045871 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THIS BOOK IS ONE OF A COLLECTION MADE BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 AND BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY DATE : DUE ^^ig'l /ti^t^-^ m^h^ ^ 210 He then goes to America and founds a lodge at Troy, N. Y 211 Marshal Magnan's magnanimous decree covers the rite 211 The Grand Orientadopts it, and M. Maroonis,itB anthor,is happy 211 A Concise Histoet op the Oeigin of all the Rites foe High Degrees intro- duced INTO FeEEMASONET PEOM 1736 TO THE PEESENT TIME. The only true traditional Freemasonry has but three degrees 212 Xn CONTENTS. The Jesuits first break this arrangement , ,, ••■ 213 To support the " Pretender " they create new degrees , 214 They extend their nets over Germany and France 215 Investigation elicits some important discoveries ^ 210 They denaturalize the institution in Erance 217 They construct the system of Strict Observance , 218 The College of Clermont the nest in which new rites are batched 219 The Jesuits divide continental Europe into provinces 220 They erect "TJuknown Superiors " for their system 220 Investigation unmasks the Order of Loyola 221 " Modern Freemasons are not the successors of Knights Templar " 222 What the Congress of Wilbelmsbad provoked 223 Fruits of the Jesuits' Masonic systems 224 The Order of Modern Templars 225 The Kite of Rigid Observers 226 Introduction of Knight Templarism into America 226 The Bite of Unitarian Masonry ,,..., 227 Names of Masonic Bites extant 223 Bites extinct or absorbed into existing rites 229 DOCCIIENTIBT AND HiSTOBICAL EVIDSNCS BGAEIHG SIBEOTLT UPON THE OBI- oiN i.MD Genebal Histobt of Fbeemasonby in Ehbope, Documentary Evidence 232 Historical Evidence, chronologically arranged 234 Indications of the causes for diversity of opinions, etc 244 HiSTOBICAL Enuuebation OF THE Pbincipal Masonic Congbssseb and Con- ventions WHICH HAVE had PLACE IN EuBOPE. York, Strasburg, and Batisbonne 251 Ratisbonne, Spire, Colonge and Basle 252 Strasburg, London and Dublin 253 Edinburgh, the Hague, Jena and Altenburg 254 Kohlo, Brunswick, Leipsic and Lyons .^ 265 Wolfenbuttel and Wilbelmsbad 256 Paris, Zurich, Berne, Basle and Locle 257 Paris in 1848 and in 1866 25g Cheonolooioal aeeanoement OP THE HisTOET OF Feeemasonbt, based upon THE Ancient DoonMENTS and the Peincipal Monuments ebkctbd bt THIS Feateekitt, Divided into thbee epochs. First Upoeh, from 715 B. C. to A. D. 1000, comprising the establisbment of the Colleges of Builders at Rome ; the construction of all the monuments of Ancient Rome ; the founding of many cities ; the results of the perse- outions of such of the builders as became Christians, and, subsequently, the results of the invasions and international wars, and dispersion of the Christian builders into the East ; the state of architecture in Saul and Britain under the Romans, and, after their retreat, under the free and An- glo-Saxon kings ; the reconstruction of the Masonic corporations at the OONTGITTS. kiii general assembler in York A. D. 926, and the distress of tbe Masonio oor- poratioAS daring tine terrors invoked by the clergy at the close of the tenth oentury ,...> ...SM-Mt Second Epooh, from A. S. 1000 to A. D. 1717, comprising all the most re- markable facts which signalized this period ax oonneoted trith the arts and philosophy ; the epooh of the construction of all the great cathedrals and other religious monuments in Europe ; the organization of the Ma- sonic corporations in (Germany, its Grand Lodges, its congress and results ; the influence of the Reformation upon religious architecture ; the dissolu- tion successively of all the Masonio corporations except those of England ; and the transformation there, in 1717, of the Masonio corporations into a phi! }sofhia institution 298-311 Third Epoch, from A. D. 1717 to A. D. 1850, comprising all the most remark- able occurrences connected with Philosophical or Modern Freemasonry daring this period ; the causes and results of the schisms ; the different con- gresses and their results ; the dates, the places, and the countries where Freemasonry was persecuted ; and the statistics indicating its numbers wherever its exists 312-B39 text of the £dict of fope Pius Vtl against the Freemasons 340 Pbiuitive Masonio Laws and Charters. Observations concerning the Charterof York 347 Its non-recognition of a Divine Trinity 348 Its evident religious tolerance 348 It became the basis of all modern Masonic constitutions 349 Its caption and opening prayer 350 Note explanatory of its text 361 Its " Fundamental Laws of the Brother Masons ". ... ..„ 352-35S Summary of the Ancient Masonic Charters, comprising the Roman Charter, Char- ter of St. Alban, Charter of York, Charter of Edward III, Charter of Soot- land, Charters of Strasburg, Charter of Cologne, Charters of Scotland and London ...355-658 Efitohe of the Worship and the Mtbteries or the Ancient EASTisit TTabld. Introduction — Origin of all the worships 359 Sabeism, or sun worship, a^d its legends 383 The Mysteries of India 364 Mysteries of the Persians 367 Mysteries of Isis and Osiris 870 Mysteries of the Hebrews 87S Mysteries of Eleusis 876 Mysteries of Samothraoia 876 Mysteries of the Phrygians and Phenicians 877 Mysteries of the Romans 877 Sybils and Oracles most celebrated 879 Lkqislatoes, Refoemees and Foiindkhs of Worships and Mysteries, with A summaet of their doctrines in India, China, Persia, Ethiopia, Eotpt, Greece, Rome and Judea 380-3R3 Xiy CONTENTS. IfOTES nHJSTEATITE AND AUTHORITATIVE OF SUNDBT PASSAGES IN THE TEXT OF THE WOBBHIFS AND MtSTEBIES OF THE ANCIENT EaSTEBN WoBLD. Worships and Mysteries 384 Theology nf the Ancients 384 Sacred Books of all the peoples 385 Cosmogonies , 386 Symbols 389 Hiram of the Freemasons » 392 The Angels 393 Magnificent monuments of the Hindoos 393 Shudda(Bood, Bondd) 393 The Magi 394 TemDle of Bel, or Tower of Babel 394 Ecbatana, Babylonia, Peraepolis 396 Caves or Retreats of Mithra 397 In the throat of a bull 397 Zoroaster 398 Zendaresta 399 Temple of Ammon 399 Ethiopia, once a powerful state 400 Egypt in oivilizatlon 400 Pyramids of Qhizza 401 Hermes 402 Sybils 402 The avenues of Thebes 403 Subterranean cities , 403 Jehovah 403 Tyre 404 The Jews driven from Egypt 404 The Pentateuch 405 The Prodigies of Moses 408 Dogma of an only God 408 Worship of the Stars 413 The Essenians 413 Christianity 418 Mysteries of Christianity 419 Eleusis, Athens 420 Temple of Balbek 420 Temple of Tadmor (Palmyra) 420 Janus ' 421 Appendix. Recapitulation 422 The Commandments of the Ancient Sages 425" The Precepts of Modern Freemasonry 426 GEIJfEEAL HiSTOET OF FREEMASO:NrRY. PREFACE. Lefoke I make known to the reader tlie motives whicli inspired this history of Freemasonry, I beg permission to give here a suc- cinct confession of faith. Since the moment when the principles of Freemasonry were shown me, I have made this institution a particular study, with much more fervor than that with which I have studied the relig- ion taught me in my youth; because, by the light of reflection and experience, I found the latter crowded with contradictions and puerilities, while the former offered logic and harmony according with the idea of a Divinity imbued with wisdom, clemency, power, and love. When circumstances occasioned me to take up my residence in this celebrated city, (Paris), at a time when its Masonic temples were recovering from the effects of the political tumults of 1847, my heart found itself going out toward that fraternal society, wherein, of all others, I most expected to enjoy the pleasures of morality and brotherly love. But I am free to confess, as then conducted, the labors of the lodges left much to desire; and I found that the reproaches addressed to Masonry in Paris by the most serious authors, such as Thory, Bazot, Chemin-Dupont§s, Bagon, Clavel, Des Etangs, Juge, and Moreau, were entirely justi- fiable. And, notwithstanding that there are few places upon the globe where the Masonic fraternity has produced results more powerful and efficacious than at Paris — ^where the concentration of sixty. 2 (^^") avni PREFACE. one lodges in the same locality permit the most complete unity in a financial point, and present moral and intellectual resources BO powerful to accomplish so much, not alone in the connection of educating the people, but also of founding other humanitarian institutions — yet it is necessary to state that there is no place in the world where the dissipation of moral strength is so manifest, and where the Masonic fraternity has done so little for suffering humanity, as in this same Paris, when we consider the great number of Freemasons who here reside. But that which struck me above all, in assisting at the work of the lodges of Paris, was the total want of intelligent Masonic instruction — a reproach which the authors named have so often made — .the labors of the lodges being altogether confined to the ceremonies of initiation, the regular lectures, and the administra- tion of their affairs. And it is to this circumstance, principally, that it is necessary to attribute the indifference so generally mani- fested for Freemasonry among the wealthy and intellectual Paris- ians ; for the greater portion of the intellectual initiates, finding nothing in the society, such as they expected, to attract their attention, after attending a few meetings, fall off, in the belief that Freemasonry has no moral signification to justify the consid- eration they had been induced to accord to it. These observations are painful to Freemasons convinced of the high object and deep signification of Freemasonry, and who believe it destined to become one day the religion of all nations ; and these observations apply happily but to Paris, for, in all other portions of France, Masonry is much better estimated, and consequently its value is much better appreciated than in the capital. This lack of instruction of which I speak is more apparent in the superior initiations called "high degrees," or, to speak more correctly, it is there entirely absent. By all, however, by whom Masonry is estimated. Masonic instruction is looked upon as a sacred duty due tq those who are received into its bosom, and that PREFACE. XIX instruction should be extended not only to all that concerns its history, its object, and the doctrines of the institution, but to all that is interesting to the friend of humanity and the lover of his race. And here we can not refrain from quoting a passage which we find proceeding from the pen of brother Cesar Moreau, of Mar eeilles, and published in his journal. The Masonic World: "From this state of things there resulted an Order' which, while it embraced the universality of the nations, and drew within its bosom many of the notabilities of all races, is compelled to ignore its nature, its origin, its spirit, and its object ; and to acknowledge that its traditions are forgotten or altered; that we have substituted some novelties contrary to the genius of Masonry ; that the initiated fail to perceive any thing of mystery beyond the ceremonies and the ornaments of the lodge, and do not suspect that a hidden meaning is attached to the knowledge conveyed by the symbols. Thus Masonry iu unfaithful to its high destiny. This society, which, according to the ideas of its founders, is entitled to the first place in the system of civilization, is allowed CO march in the rear of that system. While progress in every other condition is manifest, it alone is stationary, if not falling behind in the march of human improvements. The most powerful of all human agencies, by reason of its immense association and the facilities afforded by its multiple correspondence, Freemasonry is iThe editor of the Masonic World is the only French author who has admitted that material architecture has probably given birth to moral archi- tecture; and yet, making of Freemasonry an Order, finds himself in accord with all of his predecessors. This opinion, however, so generally that of the French Masons, is entirely erroneous; for Freemasonry never was an Order. Its origin was a fraternity; and that its transformation, from a cor- poration of artisans to a philosophical institution, did not change its char- acter is proven in the most incontestible manner by its own Constitution, which, adopted in 1717, and published by the Grand Lodge of England in 1723 is entitled "Constitution of the Ancient and Respectable Fraternity of Freemasons." XX PREFACE. to-day utterly powerless to enlighten its own members, to say nothing of enlightening the rest of mankind.'.' All the French authors, except Moreau, have placed the origin of Freemasonry in the mysteries of the East; and the Masters of our lodges, as well as the commonly received lecture of its history, tend to perpetuate this erroneous idea. The work of Alexander Thory, entitled "Acta Latomorum," and that of B. Clavel, entitled ' Histaire Pittoresque de la Franc-magonnerie," must be placed among the most remarkable of Masonic publications; but they are, nevertheless, incomplete and fragmentary. In the history by B. Clavel, it is true he mentions the colleges of Roman architects; but, always preoccupied, in common with his predecessors, in seeking a remoter origin for Freemasonry in the mysteries of the Bast, he fails to perceive that it was precisely within these colleges that the birth of Freemasonry took place. The authors who pretend — and their number is very great — that Masonry originated at the construction of Solomon's Temple, are led into this error by the numerous allusions to that construction which have place among the lectures of our lodges of to-day. Those authors who believe that Freemasonry proceeded from the society of the Rose-Cross, founded in 1616, by Valentine Andrea, a profound philosopher,' who, in founding it, had in view the beautiful design of reforming the world — a society which was propagated by Christian Rose-Croix,' renewed afterward by the renowned philosopher, Lord Bacon, and put in practice by the famous antiquary, Elias Ashmole, in 1646— are led into this error by the fact that this society was resuscitated, under Masonic forms, 1 See his work, " La Beformation," etc. 2 There appeared, in 1616, a new work, entitled « La Noce Gkemique de Ohrisiian Rose- Orffix." This name of Rose-Cross is itself allegorical. The cross represented the sanctity of union, and the rose the image of disGietion; ihese two words united signifying a holy discretion. PREFACB. XXi ih Germany, in 1767 ;. and yet others, who attribute its foundation to the partisans of the Stuarts,' or to Christopher Wren, architect, in 1690, are led into this error by the transformation of Free- masonry from an exclusively operative to an exclusively philo- sophic institution having taken place about this time. Independently of the serious authors mentioned, there may b found a certain number of pretending historians, -vrho, concerning the origin of Freemasonry, have advanced assertions as absurd as ridiculous. Among them we find those who represent God him- self as the first Freemason,' and Paradise as the first sanctuary of the lodge! We find another author who pretends that the archangel Michael was Grand Master of the first lodge that the children of Seth held after the murder of Abel ! ' Others, who maintain that Noah was the founder of Masonry ; and yet others, who as stoutly assert that it originated at the construction of the Tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar. From this mass of con- tradictory opinions, A. Thory, in the preface to his work already named, deduced an opinion which he thus expresses: " The general opinion among the most distinguished Freemasons is, that it is impossible to write a general history of Freemasonry which will bear any approach to correctness in dates and authen- ticated facts. M. De Bonnville has asserted that ten ages of man- kind would not suffice for such a work. Others have expressed, and yet others have repeated the same idea, while to-day those of 1 See, in the "Acta Laiomonim" by A. Thoi'y, the fragment upon the origin of the Society of Freemasons, translated from the second volume of the work " Versuch iiber die Beschuldigungen wider den Tempelherrenorden," etc., by Nicolai. This fragment of a German work, extracted and admitted by Thory, proves that he himself had no settled opinion upon the origin of Freemasonry; for otherwise we can not comprehend how, to give a just idea in his work of the origin of the institution, he could have chosen to copy from a work which, in his opinion, had no historic value in this conneotion. 2 See the work of Le Franc, entitled " Voile levi pow let Ourieux." Z"Le wai Franc- Magon," by Enoch, 1773. Xxii PREFACE. the members of the association who, by their talents and theii lio-hts, could be expected to undertake the task with success, have never essayed it, persuaded that it is beyond their strength. "In seeking for the true cause of such discouragement, we believe it consists in the extreme difficulty of procuring the proper documents, the secret memoirs, the polemic and didactic writings; in fact, the necessary manuscript and printed informa- tion as to the history of the institution. This obstacle, if not insurmountable, is certainly exceedingly difficult; and we are free to state that, were it not that the extensive library of the mother lodge of the Scotch Rite had, with its rare and valuable maiiu- scripts, been placed at our disposal, we never would have attempted the labor of which this our work is the result." It is, in fact, to the insufficiency of the materials that it is necessary to attribute the fact that since the work of Dr. Ander- son, first published in London in 1723, and subsequently to the number of five separate editions, no writer has attempted to pro- duce a general history of Freemasonry, believing the problem of its origin insoluble; and, therefore, they have been forced to treat it from a philosophical point of view, and place its origin among the mysteries of antiquity. It is these considerations which determined me to extract from, the numerous materials which I have gathered, during a number of years, with the intention of one day filling a void in Masonic literature, and publish a history of our institution free from the superstitions and traditions with which it has been continually surrounded; and, in this object, I have resolved to unite, in a synoptic table, all that is afforded the most interesting, to the end that the erroneous opinions upon its origin may be dissipated, and a just and instructive idea of the principles and object of Free- masonry be afibrded. In treating in a manner indicative of my own convictions this PREFACE. Xxiii general Iimwit of Freemasonry, I have endeavored to demon- strate — 1. Tl-ak InJu \i not only the cradle of the hulnan race, but the country wherein may he found the source of all the religions of the world. 2. That, ia Iioi antiquities, India offers us a civilization th most advanced, as ;s abundantly proven by her colossal monu- ments, which have existed for at least six thousand years. 3. That from Ivdia have proceeded science and philosophy. 4. That we find in her sacred books, the Vedas, a sublime uoctrine, practiced by the Buddhist Samaneens, and which pre- sents the most striking resemblance to the primitive Christian doctrine. 5. That these same Vedas recount the creation of the world in a manner corresponding to the description contained in the sacred books of the Persians and the Hebrews, but with the difference that in the Vedas the description has an entirely figurative sense, while the sense conveyed by the Hebrew Scriptures, as given to us, is actual. 6. That the religion of the Hindoos — their science and philos- ophy — passed into Persia and Chaldea, and subsequently to Ethi- opia, and from thence to Egypt. Afterward, returning invested with other forms, it is found to exist at present in the former countries. My readers may be assured that intentions the most pure have guided me in this work, and that, while I have communicated the results of the philosophical researches of the most profound thinkers, I have to my readers awarded the task of harmonizing these truths with their own Masonic and religious ideas. In this work I believe I have omitted nothing which would interest a young Mason. Herein he will find the origin of the mysteries of antiquity, as also the origin of all religions, and the connections which the ancient religions and mysteries bear to XXIV PREFACE. those of the present day; also, the degrees of civilization of the ancient peoples, the true origin of Freemasonry, its history, and in that history each historic fact, each important monument — whether of antiquity or of the middle ages — ^which appertain to that history, each document, each usage, each important name of which mention should be made ; and^ having done this, I leave to the reader to judge of the actual condition and importance of this institution from the tables of the lodges existing on the globe, and the countries wherein Freemasonry has spread and its doc- trines are practiced. Emmanuel Bebold. Eabi ov Pabis, JNovember, 1860. REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE INTRUSTED WITH THE EXAMINATION OE THE WORK OF BRO. RESOLD, ENTITLED "GEN- ERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY." Bbo. Bebold having requested the undersigned to examine his History of Freemasonry, and report their opinion thereof, it ia with the most lively interest that we comply with his wishes. In our opinion it is impossible to put together, in a manner more instructive and more concise, so many facts and dates in so few pages. All is comprised in the work of Bro. Kebold — facts, historical and geographical, as well as chronological ; all is arranged by the hand of a master; and we can, without exaggeration, say that it is the first Masonic history truly worthy of this name which has ever appeared in France. All the works that we possess speak of Masonry as an institu- tion of an illusory character, and its origin merely traditional, if not apocryphal; but Bro. Bebold, on the contrary, taking hold of it at its birth, follows its growth and extension through the different phases of its career, from nation to nation, and from cen- tury to century, and supports his every statement with facts and dates and names, and the edifices and monuments of antiquity. Many pages might be profitably filled with even a cursory analysis of the work of our brother; but this we will leave to the reader, being satisfied with saying, for ourselves, that nearly every line is the substance of a volume; every word carries with it a portion of instruction. We have read and re-read the manuscript with the most intense interest, and we can return to it again and again with pleasure, for it nobly fills the deplorable vacuum that exists in all of our Masonic libraries. An immense success is reserved for this book — we had almost (25) 26 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. said this library in epitome — a success enthusiastic, merited, and durable. To every brother who, animated with true religious sen- timents, seeks instruction at the source of the most solid informa- tion, we recommend this work; and, after the most conscientious examination — after the most attentive study, and with our hands, as Freemasons, upon our hearts, we express this our opinion of the work of Bro. Heboid; and regret our inability, by so limited an expression of our feelings, to do' that justice to this really merit- orious production that it is so richly entitled to. Du Planty, M. D., Wor, MaB. of Trinity Lodge. AUGUSTE HUMBEETE, Wor. Mas. Star of Bethlehem Lodge. B. LiMETH, Wor. Haa. of CommanderB of Mt. Lebanon Loclge. East or Pabis, June, 27 1860. c^^ ~? I :^ ■-^ f^^ HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. INTRODUCTION. "When man, placed upon this earth, saw himself sur- rounded with so many differently formed beings, of which the producing cause and motive for their existence were to him unknown, his thoughts were necessarily concen- trated in one sentiment — intense admiration. Unable to comprehend the cause, he attached more importance to the effect. He studied the physical qualities of all, to the end that be might be enabled to select for his use those which were useful, and reject those which were hurtful. But that which struck him with most surprise was the constant return of day and night, light and darkness — ^the brilliance and warmth of summer, and the cold and gloom of winter — to see the earth for a season ornamented with flowers and fruits, whilst during a corresponding period it languished and labored In sterility. He sought to ascer- tain the cause of those phenomena which regularly repro- duced themselves around him, and to whose influence he found his own nature subjected; and little by little, in the laws, flrst of physics, and next of astronomy, he discov- ered the explanation. He saw that, regulated by these laws, nature existed; that the sun and moon and earth moved in common accord. In fact, whilst all else lived and died around (27) 28 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. him — and died forever — ^these alone abated not in the :."egu]arity of their movements nor perpetuity of their existence: without beginning! and, apparently, without end, they seemed uncreated and immutable. To feelings, therefore, of admiration for all, were added feelings of gratitude and thanks for the beneficence of that star of lay whose brilliance and heat ripened for his use fruits and vegetables; for that lesser light which seemed ar- ranged, when the greater disappeared, to take its place; and for the earth, the great nurse, always attentive, sup- porting all living creatures, and offering each year, for their use, the abundance of her varied and bounteous products. Those sentiments of admiration and gratitude begot yet another^ — their natural product — worship ; and from that time man began to reverence good and evil. . He made of light and darkness spirits of good and spirits of evil, regarding the former as the good being, and the latter as the evil one; light the benefactor; darkness the de- stroyer. And this worship of light of every degree neces- sarily led to sun worship or Sabeism, which we see diffused among all the primitive peoples of the earth — as well in Europe as in Asia, in. Africa, and among the Incas oi America. It is thus that the Hindoos adored in Brahma the sun of summer, the creator, the genius of good ; and in Shiva the sun of winter, the destroyer, the genius of evil ; that the Persians reverenced the good principle in Oromaze, and the bad in Ahrimane; that the Egyptians adored these same principles in Osiris and Typhon; and the Israelites in Jehovah and the Sei-pent, without stopping to consider that this adoration was a worship of stars, or a worship of the changes of nature. Every-where, in fact, and among all peoples — even among the Jews them- selves — we find, from the earliest times, man prostrated INTRODUCTION. 29 before material nature, confounding continually, in one and the same worship, the being who suffers the action and the principle that caused it. This primitive worship was not entirely abolished, but maintained itself among the elect, and was, consequently,, the fundamental dogma taught in the mysteries of an tiquity by the gymnosophists of India and the hierophant of Memphis. And, as it was the duty of those sages to notice and record natural phenomena, to the end that the dates of feasts and the movements of the planets should be known, as well as a record kept of memorable events, and the knowledge of their doctrines, sciences, and dis- coveries be communicated among themselves, the system of hieroglyphics and symbols was invented — a system which has been found to exist, as the earliest style of record, among priests and peoples of the most remote ages. These priests were the intercessors before the divinities, the counselors and guides of the people ; and to perpetu- ate their numbers, men were admitted who proved them- selves 'capable and worthy of the position by submitting, after a long and careful training, to the ordeal of a severe examination. It was in this manner that the initiations, so celebrated among the peoples of antiquity, were insti- tuted. These civilizers and early instructors of the human race, believing that it was impossible for the mass of man- kind — ^the ignorant and illiterate — to perceive the truths of science, religion, and philosophy, except when repre- sented by material symbols, instituted such symbols for that purpose, and, in consequence, two forms of religion began to prevail ; viz. : the one the religion of the multi tude, who, in great numbers, perceived nothing beyond the exterior object or symbol; and the other the religion of the learned, who perceived in the symbol but the so GENERAL HISTOKY OF FREEMASONRY. emblem of the moral truth or natural effect, of which the symbol was but the type. All these mysteries and their initiations, having a common object, resembled each other in their rites and symbols, and differed but in degree, according to the genius and manners of the particular peoples among whom they were practiced, and the talents, more or less brilliant, of their priests and founders. Those among the Chaldeans, the Ethiopians, and the Egyptians taught the arts and sci- ences in secret, particularly architecture. Among the Egyptians the priests formed a distinct class, and devoted themselves to teaching special branches of human knowl- edge. The youth who by them were instructed were initiated into the mysteries of religion, and during their novitiate formed an outer class or corporation of arti- sans, who, according to the designs drawn by the priests, erected the temples and other monuments consecrated to the worship of the gods. It was this class that gave to the people kings, warriors, statesmen, and useful citi- zens. The favor shown to the priests by the people of -Egypt was due in part to their wisdom, in part to the elevated conditions of science and morality which they taught, but more particularly to their study and application of an occult science practiced by the magicians of Persia. In this study they were aided by a class of assistants, called sybils or oracles, to whom they were indebted for the knowledge of a great number of plants and their thera- peutic properties — of which the priests affixed the names at the gates of their temples — as, also, for their knowl- odge of chemistry, anatomy, and many of the secrets of nature.* •This occult science, designated by the ancient priests under the name of regenerating fire, is that which at the present daj' is known as animal magnetism — a science that for more than three thousand years was the peculiar possession of the priesthood, into the knowledge of which Moses INTRODUCTION. 81 Thus we see the most illustrious men of Greece — Thales, Solon, Pythagoras, Democritus, Orpheus, Plato, Theodo- sius, Epicurus, Herodotus, Lycurgus — ^these great philos- ophers of antiquity, binding their stoutest sandals upon was initiated at Heliopolia, where he was educated, and Jesus Christ «mong the Essenian priests of Jerusalem. This science, that an illustrious Dominican calls "a piece broken from a grand palace, a ray from the Adamic power, destined to confound human reason and to humiliate it before God, a phenomenon belonging to the prophetic order" — is that same-science which has been resusci- tated by Bro. Mesmer, whose disciples to-day spread every-where, and, by the application of it &s a therapeutic agent, are every-where alleviating the physical condition of the sick and the afflicted. Magnetism, the vital principle of all organized beings, soul of all who respire, made a part, under various names, of the secret teachings of the priests. The titles of regeaerating fire, living fire, magic, were given to it by them, and the initiation into this divine science was participated in but by a small number of the elect, i Believing it to be our duty to define the meaning of this science in as clear and distinct a manner as possible, we have chosen for this purpose to select a passage that we find in the work of our friend and brother Henry Delage, entitled "Perfec- tion of the Human Kace," in which he expresses himself upon this subject as follows; "The knowledge of this magnetic fluid is the most precious gift of •Divine Providence. It is the mysterious key that opens to our dazzled intelligence th'e world of truth and of light, and joins the finite to the infinite. It is the chain of gold so often chanted by the poet, the basis of that secret philosophy that Democritus, Plato, and Pythagoras trav- eled to Egypt to demand of the hierophants of Memphis and of the gymnosophists of India. Invisible to the eyes of the senses, it must be studied by the vision of the soul as seen in the rapt gaze of the som- nambulist. In other days the truth was heard proceeding from the lips of the initiating priest; to-day we see it in the eyes of the clairvoyant. A magnetic fluid, very Subtle, placed in the human race between the soul and the body, it circulates in all the nerves; and, particularly abundan in the great sympathetic of the healthy subject, it constitutes the spiri of the living being. Its color, that of fire or the electric spark, inducea the name of living fire given to it in the works of the magicians of Persia, and of iniimate star in those of the alchymists and astrologers of 32 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. their feet, aud taking the pilgrim's staff Trithin their hands, leaving their country and going forth to visit the vast sanctuaries of Egypt, there to be initiated into the mysteries of Isis and Osiris. These mysteries were transported into Greece, where Orpheus founded those of Samothracia, and Triptoleme those of Eleusis. The Greeks drew upon these mysteries and initiations for a part of their mythology. Homer drew upon them for his ingenious fictions, and clothed his songs with their allegories. The descent into a well, made by the aspirant for initiation, led to the saying that truth was concealed at the bottom of a well, "the judges of the dead, before whom they were conducted by the ferryman Charon across the lake Acheron, the urn that contained the ballots, and after an examination of which the judges pronounced sentence and again intrusted the initiates to the care of Charon, who alone appeared to have the right or ability of traversing the subterranean obscurity through which they passed, the barking of dogs, the monsters, the hideous specters, the flitting shades, the furies, the dog Cerberus — the sight of all those objects which the Egyp- tians and the Greeks had invented to try the nerves of the initiates — made in their imagination a real hell. While the Elysian fields, lighted up by a mimic sun, was evi- dently the place to which the initiate was conducted after his initiation ; and Tartarus, where shades groaned plain- tively at their own feebleness, the place where those who had succumbed in terror before these hideous spectacles were congregated. The braziers and flames, between which the initiate was compelled to pass, evidently gave the middle ages. One of its principal virtues is the generative' power; neace the sacred books give it the name of regenerating fire. Soul of the world, universal spirit permeating all nature, it is the essence and the vital spark of all that it animates, of all orders of beings, classes, and races in which it is incarnated, and is profoundly modified by all through which "t passes." I INTRODUCTION. 33 rise to the saying that men who would be elevated to the rank of the gods must first pass through fire and be purified of all of earth that attaches to humanity. In fine, to descend into hell, and to be initiated into the mys- teries, were, among the ancients, one and the same opera- tion. FOUNDATION OF THE COLLEGES OF BUILDERS, THE CRADLE OE FBEEMASONRY. The mysteries of the Egyptians, passing through Moses to the Jewish people, afterward disseminated among the Greeks and the Romans, were, among the latter, intro- duced in part into the Colleges of Builders, instituted by Numa Pompilius, in the year 715 before our era.^ These colleges were, at their organization, as well relig- ious societies as fraternities of artisans, and their connec- tion with the state and the priesthood were by the laws determined with precision. They had their own worship and their own organization, based upon ^hat of the Dyo- nisian priests and architects, of whom many were to be found anterior to this period in Syria, in Egypt, in Persia, and in India ; and the degree of sublimity to which they had carried their art is revealed to us by the ruins which yet exist of the monuments which they there erected. Besides the exclusive privilege of constructing the temples and public monuments, they had a judiciary of their own, and were made free of aU. contributions to the city and state. The members of these colleges, usually after the labors of the day, convened in their respective lodges — wooden houses, temporarily erected near the edifice in course of construction — ^where they determined the distribution and 'Numa Pompilius also instituted Colleges of Artisans {Collegia Arlifi- cum) to the number of one hundred and thirty-one; at the head of which were the Colleges of Architects or Constructors, otherwise Builders (Golr legia, Fabrorum.) The latter were designated under the name of Frater- nities {Fraternitates.) (34) FOUNDATION OF THE COLLESES OF BUILDERS. 85 execution of the work upon such edifice, the decisions being made by a majority of votes. Here, also, were ini- tiated the new members into the secrets and particular mysteries of their art. These initiates were divided into three classes : apprentices, companions or fellow- workmen, and masters; and they engaged themselves by oath to afford each other succor and assistance. The presidents of those coUegeSj elected for five years, were named mas- ters or teachers {magistri); their labors in their lodges Were always preceded by religious ceremonies, and, as the membership was composed of men of all countries^ and consequently of different beliefs, the Supreme Being neces- sarily had to be represented in the lodges under a general title, and therefore was styled " The Grand Architect of the "Universe" — ^the universe being considered the most perfect work of a master builder. In the beginning the initiations into these corporations appear to have been confined to but two degrees, and the ritual of these degrees limited to, 1st, some religious cere- monies ; 2d, imparting to the initiate a knowledge of the , -duties and obligations imposed upon him ; 3d, to explain- ing certain symbols, the signs of recognition, and the inviolability of the oath : the workman or fellow-craft being, in addition, carefully instructed in the use of the level and the square, the mallet and chisel. To become a master, the elected had to submit to proofs such as were exacted at the initiation of the priest architects of Egypt, and in which he underwent a searching examination of his knowledge of art and moral principles. By the protection that these colleges of builders ac- corded to the institutions and worships of othet countries, there were developed among them doctrines and rules of Conduct very much in advance of their age, and which they clothed in symbols and emblems, which were thus charged with a double signification ; and, like the Dyonisian priest fcrchitects, they had words and signs of recognitiou. 36 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY These colleges of artisans, and principally those who professed excellence in ability to execute civil and relig- ious, naval and hydraulic architecture, at first extended from Rome into Venice and Lombardy, aftenvard into France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Britain; and more lately into Spain, Arabia, and the East ; and a great number of these colleges, which at this time were known by the name of Fraternities, followed the Eoman legions. Their business was to trace the plans of all military construc- tions, such as intrenched camps, strategic routes, bridges, aqueducts, arches of triumph, etc. They also directed the soldiers and the laborers in the material execution of their works. Composed of artisans, educated and studious men, these corporations extended the knowledge of Eoman manners and a taste for Roman art wherever the legions carried victorious the Eoman arms. And as, in this way, they contributed more largely to the victories of peace than to those of war, they carried to the vanquished and to the oppressed the pacific element of the Eoman power — the arts and civil law. These colleges existed, in all their vigor, almost to the fall of the Roman empire. The irruption of the peoples called barbarians dispersed and reduced their number, and they continued to decline while those ignorant and fero- cious men continued to worship their rude gods; but when they were converted to Christianity, the corporations flour- ished anew. The Masonic Corporations in Britain. Many of the corporations of builders who were with the Eoman legions in the countries bordering on the Rhine were sent by the Emperor Claude, in the year 43, into the British Isles, to protect the Eomans against the incursions of the Scots. Before their arrival in that country, there THE MASONIC COfiPOBATIONS IN BRITAIN. 37 were to be found neither towns nor villages. Here, as elsewhere, the Masonic corporations constructed for the legions camps, which they surrounded with walls and fortifications; and, as time advanced, the interior of these colonies was beautified with baths, bridges, temples, and palaces, which, in a great degree, rivaled even those of Rome herself. "Wherever the legions established intrenched camps, the Masonic corporations erected cities more or less import- ant. It is thus that York, called by the Romans Ebora- cum, and subsequently celebrated in the history of Free- masonry, became one of the first that acquired importance and elevation to the rank of a Roman city. The native population who aided the Romans in those different constructions were incorporated into the opera- tive bodies of workmen, and taught their art; and, in a short time, towns and villages were in course of erec- tion on every side. The rich inhabitants of the country, imitating the Romans, constructed equally sumptuous habitations, which the architects ornamented with the same sentiments of art they had exhibited on the temples of the most powerful Romans. Daily in contact with the most elevated people of the civilized world, the inhabit- ants acquired a humanitarian tolerance for the manners of foreigners, and for religious ideas so different from their own. And, in their turn, the Romans discovered that there existed in every people a portion of true humanity; and this they sought to. increase rather than unveil the barbaric and disagreeable in local manners and national prejudices. The irruptions of the mountaineers of Scotland obliged the Romans to erect on the north of Britain three im- mense walls, in three diff'erent directions," one of which traversed the country from the east to the west. •The first great wall was constructed by the Masonic Corporations, 38 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. The corporations being inadequate for the constructioa of such immense works, the Britons, who were devoted to their service, aided them in their labors, and thus became partakers of all the advantages and privileges which were enjoyed by the corporations themselves. Their constant intercourse, during the execution of the same construc- tions, and particularly in foreign countries, always resulted in individual advantage, and the enjoyment in common of the same privileges cemented this intercourse. The same art, the unity in plans of action, combined to create in their intimacy the greatest tolerance for religious and national peculiarities, and a feeling of common brother- hood was thus developed among them. All the work- men of every degree employed upon a construction called themselves a lodge — sleeping and taking their meals in buildings resembling tents, which were temporarily erected in the vicinity of the work in course of construction, and which served them as dwellings until its completion only. The erection of these houses and palaces, bi-idges and aqueducts, castles and walls, contributed to elevate archie tecture in Britain to a degree of perfection it had not attained in any other Roman province; so that, as early as the third century, this country was celebrated for the great number and the knowledge of her architects and of their workmen; and their services were called for wherever, upon the continent, great constructions were about to be erected. Christianity, too, from the first hour of its introduction, spread in Britain, and gave to the Masonic lodges the peculiar characteristics which distin- guished them at this period. These same military roads, under the orders of Agrippa, the Boman general in command of the legions in Britain, in the year 90 of our era. The second under tha Emperor Adrian, A. P. 120. This crossed the country from the river Tyne to the Gulf of Solway, and thus traversed Britain from east to west. And the third was constructed further north, by order of Septi- mus Severus, in the year 207. THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN BRITAIN. 39 BO immense in theic extent, and upon wliicli chains and slavery had been carried to people as free as they were ignorant, served now to carry to enslaved humanity, wea- ried of life, that new and inspiring liberty preached by Christ. Men now traveled these roads who, filled with the new faith, believed it to be their mission to impart to 11 whom they met or overtook in their journeyings a knowledge of the true God and the gospel of his Son. And although, when alone, these missionary converts were exposed to bloody persecutions in the towns and villages through which they passed, they were invariably per^ mitted to accompany unmolested the Masonic corpora- tions, who now, sometimes alone and sometimes in the retinue of the Roman legions, were continually threading the immense empire. Britain, too, by a favorable fortune, had more kind and humane governors at this period than any other Roman province. The example of the nobility, in becoming con- verts to the new faith, was swiftly followed by the people. If, in consequence, in the other provinces, the persecutions of the Christians were, by order of the emperors, executed with rigor the most appalling, in Britain a certain refuge was offered to the persecuted, by the connivance of her governors, among the building corporations. Hence it was that many among those who became advocates and public propagandists of the gospel, for the certain protection afforded them by these corporations, sought for and ob- tained admission among those fraternities of builders ; and thus, in the hearts of the lodges, they associated with aud- itors more freely disposed to listen to their doctrines, at once so humane and so pure ; for that love of the human race which characterized the primitive Christians entirely accorded with the spirit of those cultivated workmen who composed the Masonic corporations. When, therefore, a humane governor shrank from the disagreeable function of ordering the execution of Christians under imperial 40 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. decree, those who were thus menaced sought refuge among the Scots, or in the Orkney Islands ; or, aided by the build- ers who accompanied them, they fled to Ireland, and there remained until the death of the emperor who had ordered their execution. In this manner Scotland became the most accessible esort of these refugees, who, in return for the security awarded them, carried into that country a knowledge of Eoman architecture; and from this period may be dated the construction of those magnificent castles of the Ko- manesque or Etruscan style of architecture, whose grand remains, braving even until to-day the destructive hand of time, attest the architectural knowledge and artistic genius of their builders. "When Carausius, as commander of the Roman navy, found himself upon the coast of Belgium, he revolted, and, making sail for Britain, landed on that island in the year 287, when he declared his independence of Rome and took the title of emperor; but, ever fearful of an attack by the Emperor Maximilian, whom Diocletian had chosen for co-emperor, and to whom he had awarded the west- ern empire, Carausius sought, above all, to conciliate that society — ^then the most influential and important in the island — the Masonic corporations. These were then com- posed not alone of the descendants of those G-reeks and" Romans whom. the Emperor Claude had, in the year 43, ordered into the country, as already mentioned, but, in major part, of the natives of Britain. With this object in view, Carausius, at the ancient city of Verulam, afterward known as St. Albans, where he had taken up his abode and established his court, convoyed and confirmed to the Masonic corporations — through, the instrumentality of Albanus, a Roman knight, and Amphi- abulus, a Roman architect — all those ancient privileges accorded to them by IS^uma Pompilius, and the kings, his successors, more than a thousand years before, but which THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN BRITAIN. 41 in later years had been greatly curtailed by the subsequent Roman emperors. And it is to this renewal of those privi- leges — the greatest among which was the right of making laws for their own government, and thus, in establishing their own judiciary, becoming independent of all other legal tribunals — to which may be attributed the title Free- mason, which, since that time, has distinguished the mem- bers of these corporations in contradistinction to the other workers in wood and stone who composed no part of such bodies. K"ot having been interfered with by the Emperor Maxi- milian, Carausius employed all his wealth to augment the well-being of the country. He engaged the Masonic cor- porations in the erection of magnificent public edifices, which were rivaled but by those of Eome herself. His death, however, which occurred by assassination, in the year 295, brought these plans to an abrupt close. Immediately after the death of Carausius, Maximilian appointed Constance Clorus to the vacant governorship of Gaul and Britain. He, selecting Eboraeum, subsequently known as the city of York, for his residence, found there the oldest and most influential lodges of the Masonic cor- porations; and this city, from that time, became the center of all the lodges of Freemasons in Britain. After the death of Constance, called the Great, an event that took place in the year 306, his son Constantine suc- ceeded him. He stopped at once the persecution of the Christians, and declared himself their protector. After his victory over his rival, Licinius, he adopted Christianity himself — more, it is believed, from political motives than from a conviction of its truth — and declared it the religion of the state. Among tne earliest Christian communities the true doc- trines of Christ were, from the first, exhibited in the lives of their members — ^the first apostles having been found m Britain among the Masonic corporations. These true 42 GBNBRAId HISTOEY OP FKBEMASQJJRT. prieats and propagandiata of the religion of Jesus were entire strangers to all thought of temporal power; and the unfortunate disputes of the four bishopes who had arro- gated to themselves the government of all Christendom had not, as yet, affected the primitive doctrine recognized in that declaration of the Eedeemer: "He who serves me with most devotion upon earth shall te greatest in the kingdom of heaven." The confiding and susceptible spirit of the artist easily became impressed with the beauties of that morality which embraced humanity as a whole. The sentiments of art with which his soul was imbued repulsed all sophism, and the social life of the lodges resembled the earliest Christian associations, with this exception, that, instead of that contemplative idleness that saw no religious labor save in fasting and prayer, was exercised a robust and manly energy that found, in the acquirement of useful knowledge and the engagement in actual labor, a fitting outlet for that love of beauty and perception of the sublime which are never better directed than in the creations of art when employed for the glory of God. The early Christian missionaries, not being actuated by feelings of ambition, their doctrines were simple, pure, and easily understood and appreciated by those whom they addressed. Hence, to make themselves intelligible and beloved by their companions in the lodge, they had but to unfold before them the pure ordinances of primi- tive Christianity; and when, as was often the case, they were obliged to seek refuge in Scotland, in Ireland, or among the Orkney Islands, there to live the lives of Coul- deans,' it was necessary, when the most simple interpreta- 'Many Christians who had sought refuge in Ireland, in Gaul, and the Orkneys, habituated to every privationduringtheirapostolicalexcursions, lived in solitude in those same caves and grottoes, in the sides of rocks and mountains, which had been, before their time, inhabited by tha Druids, who there assembled to celebrate their religious rites ; and from which those Christians went forth only for the purpose of spreading the THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN BRITAIN. 43 tion of their doctrines was desired, to seek for it among those northern heroes of the truth. It was in this man- ner that Christianity in its greatest purity was better preserved in Great Britain than in any other country. As Christianity, in its new relations to the state^ daily increased in power, and demanded for its exercise the erection of suitable buildings, the Freemason corpora- tions found ample employment. Every-where Christian Churches sprang up under the direction and active opera- tions of these workmen. Constantine himself, who, imi- tating his father in many of his acts and determinations, made York his residence during the first years of his reign, knew personally the principal members of those corporations, extended to them every privilege they had ever possessed or were at any time deprived- of, and thus they became the most effective and influential arm of the public service. The approaches of the Q-ermans upon the Roman Em- pire of the West became from day to day more menacing. They did not content themselves, as was once their cus- tom, with pillaging and retiring from such provinces as they overran, but commenced to definitely establish them- selves therein. Succeeding hordes pushed past those who had arrived before them, and penetrated even beyond the country possessed by the Eomans; and it was from this cause that Britain, finding herself more and more isolated from the protection of the continental empire, began to look forward with more of fear than pleasure upon a day of freedom from the Roman sway. From the beginning of the third century the Romans had to contend almost constantly with the mountaineer of Scotland, a warlike people, the aborigines of their Grospel among the people. It was from the name of those solitary habitations that the title of Couldeans was given to those preachers of Christianity; as, in the Gaelic language, the word couldean aignifies "hermit," or dweller in solitudt 44 GENERAL HISTORY OF FEBEMAS0NR7. country, and who, like the Welsh or Cambrians, had never been conquered;^ and at length, menaced on every hand, and wearied with the continued strife, the Western emperor considered it prudent to remove to the southern portion of his empire those forces which had hitherto been reserved for the protection of Britain; and, by de- crees, as they were required to protect his empire from the inroads of the Groths, he withdrew his legions, and with them his jurisdiction over the country — a jurisdic- tion which he finally abdicated in the year 406. Thus deserted by the Romans, the Britons called to their assist- ance the Anglii and the Saxon pagans of the neighboring continent, to protect them from the assaults of the Picts and Scots and the northern pirates who infested their coasts. These auxiliaries, however, became as injurious in one sense as they were useful in another. They repulsed the Scots, it is true, but they also fixed themselves in the land and founded the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Their gross barbarities made them the enemies of all civilization. Cities and villages were destroyed, and the flourishing prosperity that Britain enjoyed under the Roman sway disappeared. The Christian and- civilized inhabitants fled to the mountains of Wales, to Scotland, or to the isles beyopd. It was among these refugees that the ancient language of Britain was preserved, and with it primitive Christianity and the knowledge of architecture as practiced by the Masonic corporations. After the first barbarous impetuosity of the Anglo-Sax- ons had been calmed, and the more peaceful pursuits of agriculture replaced the wars of robbers, some of these Christian refugees withdrew from their mountain caves and fortresses, and, returning to what were once their homes, converted many among the pagan nobles and people, 'It -was not until between the years 1273 and 1307 that the Welsh were finally conquered by Edward I, son of Henry III, and grandson of John, the Nero of English kings. — Tkans, THB MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN BRITAIN. 45 but as yet dreaded to approacli the kings. And thus, toward tlie close of the sixth century, the mild and fruit- ful light of the primitive Christian doctrine began to diffuse its gentle rays almost to the center of the seven kingdoms. It was reserved for the Benedictine monks, whom Pope Gregory I sent to England, to convert th Anglo-Saxons, and at whose head presided Austin, a cele brated priest-architect, to succeed in gradually converting all the kings. It is true that these monks, prompted by that spirit- of temporal dominion which even at that early age began to manifest itself in the Church, exerted their best efforts to strengthen the power of the Pontiff and enhance the possessions of the Holy See; but in these operations they were at once met by the returned refu- gees and their pupils, who had kept the early faith, doc- trine, and practices of the primitive Church; and thus, to a great extent, were the encroachments on that early doctrine prevented, and abuses of power corrected. And to this preservation of the primitive teachings of Chris- tian apostles, in the midst of the Masonic corporations, it is proper to attribute that better and more libera;l spirit that rendered the converts of the British Isles more fa- vorably disposed toward the arts and sciences of those days than were the inhabitants of the neighboring conti- nent. In accordance with the teachings of their founder, the Benedictine monks worked more than they fasted or prayed. Austin himself, the apostle of England and first Archbishop of Canterbury, was no less celebrated for his knowledge of architecture than for his other powers of mind and varied acquirements; and it was he who, at this time, began to rebuild and re-establish the ancient Masonic corporations, now reduced, it may well be bb- lieved, to a very small number — indeed, entirely inade- quate for those immense constructions projected by the new apostles of Christianity. It was in this manner that 46 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY at this time, in England as upon the continent, the lodges became attached to the convents, and were more or less governed by monks, according as the leading architects were monks or lay brethren ; and from this fact arose the condition that lodges held their meetings almost exclu- sively in the convents, where, if an abbot was proposed as Master or Warden of a lodge, they addressed him as Wor- shipful Brother or Worshipful Master, thus establishing a mode of address which has descended even to our own day as the usual one in speaking to or of the first officer within a lodge- After the close of the seventh century, .both bishops and abbots made frequent journeys to Eome, as well for the purpose of collecting pictures and relics of saints as to in- duce superior workmen to return with them and settle in England. Such as did so, and all others who erected for the nobles their castles and for the clergy their convents and churches, were treated with the greatest consideration by the principal men of the country, who concerted means for establishing a taste for the arts and sciences. And in this undertaking it was soon discovered that the senti- ments of early art, as taught by "Vitruvius, in the reign of Csesar Augustus, had been better preserved among lie Masonic refugees from Anglo-Saxon murder and robbery in the mountains of Wales and of Scotland, than among any other of the peoples of either islands or continent. In consequence of this discovery, it became necessary to arrange anew the British lodges, and to compose them not alone of companion architects and masons, but also of influential men; and men who, advanced in civilization, protected and loved the arts, began to take a position in these lodges as aecepted masons. The lodge at York was revived and became the most important one in the coun- try, and into it none were received as companions but free men — ^thus establishing what is yet the principal charac- teristic of this institution, to the end that no person, when THE MASONIC OOKPORATIOSS m BRITAIN. 47 dues admitted into ita memberahij) as an equal, could in any manner be impeached in his possession of Masonic privileges. It was at this time^ also, that he who desired elevation to the rank of master or teacher had to make three voyaged into strange countries, and prove to the chief workmen, When he returned, that he had perfected limself in a knowledge of the architecture peculiar to .hose countries. The Superior knowledge of the Workmen who had prac- ticed their art among the early refugees in Scotland began to be generally recoguiaed at the beginning of the eighth century, and to stamp its expression upon the buildings erected in Britain. This fact produced a particular modi- fication in the constitution of the lodges. While the gen- eral assemblies of MaSons occupied themselves with archi- tecture of a general character, particular members of the fraternity formed themselves into a separate organization, that aimed to Copy eiclusively after ike Scottish models, and, for each important work, thes« admirable models were most rigorously followed. From York, therefore, these select masters, as they might properly be called, made frequent journeys to Scotland, where a rendezvous was fixed upon at which each of them might deliberate, after he had arrived, upon the observations made by others during their travels in the country, and record his own. For this purpose was chosen the valley of GHenbeg, on the uorth-east coast of Scotland, opposite the Isle of Skye. Here there were two old castles, built in a remarkable manner, of stone, with neither lime nor mortar, and which appeared to have served as places of refuge in the wars of earlier times. It was in these castles that the masters assembled in council, and consequently they received the name of Masters of the Valley, or Scottish Masters. In lodge assembled, when they returned, all deference was paid them, as the most learned tnembers of the fraternity, and to them were intrusted the most particular parts of 48 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. each construction, or, in other words, the conscientiouB adaptation and rendering of the Scottish models. In this way, the Masonic corporations, in connection with the convents and abbeys, became, after the fall of the Roman empire, the great conservators of science and art; and in so great esteem were the memba?s "of these corporations held, that, notwithstanding the political in- feriority of Britain at this time, these corporations were found to create, by their invincible hardihood, a circle of activity and influence that embraced nearly the whole west of Europe. Whenever an apostle of the Christian religion was sent to a distant mission, a body of builders invariably accompanied him, and thus it was that a material edifice soon bore witness to the advent of the spirit of truth. During the invasion of the Danes, between the years 835 and 870, nearly all the convents, churches, and monas- teries were destroyed by fire, and with them the records and ancient documents of the lodges which had been preserved in those convents. Fifty years afterward, the king, Athelstan, desirous to rebuild these monuments of the religion of his heart, directed his adopted son Edwin, who had been taught the science of architecture, to as- semble, in the year 926, in the city of York, all the lodges of Freemasons scattered throughout the country, to the end that they would reconstitute themselves according to their ancient laws. This done, he confirmed to them all the privileges which were possessed by the free Roman colleges in the time of the republic. The constitution that was at this time presented by the king to the assem- bly of Masons, and which is called the Charter of York, is imbued with the spirit of the first Christian communi- ties, and proves, in its introduction, that the Masonic corporations at this time were but little affected by any of the peculiar doctrines which subsequently were pro- mulgated by councils of the Church dominant.' 