fraternity, as deserving of commendation, a few eminent Masons whose names are familiarly known in this island; such as Lanfranc and Gundulph, William of Sens, W. Anglus, John of Gloucester, Irwin von Steinbach, Nicolas Walton, Robert de Skellington, Geoffery Fitzpeter, William of Wykeham, Henry Chichely, Wolsey and Cromwell, Denham, Vanburg, Sheldon, Jones, Wren, Web, Sayer, Desaguliers, Anderson, Dunckerley, and many others, who were all expert Master Masons in different ages, and their fame will never die. The Lodge Lectures have been repeatedly arranged and rearranged, to keep pace with the progress of human enlightenment; and each revision has been an improvement on its predecessor, and tended to increase the popularity and standing of the Order. The present period requires extensive alterations and additions; for as the Lectures form the real touchstone by which a true judgment may be formed of the application of Freemasonry to the requirements of an improved state of society, they ought to approximate as nearly to perfection as possible. Thirty-six years have now elapsed since the last revision; and when it is considered what rapid strides have been made during that period in the education of the people, and how extensively knowledge has been propagated, it is time our leaders began to consider the consequences of resting on their oars, while their contemporaries are pulling with might and main that they may be the first to reach the goal. From these considerations, I have suggested a plan in my First Lecture by which the united wisdom of the Craft might be brought into requisition, to remodel our ordinary Lodge Lectures on such a principle as may prove acceptable to the members, and contribute to the best interests of the Craft. As the object of the preliminary Lectures is to place Freemasonry on its true basis, and to exhibit it as an institution capable of promoting human happiness in this world, and inspiring the hope of attaining to a more perfect felicity in the next, the Second Lecture is devoted to a dissertation on the poetry and philosophy of the Order, for the purpose of showing that any attempt to become an adept in its mysteries is sure to fail, unless it be the result of a scientific research into the hidden meaning of our signs and symbols, where all our secret lore has been deposited, and in which our occult doctrines can alone be found. It has been truly said, that whatever a man most loves will constitute the poetry of his life, and the philosophy of his soul. It encourages him to admire things unknown, till admiration is turned into reality; and thus he conquers the difficulties which appeared to impede his progress to knowledge; he acquires a mastery over wonders, which distance had magnified into sublimity, and makes apparent impossibilities yield to the all powerful force of industry and per severance. Having considered the present flourishing condition of the Order, springing out of a proper understanding of its poetry and philosophy, I have proceeded, in the next place, to take a more particular view of the Lodge Lectures, as the expositors of Masonry, because its very existence depends on their adaptation to its genuine principles and practice. They consist equally of science and morals; and strongly recommend the practice of the moral and social duties of life, as a passport to the Cloudy Canopy, which is attainable by means of a Ladder, whose principle rounds or staves are Faith, Hope, and Charity. These Lectures can only be attained by persevering industry and sedulous application, for there is no such thing as an intuitive acquisition of science, as Knittel, the Jesuit, pretended. The formula being neither written nor printed, there is no alternative but to acquire a knowledge of it by oral communication from the lips of the W. M. in open lodge. As Euclid said to Alexander the Great, "There is no royal road to Geometry," so say I to the anxious Mason. And his endeavours to acquire this knowledge will be rewarded by other advantages. If industry and regularity be systematically followed, they will soon become habitual, and tend to the prosperity of all his worldly pursuits. Aide toi et le ciel t'aidera. Such was the advice of Jupiter to the clown whose cart wheel was sunk in a slough so deep that his horse was unable to extricate it. The fellow sat him down quietly on a bank, and cried out, "O, Jupiter, help me!" "Help you!" said the god. "Lay your shoulder to the wheel, you lazy hound, and endeavour to help yourself, and then you may expect assistance from me." Industry and application are therefore recommended in the Lecture under our consideration, as the only means of becoming acquainted with the details of Freemasonry, and acquiring the reputation of being, what our transatlantic brethren aptly denominate, "a bright Mason." The English fraternity is divided into two parties, both powerful from intellect and position; one of which is impressed with a conviction that Masonry will be extended and ennobled by an open promulgation of those doctrines and practices which are peculiar, but not necessarily secret; while the other section adopts the creed of those "scrupulous brethren" of the last century, who committed many valuable documents to the flames, lest they should fall into the hands of Dr. Anderson when he compiled the original Book of Constitutions by command of the Grand Lodge. These would have Freemasonry to be a stationary institution, depending