337 
 
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 17 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
.ANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LEGENDS 
 
 OF 
 
 FREEMASONRY 
 
 A Lecture read at the West Kent Lodge on 
 January 26th, 1907, by EDMUND H. DRING 
 229, 1297, 2076 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 1907 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030276426 
 
LANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LEGENDS 
 
 OF 
 
 FREEMASONRY 
 
 A Lecture read at the West Kent Lodge on 
 January 2^th, 1907, by Ed^iund H. Dring 
 229, 1297, 2076. 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED 
 
 1907 
 
^3 
 
 3 ^1 
 
 ^:i6 B 
 
Landmarks in the History of the 
 Legends of Freemasonry 
 
 It is my intention to put before you briefly the prominent 
 landmarks that point out the method by which our 
 Masonic Legendary History was developed. Although 
 I can only treat the subject very superficially, I hope 
 that I shall be able to arouse such a curiosity in some 
 of the younger members of the lodge as to incite them 
 to study the subject for themselves. 
 
 The great importance attached to the Legendary 
 History arises from the following causes : 
 
 Firstly. It is the only existing authority we have for 
 the traditions and allegories which are found in the Craft 
 Ritual. 
 
 Secondly. That a study of it shews how those traditions 
 and legends, commencing on a simple and modest scale, 
 gradually became extended and in some instances finally 
 distorted. 
 
 Thirdly. Because the MSS. of the Legendary History 
 are the real sources for acquiring any knowledge of Free- 
 masonry up to the end of the sixteenth century. Other 
 sources are so fragmentary that they only lend them- 
 selves to inductive or speculative theories. 
 
 Although it may be thought that they have no connec- 
 tion with Freemasonry, it will be necessary for us to give 
 a glance at the early mediasval Gilds of England, most of 
 which have either ceased to exist or are represented by 
 the various City Companies and Corporations. 
 
 The doctrines of Free Trade are still in their infancy, 
 
4 
 but the doctrines of tribal and corporate combination 
 for mutual support in time of aggression and for defence 
 from outside competition in time of peace have been 
 deeply ingrafted into humanity since very early times. 
 
 So far back as the ninth century we find in England 
 traces of Merchant-Gilds, i.e., combinations of the mer- 
 chants in a tow^n formed, perhaps, primarily against the 
 extortion and tyranny of nobles, but subsequently directed 
 against the competition of, and in>ports from, merchants in 
 neighbouring towns, each Gild levying fees on merchants 
 coming from outside who wished to trade in the Gild- 
 town, and charging dues on imported products not raised 
 by their own members. 
 
 In course of time the benefits accruing from these 
 Merchant-Gilds were coveted by the craftsmen of the 
 various cities, who in their turn combined together into 
 Craft-Gilds for their benefit and defence. Originally 
 they were small law-abiding bodies, but eventually they 
 became so powerful that they were able to extract 
 charters of corporation from various Kings of England, 
 who in their turn retaliated by passing various enact- 
 ments confining the operations of the Gilds. The Trade 
 Unions of the present day stand in a somewhat similar 
 position longo intervallo as did the mediasval Craft-Gilds. 
 
 While many of these Craft-Gilds were greatly under 
 the influence of the Church, and in some cases affiliated 
 to her, there existed side by side with them various kinds 
 of Religious Gilds entirely controlled by the Church, 
 some of which were wholly given up to devotional 
 exercises and religious services, others only partially. 
 Amongst the latter mentioned by Brentano,* are the 
 
 * English Gilds, hy Brenta.no a.nd others. E. E. T. S. 1870. See 
 also Gross, the Gild Merchant, and Bateson's Cambridge Gild 
 Records. 
 
Corpus Christi Gild at York, the Gild of the Lord's 
 Prayer at York (for the performance of Mystery Plays), 
 the Gild at Stamford for the performance of secular 
 plays, and the Gild for building the Chapel of S. Gertrude. 
 There is not sufficient evidence at present to enable 
 one to determine the particular class* of Gild with which 
 our first landmark was connected, but in any case it was 
 one that was much indebted to the Church for its moral 
 and religious character. 
 
 Our first landmark is the Regius MS. (Reg. 17 A i) 
 preserved in the British Museum, a facsimile of which 
 I exhibit. It is the earliest MS. record we have of 
 any code of regulations in connection with masonry, and 
 there is no doubt that this code is an early form of those 
 obligations which all Freemasons and Installed Masters 
 take at the present time. Although there is not much 
 doubt that the volume was consulted by the early eighteenth 
 century masonic authorities, it lay unrecognized from 
 the time it entered into the British Museum until 1839 
 {i.e., about eighty years) when Halliwell-Phillips redis- 
 covered the precious little volume, and read a paper on 
 it at the Society of Antiquaries. 
 