'See the text of this Constitution, under the title "Cnqrter of York." -1 '^N THE MASONIC COKPORATIONS IN GAUL. , 49. In those days it was customary to dedicate and conse- crate to some saint every erection intended for the wor- ship of God, and with the like idea all the corporations of artists, artisans, and trades chose patron saints. The Freemasons chose St. John the Baptist for theirs, because his feast fell on the 24th of June, date of the summer solstice. This day had always been celebrated by the peoples of antiquity and by the Masons, since the founda- tion of their fraternity, as the period of the year when, the sun having attained its greatest height, nature is clothed and disports herself in the greatest abundance of her richest products. As successors of the ancient col- leges of the Romans, the Freemasons of England con- served these cherished feasts ; but, not to come in aonflict with the dominant clergy, they were obliged to give their celebration a name not calculated to give offense. It was on this account they were known not exclusively by the name of Freemasons, but often as the Fraternity of St. John, and, upon the continent, almost exclusively as St. John Brothers, or Brothers of St. John. The Masonic Cokpoeations in GI-aul. In the transalpine provinces of Gaul, the Masonic cor- porations, cotemporaneous with those of Britain, increased in a no less extraordinary, manner. After the Eoman provinces were abandoned in the year 486, all the coun- tries which had been subject to the Roman sway received with delight the attention of these builders. In those countries they were called Free Corporations, their mem- bership being composed entirely of brother Masons.' Oom- 'See, for all that relates to the history of the society in France, first me Chronological Table, and then the Summary of the History of Free- masonry in Graul. 4 50 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. posed of the remains of the ancient colleges of constructors, they maintained their antique organization in Lombardy, where Cosmo had a celebrated school of architecture. Here they multiplied to such an extent that they failed to find occupation in that country, and consequently spread over the continent. After obtaining from the Popes the renewal of their ancient privileges, and the exclusive monopoly of erecting, in all Christendom, the monuments dedicated to religious worship, they spread into all Christian countries. And although the members of these corporations had but little fear of, or respect for, either the temporal or spiritual power of the Popes — a fact which they took no care to hide — so useful were they in enhancing the grandeur and dignity of religion, this monopoly was, nevertheless, renewed and confirmed by Pope Nicholas III, in the year 1277, and continued until the year 1-334, when Pope Benedict XTI accorded to them special diplomas. These diplomas made them free of all local laws, all royal edicts, all municipal regulations, and every other obligation to which the other inhabitants of the country had to submit, thus rendering the title by which they were known, of free corporations, peculiarly appropriate. In addition to this freedom, these diplomas conceded to them the right of communicating directly with the Popes, of fixing the amounts of their own sal- aries or wages, and of regulating in their general assem- blies all subjects appertaining to their interior government. All artists and artisans who were not members of these corporations were interdicted from every act which would in any wise interfere with the work of the builders, and all sovereign rulers were commanded, as they dreaded the thunders of the Church, to suppress, with the strong arm of their power, any combination of such artists and art- isans as might rebel against this provision. During the middle ages, in all the kingdoms and princi- palities of Europe, do we find these corporations or frater- THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN GAUL. 61 nities — in Germany, in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, where, under the title of St. John Brothers, or Brothers of St. John, they have erected these sublime monuments, which, for all time, seem destined to remain as memen- toes of their architectural skill and genius. "Wherever these corporations established themselves, they there in- creased their influence by adopting, as patrons, the emi- nent men of the locality, and initiating them as accepted Masons into the bosom of their society. These, generally laying aside the material object of the institution, which for them had no charms, attached themselves to its mys- tical sense, and founded, outside of the lodges of work- men, lodges whose labors were entirely moral and philo- sophic. But, almost immediately after becoming known to the 'clergy, these lodges were met , by that intolerant spirit which superior knowledge, if unauthorized by the Church, did, in those days of general ignorance, receive at their hands, and the members of these lodges were ac- cused of introducing schisms among the laity, and troubles and sedition into the temporal sovereignty, disaflection toward the Pontiff and all other sovereigns, and, in fine, of the wish to re-establish the Order of the Knights Tem- plar, and to revenge the death of the last Grand Master and other officers of that Order upon the descendants of the kings and princes who were accessory thereto. In consequence of these charges, it is stated by a document the authenticity of which has not yet been entirely estab- lished, that the representatives of nineteen of those philo- sophic lodges, located in different portions of Europe, assembled at Cologne, in the year 1535, under the direc- tion of Hermann V, Bishop of Cologne.' At this meeting there was prepared a confession of faith, in which were enunciated the purposes and doctrines of these Masonic societies. This document, called the " Charter of Cologne," ' For presiding at this assembly, he was, some years subsequently, put under the ban of the Church. 52 GENBEAL HISTORY OF FBBBMASONET. is dated 24th of June, 1535, and thereto are signed nine- teen illustrious names, among which appear Philip Me- lancthon, Bruce, Coligni, Falk, Visieux, Stanhope, Jacobus Prepositus, Van ]S"oock, and Noble — names of those pres- ent at this assembly, as delegates from the Masonic lodges of London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Paris, Vi- enna, and other cities, to assist at this general assembly convoked at Cologne. This charter is written upon a sheet of parchment in Masonic characters, which are con- tracted into the Latin of the middle ages, and the writ- ing of which is so much defaced as to render some of the words unintelligible. This charter, together with a docu- ment, said to be the records of a lodge called the " Lodge of the Valley of Peace," from its organization to the year 1519, after the death of a member of the lodge,' named Boetzlaar, fell into the hands of Prince Frederick, Grand Master of the lodges of Holland, who had copies of them prepared and sent to the principallooges of Europe. The persecutions of the ultramontane clergy, however, event- ually destroyed the philosophic lodges of Southern and Western Europe. Thb Masonic Coeporations in Germany. During the fifteenth century there existed in Germany' a great number of lodges of operative Masons which, following the example of the English lodges of the same period, recognized a few principal lodges of master work- men and architects, to whom they accorded the title of high or grand lodges. These, were in number five, and were established at Cologne, Strasburg, Vienna, Zurich, and Madgeburg. That at Cologne was from at first con- sidered the most important, and the master of the work upon the cathedral at Cologne was recognized as the chief of all the masters and workmen of Lower Germany, as was ti^^ '^^^ia/r/'''Ma/u^^.. THE MASONIC COKPORATIONS IN GERMANY, 53 the master of the work oa the cathedral of Strasburg' considered as occapying a similar position of honor in Upper Germany. Subsequently there was established a central mastership, and Strasburg, when the work upon its great cathedral was continued to its completion, dis- puted the pre-eminence with Cologne, whose cathedral is yet unfinished, and became the seat of the grand master- ship. The grand lodge of Strasburg counted within her jurisdiction the lodges of France, Hesse, Swabia, Thurin- gia, Franconia, and Bavaria ; while to the grand lodge of Cologne were subordinate the lodges of Belgium and neighboring portions of France. The grand lodge of Vienna exercised jurisdiction over the lodges of Austria, Hungary, and Styria; while those .of Switzerland were attached to the grand lodge of Berne during the con- struction of the cathedral in that city, and subsequently to that of Zurich, where its seat was transferred in 1502. The lodges of Saxony, which from at first recognized the supremacy of the grand lodge of Strasburg, were subse- quently placed under that of Madgeburg. These five grand lodges had a sovereign and inde- pendent jurisdiction, and adjudged, without appeal, all causes brought before them, according to the statutes of the society. These ancient laws, revised by the chiefs of the lodges, assembled at Ratisbonne on the 25th of April, 1459, and, for the first time, printed in 1464,^ were en- titled '■^Statutes and Rules of the Fraternity of Stone-cutters of Strasburg." Sanctioned by the Emperor Maximilian in the year 1498, the constitution, composed of those statutes and rules, was confirmed by Charles V in 1520, by Ferdinand in 1558, and their successors. 'Erwiix of Steinbach. He called together, at Strasburg, the Masonic Congress of 1275. His seal is mentioned by Brother Clavel as being the oldest arrangement of the compass, square, and letter G extant. — Trans* 'This was about twenty-flve years after the discovery of the art of printing with moveable types. — Tkans. 54 GENEEAL HISTORY OF EEEEMASONKT. Toward the close of the fifteenth century, however, the crying abuses of the clergy and the Popes having cooled the religious fervor and unsettled the faith of the people, the construction of many churches was arrested for want of necessary means to erect them. This led to the dis- persion of the men engaged in erecting them, and imme- diately following this change in public sentiment, burst forth the reformation, led by Luther, which rent for the time, almost to its foundation, the temporal and spiritual power of the Popes, and, forever arresting the work upon the vast monuments of worship, gave the death-blow to the Masonic corporations in every portion of the European continent. Gradually thenceforth the German lodges dis- solved — those of Switzerland had been by an order of the Helvetian Diet disbanded in 1522 — the jurisdiction of the five grand lodges was narrowed to very confined limits, and with nothing to construct, and nothing to adjudicate, the Diet of the Empire, sitting at Ratisbonne, abrogated, by a law of the 16th of March, 1707, the authority of these lodges, and ordained that the differences between the workmen builders which might thereafter arise should be submitted to the civil tribunals. General Teansformation of Ereemasonet from an Opera TivB TO A Speculative oe Philosophic Institution. DuEiNG the troubles which desolated England about the middle of the seventeenth century, 'and after the death of Charles I, in 1649, the Masonic corporations of England, and more particularly those of Scotland, labored in secret for the re- establishment of the throne destroyed by Crom- well; and for this purpose they instituted many degrees hitherto unknown and totally foreign to the spirit and na- ture of Ereemasonry, and which, in fact, gave to this time- .honored institution a character entirely political. The dis- GENERAL TRANSFORMATION OP FREEMASONRY. 55 cussions to which this country was a prey had already pro- duced a separation between the operative and accepted Ma- sons. The latter were honorary members, who, according to long established usage, had been accepted into the society for the advantage which their generally influential position in the country might effect; but this very position made them at this time naturally the adherents of the throne and the strong supporters of Charles II, who during his exile was received as an accepted Mason by their election, and, in consequence of the benefits he derived from the society, gave to Masonry the title of Royal Art; because it was mainly by its instrumentality that he was raised to the throne and monarchy restored to England. Notwithstanding, however, the favor with which it was regarded by the king. Freemasonry, during the latter part of the seventeenth century, decreased to such a degree that in 1703 but four lodges existed in the city of Lon- don, while throughout Great Britain at that time none other were known to the members, who, reduced to the smallest number, attended the meetings of these. In fact, with the completion of St. Paul's Cathedral, the city of London was considered rebuilt, and the occupation of the operative Masons seemed to have been brought to a close ; while the accepted Masons, having obtained the object of their desire in the restoration of the monarchy, neglected the communion they had previously kept up with the operative members of the institution. Hence we find that in the year 1703 the lodge of St. Paul — so named because the operative Masons engaged in the erection of the cathe- dral held their lodge in a building situated in the church- yard or grounds thereof — passed aii important resolution the object of which was to augment the numbers of the fraternity, and to give the Masonic institution some of its former importance in public estimation. Here, having agreed that they should continue the existence of so praiseworthy an institution to be used as the conservator. 56 GENEBAL HISTORY 01 FRBEMASONKY. of religion and tradition, and perpetuate, by the beautifu. allegories of its legends and symbols, its eminently hu- manitarian doctrines, they for this purpose adopted the following memorable resolution : " Resolved, That the privileges of Masonry shall no longer be confined to operative Masons, but be free to men of all pro- fessions, provided that they are regularly approved and ini- tiated into the fraternity." This important decision changed entirely the face of the society, and transformed it into what we find it to-day; but many difficulties had to be removed, many years of probation had to be passed before this form of its work- ings could be successfully adopted- This was owing, first, to the want of union among the four lodges; second, to the exceedingly disreputable character which, for many years, had attached to the society — ^it having degenerated from an influential and privileged institution to little better than a pot-house companionship, with here and there a proud few who remembered its glories of other days — but perhaps, above all, the determined oppositioj of the G-rand Master, Sir Christopher Wren, the archi- tect of the new city of London, to the spirit of the inno- vating resolution. This opposition he maintained until his death; so that it was not until after that event, which occurred in 1716, that the four lodges which still existed, more in name than in fact, felt themselves at liberty to assemble their membejship with the primary object of electing a new Grand Master, but more particularly to detach themselves from all connection with the lodge at York, that had for fifty years enjoyed but a nominal exist- ence, and to put into active operation the decision involved in the resolution of 1?03. In that assembly, after electing the Master of St. Paul's Lodge, Anthony Sayre, to the office of Grand Master, there were gathered up the "Constitution and Charges of a Freemason," which, subsequently prefaced by a " History of SBNERAL TRANSFORMATION OF FRBBMASONRT. 57 Freemasonry," prepared by Dr. Anderson, were accepted, sanctioned, and printed in 1723, under the title of "TAe Constitution and Charges of the Ancient and Respectable i?Va- temity of Freemasons." And it is the date of this publica- tion that may properly be considered the commencement of exclusively speculative or modern Freemasonry. The principle of civilization indwelling in the doctrines and pursuits of Masonry, after having burst the bonds which kept it grasped in the stiff embrace of a mechanical asso- ciation, at once abandoning itself to all its powers of ex- pansion, almost immediately penetrated the heart of the social system, and animated it with a new life. The new Freemasonry, in the short space of twenty-five years, spread itself in a manner but little less than miraculous mto nearly every portion of the civilized world. It passed from England to France as early as 1725, theUce to Belgium, to Holland, to Germany, to America^ subse- quently to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, to Sweden, and to Poland; and, as early as 1740, were to be found lodges in Denmark, in Bohemia, in Russia, in the Antilles, in Africa, and in the British possessions in Hindostan. If Freemasonry has ceased to erect temples ; if it has ceased to engage in material architecture; if it no longer exhibits itself in the elevation of spires and turrets as points from which eyes may be directed and hopes ascend toward a better and a happier world, it has not less con- tinued its work of moral and intellectual culture; and its success in this respect has been far more satisfactory than those who planned its design as a speculative institution ever hoped to achieve. In all time it has exercised a power- ful and happy influence upon social progress ; and if to- day, instead of holding itself at the head of all secular societies, it is known in some countries but to be rejected and despised, this conditioli is owing to the destruction of that uniformity and oneness of purpose which constituted its fundamental recommendSltion ; and this destruction ia 58 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. due to the innovations introduced by ambitious and design- ing men for motives of personal influence and advancement, and in defiance of their solemn asseverations that it was not within the power of its membership to introduce inno- vations into the body of Freemasonry. But even here it has shown the immortality of its spirit; for, notwithstand- ing the multiplicity of rites which have been forced upon it, and the ceremonial degrees which have been added to it — ^thus dividing its strength, causing grave inconvenience, choking the sources of accurate information as to its, origin and history, and creating useless and unsatisfactory dis- tinctions among its members — ^that excellent spirit which its earliest teachings engender and subsequent culture fosters is ever exhibited in a fraternal regard for each other when the brethren meet in their popular assembly, and there lay aside " all distinctions save that noble dis- tinction, or rather emulation, of who can best work and best agree." /^ ^^^^^a/yj^a^^ DIVERS OPINIONS UPON THE ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY. 59 DIVEES OPINIONS UPON THE OEIGIN OF FREEMA- SONRY— ITS DOCTRINES, ITS OBJECT, AND ITS FUTURE. The origiii of Freemasonry has been, for a long time, vague and obscure. And while it is to this obscurity in its history, augmented by the multiplicity of systems which have been introduced, that it is necessary to attrib- ute the contradictory opinions as to its origin held by those who have written upon that subject, it is, however, due to the scientific researches of a few Masonic historians who have entered this field of darkness with the deter- mination to lay aside all the commonly received opinions and traditions upon the subject, that at the present day this obscurity has disappeared. By the connection that its forms of initiation present with the Egyptian Mysteries, and with many societies and philanthropical schools of antiquity — the Dyonisian, the Therapeutic, the Essenian, the Pythagorean — some authors have believed that within one or several of those societies might be found the cradle of Freemasonry ; while others, led into error by the symbols and passwords of Hebrew origin, have pretended that its birth had place at the build- ing of Solomon's Temple, of which the books of Kings and of Chronicles, as found in the Old Testament, afford us such precise details. This temple, erected in the year 1012, before the Christian era, by king Solomon, who was, no doubt. Master of the Hebrew Mysteries — a type of the Egyptian — and nine years afterward dedicated by him to 60 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the glory of the one only and ever-living Qod, was the first national manifestation of an only God ever erected. From the pointed bearing of this fact, and as a masterpiece of gorgeous architecture, representing in perfection the image and harmony of the universe, this temple has ever sym- bolized in Freemasonry the moral excellence to which very brother is in duty bound to carry his perfected work. Losing sight, however, of this aspect of the mat- ter, as well as of the fact that all the teachings of an- tiquity were invariably clothed in allegories and illustrated by symbols, many authors, and following them the mass of the brethren, have accepted the teachings of Masonry and the legends of the degrees not as allegories, but as actual occurrences, and have inextricably entangled them- selves in their endeavors to explain them as such. Another peculiarity which has, above all, contributed to mduce error in the researches into the origin of the so- ciety, is the difference presented by the forms of initiation ; that of the first degree being evidently borrowed from the Egyptian, while those of the second and third belong en- tirely to the Hebrew mysteries. This difference, however, will be easily understood, when it is known that Numa Pompilius organized his colleges of constructors as a fra- ternity of artists and artisans, and, at the same time, as a religious society. When so organized, the greater num- ber of the colleges, finding themselves composed of G-reeks who had been initiated into the mysteries of their country, imitated in their worship ihe form of initiation practiced in those naysteries; but when, some seven hundred years afterward, in the time of Julius Csesar, the Jews were pro- tected at Rome and granted many immunities, among which were the privilege of setting up their synagogues, a great many Hebrew artists and artisans were affiliated in those colleges, and in their turn introduced a part of the Hebrew mysteries, and with them their own beautiful allegories, among which that of the third degree was chief DIVERS OPINIONS UPON THE ORIGIN OP FREEMASONRY. 61 It is true that the forms of initiation practiced in our day probably bear very little resemblance to those which were in use among the Roman colleges of builders, and that these forms have often been changed or modified to suit the country and the men who found themselves at the head of the fraternity ; nevertheless, it is certain tha a fixed and unchanged foundation has always religiouslj been preserved. The rituals which were established at London in 1650, as well as those of 1717, seem to have been based upon the Anglo-Saxon documents, arranged by the General Assembly at York in the year 926. It will be remembered that the fraternity in 1650, the year after the bloody execution of Charles I, and when the accepted Masons had acquired such influence in the insti- tution, had, to some considerable extent, and, in 1717, to a far greater degree, abandoned the material object of the association, and the members thereof having submitted, at their initiation into the two first degi'ees, to all the proofs required of the Master, the allegory of Hebrew origin and the summit of Hebrew mystery was always preserved as the proper illustration for the third degree, susceptible, as it is, of a local interpretation that satisfles men of every worship.^ Notwithstanding the connection that so evidently exists between the ancient mysteries and the Freemasonry of our day, the latter should be considered an imitation 'Such historiana as attribute to the partisans of the Stuarts the in- stitution of Freemasonry, and who constantly believe that this allegory portrays the violent death of Charles I, are in error; for it requires but a very limited knowledge of the ancient mysteries to see in Hiram, the • master workman, the Osiris of the Egyptians, the Mithras of the Per sians, the Bacchus of the Q-reeks, the Atys of the Phrygians, or the Balder of the Scandinavians, of whom these people celebrated the pas- sion, violent death, and resurrection as the Boman clergy of to-day, in the sacrifice of the Mass, celebrate the passion, violent death, and resur- rection of Jesus Christ Otherwise, this is the type eternal of all the religions which have succeeded each other upon the earth. 62 GENERAL HISTOET OF FREEMASONRY, rather than a continuation of those ancient mysteries ; for initiation into them was the entering of a school wherein were taught art, science, morals, law, philosophy, philan- thropy, and the wonders and worship of nature; while the mysteries of Freemasonry are but a resumS of divine md human wisdom and morality — ^that is to say, of all hose perfections which, when practiced, bring man nearest to God. Freemasonry of to-day is that universal morality that attaches itself to the inhabitants of all climes — to the men of every worship. In this sense, the Freemason re- ceives not the law, he gives" it; because the morality Free- masonry teaches is unchanging, more extended and uni- versal than any native or sectarian religion can be; for these, always exclusive, class men who differ from them as pagans, idolaters, schismatics, heretics, or infidels ; while Masonry sees nothing in such religionists but brothers, to whom its temple is open, that by the knowledge of the truth therein to be acquired they may be made free from the prejudices of their country or the errors of their fathers, and taught to love and succor each other. Free- masonry decries error and flies from it, yet neither hates nor persecutes. In fine, the real object of this association may be summed up in these words : To efface from among men the prejudices of caste, the conventional distinctions of color, origin, opinion, nationality; to annihilate fanat- icism and superstition ; extirpate national discord, and with it extinguish the firebrand of war; in a word, to ar- rive, by free and pacific progress, at one formula or model of eternal- and universal right, according to which each individual human being shall be free to develop every faculty with which he may be endowed, and to concur, heartily and with all the fullness of his strength in the bestowment of happiness upon all, and thus to make of the whole human race one family of brothers, united by affection, wisdom, and labor. Slowly and painfully does the highest condition of DIVBRS OPINIONS UPON THE ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY. 63 human knowledge accomplish its great revolution around the glittering axis of truth. The march is long, and since it began nations and peoples have lived and died; but when that journey is accomplished, and the incarnation of truth, now robed but in its symbol, shall appear in all the splendor of its brilliant nudity, truth's torch itself hall then enlighten the world, the doctrine that has just been announced shall become the religion of all the peo- ples of the earth, and then, and not till then, will be realized that sublime ideal now mysteriously hidden in the symbol of Freemasonry. That day is, without doubt, yet far distant ; but it will arrive. Its coming is marked by destiny and in the order of the centuries. Already, in the sacred balance of eter- nal justice, is seen each day to diminish a portion of the errors of the people, and to increase the body of light, of principle, and those truths which are preparing the way for its triumph, and which, one day, will give assur- ance of its reign. 64 GEUEKAL HISTORY OP FKBBMASONRY. HISTOKIOAL SUMMARY OF THE MASONIC CORPORA- TIONS IN GAUL, FROM THEIR INTRODUCTION IN THE YEAR 60 B. C, TO THEIR DISSOLUTION IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. After ten years of unavailing war, the old Gallic na- tionality perished. All had to submit to the great genius of Julius Caesar — the most beautiful devotion as well as the most indomitable courage. It was in vain that the three hundred and fifty tribes of the Gauls, the Bellovici and the Oarnutes, the Aedui and the Bituriges, the Treviri and the Arverni, had disputed with him, step by step, the possession of their territory. The Roman legions, sur- mounting every obstacle, filling up swamps, breaking out roads, and traveling securely through dense forests, took possession of nearly every town and village to which they laid siege, and gained nearly every battle which they fought. After having exhausted themselves in vain ef- forts for the defense of Alise and TJxellodunum,^ Gaul ' Shortly before this period, some brigades of Companion Constructors, with their masters at their head, accompanied the Eoman legions into the middle of Gaul and into Spain, and there had erected some towns: Cordova, for example. But it was not until Caesar's time that the col- leges, complete in all their appointments, were called by him to recon etruct the destroyed cities. ^Alise is supposed by some to be now called Iselburg, or, according to JuniuH, Wesel, in the duchy of Cleves, but more probably Ulsen — Index to Ccesar's CoiAmenis. The situation of Uxellodunum is not now known, though, in the opinion of some geographers, it was the modern Ussoldun. — Ibid. (Note by Translator.) '^^ 'U ^^WJ^i'/'/'/ ^/'ji^lr/A/t^/ THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN GAUL. 66 forced into her last intrenclimeiits, was obliged to submit to the yoke of the conqueror ; and thus, despite ,of her- self, she became one of the most rich and beautiful prov- inces of the vast Roman Empire. According to Plutarch, Caesar, for the purpose of bring- ing to a successful conclusion his long and perilous enter- prise, had taken more than eight hundred towns, con- quered more than three millions of men — of whom one million perished in battle, and another million was re- duced to captivity — ^but, finally, in the year 60 B. C, the work of conquest was achieved. Csesar treated the conquered country with extreme mod- eration. He left to Gaul her territory, her habitations, and the essential forms of her government. He accorded to her people even the title and rights of Roman citizens, with the sole condition that they should pay tribute. Little by little the old Gauls abandoned their rude and savage manners for those soft and polished of their con- querors. They forsook their antique oppida, difficult of access, for cities embellished and adorned with elegant constructions, and upon favorable spots, desolated by war, arose cities and towns equaling those of Italy. Augusto- dunum replaced Bibracte, and Augusto-nemetum was built near Gergovia. The new cities, built under the direction of the corporations of constructors, who were partly at- tached to the Roman legions, took names from the lan- guage of their builders, and received from Rome priests and magistrates. Immediately sumptuous edifices arose upon the sacred places; beautiful statues, modeled by Graeco-Latin art, are substituted for the rude effigies of the Celtic divinities; swamps filled with reeds, and lands covered with briars, are converted into beautiful fields and meadows; the forests are cleared and the soil cultivated to rival the most beautiful countries on the thither side of the Alps. Numerous roads open up communication with all parts; the rivers are furrowed with boats, and 5 66 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the ocean with richly-laden ships, like those of the Medi- terranean; commerce is extended, fabrics of every kind begin to be manufactured; and, in fine, the various prod- ucts of the country are carried into every province of the vast empire. Since the time of Csesar, Gaul had been furrowed with oads, but it remained until the reign of Augustus to con- nect them with those which had been constructed in the neighboring provinces. That Emperor, for the immense work that the conquest reclaimed, ordered from beyond Cisalpine Gaul, (Venice and Lombardy,) and even from Rome itself, all the builders and artisans, members of the colleges of constructors, which could be spared. These corporations conserved their important privileges, and in Gaul considerably augmented their organization. One portion occupied themselves with the construction of the roads, and directed the Roman soldiers in their labors. Another was more particularly charged with the work on fortifications and intrenched camps, and the latter were generally attached to the legions. Other colleges, com- posed of artist constructors in wood, and mechanics, built, at Massilia (Marseilles), and at Frejus, ships and boats for the service of the state; while another class of those colleges were occupied exclusively in the erection of public temples and monuments; and, finally, yet an- other in constructing bridges and aqueducts. It was under the orders of Agrippa that the latter class con- structed the most beautiful paved roads which crossed Gaul in every direction. Among these may be reckoned the Via Domitia, that traversed Savoy and Provence (this road was originally constructed under the directions of Pompey, in the year 45 B. C, and extended from Italy almost into Gaul, toward the Alps) ; the Via Aurelia, which starting from Civita Vecchia (Forum Aurelia), to Aries; that of Emporium, from near the Pyrenees to the passage of the Rhone; finally the road which, ending at Lyons, THE MASONIC COEPORATIONS IN GAUL. 67 after having passed through the valley of Aosta, contin- ued, by order of Agrippa, in four different directions — viz. : the first into Aquitania (Guienne and Gascony), by the Auvergne; the second to the Rhine, by the mouth of the Meuse; the third to Laon, by Burgundy and Pi- cardy, and the fourth to Marseilles, by j^arbonne. These were the principal roads; but th^re were a great many others which connected the different towns and villages. Lugdunum (Lyons) was to Gaul what the City of Eome was to the rest of the universe, the c^ter wherein termi- nated all the principal roads of the country. As at Rome was there to be seen at Lyons the great milestone or col- umn from which all roads were measured, and upon which the distance to every point along each road was marked. The great Roman roads were marked at regular distances, by milestones (milliarii lapides), of from five to eight feet high, upon which was indicated the number of the stone, and the distances given in miles and leagues. A means of pacification employed by the Roman Em- peror was to found a great number of military colonies. Entrusted with the task of keeping quiet their most tur- bulent neighboring countries, and with the defense of their frontier against the aggressions of the Germans, these colonies, which have given birth in nearly all the provinces to the cities of the present day, were in daily communication with the inhabitants of the neighboring country, transmitting to them their ideas of taste and cultivation. Composed of Roman citizens, they enjoyed the same rights and privileges to which they were accus- tomed in Italy. The Emperor Augustus, after having regulated, at ISTarbo- Martius (JiTarbonne), in the year 27 B. C, the assessment of imposts and the administration of the interior, after having established schools and adapted the laws to the wants of the people, occupied himself in directing the construction, in many of the cities, in Narbonne and Lyons, 68 • &ENEEAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. particularly, by tlie colleges of architects, roads, aqueducts, entrenched camps, etc. rrom that date the prosperity of Lyons may be said to have begun. Under the Roman rule this city became the capital of Gaul, the seat of gov- ernment, the imperial residence during the voyages of Augustus, and those of most the successors to liis reign. Caesar and Augustus, moreover, accepted the patronage of a number of towns which took their names from the Julian and Augustan families, and which enjoyed many privileges. The ancient cities, such as Marseilles, Aries, Aix, Ifar- bonne, etc., were ornamented, in a considerable degree, by monuments; while, by the prodigious activity of the colleges of constructors, upon the sites of ancient towns, destroyed in the wars, arose new cities, in the construction of which both Roman soldier and native population lent their aid. Among this crowd of cities, the, most important were Rheims, Rouen, Bourges, Sens, Bourdeaux, Besangon, Lyons, Vienne, Toulouse, Paris, and Treves, and the last- named was chosen latterly as the residence of the gover- nors of Gaul. Those cities were organized exactly upon the. plan of Rome, wherein reposed the center of govern- ment. Each of them had its forum, its papitol, its thea- ters, its amphitheater, its temples, its cathedrals, its streets and aqueducts, and also its schools, wherein were taught polite literature, science, and art with a success that ri- valed that of Athens under Pericles, and Rome under Au- gustus himself. The spectacle that Gaul presented under ihe dominion of the twelve Csesars is of the highest interest. The col- leges of architects, composed generally of artists and men versed in all the sciences, had contributed to this elevated degree as much by the great number of monuments which they had erected in the principal Gallic cities, under tha reign of Augustus, as by their learning and their humani- THE MASONIC COKPOKATIONS IN GAUL. 69 tarian principles. In tLis manner the fraternity had at- tained to a condition of such consideration that men the most distinguished regarded it a high privilege to be ac- cepted among them as honorary members. At this time many of the most illustrious patricians, prefering Gaul to Italy as a residence, Agrippa, Drusus, Tiberias, and the richest among the citizens of Rome, sought governorships in- that country preferably to any other. In fine, the Roman institutions, manners, letters, and arts ^transplanted to this soil attained a development as abundant as in the most flourishing of the years known to Italy herself. It should be remarked that all of these productions of intelligence were forwarded or retarded, however, by the condition of reigning emperor — the good ruler working for the good of the provinces as well as for that condition of Rome herself, while the evil-disposed ruler burdened them with imposts and vexatious grievances. Almost to the fourth century the arts, and particularly architecture, were very flourishing in the province of (Jaul. From the time of Constantine, almost to the defeat ctf Syagrius, the emperors continued to visit the country to defend it against the incessant invasions of the G-er- laans, Saxons, Burgundians, Herulians, etc. But the j^'ranks, of all its invaders, appeared to be the most re- doubtable and persistent. No defeats damped their cour- age until the year 355, of our era, when Julian, having overthrown them in the most signal manner, removed his residence to Lutesia (Paris), and caused there to be con- structed an immense palace, the ruins of the baths of which may be seen, in the Rue de la Harpe, to this day. Under the emperors who succeeded him, however, the aggressions became more active and audacious, and the ravages more terrible. The imperial power lost each year, each day, a portion of its prestige. Stilicon yet sus- tained the power of Honorius, in Gaul; but, after him,' the Sclaves, the Alans, and the Huns pillaged and devas- 70 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. tated the country without pity and without mercy. The Visigoths and the Burgundians undertook even to estab- lish themselves in the land. Adolph, king of the Goths, fought the German hordes for some time with variable success, but he was, in his turn, chased from !N"arbonne and finally driven from the south by Constance, a gen- eral commanding the army of Honorius. It was in this war that the greater portion of the beautiful monuments erected by the Roman colleges were destroyed — monu- ments the beauty and symmetry of which we can yet judge by the existing remains of the amphitheaters at Aries, at Frejus, IsTemes, etc., the aqueducts of the Pont du Gard, at Lyons, and those of neighboring cities. Honorius reorganized the Gauls, and Aries became the capital. In a proclamation, he invited the people to con- struct twenty-four of their destroyed cities, to rebuild their bridges, and re-establish their roads. For this pur- pose, he sent into all parts of the country which had been overrun by the barbaric hordes artist constructors, to guide the workmen and direct them in their labors. But all of these ameliorations endured for but a short time; the barbarous nations continued their invasions, and the Franks finally triumphed. It was in vain that Actius fought the Visigoths, repulsed the Burgundians, defied Attila. It was in vain that Majorien retook Lyons from Theodoric; the Franks seized upon Mayenee, Treves, and Cologne, destroyed their principal edifices, and heaped ruin upon ruin. They established themselves at Tour- nay, and from thence advanced, step by step, over the territory of the empire. In fine, Clovis appeared, and Gaul was forever withdrawn from Roman domination. Then it was that a new art erected itself upon the old ruins, established itself upon a new basis, and developed itself, marked with some material elements of the past, but reinvested with another symbol. The Masonic corporations which had been formed out- THE MASONIC COfiPORATIONS IN GAUL. 71 side of the legions who settled in Gaul^ — and their number was considerable — after the retreat of the Eomans in the year 486, remained in the country. For years they had been in the habit of receiving into their membership many of the Gauls. Many members of these corporations em- braced Christianity, which, in Gaul, since the beginning of the third century, had numerous partisans. K"o longer exclusively employed by the government, and their privi- leges consequently having decreased, a change operated in their organization. The different arts and trades which, almost to that time, had been united in one fraternity, separated and formed distinct corporations; and it was among these corporations that, much degenerated, were found to exist the manners and customs of the Eoman colleges of constructors, and which, subsequently, served as a basis for the communes of the middle ages. Among them the corporations of Masons were at all times the most important, because they conserved their primitive organization and privileges, and continued to devote them- selves particularly to the construction of religious edifices. Intrusted by the new apostles, who, in the year 257, came from Rome, bearing the title of bishops, with the construc- tion of the religious edifices then iu course of erection at Amiens, Beauvais, Soissons, Rheims, and Paris, these Christian Masons, guided by those apostles, and inspired by them with a horror of pagan temples, wrought with zeal in the destruction of the enormous number of edifices and works of art that the wars and the invasions had not yet destroyed, and of which there existed many remains. la this manner the earth became the sepulcher of all the remains of centuries of earlj'^ art. Under the reign of Childeric (460-481), of Clovis (481- 611), of Clothaire (511-561), many churches were built upon the ruins of the pagan temples, and, at the close of the sixth century, a great many existed. During the in- ternational wars, the invasions of barbarians and social 72 GENERAL HISTORY OF FKEEMASONRT. struggles of the people, the study of science .and the prac- tice of the divers branches of the arts, found place alone in the monasteries, wherein, above all, were cultivated architecture, sculpture, and painting. So that wherever the erection of a church was contemplated, the plan was furnished by an ecclesiastic — a member of the Masonic corporations — and the work was executed under his direc- tion. St. Eloi, Bishop of Noyen (659), St. Ferol, of Limo- ges, Dalmac, Bishop of Rhodes, and Agricola, Bishop of Chalons (680-700), were the celebrated architects. But the corporations had equally good from among the laity, of which the most renowned had gone to England, having been engaged by the Bishop of Weymouth, who came to Gaul to seek such ; and, later, Charles Martel, who ruled (740) in France under the title of " Major of the Palace," sent many masters and workmen to England upon the demands of the Anglo-Saxon kings. The invasion of the Arabs (718) arrested the flight that the arts had taken in the seventh century, and it was not until the reign of Charlemagne (768-814) that stone- cutters and sculptors were ordered from Lombardy, and architecture was again cultivated with success. The quali- fication of stone-cutter, or master of the work, was then given to the greatest architects of Europe, and whoever wished to become an architect found it necessary to be received into the corporation to learn the art of stone- cutting — that branch of architecture being considered the basis of the art — not, however, to be considered or re- ceived as a master until he had passed through many de- grees of apprenticeship. It was in the Latin style that all edifices of the time were erected. The Roman and Roman-ogee, or transition, styles succeeded it.' 'All the monuments constructed by Masonic corporations were erected after certain forms and rules which are called style. The style was adopted by the architects or chiefs, and all the masters had to conform §^ ■^ 'N*. X - ^ ^ "k V .,v~ " V ^v t V V ■>- -.^ ^ THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN GAUL. 73 The year 1000, so much dreaded, arrived. It shoula have brought the reign of Anti-Christ and the end of the world's existence ; but no inundation had flooded nor earthquakes shaken our globe from its axis, although the terror entertained by the Christian world, that its destruc- tion was merely deferred, was not dissipated for nearlj three years afterward. At the expiration of that time, however, the most skeptical felt they had nothing further to fear, and this belief was hailed as the aurora of a hew earth. Art as well as humanity arose from its long leth- argy and gave evidence of the vitality of its being. The desire to repair the disasters of years became general, and soon made itself felt in the reconstruction of nearly all the religious edifices of the Christian world. William the Conqueror, King of England in 1054, influenced in some degree by the stream of Norman priests and archi- tects that flowed into England during his reign — ^gradu- ates all of the school of the Lombards — built the finest and most stupendous cathedrals of England. A great number of Masons had, at this time, formed an Italian school in Lombardy, which, in the seventeenth century; was an active center of civilization, and where some frag- ments of the ancient Roman colleges of builders had lo- cated themselves, and enjoyed their antique organization to it. There may be enumerated four periods in which, each style ia marked by a form or style different from the other. In the first period, it was the Latin style that prevailed, from the fourth to the eleventh century ; subsequently the Eomau style, during the elev- enth and first half of the twelfth. In the second period, it is the Roman-ogee, or transition Roman stylej that prevailed, from 1150 to 1200. In the third period, it was the primary ogival style that prevailed u the thirteenth century, the secondary in the fourteenth, and the tertiary in the fifteenth centuries. In the fourth period, it was the style called the Renaissance, or an- cient Latin revived, that prevailed to the close of the sixteenth and dur- ing the seventeenth centuries. 74 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. and privileges, under the name of Free Corporations. The most celebrated were those of Como, which had acquired so great a degree of superiority that the title of "Magistn Comadni," or Masters of Como, had become the generic name 'of aU the members of the architect corporations. They always taught in secret, and had their own judiciary and mysteries. While they had been laboring to cover Lombardy with religious edifices, their number had so greatly increased that, this work accomplished, the country failed to afford employment for all, and, in consequence, many united in the formation of a great Fraternity, having for its object to travel into all Christian countries, and therein erect religious edifices. This design was earnestly and ably sec- onded by the Popes, who conferred upon the corporations and upon those who, with the same object, followed in their train, the exclusive monopoly — ^mentioned in an- other part of this work — which was respected and sanc- tioned by the kings of such countries. In the eleventh century we find them again in France, where they are known under the name of Brother Masons and Brother Bridgers, and sometimes, also, under that of Freemasons. Employed and directed almost exclusively by the religious orders, the abbots and prelates held it an honor to enter into membership with the Fraternity, and to participate in their secrets, and thus greatly promoted the stability and consideration accorded to the institution. The numbers of the Mason Fraternity were united by mutual obligations of hospitality, succor, and good offices, and thus they were enabled to make, at small expense, the most lengthy journeys in the pursuit of employ ment. The Bridgers, or Bridge-building Fraternity, who formed a community, civil and religious, resembling that of the ancient Eomau colleges, occupied themselves more par- ticularly with that which concerned bridges. It was them THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN GAUL. 75 who built the bridge at Avignon (1180), and nearly all the bridges of Provence, Lorraine, and Lyons. The architect-in-chief of. the corporation of Freemasons was generally a Benedictine monk, and supported by men of all the. principal nationalities — Italy, England, France, Holland, Germany, and Greece — who, during the construe tion of some more masterly production than usual, found it necessary to travel much from country to country. The workmen dwelt, upon these occasions, in barracks erected for their convenience, near by the edifice in course of construction, and generally upon a high or rising ground. The master directed all. Ten men were always under the surveillance of a chief, and none but actual Freemasons participated in the work, and who, when their task was in that locality accomplished, sought their fortunes elsewhere. In nearly every instance they were ably seconded by the people of the neighborhood, who freely carried to the spot the necessary materials in the rough which were used in the construction of the edifice, and also by the nobles, who gave them money and pro- •visions necessary for their support. All of the principal cities had their corporations of workmen, who, in addition to their rights as citizens, had their own fundamental and special laws, as corporate societies. It was in the reigns of Philip Augustus (1180 to 1223), and of St. Louis (1226-1270), that were conceived the majority of these magnificent cathedrals that can be called by 'no lesser name than sublime sanctuaries of an all-pow- erful God ; grand conceptions of Christian genius as poems written out in the faith and by the hand of those Mason philosophers. In the eyes of the vulgar, these monuments are but masses of stone regularly heaped, together; their forms present to such nothing beyond the expression of an idea indicating a temple, a palace, or other form of edifice; but to the eye of the philosopher, this form had a mission more noble and elevated — that of transmitting 76 GENERAL HISTORY OF rRBEMASONRT. to future generations the ideas, manners, and civilizing progress of the day and generation, and of faithfully re- flecting the image and sentiments indicative of the then civil and religious knowledge of the peoples. Thus the varied genius .wtich had conceived and executed the tem- ples, as weli^' of 'antiquity as the middle ages, gave expres- sion to'the spirit of the 'times, while each of these monu- ments' seems '^animated Vith the soul of its author. Without'ehterihg into the details of these gigantic con- ceptions, such as we. find expressed in the cathedrals of Cologne, Strasburg, Paris, and many others, let us pause a moment to grasp their grandness as majestic edifices, and we will discover ourselves lost in surprise at the hardihood evinced by the builder in his harmonious blend- ing of diametrically opposite elements. But, when we perceive that a principle — individual, original, and in- genious, disposing of even the smallest parts and descend- ing to the arrangement of the most minute details — rules and imparts to the whole an unrivaled strength and beauty, our souls are ravished with unbounded admira- tion. The principle of repetition and regular variation from a fundamental form that is observable in the interior of these monuments, has been uniformly followed in the formation of all the other members in the exterior of the edifice. By all the type of the whole is represented _ in the parts; 'and thus we find, in the compositions of these architect 'philosophers, a marvelous principle of develop- ment from a few fundamental forms, proceeding from the simple to the composite, such as Haiiy, in his treatise on Mineralogy, demonstrates as the principle of crystalliza- tion, and such as Goethe, in his " JSTaturwissenschaft und Morphologie," discovered in plants, as the principle of vegetable 'meta;morphosis. The^ties' of union which existed among the member- • THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN OAUL. 77 ship of Freemasons, explains how and why there, appears such a striking, identity of expression among the various monuments erected by them in. the different countries of Europe, and above all, among those erected during the thirteenth century. The masters of the work (architects) of all. the religious edifices of the Latin Church had ob- tained their knowledge at the same central school; they were obedient to the laws of the same hierarchy; they were directed in their constructions by the same prin- ciples, and what was known to one immediately, became the property of the whole body. They were obliged to conform to a general plan adopted for all religious edifices, and therefore were not permitted to follow their, individual ideas of form, even if the result of their inspirations, as to details, would have been more beautiful in effect, or har- monious in ornament. And it is thus that the cotem- . porary monuments of Alsatia, Poictiers, Normandy, Bur- gundy, and the province of Auvergne present, in point of decoration, a particular physiognomy, which is generally attributed to local circumstances, and, to, the nature of the materials, rather than to the facts we have indicated. The enormous sacrifices that the ; population, had made to erect churches, joined to the crying abuses of the clergy and the popes, had, in the fifteenth century, weakened the popular ardor, and dispelled the, popular faith to so great a degree, that new church edifices ceased to be erected, and the work even on these in course of con- struction was stopped. Then the Reformation completed the destruction of papal power, and forever arrested the erection of vast religious edifices. No more enjoying the protection of the popes, the privileges of the Masonic corporations became of little value, and, having no more religious edifices to construct, the corporations dispersed; and, by the beginning of the sixteenth century, they found occupation but in the erection of civic edifices. Finally, 78 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. in 1539, Francis I suspended all the corporations of work- men, and thus Freemasonry, in the ancient sense of the term, was extin^ished in France. Since that time, the architects have, in their individual capacity, undertaken and finished, by the aid of workmen engaged in the usual manner, such erections as was or- lered or required. The tie of fraternity that heretofore had united master, workman, and apprentice was gradu- ally dissolved, and the workmen formed themselves into separate societies which were imitated by other bodies of tradesmen. This was the origin of the trades-unions which were so prevalent in the seventeenth century, and which at the present day exists, in more or less influence, in every city of Europe and America. The consequences of the dissolution of the Masonic so- cieties were such that in a few years the art of building the pointed arch was lost, as also the art of constructing those voluted elevations which characterizes the great ca- thedrals of the middle ages. The Gothic style, prevalent from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, gave place to the style called the Renaissance, as that of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and it is to this last school that belonged the celebrated architects, Delorme and Bul- lant, who built, in 1577, the Tuilleries ; Lescot and Goryon, who built, in 1571, the Louvre ; Lemercier, who built the national palace of St. Rock; Blondel and Bullet, who built, between the years 1674 and 1686, the gates of St. Denis and St. Martin ; Mansart, who built the castles of Versailles and the Invalides, between the years 1700 and 1725; and J. Soufflot, who built the Pantheon. These architects were not members of the Freemason corporations. The Masonic corporations never presented in France that distinctive character that they had in England, and more particularly in Scotland; and consequently their in- fluence upon civilization there has been much less than in the latter countries. The practice adopted by the corpora- i THE MASONIC CORPORATIONS IN GAUl. 79 tions in those countries of affiliating, in. the capacity of honorary members or patrons, some eminent men, had, however, in France, the same result; that is to say, the formation of lodges outside of the corporations, whose' object was the propagation of the humanitarian doctrines of the institution ; for it is certain that, since the Masonic orporations were dissolved in France, there have existed lodges of this character at Marseilles, Lyons, and Paris, similar to those which existed at Anvers, Gand, Brus- sels, Amsterdam, and Florence. All of these lodges are believed to have had entered into relations of correspond- ence with each other; but, since the middle of the seven- teenth century, no trace of such relationship is discover- able. The final transformation of this fraternity of artists and artisans to a moral institution, such as went into operation in London in 1717, and as it exists in our qwn day, took place in France in 1721. 80 GENERAL HISTOKT OF FBEEMASONRY. ABKIDGMENT OF THE HISTORY OF MODERN OR PHILOSOPHIC FREEMASONRY m FRANCE, SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION, IN 1721, TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE, IN 1772. Isr the abridgment of the General History of Freema- sonry previously given, we have shown how this ancient fraternity of arts was transformed, in 1717, at London, from a corporation mechanical and philosophic to an insti- tution purely philosophic, abandoning forever its material object — that is to say, the construction of buildings of every kind — but otherwise scrupulously conserving its traditional doctrines and symbols. The first cities of the continent of Europe to which Masonry, thus regenerated, was carried, were Dunkii'k,^ in 1721, and Mons.^ It was not until 1725 that the first lodge was founded at Paris, by Lord Derwentwater and two other English- men, under the title of " St. Thomas," and constituted by them, in the name of the Grand Lodge of London, on the 12th of June, 1726. Its members, to the number of five or six hundred, held their lodge at the house of the traitor Hurre, in the street of the St. Germain meat-market. A second lodge was established, by the same English gentle- ' The lodge at Dunkirk was named " Friendship and Brotherly Love," and was reconstituted by the Grand Lodge of France in 1756. "The lodge at Mons was constituted by the Grand Lodge of England, on the 24th of June, 1721, under the title of "Perfect Union." Subse- quently it was erected into an English Grand Lodge of the lower country of Austria, and has constituted or chartered lodges since 1730. FRBEMASONBT IN FRANCE. 81 men, on the 7th of May, 1729, under the name of "Louia d' Argent." Its meetings were held at the house of the traitor Lebreton, who kept the same as an inn, under the name of Louis d' Argent. IJpon the 11th of December of the same year a third lodge was constituted, under the title of "Arts Sainte Marguerite." Its meetings were held at the house of an Englishman named Gaustand. Finally, on the 29th of IsTovember, 1732, a fourth lodge was consti- tuted, under the name of " Buci," the same being the name of the hotel wherein its meetings were held. This house was located in the Bue de Bud, and kept by the traitor Landelle; and the lodge "Buci," after having initiated the Duke of Aumont, took the name of " Lodge of Aumont." Lord Derwentwater, who had, in 1725, received from the Grand Lodge of London plenary powers to constitute lodges of Freemasons in France, was, in 1735, invested by the same Grand Lodge with the functions of Provincial Grand Master; and when he subsequently quitted France to return to England, (where he perished upon the scaffold, a victim to his adherence to the fortunes of the Stuarts,) he transferred those plenary powers which he possessed to his friend Lord Harnwester, whom he authorized to repre- sent him, during his absence, in the quality of Provincial Grand Master. The four lodges then existing at Paris resolved to found a Provincial Grand Lodge of England, to which such lodges as should be organized in the future should address them- selves directly, as the representative of the Grand Lodge of London. This resolution was put into execution aftei the death of Lord Derwentwater, and this Grand Lodge regularly and legally constituted itself, in 1736, under the presidency of Lord Harnwester. Beside the lodges constituted by Lord Derwentwater, under the powers and after the forms of the Grand Lodge of London, there were constituted other lodges by a Scotch- man named Eamsay, who styled himself Doctor and Baron 6 82 aEKEBAL HISTORY OF FRBEMASONBY. of Ramsay, also a partisan of the Stuarts. This celebrated Mason filled for some time the office of Orator to the Pro- vincial Grand Lodge of whose organization we have just spoken, and during that time he sought to introduce and to establish a system of Masonry called Scottish, and which he stated had been created at Edinburgh by a chapter of the lodge " Canongate Kilwinning," but which had a political object no less than to make Masonry subservient to the Stu- art party, and an aid to the Catholic Church by the resto- ration of the Pretender to the throne of England. ISTot wish- ing to avow its true origin, the founders of this system attributed its creation to Godfrey de Bouillon, the last Grand Master of Knights Templar. This rite, styled Ma- sonic, had not, however, at this time been accepted either in Scotland or England; but, introduced by Ramsay in France, it served as a basis for all the Masonic systems invented and propagated from that time in France, and exported into the different countries of the globe. In 1737, Lord Harnwester, the second Provincial Grand Master of Freemasons in France, wishing to return to England, demanded, before his departure, to be replaced in his office by a Frenchman, and the Duke of Autin, a zealous Mason, succeeded him in the month of June, 1738.^ ' The Duke of Autin was chosen from among the lords of the Court of Louis XV, as that one who had shown the greatest zeal for Freema- sonry. He had, in fact, braved the anger of the King, who had inter- dicted the lords of his court from attending the meetings of the Freema- sons; and he, above all, had shown, in accepting the position of Grand Master, an unusual degree of courage, as he knew that the King had threatened him with arrest and condemned him to the Baatile for so doing. The King, however, contrary to general expectation, took no steps to carry out his threat; but the police of the court continued the proscription against the lords in attendance who would not oppose the weight of their names and influence against the institution. After hav- ing, in 1737, condemned the inn-keeper Chapelot to pay a fine of one hundred francs, and to close his tavern, because he had allowed a meet- ing of Freemasons to take place therein, the year following they brutally dispersed a lodge which had met at the Hotel of Soissons, in the street FRBMASONRT IN FRANCE. 