and Irish Craft Masonry ; but when we read his words we see at once that he also alludes to a superior organization of some kind , a higher body , a supreme degree , more exalted mysteries . I may observe here that from the beginning he assumes that Freemasonry ancl early Christianity are convertible termsand
, seems to liken tbe secret ceremonial and system of Freemasonry to the " disciplina arcani " of tbe first Christians . But as I clo not wish to lengthen my " extracts " too much , I will only HOAV transcribe those which contain the ¦ E