solely on the faith of oral tradition; and hence they decry all disquisitions which possess a tendency to increase its influence or improve its details. I have examined the peculiar opinions of these two sections of the fraternity in detail; and it is presumed that a decision has been impartially pronounced according to their respective merits. In the Fourth Lecture we advance an important step in our investigation, by showing that the doctrines enunciated in the Lodge Lectures are consonant with the teaching of our holy religion, as its morality is explained in the inimitable Sermon on the Mount. And although Freemasonry is not a religious sect, yet it inculcates the duties which belong to every religion "in which all men agree." This constitutes the great mistake, equally of those who are ignorant of our mysteries, and of those also who have only a superficial knowledge of them. They are apt to fall into the error of taking an extreme view of the subject, and pronouncing either for one alternative or the other; either Masonry is a system of infidelity, and excludes religion altogether from its disquisitions, or it is a religious sect which would supersede the necessity of Christianity, and monopolize the office of procuring, unaided, the salvation of man. The truth, however, lies between these two propositions. Freemasonry is neither an exclusive system of religion, nor does it tolerate the detestable principles of infidelity. It is a teacher of morality, and contributes its powerful aid, in that capacity, to the salvation of souls, by recommending and enforcing the duties of the second table, and demanding an acquiescence in the doctrines of the first. And this course of discipline is perfectly consonant with the teaching of Christianity. When the lawyer asked the subtle question, "Which is the great commandment of the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself;" or in other words, this is all that is required by the Jewish law for the salvation of man. In the Fifth Lecture we enter in medias res, by shewing how we deduce occult doctrines from visible symbols; and for this purpose we commence with the most obscure emblem in Masonry, and one which has taxed the ingenuity of the Craft ever since its introduction into the Lectures. Conjecture has been very busy about the circle, point, and parallel lines; and the consequence is that all have arrived at the same end, although they have traversed different paths to attain it. The explanation of the symbol has varied, but the doctrine which has been deduced from it remains pretty nearly the same; and the reader is furnished with a detail of the several versions which have prevailed at different periods, and under the sanction of successive Grand Masters. And this will be an answer to those who think Freemasonry should remain stationary, and never deviate from the position which it occupied at its first establishment in ages far remote; but in the universal movement of Nature and Art towards that perfection which the Great Creator originally designed to bless his creatures here, as a humble taste of the glory which will be revealed hereafter, Masonry alone ought to be quiescent, and deprived of those benefits which the improvements of an enlightened age have conferred on all other institutions. It was an ancient rule of conduct given by Musonius, a heathen, that "those who are desirous of improving their morals must be continually employed in amending and reforming their lives by the improvements of philosophy." If, therefore, the fraternity refuse to profit by the advances which science and art are gradually making in every successive age, they will be worse than the heathen, who had no better guide than the light of Nature to direct their enquiries amidst the dense ignorance by which they were surrounded. If the intelligent portion of the Craft in every age of its existence had been thus bigotted, it would long ago have succumbed to the pressure on all sides, which has been arrayed against it, and have been forced out of its place like some foreign substance that had been unnaturally introduced into the human frame. But the different interpretations of the circle, point, and parallel lines, assure us that our rulers have ever considered Freemasonry to be progressive, like all other sciences, and have profited by the light which has from time to time been thrown upon it, to improve its details, and render its doctrines the pride of the fraternity, and the envy of the world. The Sixth Lecture is exclusively devoted to a consideration of the doctrines embodied in this expressive symbol. The greatest error which we discover in its interpretation, is that which confines the Deity to the centre of the circle. He is present every where; and were it possible he should withdraw the light of his countenance from any part of the universe, how small or insignificant soever it might be, not only would that locality be thrown into irretrievable confusion, but as the order and regularity of each part is essential to the support of the whole, the balance would be destroyed, and the vast fabric of Nature instantly dissolved. The least confusion but in one, not all POPE. But if the Deity were confined to the centre, he would be absent from every other part of the Universe, and thus the doctrine, that the vast machine is upheld solely by the power and providence of God, would be justly questioned, and the infidel would exult in an |