83 After the death of the third Grand Master, which took place in 1743, the Masters of the lodges, at a meeting that was held on the 11th of December of that year, named in his place the Duke of Bourbon, Count of Clermont, and from this time the organization over which he presided took the title of the "English Grand Lodge of Trance," always recognizing, as it did, the supremacy of the Grand Lodge' of London. From the period of its organization, this English Grand Lodge created difficulties for itself which became the prin- cipal cause, eventually, of spreading disorder in the Ma- sonic ranks, by giving, according to the usage of the Grand Lodge of York at this time, and also of chapters estab- lished by its lodges, powers to permanent Masters,' of of the Two Crowns, and imprisoned many of its members in the Fort L'Eveque. The nomination, in 1743, of the Duke of Bourbon to the Grand Mastership did not even weaken their pursuit of the brethren; for, on the 5th of June, 1744, they issued an order which prohibited the Freemasons to meet in the capacity of a lodge, and by virtue of this order they condemned, shortly afterward, the hotel-keeper Leroy to pay a fine of three thousand francs, for having allowed a lodge session to take place at his house. 'Alexander Thory, in his Acta Latamorum, affords us a very vivid pic- ture of these disorders. On page 70 he says : " The Grand Lodge of France, which was established at Paris, in 1743, under the title of the ' English Grand Lodge of France,' declared itself the Grand Lodge of the Kingdom, and released from the authority of the Grand Lodge of London; but it conserved in the charters which it gave, in like manner with the Grand Lodge of York, the authority to dispose of personal titles to brethren under the style of permanent Masters, or Masters ad viiam, and thus empowered such Masters to govern their lodges continually, and according to their individual caprice. These Masters were permitted to dispose of charters to other Masters of lodges, at Paris and in the provinces, who, in their turn, constituted other bodies, which rivaled, in the expression of their authority, the Grand Lodge; and which bodies organized themselves, under the titles of cha,pter8, colleges, counsels, and tribunals, at Paris and in many of the cities of France, wherein they established additional lodges and chapters. From these disorders there resulted such a complication of evil consequences, that it soon became 84 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. whom a great number had already been created by the first delegates of the Grand Lodge of York. The Eng- lish Grand Lodge of France also organized local and fed- eral administrations, under the name of Provincial Grand Lodges, which were presided over by the Masters of sub- ordinate or operative lodges. These Provincial Grand Lodges, equally with the power that created them, had the right to create lodges and grant charters. FrOm this general distribution of the creative power, it resulted that at this time there existed in Paris more than sixty lodges, and over one hundred in the provinces. Lidependently of these Provincial Grand Lodges, there were also established in France other constituent bodies, some professing the rite introduced by Samsay, and others analagous rites under other names. From among these we will mention the Chapter of Arras, constituted on the 15th of April, 1747, by the Prince Pretender, Charles Ed- ward Stuart; and another, under the title of the "Mother Lodge of St. John of Scotland," organized at Marseilles, in 1751, by a Scotchman of the Pretender's suite. Subse- quently there was established the Chapter of Clermont, founded at Paris, in 1754, in the college of the Jesuits at Clermont, the refuge of all the partisans of the Stuarts. For the purpose of hiding the true authorship of the sys- tem of the Templars, mentioned as having been propa- gated at Paris by Ramsay, this system was at this time called Strict Observance, and the chevalier Bonnville, also a partisan of the Stuarts, was announced as its founder, when he was nothing in connection with it but its propa- gator. Finally, in 1758, the chapter called "The Em- perors of the East and the "West," of which the members impossible to ascei-tain witli any readiness what body was really the head of Masonry in the kingdom. The history of Masonry at this period is much more obscure than at any other, as none of these Masters of lodges and chapters kept any minutes of their proceedings or operations — a formality that was often neglected by the Grand Lodge itself. IfSBBMASONRY IN PRANCE. 86 gave themselves the titles of Sovereign Prince Musons, Sub- stitutes General of the Eoyal Art, and Grand Wardens and Officers of the Sovereign Grand Lodg.e of St. John of Jeru- salem—a, chapter created bj the Jesuits of Lyons.^ ' According to the work of Alexander Thory, it should be by this chap ter that the Consistory of Princes of the Royal Secret was founded, it 1758, at Bordeaux, and by the members of which the thirty-flve articles comprisfng the rules and regulations of the system styled a Lodge of Per- fection were prepared. This system comprised the twenty-five degrees which, under the direction of its founders, had been for some short time practiced in France. This assertion of Thory is incorrect ; for no proof can be found that a Consistory of Princes of the Eoyal Secret existed at Bordeaux before the year 1789. No authority of this name existed either in 1758 or in 1761 at Bordeaux; and consequently its membership could not have aided in the compilation of the famous thirty-five articles upon which the Supreme Council of the Scottish Kite for France founded its origin ana its rights to the exclusive administration of this rite, and which it called "The Grand Constitutions." How, otherwise, is it reason- able to admit that the council, constituted and composed of the " Em- perors of the East and West," created in 1758, at Paris, who are said to have established this Consistory of the Eoyal Secret in 1759, at Bor- deaux, had called in the aid of their members to compile rules and regur lations which already were compiled, and under which this very Con- sistory was organized? All that there is of truth in connection with these "Grand Constitutions'' is, that they had no existence in any form prior to 1804, when the Supreme Council was organized by Grasse de Tilly; and they were, in all probability, fabricated by him as comple- mentary to the history of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, invented at Charleston, South Carolina, and carried by him to France. Other- wise the facts which should have been advanced against the authenticity of these Eegulations, which we unworthily dignify by calling them Con- stitutions, would have completely crushed them out of existence. Of these facts, one is that there was not a printed or manuscript copy of these regulations prior to 1804, and the manuscript that appeared at that date rendered it necessary for the reader to suppose that it had beet prepared at Berlin ; for the name of that city, where a name of produo tion should have appeared, was indicated by the letter B, followed by the three points, (.".). Now, as this manuscript assured the leader that the king, Frederick of Prussia, had ratified it in his capacity as supreme chief of the rite — an assertion completely and in every particular false, as we shall prove in our history of the Supreme Council — this initial 86 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. The establishment of all these independent bodies created gradually such confusion and such disorder that these coun- cils, consistories, tribunals, and chapters knew not them- selves which was the true constituting body in France. Constantly disquieted by these " sovereign " chapters and tribunals, founded, as we have indicated, for the most part by Scotch gentlemen, partisans of the Stuarts, the Eng- lish Grand Lodge of France resolved, in 1756, to detach itself from all connection with the Grand Lodge of Lon- don, and by thus declaring itself independent, hoped to be able to rule the different isolated bodies. In pursuance of this resolve, it declared itself independent of all foreign Masonic alliances, and took the title of "National Grand Lodge of France." Its hopes, however, were not realized, for it continued to be tormented by new creations of Ma- sonic authority it could not impeach, and which, like all elder organizations, attributed to themselves the right of supremacy oveV it. The Grand Lodge, they asserted, in conformity with its character, delivered to it by Lord Derwentwater and confirmed by Lord Harnwester, con- ferred but the three degrees of symbolic Masonry, while these " chapters and lodges of perfection " believed them- selves alone possessed of the right to confer what they styled the " higher " degrees. Following their lead, many councils and chapters were constituted by masters ad vitam, who obtained, and very often purchased, their privileges from others of their own rank; and these last affected equally a supremacy toward the Grand Lodge of Fi-ance, by reason of their pretended knowledge and their right to confer "high" degrees — a right which, though usurped,, the no less obtained general recognition. B-epeatedly did should have indicated Berlin, and not Bordeaux. Was it by design, or through ignorance, that subsequently the word was completed by writing it Bordeaux ? We are unable to decide. But it ia plain that Thory has believed and repeated the fable invented by the creators of the rite, to give it an importance that age alone would confer. FREEMASONRY IN SRANCB. 87 the Grand Lodge denounce the administration and the acts of these usurpers, as abusive of the trust reposed in those who enabled them to act in this manner; but this de- nunciation, as also the efforts put forth by the Grand Lodge from time to time, to demonstrate the inutility of these "higher" degrees, werfe all in vain; for a great many of the lodges, recognizing its authority and jurisdiction, had adopted those degrees, and conferred them in chapters or- ganized by and under the control of those lodges, The Grand Lodge, unhappily, was powerless to enforce the execution of its edicts against these illegitimate powers. The chapters continued to issue charters, and the Grand Lodge, in consequence of the carelessness of its Grand Master, the Count of Clermont, fell into anarchy. To re- lieve himself from the administration of its affairs, the Grand Master substituted a deputy named Baure, who, soon misbehaving himself, was replaced by a person even less worthy — a dancing-master named Lacorne. Lnpressed with the belief that the possession of all the degrees in vogue was necessary to add to his dignity, in the new position into which he was thrust, Lacorne had himself initiated into a lodge of perfection. He then convoked many as- semblies, from which every member of the Grand Lodge abstained to attend. Irritated at this desertion, he as- sembled a number of lodge masters, whom he recruited in the taverns, to organize a Grand Lodge, and of these he chose his officers in accordance with his caprice. Finally, upon the representations which were made to the Count of Clermont on the subject, he revoked the appointment of Lacorne, and named in his stead the brother Chaillou de Joinville, as his substitute or Deputy General, From this state of things there arose a schism in the Grand Lodge, and it became divided into two parties who occu- pied themselves in tearing each other, each pretending to represent the constituent body of French Masonry and perform its functions. To aid the disorder, each party 88 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. published constitutions,' and the masters of the lodges, composing a portion of the party of Lacorne, and equally desirous of gain, sold the right of holding lodges, and thus the mysteries and the constitutions becoming an ob- ject of traffic, outside of the lodges Masonry fell into contempt, while inside anarchy reigned supreme. ^We believe it proper here to give in full one of these constitutions, which was delivered, in 1761, to Stephen Morin, an Israelite, both because that it is at once a document authentic and curious, as well as that it served, some forty years afterward, as the foundation of the "Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Thirtj'-three Degrees," created at Charleston, South Carolina, by five other Jews, and introduced into France, in 1804, by the establishment of the Supreme Council for France, situated at Paris, and which is to-day the rival authority of the Grand Orient of France. This constitution reads as follows: "To the glory of the G-rand Architect of the Universe, etc. Under the good pleasure of his serene highness, the very illustrious brother, Louis of Bourbon, Count of Clermont, prince of the blood. Grand Master and protector of all the lodges at the Orient, etc., the 27th of August, 1761. Imx e tenebris, unitas, concordia fratrum. We, the undersigned. Substitutes General of the Royal Art, Grand Wardens of the Grand and Sovereign Lodge, President of the Grand Council, a request to us made by ^the brother Lacorne, substitute of the T. M. G. M., read at a meetr ing: That our dear brother Stephen Morin, grand elect, perfect and ancient sublime Master of all the orders of the Masonry of Perfection, member of the Royal Lodge of the Trinity, etc., having, upon his de- parture for America, desired the power to travel regularly, etc. ; that it has pleased the Supreme Grand Council and Grand Lodge to accord to him letters patent for constitutions, etc. For these causes, etc., are given plenary and entire powers to the said brother to form and to establish a lodge for to receive and to multiply the royal art of the Freemasons in all the degrees perfect and sublime, etc. ; to regulate and to govern all the members who may compose the said lodge which he may establish in the four quarter parts- of the world whither he shall arrive or he may reside, under the title of 'Lodge of St. John,' and surnamed 'Perfect Harmony;' giving him power to choose such ofiicers to aid him in the government of his lodge as he shall judge suitable; deputing him, in the quality of our Grand Inspector in all parts of the new world, for to reform the observance of our laws in general; constituting him our Grand Master Inspector; giving him full and entile power to create inspectors in all places where the sublime degrees shall not be established. FREEMASONKT IN FRANCE. 89 After remaining in this condition for some time, a re- conciliation took place' between the two parties composing the Grand Lodge, and a union was ratified on the 24th of June, 1762. But the old masters, who made no portion of the Lacorne faction, and who were persons belonging some to the nobility of the kingdom, some to the bar, and soma to the most distinguished of the people, seeing themselve. confounded with mechanics and men of no education, as also men infamous and utterly unworthy of a place in the Grrand Lodge, took exceptions constantly to such men being members of that body; and hence constant dissensions arose, and which were envenomed by the pretensions, growing more and more intolerable, set up by the other constituent bodies. Finally, worn out with the inces- "In witness of which we have delivered these presents, signed by the Substitute General of the Order, Grand Commander of the Black and "White Eagle, Sovereign Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, and Chief of the eminent Degree of the Royal Art, and by our grand inspectors, sublime officers of the Grand Council and of the Grand Lodge estab- lished in this capital, and have sealed them with the great seal of his serene highness, our illustrious Grand Master, and with that of our Grand Lodge and Sovereign Grand Council at the Grand East of Paris, the day and year, etc. [Signed] "Chaillou db Jointillb, " Substitute General of the Order, Worshipful Master of the first Lodge in France, called ' St. Thomas.' Chief of the eminent Degrees, Commandant and Sublime Prince of the Boyal Secret. " Prince db Rohan, " Member of the Grand Lodge ' Intelligence,' Prince Mason. " Lacorne, "Prince of Masonry, Substitute of the Grand Master. " Satalette, Db Buokolt, Tadpin, and " Brest db la Chaussee, "Grand Knights and Prince Masons, " De Choiseul, " Count, Grand Knight, Prince Mason, and Orator. "Boucher db Lenonoourt, " Grand Knight and Prince Mason, by Order of the Grand Lodge ; and " Daubantin, '• Grand Knight and Prince Mason, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge and of the Sublims Council of Perfect Masons in Trance, etc." 90 GENERAL HISTOBT OF FREEMASONRY. eant complaints wliicli were addresBed to it by a great number of the lodges organized by councils, colleges, and tribunals of the " high " degrees, the Grand Lodge resolved to choke all these pretensions, and on the 14th of August, 1766, decided to publish a decree by which was revoked all the capitulary constitutions, and all the symbolic lodges prohibited from recognizing the authority which was arrogated to themselves by these councils and chapters.^ A certain number of the members of the Grand Lodge of the old Lacorne party, infamous men, and who were, at the same time, members of the chapters, protested against this decree and compromised the authority of the Grand Lodge. Consequently, in the re-election of the oflBlcers of the lodges which took place in 1766, in accordance with the regula- tions, those members who belonged to the Lacorne faction were not renominated. Erom that sprang protestations on their part and defamatory writings against the Grand Lodge and against the acts of its officers, until, finally, it became incumbent upon the Grand Lodge to expel these factious members, and publish them as deprived of all their Masonic rights. The brethren thus expelled from the Grand Lodge re- sponded to its decision by new libels, personalities, and other injuries, and even went so far, at the feast of St. John, 1767, as to make it necessary for the government to interfere and forbid, after that day, the meetings of the Grand Lodge. This rigorous measure, which struck as well at the inno- cent as the guilty, paralyzed all the efforts of the Grand ' Though the Grand Lodge of France, in 1756, declared itself inde- pendent of the Grand Lodge of London, which had, through its agenf^ Lord Derwentwater, constituted it, it nevertheless subsequently sought to renew its amicable relations with the latter, and in 1767 proposed and concluded an agreement, by the terms of which each of these constituent Masonic bodies agreed to respect the rights of the other, and constitute no Masonic organization within each other's jurisdiction. FKEEMASONRY IN PBANCB. 91 Lodge membership. The expelled brethren who had been the cause of the interdiction, and who were always under the direction of Lacorne, profiting by the dispersion of a great many members of the Grand Lodge, held secret meetings and constituted operatire lodges, to which they delivered constitutions ante-dated to a time previous to the division in the Grand Lodge. Upon the other hand, the legal party of the Grand Lodge, represented by the brother Chaillou de Joinville, Substitute General of the Grand Master, the Count of Clermont, also delivered constitu- tions to organize working lodges in the provinces, which documents were also ante-dated, and of which no less than thirty-seven of these constitutions, so delivered by the lat- ter party during the period of the interdiction, were sub- sequently annulled. The Lacorne party eventually conceived the plan of overthrowing the Grand Lodge and replacing it by a new power, in order to re-establish in their Masonic rights all the honorable members who should once more compose such authority ; and they awaited but a favorable occasion to put this design into execution. Some approaches made to the Lieutenant-General of Police were not attended with success ; and the state of interdiction was prolonged until the death of the Count of Clermont, which took place in 1771. This event raised the courage of the factions, who had not ceased to intrigue ; and, in the hope of reas- suming power, they addressed the Duke of Luxembourg, falsely announcing that they had formed the nucleus of the ancient Grand Lodge of France, interdicted since 1767, and desired to offer the Grand Mastership to the Duke of Chartres. The proposition was agreed to, and the Duke of Chartres, nephew of the Count of Clermont,' designated the Duke of Luxembourg for his substitute. The faction who had thus obtained so important a success convoked ' Since»Duke of Orleans, Philip Equality. 92 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. a general assembly of the Masters of all the lodges of Paris, and even invited the members of the Grand Lodge who had expelled them. At this assembly they submitted the acceptance of the Grand Mastership, signed by the Duke of Chartres, and offered to present this document to the Grand Lodge, provided that it would revoke its decree of expulsion made against them. The unfavorable circum- stances in which the Grand Lodge found itself at this time, joined to the advantageous considerations which would result to it by its acceptance of the Duke of Char- tres as its Grand Master, determined the members to accept the conditions which were proposed; and they decided that a report should be submitted to the Grand Lodge, upon the demand for a revocation of the decrees rendered against the expelled brethren, in order that these decrees should be revoked in due form. This being done, at the feast of St. John, in the year 1771, the Duke of Chartres was nominated for the Grand Mastership, and the Grand Lodge thereupon proceeded to annul all the charters, or constitutions, delivered during the suspension of its privi- leges, in the name of the Grand Lodge of France. A commission, composed of eight members, was thereupon appointed to elaborate a project of reorganization of the Masonic fraternity. There were also named twenty-two Provincial Grand Inspectors, with the mission to visit all the lodges in the kingdom and direct the administration of the rules and regulations, etc. The party who had obtained the revocation of the de- crees of expulsion had, in the reorganization of the Grand Lodge, exerted their influence to obtain the admission of their partisans; and the success which had attended their first operation favored the accomplishment of the latter designs. Therefore, in the interval, this party, reinforced by all the councils and chapters of the Scottish E,ite, who had reserved to themselves the privilege of avenging the injury they had sustained from the decrees directed against FREEMASONRY IN FRANCE. 93 them by tlie Grand Lodge, resolved to equally oflfer to the Duke of Chartres the honorable position of Grand Master of all the lodges, chapters, and councils of the Scottish Rite in France. This honor the Duke accepted.^ In submitting this request to the Duke of Chartres, they made him believe that he had already attained the posi- tion, by his nommation in 1771, to the Grand Mastership of the Grand Lodge of Trance. The Duke knew nothing of Masonic forms, and never supposed that any nomina- tion of this kind should be made in an assembly of the Grand Lodge, an authority that had repudiated and pro- scribed the "high" degrees. He, therefore, accepted the office which to him was offered, and signed the article of acceptance presented to him by the Duke of Luxembourg, on the 5th of April, 1772. The latter, as substitute of the Duke of Chartres, wished to concentrate in his own hands the control of all the Masonic bodies in the king- dom, as, by the parties who had proposed the matter, he had been advised ; but he did not perceive that he had made ^We here give the text of this acceptance, because this document is not without historic interest: " The year of the great Light, 1772, third day of the moon John, 5th day of the 2d month of the Masonic year 5772, and from the birth of the Messiah the 5th day of April, 1772, in virtue of the proclamation made in Grand Lodge assembled the 24th day of the 4th. month of the Masonic year 5771, of the very high, very povferful, and very excellent prince, his most serene highness Loiiis Phillipe Joseph d'Orleans, Duke of Chartres, prince of the blood, for Grand Master of all the regular lodges of France; and of that of the Sovereign Council of the Emperors of the Bast and West, sublime mother lodge of the Scottish (rite), of the 26th day of the moon Elul, 5771, for sovereign Grand Master of all the Scottish councils, chapters, and lodges of the great globe of France, offices which his said most serene highness has been pleased to accept for the love of the royal art, and in order to concentrate all the Masonic labors under one only authority. " In guarantee of which, his said most serene highness has signed this minute of the transaction of acceptance. [Signed] "Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orlbans." 94 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. himself, in this respect, the instrument of "but a faction. Unhappily having once lent himself to such a scheme, all the remonstrances addressed to him by the enlightened and respectable portion of the Grand Lodge, who pointed out to him the awkwardness of his position, and his stultifica- tion of theirs, were not sufficient to induce him to resign .he powers thus accorded to him, and his adhesion to which ultimately caused the extinction of the Grand Lodge of France, and the organization^ of the Grand Orient, whose history we propose to give an another volume. -V FREEMASONRY Hf ENGLAND. 96 ABRIDGMENT OF THE HISTORY OF MODERN OR PHILOSOPHIC FREEMASONRY IN ENGLAND, DENMARK, SWEDEN, RUSSIA, POLAND, GER- MANY, HOLLAND, BELGIUM, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, AND PORTUGAL, FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN THOSE COUNTRIES TO THE PRESENT DAY. England. We have seen, at the conclusion of our summary of the origin and general history of Freemasonry, in what man- ner the transformation of the corporation of Freemasons li'om an operative to a philosophic institution took place in England, in the year 1717, and under what circum- stances the Grand Lodge of London, in constituting itself, put into execution the decision made, in 1703, by the Lodge of St. Paul. The new Grand Lodge directed George Payne, who had been elected its Grand Master, to collect all the docu- ments, manuscripts, charters, rituals, etc., relating to the ancient usages of the fraternity, for the purpose of con- necting them with the registers and Anglo-Saxon deeds written in the Gothic and Latin languages, and of the whole to form a body of laws and doctrines, and to pub- lish so much of the same as might be judged proper and necessary.' ' Some membera of the Lodge of St. Paul, alarmed at the prospective publicity of their archives, believed it to be their duty, imposed upon them by the oath which they had taken, to publish nothing which pai^ 96 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. After the careful examination of all these deeds, and a report made of their subjects by a commission composed of fourteen brethren, chosen from the most erudite Ma- sons of London, the Grand Lodge directed the brother Anderson, a doctor of philosophy and eminent minister jf the Presbyterian Church at London, to compile frob ,hese documents a constitution, to be preceded by a his- tory of the corporation, which would in the future, serve as a guide to modern Freemasonry. Brother Anderson, having acquitted himself of the task, in 1722 submitted his work to the commission, who ap- proved it, and caused it to be sanctioned by the Grand Lodge on the 25th March, 1723. This constitution is en- ' titled, "The Book of Constitutions for Freemasons, con- taining the History, Charges, and Regulations, etc., of that Most Ancient and Right "Worshipful Fraternity, for the use of the Lodges." This constitution is based upon the charter of York, which, of all others, has served as a guide for all those which have been established since A. D. 926. Into this constitution were carried otherwise the changes and the developments which were rendered indispensable by the new object of the society, and properly above all was caused to predominate the supremacy of the Grand Lodge of London. This last tendency, so much to be, in this our own day, deprecated, but proves that its authors were not penetrated by the true spirit of the Charter of York. This collection of laws, published for the first time in 1723,* has been printed many times, and for the last time ,ook of the character of corporate information, delivered the greater part f the documents in the possession of their lodge to the flames, thus causing, by their exaggerated scruples, an irreparable loss to the Ma- sonic historian. 'Translations of this work were made and published in Germany in the years 1741, '43, '44, '62, '83, and 1805. In London it was reprinted in 1756, '57, and '75. FEBEMASONRT IN ENGLAND. 97 by the Grand Lodge of England, in 1855. Beginning with the year 1723, the organization of the new Masonry was seated upon a solid foundation, and its prosperity con- tinued to increase. By virtue of this constitution, the new Grand Lodge of England placed itself in legitimate and sole authority over the entire Masonic fraternity, and settled from that time all contradictions, on the part of English lodges constituted previous to that date. This constitution in fact attainted the ancient liberties of Eree- masons, and in particular prohibited the formation of any lodges which should not receive the confirmation of the Grand Lodge of London. In this manner protests against this new authority were excited in the Grand Lodges of York and Edinburgh. The activity displayed by the Grand Lodge of London, and the great number of operative lodges that it consti- tuted, stimulated the zeal of the Masons of Ireland and Scotland, who, up to this time, had not assembled but at distant and irregular periods. Soon Masonic temples opened on all sides in the two kingdoms, and the initia- tions were multiplied in great number, which fact resulted in the convocation of a general assembly of the Masons of Ireland by the lodges of Dublin, with the object of organ- izing Freemasonry upon the same basis as sustained the lodge of London. A central power was constituted at this assembly, which took place in 1729, under the title of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and the Viscount Kingston was elected Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of York, jealous of the prosperity of the Grand Lodge of London, and pretending that it was the most ancient and legitimate power, and solely endowed with the right to direct Freemasonry, contested the su- premacy claimed by the latter, and thereby caused for a time some considerable embarrassment; but it could not arrest the progress of that body, nor interrupt its success, and soon found itself under the necessity of revising its 7 98 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. laws and conforming its regulations to the object of the modern Freemasonry, as had already been done by its suc- cessful rival, the Grand Lodge of London. The ancient Grand Lodge of Scotland, at Edinburgh, considering the prosperity and aggrandizement of the new English lodges as the consequence of their adoption of lew regulations and the election of new Grand Masters, desired to introduce these changes into its system; but the hereditary trust of patron, of which James I had con- ceded the honor to the family of Roslin, in 1430, was an obstacle to this innovation. However, the Baron Sinclair of Roslin, then Grand Master under this concession, ac- ceded to the general wish expressed for him to renounce this authority, and the four oldest lodges of Edinburgh convoked, on the 24th of November, 1736, all the other lodges and all the Masons of Scotland in a general as- sembly, with the object of organizing a new Masonic power. After reading the act of renunciation of the Baron Sinclair of E,oslin to the dignity of hereditary Grand Master, as also to all the privileges thereto appertaining, the assembly, composed of the representatives of thirty- two lodges, constituted itself the " Grand Lodge of St. John of Scotland," and named the Baron Sinclair of Ros- lin its first Grand Master for 1737. Some of the ancient lodges, that of Kilwinning among others, had conserved the two political degrees — Templar and Scottish Master — and hj so doing introduced troubles which had agitated England from 1655 to 1670, and which degrees were not conferred at this time but upon brethren adjudged to be worthy of being initiated into the political designs favor- able to the Stuarts, and they had been maintained subse- quently, by a decision of King Charles II, from the time of the general assembly of Masons at York, in 1663. It was the chapter named Canongate Kilwinning, composed of partisans of the Stuarts, who propagated, between the years 1728 and 1740, these anti-masonic degrees, created FREBMASONET IN ENGLAND. • 99 with a political object, and delivered to their partisans — among whom was the Doctor Baron Kamsay, and other emissaries — ^by diplomas, authorizing them to confer those degrees wherever they found suitable persons to receive them. It is in this manner those degrees became to be known as the Scottish Rite. Ramsay, not finding the col- l(!ction extensive enough, added to it, and others who succeeded him continued so profitable an occupation, until the Scottish Rite comprised in France lodges, chap- ters, and councils, the membership of which being com- posed mainly of intriguing politicians. After the organization of the Grand Lodge of Scot- land, the thirty-two lodges of which it was constituted ranked by number in the order of their claims to age, and the lodge " Mary's Chapel," exhibiting an act in due form, which carried its origin to the year 1598, was placed at the head of the list of operative lodges, and took the rank of No. 1. The lodge " Canongate Kilwinning" had claimed this first place, stating that its origin went back as far as the year 1128 — a circumstance very generally ad- mitted in the country ; but this lodge, having lost its pa- pers during a sleep of a century and a half, could not now produce them, and consequently was refused the prefer- ence ; and this refusal caused this lodge to desire no con- nection with the new Grand Lodge, but, on the contrary, to set itself up as an independent constituent power, which it did, at Edinburgh, in 1744, at first under the name of the "Mother Lodge of Kilwinning," and subse- quently as the " Royal Grand Lodge and Chapter of the Order of Herodim of Kilwinning," abandoning the admin- istration of the three symbolic degrees to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and reserving to itself the right to confer the two high degrees (Templar and Scottish Mas- ter) that it already possessed, and also those which by this time were in use, the invention of Ramsay and others, in France. Ifot meeting with any success at home in its as- 100 6ENBEAL HISTOET OE FREBMASONEY. sumption of the right to propagate its high degrees, thia lodge created, through its emissaries upon the continent, a number of chapters, and thus returned to France the degrees which it liad imported, by establishing at Rouen, on the 1st May, 1786, in the lodge of "Ardent Amitie," a Grand Chapter of Herodim, to propagate, as a provincial grand lodge, this false Masonry. Such is the origin of the Rite of Herodim of Kilwin- ning, about which, as an important and valuable adjunct to Freemasonry, so much noise has been made. Finally, after having, during half a century, been instrumental in producing as much disorder as it could in the Masonic ranks at home and abroad, this lodge of " Canongate Kil- winning" quietly proposed a union vnth the Gl-rand Lodge of Scotland, and in the year 1807 was placed on the list of the operative lodges of Scotland, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, as " Canongate Kilwin- ning, No. 2." The three Grand Lodges of Great Britain, thus consti- tuted, propagated the new Freemasonry upon every por tion of the globe, so that, in 1750, we find it extended into nearly every civilized country ; but its humanitarian doc- trines, like the dogma of " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," which it exhibited, frightened the kings and the clergy, who sought to arrest its progress by issuing decrees and edicts against it. In Russia, in 1731, in Holland, in 1735, in Paris, in 1737, 1738, 1744, and 1745, the meetings of lodges of Freemasons were interdicted by the government; while at Rome and in Florence its members were ar- rested and persecuted, and in Sweden, Hamburg, and Ge- neva they were prohibited from meeting or assembling themselves in the capacity of lodges. The Holy Inquisi- tion threw Freemasons into prison, burnt; by the hand of the public executioner, all books which contained Masonic regulations, history, or doctrines ; condemned at Malta to perpetual exile, in 1740, a number of knights who had or- FKBBMASONRY IN ENGLAND. 101 ganized a lodge on that island ; in Portugal it exercised against them cruelties of various kinds, and condemned them to the galleys ; while in Vienna and Marseilles, as also in Switzerland, in the canton of Berne, the iron hand of that "Holy" institution was felt in 1743. In 1748, at Constantinople, the sultan endeavored to destroy the Ma sonic society. In the "states of the Church, the King of Naples prohibited Masonry, and Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, issued an edict that prohibited the assembly of Freemasons within his kingdom, under penalty of death In 1751, Pope Benedict XIV renewed the bull of excom- munication promulgated against the Fraternity by Clem- ent XH, while the threat of death menaced all who should be known to attend Masonic meetings. But all these exhibitions of the rage of kings, princes, and potentates were ineffectual to stop the onward course of Freemasonry, which continued to be propagated upon all the surface of the earth with a rapidity that no power could arrest. Braving the bull of Benedict XIV, Free- masonry is openly practiced in Tuscany, at !N^aples, and in many other parts of the Italian peninsula. At Rome even the partisans of the Stuarts founded some lodges, which they took but feeble pains to hide from the au- thorities.' The activity of the three Grand Lodges of Great Brit- ain, and, above all, of that of London, was not confined to the establishment of lodges in Europe between the years 1727 and 1740 ; they had already transplanted Ma- sonry to Bengal, to Bombay, the Cape of Good Hope, New South "Wales, New Zealand, and Java, and as early as 1721, lodges of Masons were established in Canada. Before 1740 Masonry existed in the principal colonies of . ■ 1 i n. ' It may well be believed that the reason for the blindness which pressed upon the vision of the authorities at Bome, in connection with these lodges, was, that the Jesuits, whose cause those lodges served, did not wish to see. 102 GENERAL HISTOET OF FEEEMASONET. the now United States of America, such as Massachusetts, Georgia, South Carolina, and !N'ew York. In those colo- nies the lodges had created Grand Lodges independent of the Grand Lodges of England, of whom they had in the beginning received their authority. Massachusetts had a Grand Lodge in 1777, Vermont in 1.774, Virginia and N"orth Carolina in 1778, Maryland in 1783, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and !N"ew Jersey in 1786, and 'New York in 1787. The Lodge of London, notwithstanding its astonishing prosperity, was not permitted to enjoy that prosperity without great internal struggles, caused first by the Grand Lodge of York, and subsequently by the schism of a great many brethren, who, adhering to the claims of the latter, went out from the former and took the name of "Ancient Masons," in contradistinction to the member- ship of the Grand Lodge of London, who remained true to their engagements, and whona this schismatic party styled "Modern Masons." These schismatic lodges, com- posed in great part of L-ish Masons — who accused the Grand Lodge of altering the rituals and introducing in- novations — and of Masons who had been expelled, in 1751, constituted a rival power to the Grand Lodge, under the title of "The Grand Lodge of Ancient Masons of Eng- land." Ifotwithstanding its inferiority, and the few lodges which it represented or was enabled to establish, this schismatic party, in 1772, requested the Duke of Athol, who had already filled that office in the Grand Lodge of Scotland, to become its Grand Master, a request with which he complied. To give itself importance, and to influence to its ranks the nobility, this schismatic party added to the degrees with which- it had started some of the high degrees cre- ated in France by the partisans of the Stuarts, and which they imported into England about the year 1760, and com- bined them with the symbolic degrees into a rite of seven ITREEMASONEY IN ENGLAND. 103 degrees, the highest of which they called the Eoyal Arch.' This Grand Lodge of self-styled Ancient Masons trans- planted its rite into the lodges which it constituted in Ame^'ica, and there produced the same disorders and the same schisms among the Fraternity that the "high" de- grees had already provoked in all the states of Europe.^ ' This degree is founded entirely upon the biblical legend of the Jew ish ark of the covenant; but, in England, they give it another signihca- tion, and call it the " Holy Arch." ° In this stateme'it I beg leave to correct brother Eebold. The only dis orders or schisms created by "Lawrence Dermott's Grand Lodge" — by which name the schismatic organization styled "Ancient Masons" is known, at this time, in America — were at an early stage checked in their growth by the organization of what is also known as the "American System of Freemasonry," comprising a rite of twelve degrees, in which, while the different State Grand Lodges have exclusive jurisdiction over the three degrees of symbolic Masonry, the operative Eoyal Arch Chap- ters, Councils, and Encampments, (or, as more lately styled, Comma.nd- eries), have in charge the conference of the other degrees known as Capitular, Cryptic, and Christian Masonry ; and they, in their turn, are subject to State organizations, and the latter to a general organization for each, styled, respectively, the "General Grand Chapter of Eoyal Arch Masons for the United States," organized in 1808, and the "Gen- eral Grand Encampment of Knights Templar for the United States," organized in 1816. In this manner the different degrees are utilized and kept apart, every Master Mason being allowed to "take" as many or as few of them as he may deem necessary for hie enlightenment. While the object of these higher degrees in*^ Europe, according to our author, was entirely of a political character, in this country no such character, or even tendency, has ever been attributed to them. The anti-masonic excitement, which prevailed in this country . from 1826 to 1836, or thereabouts, had no effective origin within a Masonic body of any rite. William Morgan, it is true, in the former year, took umbrage at being refused membership in a Eoyal Arch Chapter about to be or- ganized in the town of Batavia, his residence, in the State of New York and thereupon resurrected an old copy of " Jachin and Boaz," published in London in 1750, and republished shortly afterward in the then colony of New York. With this book, and what he knew of Masonic rituals, he made an "Exposition of Freemasonry j" and, by the aid of an evil- dispQsed person named Miller, published the same. His subsequem 104 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. This unhappy division in the bosom of English Ma- sonry, commenced in 1736, was continued for a long time, by the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland recognizing the schismatic " Grand Lodge of Ancient Masons," to which they in this manner gave a character that it did not tnerit, but which continued until the year 1813, when at his time it ceased, by the schismatic Grand Lodge, which then had as its Grand Master the Duke of Kent, and the Grand Lodge of London, styled by these schismatics " Modern. Masons," and which had as its Grand Master his brother, the Duke of Sussex, uniting under the title of the " United Grand Lodges of England." In this union the ancient laws, as well written as traditional, were taken as the basis, and the spirit that influenced the or- ganization of 1717 was recognized, and it was then and there announced and proclaimed that the ancient and true Freemasonry was composed of' but three degrees, viz: Apprentice, Fellow-craft, and Master Mason. Unhappily, however, the legitimate Grand Lodge conceded to the party self-styled "Ancient Masons," who necessarily had to abandon their rite of seven degrees, a division of the degree of Master Mason practiced by this party, and taught as a supplementary portion of this degree, under the name sudden disappearance from the town of his residence was made use of by what was then in this country a lesser political party, for the pur- pose of increasing its strength and numbers, by raising a cry against the Freemasons, and branding them as a secret society which stopped not even at the sacrifice of human life to accomplish its purposes. The cry was successful ; the life of Morgan was asserted to have been taken by the Freemasons, and, in the summer of 1828, the body of a drowned man having been found in the neighborhood of Morgan's disappear- ance, it made, in the language of one of the leaders of the anti-masonic party ' a good enough Morgan until after the [then pending presiden- tial] election." For some years after this the Fraternity remained in comparatively a dormant condition; but, during the last twenty-five years, its progress has been as rapid and its ranks as united as its moal ardent admirers could desire. — Teanslaioe FREEMASONRY IN BNaLAND. 105 of JRoyal Arch. This concession, which the schismatic party exacted as a sine qua non of their union with the legitimate Grand Lodge and surrender of their rights to that body, was an act of feebleness, on the part of the Grand Lodge of London, which has destroyed, in a great degree, the unity and the basis of true Masonry, as it had been practiced by that body, up to that time, with a laud- able firmness. If English Freemasonry has remained, for a long time, in a consumptive condition, and has not, as it did for the first century of its existence, continued to extend its civ- ilizing and progressive character, it has practiced always in a generous manner one of the essential dogmas of the institution ; viz., solidarity. Among the numerous benef- icent establishments created by it, we may particularly mention three which are due to the efforts of the Grand Lodge of London. 1. The Royal School of Freemasons for girls, of which the capital fund, in March, 1863, amounted to about ?145,000. 2. The Royal Masonic Institute for the sons of indigent Freemasons, which possessed, at the same date, a capital fund of over $100,000. 3. The Royal Beneficiary Institution for aged Free- masons and their widows, of which the capital was, at the same date, about $75,000 for the men's department, and .$35,000 for that of the women. After having recorded the most important events in the history of English Freemasonry, we will now briefly indi- cate the composition of the three Grand Lodges and their importance as Masonic powers. The Grand Lodge of England is composed of a Grand Master and his deputy, of all the Past Grand Masters and Provincial Grand Masters, of all the officers of the Grand Lodge, and of all the Past and Acting Worshipful Mas- ters. In it resides the legislative and judiciary power for 106 GENERAL HISTOET OF FREEMASONRY. jurisdiction of England and the British colonies. A gen- eral committee, composed of twenty-four masters of lodges, of a first Professor {Expert), of the Grand Master and his representative, exercise the administrative and executive power. The decisions are made by a majority of votes. All the offices, even that of Grand Master, are submitted to an annual election. The Grand Lodge holds quarterly communications upon the first Wednesday of the months of March, May, September, and December; in the latter, the election for Grand Master takes place. Charles, Earl of Zetland, who has filled the office of Grand Master since 1850, has been re-elected for the thirteenth time since his first nomination. The Earl Grey and Ripen is the Deputy Grand Master. Under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of London there are sixty-three Provincial Grand Lodges, of which forty-two are in the counties of England, and twenty-one are elsewhere in British possessions. Under these there are nine hundred and eighty-nine operative lodges, who report themselves in the manner following : Four hundred and ninety-one in the counties, one hundred and fifty-four in London, one hundred and forty-three in America, twenty in Africa, eighty-seven in Asia, eighty-thr6e in Oceanica, and fourteen in other countries. It possesses a Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons — a degree which, as we have stated, comprehends the second part of the degree of Master Mason, but which forms really a fourth degree,- having its own officers and its special meetings. This Grand Chapter directs two hundred and eighty-seven operative chapters in England and sixty-one in the British possessions. 'So advantage or privilege is accorded to its members in the ordinary or extraordinary meetings of the Grand Lodge. Independently of the Grand Chapter, there also exists at London, but having no connection with the Grand Lodge, a Grand Conclave of "High Knights Templar," FREEMASONRY IN ENGLAND. 107 at the head of which presides the brother F. W. Stuart. Neither this authority nor any other of the kind are recog- nized by the Q-rand Lodge ; they are the remains of the systems which were imported from France to England by the partisans of the Stuarts, and by whom these poisonous germs have been introduced into the body of English Ma- sonry. The Grand Lodge of Scotland, sitting at Edinburgh, which has for its Grand Master the Duke of Athol,' counts under its jurisdiction thirty-eight Provincial Grand Lodges, and two hundred and ninety-seven operative lodges in Scot- land and elsewhere in British possessions. Like the Grand Lodge of London, it tolerates the Eoyal Arch Chapters, which have been engrafted upon a great number of its lodges from the time that the schismatic Grand Lodge at London propagated its rite of the Royal Arch, and for the direction of which there was established, in 1817, a Supreme Grand Chapter; but, like the Grand Lodge of London, it does not accord to the members of these chap- ters the least privilege ; for, like the lodges which consti- tute it, the Grand Lodge does not practice, confer, or recognize but the three symbolic degrees. The Grand Lodge of Ireland, held at Dublin, of which the Duke of Leinster is the Grand Master, has under its jurisdiction ten Provincial Grand Lodges, with three hun- dred and seven operative lodges in L-eland and other countries outside of Great Britain. Independently of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which confers, in like manner with the other Grand Lodges, none but the symbolic de- grees, there is established, at Dublin, a Supreme Council of Rites, founded in 1836, which confers all the " high " degrees of such rites, a Grand Royal Arch Chapter, which is under the direction of the same Grand Master, and constitutes, like those of England and Scotland, operative 'George Augustus Frederick John, Duke of Athd, died al Blair Castle, his resideace, on the 16th of January, 1864 108 GENERAL HISTORY OF FEBEMASONRT. chapters of the Royal Arch degree ;' also a Grand Con- clave of Knights Templar; but these three authprities have no connection with the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The three Grand Lodges of Great Britain, consequently, control one hundred and nine Provincial Grand Lodges, with one thousand five hundred and ninety-seven operative lodges under their jurisdiction, which extend their con- nections to every part of the globe. In the connection of its moral effects and civilizing in- fluence, English Freemasonry — we say it with sorrow — ^has made but slight advances in the last half century ; while, as we have seen, it was once the active pioneer every-where. It exercised by its introduction into France an immense influence upon the principles of 1789, and started the de- velopment of liberal ideas throughout the whole of Eu- rope; while in Oeeanica, Hindostan, and China its prin- ciples have modified the religious beliefs of the sectaries of Brahma, of the Persians and the Mussulmans, of whom are composed the majority of the lodges founded in those countries ; yet to-day the Grand Lodge of England, like its sisters, those of Scotland and Ireland, seems satisfied to re- pose under its glories of the past and rest upon its laurels Denmark. Freemasonry was introduced into the capital of this kingdom, in 1783, by the Baron of Munich, Secretary of the Ambassador of Russia, who organized the first opera- ' Besides these three grand colleges, all conferring a species of high degrees, there is in Dublin, to complete the hierarchy, a Supreme Coun- cil of the Scotch Kite of Thirty-three Degrees, established in 1808, of which the Duke of Leinster is also nominally the Grand Master. A similar institution is established at Edinburgh, founded in 1846, while a third is situated at London since 1845. At the head of the last are tiie brethren H. B. Leison, Esq., and Colonel Vernon; but these authorities, not being recognized as Masonic, are of very little importance and merely enjoy a vegetating existence. I'EEBMASONRY IN DBNMAKK. 109 tive lodge, under the name of "St. Martins Lodge." Shortly afterward several others were established, and, in 1749, the Grand Lodge of London there constituted a Pro- vincial Grand Lodge, of which Count Damekiold Laurvig was named Grand Master, and who, in 1780, erected the same into a Grand Lodge of Denmark. The simplicity )f English Masonry had to give way here, as every-where else, to the system of high degrees, which had invaded all Europe and blinded the good sense of the brethren. The system of Strict Observance, invented, as we have seen, by the Jesuits in France, to forward the interests of the Stuart party, was introduced by the Baron of Bulow at Copen- hagen, who organized there a prefectship, or commandery, having for Grand Master the Duke Ferdinand of Bruns- wick. After the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, in 1782, the Grand Lodge of Denmark abandoned the rite of " Strict Observance," or Templar system; but, in returning to the English system, besides the three degrees of symbolic Ma- sonry, she preserved of the abandoned rite two degrees, those of Scottish and Past Master. Immediately after this reformation, lodges were established in all the cities of any importance in the kingdom, and even, in 1785, ex- tended to the Danish colonies, in the archipelago of the Antilles, the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas. King Christian VIII, after having named the landgrave, Charles of Hesse, Grand Master for life, solemnly recog- nized Freemasonry by an official act, dated 2d of E'ovem- ber, 1792. At the death of the landgrave of Hesse, in 1836, the Prince Royal, afterward King Christian VIII, declared himself protector and Grand Master. In 1848, the Grand Mastership passed to King Frederick VII, under whom Danish Masonry has attained a very flourishing condition. The intimate connection of this countiy with Sweden, where the Masonry of Swedenborg, subsequently that of Zinnendorf, had taken deep root, and, at an early pei'iod. 110 GENERAL HISTORY OF FEEEMASONRT. manifested a religious tendency that it has held from the first in a remarkahle manner, and toward which evidently the Masons of Copenhagen, including the king, have in- clined, decided the Grand Lodge of Denmark to adopt officially, on the 6th of January, 1855, the Swedish rite, or that of Zinnendorf, of seven degrees, and to enforce its adoption upon all the lodges under its jurisdiction. Danish Masonry enjoys great consideration in the coun- try, and, under the Grand Mastership of the reigning king, prospers from day to day. In 1863, the Grand Lodge of Denmark exercised juris- diction over nine operative lodges, of which four are in the capital and five in the provinces. Sweden. Masonry was introduced at Stockholm in 1736 ; but th& interdictions pronounced against it by nearly every Euro- pean state aft'ected in a similar manner the Swedish gov- ernment against it, and the Masonic meetings were pro- hibited in 1758. IS'evertheless, new operative lodges were subsequently established, and, in the year 1764, a provin- cial Grand Lodge for Sweden was organized at Stock- holm. One of the first acts of the Freemasons of this country was the establishment of an orphan asylum, which is to-day the glory and crown of Swedish Masonry. One donation of §30,000, which was made it by Brother Bohmann, permitted it to be greatly enlarged. As else- where, the true Freemasonry did not long exist in this country before the importation from France of the Rite of Perfection of twenty-five degrees ; but the progress of this rite was checked by the crusade entered into against the system of Strict Observance. The chivalrous char- acter of the Templars, from the first approaches of that system; met none of tha favor in Sweden it had enjoyed FKEEMASONRY IN SWEDEN. Ill in Prance and Germany. The King, Gustavus III, and his brother, the Duke of Sudermanie, were initiated in 1770 ; and believing the statement made to him by the officials of the rite, that Sweden was the first country into which it was introduced, the king undertook to re-estab- lish the order of Knights Templar. He was named Grand Master, and exercised the functions of that office until 1780, when the provincial Grand Lodge, declaring itself independent, took the title of Grand Lodge of Swe- den, and the king designated his brother, the Duke of Sudermanie, to replace him as Grand Master. The importers of the system of Strict Observance into Sweden — of whom history has not preserved the names — deposited in the archives of the Grand Chapter of the sys- tem, at Stockholm, many documents which, according to them, were of the highest importance to the order of the Templars, and among which they exhibited a will, in the Latin language, which they said was the last will and tes- tament of Jaques de Molay, the last Grand Master ; as also ,an urn, said to contain his ashes, collected, according to the same authority, by his nephew, the Count of Beaujeu. These statements engaged the attention of the Duke of Brunswick, who had been nominated at this time Grand Master of the system, and he repaired to Sweden to exam- ine the documents; but the result proved satisfactory in but a very trifling degree. The King Gustavus had in the beginning favored the establishment of the system of the Templars, and in some degree discouraged the lodges practicing the English rite ; but, having immediately discovered the secret plans which lay hidden under the system of Strict Observance, he mis trusted its tendency ; and it is to this fact — thanks to the efibrts of the independent Masonic lodges located in the country — ^that he afterward successfully confounded the projects of the Jesuits, and liberated himself from the tu- telage under which he was held by them. Assassinated 112 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the 27th March, 1792, his son succeeded him, under the title of Gustavus IV, and was initiated, though yet a mi- nor, into Masonry upon the 22d March of the year follow- ing, after he had renounced his right to the throne. His uncle, the Duke of Sudermanie, already Grand Master of Swedish Freemasonry since 1780, succeeded him, under the title of Charles XIII, and exercised the Grand Master- ship until 1811, when he delegated the office to Prince Charles Jean Bernadotte. In Sweden the endeavor was, as it also was in Germany, to discover the truth in relation to the system of the Tem- plars, of which the chiefs had been expelled from the lat- ter country. These researches wrought in the system some modifications, which were due, in great part, to one of the most eminent Masons of the time — ^the brother Swedenborg — intimate councilor of the king, who had introduced religious principles, impressed with his own mystical creed, and which, in consequence, has imprinted upon Swedish Masonry a particular character, which dis- tinguishes it to the present day.. Beside the Templar system thus transformed, Zinnen- dorf, surgeon-in-chief of the Swedish army at Berlin, and Grand Prior of the system of the Templars, having aban- doned the chiefs of the rite after he had exposed their jug- gleries, established, in Sweden, a rite of seven degrees, which bears his name, founded, in part, upon the same religious principles, but less mystical than those of Swe- denborg. It is this rite that now is found to predominate, and is known in Europe as the Swedish Rite, or Rite of Zinnendorf. The-protection of the king, and the official recognition of Masonry by the government, in 1794, has given to the institution in Sweden an importance which it does not possess elsewhere. On the 27th May, 1811, King Charles XIII founded an order exclusively for meritorious Free- masons, of which the insignia is publicly worn, and thus FRBBMASONKT IN SWEDEN. 113 proved Ms respect for the institution. The foundation of this order, created from a noble sentiment that greatly honored the king, is, nevertheless, in contradiction to the spirit of Treemasonry, and in opposition with its princi-. pies. The same day this order was established, the king announced as his successor the brother Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte-Corvo, and the announcement was sanctioned by the government, and he was proclaimed at the same time Grand Master of Swedish Masonry. Since coming to the throne, in 1818, the new king delegated the Grand Mas- tership to his son Oscar, Duke of Sudermanie, subsequently Charles John XIV, who directs in person, as the actual king, (Charles XV,) the Masonic labors of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge of Sweden has under its juris- diction three provincial Grand Lodges, with twenty-four operative lodges. The reigning king is Grand Master in his own right. EussiA. It was the Grand Lodge of London that established the first lodge at Moscow, in 1731, under the reign of the Empress Anna Ivanowa, and, for the purpose of constitut- ing others in the country, patented John Phillips, Provin- cial Grand Master. Freemasonry made but little progress in Eussia, and it was not until the year 1771 that the first lodge was organized at St. Petersburg. In 1772, the Grand Lodge of London delivered to John Telaguine, a Senator and Privy Councilor, a patent constituting him Provincial Grand Master for Eussia ; and, after his death, he was succeeded by the Count Eoman Woronsow. At this time the lodges increased to a greater extent in St. Petersburg than in any other portion of the empire, the membership belonging in great part to the nobility. Un- der the reign of Catherine 11, it would have been difficult to find in St. Petersburg a noble who was not a Freemason. 8 114 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. It is true that the Empress often manifested some chagrin when, often finding but a single chamberlain in attendance upon her, she inquired for such and such a one whom she missed, and was told that he had gone to the lodge ; but, nevertheless, she was well enough disposed toward the fraternity to have her son, Paul I, initiated immediately upon his becoming of age. The high degrees, and, above all, those of the system Strict Observance, had invaded, about the year 1775, Eus- sian Masonry, and in which it lacked nothing of creating the same disorders it every- where caused ; for many of the lodges, professing only the English Rite, had no desire to accept this Templar parody, which w£|,s principally the cause of the interdiction of Freemasonry in 1798. The system of Strict Observance, under the patronage and Grand Mastership of the Duke of Brunswick, had organized at St. Petersburg a power, under the title of Grand Lodge of the Order of Vladimir, which pretended to direct all the lodges of Eussia, and thus came in conflict with a great many operative lodges which practiced only the English Rite. In few countries did Masonry rise to the splendor it at- tained under Catharine II, for the Masonic temples at St. Petersburg were indeed palaces. Many beneficial estab- lishments were also founded by her directions and under her patronage. During the sojourn of the King of Sweden, Gustavus in, at St. Petersburg, who, in his own country, was Grand Master of the Templar lodges, or lodges of the system of Strict Observance, the lodges of this system gave him the most superb feasts, at which he assisted with his whole Buite, composed entirely of Freemasons. JSTotwithstanding these brilliant appearances, the true Freemasonry, so far from making corresponding progress in Eussia, had, on the contrary, degenerated to such a point that the Empress Catharine not only openly ex- FREEMASONRY IN RUSSIA. 