 The contents of the MS. may be briefly described as 
 consisting of: — 
 
 Firstly. An account of the great importance and 
 antiquity of Masonry. 
 
 Secondly. Various precepts and rules of conduct to 
 be observed of all fellows of the craft t (such as might 
 
 * Our present knowledge does not even permit us to classify the 
 Gilds themselves definitely. 
 
 f In a similar manner a youth on being entered as an apprentice 
 at the London Guild-hall is presented with a volume of precepts. 
 At the time when the Regius MS. was written these were probably 
 read or recited to the candidate. 
 
6 
 
 well have been recited or read to a youth on being 
 apprenticed). 
 
 The first division is the one that specially interests us 
 this evening, as 'it contains the earliest form of the 
 Legendary History which afterwards assumed such 
 large proportions and importance. But in the present 
 instance it is conspicuous by its simplicity and modesty. 
 
 It states that : — 
 
 Good masonry is derived from good geometry which 
 was found out by Euclid. 
 
 Line 57. 
 Yn egypte he taw3hte hyt ful wyde 
 Yn dyuers londe on euery syde 
 Mony erys aftwrwarde y undwrstonde 
 jer y ]>e craft com ynto ]7ys londe 
 jjys craft com yn to englond as y 30W say 
 Yn tyme of good kynge adelstonws day 
 He made ]>o bo)je halle and eke bowre 
 And hye templus of gret honowre 
 To sportyn hym yn bo)?e day and nyjth 
 An to worschepe hys god w* alle hys myjth. 
 
 It then states that King Athelstan, in order to amend 
 various faults in the craft, called together an assembly of 
 divers Lords, Dukes, Earls, Barons, Knights, Squires, 
 and many more, which ordained articles and points for 
 the governance of the craft ; and that the assembly be 
 called every year or every three years as found necessary, 
 to amend faults. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the masonic legend of the 
 earliest MS. is extremely simple, and may be divided 
 into four heads : — 
 
 That Masonry was derived from Geometry ; 
 
 That Geometry was invented by Euclid in Egypt ; 
 
That it was introduced into England ; 
 
 That King Athelstan fostered the craft, called an 
 assembly, and ordained that it should meet at intervals. 
 
 Although it does not quite come within the limits of 
 my subject this evening, I think it would be well to spare 
 a few minutes in the consideration of the second portion 
 of the manuscript, which contains the precepts and rules 
 of conduct which are the foundation of those rules which 
 still guide Freemasons throughout the universe. 
 
 The points to be observed by the apprentice are briefly 
 as follows : — 
 
 1. ' He most loue wel god and holy churche algate 
 
 And hys maystwr also y he ys wythe ' (also his 
 fellows) . 
 
 2. ' Trwly to labruw on hys dede 
 
 Wel deserue to haue hys mede.' 
 
 3. ' Hys maystMr conwsel he kepe and close 
 
 ]>e preuetyse of ]>e chambw^ telle he no mon 
 Ny yn ])e logge, what seuer fey done 
 Whatseue/ ]7ou heryst or syste hem do 
 Telle hyt no mon, wher seu^r {^ou go ' 
 
 4. ' ]7at no mon to hys craft be false.' 
 
 5. ')>at whenne Ife mason taketh hys pay .... 
 
 Ful mekely y take.' 
 
 1. He must love well God and holy church in all ways and his master 
 
 also that he is with (also his fellows). 
 
 2. Truly to labour on his deed (work) [so as] to well deserve his 
 
 reward. 
 
 3. His master's counsel to keep close, to tell no man the secrets of the 
 
 chamber, nor whatsoever they do in the lodge, nor whatsoever 
 thou hearest or seest them do, tell it no man wheresoever thou go. 
 (In this as in the other modernisations I have kept as near to the 
 original as possible. E. H. D.) 
 
 4. That no man to his craft be false. 
 
 5. That when the mason taketh his pay, full meekly it take. 
 
' But loueday jet schul |>ey make none 
 Tyl ]>at ]>e werke day be clene a gone 
 Apon ]>e holy day je mowe wel take 
 Leyser y nowjgh loueday to make.' 
 
 ']70u schal not by ]>y maystres wyf ly 
 Ny by ]>y felows yn no maner wyse 
 Lest ]?e craft wolde ]>e despyse 
 Ny by ]>y felows concubyne 
 No more ]70U woldest he dede by ]7yne.' 
 
