An Analysis Of Ancient And Modern Freemasonry.

AN ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT AND MODERN FREEMASONRY .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MAT 9 , 1868 .

By Bro . WILLIAM JAMES HOTJHAN , W . M ., 131 , Truro , Cornwall . ( Oontinuid from page 268 . ) MODERN FREEMASONRY . We feel wholly unable to trace the variations

made iu the lectures or authorised working from the revival until now , with the accuracy ancl precision to be desired . Many of the materials requisite for such a sketch , are buried in the great forgotten past , and much that exists now is so

distributed over the four quarters of the globe as almost to defy arrangement aud order , neither can we spare the necessary time for so lengthy an investigation . Hence we merely intend glancing at the subject , ¦ in the hope that some one better

qualified than the writer will endeavour to collect the scattered elements of Masonic history and unite them , so as to form a building full of symmetry and consistency for the benefit of the Graft universal .

We are informed by the late Bro . the Rev . Dr . Oliver that , " ' there were no prescribed lectures before A . D . 1717 , but every Master of a lodge exhorted his brethren to the practice of moral virtues in short and extemporaneous addresses , according

to the capacity , and adapted to the comprehension of the brethren and state of the lodge /' ' He also mentions that there are cogent reasons for believing that primitive Freemasonry had but one O . B . for all the three degrees . ( Vide Symbol of

Glory . ) We are inclined ; to accept this theory as correct , as it accords with the following statements which have been gleaned from authentic sources , and still more induces us to reject the theory that the Masters degree existed before the eighteenth

century , for it was not until A . D . 1720 that Bro . Dr . Desaguliers ancl Dr . Anderson first arranged the lectures in a catechetical form . The arrangement however was found to be so incomplete that they were revised b y Bro . Martin

Clare , M . A . and F . B . S ., A . D . 1732 . This brother was subsequently made a Grand Warden , then Deputy Grand Master A . D . 1740 , and seems to have had considerable influence over the Craft as a learned lecturer and accomplished Mason . The lectures were again revised and extended hy Bro .

Thomas Dunkerley , the most eminent Mason of his age . This able brother has the credit (?) of " disarranging the landmarks by transferring ths Master's word to a subsidiary degree , " as the seceding Masons had done before , the success of which innovation was remarkable . From an

unrecognised Royal Arch degree up to A . D . 1813 , it was then and afterwards accepted as " Pure and Ancient Freemasonry , " although unadopted , and virtually unknown and unrecognised hy the Grand Lodge for nearly a century before . As Dr . Oliver

says , " Time has effected wondrous changes . Tho crab has ripened into a most delicious fruit , and the improved Eoyal Arch degree is now considered the perfection of Masonry . " ( Revelations of a Square Page 135 . ) The lectures have always

been " elementary , " and thus were never intended to be considered a thorough aud complete system of science and morals .

They however " certainly breathe the fresh air of the early ages , and contain the essence ( though much diluted ) of those pure principles which cemented our ancient brethren , and gave them the influence they undoubtedly possessed over

the uncultivated spirits of the age iu which they lived . " Each successive period of Freemasonry found the rituals deficient in modern illustration and effect , hence their revision was founded on a

philosophical basis and according to the necessary laws of process ; although whilst admitting the desirability of a revision , we do not thereby agree with the revision made , for undoubtedly in more than one instance , what was considered an

improvement was at the expense of departing from an ancient landmark , and consequently of neglecting the ancient customs of the Craft for modern innovations .

Masonry can no more be at a standstill than science generally , ancl it were folly indeed to refuse the advantages obtainable from the continuous and earnest investigations of learned Masons of the present day , on the plea that Masonry knows no

change , yet too much care cannot be exercised in such a work , and those who are the votaries of Masonic conservatism [ should receive due attention , as well as those who are solicitous for reform . Let full credit for sincerity be given to each party ,

and before accepting any explanation , theory , or fact , let no pains be spared to verify them . Something more than a mere verbal knowledge of our ceremonies is requisite to constitute a bright