115 f t'essed her disconteiit thereat to the gentlemen of her court, in respect to the abuses which were being intro- duced, but published a pamphlet very severe in its strict- ures against Freemasons. This pamphlet has been trans- lated into French and German. Such was the situation of Masonry in Russia upon the accession of Paul I to the throne, in 1796. Although he had been initiated, this prince had allowed himself to be prevailed upon by intriguants, who obtained of him an interdiction, under the most severe penalties, of Masonic assemblies, as well as those of all other secret societies. Subsequently, regarding the Order of Knights of the Tem- ple as the true possessors of Masonic science, he desired to re-establish that Order, and, in fact, in the object of hastening this pretended regeneration of Masonry, he had, the 16th of December, 1798, taken the title of Gr^-nd Master of the Order of Malta, as a means of more effect- ually accomplishing his purpose; afterward, however, he renounced the project, which was, in fact, otherwise im- practicabTe. To Paul I, assassinated the 23d of March, 1801, suc- ceeded Alexander I. At first he confirmed the interdiction pronounced by his predecessor against Freemasonry ; but, in 1803, consequent upon a circumstantial report which he ordered to be made upon the object and principles of Free- masonry, he revoked it, and was himself initiated. We have been unable to ascertain the exact date of this cere- mony, the place, or the lodge in which it took place, nor do we know that he ever took any part in the labors of the Fraternity. On the contrary, although he never re- stricted in any way its existence, he always exhibited a certain degree of mistrust in the institution. The Grand Lodge of Vladimir, which, with the opera- tive lodges under its jurisdiction, were suspended by the interdiction pronounced by Paul I, after 1803 awoke to renewed activitv. From that time the struggle recom- 116 GENEKAL HISTORY OP FRBBMASONKY. menced. The lodges of the English system established a new Masonic code for all the lodges of Eussia; but not wishing to recognize certain privileges that the Grand Lodge Vladimir revindicated, and to withdraw forever from the systematic domination of it, they founded, in 1815, another Grand Lodge, under the title of "Astrea," of which the rules and regulations were approved by the government, and which from that time directed all the lodges of Russia. Though Freemasonry had not greatly extended, it ap- pears that it aifbrded some unquiet to the Emperor Alex- ander ; for, by a ukase, dated the 21st of August, 1821, he interdicted anew all Masonic assemblies ; and, in the auto- graph rescript that he addressed to his minister charged with the execution of this ukase, he based its promulga- tion upon the assertion that the lodges occupied themselves with the discussion of political subjects. None of the successors of Alexander, who died in 1825, having revoked this prohibition. Masonry remains in Rus- sia under the ban of this interdiction. Poland. Is consequence of the political .troubles which have con- stantly agitated it, Freemasonry has never attained a per- manent position in this country. In 1839, some nobles, resident at the court of King Frederick I, established a lodge at Varsovia, which was shortly dissolved by the bull of Clement XII; but, not- withstanding this prohibition, the Count Stanislaus Mnis- zek, Andrew Mocranowski, and Constantine Jablonowski founded, at Yiennavitz, in "Wolhania, a lodge, in which men the most eminent for their virtue and patriotism came from all parts of Poland to be initiated. In 1744, a French lodge was organized at Lemberg, by a man named FREEMASONRY IN POLAND. 117 Franr' igchampa, the labors of which were subse- quently -.. ;cted by another Frenchman, named Colonel Jean de Thoux de Salverte. After many vicissitudes, there was organized, at Varsovia, on the 24th June, 1769, under the reign of Stanislaus Augustus — who protected Masonry— a Grand Lodge of Poland, of which the Count Augustus Moszynski was nominated Grand Master. Thit Gfaffti^i^odge organized operative lodges at Cracov'ia, Wilna, arid Lemberg; but, after the first division of Po- land, their ,bors were interrupted. The sj,^. n of Strict Observance here, as elsewhere, soon apfpeaved, and established, at Varsovia, a Directory, under tJae authority of the Duke of Brunswick. Many French lodges were also established at Varsovia, and, among others — ^by the Grand Orient of France — the lodge "Perfect Silence," which, aspiring to the title of Grand Lodge, sought to win to its direction operative lodges; afterward, by virtue of a patent delivered to it by the Grand Orient of France, and dated 14th May, 1781, it proclaimed itself Mother Lodge, or Grand Lodge of Po- land. But it failed in its project, as did many others, which obtained, for this purpose, from the Grand Lodges of England and Germany, patents, constituting them legal powers, for which the necessity was recognized. Finally, thirteen lodges united, and, on the 26th February, 1764, constituted definitely a Grand Orient of Poland, by vir- tue of a patent delivered to them by the Grand Lodge of England. This Lodge was installed on the 4th of the following March, and chose for its Grand Master the Count Felix Potoski. Its existence was of short dura- tion; for, after the second partition of Poland — which took place in 1784 — ^this Grand Lodge, together with all the operative lodges under its jurisdiction, suspended op- erations. The Lodges which were subsequently established in the Grand Duchy of Poland were then organized, under tho 118 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Glrand Lodges located at Berlin. Finally, on the 22d March, 1810, the Grand Orient of Poland awoke and took charge of the lodges in the country. The political events of 1813 but slightly modified their condition, and but mo- mentarily interrupted their labors ; and, in 1818, we find the Grand Orient of Poland directing the labors of thirty- four operative lodges. The ukase of the Emperor Alex- ander, however, struck with death the lodges of Poland, in common with those of Russia, and since that time (12th August, 1822,) all Masonic labors have ceased in [Poland. The heroic courage with which our Polish Nbrethren fought for their liberty and their nationality, against a despotism the most arbitrary and revolting that any power calling itself Christian ever exercised against a civilized people, has acquired for them the sympathy and admira- tion of the Freemasons of the whole world. Belgium. The history of Freemasonry in Belgium is divided into many periods : that during which Belgium was part of the low country of Austria ; that during which it was incor- porated in the Empire of Prance; that of its re-union with Holland ; and, finally, the period since the independ- ence of Belgium was established. This was the first con- tinental country that received the new Freemasonry of England. The first lodge was instituted at Mons, the 4th of June, 1721, under the title of "Perfect Union," by the Duke of Montague, then Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of London. It was this lodge that was subse- quently erected into an English Grand Lodge for the low countries of Austria ; but, in 1785, it shared the fortunes of all other Austrian lodges by the edict. of the Emperor Joseph I. Another lodge was established, in 1730, at Gand, under FREEMASONRY m BELGIUM. 119 the Austrian direction. In common witli other lodges organized about the same time, in consequence of the per- secutions of the Catholic clergy, who were armed with the bulls of excommunication launched at Freemasons by the popes, it labored in the most profound secrecy. The membership of these lodges were, in most part, composed of the nobility, animated, in a great degree, by the demo- cratic tendencies of that period, and seeking to extend the principles of political liberty among the people. The most zealous patriots were to be found at the head of the lodges — many of the clergy themselves, who then were liberal, exhibiting a strong partisan trait for Masonry. To such a degree was this feeling expressed, that even the Bishop of Liege, and many of his ecclesiastics, were in- itiated into and directed the labors of the lodges. The Duke of Aremberg, the Duke of Ursel, the princes of Ligne and of Gavre, all took a very active part in the labors of Masonry. At. one time fifteen lodges were in operation ; but, unhappily, the political manifestations of the pppula- tion of the low countries of Austria caused, in 1785 and in 1786, the Emperor Joseph I to interdict Masonic assem- blies, though els*, where — in Brussels, for instance — he per- mitted the lodges to continue their labors. In 1787, how- ever, he ordered, by a new edict, that all the lodges in the empire, without exception, be closed, under the most se- vere penalties. When Belgium was incorporated into the French Em- pire, the Belgian lodges — which at that time, in conse- quence of the edict of 1787, were in a state of suspended animation — were ordered to place themselves under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of France ; and, from that time, Masonry in Belgium became an integral part of that of France, which there organized some twenty-two lodges. In 1814, there were in Belgium, in active operation, twenty-seven lodges, which, after the re-union of Belgium with Holland, for three years vainly endeavored to erect 120 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. a central authority at Brussels, Finally, Prince Freder- ick, of the Low Countries, second eon of the king — ^who, after the enfranchisement of Holland, h'ad therein consti- tuted a new Grand Orient — proposed to the Belgian lodges the creation of two independent Grand Lodges, which should direct all the operative lodges, each having its own administration and particular jurisdiction : the one to be located at the Hague, to exercise jurisdiction over all the northern lodges and those of the East Indies ; the other having its seat at Brussels, to direct the southern lodges and those of the West Indies — the Grand Orient of Hol- land, thus divided into three sections, to form a Supreme Council, whose object would be to take cognizance of all the great principles affecting Freemasonry in general, etc. This treaty of union was concluded in 1817, and the installation of the Provincial Grand Lodge at Brussels took place on the 11th April, 1818, at which time Prince Fred- erick was elected Grand Master of the three independent Grand Lodges, and named, as his representatives, Brother Falk, Minister of State, for the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Hague, and the Prince of Gavre for that of Brussels. From this time the history of Belgian Freemasonry is confounded with that of Freemasonry in Holland. We will only add that from 1817 to 1832, strenuous attempts were made to establish in Belgium, particularly at Brus- sels, the different systems of high degrees. The separation of Belgium from Holland — ^which took place in 1831 — modified anew the condition of Masonry in the former country. The provincial Grand Lodge of Brussels becoming, by the separation, isolated from the Grand Orient of Holland, invited, by a circular, dated the 16th of December, 1832, all the lodges of the new king- dom to recognize it as an independent authority, to unite under its recognition, and to send up their delegates to a general assembly convoked for the 25th of February, 1833. . Only four lodges, however, were represented ; but the dele- FREEMASONRY IN BELGHITM. , 121 gates present, nevertheless, decided to declare the provin- cial Grand Lodge of the Low Countries dissolved, and to constitute in its place a Grand Orient of Belgium. This new authority, placed under the protection of the king, Leopold I — himself a Freemason — succeeded in uniting under its jurisdiction, but not without difficulty, all the lodges of Belgium except four, which were then declared irregular. On the 1st May, 1835, the Baron of Stassart was nominated Grand Master. The flourishing condition of Masonry, and the influence that its members were exercising over all classes of society, provoked the hate of the Catholic clergy, who recom- menced their persecutions ; and the Bishop of Malines, in 1837, published a sentence of excommunication — a strange proceeding in our day — against all the Belgian Freemasons. The struggle became more and more lively, and the Cath- olic party, of whom the "Journal of Belgium" is the or- gan, surpassed the part it took in the revolution of 1830, in its pretentions to rule the country, and exhibit the in- tolerance that elsewhere and always is exhibited in seasons of triumph by this party. The Masonic lodges, pursued, excommunicated, tor- mented, in their material interests and social position, al- most up to the family hearth-stones, by their implacable 6nemies, who sought to drive to destitution the President of the Senate and the Governor of Brussels himself, be- cause of their adherence to Freemasonry, though the king himself was known to be a member of the institution, were constrained to take an attitude, through their Grand Orient, which was no less an exhibition of dignity and moderation than it was of strength. They opposed uni versal liberty to universal Romanism, free publications and loyal to anathemas, and the preaching of the eternal truth of their faith to the intolerance of a theocratic ambition. By this course the Freemasons finally triumphed. To brother, the Baron of Stassart, who abdicated in 1841, 122 GBNEEAL HISTORY OP FKEBMASONRT. succeeded Brother Defacqz d'Ath, Counselor to the Court of Appeals, and to him succeeded, in 1854, the brother Theo. Verhsegen, Advocate and President of the Chamber of Representatives. The new Grand Master, seeing the institution over which he was called to preside the constant object of the attacks of obscure politicians, backed by the clergy, in- sisted, in a discourse pronounced upon St. John's day, 1854, and which reflected the profound convictions and eminent talents of the distinguished speaker, that there existed an absolute necessity for Freemasonry to oppose itself more and more energetically to the antagonistic party, and discuss within its lodges such religious and po- litical questions as affected the condition of the country; and, for this purpose, that the regulations of the Grand Orient be so amended as to repeal the laws forbidding such discussion to take place within the lodges. 'His ad- vice was approved by all the brethren who assisted at the feast, and they decided to publish his discourse. This declaration, consequently, being printed and promulgated, provoked the protest of a portion of the Grand Lodges of Germany, and also that of Sweden, who not only ceased, in consequence of this manifestation, all connection with the Grand Orient of Belgium, but even prohibited their operative lodges from receiving Belgian Masons. This movement was attended by another deplorable consequence. The chiefs of the Supreme Council of the Scottish (33d) Eite, located at Brussels — a rival authority of the Grand Orient — and some lodges under the jurisdic- tion of the latter body, protested against the new inter- pretation of the principles and the rights of Freemasons as inculcated by the Grand Master Verhsegan, and mad it the occasion of their passing over to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council. This factionist condition has re mained nearly the same up to the present time. The statutes of the Grand Orient, promulgated the 19th FRBBMASONRY IN HOLLAND. 123 of January, 1838, contained but fifteen articles, and made no mention of any other style of Masonry except that of the three symbolic degrees. Each lodge of the union is represented by three delegates, who in general assemblies exercise the legislative power. The Grand Orient of Bel- gium exercises jurisdiction over sixty operative lodges while the Supreme Council of the Scottish (33d) Rite> which was instituted the 1st of March, 1817, and had for a long time a precarious existence, now counts thirteen lodges within its jurisdiction. These two authorities hold their meetings in the same city, Brussels. Holland. This country was for a long time preserved from the in- novations due to intriguing politicians and other schemers, who every-where have provoked deplorable schisms in the Masonic ranks; nevertheless it finally had to submit to the consequences of allowing the English Rite, which was for years the only one known, to be encroached upon by those anti-masonic productions which have denaturalized our beautiful institution, and which, in place of hastening us forward to the goal of its ideal, have but advanced that goal farther from us. A lodge was founded at the Hague, in 1725, composed of the elite of Dutch society; but the clergy, ever hostile to Freemasons, not having permitted it to be openly con- stituted, its labors during many years were conducted in the most profound secrecy; and it was not until 1731, when Lord Stanhope, Duke of Chesterfield, was English embassador at the court of William, Prince of Orange, that it was officially constituted. This lodge owed its ex- ■ istence to Brother Vincent de la Chappela, who had been authorized for the purpose of organizing it by the Grand Lodge of England. It was by it that the Emperor Francis I,' then Duke of, Lorraine, was initiated. 124 GBNURAL HISTOUT OF JRBBMASONRT. In 1834, many lodges united in a general assembly for the purpose of regularly organizing Freemasonry in Hol- land, by constituting a provincial Grand Lodge. This Grand Lodge, of which the Count of Wagenaer was pro- posed as provincial Grand Master, after having been regu- larly patented by the Grand Lodge of England, was inau- gurated in 1735, in an assembly held at the hotel of Niewe-Doelen, under the presidency of the titulary pro- vincial Grand Master, Brother John Cornelius Radema-, cher. It took the title "Grand Masters' Lodge of Gen- eral Appeal for the United Provinces;" and, in 1749, it took the name of " Mother Lodge of the Royal Union." Another lodge, founded in 1734 at the Hague, and com posed of eminent men, announced, in the public newspa- pers of the 24th October, 1735, a Masonic assembly which would be presided over by the new provincial Grand Master Rademacher; but the magistracy of the Hague, on the 30th of the following November, issued an ordi- nance interdicting all such assemblies. N'otwithstanding this prohibition, a lodge of Amster- dam, which numbered among its members the most em- inent men in the city, dared to continue its labors. The Catholic clergy, by the aid of calumnious reports, suc- ceeded in stirring up the ignorant class of the people against it; and its place of meeting being invaded by a crowd of those fanatics, they burned the property of the lodge and exhibited otherwise a disposition, upon any re- sistance being offered, to proceed to the most violent measures. The general government, with the object of preventing a recurrence of such action, intervened and prohibited Masonic assemblies. One lodge, having, in de- fiance of this prohibition, continued to meet, it was sur- rounded, by the order of the magistracy, and its mem- bers captured and impi'isoned. The master of the lodge and his officers, when brought before the court, explained FKBEMASONRT Df HOLLAND. 125 SO clearly the object and principles of the iustitution, that they were immediately set at liberty, and all the judges of the tribunal solicited the honor of being initiated. Since that time, a great many lodges have been established m the country; but, in 1746, new persecutions, on the part of the Catholic clergy, forced the lodges of the Hague, Nimegue, and Amsterdam to demand the inter- vention of the general government, which obliged the clergy to retract their calumnies. The Holland lodges — which held their constitutions, some from the Grand Lodge of England, and others from those of Germany and France — existed isolated from and independent of the provincial Grand Lodge created in 1735. With the object of a more intimate union, the lodge styled " Eoyal Union " convoked a general assem- bly, which was attended, on the 27th December, 1756, by representatives from thirteen lodges, and then and there organized, under the patronage of the Grand Lodge of London, a Grand Lodge for the United Provinces, of which the Baron Van Aersen Beyeren was nominated provincial Grand Master. This Grand Lodge proclaimed, the following year, its general statutes in forty-one articles. In 1770 it declared itself independent; and, by virtue of an agreement with the Grand Lodge of London, it took the title of Grand Lodge of Holland, and notified all the Grand Lodges of Europe of the fact. It at once organiiied a provincial Grand Lodge, at Brussels, for the low countries of Aus- tria, and nominated the Marquis of Gages provincial Grand Master ; but this lodge was obliged, in 1789, in consequence of the edict of the Emperor Joseph I, to suspend active operations. After the removal of this in- terdiction, in 1798, the Grand Lodge of Holland decreed, on the 17th May of that year, a new administrative code, according to which it ruled only the three symbolic de- 126 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. grees, and intrusted a special chapter, directed by the Grand Master, Baron Van Teylingen, with the conference of the other degrees of its rite. In 1810, by the aid of the subscriptions made up by the Holland lodges, an asylum for the blind was instituted at Amsterdam. After the union of Holland with the French Empire, in 1811, the existence of the Grand Orient of Holland was attacked and compromised, by the "Grand Orient of France assuming to extend its authority over all the Ma- sons and all the Masonic institutions of Holland. To the decree published by it on the 3d March, 1812, the Grand Orient of Holland responded, on the 21st of the same month, in a manner so dignified that the Grand Orient of France renounced its project of assumption, and the Grand Orient of Holland continued its jursdiction as be- fore, save that the nine operative lodges, instituted by the Grand Orient of France at Amsterdam and the Hague, remained, from 1812 to 1814, under the jurisdiction of the latter. At the time of the events of 1814, which changed anew the position of Freemasonry in Holland, the Grand Orient had under its jurisdiction, in Holland and the two Indies, seventy-one operative lodges. The direction of the lodges of the Low Countries having been offered to it, the Grand Orient proposed, in 1814, a treaty of union among all the northern and southern lodges of the Low Countries, for the purpose of organizing a Grand Lodge for that king- domj with the Provincial Grand Lodges,' of which the one should be located at the Hague, and comprising within its jurisdiction all the northern lodges, together with those in the East Indies ; and the other should be located at Brussels, to take charge of all the southern lodges of the kingdom, together with those of the West Indies. Of the Latter, Prince Frederick was elected Grand Master, and ' See Masonry in Belgium, ante. PREEMASONET IN HOLLAND. 127 the Minister of State, Brotlier Falk, Grand Master of the former. In 1819, Prince Frederick sent to all the lodges of Eu- rope copies of two documents found in the papers of the defunct Grand Master Boetzelaar. The first of these docu- ments is a species of charter,^ dated at Cologne, the 24th ^f June, 1535, and signed by nineteen persons, bearing illustrious names, and who therein are presented as dele- gates from nineteen Masonic lodges of different countries in Europe. The second is the record-book of the n^eetings of a lodge which, according to it, should have existed at the Hague in 1637, and whose date of organization is 8th May, 1519. These documents, particularly the charter, have been submitted to the examination of learned Free- masons, some of whom have pronounced them authentic, while others have decided that both documents have been produced for some purpose best known to the manufactur- ers. The latter decision seems to be best supported. The lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of the Low Countries numbered, in 1820, one hundred and five, of which forty-five in Holland, and fourteen in the East Indies, were borne upon the register of the Grand Lodge of the northern provinces at the Hague ; and thirty- two in Holland, and fourteen in the West Indian colonies, on that of the Grand Lodge of the southern provinces at Brussels. The number of operative lodges organized from that time to 1829 augmented the foregoing by thirty- one lodges, thus making the total number one hundred and thirty-six. The events of 1830 changed anew the Masonic organ- ization in Holland, placing it as we found it in 1818; and the Grand Orient of Holland took under its direction the lodges of the new Dutch territory and the Dutch colonies m the two Indies. As in, the past, it continues to fill with dignity, under its noble chief, Prince Frederick William 'See GeDeral History of Freemasonry, p. 51. 128 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBBMASONKT. Charles, tlie position that it occupies as one of the most ancient departments of Freemasonry in Europe. The Grand Orient of Holland at present directs, in all, the labors of sixty-seven operative lodges, of which about twenty are in the East and "West Indies. Geemant. We must give the history of Freemasonry in this vast country, which contains an empire, five kingdoms, and twenty-one principalities, in a manner more succinct than that of any other of the States of Europe. We will com- mence, therefore, by speaking of that city which, of all others in Germany, was the first in which Freemasonry took root. Hamburg. — On the 3d of December, 1737, the first Ma- sonic lodge in Germany, under the English dispensation, was established in this city. It was named "Absalom Lodge," and was placed under the direction of Brother Charles Sarey. On the 30th of October, 1740, this lodge was raised, by the Grand Lodge of England, to the rank of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hamburg and Lower Saxony, and having for its Grand Master, Brother Lutt- man. It was by a deputation of this lodge that the Prince Frederick of Prussia, subsequently Frederick 11, was in- itiated, in 1738, at Brunswick — a circumstance that has contributed much to the propagation of Freemasonry in Germany. From Hamburg, Freemasonry passed, in 1738, to Dresden; in 1740, to Berlin; in 1741, to Leipsic; in 1744, to Brunswick, and in 1746, to Hanover. The Pro- vincial Grand Lodge established up to 1795 but five lodges, and in that year these united in founding a hospital for house servants, and, subsequently, created a fund for the re- lief of foreign brethren who might require it. This Grand Lodge had extended its jurisdiction, in 1807, over sixteen lodges, all working the English Rite and remaining faith- FKEEiyiASONRY IN GEEMAJSfT. 129 fill to its mother lodge df London, In this respect it shone as a bright example of fidelity in comparison to other Provincial Grand Lodges, which, although estab- lished under like circumstances and by the same authority, generally took the first favorable opportunity to become independent of the authority that created them. It was not until the year 1811 that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hamburg decided to assert its independence. To-day it directs a Provincial Grand Lodge and twenty-one oper- ative lodges, all practicing the English Rite, together with a chapter, created by Shrceder, who was, during many years, its Grand Master. Prussia. — The " Lodge at the Three Globes," in Berlin, composed of French artists, was constituted on the 23d of September, 1740. This was the first lodge established at that time. On the 24th of June, 1744, Prince Frederick elevated it to the rank of a Grand Lodge, under the title of "Royal Grand Mother Lodge." He was, as a natural consequence, elected Grand Master, and filled the office as such until 1747, from which date he ceased to take any part in Masonic labors. This mother lodge suffered itself to be from an early period invaded by the high degrees of the rite of " Per- fection," as also by those of the rite " Strict Observance." In 1773, desiring to organize a lodge whose membership would be composed entirely of the nobility, it requested permission to do so from the king, Frederick II, but was refused. Such an institution could no better carry out the object of Masonry than those which were charged with the propagation of its doctrines. Although, like Hamburg, some parts of Germany had received Masonry direct from England, and the lodges thus constituted worked the English Rite, others had re- ceived it by the intermediation of France. The institu- tion soon extended in a most extraordinary manner. The 9 130 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. lodges there, finding themselves composed, in great part, of the nobility and men devoted to art and the sciences, having a weakness for the French language, many of them conducted their labors in that language, and, for the most part, even took French names. This tendency favored the introduction into the German lodges of the high de- grees which the officers of the army of Broglie had im- ported from France ; and it is from this period these innu- merable follies which culminated in the introduction of the Templar system may be dated. It was not until after the Congress of Wilhelmsbad that these disorders ceased. The discussions which took place in that assembly broke the chains of the Templar hierarchy, believed to be so firmly riveted by the Jesuits, and relieved the fraternity in all Germany from their drunken enthusiasm for the systems of high degrees. In no country, had the Templar system been extended so generally as in Germany, linearly all the lodges had adopted it, under the belief that its object was the re- establishment of the ancient Order of Knights Templar. The most elevated classes of society and people the most honorable, among whom were the greater portion of the nobility, became its partisans, notwithstanding the doubts which were thrown out of the sincerity of the assertions of its chief officials. Twenty-six princes of Germany had been initiated into those degrees, and thus became pro- moters more or less zealous ; while many of them took position at the head of the Templar Order in their respect- ive States. Since Frederick the Great, all his successors have been Freemasons, or have declared themselves in favor and the protectors of Freemasonry. Frederick William III, who had been initiated, confirmed and recognized from the throne, in 1798, the three Grand Lodges of Berlin. At the second Congress of Vienna, in 1833, when Austria and Bavaria demanded, in terms not in any wise equivocal, the FREEMASONRY IN GERMANY. 131 extermination of the society of Freemasons, this king de- clared that they were and always should be in his king- dom, under his protection ; and, by his warm defense of the institution, he prevented the other powers represented at this congress from exhibiting any leaning towards the project of extermination advanced by the two powers just named. It was by his desire and with his consent that the present king, William I, proclaimed himself, during his life, protector of Masonry in Prussia. The latter, without partaking of the favorable opinion of the institution en- tertained by his father, imitated him, as well from politi- cal motives as to continue the custom consecrated by his predecessors of the royal family, in consenting that his son, the prince royal Frederick William, should be ini- tiated and should represent Prussian Masonry. This ini- tiation took place on the 5th of November, 1853. The principles of this prince are known to be at variance, how- ever, with those of his father. The three Prussian Grand Lodges located at Berlin have each founded some humanitarian establishments in favor of Freemasons and their families. The Grand Lodge at the Three Globes has under its ju- risdiction ninety-nine operative lodges. The National Grand Lodge of Germany, founded in 1773, registers under its jurisdiction sixty-seven operative lodges. The Royal York Grand Lodge, founded in 1798, regis- ters twenty-seven operative lodges under its jurisdiction. Each of these three Grand Lodges has its Grand Mas- ter and Deputy Grand Master. The Prince William of Baden has been, since 1859, Grand Master of the Royal York Grand Lodge. 132 (JENEEAL HISTORY OF FKEBMASONRT. Kingdom of Saxony. — A lodge was established at Dres- den, in 1738, by the Count Rotowsky, under whose direc- tion a Provincial Grand Lodge was organized in 1741. This Grand Lodge, with the operative lodges under its jurisdiction, experienced the same embarrassments, by their connection with the high degrees^ as all the other legislative Masonic bodies of Germany. "We shall pass them by without further notice. In 1755, this lodge took the title of Grand Lodge of Saxony; and, after having, in 1807, abolished all the de- grees above that of Master Mason, it united, yd. 1811, with the ]!!?'ational Grand Lodge of Saxony, which then had been established. Under the auspices of the first Grand Lodge, there was founded, in 1792, on the 22d of September, at Frederick- stadt, a philosophic establishment, which is directed at the present time by the Lodge of the Three Swords, at Dresden, and in which two hundred children are edu- cated. The Grand Lodge of Saxony has at present under its jurisdiction fifteen operative lodges. Kingdom of Hanover. — The capital of this country ad- mitted Freemasonry in 1746, and the Grand Lodge of London established there, in 1755, a Provincial. Grand Lodge, under the Grand Mastership of Count Kielman- segge. Having detached itself from the Mother Grand Lodge, in 1828 it declared its independence as a Masonic authority, under the Grand Mastership of the reigning king. Its history is intimately connected with that of Ger.man Masonry in general. ' The king, George V, on ascending the throne on the 18th E"ovember, 1851, declared himself — like his father, who was a Freemason — the protector of Masonry in Han- over, and was initiated, on the 14th of January, 1857, in the "Lodge at the Black Bear," in Ilanover. From that FEBEMASONEY IN GERMANY. 133 time he has directed, as Grand Master, the Ereemasonry of the country, and taken a very active part in Masonic labors. The Grand Lodge of Hanover numbers at the present time upon its register twenty-one symbolic lodges. Kingdom of Bavaria. — In no country of Germany has Freemasonry been subjected to as many restrictions and vexations as in the kingdom of Bavaria. It did not pene- trate, until very lately, into the elder Bavaria; and it was not until 1777 that the Eoyal York Grand Lodge organ- ized a lodge at Munich. But for a long time it has ex- isted in operative lodges, located in countries which, iu 1810, were annexed to this kingdom. A lodge had been organized by Prince Frederick of Brandenburg, on the 21st June, 1741, at Beyreuth, the ancient capital of Fran- conia, where other lodges were said to have existed at this time, but concerning which we know nothing. The society of the lUuminati, founded by the professor "Weisshaupt, and to which was intrusted the noble task of causing virtue to triumph over folly and ignorance, and of carrying instruction and civilization into all classes of society, had found access into some lodges located in the Elder Bavaria, and particularly those of Munich ; and thereupon Prince Charles Theodore, moved by the influ- ence of the Jesuits, issued two decrees, the one dated 2d March, and the other 16th August, 1785, interdicting the assemblies of the Illuminati, and also those of the Free- masons. Following these prohibitions, which were re- newed from at first by the king, Maximilian Joseph, on the 4th N'ovember, 1799, and subsequently on the St! March, 1804, the lodges of Munich and of Manheim ceased their labors. Within the Protestant countries annexed to Bavaria — at Beyreuth and Ratisbonne — the lodges were allowed to continue their labors, but under most intolerable restric- 134 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. tions. N'o employ^ of the government, either civil or military, was permitted to attend the meetings of or be initiated into them. In a word, these lodges had to con- tend with the Jesuitical tendencies of the government, and were consequently paralyzed in their actions. Notwithstanding this pressure, however, the lodge at Beyreuth — constituted, on the 3d of August, 1800, as a Provincial Grand Lodge, under the jurisdiction of the Eoyal York Grand Lodge at Berlin — made a stand, under the Grand Mastership of Count Giech and Brother Voel- dendorf, prefect of the government; and finally, in 1811, it, with four other lodges, created an independent power at Beyreuth, under the title of " Grand Lodge of the Sun." This authority has at present under its jurisdiction, in the northern portion of Bavaria, eleven operative lodges, while in the southern portion, which is entirely Eoman Catholic, Freemasonry is completely interdicted. Grand Duchy of Baden. — The most ancient lodge of this country is the lodge " Charles of Concord," established on the 24th E'ovember, 1778, at Manheim, by the Royal York Grand Lodge of Berlin. Its labors were suspended in 1785, in consequence of the interdiction of Masonic as- semblies in the states of the elector of Bavaria, in which Manheim was at that time situate. But when this city was, in 1803, incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Freemasonry awoke, under the direction of the Marquis of Dalberg, and founded, in 1806, a Grand Orient of Ba- den, of which Prince Charles of Ysenberg was chosen Grand Master. Another power, under the title of the " I^Tational Union of the Lodges," was, upon the 23d of May, 1809, consti- tuted at Manheim by t'le lodges of Carlsriihe, Friburg, Heidelberg, etc., of which the Marquis Charles Frederick Schilling, of Constadt, was nominated presiding officer. After the death of the Grand Duke, Charles Frederick, FREEMASONRY IN GERMANY. 135 his successor, under the pressure of political events, on the 16th February, 1813, and on the 7th March, 1814, promulgated two ordinances, prohibiting all assemblies of secret societies, among which, of course. Freemasonry stood first. After this the lodges remained closed for thirty years; and it was not until in 1845 that the reign ing Grand Duke authorized anew the assembling of Free masons. The greater part of the old lodges began their labors, and to-day they are at work, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Beyreuth and the Grand Lodge at the Three Globes, in Berlin, respectively. Kingdom of Wurtemherg. — In 1774 a lodge was insti- tuted at Stuttgart, under the title of " Charles of the Three Cedars," which practiced the rite of " Strict Ob- servance," and having at its head Brother Taubenheim, privy councilor ; but it failed to sustain itself, and, by a circular, dated the 16th July, 1784, it was announced that its labors were suspended. It was not until the year 1835 that w;e see Freemasonry reappear at Stuttgart. ' The late- ness of this reappearance is due to the unfriendly disposi- tion for the institution entertained by the sovereigns who governed Wurtemherg since 1784. To-day we see lodges in active operation, working under the direction of va- rious German Grand Lodges. Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. — The first traces of Free- masonry were exhibited in this country in 1764, when a lodge, under the name of the " White Pigeon," had been organized by the !N"ational Grand Lodge of Germany ; but this lodge disappeared immediately, and left no sign of Masonic life in Hesse-Darmstadt, where, as in many other portions of Germany, the reigning sovereigns did not have much love for the institution. It was not until the year 1816 that it awoke, thanks to the particular protec- tion of the landgrave Christian of Hesse. A lodge, under 136 GBKERAL HISTORY OE FRBBMASONRT. the title of " St. John the Evangelist," was constituted at Darmstadt, on the 5th of August of that year, and in- stalled on the 23d of the following October, by the Grand Lodge of the Eclectic "Union at Frankfort. This lodge established a fund for the relief of the widows and or- phans of deceased brethren. In 1846 was established at Darmstadt, under the title of "The Union," a Grand Lodge, which now numbers upon its register seven operative lodges, besides the lodge " St. John the Evangelist." Hesse-Cassel. — IS'otwithstanding all the members of the ducal family of this duchy were Freemasons, as were also the ruling princes, in this country, Freemasonry has never made any progress. The lodges have never sought to form a central power, but work in an isolated manner, and without ranking under any jurisdiction. When the country was transformed into a kingdomy under Jerome Buona;parte, in 1808, the lodges organized a legislative authority at Cassel, under the title of the " Grand Orient of Westphalia ;" but this organization was dissolved after the events of 1815. Another Masonic au- thority was constituted at Cassel in 1817. We have no documents to inform us as to what occurred since that date. Duchy of Brunswick. — Through the agency of the cham- berlain De Kisselben, who was by it named Provincial Grand Master for life, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hamburg, on the 12th of February, 1844, instituted a lodge at Brunswick which was called "Jonathan," and at the installation of which Prince Albert of Brunswick was present. After the introduction of the Templar system into the lodges of Germany, a number of the members of this lodge refused to recognize it as Masonic, or admit the system into the lodge. This circumstance, in 1765, led to a division of the membership into two factious, FREEMASONRY IN GERMANY. 137 which, while they continued to work each independent of the other, ceased not to criminate and war upon each other. A third lodge, named " St. Charles of Concord," organized in 1764 by some Frenchmen, who worked in the French language, and conferred the high degrees brought by them from France, having, notwithstanding the protection of the reigning duke, been authorized by the two dissenting lodges just mentioned, Duke Charles, to put an end to this strife and disorder, closed up all the lodges, and subsequently ordered their membership to re- organize into two new lodges, the one to work in the French language, and the other in the German. In 1770, the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, having been nominated, by the Grand Lodge of London, Provin- cial Grand Master for the lodges of the Duchy of Bruns- wick, installed the officers of these two lodges on the 10th and 11th of October of that year, in presence of the Duke Charles of Sudermanie, brother of Gustavus III, King of Sweden ; Prince Frederick Augustus of Brunswick-Lune- burg, and General Rhetz, Deputy Grand Master. As the Templar system lacked in Germany an influen- tial chief, who could facilitate its propagation and sup- port the secret plans of its founders, the emissaries of the Jesuits sought, not in vain, to gain the Duke Ferdinand to such position. After having consented to their propo- sition, and being initiated in the Convent of Kohlo in 1772, by the, chapter there assembled for that purpose, he was nominated Grand Master of all the lodges of the Templar system in Germany. On the 18th January, 1773, he es- tablished a Supreme Directory of Strict Observance at Brunswick, and within the very locality of those lodges which his predecessor had closed to prevent them from practicing the rite of which he now announced himself as chief. Deceived, however, as had been Gustavus III of Sweden, and his brother the Duke of Sudermanie, as to the origin of the Templar system, by the emissaries, who 138 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. pretended that the object of that system was to re-estab- lish the Order of the Knights Templar, and to claim res- titution of the property of that order from the power that had confiscated i"", Duke Ferdinand assembled in 1775 at Brunswick, and in 1778 at Wolfenbuttel, conventions of Freemasons, to ascertain the facts in this connection. The consequences were, that while many of the emissaries of the Templar system were unmasked and imprisoned, the object of the inquiry was no further advanced than before. Finally, the Duke Ferdinand convoked, in 1782, a congress at Wilhelmsbad, to which were invited all the Masonic authorities of Europe, in order, first, to ascertain if the Templar system was really directed by the Society of Loyola ; second, to discuss the merits of the system, as also its demerits ; and, third, to reform it, to the end that Freemasonry might be extricated from the political com- plications into which this system had drawn it, not alone in all Germany, but also in Sweden, Italy, Poland, and Russia. The discussions which took place during the thirty days this congress continued in session, while they led to no positive assurance beyond the fact that the Tem- plar system was a totally anti-masonic institution, carried the conviction to the minds of thfe majority present that there was no Freemasonry beyond that of the English Rite, or the three symbolic degrees. The consequences were that all the systems of high degrees were rejected and cast aside as worthless, except ,the rite of Strict Ob- servance, which was changed into the " Refined Scottish Rite." The "Supreme Directory" at Brunswick, after the death of Duke Ferdinand, on the 3d July, 1792, returned to the practice of the English Rite, and assumed what it claimed as its original name of " St. Charles of Concord ;" and thereafter, f^r some time, continued to exist isolated and independent. While Westphalia was a kingdom this lodge was in FRBEMASONKY IN GERMANY. 139 danger of losing its independence, in consequence of the Grand Lodge of "Westphalia, instituted in 1808 at Cassel, attempting to register it under its direction. But the in- terference of the king presented this consummation, and, for the purpose of having some recognized Masonic au- thority to lean upon, it returned to its obedience to the an- cient mother lodge of Hamburg. The 11th and 12th Feb- ruary, 1844, were employed by this lodge — "St. Charles of Concord" — in celebrating the centennial feast of the introduction of Freemasonry into Brunswick. Empire of Austria. — In all countries wherein the Roman Catholic and apostolic clergy predominate. Freemasonry experiences great difficulty in attaining a permanent foot- hold. Of this fact Austria is a striking illustration. All the lodges constituted in the Austrian States have had but a brief term of existence, the persecutions on the part of the clergy and the prohibitions of the sovereigns having never given them time to take root. The Empress Maria Theresa, notwithstanding her hus- band, the Emperor Francis I, was a Freemason, inter- dicted Masonry, in 1764, within the Austrian States. It was not until the reign" of Joseph II that we find the in- stitution again existing in that country; but, as before, an object of suspicion, and under the strict superintend- ence of the police. The system of Strict Observance had been established in all its hierarchy at Vienna; but some very grave com- plications caused it, in a short time, to abandon its seat. In 1784, however, there were established some ten lodges in Vienna, all working under this system, and which — to judge from the language of a Masonic journal which was there secretly published from 1784 to 1786, and edited with marked ability — were composed of worthy men, and progressive in their principles and practices. After the death of Joseph II in 1790, his successor. 140 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Francis II, prohibited Masonry anew, and used the great- est severity in enforcing this prohibition, even to demand ing a decision from the German Diet, in 1794, then sit- ting at Ratisbonne, to interdict the institution throughout all Germany. But the representatives of Prussia, Bruns- wick, and Hanover responded to this demand by saying, that as he was protector of the rights and liberties of his own subjects, they claimed the same privilege with re- gard to theirs. Freemasonry penetrated into Bohemia in 1769, and in 1770 four lodges were actively engaged in Prague. They were composed of the most prominent citizens. In 1786, a Provincial Grand Lodge for Bohemia was organized; but the interdiction of Francis II caused the total suspen- sion of Masonic labor in this portion of his empire ; and, since 1794, Austria has been shut out from Masonic light Reoapitulation of the Lodges Existino in the Several States of Gbemant. Prussia, with 3 G. L 187 Saxony, " 1 " 16 Hanover, « 1 " 20 Bavaria, " 1 " 10 Baden 5 Wurtemberg 6 Hesse-Darmstadt, 1 G. L 7 Hesse-Cassel 2 Luxembourg, 1 G. L 2 Mecklenburg-Sohwerin 9 " Streliti 2 Saxe-Weimar. 2 Oldenbourg ■ 2 Nassau.... 1 Brunswick 8 Altenburg 1 Holstein 1 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 2 Meiningen 1 Anbalt Dessan 2 " Bernbourg 1 BeuBS (the elder) 1 Reuss (the younger) 1 Waldeck 1 Lippe-Detmold 1 Schwartzbourg-Sohwfiriu 2 Lubeck 2 Bremen 2 .Frankfort^on-the-Main and its de- pendencies, with 1 G. L 10 Hamburg and dependencies, 1 G. L. 21 Total 10 G. Ls.und 823 Ls. febemasonrt in switzerland. 141 Switzerland. Freemasonry penetrated into Switzei-land in 1737, when a Provincial G-rand Master of England, named George Hamilton, founded the first lodge at Geneva^ and shortly afterward the second at Lausanne ; but in consequence of its interdiction, in 1738, by the magistracy of Berne, the latter was dissolved. In 1740 a new lodge was organized at Lausanne; but a second prohibition by the govern- ment of Berne, dated the 3d March, 1745, closed it. It was not until about 1764 that lodges were organized in Lausanne and in the canton of Vaud ; but a third edict, issued by the government, in 1770, against the assembling of Freemasons, dispersed these lodges also. The Provincial Grand Lodge of Genera maintained it- self with much difficulty ; for nearly all the lodges that it constituted, particularly those in the canton of Vaud, were dispersed by the edicts mentioned. Having sought, however, to establish- lodg'.^i in the cities of German Switzerland, and others in Geneva, it seemed necessary that a Grand Orient of Geneva should be established; and, in 1786, this authority was instituted; but the French Revolution of 1789 caused it to suspend opera- tions. In 1796 it resumed its functions ; but, by the union . of Geneva with thf^ Empire of France, its operations were set aside by th«! ';4rand Onont of France, which imme- diately commerced instituting lodges within its jurisdic- tion. In 1765> Masonry having extended into German Switzerland, a lodge was e-'tablished at Basle, and another at Zurich in 1771. Both of these lodges were instituted by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Geneva. The system of Strict Observance soon found its way ■into the valleys of Lclvetia; and its anti-masonic distinc* tions, while produc/'i>g the same disorder there which they produced elsewYpy,^ culminated in dividing the Masons of Switzerland i-j'to two camps. In 1775, the system of 142 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Strict Observance, having organized a Helvetian Scottish Directory, divided itself into two factions. The one, hav- ing its seat at Basle, assumed authority over German Swit- zerland ; while the other, sitting at Lausanne, and styling itself the Scottish Directory of Roman Helvetia, took charge of French Switzerland. But this last had to sub- nit to a like fortune with all the lodges of the canton of Vaud ; and in consequence of the edict of the Lords of Berne, issued in E'ovember, 1782, it suspended its opera- tions. This edict, for the fourth time, prohibited Masonic assemblies in every portion of the canton. The Directory of Basle was not more fortunate ; for, in 1785, under the stringent requirements of an edict of the magistrates of Berne, it also had to suspend operations. During the French Revolution all Masonic labors in Switzerland were suspended ; and, in 1818, the seat of the Scottish Directory of Basle was transferred, after the death of the Grand Master Burhardt, from that city to Zurich. The Directory of Roman Helvetia at Lausanne awoke to renewed activity in 1810 ; but the system of Strict Ob- servance having been abolished after the congress of Wil- helmsbad, it took the title of Grand Orient of Roman Helvetia, on the 15th October of that year, and from that time governed the lodges of the canton of Vaud, until its fusion, in 1822, with the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berne, which then became an independent Grand Lodge. At Berne Masonry had been introduced, about the year 1740, by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Geneva ; but, in consequence of the interdiction of the magistrates of Berne, it had disappeared, and no traces of it could be found in the canton until about 1798, when some Bernese officers, in the service of France, established three lodges, styled, respectively, "Friends of Glory,'" "Foreign Coun- try," and "Discretion." The first two had but a short existence, and from the remains of the last was formed the " Lodge of Hope," which was constituted by the Grand FEEBMASONET IS SWITZEELAND. 143 Orient of France, on the 14tli of September, 1803, and which was then the only lodge in active operation in the whole Swiss Confederation. A new era now appeared to dawn for Masonry in Switz- erland, which, no more persecuted, developed with won- derful rapidity, and lodges were established, within a short time, in the principal towns of the country ; but the wars of the empire once more arrested this new growth. The Lodge of Hope was composed of eminent men of all classes of society — nearly all foreign diplomatists, resident at Berne as representatives of foreign powers, having be- come members of this lodge. In 1812 it initiated Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, since King of the Belgians. On the 12th July, 1818, this, lodge applied for a patent to the Grand Lodge of England ; and on the 24th June, 1819, it was installed as a Provincial Grand Lodge of England, by the brother Louis de Tavel de Kruiningen, who had been elected to the position of Provincial Grand, Master. From that time it abandoned and discredited the chapters and high degrees of all kinds which it had received from France, and thenceforward recognized nothing as Ma- sonic but the three symbolic degrees. Thenceforth the eminent brethren who directed this authority sought to unite, under one alliance, all the lodges of Switzerland. Having announced their desires upon this subject to the Helvetian Scottish Directory at Zurich, without meeting any favorable response, on the 24th June, 1822, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Berne concluded a treaty of union with the Helvetian Gran4 Orient^ at Lausanne, by virtue of which both of these au- thorities were dissolved, and in their place was instituted a ifational Grand Lodge of Switzerland, to which, by vir tue of the treaty, the six lodges of the Grand Orient and ■■ This Grand Orient was, in some sort, the successor of the Roiaa''j Helvetian Directory, that suspended operations in 1782. 144 GENERAL HISTORY OF FEBEMASONRT. the three lodges of the Provincial Grand Lodge yielded obedience. In this manner but two Masonic authorities came to exist, viz : the E'ational Grand Lodge of Switzer- land, and the Helvetian Scottish Directory at Zurich. Such new lodges as were subsequently instituted in Switzerland took rank under the National Grand Lodge; and notwithstanding the Zurich Directory had at various times, and particularly in 1830, after the death of the Grand Master De Tavel, made overtures of union to the iN'ational Grand Lodge, in consequence of the pretensions to the right of conferring high degrees retained by the former, the latter, having abolished such pretension, would never consent to such union. Finally, the feelings which prompted a desire for union were renewed in 1835, and, at the twenty-fifth anniver- sary of the re-opening of the lodge "Liberty with Mod- esty," in Zurich, the Swiss lodges were invited, and the feast took place on the 20th August, 1836. It was then agreed that the "Lodge of Hope," at Berne, should con- voke, in the year 1838, all the lodges of Switzerland in a congress, in which should be discussed the basis of a future union. In accordance with this decision the con- gress met, the basis of union was discussed, and the decis- ion arrived at that a third congress should assemble at Basle in 1840, to continue the discussion. Subsequently, a fourth congress assembled at Locle in 1842, and finally a fifth, at which were assembled the representatives of four- teen lodges, who ratified the union on the 22d June, 1844, and established the new Alpine Grand Lodge, with the brother Professor Hottinger as Grand Master. The place of meeting of this body is changed every two years. Governed by a council of administration, having the Grand Master for president, and composed of the members united in a general assembly, this authority ex- ercises legislative powers. Its jurisdiction extends over twenty-seven lodges, which form the Swiss union. ^ 1 freemasonry in italy. 145 Italy. In no country has Freemasonry been subjected to such changes of fortune as in Italy. It is at Florence that we find the first traces of the institution. Introduced there in 1729, by the Grand Lodge of England, which estab- lished many lodges in Tuscany, in 1731 we find a Pro- vincial Grand Lodge instituted. But Gaston, the last Grand Duke of the family of the Medici, in 1737 inter- dicted all Masonic meetings, and not until after his death did Freemasons again meet in a lodge capacity. Then, the clergy having complained to Pope Clement XII, he sent an inquisitor to Florence, who arrested and impris- oned all the Masons he could discover, and ceased not in his persecutions until ordered so to do by the successor of Gaston, Francis, Duke of Lorraine, who was subse- quently Emperor of Austria. This prince, who had been made a Mason in Holland, protected the institution. Un- der his reign Masonry extended into all Italy — to Milan, Padua, Venice, and Verona. It existed even at Rome, where, unknown to the Pope, a lodge worked in the Eng- lish Eite. The bull of excommunication of the 27th April, 1738, published on the 29th of the following May, and which prohibited Masonic meetings in all Catholic coun- tries, under the most severe penalties, closed a portion of the Italian lodges. A new edict of the Cardinal Farras, dated 14th January, 1739, confirmed this bull, and ordered to be burned, by the hands of the public hangman, a pam- phlet written in favor of Freemasons. These persecu- tions, however, had but little efiect in interrupting the spread of Masonry in Italy, particularly at Naples; and it was but by the promulgation of the bull of Pope Bene- dict XTV, on the 18th March, 1751, that the lodges were obliged to close their meetings. In 1760, the Grand Lodge of Holland instituted a Pro- vincial Grand Lodge at Naples, which, in a short time 10 146 GENERAL HISTORY OE FREEMASONRY. had organized eight operative lodges. Then detaching it- self from the Grand Lodge of Holland, this lodge took rank as a Provincial Grand Lodge, under the Grand Lodge of England. In 1767 this body declared itself in- dependent, under the title of tne National Grand Lodge of Italy, with the Duke Demetrio della Rocca in the office of Grand Master ; in vsrhich condition it existed until 1790, when it was dissolved by the French Eevolution. Masonry was cotemporarily introduced into the king- dom of Sardinia, lodges having been organized at Turin and Chambery , while, in the latter city, the Grand Lodge of London founded a Provincial Grand Lodge. In 1762 Masonry was imported from England to Venice, where many lodges were established, under the direction of the Provincial Grand Master Manuzzi. The partisans of the Stuarts, and other political schemers, found in Italy, as elsewhere, means to establish their ille- gitimate Masonry. In 1775 they had installed at Turin a commandery of the eighth department of the system of Strict Observance, under the direction of the Count of Bernez, steward to the King of Sardinia; and by him were established priories of this system in all the principal towns of that kingdom, as well as in many cities of Italy. At Chambery English Ereemasonry had soon to give way to the system of Strict Observance, and the Provin- cial Grand Lodge, instituted in that city by the Grand Lodge of London, transformed itself, in 1775, into a Di- rectory of the Masons of Lombardy ; but which was dis- solved in 1794. At N'aples the Prince of Caramanca was placed a,t the head of the Templar system, which there, as elsewhere, very soon displaced the English Rite. The interdictions of the Papal authority, as also the clan- destine persecutions of the clergy and government, little by little, dispersed the majority of the lodges, and those which survived were closed during the French Revolution. Under the French government, however, a new era SBBEMASONRT IN -ITALT. 147 seemed to dawn for Masonry in Italy. A lodge, organized at Milan in 1801, was followed by the establishment of another at Mantua, and others in the principal cities; when the Scottish Rite, introduced at Paris in 1804, and imported to Milan in 1805, by virtue of a constitution dated at Paris, and bearing the signatures of De Grasse- Tilly, Pyron, Benier and Vidal, organized a Supreme Council for Italy, which extended its ramifications to Sicily. It was this Supreme Council of Milan which gave to one of its members, named Lechangeur, the idea of creating, in 1806, the Rite of Misraim, in accordance with which councils of high degrees were instituted at lifaples and Venice.^ The Grand Orient, created at llfaples in 1807, and hav- ing the Prince Eugene for Grand Master, subsequently united itself to the Grand Orient of Italy, which was or- ganized on the. 24th June, 1809, under the auspices and Grand Mastership of the king, Joachim Murat. With the fall of itTapoleon I, this portion of the history of Freemasonry in Italy closes. Thereafter all the inter- dictions, bulls, and edicts were renewed. The decree of Pope Pius VII, dated 15th August, 1814, carried infamy and bodily torture as the penalty incurred by all convicted of assembling as Freemasons. Immediately following this,, similar decrees were promulgated by all the crowned heads of Catholic countries, all repeating the absurd charges contained in the decree of the Pope, Pius VII, and prohibiting in their respective states all Masonic as- semblies. Finally, on the 8th August, the King of Naples issued his interdiction, and, under penalty of sentence to the galleys, prohibited all participation in the assemblies of Freemasons. After that time the lodges continued closed in Italy, 'This rite was imported to Paris in 1814, where it yet exists, and liaa pven, in its turn, birth in that city to the Eite of Mempb's. 148 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. and it was not until 1856 — an interval of forty years— that the Grand Orient of France instituted lodges at GSnes and at Livorne. Since then the lodges have mul- tiplied and extended into all the principal cities of the peninsula. These lodges soon decided to institute an in- dependent Grand Lodge; and, after the elaboration by their delegates of a suitable constitution, on the 1st Janu- ary, 1862, the Grand Orient of Italy was organized, with its seat at Turin, and the brother Mgra nominated Grand Master. This brother, however, having declined the nomi- nation, the brethren Cordova and General Garibaldi were put in nomination, and the former elected. In consequence of the severity practiced against it by the new central power, the lodge "Dante Alighieri," which professed the Scottish (33d) Rite — a profession that was unhappily entertained by several other lodges — de- tached itself from the Grand Orient, and declared itself independent. Similar tendencies having manifested them- selves in- other parts of Italy, and a Supreme Council for Sicily having been constituted at Palermo, with General Garibaldi as its chief, and some twelve lodges ranking themselves under its banner, on the 12th August, 1863, a convocation of all the Masonic bodies of Italy was called, to meet at Turin, to take into consideration the tendency of these disorders, and devise means to check them. Not being able to agree, the brethren who represented the Grand Orient of Turin withdrew from this assembly, and thus allowed their places in the commission, appointed to draft a new constitution, to be filled by brethren who were all partisans of the Scottish Rite. We know not, at the present time, (close of 1863,) the result of this labor ; in no case, however, can we believe this result will be favorable to the interests of true Freemasonry. ' The Grand Orient of Italy, having rejected the high degrees which, during the past century, had produced much discord among the lodges of that country, and. FREEMASONRY IN PORTUaAL. 149 under its constitution, recognized nothing as Masoliry but the three symbolic degrees of the English Kite, many Masonic authorities hesitated to recognize it, in the belief that the political agitation of the country might cause its early dissolution. The desire to found a Polish and a Hun- garian Grand Orient, at the head of which, respectively, should be placed a political chief of these countries, has not a little contributed to strengthen such a belief. At the close of 1863 the Grand Orient of Italy reckoned under its jurisdiction sixty-eight operative lodges, among which are to be found lodges in Alexandria and Cairo, in Egypt ; at Constantinople, in Turkey, and Lima, in South America. Portugal. There is one country where Masonic light has pene- trated but with the greatest difficulty; for it is the seat of ignorance and superstition. This country is the para- dise of monks, who there cease not to build convents, and exercise the exclusive privilege of directing the minds of the people, the king, and his councilors. That coun- try is Portugal. From the Book of Constitutions, first published by the Grand Lodge of London, in 1723 — and subsequently at later periods, to the extent of five separate editions, the last of which was published by order of the Grand Lodge of England, in 1855 — ^we learn that the Grand Lodge of London instituted at Lisbon, in 1735, a Provincial Grand Lodge, by the agency of Bro. George Gordon ; but th seeds thus sown fell on barren soil. In the matter of per secution, undergone by all who attempted to disseminate Freemasonry in this country, it stands without a rival, if we may except Spain; but latterly this condition is dis- appearing. 