 ' Undwr ]>y maystwr ]?ou be trwe 
 For ]>B.t poynt ]?ou sclialt neuer arewe 
 A trwe medyatwr ]?ou most nede be 
 To ]>y ma.ystur and ]>y felows fre ' 
 
 g. ' J^at he be stwarde of oure haile 
 
 Weke aftwr weke w* oute dowte 
 
 jet good acowntes he most make 
 Of suche godes as he hath y take 
 Of ]>y felows goodes Y ]>ou hast spende 
 Wher and how and to what ende 
 Suche acowntes ]7ou most come to 
 Whenne ]>y felows wollen y jjou do.' 
 
 But loveday (i.e. holiday) yet shall they make none until the work 
 day be clean gone. Upon the holy-day ye may take leisure 
 enough to make loveday. 
 
 The word " felows " in line 2 is doubtless intended to be read in the 
 possessive case. 
 
 Under thy master be thou true, for of that point thou shalt never 
 repent. A true mediator thou must need be between thy master 
 and thy fellows free. 
 
 That he be steward of our hall week after week without a doubt. 
 He must keep good accounts of such goods as he hath taken, of 
 what thou hast spent of thy fellows' goods, shewing where how 
 and to what end [they have been used]. Such accounts thou 
 must produce when thy fellows will it. 
 
9 
 
 10. ' For and ]>e mason lyue a mysse 
 
 And yn hys werk be false y wysse ... 
 To ])e nexte semble je schul hym calle, 
 To apere byfore hys felows alle.' 
 
 11. ']7at syjth hys felow he wen on a ston 
 
 And ys yn poynt to spylle ]7at ston 
 . . . teche hym esely hyt to amende 
 Wyth fayre wordes ]7* god l^e hath lende ' 
 
 12. ']>e twelj^e poynt ys of gret ryolte 
 
 ]>er as ]>e semble y holde schal be 
 ]?er schul be maystrys and felows also 
 And o]>ur grete lordes mony mo 
 ]?er schal be ]>e scheref of J'at centre 
 And also ]>e meyr of ]7at syte 
 Knyjtes and sqwyers ]>[er schjul be 
 And o]>ur aldermen as je s[ch]ul se, 
 Suche ordynance as ]>ey maken ]>ere 
 ]>ey schul maynte hyt hoi y fere.' 
 
 13. ' He schal swere nener to be no j^ef 
 
 Ny soker hym yn hys fals craft ' 
 
 10. For if the (i.e., a) mason live amiss and in his work be false you 
 shall certainly call him to the next assembly to appear before all 
 
 ■ his fellows. 
 
 11. [He] that seeth his fellow hew on a stone and is on the point to 
 spoil that stone, teach him quietly how to amend [his fault] with 
 [such] fair words as God hath lent thee. 
 
 12. The twelfth point is of great royalty (i.e., importance). At the 
 assembly which shall be held there shall be masters and fellows 
 also: and many more other great lords. There shall be the 
 sheriff of that country (or district) and also the mayor of that 
 city, Knights and Squires there shall be, and other aldermen as 
 ye shall see. Such ordinances as they make there, they (ye) 
 shall maintain it in every way. 
 
 13. He shall swear never to be a thief nor succour him {i.e., one that 
 is) in his false work. 
 
10 
 
 14- ' He most be stedefast and trwe also 
 
 To alle Jjys ordynance wherseuer he go ... • 
 And air ]>ese poyntes hyr before 
 To hem ]?ou most nede be y swore.' 
 
 15. ' For J»ylke J"' ben unbuxom y wysse 
 
 A^eynws ]>e ordynance ... of j^ese artyculus 
 
 And for here gultes no mendys wol make 
 ]?enne most J'ey nede Ipe craft for sake.' 
 
 14. He must be steadfast and also true to all the ordinances where- 
 soever he go. To all the before [cited] points thou must be sworn. 
 
 15. For such as be certainly faithless to the ordinance of these articles, 
 and for their guilt will make no amends, then must they need the 
 craft forsake. 
 
 The articles for the master mason are as follows : — 
 
 I. ']>e furste artycul of ]7ys gemetry 
 
 J>e maystwr mason moste be ful securly 
 Bo]?e stedefast trusty and trwe 
 Hyt schal hym nener )?enne arewe 
 And pay J»y felows aitur J»e coste 
 As vytaylys goth ]?enne, wel ]>^ woste 
 And pay hem trwly apon ]>y fay 
 What Y ]>ey deseruen may.' 
 
 II. ' ]>a.t every maystMr J^at ys a mason 
 
 Most ben at ]ie generals congregacyon . . . 
 But he haue a resenabul skwsacyon.' 
 