150 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONET. The Inquisition, here under the protection of the king, tracked every person from far and near who were sus- pected of heing Freemasons. Thus, two lapidaries — the one named John Gustos, originally a Protestant from Berne in Switzerland, and the other, named Alexander James Monton, originally a Catholic from Paris — ^having been accused of having expressed the desire to see a lodge organized in Lisbon, fell into the snares set by the "Holy Office," and were thrown into' prison in 1743. The accu- sation charged them with seeking to introduce Freema- sonry into Portugal, in violation of the bull of the Pope, which condemned this detestable doctrine as a heresy, and all Freemasons as impious, sodomists, etc. Under the order of the Cardinal Dacunha, grand inquisitor, they submitted nine times in three months to the most abomi- nable torture that it is possible to imagine; subsequently they were forced to assist at an auto-da-fi, and finally condemned to the galleys for life. Thanks to the aid of English Freemasons, however, they were enabled to es- cape and seek refuge in England. Of the many other Masons who, like those unfortunates, fell into the traps of the Inquisition, and who, no doubt, sunk under the tor- ture inflicted by that detestable institution, we have been unable to discover the least trace. The Inquisition was no less severe with the natives of the country; for, in 1776, two Portuguese nobles. Major D'Alincourt and Don Oyres D'Ornelles-Parracao, were also imprisoned and tortured, because they were Free- masons. Although all vestige of Masonry had disappeared for twenty-five years, in 1802 an inquest was ordered against Freemasons in Portugal, and all who were sus- pected even, by this inquest, were charged with conspiracy against the king and the church, and sentenced to the galleys without trial or form of law. !N"otwithstanding these severe measures, we find, in 1805, a Grand Orient at Lisbon, with a Grand Master, named FREEMASONRY IN PORTUGAL. 151 Egaz-Moniz ; but its ramifications were not very extended. Dissolved after the events of 1814, it was formed again in 1817, and sought to animate some lodges; but Freema- sonry continued to inspire the monks with terror, and, yielding to their solicitations, King John VI issued a de- cree, dated at Rio Janeiro, the 30th March, 1818, inter dieting Freemasons from assembling together, under pain of death. We know nothing of the lives destroyed under this decree ; but, about five years afterward, it was modi- fied by another, which, dated Lisbon, June 20, 1823, stated that it was issued in consequence of remonstrances upon the subject having been, during the interval, addressed to the government by many of the resident embassadors. By the terms of this last decree, the penalty was changed from capital punishment to five years' labor in the galleys in Africa. No proof beyond mere suspicion was necessary to cause the arrest of persons who were punished under the penalties of those edicts. Foreigners as well as na- tives were proceeded against without aipy attempt to dis- guise the act, or the least attention being given to the many protests which were made by the agents of their re- spective countries. Notwithstanding these interdictions, however, as well as the cruelties which were exercised under their au- thority, a Masonic body was constituted at Lisbon, under the title of the Grand Orient of Lusitania, as also a Su- preme Council of the Scottish (33d) Rite. The later sov- ereigns of Portugal, without having revoked the prohibi- tory decrees against Freemasons, appeared to tolerate the Fraternity; for there has been established another au- thority at Oporto, under the name of " Patios- Manuel ;" ;and subsequently a Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland. But in a country where — as in Spain and at Rome — ^the clergy rule every thing, we can entertain but little hope for the extension or well-being of Freemasonry. 152 general, history op freemasonry. Spain. In no country, Portugal excepted, has Freemasonry been exposed to persecutions more atrocious than in the Roman Catholic kingdom, far excellence, of Spain — ^perse- cutions based upon the bulls of Clement XII, of the 27th April, 1738; of Benedict XIV, of the 18th May, 1751, and the edict of Cardinal Consalvi, of the 13th August, 1814, which, as we have seen, pronounced all Freemasons excommunicated, and condemned them to the most severe penalties, even to death itself. From the Book of Constitutions we learn that in 1727 and in 1728, under the Grand Mastership of the Count of Inchquin and Lord Coleraine, the first warrants were de- livered to establish lodges at Gibraltar and Madrid. In 1739 a number of lodges were instituted at these places, and the Grand Lodge of London patented Caj)tain Com- merford Provincial Grand Master for all Andalusia. The Catholic clergy of Spain exhibited themselves at a very early period here, as elsewhere, the bitter enemy of Freemasonry. The better to enable them to discover the members of the Fraternity, and the secret practices and doctrines of the institution, the monk Joseph Torrubia, censor of the Holy Office of the Inquisition at Madrid, was ordered, in 1750, to assume a false name, pass himself as a layman, and be initiated into a Masonic lodge. For this purpose he received from the Pope's legate the dispensa- tions necessary to relieve him from the obligations of the oaths he should have to take upon being made a Freema- son. After having thus been enabled to visit the lodges in diflferent parts of Spain, he presented himself before the supreme tribunal of the Inquisition, denounced Freema- sonry as the most abominable institution that existed in the world, accused its members of every vice and crime re- volting to religion, and submitted a list of ninety-seven ^. ^^ -^ FBEEMASONRT IN SPAIN. 153 lodges established in the kingdom, against which he so- licited the most rigorous action of the Inquisition. The importance of the great number of brethren who were members of these lodges, belonging, as they did, to the nobility and to the rich and influential classes, induced the Holy Office to reflect upon the matter, and decided i to request the king to interdict the institution of Freema Bonry. In response to its promptings, Perdinaud VI is- sued a decree, dated the 2d July, 1751, prohibiting the in- stitution of Freemasonry throughout the extent of his kingdom, under the pretext that it was dangerous to the state and to religion, and pronouncing the penalty of death against all who should profess it. Under this de- cree many persons were sacrificed by the order of the In- quisition. These cruelties were calculated to suppress all idea of introducing Masonry within the country, and also of restraining any exhibition of life on the part of the lodges already established ; so that it was not until after the French Revolution that they emerged again into the light, and began to spread more rapidly than before. After having founded at Xeres a Grand Lodge for Spain, there was established, on the 3d November, 1805, under the government of Joseph Napoleon, a Grand Orient of Spain, having its seat at Madrid, the very stronghold of the Inquisition. The same year was constituted a Su- preme Council of the Scottish (33d) Rite, and subsequently a Grand Orient, at Grenada, the Athens of Spain. In 1814, Ferdinand VII re-established the Inquisition, and, by a decree dated 24th May of that year, ordered all the lodges to be closed, and pronouncing all participation in Masonry a crime against the state. Many lodges, par- ticularly those of Grenada, having braved this ordinance, all their members were arrested and thrown into prison. Of their number was the Marquis of Toulouse, and Gen- eral Alvada, Adjutant-General to the Duke of Welling- ton, together with many Frenchmen, Italians, and Gei 154 GENERAL HISTCRT OF FREEMASONRY. maus. Tbe provisional governmont of 1820 released tliem all, and in that year many lodges resumed their labors ; but, on the 1st August, 1824, the King, Ferdinaud VII, renewed his decree of interdiction, and pronounced the penalty of death against all who, being Freemasons, should not announce themselves as such within thirty days; while, after that time, those who should be recog- nized as such, and had not so declared themselves, should be hung within twenty-four hours without form of law. So stringent a measure as this would have informed that government, which held no obligations sacred, that eighty thousand of its subjects were banded together as a brotherhood, had any of those subjects been disloyal to his obligations to that brotherhood ; but, strange to say, the Inquisition found very few victims. In 1825, the clergy of Grenada, under the authority of this interdiction, distinguished themselves by the bloody execution of seven Freemasons ; and subsequently, in 1^29, new traces of Masonry having been discovered in Barce- lona, the unhappy brethren fell into the hands of the In- quisition, which ordered the execution of one of them, the brother Galvez, a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish army, and sentenced the other two to the galleys for life. Notwithstanding these rigorous measures, there were many Freemasons in Spain ; and even a Masonic authority, styled the " Grand Directory," is known to exist some- where in the kingdom, but where, or what may be the plan of its labors, we are unable to say. At Cadiz there is a lodge composed entirely of English- men, with which the government does not interfere ; and at Gibraltar there are four, like that in Cadiz, under the protection of the Grand Lodge of England, at London. The countries in which Masonry is at present prohib- ited are : Spain and her colonies, Catholic Bavaria, Austria and its dependencies, and Russia, with the countries under her rule. HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE, AND OEGANIZATION OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF THAT RITE FOE FRANCE, i The Masonic authority which directed a fraction of French Masonry, under the title of the " Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General- of the 33d and last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Eite for France," was organized at Paris, on the 22d of Septem- ber, 1804, by the Count Alexander Francis Augustus de Grasse- Tilly, son of the admiral of that name; and this organization was formed under a warrant, dated and de- livered to him at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 21st February, 1802, by a body styling itself the " Supreme Council of Grand Inspectors General for- America," etc., sitting in that city. This warrant conferred upon the brother De Grasse plenary powers to initiate Masons into, and constitute lodges, chapters, and consistories of, this rite in the then (February, 1802,) French colony of St. Domingo. 'Knowing how much importance will attach to this portion of th n — to propagate the rite in the different countries of America. There existed, as we have already stated, at Charleston, a Grrand Lodge of Perfection, with a Council of Princes of Jerusalem, founded by the brother Da Costa in 1783. To this Grand Lodge, on the 27th February, 1788, was united the Eoyal Arch. Chapter, founded by authority of a chapter of this title at Dublin ; and it was by this body that the brother Colonel Mitchell was appointed, on the 2d of August, 1795, a Deputy Inspector General for the State of South Carolina, who, in the plenitude of his powers, in 1797 conferred this title on the Count De Grasse-Tilly, a resident of St. Domingo, and assigned to him the same power for the French colonies of America. This council of Inspectors General styled itself the Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem, and all the constitutions delivered by it to its inspectors were always given in this name, seeing that the first patent delivered to Stephen Morin, in 1761, emanated from an authority which had given itself this name. This council of Princes of Jerusalem, sitting at Charles- ton, created some inspectors of lodges and chapters, whom it liberally remunerated. In 1801 it was composed of the brethren Colonel Mitchell, Frederick Dalcho, Abraham Auld, Isaac Auld, Emmanuel de la Motte, and some others of less mark, who all belonged to the Jewish religion. ^ It may readily be believed that the constitutions granted by this council, composed, as we have indicated, of breth- 'See Kagon's Masonic Orthodoxy, page 181, which represents the mera- bera of this council as audacious jugglers. 168 GENERAL HISTORY OF FKBBMAS6NRY. ren belonging to the Jewish religion, were not as exten- sive as they, probably desired; and it was this feeling, without doubt, that suggested the idea of creating some- thing new — something striking, and of a nature to procure them some advantage not offered by their position. The abuse that they had already made of the powers conferred upon them — although the conferring authority itself was morfe or less illegal, emanating, as it did, from a self- created body — should have induced all earnest Masons and honest men to have shunned a similar work, and particu- larly one that they dared not avow ; but personal ambition and self-interest prevailed over the Masonic principles and common honesty which these brethren had sworn to ob- serve, the speculation was engaged in, and, unhappily for the character of Freemasonry, it has, to some extent, proved a success. A new Masonic power was combined and created under the title of " Supreme Council of the Grand Commanders Inspectors General of the thirty-third and last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite." This new creation naturally bore the same illegal char- acter, and was accompanied by the same deplorable cir- cumstances which had already signalized the factious pe- riod from 1740 to 1770 — a period of false titles, illegal constitutions, antedated regulations, etc. The new authority lost no time in constituting itself. It elected its own members to the highest dignities of their new order of knighthood, and delivered to them patents with which they were empowered to institute this new rite wherever their fortunes should carry them. The brother Colonel Mitchell was nominated the first Grand Commander. He died at Charleston, in 1841. But to facilitate the progress of the new rite, it was necessary to give it a respectable origin, and support it with some historic names^as those of its originators and protectors. This trust was committed to the brethren THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE, 169 Dalcho, Auld, and La Motte, and we have seen by the re- port from which we have quoted how they discharged it. Probably among the first deliverances of the new power was the warrant sent to De Grasse-Tilly— who had some time previously been appointed as Inspector General of the Rite of Perfection for the French colonies in Amer- ica — to enable him to establish, in the Island of St. Do- mingo, a Supreme Council of the new rite. This patent conferred upon him the title of Lieutenant Commander of the new rite, and is dated the 2l8t February, 1802. Having little hope of being recognized as a Masonic authority in America, this hew power sought the recog- nition of the different Masonic powers established in Eu- rope ; and, with this object, it sent to all the Grand Lodges of Europe a circular, dated the 11th of December, 1802, by which it informed them of its installation, and gave them the names of the degrees which it conferred itself, and authorized its Grand Commander to confer in its name. The Grand Lodge of St. John of Scotland, located in Edinburgh — which was generally regarded, though wrong- fully, as the mother lodge of all the Scotch Eites, and which, on this account, had the greatest interest in pro- testing against this new creation — was indignant upon sight of this circular, and, in the response that it made thereto, declared "that such a number of degrees could not but inspire the most profound surprise in those professing Scottish Masonry; that it could never recognize such a collection, seeing that it had always preserved the Scot- tish Rite in the simplicity of its primitive institution, and. that it would never disarrange its system in this respect." This Grand Lodge of Scotland, sitting at Edinburgh and directing all the lodges of Scotland, has, in fact, never practiced any other rite but that of the three symbolic de- 'See History of Freemasonry, by Alexander Laurie, 170 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. grees;' aud, upon many occasions, it has disowned, in the most formal manner, the charters and patents which have been attributed to it, and" by which it was accused of hav- ing authorized the exercise of the high degrees called Scottish. In view of this fact, we believe it to be im- portant and necessary to the better understanding of Freemasonry every-where, and to dissipate the opinion that prevails upon this subject, to here state that the Grand Lodge of St. John of Scotland, sitting at Edin- burgh, is an utter stranger to all the systems called Scot- tish Masonry, practiced as well in France as elsewhere in Europe and America.^ ' The regulations that it published in 1836 were entitled " The Laws and Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland;" while article four contained a passage thus expressed: "The Grand Lodge of Scot- land practices no other degree of Freemasonry but those of Apprentice, Fellow-craft, and Master Mason." ' It was by a patent of this same Charleston Council — father of all the bastard children of Freemasonry — that the first Supreme Council estab- lished in Great Britain was organized, at Dublin, in 1808. The latter was the only Supreme Council that existed on English territory prior to 1846. In that year, however, there were organized one at London and another at Edinburgh. The first was instituted by Dr. Crucifix, editor of the Freemason's Magazine, by authority of a patent obtained by him from a Supreme Council sitting at New York ; and the last was instituted by AValter Arnott d'Arlary, who fabricated for himself a constituting power. The title of this council being in consequence disputed, it was reconsti- tuted on the 14th July, and installed on the 17th, by the brother Mor- rison of Greenfield, a member of the Supreme Council for France, who was invested with powers, called regular, for this purpose. The most deplorable fact in regard to all these creations, the regular as well as the irregular, is, that they are constantly fighting, criminating, recriminating, and anathematizing each other. Thus, the Supreme Coun- cil at Edinburgh (which must not be confounded with the Grand Lodge of Edinburgh, the only regular Masonic authority in Scotland, and which recognizes but the three symbolic degrees,) declared, immediately after its reconstitution in the manner indicated, that it would not recog- nize the letters or diplomas emanating from the Supreme Council at- tached to the Grand Orient of France; and also interrupted all commu- THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE. 171 These pretended high degrees, into which have been in- troduced the reveries of the Templars, the speculations of the mystics, the deceptions of the alchemists, the magii, and many other idealists more or less dreamy, and the greater part of which repose upon legends absurd and contra- dictory with the truths of history, are, in fact, a mass pf informal and undigested matters. Those of the Scottish Rite, in particular, are a monument of folly, and which would have been derided as nonsense long ago but for man's vanity, which is gratified by the titles and decora- tions of which this rite is the parent. ' After this exposition of the origin of the Scottish (33d) Rite, let us cast our eyes over the condition of Masonry in Paris, immediately before this rite was brought to that city by the Count De Grasse-Tilly. The compromise which took place, in' 1799, between the Grand Lodge and the Grand Orient of France had not been joined in by all the brethren, and the intolerance ex- hibited by the Grand Orient gave occasion to a consider- nication with the Supreme Council of Dublin, until the latter had ceased connection with the Supreme Council established, since 1815, within the Grand Orient of France. We have already stated how this Supreme Council of Edinburgh was healed. Since then it has set itself up to be the most regular of all the Supreme Councils, and has declared schis- matic the council in London, which, as we have shown, was established by virtue of a constitution delivered by the Supreme Council existing, in 1813, at New York. These Supreme Councils established in Great Britain enjoy but little reputation — so little, indeed, that some brethren of merit who have been elected by them honorary-members, have refused to accept the distinc- tion Unhappily, this mercenary creation, as unmasonic as it is illegal, has, since 1846, been extended into and has established its Supreme Coun oils in many countries The Supreme Council at Charleston was re- vived in 1845, after a sleep of nearly forty years. And although in no case are the bodies composing the rite recognized by the Grand Lodges, they are by the Grand Orients, which confer, in common with them, their high degrees. 172 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. able number of those members of the Grand Lodge, who did not wish to recognize the Grand Orient, to reject the terms of the compromise. It was more particularly the party called Scottish who exhibited this disposition most bitterly ; and their reason was, that as the Grand Orient, by the terms of the compromise, recognized only a rite of )ut seven degrees — the highest of which was that of Rose Cross — their higher degrees, with their decorations and de- vices, could not be worn by them or made available in the assemblies or exhibitions of the legislative body. ^ The Grand Orient acted in this case, as in many others, not as a Masonic authority, but as an oligarchical power, and excluded the Scottish Eite Masons from the lodges of its jurisdiction, by an order dated the 12th November, 1802. This new act of intolerance served no other pur- pose than to irritate the brethren excluded, and was the principal reason that induced them to propose founding a new Masonic power. Some preparatory meetings were held', and many lodges of Paris, and particularly the Lodge of St. Alexander of Scotland, embraced openly the cause of the dissenters. Following these inclinations, there was at first formed a new authority, established by virtue of a patent that a brother named Hackett — who had been a notary in St. Domingo — had brought from America, and which had been delivered to him by a Supreme Council sitting at New York, and professing the Rite of Perfection of twenty-five degrees that Stephen Morin had taken to America in 1763. This authority took the title of " Supreme Council of America." But some months afterward, also from St. Domingo, the brother Count De Grasse-Tilly arrived, bringing with him the patent of the Supreme Council of Charleston, and the history of which we have already given. This patent conferred upon him the right to constitute chapters, coun- cils, and consistories in the leeward and windward islands, THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE. 173 that is to say, in St. Domingo and the other French colo- nies of America; but, in consequence of the political events which, occurring about this time, occasioned the loss of this island to France, he had no opportunity of realizing his projects. He had then returned- to France, where, re- gardless of the conditions of his patent, he announced himself as supreme chief of a new Masonry of thirty-three degrees. Having been informed of the large body of ex- cluded brethren who, since 1802 — being prohibited by the Grand Orient from participating in the meetings of the fraternity in consequence of their refusal, for the reasons already given, to sign the compromise of that year — ^had assembled themselves in a cellar of the Fisherman's Walk, he approached these brethren, and immediately arranged to organize, with these elements and, by virtue of the pat- ent delivered to him on the 21st February, 1802, at Charles- ton, to constitute a Masonic power, under the pompous title of the " Supreme Council for France of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the 33d and last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite." This done, on the 22d of October, 1805, the new authority organized and installed a Scottish Grand Lodge, as we have stated at the beginning of this history.* '■ We regret mucli to find, in a work that we consider as one of the most important among those composing the literature of Freemasonry, Btyled "The Philosophical History of Freemasonry" by the brethren KaufiT- man and Cherpin, the voluntary omission these authors have made, contrary to the duty of an historian, in not mentioning at this date (1805) the foundation of the Scottish Grrand Lodge, nor that of the Su- preme Council, and in feigning to be completely ignorant that there ex- isted at this time any Masonic authority in France of the name of Su- preme Council. If the brethren K. and C. have believed it their duty to respect the oath that they have taken to the Grand Orient — to recognize it as the sole legislative authority of Freemasonry in France, and to not admit that there can exist any other — we shall not follow their example, first, because we have not taken any such oath ; and, second, because that we believe it ever to be the duty of the historian, in his relation of facts, to flinch not, from any cause whatever, in his object of relatiBg the trutL 174 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. As our view of Masonry is similar to that of these brethren, and as we find ourself in communion with them, in a more or less degree, In ideas, sentiments, and ill nearly every matter connected with the institution, we are truly pained to find in their book, so praiseworthy and meritorioHS in almost every respect, the omission that we have mentioned; and, in addition thereto, a general partiality very significant in favor of the Grand Orient — a partiality of whick we distinctly comprehend the good ntention, but which our conscience will not permit us to imitate. On the contrary, to seek the truth and to disseminate it with courage, has always been our motto. We believe that Masonry will be better served by speaking the truth without reserve, though that annunciation may seem to its detriment, than in expressing the accepted views of those who, like the brethren K. and C, may have some reason or weakness for failing to represent facts as they know them. Remarks in conneotion with the foregoing History of the Origin of THE Ancient and Accepted Scottish Kite. Brother Resold, in his preceding history of a rite that during the past fifteen years has gradually increased in importance in America, can not be said to ^lave gratified the brethren who have given their thoughts and time to its dissemination in the United States or elsewhere. He has given us a plain narrative of unvarnished statements of fact; he has proved conclusively that this rite was either created by parties named in Charleston, S. C, or, from the twenty-five degrees of the Rite of Per- fection as known in 1761, and which Brother Stephen Morin brought to America, it was, in 1802, there and by those persons extended to the thirty-three degrees of the present Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; and he has furnished most conclusive circumstantial evidence to support the belief entertained by at least every learned German Freemason in America and elsewhere, that Frederick the Great never had any knowl- edge of the rite in its present form, whatever knowledge he might have had of it as the Rite of Perfection of twenty-five degrees. Under these circumstances, the friends of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite find themselves in the predicament Sir William Drummond describes, in his preface to Origenes, when he says, "In questions un- connected with sacred and important interests, men are rarely very anx ious to discriminate exactly between truth and fiction ; and few of us would, probably, be much pleased with the result, could it now be certainly proved that Troy never existed, and that Thebes, with its hundred gates, was no more than a populous village. It is perhaps still with a secret wish to be convinced against our judgment, that we reject as fables the THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH BITE. 176 stories told us of the Grecian Hercules, or of the Persian Rustem; and that we assign to the heroes and giants of early times the strength and stature of ordinary men." So it is with our Ancient and Accepted Scot- tish Rite. It is proven to be neither an ancient rite nor one accepted by or acceptable to but a very small portion of the Masonic Fraternity, nor is it a Scottish — otherwise Jacobin — rite; and yet we wish to be con- vinced, even against our judgment, that it comes up to the mark set by these conditions, because our prejudices have long cherished so pleasing an idea. But, although shorn of what has been considered its brightest attri- bute, viz., its creation by Frederick the Great; and although deprived of such regal parentage by being proven, instead, to be the progeny of five mercenary Israelites of Charleston, S. G, the rite, so far as it can subserve any useful purpose in connection with Freemasonry, can not lose any of its excellence. If its claims to regal parentage are not well founded, its advocates are maintaining a fallacy in their advancement of such claims, and do constantly find themselves in a dilemma when proofs are de- manded which it is impossible for them to produce. And as the case has been candidly stated by Brother Rel-old, and with the fewest possible offensive reflections upon the creators of the rite, and none at all upon those who — its present friends and patrons — conscientiously believe that it is calculated to confer dignity upon Freemasonry, no exceptions can be taken to the object I have had in view in the translation and publication of this work, which was to disseminate the truth' with regard. to every portion of the history of Freemasonry in Europe. I fear, however, that the patrons as well as the propagators of the rite, in our own day, have given too much significance, in their regards for it, to that remark of Horace, in his "Ars Poetica," beginning with — " Intererit multum Davuene loquatur an heros" — and not enough to whatever inherent excellence the rite itself may pos- sess. If this should be the fact, as a S. P. R. S., I have no better propo- sition to suggest to the chiefs of the rite than the following : 1. Remove all equivocality as to its origin by excising the present statements upon that subject from the work, lectures, and history, wher- ever they occur ; and, 2. Then take the thirty degrees of the rite (all of which are given in America) and compress them into twenty-one, which done, fit these twenty-one to the present American system or rite of twelve degrees. ' Brother Eebold has been ofBoially pronounced by the highest Masonic au- thority in France, the Grand Orient — through its Deputy Grand Master, the Chevalier HeuUant — a careful and impartial Masonic historian. 1?6 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. By this arrangement, all doubt as to the origin of what might then be called the Reformed and Accepted American Bite of Thirty-three De- grees will be removed, and such rite will, in a short time, be genei:- ally understood and appreciated as a work which, being necessary for the satisfaction and unity of the Fraternity in America, was undertaken by enlightened American Freemasons, and successfully accomplished. J. F. B. Si -^ -"-' ■,l N^ ^* ^^■^ "^ 1 v V, H ^. \.' ^ A CONCISE HISTORY 07 THE) EGYPTIAN RITE OF MI8RAIM,* SINCE ITS CREATION, IN 1806, AT MILAN, TO THE PRESENT TIME. In a work published in Paris, in 1848, under the title of " The Masonic Order of Misraim," the brother Mark Be- ' Eefleotions on the Eites op Misraim and Memphis. — The history of the Rite of Misraim, as also that of the Eite of Memphis, which we are about to record, is calculated to suggest to enlightened Masons re- flections of sadness in more than one connection. But it would be im- possible for us to pass by in silence these works of feebleness, of error, and of pride, inasmuch as the profane as well as the initiated ought to be informed of the truth. If the individuals who have created these rites were but few, unhap- pily those who participated in the result of such aberrations of the hu- man mind may be called a multitude. It is the duty, therefore, of the historian to notice the side-tracks upon which these jugglers have at times drawn our institution, in order that their example may teach us, and preserve us from falling into new errors. That the Jesuits, that powerful association, aided by a legion of active emissaries, should have been enabled, in the last century, to form associations and knightly orders enveloped in Masonic forms, with the intention of at first turning men aside from the pure Masonry of Eng land, which extended itself rapidly upon the continent, and of which th object was contrary to their desires and operations, and subsequently to extend their dominion, under cover of Masonry, to the re-establishment of the Stuarts, is nothing astonishing. That some impostors, encour- aged by their success, should, in their turn, and in a spirit of pecuniary gain, conclude to create rites and orders of chivalry, and, having found 12 (177) 178 GENERAL HISTOEY OF FREEMASONKT. darride, Grand Conservator of this Masonic heresy, com- mences its history in the following manner : " Since the first age of the world, the period when our venerable Order was created by the All-Powerful, no Grand Conservator has ever taken the pencil to trace and reunite the perfect plans of his scientific labors, and thus enrich the human race : some for the want of the necessary documents,' and others from the fear of perjuring themselves or of impairing in any manner the sublime heritage which they had been delegated to transmit to their dis- ciples in all its purity. But if these celebrated Grand Conserva- tors, [names not given,] our predecessors, have not performed this sacred duty, they have not failed to leave to their successors the traditions of our mysteries, in hieroglyphic characters, in a man- ner intelligible to none but the initiated, and thus these documents have been preserved from all profane indiscretions." 'The reader will easily comprehend the cause of this dearth of documents ; for, according to the language of our author, Adam, installed by the "All- Powerful" as the first Grand Conservator, could not have bequeathed the manuscript transactions of his direction of affairs of this " venerable Order" to his descendants, seeing that he had not learned the useful accomplishment of writing, hieroglyphically or otherwise, and that he had no one to direct In such transactions but Eve, his wife, and subsequently their children. One thing, however, the author does not explain, and the omission on his part leaves us with a very feeble comprehension of the matter; and it is that Adam, or the "All-Powerful," baptized this order with the name of an Egyp- tian king who, if we take the commonly received Hebraic Genesis for au- thority, was born eight hundred years after Adam appeared upon the earth I in France— where a passion for the chivalry of the middle ages favored their projects — a country propitious to this species of speculation, , did create such rites and orders, is not difficult to comprehend. But this which appears inexplicable is, that after having recognized the illegiti- mate source of all these rites and high degrees, of which the fabricators had been unmasked, hunted, and imprisoned in Germany; after having reformed all these rites, (between 1782 and 1790,) and having reduced the numerous scale to three, seven, ten, and, at most, twelve degrees. Freemasons in the present century should have been the dupes of jug- glers of a like category, and accept of individuals without character, without legal or any other recognized public distinction, new rites of THE RITE OF MISEAIM. 179 Commencing in this manner, the author, M. Bedarride, continues the history of his "venerable Order," traversing, by forced marches, whole series of centuries, and stopping every two or three hundred years to indicate the existence of some Grand Conservators, without designating where, how, or by what means they were initiated. He pursues this romance until the beginning of the present century, when he begins to make a little history; but even of this his recital is so much mutilated that he fails in his search to discover the truth, though he attempts to ascend to the sources of his facts. We deem it impossible to unite in one book a greater similar value, but mucli more extravagant, the one counting ninety and the other ninety-five degrees — this is utterly beyond our comprehension. What makes the matter more strange is, that all enlightened Masons of the present time know very well that true Freemasonry — such as is practiced by every Grand Lodge in Great Britain and America, and such as was practiced by the first and last National Grand Lodges of France, and the operative lodges under their jurisdiction — is composed of but three degrees. It is true they do not oflTer to the initiate, as do the rites of the higher degrees, gilt-lace cords or brilliant decorations, — [The au- thor very suddenly stops here in his reflections. That he does so be- cause he will not believe, or, believing, will not say, that pien enlight- ened and seriously earnest in the business of elevating the condition of the human race by means of Masonry, can be afifected by these "gilt^ lace cords or brilliant decorations," or that he stops so suddenly to al- low his readers the privilege o' thus believing and of finishing his ab- rupt period with such a conclusion, I can not determine. My own opin- ion, as one of his readers, is well known to those for whom I wrote and published from 1858 to 1861 ; and, though it may be unacceptable to some ^or whom I write at present, I will take the liberty of here ex- pressing it. So long as human nature remains constituted as it is, glitter will attract and decorations will incite men to desire their possession and it is a pleasure taken in the exhibition of the decorations recognized by these rites and orders, as indicative of higher rank in confessedly a phi- losophical institution, and, presumably, a higher degree of intelligence, rather than 'any actual advantage derived from the possession of their degrees, that induces wise and serious men to seek for atd obtain them. — Tbanslatoe.] 180 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. mass of absurdities than its author has collected and ex- hibited in his history of this rite : and we believe we will render our readers good service by not fatiguing them with a refutation of all the inaccuracies with which this book is filled. It is generally believed in the Masonic world that t^o brothers Mark and Michael Bedarride, who were the chiefs of this rite, also were its inventors ; but it has been' re- cently discovered that they were but its propagators. Commencing by stating that this rite is composed of an aggregation of monstrous legends, stolen from all the rites, including those taken from the Scottish, Martinist, and Hermitic Rites, we will add that after the sixty-seventh degree, it runs but upon wheels supplied by Bible subjects; and that so purely is it Israelitish in its bearings, that it would Avith more correctness be called the " Jewish" than the " Egyptian Eite." "We also find that this collection of degrees is divided into four series, in manner similar with the rite called Egyptian, created by Joseph Balsamo, surnamed Cagliostro, ' which had been professed by the mother lodge " "Wisdom Triumphant," founded by him at Lyons, in 1782. This Egyptian Rite ^ had but an ephem- eral existence ; and it is probable enough that some of Cagliostro's rituals have served to complete the deplorable work of the Rite of Misraim, whose author was the brother Lechangeur of Milan, as we shall proceed to demonstrate. A Grand Orient of Italy had been founded at Milan ' This extraordinary man, born at Palermo in 1743, acquired a celeb- rity rarely attained by impostors. Arrested at Eome on the 25th Decem- ber, 1789, he was condemned to death by the Holy Office on the 21st March, 1791 ; hut Pius VI commuted his punishment to perpetual im- prisonment in the castle of St. Angelo, where he'died. " Cagliostro, in a voyage that he made to London, bought a manu- script which belonged to a man named G. Coston, in which he found the plan of a Masonry founded upon a system which was part magical, part cabalistic, and part superstitious. From this work he arranged tha plan of his Egyptian Eite. THE RITE OF MISRAIM. 181 shortly after the organization of that at Naples, and the prince Eugene Beauharnais had heen invested with the dignity of Grand Master. Some superior officers, resident at Milan, who had been initiated, in Paris, into the high degrees of the Scottish (33d) Rite, resolved to establish a Supreme Council of that rite, at the suggestion of breth- ren, in Paris. A person named Lechangeur, an officer or master of an operative lodge in Milan, demanded to be- come a party in this arrangement, and his demand was complied with. They conferred upon him certain degrees ; but having some motive for keeping him out of the or- ganization of their Supreme Council, they refused to give him the superior degrees. Vexed at this refusal, Lechan- geur informed the members of this Supreme Council that he would get the better of them, in creating a rite of ninety degrees, into which he should not admit them. He accomplished his threat in fact, and it is to him that is to be attributed the creation of this self-styled oriental rite. The first thing Lechangeur did, after having elaborated his rite, was to elevate himself to the highest office recog- nized by it — in this respect imitating all the other fabri- cators of rites — ^thait of " Superior Grand Conservator of the Order of Misraim," and in this capacity to deliver patents of authority to all who offered to propagate this new rite to Ms profit These delegates, being thus author- ized, were confined in their operations to the organization of chapters in the cities of the Italian peninsula, more particularly to Naples ; and those chapters should, in their turn, create delegates, and deliver to them patents of au- thority, to their profit. We Mnll now explain how and by whom this Rite of Misraim was first introduced into Prance. Bro. Michael Bedarride, a native of Cavaillon, in the de- partment of Vaucluse, and belonging to the Jewish re- ligion, was initiated into Preemasonry on the 5th of July, 182 GENERAL HISTOEY OF FREEMASONKT. 1802, in the lodge " Candor," at Cezena, in Italy, and affili- ated, in the year 1805, with the lodge " Mars and Themis," in Paris, which conferred upon him, as it did also upon his brother, Mark Bedarride, the degree of Master. Michael Bedarride, who was a merchant in Ifaples, obtained the position of commissary of subsistence in the service of the Italian army, upon the staff of which army his brother Mark had a position. During their sojourn in Italy, the two brothers had affiliated with several lodges of that country. On the 3d December, 1810, through the in- tervention of one of the patentees of Lechangeur, Michael Bedarride obtained a similar patent, authorizing him to confer the degrees of the Misraimites up to the 73d degree. Subsequently, at Milan, he received of the brother Lechan- geur himself an increase of the degrees, and a patent, dated 25th June, 1811, conferring upon him the degree of " Grand Hazsid," or 77th degree, with the right of con- ferring all the degrees to that point. A similar patent had already been delivered, on the 3d of January, 1810, by Lechangeur to Mark Bedarride. It seems that, for some reason not known, the brother Lechangeur did not wish the brothers Bedarride to possess the degree of " Grand Conservator," or 90th. degree, of his rite; but, notwithstanding, the possession of this degree became absolutely necessary, to enable them to succeed in their projects. With this object, Michael Bedarride ad- dressed a delegate named Polack, an Israelite — resident at Venice — who, usurping the rights claimed by Lechangeur, had proclaimed himself Superior Grand Conservator, or independent Grand Master — and obtained of this person, on the 1st September, 1812, a patent conferring upon him the title he so greatly desired. This document, however, did not appear to be sufficiently authoritative for his pur- pose, as it bore but one signature, and consequently lacked evidences of authenticity ; for, immediately after the death of Lechangeur he sought at the hands of the brother THE RITE OF MISRAIM. 183 Theodore Gerber, of Milan — ^to whom Lechangeur had be- queathed the powers he had given to himself—another patent. The application was successful, and on the 12th October, 1812, Michael Bedarride procured this new au- thority, signed by Theodore Gerber, and conferring upon Michael Bedarride the title of Superior Grand Conservato of the Order of Misraim in Italy. Besides the signature of Gerber, this document bore also the signatures of Mark Bedarride, who, as we have shown, had not then obtained but the 77th degree, and seven or eight other brethren who were reputed to compose the " Sovereign Grand Council of the 90th degree of the Grand Masters absolute ;" and it is by virtue of the powers that they having arrogated to themselves, in concert with the chief of this rite, that they delegated to Michael Bedarride the same powers and all their supreme rights as therein expressed by this pat- ent, to " create, form, regulate, dissolve, whenever desirable, lodges, chapters, colleges, directories, synods, tribunals, consistories, councils, and general councils of the Order of Misraim" — a prerogative that this brother, as therein ex- pressed, has merited " by the most profound study of the sciences, and the most sublime practice of every virtue that is known to but a. very small number of the elect — inviting all brethren, of every degree and . every rite, to assist the puissant and' venerable Grand Conservator, Michael Bedar- ride, with their council, their credit and their fortune, him and the rejected of his race," etc., etc. It is by virtue of this curious document, which we con- sider it unnecessary further to explain, that the brother Michael Bedarride, through the organ of his brother Mark Bedarride, announced himself, in Paris, chief of this self- styled Oriental, Ancient, and Sublime Order, which, he says, is the stem of all the Masonic rites in existence, al- though he must have suspected by whom it had been fab- ricated. The text of this proclamation affords some idea of the arrogance of these Jewish Masons, and recalls to 184 GENBEAL HISTORY OF FEEBMASONKT. our mind the five Masons, also Jews, who, at Charleston, fabricated the Scottish Kite of thirty-three degrees ; and had it not been for the success of which the Rite of Mis- raim never would have seen the light, and but for which the obstacles to the unity of Freemasonry in France, aa well as in other countries, would have been easily re- moved. When the brother Mark Bedarride, then a retired officer of the army of Italy, arrived in Paris in 1813, where he was joined shortly afterward by his brothers Michael and Joseph Bedarride, the latter of whom had also, at !N'aples, received some patents from a delegate patented by Le- changeur, these three brothers found four others — ^two of whom were named respectively Joly and Gaborea — who had likewise procured in Italy some patents which con- ferred upon them also the right of creating lodges, coun- cils, etc., up to the ninetieth degree ; while the other two, named respectively Garcia and Decollet, bore patents giving them authority to the seventy-seventh degree. As the brothers Bedarride had decided to fix their residence in Paris for the purpose of working up this new branch of Masonry, the competitors whom we have named incom- moded them in the execution of their project. Having arranged matters with them, they next proceeded to ob- tain the protection of the brother Count Muraire. Suc- ceeding in this as in the other, Michael Bedarride was not long in gaining the consent of several other brethren, nearly all of whom were members of the Supreme Coun- cil of the Scottish (33d) Rite, among whom we may name Count Lallemand, Thory, Colonel Martin, Count Chabran, General Monier, Barbier de Finant, the Chevalier Chalon de Collet, Vidal, Perron, General Teste, etc., to receive the highest degrees of the rite, in order to enable him to organize a Supreme Council of the ninetieth degree, nec- essary for the definite establishment of the Supreme Power of the Order for France. On the 9th of April, 1815, the THE RITE OF MISRAIM. 185 brothers Bedarride, taking the title of Grand Conservators of the Order, issued their circular, by which they declared " the supreme power constituted in the valley of Paris to govern the Masonic Order of Misraim upon all the globe" — and, the reader will carefully observe — "for France by the Supreme Council of Most Wise Grand Masters for life of the 90th and last degree." It will be observed, in pass- ing, that all the decisions of this council could be revoked by the Superior Grand Conservator of the Order, con- formably to the constitution that he had given, in his ca- pacity of autocrat, to the future Misraimite people. To make acceptable a rite with a scale of degrees so numerous, and of which the chiefs had given themselves titles so pompous, certainly no city of the world afforded better facilities than Paris, the center of all folly and extravagance, as well as of much that was really great. "We will here observe that the ninety degrees composing the Rite of Misraim should have comprised every known science, divided into four series, forming seventeen classes. The first series was called symbolic, the second philosophic, the third mystic, and the fourth cabalistic. After this clas- sification, the neophytes, upon their initiation into the dif- ferent degrees, should have received instruction embracing all that was known of the sciences involved in each series. Such a course of instruction would, if faithfully given, have been frightful to any earnest mind, so imposing a task being so much beyond the grasp of an ordinary human life. But, in reality, the neophyte had nothing to fear from this vast vocabulary ; it was merely a recital of fables more or less absurd, and embraced not a word of science or philosophy outside of what truths were implied in the fii'st symbolic degrees. How could it be otherwise ? The brothers Bedarride, no more than the creator of the rite, Lechangeur — not possessing even the most elementary notions of the sciences enumerated in their four series and 186 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. seventeen classes of degrees — could not, in consequence, teacli to others what they did not know themselves. After taking possession of this prospectively lucrative field of labor, the brothers Bedarride found the great- est difficulty in organizing a working lodge ; for France was then in mourning. However, with great labor, they succeeded in establishing a first lodge, the "Eainbow," which became the mother lodge of the rite ; but it did not enter upon active duty until the month of June, 1816. Then the proselytes quickly augmented. The brethren Baucalin de Laroste, the chevalier Larrey, Auzon, Eagon, Clavet-Gaubert, Eedarets, Chasseriau, and Beaurepaire be- came Misraimites, and immediately constituted themselves into a new lodge, of which the meetings were most brill- iant, under the name of " Disciples of Zoroaster." In this assembly the brother Dr. Q-anal,. who presided, and who understood, much better than the brothers Bedarride, the exigencies of the rite, called to his aid physic and chem- istry to render his initiations imposing, and thus succeeded in gathering in many new members. When they arrived in Paris, the brothers Bedarride had only some incomplete rituals which they had copied from those in the possession of the persons who gave them the degrees, and not one of the ninety lectures which the rite required to explain its degrees; for neither Lechangeur nor Gerber possessed them. To produce these, the breth- ren Mealet and Joly, erudite and capable men, drew upon their imaginations. So slowly, however, did these lectures appear, that in 1816 they were enabled to exhibit but ten, having borrowed from the lodge "Hope," at Berne, the lectures of the first three degrees, and these alone express- ing all of a Masonic spirit which the rite exhibited ; and thus, like the Grand Orient and the Supreme Council, they jumped, in their initiations, from the third to the eighteenth, and from the eighteenth to the thirtieth, or twelve degrees at a time. The brothers Bedarride were THE ErrB OF MISRAIM. 187 obliged, for tte reasons that we have indicated, to confer a series of degrees at a time, giving it as their reason that such a course was most convenient, and explaining the in- termediate degrees as best they could. From the beginning, grave abuses appeared in the ad- ministration as conducted by the brothers Bedarride. The members of the rite, tired with submitting to the caprices of the three Israelitish chiefs, demanded a code of laws. They openly accused. the Grand Conservators of making a scandalous traffic in communicating the degrees, and, in fact, of speculating with the rite as a manufacturing prop- erty, and seeking to retire the principal part of the profits to their own use, though they had shown a laudable desire to hide such a diversion of the funds. Then a certain number of brethren resolved to create a new power, founded upon the plenary powers which the brother Joly had received at Milan, and, with a number of the dissatis- fied, they did form a Supreme Council of ninety degrees, composed of the said Joly, an author, the brethren Auzon, private secretary to His Majesty King Charles IV, Gabo- rea, a clerk in the Bureau of Finance, Mealet, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, Ragon, chief of the Staff Bu- reau of the National Guard, Richard, Lange, Decollet, Amadieu, Pigniere, and Clavet-Gaubert, colonel of artillery. In September, 1816, this new organization requested permission to rank under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient, and, to allow them to do so, proposed to abandon the administration of the first two series of the rite, com- prising sixty-six degrees, and reserve to themselves but the power to control those from sixty-seven to ninety. Some commissioners were named on the part of each body to arrange the particulars ; but the Grand Orient, though at first very well disposed to conclude the arrangement, after a more mature examination of it, rejected the propo- sition on the 14th January, 1817, and, on the 27th of the following December, addressed to the lodges of its corre- 188 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. spondence a circular, by the terms of which it prohibited them from receiving the members of the E,ite of Misraim in their assemblies. Unlike the generality of such documents as issued by the Grand Orient, the motives expressed in this edict were logical. It stated that "the patentees had not furbished the titles required to authenticate the origin and the au- thenticity of the Rite of Misraim ; that the assertion of its introduction into Italy, under the pontificate of Leo X, in the sixteenth century, by Jamblicus, a platonic philosopher who lived in the fourth century, eleven hundred years be- fore Leo X, was destructive in the nature of dates; that this rite was never practiced at Alexandria nor at Cairo, as it pretended to be, etc., etc. ; that for these reasons this rite could not be admitted into the Grand Orient." ^ The Grand Orient having thus brought to public notice the irregular- ity of the powers claimed by the brothers Bedarride, the latter sought, as much as it was possible, to destroy the doubts thus engendered. Michael Bedarride had, on the 3d May, 1816, exhibited a document, signed by seven breth- ren, which detailed all the Masonic titles he had obtained; that is, the dates of his receipt of them in Italy ; but this document, though in it he was named "Superior Grand Conservator," gave him no legal power ; and to meet this contingency it was necessary to produce another document. This latter soon appeared, signed by thirteen brethren of the rite, and among them the Count De Grasse-Tilly, founder of the Supreme Council of the Scottish (33d) Eite at Paris, the Count Muraire, the Count Lallemand, the Duke of St. Aignan, the Chevalier Lacoste, etc. These brethren in this patent styled themsebes "Sovereign Grand Masters absolute of the Rite of Misraim," a title which had been conferred by Michael Bedarride, after he had or- ^ It is to be regretted that similar cogent reasons did not exclude, in 1862, the Rite of Memphis from admission into that body. THE RITE OP MISRAIM. 189 ganized his Grand Council of ninety degrees ; and it was by virtue of the powers which this title conferred, and with which they had been invested by Michael Bedarride, that they, in their turn, by means of this patent, bestowed upon him the title and powers of Supreme Grand Con- servator of the Order for France. The new patent which we have just mentioned was dated the 7th of September, 1817 ; but, unlike the other, it bore no mark of having been produced at Milan, and this fact somewhat invalidated its use at Paris ; nevertheless, as the brothers Bedarride had the whole world to operate m, this circumstance merely induced them to change slightly the field of their operations. In 1818, Joseph turned up at Brussels, and Michael in Holland. It would appear, however, that the means which they employed were not the most laudable ; for, upon the 18th of Ifovem- ber, 1818, the Prince Frederick, Grand Master of the N'etherland lodges, addressed a circular to all the lodges of that country, pointing out the brothers Bedarride, who by that time were running about the kingdom, as dishon- orable men, who, to attain their objects, had recourse to very reprehensible tricks and means unworthy of true Ma- sons, and which had already brought them into discredit at Paris. This circular wound up its charges with inter- dicting the exercise of the Rite of Misraim in all the lodges under his authority, and supported this interdiction with the reasons advanced by the Grand Orient of France on the 29th December, 1817, and which we have men- tioned. S'otwithstanding these. prohibitions; notwithstanding all the difficulties which opposed them, the brothers Bedar- ride succeeded in establishing in Paris, besides the lodges " Rainbow" and " The Disciples of Zoroaster," four other lodges, namely, " The Twelve Tribes," " The Disciples of Misraim," "The Burning Bush," and "The Children of Apollo," all of which were in active operation toward the 190 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBBMASONKT. close of the year 1818. Tliis increaBe of lodges permitted them to give, on the 19th January, 1819, a brilliant feast of Adoption, which was presided over by the Count Mu- raire and the Countess of Fouchecourt. liTotwithstanding their seeming success, the brothers Bedarride were con- stantly at war with their own lodges, which complained of their administration and demanded an account of the funds. The brothers responded to these demands by ex- pelling the most clamorous of the claimants. It was thus that, by the decision of a self-styted Council, which the brothers Bedarride directed as they wished, bearing date the 15th August, the brethren Marie, Eichard, Chasseriau, Beaurepaire, Ragon, Mealet, and Joly were expelled from the rite. But this despotism but increased the indigna- tion. The lodge "Disciples of Zoroaster" separated itself from the Rite of Misraim by a unanimous decision, dated the 30th of April, 1819. In the minutes of this occasion, and which this lodge published at the time, the motive for separation is thus ex- pressed : 1. — They had vainly called for the correction of many articles, contained in the general regulations, in conse- quence of their despotic and unsatisfactory character; and, 2. — The suppression of the word " absolute" in connec- tion with the title of " Sovereign Grand Master ;" as, " in the present century, such a distinction is a usurpation and an offense to free men." 3. — In nearly all of the general regulations the Grand Conservator has arrogated to himself powers as obscure as they are arbitrary. 4. — And, finally, according to a judgment of the tribunal of commerce of the Seine, the firm of Joseph Bedarride & Co., (the brothers Mark and Michael were the associates not named,) living in Moon street, at No. 37, was in a con- dition of open bankruptcy. This proceeding was signed by the Worshipful Master THE RITE OF MISRAIM. ' 191 and bj all the officers of the lodge, to the number of twenty. The supreme poweij confined itself to striking the Worshipful Master, and, by an edict dated 11th June, 1819, Dr. Ganal was expelled. The mother lodge "Rainbow" also revolted against the administration of the Grand Conservators, which its" mem- bers unanimously declared to be most deplorable, and brought this declaration before the chiefs of the Order, in the hope that they would require the brothers Bedarride to render an account of the receipts and expenses. In the position in which they found themselves, the brothers Bedarride could not satisfy the demands which were addressed to them in connection with the finances, because the revenues of all kinds which they received through their connection with the rite were necessary to pay their debts and support their personal expenses. They, in consequence, made use of their omnipotence to declare all the members of the lodge " Rainbow," who had taken part in the revolt against them, as disturbers of the peace of the Order ; and this done, they dissolved the lodge for the purpose of reconstructing it with more non-dissent- ing materials, and its president, the Count Lallemand, sharing the fortunes of the opposing members, by an edict of the Grand Council, of 7th July, 1810, was expelled. It is necessary and proper here to state that the brothers Bedarride based their refusal to render an account of the revenues of the rite upon the statement that they had withdrawn but sufficient to cover the interest of the capi- tal which they pretended to have spent in organizing the rite in Paris, ' together with what they were properly eu' titled to for conducting the afiairs of the Order. 'To support this statement the brethren exhibited an account, which was dated the 11th June, 1818, for the sum of $550, incurred by them for engravings, cyphers, diplomas, etc., and indorsed as correct by — among other members of the General Council of the ninetieth degree — the Count Muraire. 192 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. The lodges founded, in 1818, in the Low Countries har- ing enjoyed but an ephemeral existence, the brothers Michael and Joseph Bedarride again withdrew from Paris, in 1820, to propagate their rite. They first appeared in England, from whence Michael went to the Low Countries and Joseph to Switzerland. In 1821 and 1822 they made other voyages into the departments of France, and about the close of the latter year they had organized twelve lodges, with several councils, all of which, like the |Brmer, lived but a short time.' The progress made by the brothers Bedarride in the propagation of their rite, although slow, nevertheless dis- quieted the Grand Orient, and that authority labored to interrupt it. The circular edict already mentioned, with another, dated the, 21st December, 1821, not having ar- rested, either in Paris or in the provinces, the creation of Misraimite lodges, the Grand Orient continued to pro- nounce severely against the brethren who had embraced their cause. Thus, at the solstitial feast, celebrated the 24tli June, 1822, the brother Richard, orator of the Grand Orient — who, in 1817, had been advanced to the highest degrees of the Eite of Misraim, and consequently had taken a solemn oath,^ written by his own hand, of the most abso- lute fidelity to that Order, but who subsequently had been stricken from the list of members — made a long report against the system of the* brothers Bedarride, etc., and concluded by urging the Grand Orient to close the meet- ings of the Misraimites, as irregular, illicit, and dangerous, and to renew its edict of interdiction, enforcing compliance ' The author here gives the names and locations of these lodges, etc. ; but as they are all extinct, we believe our readers will not miss their omission. — Teanslatok. 