 1. The first article of this geometry : The master must be full securely 
 
 both steadfast trusty and true, he shall then never have cause to 
 be sorry. Pay thy fellows according as the cost of victuals goeth 
 then — well thou knowest. Pay them truly upon thy faith what 
 they may deserve. 
 
 2. That every master that is a mason must be at the general 
 
 congregation unless he have a reasonable excuse. 
 
II 
 
 III. ' )7at ^e maystwr take to no prentysse 
 
 But he haue good seuerans to dwelle 
 Seuen jer w' hym as y 30W telle 
 Hys craft to lurne . . .' 
 
 IV. ' ]7at ]>e maystMr hym wel be se 
 
 ]?at he no bonde mon prentys make ' 
 V. ' ]>e maystMr schal not for no vantage 
 Make no prentes J>at ys outrage .... 
 To J>e craft hyt were gret schame 
 To make an halt mon and a lame . . .' 
 VI. ' ]7at J»e maystMr do J>e lord no pergedysse 
 To take of J»e lord for hyse prentyse 
 
 Also muche as hys felows don ' 
 
 VII. ' ]7at no maystMr for favowr ny drede 
 Schal no J^ef now]?Mr cloj^e ny fede ' 
 VIII. ' jef ]>' he haue any mon of crafte 
 And be not also perfyt as he au3te 
 He may hym change sone a non 
 And take for hym a perfytur mon.' 
 
 IX. ' ]>a.t no werke he undur take 
 
 But he conne bol^e hyt ende and make ' 
 
 3. That the master take no apprentice unless he have good assurance 
 
 that he (the apprentice) will dwell with him seven years to learn 
 his craft, as I you tell. 
 
 4. That the master be careful not to make a bondman an apprentice. 
 
 5. That for no consideration shall a master make a deformed person 
 
 an apprentice. It were a great shame to the craft to make a halt 
 or lame man [a member]. (This is the reason for certain 'pre- 
 parations ' and ' taking notice ' that are in use at the present day.) 
 
 6. That the master do not prejudice his lord by taking as much hire 
 
 for the apprentice as for his fellows (who be full perfect.) 
 
 7. That neither for favour or fear shall a master clothe or feed a thief. 
 
 8. If that he have any workman who is not as perfect as he ought [to 
 
 be] he may change him soon, at once, and take a perfecter man. 
 
 9. That he undertake no work but [that] he can finish and do it. 
 
12 
 
 X. ']rer schal no maystwr supplante o|'er 
 But be togedur as systur and bro]7er.' 
 XI. ' )?at no mason schulde worche be ny^th 
 But jef hyt be yn practesynge of wytte ' 
 
 XII. ' To jevery mason wher seuer he be 
 
 He schal not hys felows werk depraue.' 
 
 XIII. '. . . jef I't ]?e mayst«r a prentes haue 
 
 Enterlyche ]7enne ]7at he hym teche .... 
 |>at he ye craft abelyche may conne ' 
 
 XIV. ' He schal no prentes to hym take 
 
 But dyuers curys he haue to make 
 )7at he may w*ynne hys terme 
 O f hym dyuers poyntes may lurne ' 
 
 XV. ' ya.t for no men 
 
 No fals mantenans he take hym apon 
 
 Ny maynteine hys felows yn here synne . , . 
 
 Ny no fals sware sofre hem to make.' 
 
 10. That he shall supplant no other master, but be together as sister 
 and brother. 
 
 1 1 . That no mason shall work by night, unless it be in perfecting his 
 knowledge. 
 
 12. That every mason wherever he be shall not depreciate his fellows 
 work. 
 
 13. That if the master have an apprentice, that he teach him entirely, 
 that he may ably know the craft. 
 
 14. That he shall take no apprentice without takino; care that within 
 his term the apprentice learn divers points from him. 
 
 15. That he shall take upon himself no false maintenance for any 
 man, nor maintain his fellows in their sin nor suffer them to 
 swear falsely. 
 
 I must also draw your attention to the end of the MS. 
 which clearly shews the intimate connection that existed 
 between the Gild and the Church. It points out very 
 forcibly that we owe the great inoral tone that pervades 
 
13 
 
 the Masonic charges to the interest taken by the early 
 Churchmen in the morals of their builders. These good 
 priests of the fourteenth century little thought that in 
 caring for the morals of their workmen they were orig- 
 inating a code of morals that in the future would be 
 adopted throughout the entire world. 
 The latter portion of the MS. is entitled 
 
 Ars quatuor coronatorum. 
 Pray we now to god al my^ht 
 And to hys swete modur mary bryjht 
 ]?at we mowe kepe ]?ese artyculus here 
 And ]>ese poyntes wel al y fere 
 As dede ]>ese holy martyres fowre 
 ■|7at yn ]7ys craft were of gret honoure 
 
 It then goes on to give an account of the Quatuor 
 Coronati, the patron saints of masons and builders, and 
 afterwards gives a very comprehensive homily on the way 
 to live and way to behave in church, etc. Four more 
 lines I must quote of a prayer in this homily, as the last 
 words have become thoroughly ingrafted into Free- 
 masonry. 
 
 And as J?" were of a mayde y bore 
 Sofre me neuer to be y lore 
 But when y schal henuMs wende 
 Grante me fe blysse w* oute ende 
 Amen amen, so mot hyt be. 
 
 Our second landmark is the Cooke MS. which is also in 
 the British Museum (Add. MSS. 23,198.) It was written 
 about 1430, although there is little doubt that it is a copy 
 of a manuscript of a slightly earlier date, and is in prose. 
 Like the Regius MS. it consists of two portions, 
 I, legendary, II, Precepts for the Master and Apprentice. 
 
14 
 The second portion is, however, not so complete as in 
 the earher Regius MS. 
 
 The part devoted to the legendary history is, however, 
 much longer and more detailed than the similar part 
 in the Regius MS. The author admits that he 
 compiled it from the Bible, Josephus and Higden's 
 Polichronicon, a work written early in the fourteenth 
 century. In so doing he unwittingly laid the founda- 
 tion of that wonderful pedigree of freemasonry which 
 reached its height of absurdity at the hands of 
 Anderson. 
 
 The pedigree starts by giving the name of Cain's 
 master mason and governor of the works when he built 
 the City of Enoch, viz., Jabal ! and continues through 
 Tubal Cain, who was the brother of Jabal, Noah, Ham 
 and Numrod. Then it goes on to state how Abraham,* 
 when he made a journey to Egypt to escape a famine 
 taught Euclidt geometry. Euclid taught the Egyptians, 
 who in turn taught the children of Israel when they were 
 in captivity. Thence the descent to Solomon's temple 
 which may perhaps have been the objective of the earlier 
 part' of the pedigree, is easily traced. 
 
 From Jerusalem, we are told the science was brought 
 into France and into many other regions. 
 
 The legend then proceeds to state that Charlemagne, 
 while King of France, fostered the Masons and gavfe 
 them charges. And then how S. Adhabelle came to 
 England, converted S. Alban (who died 350 years before 
 Charles was born), and gave the masons charges. The 
 next character introduced is Athelstan who, as in the 
 Regius MS., calls an assembly with the idea of framing 
 regulations for the use of masons. 
 
 This, brethren, is the real basis on which the legendary 
 * Lived about 2,200 B.C. ■\ Lived about 400 B.C. 
 
15 
 
 Masonic history is founded, for it entirely eclipses the 
 modest story of the Regius MS. 
 
 From 1430, the date of the Cooke MS., to 1580 (the 
 date of Grand Lodge MS. No. i) we have no MSS. 
 shewing the steps of transition that took place in the 
 Legendary History, but from 1580 until 1717 we have 
 more than sixty MSS. all more or less founded on the 
 Cooke MS., but very "few of which are identical word 
 for word. Owing to the mistakes of copyists, the altera- 
 tions of some editors and the additions of many other 
 editors, the legend during the next 130 years, i.e., from 
 1580-1717, becomes more and more impossible and less 
 reliable than the excusably pretentious legend of the 
 Cooke MS. which was admittedly compiled from cognate 
 sources. 
 
 The next landmark I wish to bring to your notice is 
 Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire, 1686, which I 
 exhibit because it contains not only the first printed account 
 of the Masonic Legend, but it is the first time that any 
 mention of Freemasonry appears in print. So far as the 
 legend is concerned it teaches us nothing at all, except 
 the fact that Plot had before him a MS. that has since 
 been lost, inasmuch as he mentions points that do not 
 appear in any one MS. we can now trace, although they 
 exist separately in several. He was severely critical of 
 the false history contained in these legends, and the fact 
 that he was biassed against Freemasons renders the 
 evidence he gives in their favour the more reliable. 
 