'The author here gives a transcript of this oath; but as the transla- tion of this transcript would be offensive to members of the rite in America, and in nowise beneficial to those who are not, I respectfully suppress it. — Translator. I i^ ^N N,. ^ V THB RITE OF MISKAIM. 193 with the same, under moat severe penalties, xn this report we find, among others equally severe, the following pas- « * * * But toleration has a limit, the Grand Orient has duties to perforin, and longer silence to the call of such duties would render this legislative body amenable to the charge of com- plicity in the disorders which have distinguished the administra- tors of the Rite of Misraim. These men, who, investing them- selves with functions which they hold to be the most important of an Order thsit they proclaim superior to all Masonic rites, forgetful of their dignity, run over the departments of this kingdom,- armed with their ninety degrees, which they offer to all purchasers at any price and in the most public places, and thus, by their mysteri- ous forms, compromise the state, as also the security, honor, and even peace of our citizens, trouble the repose of the magistrates, awaken the attention of the authorities intrusted with the secu- rity of the state, and, above all, provoke such suspicions of their designs as cause them, in their travels from city to city, to be sometimes imprisoned : these are excesses committed by men call- ing themselves Masons, for which, it is true, they can not be im- peached, but for which they should be held up to the indignation of every worthy brother," etc., etc. We believe that this report exaggerated facts m some of its particulars. The report of this feast, including the protest of Brother Richard, was sent to all the lodges and even to the public authorities. The latter, desirous of assuring themselves of the truth or falsehood of these accusations of the Grand Orient, ordered the police to investigate the subject; and the latter, for this purpose, made a descent upon the dwell ing of the brother Mark Bedarride, on the 7th September, 1822 ; but a minute examination thereof elicited no charge, except a slight one under the terms of the penal code bear- ing upon persons assembling themselves together for secret purposes. For this the brother Bedarride and some others 13 194 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. I held themselves to answer on the 18th January, 1823, and submitted to some small fine. The result, however, of the general dissemination among the lodges of the report of the feast, was to induce the authorities to close the lodges of the rite in Paris and those in the provinces, to the num- ber, in all, of seventeen ; and they remained in this condi- tion until 1831. During this long period the brother Mark Bedarride re- mained unemployed. After the revolution of 1830, he sough.t for restoration to the military rank he had in 1814; but he failed in this object. From the Minister of the Interior, however, he -obtained permission to reopen the lodges of his rite. From that auspicious moment the two brothers Mark and Michael Bedarride made strenuous efforts to avail themselves of the advantages of this permission. Their first act was to inform the partisans of the rite of the happy circumstances which once more allowed the lodges to resume their labors, and to demand that all the repre- sentatives of the rite assemble the divers classes of the Order, and forward a list of their members, accompanied by a gift of thirty cents for each brother, as a voluntary offering of dues for the years in arrear, or those during which the lodges had been closed. The primary meetings of the old lodges took place at 'So. 41 St. Mary street, and the brothers Bedarride suc- ceeded in reconstructing, under their original names, the lodges "Rainbow," "Pyramids," and "Burning Bush." This reconstruction accomplished, the chiefs judged it nec- essaiy to prevent the attacks to which their administration had been subjected, and, for this purpose, convoking the brethren composing the General Council, they directed THE BITE OF MlgRAIM. 195 the rocognitiou in their own favor of " an account for services, etc., amounting to $20,550. ' Thus the ficcount, which in 1818 was but $550, had been increased to $20,550, as well by the interest which had ac- crued upon the original sum as by the additional grants claimed, to the extent of $12,000, for administration of the affairs of an Order while its lodges were closed and its busi- ness totally suspended. As a set-off to this demandi, the sums received by the brothers Bedarride for fees and diplo- mas from 1816 to 1822, while the lodges were in operation, ought to have amounted to a very handsome figure, and they did, as they appeared in the cash-book of the brothers ; but the whole of this amount was absorbed, as further ap- peared by the same, in defraying the rent of lodge-rooms, etc., and all other necessary running expenses, for nineteen years. To put an end to all further disputes upon the sub- ject, the chiefs of the rite prepared an oath to be admin- istered, sine qua non, to the. receipt of the higher degrees, by which every member taking such degrees obligated himself in language very enigmatical, but the real mean- ing of which was to never question in any manner, under penalty of being blotted from the list of honorable mem- ' This sum of $20,550 was made up in tlie following manner: 1. Amount of the obligation of 11th June, 1818 2,785 fr.37 17 years' interest at 5 per cent, per annum 2,324 fr. 93 — 5,060 fr. 30 2. Claim of 2,500 fr. per annum from the 25th May, 1816, to 25th May, 1822— « years 15,000 00 6 years' interest at 5 per cent, per annum 4,600 00 — 19,500 00 8. Claim of 3,500 fr. per anntm, from the 27th May, 1822, to 27th May, 1828—7 years 24,500 00 7 years' interest at 5 per cent, per annum 6,475 00 — 30,976 00 4. Claim of 5,000 fr. per annum, from the 27th May, 1828, to the 27th May, 1835— 7 years 85,000 00 7 years' interest at 5 per cent, per annum 12,250 00 — 47,250 00 Total. 102,785 fr,8C 196 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMiSONRT. bership, the accuracy of this account or the justness of its claims. ^ When this matter- was thus arranged, the Council made it conditional that the brothers Bedarride should render true accounts from that time of all their receipts and ex- penses, to the end that the excess of the former should be appropriated to the reduction of their account against the Order of Misraim, and the same be liquidated at as early a day as possible. It is a sacred principle in Freemasonry that, with the exception of the office of Secretary of a lodge, or Grand Secretary of a Grand Lodge, all other offices are filled gra- tuitously and for the honor they confer upon the incum- bent. This being a fact well known, it is not difficult to decide, from what we have shown, that the charges made against the brothers Bedarride, of speculating with their rite, were not devoid of foundation. N"othwithstanding the activity of the brothers Bedarride, theif rite has made but little progress since that time. It has but a sort of vegetating existence in Paris, and it is extinct every-where else in which they succeeded in plant- ing it. A great many eminent men, whose names figure upon the list of membership, have long since withdrawn from it, and others have died. They never did, in fact, take any active part in the labors of the rite, and the ma- jority of them had not even assisted at a single meeting of Misraimites : they had accepted the high degrees offered them simply because their pompous titles tickled their vanity. The brothers Bedarride had never expected to derive any advantage from conferring their degrees upon such men, except that which their names would afford in the propagation of their rite among strangers. When we look over the list of membership, published in 1822, we are 'Our author gives the text of this oath; but, for the reason already giren, I do not translate it. — Translator. THE RITE OF MISRAIM. 197 astomslied to find thereon so great a number of distin- guished persons, and occupj-ing the highest social positions. Such of these brethren as belonged to the Supreme Coun- cil or the Grand Orient of France never allowed them- selves to be initiated into the fearful catalogue of the Eite of Misraim ; they confined themselves simply to the ac- ceptance of a diploma conferring upon them the rank of the ninetieth degree. , Many o? these brethren, if not all, resigned their posi- tion between 1817 and 1822, when the chiefs of the rite were attacked on all sides. After the revival of the rite in 1832 — thanks to the political changes which the revolu- tion of 1830 eflected in France — its chiefs were unable to enroll the names of important men, such as figured upon their register of 1822 ; even the meetings of the latter pe- riod were few a;nd insignificant. To remedy this failure, the brothers Bedarride resolved to hold a Grand Lodge of Adoption, which took place on the 25th August, 1838. The following passage of the discourse, addressed to the sisters and brethren present, will give our readers some idea of the arrogance of the language of their claims : "The Masonic Order of Misraim has this advantage over all other rites : it furnishes to the initiate scientific com- pensations which afford him an abstract knowledge of our Order." So far is this from the truth, that, it is believed, the meetings of the Misraimites are more devoid of any thing pertaining to science or philosophy than are those of any other rite. ISTotwithstanding all the pomp, magnifi- cence, and expense attending this exhibition of a " Grand Lodge of Adoption," it had not the least effect in forward- ing the fortunes of the Order. If any questions were put to the brothers Bedarride upon the condition of the funds, they would reply that the supreme authority had no accounts to render to any per- son. If changes were desired in the general regulations, they replied that the regulations were unalterable, and all 198 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the members had solemnly sworn to be governed by them. Should a brother publicly attempt to decipher the riddle which veiled their power, the chiefs would cry out that their authority was being questioned, and threaten the of- fender with arrest and trial. In 1839, the brother Terne- sien Leserne, advocate at the court of the king, having made some remarks in his lodge — ^the "Rainbow" — upon the administration of the chiefs of the rite, he was, by order of the supreme power of 3d January, 1840, ar*,igned for contumacy. In his defense, he published his accusations, under the title of "The Morality of the General Regu- lations and Administration of the Rite of Misraim." The brothers Bedarride endeavored to refute the charges contained therein, but their response served rather to con- firm than to destroy the accusations of the brother Tern- esien. The adversaries of the Rite of Misraim, or, more prop- erly, those of the brothers Bedarride, rapidly increased. In an article in the " Globe," entitled "Archives of Ancient and Modern Initiations," in which the utility of Masonic decorations is questioned. Brother Juge, the senior editor, expresses himself thus : " This poor Rite of Misraim, which so piteously exhibits its distress in its slender report of lodges and members, and so audaciously parades its wealth of degrees — a wealth so excessive that it is not only un- known in all its fullness to the highest dignitaries, but even to its inventor, M. Bedarride, who has not the ability, I do not say to communicate all the degrees without read- ing from his manuscripts, but who can not recite without this help, and in the order in which they occur, even the names of his frightful vocabulary." — This article brought on, between the brothers Bedarride and the editor of the " Globe," a war which terminated very much to the disad- vantage of the former ; for the latter applied himself with so much ability to his task, in the last numbers of his paper for 1840, that he demonstrated to the intelligence of THE RITE OF MISRAIM. 199 all that the Rite of Misraim was but "a miserable parody on Freemasonry, and the creation of a juggler." The chiefs continued to impose upon their lodges the burden of an honor of $1,000 a year as the price of their administration; and, pretending that the receipts had gradually fallen off, so that now there were not enough to pay even the interest upon the obligation of 1835, they induced their ever-devoted Genera] Council .to make them a second letter of credit for the sum of $26,358, > dated the 20th of September, 1840, and bearing interest from that date. After that time a treasurer controlled the receipts and the expenses, and in this manner the lodges were enabled to ascertain the excess of the former and apply it to the liquidation of this letter of credit. Thereafter the lodges assembled peaceably, and submitted to the despotic gov- ernment jof the supreme power; but the members gradu- ally diminished each year. In the month of April, 1856, the brother Mark Bedar- ride died. His death effected no change in the situation of the rite, which pursued its unsteady course, affording nothing incidental worthy of E,ote. A reproach of a very grave character had been ad- dressed to the chiefs of the Rite of Misraim, viz., that no acts of charity had ever been known to be performed by them, and in this respect they had failed to comply with the lirst duty of Freemasons. In 1851, a fact of this na- ture occasioned a new schism. A brother, an officer of the empire, possessed of all the high degrees of the rite, died ' This obligation was made up as follows : 1. Amount of the claim October 1, 1835 102,785 fr. 3( 2. For the direction of the Order for five years, at 5,000 fr. a year, from 1835 to 1840 25,000 fr. Five years interest at 5 per cent, per annum 1,250 — 26,250 00 8. Interest on the principal of 102,785 fr 2,757 70 131,793 fr. 00 200 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. in a hospital. Several brethren, desirous of defrajing'the expenses of bis funeral, and aiding his widow, who was in deep poverty, sought, the chief, Michael Bedarride, who responded to their request by saying, coldly, " The Order has no funds. All the receipts are absorbed in defraying necessary expenses, and in paying the interest due upon a etter of credit delivered to me by order of the General Council." The majority of the members, even those who possessed the eighty-seventh degree, had never heard of this obligation of the General Council, although they had signed the oath by which it was recognized. They were surprised, and, after some conference among themselves, they dele- gated one of their number to wait upon the chief, and pro- pose to him that if he would renounce his claim under this letter of credit, they would pay him four thousand francs a year. This proposition, as might be expected, was rejected with disdain by the Grand Conservator. Then, thirty-three members, led by the brother Boubee, re- solved to detach themselves from the Order, and to found another Masonic assembly professing the same rite. With this object they addressed, on the 22d of May, 1851, to the Minister of the Interior, a petition, and supported the same with the following reasons for separating themselves from what they styled " the supreme power of the Order of Mis- raim:" 1. — The facts we have mentioned. 2. — That the chiefs had prepared an oath guaranteeing the payment of a claim which was unknown to the petitioners, although they, by subscribing to such oath, became responsible for the payment of this claim. 3. — That by virtue of the ab- solute power with which he pretended that he was in- vested, the brother Michael Bedarride not only retained all the money received for initiations and degrees; but, con- trary to the regulations, conferred at his own residence all kinds of degrees upon whoever would pay him the money demanded for them. 4. — That ashamed to state they had been enslaved so long, they had given in their demission, THE RITE OF MISEAIM. 201 and formed the design of founding a lodge under the title of " Grand Orient of the Valley of Egypt." The prayer of the petition having been refused, the thirty- three dissenters conferred with the brother Youry, an officer of the Grand Orient of France and Wors'hipful Master of the lodge "Jerusalem of Constance," then suspended, and decided to reorganize this lodge, under the title of " Jerusa- lem of the Valley of Egypt." It was in this manner that the anti-masonic sentiments which animated the chief of the Rite of Misraim detached from that rite its valuable members and diminished the revenues of its jurisdiction. The Lodge of Adoption, created from the foundation of the rite, very rarely gave any sign of life. It had been organized, we regret to say, with an entirely speculative object, which should have been repugnant to the feelings of the worthy and respectable ladies who, at the order of the brother Bedarride, filled its offices on certain occasions. The ladies who successively filled the office of Grand Mis- tress of this Lodge of Adoption are the respectable sisters Gabrielle Pernet, Courtois, Breano, Maxime, of the Theater Francais, and Block de Berthier. The death of the brother Michael Bedarride, which took place on the 10th February, 1856, put an end to the lacera- tion of feelings endured for so long a time by the mem- bers who remained faithful to the rite. Feeling his end approaching, Michael Bedarride, by his will, dated the 1st January, 1856, created the brother Hayere' Grand Con- servator of the Order ; but, on the 24th January, he named him his representative, legatee, and successor, and, upon condition that he would pay his debts, placed in his hands the letter of credit of which we have spoken. By a decree of the new supreme power, dated 27th March, 1856, it was decided that they would not leave, as 'Brother Hayere, a physician and chemist, was initiated into the Eite of Misraim on the 13th October, 1840, and created Grand Master of the ninetieth degree on the 11th June, 1855. 202 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. a charge upon the lodges of the E,ite of Misraim, a debt,* styled by Brother Hayere as " accursed," and which had caused so much perjury, seeing that, with the actual reve- nues of thirty years, it had not been extinguished. By the General Council this debt was then declared extinct, while that body, nevertheless, charged itself with the set- tlement of the debts, amounting to about $1,000, of the deceased chief. This decision, honorable in all its bear- ings, proves that true Masonic sentiments animated the brethren of the Rite of Misraim. The lodges of Misraim, thus discharged from a debt amounting to $15,589, and a yearly tax of $1,000, were made easy in their finances, and their receipts enabled them in a few years to pay the debt of their chief, and re- imburse gradually Brother Hayere the advances made by him, with a generous disinterestedness upon this debt, to the most pressing creditors. The new chief strove, as much as possible, to meet all the exigences, abolish the abuses, and introduce reforms. None of the numerous complaints made against the ad- ministration of his predecessor were heard, and the loyal character of Brother Hayere guarantee us in believing they will never be renewed so long as he controls the ad- ministration of the rite. But no effort that can be put forth by the new chief can long arrest the certain dissolution of this Order. The germs of its mortality are borne within its bosom; and when it shall descend, like its brother rite of Memphis, to the tomb, nothing but its total regeneration can ever rec- ommend it to the Masonic Fraternity. ' The debt as recognized by the last letter of credit, amounting, in the month of September, 1840, to $26,358, was found, at the death of Michael Bedarride, by the excess of receipts which had been applied by the treasurer to its liquidation, and credited by M. Bedarride, to be reduced to $15,589. A CONCISE HISTORY RITE OF MEMPHIS, SINCE ITS CREATION, IN 1838, TO ITS FUSION WITH THE QBAND ORIENT OF FRANCE, IN 1862. The Kite of Memphis, next to that of Misraim, is the most recent creation of Masonry. Its author is the brother Marconis de I^Tegre, who has copied it from the Eite of Misraim, to which it principally belongs. In a book entitled " The Sanctuary of Memphis," the brother Marconis, who 'therein discovers himself as the creator of this rite, briefly touches up its history as fol- lows: " The Eite of Memphis, or Oriental Eite, was carried to Europe by Ormes, seraphic priest of Alexandria and Egyptian sage, who was converted by St. Mark, in the year 46 of Jesus Christ, and who purified the doctrine of the Egyptians according to the prin- ciples of Christianity. . " The disciples of Ormes remained until 1118 sole possessors of the ancient wisdom of Egypt, purified by Christianity and the science of Solomon. This science having been communicated to the Templars, they were then known as Knights of Palestine, or Rose- Cross Brothers of the East. It is the latter who may be re- cognized as the immediate founders of the Eite of Memphis." * * " The Masonic Eite of Memphis is the continuation of the mys- teries of antiquity. It taught the first men +o render homage to (203) 20 i GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the divine principle ; its dogmas repose upon the principles of the human race ; its mission the study of wisdom, which seeks to dis- cover the secrets of nature. It is the heatific aurora of the devel- opment of reason and intelligence ; it is the worship of the hest qualities of the human heart and suppression of its vices ; it is, finally, the echo of religious tolerance, the union of all beliefs, the bond that unites humanity, the symbol of the happy illusions of hope, preaching faith in Grod, who preserves, and charity, which blesses." As will be seen, from what we have quoted, this rite has all the pretension possible to be claimed for it, in giving it to us as the continuation of the mysteries of antiquity, and more than was ever claimed for any condition of Freema- sonry. Ifevertheless, its founder is the first to contradict his preachings by his practice ; for one of the principal du- ties of his adepts consists in being always truthful. Hia boot — which is but a frame-work of absurdities invented by himself with the object of deceiving the credulous — ^will, in the passages quoted and in the following, prove this : " The Rite of Memphis is the only depository of high Masonry, the true primitive rite, the rite par excellence. It has come down to us without alteration, and, consequently, is the only rite justified by its origin, by its constant exercise of all its rights, and by its constitutions, which it is impossible to revoke or doubt their au- thenticity. The Rite of Memphis, or Oriental Rite, is the true Masonic tree, and all the Masonic systems, such as they are, are nothing but the branches detached from this respectable and highly antique institution, whose birth took place in Egypt — the real depot of the principles of Masonry, written in Chaldean, and preserved, in the venerated ark of the Rite of Memphis, in th« Grand Lodge of Scotland, at Edinburgh, and in the convent of the Maronites, on Mount Lebanon." To this extract we subjoin the first article of the organic statutes, and by which we may judge the remainder: THE RITE OF MEMPHIS. 205 "Brother Marconis de Negre, the Grand Hierophant, is the ordy sabred depositary of the traditions of this Sublime Order." After that it would be superfluous to ask what are the constitutions " which it is impossible to revoke, or doubt their authenticity ;" or what are these precious documents, "written in the Chaldean language, and preserved in the venerated ark of the Kite of Memphis," etc. "With those in the Grand Lodge of Scotland and in the convent on Mount Lebanon, it is simply necessary to say that, like those upon which the Supreme Council for France was founded, they never existed. It is ever thus the same language, the same tactics are employed, by the inventors of rites, wherewith, duiing the last century and a half, to delude their proselytes. Concerning the introduction of this rite into France, the brother Marconis de Negre, and, after him, some of his credulous adepts, recounted that the brother Honis, a na- tive of Cairo, had brought it from Egypt in 1814, (but without saying by whom it had been there communicated to him,) and had, with the father of Brother Marconis de N'egre, (the brother Gabriel-Mathew Marconis,) Baron Dumas, and the Marquis de la Roque, founded a lodge of this rite at Montauban, on the 30th April, 1815 ; that this lodge had been closed on the 7th March, 1816, (they did not say why,) and that, in consequence, the archives had been confided to the father of Marconis de !N"egre, named (they did not say by whom) Grand Hierophant of the Order, or, otherwise. Grand Master. The incorrectness of these assertions is easily demon- strated. Brother James Stephen Marconis was initiated dt Paris into the rite of Memphis on the 21st of April, 1833. He was then twenty-seven years of age. He re- ceived on that day thirteen degrees; for the ladder of Misraim is quickly mounted. In consequence of the com- plaints made against him by some of his brethren, he was expelled on the 27th June, 1833. He shortly afterward 206 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. quitted Paris and went to Lyons, where, under the name of I>regre, he founded a lodge of the Rite of Misraim, under the style of " Good "Will," and of which he was the presi- dent. While occupying this position, he was elevated to the sixty-sixth degree by the brothers Bedarride, who were not aware that Brother Negre and Brother J. S. Marconis were one and the same person. In consequence of some new complaints addressed to the brothers Bedarride, as chiefs of the rite, by the brethren at Lyons, Brother Mar- conis was again expelled, under the new name of Negre, on the 27th May, 1838. After this latter expulsion, having no hope of again being able to play any part either in the Rite of Misraim or any other rite then practiced, and feeling conscious that he possessed much more capacity to direct a lodge, or even a rite, than the brothers Bedarride, he did as was done by Lechangeur of Milan, and by the five Israelites at Charles- ton — he created a Masonic power. The ladder of Misraim, as fabricated by Lechangeur, and augmented by the addition of a few more rounds, gave him his Rite of Memphis with but little labor. The work finished, he constituted himself its chief. To give his rite an origin and a history was not diflicult. In this depart- ment he exhibited, however, more respect for the opinions of mankind, and the good sense of the Fraternity, than did the brother Michael Bedarride, who, in his history of the " Order of Misraim," was not content, as Lechangeur had been, with stating that this Order was the work of a king of Egypt named Misraim, but went much further for its origin, even to God himself. Brother Marconis dated his rite from but the commencement of the Christian era. By this exhibition of modesty he probably expected to disarm inquiry, convert the credulous and religiously disposed, and inspire them with faith in the "precious documents written in the Chaldeaji language," which he announced were to be found in the "venerated ark of the Rite of THE RITE OF MEMPHIS. 207 Memphis," whenever he would think proper to exhibit those documents to their admiring gaze. As Brother Marconis was much the superior, both in education and talents, of the fabricator of the Hite of Misraim, he found it very easy to vary the degrees of that rite, change their names, and give them a signification sufficiently different to destroy the identity of their origin. To give the reader an idea of the extravagance of this creatiion, we will present here an extract from the constitu- tion of the Rite of Memphis : " The Rite of Memphis is regulated by five Supreme Councils, viz. : 1. The Sapctuary of the Patriarchs, Grand Conservators of the Order. 2. The Mystic Temple of Sovereign Princes of Memphis. 3. The Sovereign General Grand Council of Grand Regulating Inspectors of the Order. 4. The Grand Liturgical College of Sublime Interpreters of Masonic Sciences and Hieroglyphics. 5. The Supreme Grand Tribunal of Protectors of the Order. " The Sanctuary is divided into three sections, viz. : 1. The Mystic Section, in which reposes the venerated ark of the tradi- tions. 2. The Emblematic, Scientific, and I'hilosophic Sections ; and, 3. The Governing Section. " The Mystic Section, in which are to be found the traditions, rituals, documents, instructions, and general archives, etc., is com- posed of the Grand Hierophant and his organ. 'iThe Emblematic, Scientific, and Philosophic Section is com- posed of seven lights, viz. : 1. The Grand Hierophant, Sublime Master of Light, . (Brother Marconis.) 2. The organ of the Grand Hierophant. 3. The Grand Master, President of the Sanctuary, (particular executive of the Order.) 4. The Grand Master, President of the Mystic Temple (general executive.) 5. The Grand Master, President of the Sovereign Grand General Council. 6. The Grand Master, President of the Grand Liturgi- cal College. 7. The Grand Master, President of the Supreme Grand Tribunal. " This Section exercises no authority in the government of the Order, its action being purely doctrinal and magist-jrial." 208 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. It might be readily believed that such an organizatiou as the above might be sufficient to regulate the affairs of an Asian or African Empire, comprising millions of human beings. Ridicule will, therefore, be pushed to its utmost when it is known that this formidable construction was organized to govern an association of men who are believed to be devoted to the development of their reason and in- telligence, and to the study of wisdom. After having completed the rituals of his rite, in 1838, Brother Marconis presented himself in Belgium as the suc- cessor of his father in the high office of Grand Hierophant, and entered into some negotiations to establish his rite. He then returned to Paris, where, under the name of Mar- conis Letuillart, he succeeded in enrolling some isolated brethren, and, with them, organizing a lodge which he named " Disciples of Memphis ;" and, on the 2"d March, 1838, he organized a Grand Lodge, under the title of " Osiris," to which was intrusted the direction of all the operative lodges which he hoped he might establish. On the 23d May, 1839, he organized a chapter of " Philadel- phics," and on the 29th February, 1840, the lodge " Sages of Heliopolis." On the 7th April, 1839, he published his organic stat- utes, and organized two lodges in Brussels. Immediately following the organization of his first lodge in Paris, the brothers Bedarride wrote the prefect of police, informing that officer that Brother Marconis had been twice expelled, for malfeasance, from the Rite of Misraim, and requesting that he be prohibited from en- gaging in Masonic labors thereafter in that city. The pre- . feet not having immediately complied with their demand, on the 2d November they issued a circular, warning'their lodges and councils against Brother Marconis, and stating the reasons of his duplicate expulsion. Thereupon the police visited the lodges organized by Brother Marconis ; but it was not until the 17th May, 1840, that permission to THE BITE OF MEMPHIS. 209 asseitoble their membership was refused him ; and, without any reason being assigned, those lodges had to suspend their meetings. From that time Brother Marconis devoted his attention to Masonic literature. ' Favored Jay the political events of 1848, Brother Marco uis labored to revive his lodges in Paris, and succeeded in reorganizing, in 1849, three of them, and afterward a coun oil and chapter ; but the lodges which he had established in Belgium refused resurrection.^ During the short time Brother Marconis de Negre — ^for it is under this name he is best known — ^maintained his lodges in activity, he followed the example of the brothers Bedarride, and obtained adherents among the members of the Grand Orient and the Supreme Council, who, although remaining attached to these bodies, accepted of him diplo- mas conferring upon them the high degrees of Memphis. Finding that his rite was not obtaining any consistence at Paris, Brother Marconis repaired, in 1850, to London, in the hope there to find some person disposed to accept its distinctions; and, not without considerable effort, he succeeded in establishing a lodge, under the title of " The Sectarians of Menes," which was instituted on the 16th July, 1851, and which was charged with the responsibili- ties of a Supreme Council for the British isles. Brother 'The principal works published by Brother Marconis (de Negre) are: "The Sanctuary of Memphis," "The Hierophant," "The Mystic Sun," " The Mystic Temple," and " The Masonic Pantheon." As explanatory oi the symbols and principles of Masonry, these works have undisputo- ble value; but as history they are worthless, being principally drawn from the imagination of their author. ^In common with all other fabricators of rites, Brother Marconis sold, to all who offered to buy them, his constitutions with which to establish lodges, chapters, councils, grand lodges, etc. It was by these constitu- tions, and in this manner, that his rite was made known and established at a few points on the continent of Europe, and in New York. 14 210 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. J. P. Berjean was nominated Grand Master of it, and rep- resentative of the Grand Hierophant. The accuBations which, in 1850, dissolved the new ISa- tional Grand Lodge of France, equally affected the lodges of the Rite of Memphis, and, for a second time, caused their suspension. Hence, Brother Marconis, finding his Masonic activity completely paralyzed in France, was, in a manner, forced to transmit the government of his rite to the lodge at London, as the principal authority extant; and, on the 30th E"ovember, 1853, in accordance with this arrangement. Brother J. P. Berjean was solemnly installed "Grand Master of Light" of the new mystic temple and General Grand Council, and, at the same time, as organ of the Grand Hierophant. Starting with but thirty members, the labors of these were sufficiently arduous, when devoted to the administra- tion of so extensive a form of government as the rite of Brother Marconis required; but this Grand Lodge soon found its ranks freely recruited from among the political refugees who, about this time, sought England as a place of safety. Such a class, however, possessed few of the ele- ments suitable to harmoniously carry on the work of the rite, and it was soon found necessary to dissolve the lodge : Brother Marconis himself considering it prudent to an- nounce that he had retired from all participation in its la- bors, and, consequently, that he declined all responsibility for its actions. These circumstances, so little conducive to the success of the Rite of Memphis, induced Brother Marconis, by the aid of the author of this work, to propose, in 1852, to the Grand Orient, its affiliation of the lodges of Memphis. This proposition being refused. Brother Marconis there- upon ceased all further effort on behalf of the lodges of his rite, and confined his labors to the publication of his many Masonic books. Having for some time meditated a voyage to America, THE EITB OF MEMPHIS. 211 Brother Marconis de Negre, in 1860, embarked for that country, and, on the 14th July of that year, organized at Troy, in the State of Few York, a lodge, under the title of " Disciples of Memphis," and of which Brother Durand, a professor of languages, was nominated Grand Master. After the publication of the circular of the 30th April 1862, addressed by the Grand Master, Marshal Magnan, to the dissenting Masons of France, Brother Marconis solicited, in the name of one of his suspended lodgesj (the "Sectarians of Menes,") his affiliation with the .Grand Orient of France. This request was complied with, and, on the 18th October, 1862, this lodge was formally installed by commissioners appointed for that purpose by the Grand Orient. Oa the 30th December following, a similar action took place with the lodge " Disciples of Memphis." Thus despoiled of its government, its councils, and of all its peculiar attributes, the Rite of Memphis finds itself transformed into, at best, the Scottish Rite, as recogni^ied by the Grand Orient ; and yet, by a strange anomaly, the lodges which we have named have been permitted to re- tain the name of practicing the Rite of Memphis. Other- wise, for the honor of Masonry, we consider the work of Brother Marconis extinct in France, and we trust that wherever else it exists it may shortly be consigned to the tomb of its race. A CONCISE HISTORY ORIGIN OF ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES, INTRODUCED INTO FREEMASONRY FROM 1736 TO THE PRESENT TIME. Freemasonry, after its transformation at London, io 1717, from a partly mechanical and partly philosophical institution to one purely moral and philosophic, retained the three traditional degrees of Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason ; and all the lodges organized since that time, as well by the Grand Lodge of London as by the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland, have been so constituted, and have never conferred any other than the three sym- bolic degrees above named, and which constitute the Rite of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England — the only true traditional Masonry. It was not until the partisans of the Stuarts had come to France, in the suite of the- Pretender, that English Masonry wa« denaturalized by them, and used as a cloak to cover their revolutionary projects. The desire to restore the. family of the Stuarts to the throne of England, and thus to favor the interests of Roman Catholicism, suggested to the partisans of that family and those interests the idea of forming secret asso- ciations, by which to carry out their plans; and it was with this object that tbey obtained entrance into the Ma- sonic lodges on the continent. (212) ORISIN OF ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 213 They commenced in France, through the agency of one of their most eminent emissaries, the Doctor, Baron of Ramsay,' to spread a rite of five degrees which they had vainly endeavored to make acceptable in London. This Doctor or Baron of Ramsay, between the years 1736 and 1738, augmented this rite by the addition of two degrees and then called it " Scottish," because, as he maintained, it proceeded from a powerful Masonic authority in Scot- land. He delivered to the proselytes, whom he had known himself to have made in France, personal consti- tutions or patents, emanating from a self-styled chapter of Masons sitting at Edinburgh. This chapter was composed of partisans of the Stuarts, who had constituted them-, selves into a Masonic authority before the Grand Lodge of Scotland existed, with the sole object of forwarding the projects of the uncrowned princes. ' According to the Baron of Ramsay, and other emissaries, this chapter alone possessed the true science of Masonry, which science, as ' Baron Ramsay was converted to the Roman Catholic religion by Fenelon, and afterward became preceptor at Rome to the son of the dethroned king, James III. He came to France in 1728. After having failed in London in his attempt to organize, in the interests of the Stuarts, a new Masonry calculated to annihilate the influence of the Grand Lodge of London, he addressed himself to a like work in France, and presented himself in Paris, furnished with powers from a Masonic authority represented to be sitting at Edinburgh. It was not until about 1736 that he appears to have succeeded in establishing in some lodges his political system. It is true that Lord Derwentwater, and also Lord Harnwester, who succeeded each other as the first Grand Masters of the Provincial Grand Lodge of France, were also partisans of the Stuarts ; but they do not appear to have been initiated into the revolutionary projects of the Jesuits, as was Doctor Ramsay ; for it was not until after their departur for England — where both perished on the scaffold, victims of their at- tachment to the Pretender— that Baron Ramsay introduced his system among the lodges. While Lord Derwentwater was Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of France, in 1729, Baron Ramsay filled the oflBce of orator. He died in 1743, aged fifty-seven, at St. Germain-en- Lay* 214 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. was apparent from the history of it which they had es- tablished, had been created by Godfrey de Bouillon. "We have no account of any of the chapters founded by Baron Ramsay, and they do not appear to have been of much importance ; but, in 1743, another partisan of the Stuarts founded at Marseilles a lodge of " St. John of Scotland," with eighteen degrees, which subsequently took the title of Scottish Mother Lodge of France, and constituted many lodges in Provence, and even some in the Levant. An- other system, probably Ramsay's, was established at Lyons by a partisan of the Stuarts, and afterwards worked by the Jesuits. It was not, however, until after Charles Edward Stuart, born at Rome, the son of the Pretender, had been ini- tiated, and had founded, by a charter granted by himself, as patron, a chapter of high degrees at Arras, in 1747, under the title of " Scottish Jacobite Masonry," that the lodges to which were attached high degrees increased in Prance. At Toulouse, in 1748, an attache of the Pre- tender, named Lockhart, organized a chapter which prac- ticed a rite of nine degrees, under the name of " Faithful Scots." In 1766 another adherent constituted the mother lodge of the county Venaissin, in Avignon, which, in its turn, in 1776, organized the " Grand Lodge of the Philo- sophic Rite in Paris," and then united itself with that Grand Lodge. Another partisan of the Stuarts, the Chevalier Bonne- ville, one of the most zealous emissaries of the Jesuits — under the patronage of the Chapter of Clermont, which was, in 1754, created by the Jesuits of the College (Con- vent) of Clermont' — organized several chapters, and which, for the purpose of more fully working this system of Ma- sonry, they installed in a magnificent locality, outside the walls of Paris, called New France. In 1756, these chap- ' It was in this college that the Pretender lived for many years. ORiaiN OF ALL THE KITES EOR HIGH DBGKEBS. 215 ters elaborated a new Masonic system, which they styled "Strict Observance" — an arrangement which has been wrongly attributed to the Chevalier Bonneville, ho being, with others, nothing more than one of its most zealous propagators in Prance, while a person named Stark acted in a like capacity in Germany, between 1756 and 1758. An extravagant and ambitious man named Pirlet, the presiding officer of a lodge in Paris, and who had recog- nized the true authorship of these new Masonic systems, sought their injury, if not destruction, by the creation of an opposing system. For this purpose, in 1757, by the aid of some Masons to whom he imparted his knowledge, he created a chapter of "Knights of the East." IfTot meeting with the success he had expected, he concluded to accept the office of propagator of a new rite elaborated by the Jesuits at Lyons, with a scale of twenty-five degrees, and to which was given the pompous title of "Emperors of the East and West, Sovereign Prince Masons." The propagators of this rite announced to their proselytes that it was the most elevated of all Masonry practiced in the East, and from whence it had been imported to France. This was the rite subsequently called " Perfection, or Har- odom." Pirlet, directed secretly by the Jesuits, who were not seen in the management, gave, like all the propaga- tors, inventors, and importers of rites, who make of them a species of property, a fabulous origin to this new rite ; and several officers and members of the Grand Lodge of Prance were initiated, though bound by an oath, under its constitution, not to recognize any degrees as Masonic ex- cept those of their Grand Lodge, which consisted of the three symbolic degrees alone. These initiates became officers of the "Council of Emperors of the East and West, Sovereign Prince Masons ;" and it was this council that, in 1761, delivered to Stephen Morin a patent where- with to enable him to propagate the rite in America. This Rite of Perfection, of twenty -five degrees, was propagated 216 GENERAL HISTOaT OF PBEEMASONRT. in Germany by tlie officers of the army of Broglie. bul more particularly by the Marquis of Berny, a French gen- tleman, and his deputy Eosa, a Lutheran priest, who in a short time organized seventeen lodges of the rite in the States-general, or parliament of the country. This rite infiltrated itself, in this manner, into the Grand Lodge at the Three Globes in Berlin ; and when the king, Freder- ick the Great, who had been Grand Master of this lodge from 1744 to 1747, was advised of this fact by one of the officers of the lodge, his minister of war, he was so en- raged that he manifested his discontent by a great oath. Many of the Grand Lodges of Germany, and those of Hamburg and Switzerland more particularly, who for a long time resisted the admission of these innovations, closed and became dissolved after the high degrees had insinuated themselves among and into their constituent lodges. But these degrees were not always so successful in their object to destroy primitive Masonry; for as soon as, by pushing inquiry, it was found from whence they had emanated, and their source discovered to be impure, they fell into disrepute and contempt. It was thus that this Rite of Perfection became unpopu- lar in Paris in 1780, and unable to sustain itself, and its membership obliged to unite their scattered fragments into a chapter of " Knights of the East" — the rite created by Pirlet. lifotwithstanding this union, however, so low had the reputation of the possessors of these degrees fallen, that they were forced to recruit their ranks and the mem- bership of this chapter from among any persons who could pay them thp price of their degrees. Such action, per- sisted in, caused the death of this chapter, but not with- out leaving some unhappy traces of its labors ; for while some of its members endeavored to organize a General Grand Chapter of the Rite of Perfection for France, others became discontented, discordant, and, in this condition of mind, became willing assistants of De Grasse-Tilly, who, ORIGIN OF ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 217 in 1804, arrived in Paris from St. Domingo, bearing a patent from a Supreme Council sitting at Charleston, em- powering him to organize a council of a rite of thirty-three degrees, and, by the aid of such malcontents, he did or- ganize the <' Supreme Council for I'rance of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General of the 33d and last degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Eite." It will be easily perceived that, at an early stage of its popularity, the Jesuits found Freemasonry an institution they would have to use or destroy. Finding it impossible to use it, they concluded to destroy it ; and to do so, 'they adopted the plan of inventing and propagating rites and high degrees calculated to confuse a correct knowledge of its history, and create discords and dissatisfaction among Its members. As creators of these rites and degrees, they freely, through their partisans and emissaries, disposed of patents and constitutions which empowered the holders not only to organize bodies of men whom they might initiate into these degrees, but to sell to any person so initiated other patents and constitutions empowering them to do the same. In this manner the very object desired by these Jesuitical inventors was attained in a multiplied result ; for a rivalry sprang up between these opposite authorities, who soon found that the best recommendation for their wares was an increase in their variety; and to give such variety it was necessary to fabricate additional degrees and additional rites, which they might offer, as something entirely new, to satisfy the eager appetite ex- hibited, and which they appeased in restaurants and tav- erns, and wherever they could find a purchaser. By ref- erence to our history of Freemasonry in France about this time, (1736 to 1772,) the reader will perceive how com- pletely the object desired by the Jesuits was effected. "Confusion worse confounded" reigned among the Fra- ternity — false titles, antedated constitutions, charges of fraud well sustained, and even exhibitions of violence, 218 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. characterized the Masonic institution, and the civil gov- ernment had to interfere to prevent worse results. It was during this period that there might be seen systems called Masonic and new degrees bursting almost daily into the light — systems incoherent, crude, and unfledged, having nothing to recommend them save their very .dreamy or mystical tendency — the work of fabricators, who cared for 'no vow or obligation, but sought only to dispose of their trumpery and valueless commodities. These combinations, the work of such impostors and political hucksters, produced, in about twenty years, such a result of doubt and imcertainty, that scarcely any one . could determine which of the numerous pretending bodies was the true or legitimate Masonic authority in France. Yet, notwithstanding the confusion they had thus created, the Jesuits had accomplished but one of their designs, viz., denaturalizing and bringing into disrepute the Masonic institution. Having succeeded, as they believed, in de- stroying it in one form, they were determined to use it in another. With this determination they arranged the system styled " Clerkship of the Templars," an amalgamation of the difi'erent histories, events, and characteristics of the cru- sades, mixed with the reveries of the alchemists. In this combination Catholicism governed all, and the whole fab- rication moved upon wheels representing the great object for which the " Society of Jesus" was organized. The emissaries, De Bonneville, in France, and Professor Harck, in Germany, were immediately engaged in the dissemina- tion of this system ; but, in consequence of the very condi- tion of disrepute then enjoyed by Masonry in that country, the emissary for France had little if any success. With their knowledge of the human heart, the Jesuits brought into this system a series of inferior degrees proper to engage the curiosity of the neophyte, and assure them- ORIGIN OF ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 219 selves of his unlimited obedience. Beyond all else, this condition of unlimited obedience was always exacted be- fore the advancement promised to the new revelations of yet higher degrees was accorded. In this manner were the brethren decoyed away from the pure and simple doc- trine of English Freemasonry, to throw their aid and in fluence into the object of enlarging Jesuitical influence, bj the hope of gaining ten degrees of exaltation above their fellows. In order further to assure themselves of the faith of their adepts, and to strike deeper the roots of that faith into the soil of their spirits, the doctrine of obedience to unknown superiors was advanced, and the chiefs directed to . communicate the real plans to none but those whom they should initiate into the last and highest degree of the system. As the monastic institution and ecclesiastic tendency of this false Masonry could not adapt itself to the feelings of all whom they desired to influence, they next resolved to create another association, much more extended, and which would be susceptible of establishment in Protestant countries. The project succeeded better than any or all the others. It was this system styled " Strict Observance" that, originating, like all the others created by the Jesuits, in their College of Clermont at Paris, was transported to Germany, and there propagated by the Baron of Hund, and other emissaries, instruments of the Jesuits, but igno- rant of being such. The fundamental belief connected with this system, as entertained by those propagators, was, that "the Masonic fraternity is nothing but a continuation of the Order of Knights Templar, propagated by members of this Order while sheltered from persecution in the fast- nesses of Scotland." Otherwise the propagators of this system held forth to and indulged their proselytes in the dangerous hope of gaining possession of the riches and property of the Order of Knights Templar, confiscated by 220 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Philip the Fair and his abettors, after the execution of Jacques de Molay. To have the system correspond, as much as possible, with its hierarchical object, the country over which they expected their Order to reign was divided into nine prov- inces, viz. : 1. Lower Germany, consisting of Poland and Prussia; 2. Auvergne; 3. "Western France; 4. Italy and Greece; 5. Burgundy and Switzerland; 6. Upper Ger- many; 7. Austria and Lombajrdy; 8. Russia; and 9. Sweden. The governing Grand Lodge of the system was estab- lished at Brunswick, and was to be ostensibly directed by the Duke of Brunswick, but who really was but the mouth-piece of the " unknown superiors." Each province had its heermeister, or general, a provincial chapter, many priories, prefectures, and commaijderies — names and estab- lishments belonging to the Ancient Order of Knights Templar; while the three degrees of St. John uniformly comprised the Freemasonry, properly so called, of the lodges governed by a Meister vom Stuhl, or Worshipful Master, and six officers. The system of " Strict Observance " was so called because of the severe monastic subordination which it enjoined, in contradistinction with the liberal system of English origin, styled " Observance at Large ;" and, under the notorious nonsense of alchemy, mysticism, and the mysteries of the Rose Cross, which were by its members professed, this " Strict Observance " system for a long time hid the secret intentions and objects of its unknown chiefs. In Ger- many, however, both clerical and secular systems remained under secret direction until 1772, when dissatisfaction and dissensions having taken place, the King of Prussia or- dered the union of the two systems, and, after 1767, the clerical system had place but in the seventh province, viz., Austria and Lombardy. The excessive extravagance of enthusiasm with which ORIGIN OF ALL THE BITES JOE HiaH DESEEES. 221 tile Templar system was regarded speedily abated, as soon as the unknown superiors were identified. Suspicion en- gendered investigation, and investigation elicited the fact that these " unknown superiors " were no other than lead- ing Jesuits and partisans of the Stuart interest. Up to this time the Baron of Hund himself seems to have been a victim of the general deception. Thereafter the Jesuits, unmasked in the persons of their chiefs, and deceived in their hopes, appear to have retired from the field ; for we hear no more about the " unknown superiors." It was then that the investigation began to be seriously directed to the consideration of how far this " Strict Observance " system departed from the spirit and principles of the lodges working under the system of the Grand Lodge of England, and which latter had .been con- temptuously represented by the Jesuits as the bastard oflfepring of the working corporations of the middle ages. This investigation was not confined to Germany, but ex- tended throughout the country occupied by the Templar systems. The general inquiry seemed to be whether these systems were charged with any abstract science, or any doctrines, of a purely moral or secret character, relating to art, history, or to the sciences generally. The French Templar lodges met at Lyons, in 1778, in a convent, and undertook the total revision of their system, from which resulted a ilew plan of constitution. This advance move- ment gave an impulse to the German lodges, and induced them, in their turn, to examine the entire Templar system, and to manifest a disposition to return to the Masonry of England, in case their investigation should develop the improper tendencies of which this hierarchical system had been accused. The Duke Ferdinand -of Brunswick, who, in 1772, was chosen General Grand Master of all the " Strict Observ- ance " lodges, seriously occupied himself with this investi- gation ; and, for this purpose, having called, in 1772, the 222 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Congress of Kohio, and, in 1775, that at Brunswick, with- out eliciting any satisfactory result, he yielded to the views expressed by many German lodges, and, in 1782, convoked a third, congress at "Wilhelmsbad, to which he invited all the Freemasons of Europe. The first assembly of this congress took place on the 16th July, 1782. All the Grand officers of all the prov- inces of the Templar system, and delegates from all their lodges were present, as also many delegates of other rites then extant in Germany and France. After thirty sit- tings, none of the questions upon the origin, doctrines, etc.,' had been resolved in a satisfactory manner; when, finally, upon the proposition of the French delegates of the Templar system, from the province of Burgundy, the views of .the congress were thus expressed : " Modern Freemasons are not only not the true success- ors of the Knights Templar, but, as worthy recipients of the three symbolic degrees, they can not he." l^otwithstanding this decision, however, the assembly decided that a lecture, giving a synopsis of the history of the Templar Order, should be added to, and incorporated with, the last degree of symbolic Freemasonry. We should have remarked that the exterior organization of the Templar system, which established union and har- mony among the parts of this system, was worked with care, and conformably to a vast plan. The interior ties, founded upon the position of the employes and the pre- rogatives of the chapters, composed a powerful band. The whole might be assimilated to a system of nerves extend- ing from a central organ of life — ^which, in this case, was the convent of Clermont — to the most distaht periphery of the organism, to communicate movement to all parts of the body, and to bring up to a general and common con- science, as it were, the impressions received, and the ob- — ^ See these questions in the historical notice of Masonic conventions. OKIGIN OF ALL THE BITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 223 servations made, by each part, wherever situated, outside of the great center. After the congress of Wilhelmsbad had changed the Templar system, they baptized their modification of it with the name of " Refined Scottish Rite," a name as improper, however, as that which it displaced. At first, this new rite was not adopted but by the lodges of the province of Burgundy, and it was not until after the lapse of some years that it extended elsewhere. Many of the German operative lodges, and even several grand lodges, aban- doned completely the system of high degrees, and returned, in great part, to the simple forms of English Masonry. The Provincial Grand Lodges of Frankfort and of Wet^ilar^ who created the Eclectic Rite, of three degrees, were the only Grand Lodges which radically adopted the reform, all the other Grand Lodges having retained some frag- ments of the high degrees. In this manner, the system of "Strict of Observance" or " Templar System," transformed to the " Refined Scottish Rite," existed for a long time in Germany and France, under the name of Scottish Ma- sonry, with a more or less number of degrees constituting the rite, and there may be found at the present day some lodges, in Belgium still practicing it. In France, neither the National Grand Lodge nor the Grand Orient were successful in striving with the high degrees, which they had both anathematized, seeing that neither of these grand bodies practiced but the three sym- bolic degrees. The Grand Lodge always remained faith- ful to its principles; but the Grajid Orient, on the con- trary, sought connection with the lodges professing the high degrees, and finally, in 1786, arranged a rite of seven degrees, which it called the French Rite, and by means of which it hoped, but in vain, to suppress the other high degree systems. Thus, as wo have shown, it resulted that, apart from the two Templar systems created by the Jesuits for their 224 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBBMASONET. own purposes, an infinite number of rites were produoed, for quite as unworthy purposes, the names of many of which will be found at the close of this chapter. These rites, it is true, hiad but a short existence. Most of them were changed after the congress of Welhelmsbad, or disappeared during the revolution ; but they, neverthe- ess, largely contributed to the disrepute into which Free- masonry had fallen in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and the results of which condition remain to be contended with to the present day. It is, however, but just to mention here one exception among the crowd of extravagant and anti-masonic rites, that of the " Philal^tes," created in 1773, in the lodge of " United Friends," at Paris, by the brethren Savalette of Langes, Court of Gibelin, and the archeologist Lenoir, who, to approach nearer to the English Rite, had abolished all distinctions of degrees,^ and proposed as their object the perfection of man, and his nearest approach to the Great Being from whom he emanated. It was by these " Phila- IStes " that there were convoked at Paris the two conven- tions of 1785 and 1787, and at which the founders just named exhibited so remarkably the true philosophy of Masonry. Wherever Masonry was introduced prior to 1750, whether in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Prussia, Poland, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, or America, there was not produced the slightest collision, nor could there be so long as the three degrees of the English Rite alone were practiced, and a unity of purpose in the Ma- sonic system by such practice preserved. But as soon as this unity was destroyed in France, in the manner we have 'In that celebrated lodge the Nine Sisters, founded in 1776, and in which had been initiated Voltaire, Helvetius, Lalande, Court of Gibe- lin, Benjamin Franklin, etc., no desire has ever been expressed for the attainment of any degree above that of Master Mason. (iSea Masonie Oxthodoxy, by Sagon, p. 111.) ^Z /yi-f/fl-wr-. ORIGIN OP ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 225 shown, by the introduction of- high degrees, and political objects as well as mercenary tendencies began to charac- terize our beautiful institution, the suspicions of the gov- ernments were aroused, and inquiry provoked prohibitions the most severe, even under pain of death, against assem- blies of Freemasons.^ Since the beginning of the present century, the princi- pal rites created have been the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the Rite of Misraim, and the Rite of Mem- phis. The origin and history of these rites having been given in previous chapters of this work devoted thereto, it is unnecessary to say any thing further about them in this one. Regarding some two or three others, however, as worthy of notice, we will mention them : 1. The Order of Modern Templars, constituted the 4th of If ovember, 1804, by virtue of an old constitution ^ found in the possession of a brother, and according to which the founders afterward pretended to be the legitimate succes- sors of the Knights of the Temple. This association at- *lt is in great part, if not entirely, to the introduction of the high de- grees, whose history so far we have just recoided, that the numerous literary attacks, from which Freemasonry has so greatly suffered during the latter half of the last century, are due. The works of Luchet, of Robison, the Abb! Barruel, Payard, Cadet-Gassecourt the Abb6 Lefranc, and many others, would probably have never seen the light, had not Masonry become adulterated with objects as improper as they were un- suited to mix with its principles, while preserved in the fervor and faith of their primitive simplicity. The writers named, not being able to dis- tinguish the true from the false, endeavored to invoHe all in a common ruin, and for a time they were successful. •' Resurgamj' however, is written upon every page of truth immortal; and no more fitting front for the emblazonment of this glorious motto has ever been afforded than that presented to-day by English Freemasonry. ' This constitution was written in Latin, and its object is thus expressed : " To reestablish the Order of the true successors of the Knights of the Temple, in its primitive purity, as it had been instituted by Hugh de Payen, in 1118, and in accordance with the laws of 1605, under the Grand Mastership of Montmorency, etc." 15 226 GENERAL HISTORY OF FKBBMASONKY. tained in France some degree of stability. The brother Fabre-Palaprat, a distinguished physician, became, under the assumed name of " Bernard Raymond," the first G-rand Master. After his death, which occurred on the 18th of February 1838, the " Order of the Temple " met, at a con- vent, in general assembly, and voted itself a new constitu- tion and laws; and, on the 13th of January, 1841, the members united in the election of Sir Sidney Smith to the office of Grand Master. He subsequently took the title of Regent of the Order; and this, so far as we are aware, was the last manifestation of this last parody on the Order of Knights of the Temple, as in 1843 no trace of it could be found in France.' 