 The extract is as follows : — 
 
 'To thefe add the Cu/toms relating to the County, 
 whereof they have one, of admitting Men into the Society 
 of Free-ma/ons, that in the moorelands of this County feems 
 to be of greater requeft, than any where elfe, though 
 
i6 
 
 I find the Cuftom fpread more or lefs all over the Nation ; 
 for here I found perfons of the moft eminent quality, 
 that did not difdain to be of this Fellow/hip. Nor indeed 
 need they, were it of that Antiquity and honor, that is 
 pretended in a large parchment volum they have amongft 
 them, containing the Hijtory and Rules of the craft of 
 mafonry. Which is there deduced not only from facred 
 writ, but profane ftory, particularly that it was brought 
 into England by St. A mphibal, and firft communicated to 
 St. Alhan, who fet down the Charges of mafonry, and was 
 made paymafter and Governor of the Kings works, and 
 gave them charges and manners as St. Amphibal had 
 taught him. Which were after confirmed by King 
 Athelftan, whofe youngeft fon Edwyn loved well mafonry, 
 took upon him the charges and learned the manners, and 
 obtained for them of his Father a free-Charter. Where- 
 upon he caufed them to affemble at York, and to bring all 
 the old Books of their craft, and out of them ordained 
 fuch charges and manners, as they then thought fit : which 
 charges in the faid Schrole or Parchment volum, are in part 
 declared : and thus was the craft of masonry grounded 
 and confirmed in England. It is alfo there declared that 
 thefe charges and manners were after perufed and approved 
 by King Hen. 6. and his comtcil, both as to Mafters and 
 Fellows of this right WorshipfuU craft. 
 
 Into which Society when any are admitted, they call 
 a meeting (or Lodg as they term it in some places) which 
 muft confift at lest of 5 or 6 of the Ancients of the Order, 
 whom the candidats prefent with gloves, and fo likewife 
 to their wives, and entertain with a collation according to 
 the Cuftom of the place : This ended, they proceed to 
 the admiffion of them, which cheifly consifts in the com- 
 munication of certain fecret fignes, whereby they are 
 known to one another all over the Nation, by which 
 
17 
 
 means they have maintenance whither ever they travel : 
 for if any man appear, though altogether unknown that 
 can fhew any of thefe fignes to a Fellow of the Society, 
 whom they otherwife call an accepted ma/on, he is obhged 
 prefently to come to him, from what company or place 
 foever he be in, nay tho' from the top of a Steeple, (what 
 hazard or inconvenience foever he run) to know his 
 pleafure, and affist him ; viz. if he want work he is bound 
 to find him fome ; or if he cannot doe that, to give him 
 mony, or otherwife fupport him till work can be had ; 
 which is one of their Articles; and it is another, that 
 they advife the Ma/ters they work for, according to the 
 beft of their skill, acquainting them with the goodnefs or 
 badnefs of their materials ; and if they be any way out in 
 the contrivance of their buildings modeftly to rectify them 
 in it ; that mafonry be not difhonored : and many fuch 
 like that are commonly known : but fome others they 
 have (to which they are /worn after their fafhion) that 
 none know but themfelves, which I have reafon to fufpect 
 are much worfe than thefe, perhaps as bad as this Hi/tory 
 of the craft it self ; than which there is nothing I ever 
 met with, more falfe or incoherent. 
 
 For not to mention that St. Amphibalus by judicious 
 perfons, is thought rather to be the cloak, than mafter of 
 St. Alban ; or how unlikely it is that St. Alban himfelf in 
 fuch a barbarous Age, and in times of perfecution, fhould 
 he/upervi/or of any works; it is plain that King Athelftan 
 was never marryed, or ever had fo much as any natural 
 iffue ; (unlefs we give way to the fabulous Hi/tory of Guy 
 Earl of Warwick, whofe eldeft fon Reynburn is faid indeed 
 to have been marryed to Leoneat the fuppofed daughter 
 oi Athelftan, which. WiW not {e.x\e the turn neither) much 
 lefs ever had he a lawful! fon Edwyn, of whom I find not 
 the leaft umbrage in Hiftory. He had indeed a Brother 
 
of that name, of whom he was fo jealoufe though very 
 young when he came to the crown, that he fent him to 
 Sea in a pinnace without tackle or oar, only in company 
 with a page, that his death might be imputed to the waves 
 and not him ; whence the young Prince (not able to mafter 
 his paffions) caft himfelf headlong into the Sea and there 
 dyed. Who how unlikely to learn their manners ; to get 
 them a Charter ; or call them together at York ; let the 
 Reader judg. 
 
 Yet more improbable is it ftill, that Hen. the 6. and 
 his Council, f hould ever perufe or approve their charges 
 and manners, and fo confirm thefe right Worfliipfull 
 Mafters and Fellows as they are call'd in the Scrole : for 
 in the third of his reigne (when he could not be 4 years 
 old) I find an act of Parliament quite abolifhing this 
 Society, It being therein ordained, that no Congregations 
 and Confederacies fhould be made by mafons, in their 
 general Chapters and Afsemblies, whereby the good 
 courfe and effect of the Statutes of Labourers, were violated 
 and broken in fubverfion of Law : and that thofe who 
 caufed fuch Chapters or Congregations to be holden, fhould 
 be adjudged Felons ; and thofe mafons that came to them 
 fhould be punifh't by imprifonment, and make fine and 
 ranfom at the Kings will. So very much out was the 
 Compiler of this Hiftory of the craft of mafonry, and fo 
 httle skill had he in our Chronicles and Laws. "Which 
 Statute though repealed by a fubfequent act in the 5 of 
 Eliz. whereby Servants and Labourers are compellable to 
 ferve, and their wages limited ; and all mafters made 
 punifhable for giving more wages than what is taxed by 
 the Juftices, and the fervants if they take it &c., Yet this 
 act too being but little obferved, 'tis ftill to be feared thefe 
 Chapters of Free-mafons do as much mifcheif as before, 
 which if one may eftimate by the penalty, was anciently 
 
19 
 
 fo great, that perhaps it might be ufefuU to examin them 
 now.' 
 
 The next landmark in the history of the Masonic 
 legend is one of the " great witnesses we have of the 
 darkness in which Antiquaries in general and Freemasons 
 in particular were steeped in the first half of the eighteenth 
 century. It is the first edition of the Book of Constitu- 
 tions, published in 1723. 
 
 It would take up too much of your time on the present 
 occasion to trace the foundation of Grand Lodge. 
 Suffice it to say that speculative freemasonry made such 
 strides during the second half of the seventeenth century 
 that in 1717 a few lodges met together and formed 
 a Grand Lodge which was designed to be the governing 
 body of Freemasonry within certain specified bounds of 
 London.* 
 In the minutes of Grand Lodge we find that : — 
 " At Grand Lodge Sept. 29. 1721 His Grace's f worship 
 and the Lodge finding fault with all the copies of the Old 
 Gothic Constitutions ordered Brother James Anderson 
 A.M. to digest the same in a new and better method." 
 (16 Lodges represented). 
 
 Eighteen months afterwards Bro. Anderson's MS. was 
 approved and ordered to be printed, and it was printed 
 and published in the ensuing year. I have placed on the 
 table a copy of this book, which is not often found 
 perfect. 
 
 The proper consideration of the Book of Constitutions 
 would demand a whole evening, but in accordance with 
 the plan I suggested at the beginning of this paper I will 
 
 * And happily it is still the prerogative and birthright of all Metro- 
 politan brethren to be responsible directly to Grand Lodge alone and 
 not to any intermediary Provincial or District G. Lodges. 
 
 t Duke of Montague was G.M. 
 
20 
 
 lightly skim through it, and briefly refer to the second 
 edition of 1738. 
 
 It begins with the enunciation that "Adam our first 
 parent, created, after the image of God, the G. A. of the 
 U., must have had the Liberal Sciences, particularly 
 Geometry written on his Heart ; for ever since the fall 
 we find the principles of it in the Hearts of his off- 
 spring. . . . 
 
 " No doubt Adam taught his sons Geometry and the 
 use of it in the several Arts and Crafts convenient at 
 least for those early times. 
 
 " Nor can we suppose that Seth was less instructed 
 who being the Prince of the other half of Mankind, and 
 also the prime cultivator of Astronomy, would take 
 equal care to teach Geometry and Masonry to his off- 
 spring. . . ." 
 
 After some pages of similar pronouncements we come 
 to the following passage : — 
 
 " The Israelites at their leaving Egypt were a whole 
 Kingdom of Masons, well instructed under the Conduct of 
 their Grand Master Moses, who often marshalled them 
 into a regular and general Lodge while in the wilderness, 
 and gave them wise charges. Order etc. had they been 
 well observed ! " 
 
 Soon follows Solomon and the building of the Temple, 
 and in connection with it we have absolutely the first 
 mention of Hiram Abiff, and then only in a subsidiary 
 manner. 
 
 As you are all well aware, the legend of the widow's son 
 is taken from i Kings vii.-i3 et. seq. and 2 Chron. ii.-i3 
 and 14 and 2 Chron. iv.-i6, but in not one instance does 
 the cognomen Abiff appear in our authorised version. 
 Anderson, probably copying Coverdale's translation of 
 the Bible, averred that the current translation was 
 
21 
 
 incorrect, and that the word Abbi in the Hebrew is a 
 name and should not have been translated father. All 
 Hebrew scholars repudiate this correction, which neverthe- 
 less is perpetuated to the present day in our ritual. You 
 will find the reference on p. ir of the " Constitutions "; 
 but even there Anderson did not incorporate the word 
 Abiff in the text, but only in a foot-note. 
 