2. The « Rite of Rigid Observers," created in 1819, by seven officers of the Grand Orient of France,^ with the ob- ject of bringing Freemasonry back to its primitive purity and simplicity, by re-establishing the modern English ' It was by members of this " association " that Knight Templarism, as known in America — comprising the three degrees, viz : Knight of the Red Cross, Knight Templar, and Knight of Malta — was introduced into the United States in 1808, and which degrees now compose the highest grades of the American Masonic system. Delegates from seven Encamp- ments of Knights Templar, and one Council of Red Cross — none of which were located south or west of New York — organized in New York city, on the 20th of June, 1816, a General Grand Encampment for the United States. At this assembly, Hon. De Witt Clinton, of New York, was elected General Grand Master, and Thomas Smith Webb, Esq., of Boston, his Deputy. On account of the conservative stand then taken by the few brethren representing this Order at that time in America, it has, during the half a century now drawing to its close, kept suitable pace with the other divisions of the American Masonic system, and at- tained to a degree of popularity it would not, probably, if left to stand alone, or to stumble against those other divisions. This, and the addi- tional reason that the American mind is notably Christian and spiritual in its tendencies and aspirations, will continue to accord to the Order of Knights Templar, as a Christian attachment to the Masonic Institution, the full meed of value to which it may be entitled. — Teanslator. "Eenon, Borie, Caille, Delaroohe, Geneux, Pages, and VassaL OKIGIN OF ALL THE EITBS FOB, HIGH DEGREES. 227 Rite. IvTotwithstanding. their position and their talents, these brethren failed in their project, for no other reason, we believe, than that they had neither decorations nor pompous titles to ofter to their adepts. 3. The "Eite of Unitarian Masonry," adopted by the i^ational Grand Lodge of France, after its organization, in 1848. This lodge, not to wound the susceptibility of its membership, by this title denominated the symbolic rite of three degrees. ISTotwithstanding its tenderness in this respect, however, it had no better fortune than the preced- ing rite, as the National Grand Lodge of France expired in 1851. After this succinct exposition of the history of the prin- cipal systems for high degrees, we hope that the good sense of the brethren, who are yet partisans of these high degrees, will induce them to regai-d them as useless and embarrassing baggage, borne along in opposition to the spirit of true Freemasonry, and only calculated to excite discord and impede the march of our humanitarian insti- tution. We hope that they will abandon these works of a foolish and ambitious imagination, and degrading and mercenary spirit of speculation, and return or confine themselves to the practice of the true Masonic rite, that of three symbolic degrees, the only primitive rite of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England. We shall add, in closing this chapter, that Brother Eagon has published, in his "Manual of Initiations" — we presume to exhibit the tendency to aberration of the human mind — the names of seventy-five diflerent styles of Ma- sonry, fifty-two_ rites and thif-rty-four orders called Masonic, twenty-six androgynous orders, six Masonic colleges, and more than fourteen hundred degrees, while, in reality, there has never existed. any other rite entitled to the name of Freemasonry than th-i modern English rite of three symbolic degrees. Upon this rite, as the stock of Free- masonry, the Jesuits and partisans of the Stuarts grafted 228 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. their clerical and secular orders of chivalry, which we have described; and it is this stock upon which has been grafted every other species of jugglery assuming to be Masonry which has had place within the last century. Names or Masonic Rites Extant, and Where Peaotioed. Rite of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, practiced by nine-tenths of all the lodges of the globe, the same being the Modern English Rite of three symbolic degrees, as arranged by the Grand Lodge of London in 1717 Rite of Zinendorf, practiced by the National Grand Lodge cf Germany, at Berlin, comprising seven degrees, arranged in 1767 Rite practiced by the Grand Lodge of Stockholm, com- monly called the Swedish Rite, or System of Swedenborg, comprising eight degrees, and arranged in 1773 Rite practiced by some lodges in Belgium, called the Scotch Philosophic Bite of eighteen degrees, arranged in 1776 Rite known as the Royal Arch or York Rite of seven de- grees, practiced in the United States of America, and the higher degrees of which are believed to have been arranged, by Lawrence Dermott, in 1777 Rite practiced by some lodges in Belgium, known as the Refined Scottish or Reformed Ancien,t Rite, arranged as the successor of the Rite of Perfection, after the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, in 1782 Rite practiced by the Grand Lodge of Frankfort and Ham- burg, known as the Eclectic Rite, comprising three degrees, arranged, in conformity with the opinion expressed by the Congress at Wilhelmsbad, in 1782, by Baron Knigge, in 1783 Rite practiced by the Grand Orient of France, commonly called the Modern French Rite, comprising seven degrees, and which was arranged by a commission of that body as a basis of compromise between it and the " General Grand Chapter of the Rite of Perfection," organized, in 1783, as the successors of the " Grand Council of Emperors of the East and West, Sovereign Prince Masons," and adopted in 1786 ORIGIN OF ALL THE BITES POR HIGH DEGREES, 229 Eite practiced by the Grand Royal York Lodge of Berlin, known as Fessler's Eite, comprising three degrees and a chapter, arranged in 1796 Eite of the Grand Lodge at the Three Globes, in Berlin, comprising twenty-five degrees, as arranged to admit, in 1760, the high degrees then prevalent, but which was reduced to ten degrees in 1798 Rite known as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish, practiced in various countries and by all Supreme Councils, com- prising thirty-three degrees. It is believed to have been extended from the Rite of Perfection of twenty-five de- grees to its present number, in Charleston, S. C, in 1802, and mainly arranged, as it now exists in France and else- where, in 1804 Rite known as the Order of. Modern Templars, or Knights Templar, comprising three degrees, practiced in the United States of America and Great Britain. As the successor of the secular Templars of the Jesuit system of Strict Observance, this rite was arranged in Prance in 1804 Rite of Misraim, practiced in Paris, comprising ninety de- grees, invented by Leehangeur, of Milan, in 1806, and introduced into France by Mark and Michael Bedar- ride, in 1815 Rite of Memphis, now practiced only in the United States of , America, comprising ninety-five degrees, the same being an extension and improvement of the last-named rite, made by Marconis de Negre, in .■ 1838 ElTES, CALLED MaSONIC, WHICH HAVE BECOME ExTINCT, OB WHICH HAVE BECOME ABSORBED INTO SOME EXISTING ElTE. Rite of Noah, arranged as the Order of the Noahchites in 1735 Scottish or Jacobin Rite of Ramsay, first known in 1736 Rite of Herodom of Kilwinning, first practiced in 1740 Rite or Order of Fidelity, by Chambonet 1742 Rite or Order of the Anchor ' 1744 Rite of the Areopagists 1746 Scottish Jacobin Rite, created by the Pretender, in 1747 Rita of the Elect of Truth, at Rennes, in 1748 230 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. Kite of the Old Daughter-in-law, by Lockhart, an emissary of the Jesuits, in 1749 or 1750 Rite of the Illuminati of Stockholm, founded in 1621, and resuscitated in France, undet Masonic forms, in 1750 Rite or Order of Prussian Knights 1756 Rite of the Clerks of Strict Observance, or clerical Templar system, founded by the Jesuits, and united, in 1776, with the Secular Templars, also a creation of the Jesuits 1756 Rite of Knights of the East, by Pirlet 1757 Rite of the Emperors of the East and West, Sovereign Prince Masons. This was the Rite of Herodom extended to the Rite of Perfection of twenty-five degrees, by the Jesuits, and propagated by Pirlet about 1758 Rite of Strict Observance, or modified Templar system of seven degrees, known as the Secular Templars . .■ 1760 Rite of the African Architects 1762 Between 1762 and 1766 there were introduced five rites, named respectively the Asiatics, the Patients, the Seekers, the Princes of Death, and the Reformed of Dresden. Rite of the Flaming Star, founded by Baron Schudy, an emissary of the Jesuits, in 1766 Rite of the Rose Cross, founded by Valentine Andrea in 1616, and resuscitated, under Masonic forms, in 1767 Rite of the Knights of the Holy City, by an emissary of the Jesuits, in 1768 Rite of the Elected Cowans, by Martinez Paschalis 1768 Rite of the Black Brethren 1770 Scandinavian Rite, and the Hermitic Rite, in 1772 Rite of the Philalethes, founded in Paris by Lavalette de Langes, Court de Gebelin, the Prince of Hesse, etc 1773 Rite of the Illuminati of Bavaria, by Professor Weisshaupt. 1776 Rite of the Independents, and Rite of the Perffect Initiates of Egypt 1776 Rite of the Illuminati of Avignon, being the system of Swe- denborg, in ." 1779 Rite of the Philadelphians of Narbonne, a rite of ten degrees, founded by some pretended superior officers, major and minor, of "the Order of Free and Accepted Masons" .... 1780 Rite of the Martinists, founded by St. Martin 1780 ORIGIN OF ALL THE RITES FOR HIGH DEGREES. 231 Rite of tie Sublime Masters of the Circle of Light 1780 Bite of Knights and Nymphs of the Rose (one degree) .... 1781 Rite of the Masons of the Desert 1781 Egyptian Rite, by Cagliostro 1781 Rite of Universal Harmony, by Dr. Mesmer 1782 Rite of the Illuminati of the Zodiac 1783 Rite of Zoroaster 1783 Rite of High Egyptian Masonry (adoptive), by Cagliostro. . 1784 Rite of Adonhiramite Masonry 1787 Rite of the Holy Order of the Sophists, by Cuvelier of Troves 1801 Rite or Order of Modern Templars, founded by Drs. Ledru and Fabre-Palaprat' 1804 Rite or Order of Mercy 1807 Rite or Order of Knights of Christ, founded by E. de Nunez. 1809 Rite or Order of French Noachides, or Napoleonic Masonry. 1816 Rite of Rigid Observers, founded by some officers of the Grand Orient in 1819 Persian Philosophic Rite, created in Erzrum in 1818, and introduced in France in 1819 1 This rite is not extinct in Great Britain and United States of America, it being, in those countries, fitted on to the Tork Rite, aa high degrees. DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE BEAKINO DIBUCTLT UPOH THIS ORIGIN AND GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY, TOGETHER WITH INDICATIONS OF THE CAUSES FOE THE DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS WHICH EXIST AS TO SUCH ORIGIN. I. — ^Documentary Evidence. For all whicli relates to the foundation of tlie Eoman Colleges of Builders, {collegia fabrorum,) created by Numa Pompilius, in the year 715 B. C, their constitution and the modifications made in their privileges after the fall of the Roman Republic — ^particularly in the second century of the Christian era, under the emperors Trajan and Adrian — consult the following works, viz. : 1. — The Laws of the Twelve Tables, instituted in the year 451 B. C. The eighth of these tables refers particu- larly to those colleges. 2. — The Body of Roman Rights. 3. — First and second Epistles of Cicero to his brother Quintus. 4. — Architecture by Vitruvius. This work has been often translated.^ 'In the edition of Anderson's Constitution for 1725, Vitruvius is stated to be, in the year 29 B. C, the representative of Cesar Augustus in the corporations of Builders. (232) DOCUMENTARY AJSD HISTOKICAL EVIDENCE, 2S3 6. — History of Architecture. By Schoell. Vols. 1 aud 2. 6. — PoUion. By De Bugny. As containing the text of many historic documents, as also the history and doctrines of the Masonic institution, consult the following works, viz, : 7. — The Book of Constitutions. By Dr. James Ander- son. First published in 1723, and subsequently to the extent of five separate editions. 8.— The History of Freemasonry, Drawn from Authen- tic Sources of Information. By Alexander Laurie, Lon- don: 1804. 9. — ^Illustrations of Freemasonry. By William Preston. London : 1772 and 1812. 10. — The Three Oldest Documents of the Fraternity of Freemasons. By K. C. F. Krause. 11. — The Three Oldest Historical Documents of the Fraternity of Freemasons of Germany. By Professor Heldmann. 12. — History of Freemasonry. By Professor Bobrick. Zurich. 13. — The Actual Condition of Freemasonry Diesoovered. By De Hammer. 14. — Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, ByLenning. Leip- sic. 15. — Memoirs of the Architecture of the Middle Ages. By Widdekind. 16. — The German Colonies and Division of Lands in the "Western Roman Provinces. By Gaup. 1844. 17. — Handbook of the Different Masonic Symbols. By Dr. Schauberg. Zurich : 1861. 18. — History of Freemasonry. By Kloss. Frankfort: 1861. 19. — ^Freemasonry, its Origin, Development, etc. By Hanau. 1862. 20. — History of Freemasonry, from its Origin to the Present Day. Leipsic : 1862. 234 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. 21. — ^History of Freemasonry. By J. Q-. Findel. Leipsic : 1863.' In addition to the works named, we find some valuable teachings "in the following books, the productions of au- thors who, as they have themselves informed us, are not Freemasons, and w;ho8e opinions, on that account, should be of more weight, as they must be disinterested writers upon the subject of Freemasonry : 22. — The Monumental Art. By Baptissier. Paris. (See pp. 466, 469.) 23. — History of the Cathedral of Cologne. By J. Bois- eerre. Paris. 24. — General History of Architecture. By Daniel Ramee. Paris : 1843. (See vol. 2, p. 234.) These three authors, who are architects, unite in recog- nizing the fact that it is to the Freemasons of the middle ages we are indebted for all the monuments erected during that period. n. — ^Historical Evidence. — {Chronologically arranged.) A. D. 52. — The corporations of Constructors are estab- lished at this time in Great Britain. This fact is proven by the inscription upon a tubular stone found at Chichester in 1725, and whereon was chronicled the erection at that place of a temple to Neptune, and another to Minerva. (See the London Freemason's Magazine for 1862.) A. D. 290. — The constitution or ancient privileges ac- corded by !N"uma Pompilius to the colleges of Constructors, and which were considerably restricted and diminished since their primitive concession, were this year renewed, fully and without any restriction, by Carausius, commander of the Eoman fleet, who, after possessing himself of Great 'From No. 10 to No. 21, inclusive, the works named are in the Get- man language. DOCUMENTARY AND HISTOBIOAL EVIDENCE. 235 Britain, aud declaring his independence of Rome, in 287, had taken the title of emperor. By this favor, accorded to the Builders, he sought to assure himself of the assist- ance of that association, then the most powerful in the country. The architect Albanus, originally a pagan, but converted to Christianity, was named by Carausius, Inspector of the Masonic Corporations of Great Britain. Two years after- ward he was beheaded by his protector for having preached the doctrine of Christ. He was the first martyr in Britain, and he is, according to authentic documents, ranked first on the historical list of the inspectors of Freemasonry in Britain. It was to these inspectors that subsequently was given the name of Grand Masters. A. D. 296. — ^After the death of Carausius, which took place in 295, Constantius Chlorus, who succeeded him, chose for the place of his residence the city of York, (Eboracum,) where he found the most important lodges or colleges of Builders in Britain. From A. D. 350 to 430. — During this period the first corporations of Artists and Operatives were instituted, with particular rules and regulations, out of the remains of the general association, dissolved after the retreat of the Romans in 426. These statutes, of which many libra- ries in France possess manuscript copies, evince, with more or less distinctness, the marks of the old association, as well in the connection of their humanitarian principles as in their secrets of art. A. D. 557. — In this year Austin, an architect and Bene- dictine priest, was nominated to the dignity of Grand Inspector of the Masonic Fraternities. It was by thia pries't that the Anglo-Saxon kings were converted to Christianity. He died in 610, and was canonized under the name of St. Augustine. A. D. 614. — Pope Boniface IV conferred, by diploma, upon the Masonic corporations the exclusive privilege of 236 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. erecting all religious buildings and monuments, and, by tbe same document, made them free from all local, royal, or municipal statutes, taxes, etc. A. D. 620. — Daring the international and civil wars, whicb had paralyzed their development, the Masonic cor- porations sought refuge in the monasteries, which thus became the schools of architecture, and from which sub- sequently went out the most celebrated architects, among whom may be named St. Aloysius, bishop of Noyen (659), St. Ferol, of Limoges, Dalmac, bishop of Rhodes, Agricola of Chalons (680 and 700). A. D. 680. — In this year the King of Mersey nominated Bennet, Abbot of Wirral, to the dignity of Inspector Gen- eral and Superintendent of Freemasonry. From A. D. 700 to 900. — The Anglo-Saxon documents, emanating directly from the Masonic Fraternity, during this period, owing to the continual wars and pillagings, in great part disappeared or were destroyed. A large portion of what were saved became, possibly, the property of the lodges in London, and, in 1720, were nearly all burned by brethren of these lodges, in the belief that it was improper to have the information they contained dissemi- nated by publication in the work of Dr. Anderson. In some of the Anglo-Saxon documents which exist in the libraries of England, the Masonic fi-aternities are some- times designated- as " Freemasons." A. D. 850. — The Saxon king, Ethelwolf, promotes the priest-architect, St. Swithin, to the directorship of the Freemasons, the assemblies of whom were much inter- rupted during this century. A. D. 900. — The successor of Alfred Edward, King of Mersey, named, as grand inspectors of the Fraternity, his son Ethelward and his brother-in-law Ethred, both having become, through attendance in the schools of the Free- masons, practical architects. A. D. 925. — All the Masonic lodges of Great Britain DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE. 237 were this year convoked in a congress by the king, Ath- elstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, who had been prompted thereto by some priest-architects. The object of this assembly was to reconstitute the Fraternity, accord- ing to the laws and written documents saved in the con- vents from destruction during the wars, and afterward disseminated through the country, divided, as it had been during five hundred years, into seven kingdoms. This assembly discussed and accepted the constitution sub- mitted to it by Edwin, son of King Athelstan, and the city of York was chosen for the future seat of the Grand Mastership. A. D. 926.— In this year the charter of York, adopted at the assembly of 925, was promulgated, and this charter from this time became the basis of all Masonic constitu- tions. Prince Edwin is nominated to the dignity of Grand Master. (See the text of this charter, suppdo.) A. D. 960.— The Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Dun- stan, is named Grand Master of the Fraternity. A. D. 1040.— Edward the Confessor, King of England, declares himself the protector of Freemasons, and names Leoffick, Count of Coventry, as his substitute, and, by his intervention, reestablishes the Abbey of Westminster. A. D. 1066. — l!Tomination of the Count of Arundel, Roger of Montgomery, to the Grand Mastership. A. D. 1100. — King Henry IV, of England, accepts the Grand Mastership of the Fraternity. A. D. 1145. — The Archbishop of Rouen publicly blesses the Freemasons assembled at Rouen, who came from upper Normandy at the call of those who were engaged in the construction of the cathedral of Chartres, and who desired their help to more speedily complete that work. These brethren made a triumphal entry into the city, accompanied by the brethren of neighboring corporations, particularly those of Caen and Bayeux. (See History of France. By Henry Martin. Vol. 2.) 238 6ENEKAL HISTOKY OF FKEEMASONRT. A. D. 1155. — Richard Coeur de Leon, Grand Master of the Knights of the Temple, is nominated to the Grand Mastership of the Masonic Fraternity of Great Britain. A. D. 1185. — Gilbert of Clare, Marquis of Pembroke, is nominated Grand Master. A. T>. 1199. — It was under the Grand Mastership and direction of Colechurch, Chaplain to King John, that the work on the first London bridge was begun, and finished under the direction of his successor, "William Allemain, in 1212. A. D. 1250. — The Grand Lodge of Cologne is instituted. The master of this lodge, and director of the work on the cathedral of this city, is regarded and obeyed as the mas- ter of all the Freemasons of Germany. A. D. 1275. — A Masonic congress is convoked by Erwin of Steinbach, with the object of concerting measures to continue the work, which for a long time was interrupted, on the cathedral of Strasburg. This assembly organized itself into a Grand Lodge, (Saupt-hiitte,) and nominated Erwin architect-in-chief of the work, and chair-master, {Mtister vom Stuhl.) A. D. 1277. — Pope Nicholas III confirms, by diplomas in favor of the Masonic corporations, the monopoly ac- corded to them by Pope Boniface IV, in the year 614. A. D. 1.314. — Documents, the genuineness of which has not been established, assert that in this year Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, founded the Order of Harodom of Kil- winning, and also elevated to the rank of a Grand Lodge of Harodom of Kilwinning the lodge founded in 1150, at the time of the erection of the Abbey of Kilwinning. A. D. 1334. — Pope Benedict II confirms, by diploma, to the corporations their exclusive privileges for the con- struction of religious edifices. A. D. 1358.— [Jnder Edward III the charter of York of 926 is submitted to revision. In an appendix to this charter, which contains only some new regulations re- DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE. 239 lating to the rights and emoluments accruing to Grand Masters, there is prescribed that, in future, at the recep- tion of a brother, the constitution and old instructions shall be read to him by the master of the lodge. A char- ter in verse, written upon parchment, and bearing the title, "Hio indpiunt constitutiones artis geometrice secundum Euclidem" — (Here begin the constitutions of the art of Geometry, according to Euclid) — has been found in the British Museum by an antiquary named J. 0. Halliwell, and published by him in 1810, under the title of ."The Early History of Freemasonry in England," and trans- lated into German by Brother Afher, of Hamburg, in 1842. This document, submitted to the examination of experts, has been recognized, from its favorable comparison with the statutes of the parliament of 1425, as having been produced in the latter part of the fourteenth century, and, consequently, may be considered as based upon the charter of Edward III. A. D. 1360. — At this time Germany had five grand lodges : Cologne, Strasburg, Berne, Vienna, and Madge- burg, upon which were dependent the local lodges of France, Belgium, Hesse, Swabia, Thuringia, Switzerland, Franconia, Bavaria, Austria, Hungary, and Styria. A. D. 1425. — The English Parliament passed a bill this year suppressing the assemblies of Freemasons. The Gen- eral Assembly which, notwithstanding, took place at York in 1427, protested against this bill, and annulled its effect. The manuscript register in the Latin language, containing all the names of the Master Masons who signed this pro- test, is to be found in the library of Oxford, and is dated with the year 1429. A. D. 1438. — James 11, King of Scotland, accords juris- diction to the Grand Masters of the lodges of his kingdom, and authorizes them to establish special tribunals in the principal cities, by which are to be recognized the privi- leges of Freemasons. For this privilege the Grand Mas- 240 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. ter IS charged with the payment into the state treasury of a tax of four pounds, to be collected from each Mason passing to the degree of Master ; and such Grand Master is further authorized to impose upon each new member a right of reception (fee). These two documents are to be found in the Law Library in Edinburgh. A. D. 1439. — James TI, King of Scotland, nominated William Sinclair (St. Clair) to the dignity of Grand Mas- ter adjunct for the lodges of Scotland, A. D. 1442.— Initiation of Henry VI, King of England, into the Masonic Eraternity — an example followed by nearly all the gentlemen of his court, admitted as "Ac- cepted Masons." The number of these latter-named had already increased so as to exceed the " Freemasons." A. D. 1459. — A Masonic congress is held at Ratisbonne (the seat of the German Diet), devoted principally to the discussion of the new constitution compiled at Strasburg in 1452, which was based upon the laws of the English and Italian corporations, and which constitution was styled "Statutes and Regulations of the Eraternity of Stonecutters of Strasburg." The text of this constitution is to be found in many German works. A. J). 1464. — Second congress of Ereemasons assembles at Ratisbonne. ' A. D. 1469. — A congress of Ereemasons assembles at Spire. (The object of this congress will be found in our Historical Summary of Masonic Conventions, suppeto.) A. D. 1498. — The Emperor Maximilian sanctions the Masonic constitution of Strasburg, and renews the ancient privileges accorded to the Ereemasons. A. D. 1502. — A Grand Lodge of Master Masons is held at London on the 24th June of this year. It is presided over by Henry VII of England, who lays the corner-stone of "Westminster Chapel, or chapel of Henry VII. A. D. 1522. — ^By a decree of the Helvetian Diet, the Grand Lodge of Zurich is dissolved. This Grand Lodge ly/i/fi/'/r't

. 1650. — This was the year of mourning for all true Freemasons, it being signalized by the political ten- dencies into which many of the lodges were precipitated by the decapitation of Charles I. The Masons of Eng- land, and particularly those of Scotland, partisans of the Stuarts, labored in secret to reestablish the throne over- turned by Cromwell. JS'ot being able to induce all the Masons to become adherents of their propositions, they invented two superior degrees, viz. : Templar and Scottish Master, into the secrets of which they initiated those who were favorable to their secret plans. A. D. 1663. — A general assembly of the Masons of Eng- land takes place at York, and which is presided over by King Charles II. At this assembly the king confirmed the Grand Master, Henry Germain, Count of St. Albans, in the dignity of his office, and decorated him with the ribbon of the Order of the Bath. This assembly passed a .DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL BVIDBNCB. 243 series of regulations, conceived entirely with reference to passing and past political events, and confirmed the con- tinuance of the two superior degrees of Scottish Master and Templar. A. D. 1666. — The great fire of London destroys forty thousand dwellings and eighty-six churches. As there did not exist at this time but seven lodges in London, nine-tenths of the members of which were "Accepted Masons," it became necessary to invite the Freemasons of Europe generally to England to reconstruct the city. All the Freemasons, as also the Masons and architects whicl^ did not belong to the Masonic association, put themselves under the direction of a central lodge, governed by Chris- topher "Wren, the Grand Master, and architect of St. Paul's Cathedral, and in accordance with whose plans the city was rebuilt. A. D. 1685. — James HI reestablished the Order of Knights of St. Andrew, which, established by Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, in 1314, in favor of the Freema- sons who fought for him, had been suppressed, and the property of the Order confiscated, during the Reformation. This order, according to the intention of the king, should be conferred as a sign of distinction and recompense awarded to the Freemasons who had stood by his house ; and it is probable, had fortune favored James in, he would have reinstated this Order in its possessions. A. D. 1703. — At this time there existed but four lodges of Freemasons in London ; and, notwithstanding the zeal exhibited by the aged Grand Master, Christopher Wren, the members of these lodges gradually decreased. The annual feasts, were completely neglected and the lodges deserted. Under these circumstances, the Lodge of St. Paul, (known at the present time as the Lodge of An- tiquity,) with the object of retarding the continually decreasing number of its membership, as also to give some importance to its existence, passed a resolution that en- 244 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. tirelj changed the face of the society. (This resolution will be found on page 56, ante.) A. T). 1717. — This memorable year, from which it is necessary to date the era of modern Freemasonry, was marked by the death of Christopher "Wren. (The Masonic events of this year will be found first given at pages 51 and 57, ante, and subsequently often referred to in this work.) m. — Indications of the ' Causes for the Diversity oe Opinions which exist as to the Origin of Freemasonry. The opinion that has generally prevailed, as well in Europe as in America, that Freemasonry is indebted for its origin to the religious mysteries of the Jews, or to the initiations of India, Persia, or Egypt, is owing, to a great extent, to the numerous writings of an eccentric char- acter which have been published, principally in France, by designing persons, for political purposes, during the last century. This opinion, however, has never had supporters among such English Masonic writers as have produced histories of Freemasonry, of whom the number, however, has been few. These writers remain faithful to their ancient tra- ditions and documents in their possession, and, according to which, Freemasonry existed under this name since the occupation of Q-reat Britain by the Roman legions; and, therefore, they very logically determine that the institu- tion was brought to that country by the Romans. Within the present century, two works have appeared which have helped to strengthen French Masons in the errors into which they have fallen upon the subject of the origin of Freemasonry. The first is the work of Brother Lenoir, a distinguished antiquary, published at Paris in 1814, and bearing the title, "Freemasonry Restored to its True Origin, or the Antiquity of Freemasonry proven by DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL BVIDENCB. . 245 the Explanation of its Ancient and Modern Mysteries ;" ' and the second is the work of Brother Eeghelini de Ohio, entitled "Freemasonry in its Connection with the Eelig- ions of the Egyptians." The first of these works has dis- played a rare quality of research for proofs to support the opinions of its author, while the second exhibits less care in establishing, by the aid of science and history, the con- nections which its author believes he has discovered be- tween the religions of the Egyptians and Ereemasonry. It is but doing justice to both authors, however, to believe that they earnestly desired to seek the truth. But while, in the forms, symbols, doctrines, and principles of Free- masonry they have discovered the true secrets of the philo- sophic schools of Greece, Egypt, and India, introduced, during many centuries which have preceded our era, into the Roman colleges of constructors, and which latter were, from their foundation, the theater of all initiations, and open to all mysterious doctrines, it may not be concluded that Freemasonry sprang by direct issue from these schools of antiquity. K these doctrines have been religiously pre- served by the corporations, as we have stated, and by them as religiously transmitted, with little alteration, to those which succeeded them in Gaul and Britain, these corpora- tions alone should not monopolize the merit of such trans- mission; for the Greeks and Jews, and particularly the primitive Christians, have equally propagated these doc- trines, lifow, notwithstanding the connection that Free- masonry presents, in its forms of initiation, with the 'In the work of Brother J. G. Findel of Leipsic, entitled "History of Freemasonry from its Origin to the Present Day'' — one of the best Ger man works of its kind — in speaking of the diversity of opinion prevalent particularly in France, upon the origin of Freemasonry, the author re- marks that all the French Masonic writers have accepted and followed the opinion of Alex. Lenoir, with the exception of Brother Heboid and Brother Moreau. These brethren, he continues, coincide in the opinion of all our (German) earnest and thorough historians, such as Krause, Boberich, Heldmann, and others. 246 . GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. , ancient mysteries — a connection that lias induced error among, most writers — ^it can not be considered more than a feeble imitation, instead of a continuation, of these mysteries; because, from .the beginning, initiation into the mysteries of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Hindoos was the teachings of the worship, philosophy, philan- thropy, and morality, as well as art, science, and legisla- tion of these peoples, while Freemasonry should be con- sidered as a purely philosophic school of perfection, having for its leading object universal fraternity. We will refrain from qu6ting much that has been pub- lished upon this subject by writers more or less convinced, and which has contributed greatly to mislead the minds of brethren, even the most enlightened. ' Can it be wondered that among Masons, such as Brother Garon, who would bid historians look into their own hearts for authentic materials with which to construct a history of any human institution, there will be found to- day — notwithstanding the consistent, straightforward, and authentic productions on this subject which have been given to the brethren during the past ten years — orators of lodges in France, and probably elsewhere, misleading the minds of young Masons and disgusting those of the old with their Masonic romances and absurd histories, as gathered from their favorite Masonic authors? To discover the cradle of the institution, it should suf- fice to seek it in the history of England, and at the time ^ In the report that Brother Garon, president of the Chamber of Cor respondence, made to the Grand Orient of France, upon the General History of Freemasonry — the earlier production of the author of the present work — he says, in closing : "All Masons who may read the learned work of this historian will find therein much valuable informa- tion and historical instruction.; but they will also be convinced, as I am, tnat if Brother Eebold had sought the History of Freemasonry in his heart, in place of taking it from books, he would not have landed this almost divine institution from among an association of workmen con- Btruotors." DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE. ' 247 when are first mentioned the corporations known by the name of Free Masons. Then, after having consulted all the documents of this period, go back still further, by the aid of such marks as can be found, to the place or first appearance of the persons among whom the society ap- pears; then follow it down through the wars and inva sions to which that country has been subject. If, aftei this process of investigation, and notwithstanding the changes of its primitive name, the identity of the affilia- tion is established, or successively developed, it is not necessary then to have recourse to hypothesis to indicate with certainty its origin. It is by proceeding thus that we have found that Freemasonry is the issue of an ancient and celebrated corporation of artists and mechanics, united for the prosecution of civil, religious, naval, and military architecture, founded at Rome in the year 715 B. C, by the celebrated legislator, Numa Pompilius ; and which, during the eleven hundred years which elapsed subsequent to its foundation, had been known, in all the countries subject to Eoman rule, under the designation of Corpora- tions or Fraternities of Roman Builders; but, after the re- treat of the Roman legions of the Gauls, and being .no longer sustained by the Roman powers, these associations were forced to dissolve and divide themselves into separate corporations, (between A. D. 486 and 500,) from which sprang the artists and mechanics of the middle ages, as the new corporations of mason builders, and preserving only their ancient laws and the artistic and philosophic secrets of their art. The members of these corporations, remaining in Brit- ain after their transformation, were called Free Masons, to distinguish them from the masons and stone-cutters who were not in the enjoyment of the privileges extended to them by written constitutions and diplomas. These Free- masons have had, since that time, an immense political and scientific influence; they communicated their secrets 248 GENBKAl. HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. but to those whom, according to traditional forms, they initiated into their mysteries; they had a liberal organi- zation, and a philosophic code of laws which had governed them from ancient times. This association, dissolved in the sixteenth century in consequence of the peculiar cir- cumstances of the Protestant Reformation in the countries where it then principally subsisted, is subsequently main- tained without interruption in England, under its tradi- tional forms, even after having abandoned its material object. Numerous fractions of it, called lodges, continue to exist until the beginning of the eighteenth century, disseminated throughout the country, and meeting only once a year, at the feast of St. John, to distribute aid among the brethren, and elect their officers; while, be- yond the control of any state laws, they conserved the privilege unabated of uniting in public processions and laying the corner-stones of all public buildings and monu- ments. This corporation of Freemasons, finally trans- formed at London in 1717, declares its wish to continue and to propagate the philosophical principles which, from all time, have been the basis of the society ; and, renoun- cing forever material architecture, to thenceforth employ itself wholly with moral architecture and philosophy. Such IS the origin of Modern or Philosophical Freemasonry. And why should not such an origin be acceptable to all Freemasons ? Because, simply, it is repugnant to their self-love to acknowledge the descent of their society from an association of practical masons, or, in the language of Brother Garon, from " an association of workmen-con- structors;" and this, too, notwithstanding the very name Freemason indicates no other source or origin. Examine more closely this association of which they are ashamed. By its antiquity alone — an antiquity which they at all times desire, most heartily to endorse and extend beyond all reasonable limit — is it not respectable ? DOCUMBHTARY AND HISTORICAL EVIDENCE. 249 By its having beeu based upon the laws of the Diony- sian priest-architects, admitted by Solon in his legislation, and subsequently inscribed by him upon the Roman ta- bles — ^is it not respectable ? By its having been composed, from the beginning, of the most eminent men of the most eminent nations — of Greeks, of Egyptians, of Phenicians — initiates into the mysteries of their respective countries, and experts in all branches of human knowledge — is it not respectable ? Did not these corporations collect and adopt all the philosophic and humanitarian truths taught and implied in the doctrines of the greatest thinkers of antiquity ; and, by having, long before the birth of Christ, practiced those principles pointing to the emancipation and elevation of woman, as the fountain of our existence, and to the abol- ishment of human slavery — are they not respectable ? Can we point to any other association which for twenty- five centuries has preserved in their primitive simplicity and purity, and written, as it were, with a pen of steel in the rock forever, those humanitarian principles of love to God and to our neighbor ? Was it an association of no importance which erected those thousands of majestic temples, those superb monu- ments whose very ruins to-day involuntarily excite our admiration ? Were they simple associations of workmen-constructors who, possessing all the art, science, and knowledge of any value acquired at that time, exercised so great an influence upon Roman civilization, that it may be considered in- debted to them for all of art and civil law disseminated wherever the legions fixed themselves, and who thus be- came the forerunners of Christian teaching and civiliza- tion? Was it a simple association of practical masons who, during the middle ages,' constructed those numerous and sublime religious edifices, which shall be forever the ad- 260 GENERAL HISTORY DF FREEMASONRY. miration of posterity — ^those master-pieces of Christian genius, those grand, gigantic conceptions of religious faith and zeal — ^the cathedrals of Strasburg, Cologne, Kouen, Paris, etc.? Could such monuments be the work of ordi- nary masons and stone-cutters? If so, where shall we find their like to-day ? These sanctuaries of the Great Architect of the Universe, as they are avowed to be by the most distinguished archi- tects — strangers to the Masonic institution — are due to the Freemasonry of the iaiddle ages: to "these philosophic, learned, modest, pious, and truly Christian Freemasons," as they are called by the author of one of the best and most recent works upon architecture. * Was it a simple association of workmen-constructors who by their protest annulled an act of the Parliament of England of 1425? Is that an association of no importance which, since the sixth century, cau count as its presidents, thirteen bishops and archbishops, twelve dukes of the kingdom, and four- teen princes and kings ? And should we, as Freemasons, blush to descend from those corporations of mason philosophers, because they wrought, in their time, as workmen-constructors ? No associations of any period of the world's history have produced works so remarkable as those which are due to these corporations ; and no society that ever had place on the world's surface can be compared to them either as to length of years or value of principles. Far from contemning so respectable an origin, we should seek glory in acknowledging it, at all times and in all places ; and endeavor to render ourselves worthy of it by continuing, in our own persons, that sublime work of which the Roman constructors, in the spiritual darkness of twenty-five hundred years ago, laid the foundation stone. ' See " General History of Architecture," by Daniel Bamee, p. 234. ■^ ^v <■ V X ^ mSTOEICAIi BinJMBEATIOlSr PRINCIPAL MASONIC CONGRESSES AND CONVENTIONS WHICH HAVE HAD PLACE IN EUROPE SINCE THAT OF YORK, A. D. 926, TO THAT OF PARIS, A. D. 1856. York, in 926. Convoked by Edwin, son of King Athelstan, for the reconstitution of the Masonic corporations. A new con- stitution, based upon the ancient laws, is at this time pro- mulgated. Strasburg, in 1275. Convoked by Erwin of Steinbach for the continuation of the work on the cathedral of Strasburg. A great num- ber of architects and workmen from Germany, England, and Lombardy are assembled at this congress. At the instance of the lodges of England, they constituted them- selves under the rule of the Freemasons, and each took the oath to faithfully observe the ancient laws and regulations of the Fraternity of Freemasons. Eatisbonnb, IN 1459. Convoked by Job Dotzinger, working master of the cathedral of Strasburg, to discuss the affairs of the Fra- ternity generally, and sanction the new laws and regula- (251) 252 aBNBRAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY tions prepared at a meeting that took place at Strasburg in 1452. Ratisbonne, in 1464. Convoked by the Grand Lodge of Strasburg with the following objects: 1. General afEairs, and to receive re- ports concerning the edifices then in course of construc- tion, with the intention of overcoming or removing the difficulties which prevented their completion. ' 2. To de- fine more precisely the rights and attributes of the foxu; Grand Lodges, viz. : those of Cologne, Strasburg, Berne, and Vienna. 3. The nomination of Conrad Kuyn, work- ing master, to the Grand Mastership of the Grand Lodge of Cologne, etc. Spike, m 1469. Convoked by the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, with the following objects, viz. : 1. To receive and act upon com- munications concerning all the religious edifices finished, as well as in course of construction, and also as to those the work upon which has been arrested. 2. To hear re- ports upon the situation and condition of the Fraternity in England, Gaul, Lombardy, and Germany. Cologne, in 1535. Convoked by Hermann, bishop of Cologne, to take measures to meet the accusations and dangers which men- aced the Freemasons. The " charter of Cologne " is stated to be the oft'spring of. this congress ; but the authenticity of this statement is not believed by those who have criti- cally examined that document. Basle, in 1568. Convoked by the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, with the following objects, viz. : 1. To receive and act upon a general report of the condition of architecture and that of MASONIC CONOBESSES AND CONVENTIONS. 253 the Fraternity. 2. To discuss and amicably terminate the differences which had arisen concerning the rights of some of the twenty-two lodges subordinate to the Grand Lodge of Strasburg. 3. To sanction the revised statutes pre- pared by a commission of the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, to date from the feast of St. Michael, 1563. Strasburg, in 1564. Convoked as an extraordinary convention by the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, with the objects, viz. : 1. To explain definitely all the subjects in dispute among the lodges, and to decide that the difficulties which should hereafter arise among them should be submitted directly to the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, and adjudged (decided) by that body without appeal. 2. To continue the customary reports, etc. London, in 1717. Convoked by the four lodges which at this time ex- isted in London, at the head of which was the old lodge of St. Paul. Approving and ratifying a resolution adopted by this lodge in 1708, viz. : " That the privileges of Ma- sonry shall no longer be confined to operative Masons, but be free to men of all professions, provided that they are regularly approved and initiated into the Fraternity," they constituted themselves, in accordance with this de- cision, a Grand Lodge of England of Free and Accepted Masons, with a rite consisting of three primitive degrees, called symbolic. DxjBLm, IN 1729. Convoked by the lodges of Dublin, with the object of organizing Freemasonry upon the basis adopted in Eng- land in 1717, and to institute a Grand Lodge for Ireland. At this convention the viscount Lord Kingston was elected Grand Master. 254 GENERAL HISTORY OE FKBBMASONRT. Edinbtjkgh, m 1736. Convoked by the baron Sinclair of Roslyn, Grand Mas- ter of the Masons of Scotland by appointment of King James 11 in 1439, with the object of abdicating his dig- nity of hereditary Grand Master, and organize Masonry upon the new basis recognized and sanctioned by the Grand Lodge of England and Ireland, There were pres- ent at this convention the members of thirty-two lodges, who instituted the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and elected Baron Sinclair Grand Master for the year 1737. The Hague, in 1756. Convoked by the mother lodge "Royal Union," of the Hague, with the object of instituting a national Grand Lodge for the United Provinces, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of England. The object of this convention was consummated by the thirteen lodges assembled, and the baron of Aersen-Beyeren was elected Grand Master. Jena and Altenburq, in 1763, 1764, and 1765. In the first of these conventions, Johnson, the self-styled plenipotentiary of the "Unknown Superiors" resident in Scotland, assembled at Jena, on the 25th October, the lodges established under the system of Strict Observance, for the purpose of recognizing him in his office of Supe- rior. A second convention was convoked by him at Jena to establish his system. To this was invited Baron Hund, and the lodges of the same rite founded by him; but Hund, who had at first believed in the mission of John- son, discovered and declared him to be an impostor. At the third convention, held at Altenburg, near Jena, the following year. Baron Hund was proclaimed Grand Mas- ter of all the lodges of this system. MASONIC COKQRESSES AND CONVENTIONS. 255 KoHLO, IN 1772. Convoked by some lodges of the system of Strict Gbserv- ance, with the object of opposing a new rite established by Zinnendorf. At this convention the duke Ferdinand of Brunswick was elected Grand Master of Strict Observ- ance lodges. Brunswick, in 1775. Convoked by Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, with the object of ascertaining which, if any, of the rites pretend- ing to the possession of the true Masonic science, reaUy possessed it. Baron Hund, and twenty-three lodges of the system he had instituted in the convention of Altenburg, assisted at this convention, in which the discussions took place daily, from the 22d May to the 6th July, without any decision having resulted. Lbipsic, in 1777. Convoked by the lodges of the system of Strict Observ- ance located in Berlin, with the object of putting into operation the resolutions passed at a meeting, or succes- sion of meetings, which took place at Hamburg, from the 4th to the 16th June, relative to the establishment of a compact of union among all the lodges of the system, both in Sweden and Germany, and to nominate a new Grand Master, for which oflB.ce they proposed the Duke of Suder- manie. This convention lasted from the 16th to the 22d of October, and then dissolved without having decided on any thing. Lyons, in 1778. Convoked by the lodge of the "Benevolent Knights" at Lyons, under the pretext of reforming Freemasonry, throwing light upon all obscurity, and correcting the 256 GBNBKAL HISTOET OP FREEMASONKT. rituals; but tlie real object of whicli was to establish the Martinist rite over that of the Templars. Only one of their objects was accomplished : they changed the rituals. The convention remained in session from the 23d !Novem- ber to the 27th of December. WOLFBNBUTTEL, IN 1778. Convoked by Frederick, Duke of Brunswick, with the like object of the convention at Brunswick in 1775, It lasted from the 15th July to the 22d August; and the assembly not seeing any clearer on the last of those days than they did on the first through the chaos into which the mystical systems had plunged Freemasonry, decided that they should make a general appeal to all the Masonic bodies, and convoke at "Wilhelmsbad a convention of all the Masons of Europe. Wilhelmsbad, m 1782. (This convention was at first fi^ed for the 15th October, 1781, afterward for Easter week, 1782, and finally for the 16th July, 1782.) Convoked by Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, agreeably to the decision of the convention at Wolfenbuttel, in 1778, with the following objects, viz. : 1. The general reforma- tion of Freemasonry; 2. To discuss, with the object of obtaining light as to the origin of the diflerent systems and doctrines; and, above all, 3. To solve the following questions: Is Freemasonry a modern society? Is it, on the contrary, derived from an ancient society? If so, from what ancient society is it derived? Has Freema- sonry Superior Generals? Who are they? What are their attributes? Do these attributes enable them to command or to instruct? All these questions, submitted to the assembly during its thirty meetings, were unanswered. The congress suc- ceeded, however, in exposing a number of mystical sys- MASONIC CONGRESSES AND CONVENTIONS. 257 teine, and in remodeling the system of Strict Observance. Jt also caused the creation of the Eclectic Rite. Pabib, in 1785. Convoked by the Philal^tes of the Lodge of United Friends of Paris, for the purpose of assembling all the learned Masons in France to clear up the fog produced by the numerous systems introduced into Freemasonry; to discuss and arrange the essential points of Masonic doc- trine, origin, and historical affiliation, and determine the actual condition of Masonic science. This congress con- tinued in session from the 15th February to the 26th May, without determining any thing. , Paris, in 1787. Also convoked by the Philal^tes, to continue the discus- sions opened at the previous congress upon many dogmatic and historic points already settled by the congress of "Wil- nelmsbad ; but none of the questions which induced the assembly of this congress were at this time determined, and the origin, nature, and object of perpetuating Masonry continued to remain an insoluble problem to the greatest number of the Masons of the continent. t Switzerland, in 1836 to 1842. The first of these conventions was held at Zurich m 1836, the second at Berne in 1838, the third at Basle in 1840, and the fourth at Locle in 1842. Their object was the fusion of the Masonic powers of Switzerland, the abolishing of high degrees, and the organization of one Masonic authority, to be called the Alpine Grand Lodge. The constitution of union was signed at Locle in 1842, ratified in 1843, and became the law of the Fraternity in 1844. 17 258 general history op fkbemasonrt. Paris in 1848. Convoked, after the revolution in February 1848, hy a few members of the "Supreme Council for France" calling all the lodges of France to constitute a new power, to elab- orate a constitution based upon the broadest democratic principles, and to adopt exclusively the modern English rite. The result of this congress was the organization of The National Grand Lodge of France. Paris, in 1855. Convoked by Prince Lucien Murat, G-rand Master of the Grand Orient of France, who had extended an invitation to all the Grand Orients and Grand Lodges of the world to unite in a Universal Masonic Congress, the object of which would be to cement more closely the bonds of union among all the Masonic powers wherever dispersed. A very small number of those powers responded to this call; and the propositions discussed and adopted were of so feeble a na- ture that they are not worth mentioning. The result ot this congress has been nothing. ^ \^ ■ I I flBSI CHBONOLOaiOAL EPOCH. 269 CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT HISTOHY OF FREEMASONRY, BASED UPON THE ANCIENT DOCUMENTS, AND UPON THE PRIN- CIPAL MONUMENTS ERECTED BY FREEMASONS: DIVIDED INTO THREE EPOCHS. From the year 716 B. C. to the year 1000 A. D. 715 B. C. Foundation of the colleges of Roman Constructors (col- legia fahroruni), composed of all the arts and trades necessary for the execution of religious and civil, naval and hydraulic architecture, with their own laws and lawgivers — ^laws at this time based upon those of the priest architects of Greece, whose mysteries, under the name of Dyonisian, had spread among the principal peoples of the East. Numa Pompil- ius, in organizing these colleges, constituted them at the , time as a civil and religious society, with the exclusive privilege of erecting the public temples and monuments in Rome. Their connection with the State and the priesthood was determined by the laws with precision;' they had ' Consult on the subject of these associations the Body of Roman Rights ; Cicero's Second Rustle to hit Brother Qjiintui ; The Pollion of De Bugny ; Schoell's Siilory of Archiiectwe, vol. 1 ; De Hammer's Discovery of the Actual State of Free- masonry ; Leaning's' Encyclopedia of Freemmonry; C. Krauser's Three Oldest Landmarks of Freemasonry; De Widdekind's Menioirupon the State of Architecturt in the Middle Ages ; and Heldmann's Eitiory (if Freemasonry 260 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. their own jurisdiction, their own worship : at their head were to be found presiding officers called magistri (masters), wardens, censors, treasurers, keepers of the seals, archivists secretaries, etc.; they had special physicians, serving broth- ers, and they paid into their treasury monthly collections. The number of members of each college was fixed, and de- .termined by law. Composed principally of G-reek artists, they, surrounding the secrets of their art and of their doc- trines with the mysteries of the worship of their country, enveloped them in the symbols borrowed from these same mysteries, and of which one of the characteristic traits was the employment, in a symbolical sense, of the tools of their profession.' 710 B. C. ■ Numa, the wise lawgiver, who founded the colleges, im- mediately assigned to them their work: at first the en- largement of the Capitol ; next the completion of the tem- ples dedicated to the Sun, to the Moon, to Saturn, Rhea, and Vesta, to Mars, and the other pagan divinities, which were begun under Romulus and the king of the Sabines. These monuments finished, Numa ordered them to erect temples to Faith, to Fidelity, to Romulus, and to Janus the god of Peace, whom Numa particularly adored. He ordered them to fortify the city and surround it with walls ; and this work accomplished, he directed them to continue the construction of that famous temple that Romulus erected to Jupiter Stator, upon the spot where his army, when nearly vanquished, recovered their strength an"d courage, after Romulus had addressed a prayer to Jupiter.' 1 By virtue of these privileges, all the public monuments which were con. structed from the organization of these colleges until the reign of Gonstan- tine the Great, (380 years after Christ,) in Rome and the provinces, were ex- clusively erected by them, or und^ their direction; but of which nothing exists to-day but ruins of more or less importance. 2 The great number of temples which were subsequently erected in Rome are due to the practice which waa thus originated by Romulus — that the commander in chief should erect a temple to the god whom he invoked dur- FIEST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 261 650 B. C. The population increases much, under Ancus Martius, who fortifies the city anew and surrounds it with new walls; and a considerable aqueduct, that takes his name, is con- structed by his orders. He orders the colleges of con- structors to erect at Ostia a port of entry, or harbor, to en- courage maritime commerce; and they there constructed some ships. 610 B. C. Under the reign of Tarquin the Elder, some temples were erected; upon the Capitoline Hill one to Jupiter, one to Juno, and one to Minerva. He had constructed within the city a wall of cut stone, a subterranean canal (the cloaca maxima) for the drainage of the city, and a great many other public monuments. Under his orders.the first circus was constructed. 580 B. C. Home is further aggrandized under the^ reign of Servius TuUius, and increased in size by taking within its limits the Virinal, Quirinal, and Esquiline Hills, which, by his or- ders, are surrounded with walls. He erected a temple to the idea Manly Fortune, and another to the goddess Diana. 530 B. C. The monuments and temples begun under Tarquin the Elder are completed under Tarquin the Superb, who also continues the famous cloaca maxima, in which a person might row a boat. He finishes the temple of Jupiter Cap- itoline, and the circus begun by his predecessor ; while an- other circus, dedicated to the exercises of the Roman youth, 18 constructed by his orders. ing the progress of a battle iron. This custom explains the great numbei of monuments erected to the same diyinity. 262 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. 500 B. C. The temples of Vesta and Hercules are eretj'.ed upon the Aventine Hill, and the temples of Pallas and Minerva Medica are erected under Junius Drusus. 490 B. C. The Consuls Sempronius and M. Minucius order the erection, by the colleges of constructors, of two temples ; ^e one dedicated to Saturn, the other to Mercury. They also establish the Saturnalian feasts. 480 B. C. The temples of Castor and Pollux are erected under the dictator Posthumius, who, after his victory over the Latins, also ordered the erection of two other temples — the one in honor of Ceres, the other of Bacchus. The most remarkable of all that he had erected, however, was the temple to the idea Better Fortune. 451 B. C. Creation of the laws of the Twelve Tables, the eighth of which is confined to provisions concerning the colleges of builders. 396 B. C. Furius Camillus, during his consulate, orders the erec- tion of temples; one to Queen Juno, after a victory; also, one to Jupiter, and one to Concord. 390 B. C. Destruction of a part of the public monuments at the sacking of Rome by the Gauls. 385 B. C. Re-erection of the destroyed monuments under Flaviua Quintus, who also orders the erection of new temples, FIRST CHBONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 263 whieli lie dedicates; one to Mars, anotiier to Juno Moneta; while two others are consecrated to Salus (health) and Concord. 312 B. C. The first stone road is constructed by the colleges, under the orders of Appius Claudius, who directed that it be continued to Capua. The first great aqueduct was con- structed at this time. 290 B. C. The temple of Romulus, who was, by order of the Senate of Pompilius, deified, under the title of Quirinus, is erected, and in it is placed the first solar dial. The consul, Spur. Carvilius, also ordered the erection of a temple to Fortis Fortuna, to contain the spoils taken from the Etruscans. He also ordered the construction of a temple in honor of -^sculapius, to be situate upon the island of the Tiber. 285 B. 0. The Fraternities of Constructors, as they are called at this time, attached to the Roman legions, locate them- selves in that portion of Cisalpine Gaul known to-day as Venice and Lombardy, whither they had followed the conquest of the Roman arms. To these fraternities — of whom a brigade was attached to each legion, and which they accompanied every-where — ^was entrusted the design- ing of the plans of all the military constructions, such as intrenched camps, strategic routes, bridges, aqueducts, and dwellings. They directed the labors of spldiers and the more ignorant workmen in the mechanical execution of these works ; and it was them who also manufactured the implements of war. They were submissive to the gen- erals or chiefs of the legions in such matters, as related" directly to the movements of the army, but in all else they remained in the enjoyment of their privileges. Composed of artists and learned men, these fraternities spread the 264 GKNERAL HISTORY OF FBEBMASONBY. ideas of Eoman tast6, and the knowledge of Roman man- ners, literature and art, wherever the Roman nation carried its victorious arms ; while, at the same time, they insured the vanquished in the possession of the pacific element of Roman favor, her arts and civil laws. 280 B. C. Under the consulate of Caius Duilius new temples are erected, one of which, after having vanquished the Cartha- ginians at sea, he dedicated to Janus. Another temple, erected by order of Actilius, he dedicated to Hope. 275 B. C. The conquest of nearly all of Cisalpine Gaul- now known as the Sardinian States— was followed by this country being at once taken possession of by the frater- nities of constructors, who, never remaining inactive, re- erected every-where and always in better manner, those monuments which the legions had destroyed. 250 B. G. While Cisalpine Gaul was covered over with military colonies, surrounded with fortifications executed by the fraternities of constructors, who likewise erected in their midst habitations and palaces for the principal commanders, other legions carried their conquering arms beyond the Alps into Transalpine Gaul and Spain. The first great highway is constructed about this time across Gaul, and leading from Rome to the valley of Ostia. 225 B. 0. The fraternities of constructors, who followed the le- gions into. Gaul and Spain, completed their mission. In Spain they founded Cordova; in Gaul, Empodorum. Those of Rome there constructed the famous Plaminian Circus, to which the Consul, C. Flaminius, attached his name. FERST CHKONOIiOQICAL EPOCH. 