 After the account of Solomon's Temple follow in the 
 sequence of the Bible Narrative, Grand Master Mason 
 Nebuchadnezzar and General Master Mason Zerubabel. 
 
 From Jerusalem the Art was taken to Greece and 
 thence spread over the world, and from this point on- 
 wards the legend follows on somewhat the same lines as 
 the old MS. charges, freely adorned, however, with 
 Anderson's interpolations. 
 
 The second edition edited by Anderson and issued in 
 1738 was much enlarged and afforded a further oppor- 
 tunity for the editor's embellishments. In the fifteen 
 years that had elapsed since the issue of the first edition, 
 Anderson discovered not only the names of a number of 
 Grand Masters living in classical times, but of other 
 Grand Officers and even Provincial Grand Officers. But 
 although we cannot always give credence to Bro. Ander- 
 son's history the book is valuable as affording us the 
 only record of Grand Lodge proceedings from 1720-1738, 
 as well as other contemporary information. 
 
 Such brethren is the manner in which the Masonic 
 legend, familiar to all Master Masons, became developed. 
 From a modest and straightforward commencement in the 
 thirteenth or fourteenth century, in which the author 
 shewed his bona fides by attempting to give the authorities 
 for his statements, it gradually became distorted by some 
 copyists, altered by others to suit the expediencies of the 
 moment, and amplified by many, not excepting Dr. 
 
22 
 
 Anderson, who, not to be behind-heind in leaving his 
 impress on the legend, sprinkled the contents of his 
 ponderous and credulous brain into every page, aye, even 
 into every sentence of his work. It, however, has not been 
 printed with the imprimatur of Grand Lodge since 1784. 
 
 As I said in my opening remarks, I hope that this very 
 brief sketch will inducesomeof the younger brethren to take 
 a more intelligent interest in the history of Freemasonry. 
 It is a subject that unfortunately has not hitherto been 
 popular with masons, owing to the difficulties in finding 
 a competent guide. That excuse, however, no longer 
 exists, as in Bro. Gould's Concise History of Free- 
 masonry there is to be found a lucid and unprejudiced 
 view of the subject. It behoves every Freemason to be 
 able to give the Reason of his Faith as well as to practise 
 it : and unfortunately this cannot be learnt in the lodge 
 room, but requires a small amount of study and reading. 
 It, however, forms such an extremely interesting chapter 
 of mediseval tradition, that when the threshold is once 
 passed, the enchantment that surrounds it will be found 
 to increase the more one studies it. 
 
 What I have put before you this evening may perhaps 
 by some of you be thought derogatory of our ancient 
 Tenets. Believe me, W. M. and B., that was not my 
 intent, nor would I for a moment subscribe to such a 
 sentiment ; but what I do hope to stir up in your minds 
 is a more intelligent, intellectual interest in our History. 
 It must never be forgotten that Allegory forms an 
 essential portion of our ceremonies, and that we are 
 expressly taught that Freemasonry is a peculiar system of 
 Morality veiled in Allegory and illustrated by symbols^ 
 No attempt is made in our ritual to distinguish between 
 Allegory, Tradition, and History, and very few Free- 
 masons take the trouble to distinguish between them. 
 
23 
 
 These two facts have undoubtedly been the cause of 
 many good people treating our ancient society with 
 contumely. 
 
 But, Brethren, whatever blemishes there may be in the 
 historical portion of the Masonic Legend, we cannot help 
 being struck with the fact that the earliest MS. we have 
 connected with masonry, shews that even in the middle 
 ages, which many unthinking people have called the Dark 
 Ages, masonry strove to inculcate among its members 
 purity of life, brotherly sympathy and support, honest 
 dealing both with the world as well as with brethren, 
 and also a belief in the G.A. Can we then be surprised 
 that a system founded on such a moral basis, should not 
 only have survived the fate of other Gilds and asso- 
 ciations, but have spread itself unto the innermost 
 portions of the world. Brethren, so long as those great 
 tenets and principles are carried out, so long as the 
 brethren act up to their professions and obligations and 
 carry the Faith and Charity of Freemasonry into their 
 daily life, and so long as they are jealous of the honour 
 of the craft and exercise care that good men, and good 
 men alone, are admitted to its ranks, we can hopefully 
 Ipok forward to Freemasonry extending into the far 
 distant ages. 
 
fAMPHLETfiNDER 
 
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