265 220 B. C. The Eomans, attacked by Hannibal, erected after his retreat, in commemoration of that event, a temple to the god (idea) Ridicule. Under the direction of the colleges, and by order of the censor Flaminius, the Roman soldiers construct a great strategic route. Flaminius also orders the erection of a circus in Rome. 210 B. C. During the second Punic War the colleges had no em- ployment at Rome, there being nothing for them to con- struct; they, therefore, went into the conquered provinces. Subsequently they returned, and under the orders of Mar- cellus, they constructed two temples, bearing the titles respectively, of Virtus and Juno HosjpjLta. 200 B. 0. The Roman people having decided, in the year 202, to erect a temple to the god Mars, and another to the founders of Rome, Romulus and his brother Remus, both of these temples are completed during this year. 148 B. C. The first temple in marble is ordered to be erected by the general Metellus, who, after his victory over the king of Macedonia, dedicated it to Jupiter Stator. Afterward he ordered the erection of another temple at his own ex- pense, which he dedicated to Juno; also, a remarkable sepulchcr, that bears his name. 125 B. C The legions, become masters of Helvetia, there fortified themselves, and gradually enriched the country with camps and the cities Augusta Basilia and Aventicum, t)iiQ latter of which became of some importance. 266 GENBKAL HISTOKY OF FRBBMASONBT. 121 B. C. A Roman colony, commanded by Marsius, founded Narho Marsius, {Narbonne,) which became the principal head-quarters of the Roman armies until the time of Augustus. The consul Opinius ordered the construction at Rome of the first' court of justice or city hall. He also ordered the erection of a temple, which he dedicated to Concord. 101 B. 0. After the victory over the Cimbrians and the Teutons, vanquished by Marius, he ordered the erection in Rome, under the special direction of the architect C. Musius, a temple in honor of the divinities Honor and Virtue.^ 79 B. C. The ancient city of Herculaneum, in which were erected by the fraternities of constructors numerous monuments of art, is overthrown and buried in the lava of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The magnificent monuments with which Pompeii, no less celebrated than Herculaneum, had been ornamented by the Roman constructors, crumbled and disappeared, in great part, in consequence of the earth- quake that accompanied the eruption which destroyed the latter city, and all that remains is covered with the ashes and lava thrown out by the eruption mentioned. 75 B. C. A great number of towns are erected in Gaul in the dis- trict of lifarbonne. Military colonies are every-where es- tablished to maintain the conquered country against the 1 Up to this time architecture partook of the Etruacan style, and the at- tempts made to embellish the public temples and edifices consisted but in the ornamentation of statues and other objects erected in conquered coun- tries, particularly in Greece; but from this time the predilection of thB fiomans for Greek art and architecture became dominant, and the Etruscan »tyle of architecture was abandoned, as being too seyerely simple. FIRST OHRONOLOaiCAL EPOCH. 267 neighboring peoples, and principally in the neighborhood of the ancient MassUia (Marseilles) founded by the Pho- necians in 549, and of Arelate (Aries), of which the origin goes back to 2000 years before Christ. Among those are Aqua Sextia (Aix) and Nemausus (Mmes), which be- came important cities. Arelate, before mentioned, subse- quently became the capital of the kingdom of Aries, and attained the rank of a powerful city, wherein the Masonic fraternities constructed some sumptuous monuments. The ruins of an amphitheater, an obelisk, a temple, an arch of triumph, and an aqueduct, reveal to us the ancient impor- tance of the residence of Constantine in this city. 60 B. C. After ten years of almost continual war, during which, according to Plutarch, 800 villages were devastated, Julius Csesar made himself master of all Transalpine Gaul. He at once -put the numerous fraternities of constructors at- tached to his legions at work, and ordered the attendance of many others scattered throughout the provinces, to re- erect, with the aid of his soldiers, the towns and cities destroyed, and to render more beautiful and ornamental the monuments of the people. By his orders and those of his successors, the following named cities became important, viz.: Treviri (Treves), Bemi (Rheims), Bothomagus (Rouen), Cesarodunum (Tours), Avaricum (Bourges), Senones (Sens), Burdigala (Bordeaux), Vesontio (Besancon), Lugdunum (Lyons), Vienna, Tolosa (Toulouse), and Lutetia or Parisie (Paris). A great many other cities are erected by the colleges, such as Gergobia, Xelodunum, Avaricum, etc., but none of them attained the importance of the above. Treves was subsequently chosen as the residence of the prefect or governor of the Gauls. 56 B. 0. Britain, conquered in part at this time, some reinforce- 268 GENDEAL HISTORY OF FBEEMASONKT. ments of constructors were sent there to establish more ex- tended fortifications. Under the command of Julius Caesar, one of his legions pushed further into the country, and, to hold its ground, there constructed an intrenched camp, with walls, inside of which the constructors immediately erected, as elsewhere, habitations, temples, aqueducts, etc., and in this manner gave birth to Eboraeum (York), a city cele- brated in the history of Freemasonry. 50 B. C. While Julius Csesar pushed his conquests, and destroyed druid altars and celtic monuments, Pompey erected in Rome numerous temples and the famous amphitheater, built of white marble, capable of containing thirty thou- sand persons. He also, under the direction of the fraterni- ties of architects, constructed the not less famous road which led from Rome through Italy across the Alps into Gaul. Julius Csesar, upon his return to Rome, also ordered the construction of many temples, of which he dedicated one each to Mars, Venus Genitrix, and Apollo. All the col- leges located in the cities of Cisalpine Gaul (actual Italy) are called together by him and sent to Carthage and Cor- inth to reerect those ruined cities. 45 B. C. The Roman senate,' after the civil war, ordered to be erected, by the colleges of constructors, many monuments of different kinds, in honor of Julius Caesar, among which were four temples, dedicated respectively to Liberty, Con- cord, Happiness, and Mercy. In the year 42 the triumvirs of Rome erected a temple to Isis and another to Serapis. 41 B, C. A military colony is established on the site of a Gallic village, at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone, and there is founded Jjugdunum (Lyons.) [It was burnt, i-e- FIRST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 269 erected by Nero, and beautifully embellished by Trajan'. Lugdunum became afterward the capital of Gaul, the seat of government, and the imperial residence during the voy- ages of the emperor Augustus and. the majority of his successors.] 37 B. 0. The Eoman legions, stationed along the Rhine to pro- tect Gaul against the continual aggressions of the German peoples, formed at many points intrenched camps, which became strong colonies. Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) had its origin in this' manner. It was enlarged at this time, and invested with the rights of a Roman city, under the emperor Claudius. 35 B. C. The Pantheon, at Rome, is finished under Marcus Agrippa, who also constructed some superb hot baths, which bore his own name. The great road from Rome, crossing Cisalpine Gaul and the valley of Ostia to Lyons, is continued by his orders, under the direction of the fraternities of constructors, in four main directions, viz.: First, to Aquitaine, by Auvergne; second, to the Rhine; third, to Laon, by Burgundy and Picardy; fourth, to Marseilles, by Farbonne. 32 B. C. The Roman legions who located themselves at Iditetia, (Paris,) under Julius Caesar, there, side by side with the Gallic altars erected to Teuton gods, erected temples to Isis and Mithra. 80 B. C. The reign of Augustus is fruitful in great constructions. The fraternities of architects are greatly increased, and a certain number form themselves into special colleges for 270 GENEBAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. the branches which occupy their attention more particu- larly, viz.: naval and hydraulic architecture. The ex- tensive knowledge of these men, initiated into the mys- teries of every art, the humanitarian principles which they profess, their tolerance and their mysterious oganization, surround them with such consideration, that aU the dis- tinguished men seek admittance into their association. The most considerable monuments at this time erected by them, at Rome, are the temple of Jupiter Tonans, the theater commenced under the consulate of Claudius Mar- cellus, the mausoleum that bore the name of Augustus, two arches of triumph, also named after him, and two Egyptian obelisks. In the Roman provinces we are un- able to mention others among the monuments erected by them at this time, beyond the temple of Clitum at Foli- gui, that of Jupiter at Pouzzoli, of Sibyl at Tivoli, and the arch of triumph at Suza. In Gaul a great number of somewhat less sumptuous constructions ornament the cities erected and founded by the Romans. A great many roads, and particularly that of Emporium, situate near the Pyrenees, to the crossing of the Rhone, are due to the orders of Augustus. The friends of this emperor rivaled him in the construction of magnificent monuments. Sta- titius Taurus constructed an amphitheater J Marcus Phil- lippus a temple to Hercules Musag^tes ; Munatius Plancus one to Saturn; Lucius Carnifucius one to Diana; and Lucius Cornelius Balbus finished his great theater in stone. A. D. 1. Augustus erected at Nlmes, in the first year of the Christian era, a temple in honor of his friends Caius and Lucius.^ 1 The remains of this temple are now known under the name of the Square House. FIRST CHKONOLOGIOAL EPOCH. 271 A. D. 5. The Jewish architects are protected at Eome, where they have been authorized, under Julius Csesar, to estab- lish synagogues. Admitted into the colleges of con- structors, which, at this time, were the theater of all for- eign initiations, they instructed them in the knowledge of the Hebrew mysteries — a type of the Egyptian. D. 10. The celebrated architect Vitruvius PoUio establishes in his writings upon architecture — ^works translated into all languages — ^the flourishing condition in which this art existed at this time at Kome. He depicts the humanita- rian doctrines which go hand in hand with the material objects of the Fraternity, and which, enveloped in allego- ries and illustrated by symbols, formed the basis of the teachings of these colleges. A. D. 14. The palace of the Caesars is commenced during the reign of Tiberius. It was continued under that of Cali- gula, and finished under Domitian. Tiberius erected an arch of triumph in honor of his brother Claudius Drusus, and another in honor of Augustus. That consecrated to Castor is also due to his orders. The cities of Pergamus, Nicomedia, Mylassa, Cesarea, Pouzzolea, and Pola, brought architects and companions from Rome to erect in their midst temples in honor of Augustus. A. D. 25. The bridge of Rimini, commenced by Augustus, is finished under Tiberius, who also ordered the erection of temples in honor of Proserpine, Juno, and the goddess Concord. 272 GBNEEAL HISTORY OF FKEBMASONRY. A. D, 41. A superb aqueduct, which bears his name, is constructed under the reign of Claudius. A. D. 43. Some brigades of constructors are detached firom the fraternities which are stationed on the banks of the Ehine, and led by the emperor Claudius to Britain, where the legions experience difficulty in maintaining their ground against the incursions of the Scots. The better to enable them to hold their position, these brigades of con- structors erect a line of fortified camps and a certain number of strong castles, A. D. 50. Architecture at fiome has attained, at this time, its culminating point. The colleges of constructors, deprived of encouragement under the despotism of the Emperors, who by turns gradually took from them their privileges, seem to have lost their powers of architectural conception. The monuments of this time are greatly inferior in the elevation of their character to those which placed them at the summit of human intelligence. The same deceC- dence is observed in the monuments of Greece, of which the Eomans had borrowed their most beautiful models. "WTiat contributed to bring about this fall in the architec- ture of Rome was the absence from that city of all the principal men of talent that the colleges of constructors had produced, and who had become celebrated in some branch of the art. Those men had been sent by Julius Caesar and Augustus into the conquered provinces, there to erect temples; and, in fact, to give to those conquered peoples an elevated idea of the science and art of their conquerors, and to inspire them with admiration for the latter. The colleges of constructors, who concentrated within their membership a great amount of the knowl- FIRST CHRONOLOGHOAL EPOCH. 273 edge acquired at this period, thus contributed, by their science and the magnificence of their constructions, at much as did the arms of Rome to the consolidation and glory of the Roman power. Among the architects or magistri, as they are called — such as Cossutius, Caius, Marcus Stallius, Menallippus, Cyrus, Clautius, Ohrysippus, Corumbus — who belonged to those times, there were a certain number who especially occupied themselves with making known, by their writ- ings, the theory and rules of their art. In this manner was the time of Yitruvius PoUio, Tulfitius, Varron, Pub- lius, and Septimus occupied; and they were thus enabled to communicate with the brethren situated at a distance from the principal center of their schools of architecture. Of these writings those of Vitruvius Pollio alone have come down to us. A. D. 54. The temple of Bellona; that of Roman Charity; also, some baths and aqueducts are constructed at Rome by the orders of ISTero, and bear his name. This emperor, after having set fire to the capital, by which the most beautiful monuments were destroyed, ordered the construction of his famous palace, called the palace of gold, upon which the two masters, Severus and Celler, directed the work. Under the preceding reign — of the emperor Claudius — Rome was greatly increased; an arch of triumph was dedi- cated to the Tiber, and a beautiful aqueduct, which bore the name of Claudius, was begun. A. D. 70. At this time were constructed, under the reign of F. Vespasian, the famous temple of Peace, and the Colos- seum, or Flavian amphitheater, capable of containing one hundred and ten thousand persons, and upon which were forced to labor twelve thousand Jews, carried captive to Rome after the overthrow of Jerusalenai. 18 274 GENERAL HISTORY Q'E rREBMASONRT. This amphitheater was not finished until the year 80, when, under Titus, it was completed. A. D. 80. Under the emperor Titus public baths, which bear his name, are completed; he also constructed a palace. The houses and public edifices, destroyed by fire the preceding year, are not rebuilt until the reign of his brother Domitian. A. D. 85. The emperor Domitian greatly enlarged and embellished the palace of the Csesars ; a new theater and many temples are erected by his orders at Rome, and a number of tem- ples in Gaul. He finished the famous military road that crosses Savoy and Provence. A. D. 90. The fraternities of constructors in Britain, by order of the general Agricola, constructed fortifications which ex- tended from the Gulf of Solway to where he had pene- trated in repulsing the Scots, and there, with his legions, he fixed his residence to hold the country. A. D. 98. Of numerous celebrated temples, among others those of Eaunus and Diana, that of Quirinus, with its sixty-six columns, is, under the reign of Trajan, consti'ucted at Home, and many others in the Roman provinces. At Amonias is erected to his honor an arch of triumph, while he himself orders the erection of one in honor of Vespa- sian Augustus, and another to Pautanus. He also built hot baths, and the famous circus, capable of containing two hundred and sixty thousand persons, A. D. 120. New temples are erected at Rome, under the reign of FIRST CHKONOLOQIOAL EPOCH. 275 Adrian — ^that of Venus, among others. He orders tlie erection of the Trajan column, in honor of that emperor, and also constructs a mausoleum, known to-day as the castle of St. Angelo. The celebrated architect Apollo- dorus, to whom were due the plans of that building, is bi-nished for having spoken the truth. This emperor, with indefatigable ability, visited the most distant prov- inces of his vast empire. In Britain he ordered the con- struction, by the fraternities of architects, of an immense wall, which, extending from the Tyne to the G-ulf of Solway, thus crossed the country from east to west, to protect the military colonies from the continual invasion of the Scots. In Spain he finished temples begun by Augustus; and it is to his orders are due several temples erected in Africa, particularly those which to-day are to be seen in Algiers and Tunis. Asia is equally indebted to him for numerous public monuments; but it was Greece that was particularly favored by his constructive genius, and in which country he ordered the erection of the most celebrated of her temples, such as the Pantheon and the temples to Jupiter Panhellenes, and that to Jupiter Olympus, with its one hundred and twenty-two columns. ^ A. D. 130. After the fall of the Roman Eepublic, all the other corporations founded at the same time as the colleges of constructors by Numa Pompilius, have lost their ancient privileges, in consequence of the distrust entertained for them by the despotic emperors. The colleges of con- structors are also restrained by Trajan and Adrian, but their love of glory and luxury made it necessary that these colleges should be allowed to retain their privileges nearly intact; for, without the aid of the artist constructors, all hope of transmitting to posterity the grandeur of their names and actions would have been vain. 276 GENERAL HISTORY OJ FREEMASONRY. A. D. 140. Under Antoninus the temples of Mars, of Faustinas and Antoninus -Pius are erected at Rome, besides many others ah-eady begun are finished. He "orders the construction of another wall in Britain, where the legions are unceasingly menaced by the Scots. This immcDse wall, which ex- tended from the Forth to the Clyde, required the aid of the natives for its completion, many of whom became in- corporated in the fraternities of the Romans, and learned their art. But that which, above all, distinguished the reign of Antoninus are the magnificent edifices of colossal dimensions which he constructed at Balbec, (Heliopolis,) of which the two principal temples, dedicated to the sun, are inexplicable marvels of masonry. It was by the Masonic fraternities, remains of the ancient Roman col- leges, who, in the time of the Christian persecutions ordered by Nero, Domitian, and Trajan, sought refuge ia those provinces the most distant from Rome, and which were governed by men more humane than the emperors, that those masterpieces of architectural grandeur were ejected. A. D. 166. The famous road which, leading from Civita Vecchia, — at the Aurelian Forum — to Aries, is commenced'by the colleges of constructors, under the orders of Marcus Au- relius, and finished during his reign. Most of the mem- bers of the colleges of constructors embrace Christianity. At this time their number had greatly increased, as well in Rome as in the provinces. The emperor Marcus Au- relias, greatly irritated in view of the astonishing progress made by the new doctrine, and wishing to destroy it by force, followed the example of his predecessors, and this year ordaiiied new persecutions against the Christians. In consequence many took refuge in Gaul and Britain — ■ particularly within the latter country — where they found, FIRST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 277 among the Masonic corporations, that protection they sought for in vain elsewhere. Numbers of Christian Masons, finding themselves unable to leave Rome, sought in the catacombs a secret asylum, in which to sustain themselves against the bloody edicts launched at them, and to escape the punishment to which they are condemned. It is in the dark bosom of these subterranean caverns that they often met in fraternal em- brace with their fellow religionists, with whom they found refuge. During the ten years of continued persecution against the Christians, under Marcu? Aurelius, these cata- combs are transforrned by those Christian artists into churches,- ornamented with sarcophagi, paintings, and encaustic adornment — ^the faith that inspired them induc- ing them to there erect chapels over the graves of martyred fellow-Christians, and thus the tombs which covered their precious remains became altars for sacrifice and prayer. The number of the martyrs augmenting, these chapels were subsequently replaced by sarcophagi, which, in later times marked the places in which their remains reposed. A. D. 180. Some temples and hot baths are constructed by order of the emperor Titus. He also ordered the erection of pillars in honor of Antonius and Marcus Aurelius. The members of the corporations of constructors are atrociously perse- cuted anew for their doctrine, and of them those who escaped fled to the east. In this manner the constructors were driven from the city of their birth, and none re- mained but the few who had not been converted to Christianity. A, D. 193. A temple to Minerva, an arch of triumph to Rome, and another to Valabro, in honor of Septimus Severus, are the only important monuments erected at Rome under the reign of this emperor. In Britain, in the year 207, he 278 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREBMASONKT. ■5 commenced a third wall, further north, with the old object of protecting the legions; but the fraternities, find- ing themselves unequal in numbers to the task of under- taking a work so gigantic, accorded to the Britons, who had learned their art, to assure themselves of their assist- ance, the same advantages and the same privileges which they enjoyed themselves.^ A. D. 211. The construction of many temples, baths, and a circus, marked the reign of Cara§alla. A. T>. 222. Under the reign of Alexander Severus, who openly pro- tected architecture, and secretly Christianity, some new monuments are erected at Rome. He ordered the restora- tion of many ancient edifices, and the erection of a city hall and magnificent baths. He desired also to consecrate a temple to Christ, but was restrained in so doing by the representations made to him that, were he to do so, the other temples would go to ruin. A. D. 235. Numerous new temples are erected at Rome and in the provinces, under Maximin and Gordian. By the former, amphitheaters were erected in various cities in Italy, and, by the latter, baths at Rome, that bore his name. A. D. 250. No construction of any importance signalized the reigns of Decius or Valerian, except the baths which were con- etructed by order of the former. The new persecutions directed by them against the Christians greatly diminished ' The most important of the military colonies at this time in Britain was Eboracum — the city of York — which became celebrated in the history of Freemasonry. FIRST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 279 the colleges of constructors, and dispersed such of their members — a great number — as had embraced the tenets of that faith which inculcated the doctrine of fraternity. Flying from Eome, they sought refuge in that country wherein they would be least persecuted, viz., Britain, where the new doctrine had already numerous partisans. Those who could not leave the city took refuge in the cata- combs, the asylum of the Christians. A. D. 260. Reformation of the colleges or fraternities of constructors in Q-aul and Britain. The new doctrine, notwithstanding its affinity with that professed by the artists, produced, however, some schisms among them — a portion of those who belonged to different professions separating themselves from the general association, as it had existed until that time, to form separate associations, composed of one art or one trade.' A. D. 270. The Masonic fraternities in Gaul, as in Britain — whose members had generally adopted the Christian doctrine, devoting themselves, particularly in Gaul, to the construc- tion of religious edifices — undertook to build the new churches that the apostles, who came from Eome in the year 257, desired to erect at Amiens, Beauvais, Soissons, Rheims, and Paris, where these apostles have established themselves in the capacity of bishops. A. D. 275. This epoch is marked in the history of architecture by 1 II is these associations that we subsequently find organized under the name of corporations of arts and trades, the laws of which exhibit more or less traces of the ancient constitution of the Roman colleges, from which they have descended. The Masonic Fraternity preserved only its antique organ- ization, together with 'ts humanitarian and artistic secrets, and its privileges, all of which, howevei; were very much modified. 280 GENERAL HISTOKY OF EREEMASONKT. one of the moat sublime conceptions of the artistic gonius of the philosopher constructors, executed under the reign and by the orders of the emperor Aurelian. They are the two temples of the sun at Palmyra, which- surpass in beauty and grandeur those of Heliopolis. The principal one of these temples has four hundred and sixty-four col- amns, many of which are composed of a single block of marble. The whole number of columns which ornament the two temples and the galleries attached to them is four- teen hundred and fifty. Aurelian employed the last two years of his short reign to, among other peaceful measures, the revival of architecture at Rome, and in this project was ably assisted by the Byzantine architects, Cleodamus and Athenacus. A. D. 280. Architects who have acquired great celebrity in Britain are called by Diocletian to construct the monuments he has designed to erect in Gaul. A. D. 287-290. Carausius, commanding the B,oman navy, takes posses- sion of Britain and proclaims himself emperor. To con- ciliate the Masonic fraternities, then wielding an immense influence in the country, he confirmed to them at Verulam, (Saint Albans,) the place of his residence, in the year 290, all their ancient privileges, as they had been established by ITuma Pompilius, in the year 715 B. C. ; and it is from this time that the Freemasons began to be distinguished from those who were not free, or upon whom these privl. eges had not been bestowed. A. D. 293. Albanus, architect and first grand inspector of the Free- masons in Briton, who represented the Masonic societies in their negotiations with Carausius, originally a pagan, FIRST OHBONOLOeieAL EPOCH. 281 is converted to Christianity; and, at the risk of his life, he preaches the doctrines of the new faith to the emperor, and is consequently beheaded. In this manner a grand master of Freemasons became the first Christian martyr in Britain. A. D. 296. The city of York, in which are found the most impor- tant lodges of Freemasons in the country, is chosen as his residence by the under-emperor, Constantius Chlorus, who, upon the death of Carausius, came to Britain by order of Maximin, to assume the government of that country. A. D. 300. At this epoch Rome counted within its walls more than five hundred temples, thirty-seven gates and arches of triumph, six bridges, seventeen amphitheaters and theaters, fourteen aqueducts, five obelisks, and of monumental col- umns a great number, such as military, warlike, statuary, honorary, legal, (upon which were engraved the laws,) and lactary, (at the base of which were laid children found astray,) and, finally, palaces, mausoleums, baths, and sepulchers in proportionate number. All of these monu- ments, without exception, were erected by the fraternities or colleges of architects and builders. A. D. 303. The emperor Diocletian — ^under whose reign were erected, in many of the Roman provinces, temples, aqueducts, and baths — distinguished himself particularly by the most atrocious persecution of the Christians, and whom were executed with cruelty in the more distant provinces. Notwithstanding the humanity of the (at this time) gov- ernor of Britain, the Christians, of whom a great number were members of the Masonic fraternities, found it neces- sary to seek refuge in Scotland and the Orkney Islands, and there they carried Christianity and architecture. It 282 SENBRAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. was by them that those strong and admirably-constracted castles — ^built in a style so peculiarly appropriate to the char- acter of the country and the people — were erected for the clans of the Scots. The artist constructors attached to the colleges established at Rome also fled to the east, or buried themselves within the catacombs — their usual refuge in times of religious and social persecution — ^where many of them perished. The last monuments of any importance which were erected at Rome were due to Diocletian — the baths which he built surpassing, for grandeur and magnificence, even those of Alexander Severus; but the most remarkable monument of the times of this emperor was the palace he had erected for himself at Salona, in Dalmatia, and wherein he passed the remainder of his life after he had resigned his government of the empire. A. D. 313. This year closed the persecutions of the Christians, and by the edict of Milan, rendered by Constantine the Great, Christianity was declared the religion of the State. Sub- sequently, (A. D. 325,) by the Council of Nice, in Bythnia, the forms and doctrines of the Christian religion were arranged, and thereupon, with the advent of peace, the Masonic corporations awoke to new life. A. D. 825. The fraternities, no more persecuted in the persons oi their membership, multiplied in Rome with extraordinary activity, and displayed great ability and alacrity in the construction of the Christian churches ordered by Con- stantine. In the year 823 the first Christian church was built upon the Lateran Hill, and thereafter are erected", upon the ground occupied and in great part with the materials afforded by the pagan temples and halls, the cathedrals of Saint Lawrence of Sessomanca, of Saint Marcellus, of PIKST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 283 Saint Agnes, and of Saint Constance. Constantino ordered the erection of an obelisk to Saint John of Lateran, and also the erection, upon the Vatican, of a church, which was by hijn dedicated to Saint Paul. This church was built in the form of a cross, in commemoration of that cross' which had been seen by him in the heavens, and to which he attributed his victory over Maxentius. The people subsequently erected an arch of triumph, which they dedicated to Constantino the Great. A. D. 330. Constantino the Great changes the name of Byzantia to Constantinople, and raises it to the rank of capital city of the Eastern Eoman Empire. At this place the building brethren concentrate, to engage in the immense construc- tions which he projects there. The church of St. Sophia, begun in the year 326, was the first Christian church Byzantia saw erected within her walls. The foundations of many others are laid. A new style of architecture is 1 The Greek cross, which was copied by Christian architects as the model upon which to erect all edifices devoted to Christian worship, was chosen by them, not because Constantine had prescribed this form, but because this cross mysteriously attached itself to the worship of every people, and made part of the symbolism of their art, and a knowledge of which formed a por- tion of the secret teachings of the colleges. This cross exhibits, in its pro- portions what are known as the sacred numbers, and which numbers are the basis of geometry. It was also the form and base of the Holy of Holies, in the temple of Solomon; and, in a word, it represents the unity and the trinity. For the other dispositions, proportions, and details of the religious edifices, the temple at Jerusalem — of which the holy books of the Hebrews contained precise details — served always as a, model; that temple being recognized as the great masterpiece of architecture, as it was also the first temple erected and consecrated to an only God. It is this temple which even yet, and in our own day, is considered the most significant symbol of Free- masonry. The plans of Christian churches, from the fourth century to the present time, following those which have preceded them, are derived from a mixture of Jewish and pagan elements. The form of the cross was subse- quently adopted for the foundation of nearly all the religious edifices of, the Christian world. 284 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBEMASOKBT. formed — the Latin and Greek intermixing with the Arab, and giving birth to what was subsequently known as the Byzantine, which was not distinctly developed until the eighth century. The emperor Constantine, who had proclaimed that the sign of the cross should ornament the imperial standard, continued, nevertheless, to sacrifice to the gods of pagan- ism. He despoiled Rome, Athens, Rhodes, Chios, Cyprus, and Sicily of their riches and their monuments of past-time art ; and thus the cities of Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor furnished him with works of art wherewith to adorn the new capital of his empire. The Masonic fraternities, who, during the persecutions of the Christians, had taken refuge in Syria and in Pales- tine, are now, by the orders of Constantine, occupied in those provinces in the erection of churches. Heliopolis, Jerusalem, and the village of Bethlehem are the places wherein the first of these churches were constructed; and subsequently he ordered the erection of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, at Jerusalem. In Syria and Palestine the Masonic corporations greatly increased, and extended into the borders of Arabia and countries beyond the Roman empire. A. D. 340. The Masonic fraternities continued to increase in By- zantia. All those who had acquired celebrity iu religious architecture, such as constructors, sculptors, and painters, sought occupation within this great city, ani therein helped to complete the twenty-three churches which, in ten years, were erected inside its walls. A. D. 355-360. The emperor Julian, who at this time commanded in Gaul, ordered the construction at Paris, which had become the capital of the Parisians, a magnificent temple, with vast baths, the ruins of which may be seen in the Hue de la FIRST CHBONOLOaiCAL EPOCH. 285 Harpe at the present day. After his victory over the Franks, he arranged to reside at Paris, and therein ordered the construction of churches UDon the ruins of pagan temples. A. D. 380. During the incessant invasions of the Germans, Saxons, and Burgundians, followed by the Alans and Huns, who pillaged and devastated the country, the Masonic fraterni- ties were dispersed, while art of all kinds, and more par- ticularly architecture, took refuge within the monasteries, where the ecclesiastics, who had affiliated with the frater- nities of architects, studied and preserved the artistic and humanitarian doctrines of their art. A. D. 410. The Scots and the Picts, continuing to disturb the peace of the Romans in Britain, and to destroy their walls and fortifications, the latter are rebuilt by the great concourse of Masons from all parts of the island of Britain. Even the new constructions not proving adequate, however, to defend them from the constant inroads of these barbarous tribes, and the Romans being attacked upon all sides, and their legions being enfeebled by the withdrawal of num- bers of their forces from Britain to the continent, they judged it prudent to abandon the island of Britain entirely, a decision which they carried out, according to seme au- thorities, in the year 411, and according to others in the year 426. After their retreat, the fraternities, who found themselves composed of various elements — that of native Britons not being the least — ^took refuge where they might be protected by the Romans, upon the continent, in Gaul, and in Scotland. , Here, as in the time of the first Chris- tian persecutions, they propagated Chrstianity and archi- tecture, and, above all, religiously preserved the antique organization of their lodges. 286 GENEEAL HISTORY OF FKBEMASONBY A. D. 430. The Masonic fraternities, dispersed and dissolved since the beginning of barbarian invasions, which devastated Gaul, Italy, and even Rome, experience great difficulty, notwithstanding the encouragement offered them by the' clergy, led by the Popes, to reestablish themselves in the latter city. They commenced, however, to repair and re- construct some churches, and for this purpose freely helped themselves with the materials composing pagan temples. A, D. 455. Under Genseric new invasions of the barbarians every- where destroyed the public monuments, and for a Ipng time arrested, in Rome and Italy, all new constructions. A. D. 476. Rome is invaded for the sixth time within the fifth cen- tury. During these invasions — ^those of Alaric in 410, of Genseric in 455, and, at this time, of Odoacre — the cities were sacked and burnt, and their temples and monuments destroyed, the greater number of them never to be replaced, and the masterpieces of art buried beneath their ruins. The fraternities of builders, finding themselves, in these times of war, without occupation, and unprotected in the west by the Roman power, dispersed into Greece and Egypt, and many of them took up their residence perma- nently in Syria. All the masterpieces of art, which were at this time buried beneath the ruins of temples overthrown or destroyed, subsequently served to ornament Christian churches, and the palaces and museums of the affluent in various parts of the continent. A. D. 500. The remains of ancient fraternities, who had sought refuge in other countries, appear in Rome, and endeavor EIBST CHEONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 287 to revive the colleges of builders. Architecture revives, and some of the churches are repaired and reconstructed. A. D. 525. The example of Rome is imitated in Gaul; and every- where such beautiful temples as were erected to the gods of the Romans, and which hitherto have escaped the de- structive tendency of the international invasions, are de- stroyed to give place to and with the remains of which churches are built and consecrated to the saints. Under the reign of Childeric (460-481), of Clovis (481-511), of Clothaire (511-561), who have protected the Masonic cor- porations and encouraged their labors, there are erected many churches. The fraternities of Roman architects, as well as those of Gaul, who remained in the country after the retreat of the Romans (486), are recognized and con- firmed in their ancient privileges. A. D. 530. Some fragments of the Roman colleges, which had taken up their residence in Syria, are called, at different times, by the kings of Persia to erect monuments of a public character, bearing the characteristics of the Persian taste. Latin, Greek, and -Byzantine styles here enter into a new intermarriage, with the pomp and display of Persian magnificence. A. D. 550. By order of Justinian I, the great church of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, is constructed by a fraternity of Greek architects, over the remains of that erected by Constantino the Great, which had been destroyed by fire. This monument, converted by the Turks into an impe- rial mosque, is the most magnificent conception of our time, as it was of that most flourishing period when art 288 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. received its most powerful impulse.* The Masonic frater- nities of Byzantia and other provinces of the empire, spreading themselves at this time into Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, and a part of Africa, submitted once more to be swayfed by the scepter of their ancient masters. These countries, relieved of the rule of the Goths and Vandals, encouraged the erection of religious monuments, for which the great church, of St. Sophia served as the model. Subsequently (726) all these monuments were destroyed during the revolutions which prevailed under the icono- clastic emperors. A. D. 557. Austin, a Benedictine monk and architect, arrived in England for the purpose of converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. He placed himself at the head of the Masonic fraternities, and lifted them out of the many difficulties into which they had fallen during the last wars. A. D. 580. At this time the Freemasons became fully recognized in Britain, by the fact that their numbers were insufficient to execute the immense constructions projected by* the 'Justinian I, in reconstructing the great churCh of St. Sophia, con- fided the general direction to two Greek architects. These were assisted by one hundred master worknfien, who had each one hundred workmen to execute their orders, and each of whom had ten laborers under their direction. Five thousand men were, in this manner, employed on each side of the building; and in the sixteenth year from the commencement or its construction it was finished, and inaugurated by the slaughter of one thousand oxen, ten thousand sheep, six hundred stags, one thousand hogs, ten thousand hens and ten thousand pullets, which, with thirty thousand measures of grain, were distributed to the people. Justinian, having expended enormous sums for the erection of this construction, was forced to order taxes to be levied for its completion. It is said that before the walls had risen three feet above the ground, he had expended four hundred and flfty-two hundred weight of golden coin FIRST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 289 new apostles of Christianity. In their voyages to Rome, whither they went to collect statues and pictures where with to adorn the churches in Britain, these apostles always returned bringing with them workmen, sculptors, and painters; and the bishop of "Weymouth imported from Gaul into Britain men of like professions in great number. A. D. 600-602. During these years the cathedrals of Canterbury and Rochester were erected. A. D. 607. The cathedral of St. Paul, at London, begun in 604, is finished, and that of St. John, at Winchester, begun in 605. A. D. 610. Death of Austin, grand inspector of the Freemasons. He is subsequently canonized under the name of St. Augustine. A. D. 620. The Masonic corporations at this time, although gov- erned by the same laws and characterized by the same principles, partook not every-where of the same qualifi- cations, or rather they were known by different names in diiferent countries. For instance, in Italy they were known as the Colleges of Architects or Builders, and oftentimes simply as the Masonic Fraternities; while in Gaul they were called Brother Masons, Brother Bridgers, (bridge-builders,) or Free Corporations; and in Britain, by reason of their well-known privileges, they were called Freemasons. At this time they are all employed exclu- sively by the religious orders, directed by them, and even quartered in the monasteries. The abbot, or such other ecclesiastic as may be sufficiently acquainted with the rules and practice of architecture, upon this account, pre- 19 290 QENBKAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. sides over the meetings of the lodges — general asseniWy of all the artists and workmen — and, consequently, is ad- dressed in such assembly as Worshipful Master. [To the present time does this title attach to the presiding officer in a lodge of Freemasons.] A. D. 660. The arts and architecture take refuge within the mon- asteries, whenever their progress is arrested or paralyzed by international wars. There they are cultivated with success by the most distinguished ecclesiastics, who are admitted as members of the Masonic fraternities. It was also, in great part, according to the designs and plans drawn by these ecclesiastics that the corporations executed the religious monuments of this time. The monastic schools of architecture not only produced some ecclesiastics celebrated as architects, such as St. Eloi, bishop of N'oyon (669): St. Ferol, bishop of Limoges; Dalmac, bishop of Rhodes ; Agricola, bishop of Chalons (680-700) ; but they also gave to the profession of architecture laymen not less distinguished, and under whose direction numerous public monuments were erected in Gaul and Britain. A. D. 680. The Freemasons of Britain, having remained without a chief since the death of Austin, the king of Mersey, grand protector of the Fraternity, appointed Bennet, abbot of Wirral, inspector-general and superintendent of Ma- sonry. K'evertheless, the labors of the Fraternity were conducted with but little spirit during a century. A. D. 685. The Masonic, fraternities of Roman origin, who had been ordered into the East, and many of whom had re- mained in Constantinople, acquired great reputation, and were successively sought for by Persian, Arabian, and FIRST CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 291 Syrian potentates. Among others, the caliphs of Damas- cus and Medina intrusted to them the erection ■ of the mosques of those cities. A. D. 700. Architecture has attained at this time a high degree v,l perfection in England/ the style and expression of the edifices presenting exclusively the characteristics of what was then known as Scottish architecture, which, at this time, was considered among the Fraternity the most per- fect in outlines and details, and the masters of it the most learned of any of the brethren. Qn this account they were called Scottish Masters. A. D. 720. The progress that architecture had made in Gaul, in the course of the last century and the early part of the present, was arrested by the incursion of the Arabs, in the year 718, and remained .in a paralytic condition for many years. A. D. 740. Upon the demand of the Anglo-Saxon kings, Charles Martel, who had at this time governed Gaul as "Mayor of the Palace," sent to Britain many architects and Masons. A. D. 750. Under the reign of the caliph of Bagdad, architecture 1 When Honorius abandoned Britain, in 426, in consequence of his inability to hold the country against the invasions of the Plots and Soots, the Britons called to their aid, for that purpose, the Angles and the Saxons. After mak- ing themselTCS masters of the country, the latter founded within it four kingdoms, and the former founded three, which in 827 were united, under the general name of Angle-land, with the Saxon king Egbert as ruler. In 835 the Danes and Normans desolated the country, but between 871 and 900 Alfred the Great forced them to terms of peace. Shortly afterward, however they invaded the country anew, and nearly all the public monument* churches, and monasteries became a prey to fire and pillage. 292 SENEEAL HISTORY OP FKEBMAS^T'RY. and tlie arts generally attained to a high degree of per- fection. Arabia, at this time, exhibited a degree of civil- ization far in advance of that known in Asia or Africa. The fraternities of architects who, after the fall of the Roman Empire of the "West, remained in Syria and Arabia, contributed in a great degree, by their knowledge of art, to the splendor and reputation Bagdad at this time enjoyed. A. D. 775. Arabian architecture is introduced into Spain, under the rule of the caliphs of the East, and directed, as it was every-where, by the Masonic associations. These corpora- tions, called from Bagdad by the viceroys of the caliphs to Cordova— a city founded by the Eomans 252 years before the birth of Christ — ^there successively erected a series of marvelous monuments, inspired by Byzantine art. The organization of these corporations is unknown, and they were, no doubt, subjected-i-in contradistinction to those of the Roman colleges, from which they de- scended — to modifications according with the manners and character of the people among whom these associa- tions had place; but it is not probable that there was any essential difierence. The Mussulmans were, at this time, more advanced in the scale of art and civilization than the Christians, and consequently they exercised very con- siderable influence in the various provinces of the Penin- sula. Abderam I, viceroy of Cordova under the caliph of Damascus, having declared his independence of the Da- mascene, enriched his caliphate, the city of Cordova, with so great a degree of splendor that the character of the architecture therein exhibited created a school of archi- tecture, whose reputation was only equaled by the mag- nificence of its monuments. From this time that city became the center of Moorish art. HRST OHRONOLOaiOAL EPOCH. 293 A. D. 780. Under the reign of Charlemagne architecture flourished anew in France, that monarch halving invited from Lom- bardy numbers of architects and workmen, who were then generally called stone-cutters A. D. 850. Many religious edifices, burnt or destroyed by the Danes, are reconstructed by the corporations under the Saxon king Ethelwolf, and the immediate direction of the priest and architect St. Swithin. At this time were renewed the meetings of the brethren, which were much inter- rupted during the previous century. A. D. 875. Under the reign of that most illustrious of Saxon kings, Alfred the Great, the arts, and particularly architecture, flourished. The fraternities rebuilt the towns, castles, monasteries, and churches, which were destroyed during iJie Danish wars. A. D. 900. The successor of Alfred, Edward king of Mersey, ap- pointed, as grand inspectors of the fraternities, his brother Ethelward, and his brother-in-law, Ethred, who had be- come practica^ architects in the school of the Freemasons. A. D. 925. At this time all the more important towns in England had their lodge of Freemasons ; but, notwithstanding the general conformity of their laws and principles, but little connection existed between them. The cause of this is explained by the fact that, for the five centuries in which existed the heptarchy, or seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, there was little connection between those brethren scat- 294 QBNBRAL HISTORY OF FEBEMASONRT. tered throughout the kingdoms ; and, following the union of the government, the wars of the Danes kept the coun- try in a condition into which the arts of peace entered but in the smallest proportion. During these wars the monasteries being burnt, the fraternities suffered an irre- parable loss in the destruction of all their documents, written in various languages and at various times, brought into the country by the Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Lom- bards, and Gauls. Athelstan, the grandson of Alfred the Great, who at this time governed England, with his palace at York, having been elected as their chief by the priest architects — himself an architect before he ascended the throne — had also in ducted his younger son (Edwin) into the mysteries of art, and appointed him chief or grand master of the Fraternity. In this position the latter convoked all the lodges scattered throughout the country to a general assembly, to be held at York, and there to present all the documents and deeds which they had saved from the fire of the invaders, to the end that the Fraternity be regu- larly constituted anew, according to the forms of those written laws. It was at this assembly that a constitution, prepared and submitted by the king, was discussed and accepted by the representatives of the lodges, and thence- forth proclaimed as the law. Promulgated the following year, this constitution, styled the Charter of York, formed the basis of all subsequent Masonic constitutions. Thence- forth York became the seat of the grand mastership of English Masonry. A. D. 930. Henry I (the Fowler) invites from England to Germany the corporations of Freemasons, for the purpose of con- structing edifices projected by him, such as the cathedrals of Madgeburg, etc. These edifices were not erected, how- ever, until the subsequent reign — that of his son, Otho the Great. PIEST OHEONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 295 A. D. 936. The Arabian fraternities of Masons and artists, of Ro- man origin, commence this year the construction of that famous royal castle Alcazar, that was built for the caliph Abderam at Zara, near Seville, and ornamented with four thousand three hundred columns of purest marble. This prince invited the most skillful and learned architects of Bagdad and Constantinople to direct and aid the frater- nities of the country in their labors upon this important and magnificent edifice. A. D. 940. The queen — Bertha of Burgundy — ^wishing to renew the prosperity of her country, which had been devastated and demoralized by the wars, sent to England for masters and workmen, who, under the direction of a Scottish master named Mackenbrey, undertook a series of con- structions to be consecrated as churches and convents, which they executed with astonishing rapidity, and con- summate skill. The abbot, Majolus of Cluny, had the superior direction of these great erections, which were commenced in the year 930. The grandest and most magnificent of these constructions were the abbey and the church of the Benedictines at Payerne. From this time the Masonic corporations of England spread themselves upon the continent, under the name of St. John Brothers. A. D. 960. The death of king Athelstan again disperses the Free- masons of England. Some of the most important con- structions are, however, undertaken during the reign of Edgar, under the grand mastership of Dunstan, (St. Dun- stan,) archbishop of Canterbury. Many of the brethren pass over to Germany, and there permanently locate themselves, under the name of St. John Brothers, and Brothers of St. John. 296 aEITEKAL HISTOKT OF FKEEMASOlilRT. From the year 1001 to the year 1717. A. D. 1001. In the course of the tenth century the Christian popu- lation of the west found themselves under the influence of an unhappy discouragement, which had seized upon their spirits, in consequence of the predictions that the end of the world might be expected at this time, "and the result of which was their abandonment of all works of art. The artists, and principally the fraternities of Ma- sons, condemned to inaction, fall into the miseries and unhappiness of the times. The schools of architecture of Lombardy, at Padua, and at Como, are not, however, entirely deserted. The learned architects of these schools, initiated — as had been those of Egypt — into the secrets of nature and the study of astronomy, happily did not partake of this general terror, which was invented by the priests, for selfish purposes; and such schools contiuued to teach, as in times past. A. D. 1003. N'o unnatural movement having thrust our planet from its course, the people welcomed with joy the aurora of a new world; and it is from this epoch it is proper to date modern civilization. The terror of the Christian world had continued to the close of this year, as the reign of Antichrist, it was believed, would continue for two years and a half subsequent to the year 1000; and now art and society in general awoke from their long trance, to re- newed life and usefulness. SECOND CHEOHOLOGICAL EPOCH. 297 A., D. 1005. It was necessai,, that nearly all the religious edifices of the Christian world should be renewed. Up to this time Bueh buildings were principally composed of wood and plaster; but now these are razed to the ground, and re- built in more enduring material. A. D. 1010. A great number of ecclesiastics repair to Lombardy, there to study religious architecture, and to form an Italian school- Lombardy is, at this time, an active center of civilization, where the fragments of the ancient colleges of constructors, reside, having lived through the ordeal of international wars, and maintained their ancient organization and their privileges, under the name of Free Corporations. The most celebrated of these was that of Como, which had acquired such superiority that the title of magistri comacini (Masters of Como) had become the generic name of all the members of the architect corpo- rations. Always teaching in secret, they had their mys- teries, their judiciary and jurisdiction. The architects from distant countries, from Spain, Greece, and Asia, at this time were accustomed to repair to their school at Como for in- struction, to attain a knowledge of the new combinations of the Latin and Greek styles of architecture, which had been modified by intermixing with that style which was developed during the ninth century at Constantinople, and which was considered the most suitable for religious build- ings. It was this combination that gave birth to the style called " Eoman." > ' It was in this style that were erected the religious edifices of the 11th century and part of those of the 12th, and following which succeeded the newer style, called Roman ogee, which latter prevailed but from the year 1160 to the year 1200, or thereabouts. 298 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBEMASONRX. A. D. 1040. The Masonic corporations covered Italy, anO more par- ticularly Lombardy, with religious edifices, and to such an extent did the membership of the corporations increase that the country could no longer offer occupation to all. Then they formed particular corporations, which traveled into foreign countries ; and a large number of them united in forming a general association, and constituting them- selves into a great fraternity that should travel into all Christian countries wherein the necessary churches and monasteries had not yet been erected, and demanding for this object authority from the pope, and the confirmation to them by him of all the ancient immunities which had at any time attached to the building corporations, as also the protection necessary to so grand an enterprise. The pope, without delay, seconded this design, and conferred upon them the exclusive monopoly of erecting all religious mon- uments, as also making them free of all local laws, all royal edicts and municipal regulations concerning statute labor, together with immunity from every other obligation imposed upon the inhabitants of whatever .country, city, or town they might be employed in. These monopolies are respected and sanctioned by all the kings and all the governments. A. D. 1060. The Masonic fraternities of Lombardy extend themselves into Germany, into France, and into Brittany and E'or- mandy. William the Conqueror, king of England (1054,) sent from !If ormandy a crowd of prelates and architects, grad- uates of the school of the Lombards, such as Mauserius, Le Franc, Robert of Blois, E.emy of Fecamp, and many others, to plan and construct the most magnificent cathedrals in England. Every-where, in all Christian countries, the same passion for religious edifices seemed to prevail at this SECOND CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 299 time, and, in consequence, religious architecture made great progress. A. D. 1080. Some Masonic corporations fixed themselves in the Low Country, and there erected churches and monasteries. The bishop of Utrecht, desirous of constructing a great cathedral, sought the aid of the leading architect of that city, a man named Plebel, and obtained from him the neces- sary plans for the proposed construction. Having obtained possession of these papers, the bishop dismissed Plebel, and, desirous of passing himself as the author of the plans, and en- gage in directing the labors of the workmen without having been initiated into the secrets of the art, sought, by all sorts of menaces and promises, to wring from the son of the archi- tect Plebel, a young master mason, the secrets and manner {arcanum magisteriurn) of laying the foundations. These rules, applied to the construction of religious edifices, were held in the most inviolable secrecy by all members of the association of Freemasons — a secret solemnly imposed upon them by their oath. The architect, indignant at a perfidy so base on the part of one whom the people regarded as their supreme spiritual adviser, on learning of the perjury of his son, determined to prevent the divulging the secret of his art, and thereupon, having obtained an opportunity, killed the bishop. A. D. 1100. During the century just closed, the Masonic corporations completed the construction of more than one hundred cathe- drals, churches, monasteries, abbeys, and «mstles, scattered over the five principal European countries of that time, viz. : England, Prance, Q-ermany, Italy, and Switzerland. A. D. 1125. The Masonic corporations, under the style and name of Brothers of St. John, extend themselves over civilized 300 SBNEKAL HISTORY OF FEBEMASONRT. Eufope anew, and give their assemblies the name of Lodges of St. John. This qualification, which was first knoWn in England, goes back to the sixth century, and originated as follows : In those days the Freemasons' feasts, following the ancient usage of the Roman colleges, were held upon the return of the yearly solstices, particularly upon that of summer. Christianity having taken the place of pagan- ism, induced them to invest the occasion of their feasts with another sign, more in keeping with the wishes of the clergy. .They, therefore, chose St. John for their patron, because it was the ancient Janus, a god of the Romans, whose feast fell upon the 24th of June, which was also the epoch of the solstice of summer, and which anniversary they could thus continue to celebrate under the name of St. John's day. From the importance they attached to these party assemblies, they came to be called St. John Brothers — a name under which they were universally known upon the continent during the twelfth century. A. D. 1150. A fraternity of Masons, called from Lombardy direct to England, in the reign of Alexander III, erect, under this prince and his successors, a great many beautiful monu- ments of their art, the major part of which are apparent but as ruins. Among the others, the town and abbey of Kilwinning, where subsequently were held the general as- semblies of this fraternity, were constructed by them. A. D. 1155. The grand master of the Templars, Richard, king of England, surnamed the Lion Heart, is elected by the lodges of English Freemasons to the like position over them ; and he governs the two fraternities until his death, A Masouie fraternity, of Syrian origin, detained in Europe by the immense constructions which were then erected, in this year construct for the Templars their church in Fleet SECOND CHBONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 801 Street, London. This fraternity had preserved intact the ancient initiation practiced among the Romans. A. D. 1175. A. Masonic fraternity, to which was given the name of Brother Bridgers, and which occupied itself particularly with the construction of bridges and roads, located itself in the midst of Erance, where, at Avignon, in 1180, it con- structed the bridge of that name, and, subsequently, all the bridges of Provence, of Lorraine, and of Lyons. A. D. 1200. During the century which this year closed, the fraterni- ties of builders have added to the numerous magnificent erections of the preceding period some of the finest con- structions of the middle ages. In England, France, Ger- many, Italy, and Spain such of the oldest ecclesiastic and monastic erections as have survived the decaying touch of' time, were completed during the twelfth century. A. D. 1225. Lofflbardy has attained its preeminence as the principal European school of architecture. Thither, from all coun- tries, the master masons repair for new ideas and new knowledge. The Scottish artists, the Byzantine, and also those of Cordova, who affected more of pomp, and what was known as the style Arabesque, in their details of deco- ration, there modified their art; while, in their turn, the Lombards, recognizing the beauties of these different forms, intermix them with the more severe simplicity of their Roman ogival, from which intermixture there results a new combination, inappropriately styled Gothic,' which is 1 We find in that most remarkable work, 'published in 1843, and o'f which the architect Daniel Ram6o is the author, some passages bearing upon this fact, one of which we will take the liberty to quote. After haying enumer- ated the different opinions upon the origin of the ogival style, the author, in 302 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. distinguislied. by the most harmonious reunion of opposite elements, by hardihood of conception and solidity of exe- cution. This style is immediately adopted in all Christian countries, and totally changes nearly all the established plans which, up to this period, prevailed in the construc- tion of religious edifices. A. D. 1250. The changes which have been introduced within the past twenty-five years in the outlines and details of Chris- tian architecture, stamp this period as the most remark- able of any preceding time. The striking analogy which the monuments of this time afford when contrasted with those of the fifteenth century, is explained by the tie of the Fraternity which, uniting the Masonic brethren of every nation, afforded them identity of progress and knowledge in their -art. Lombardy, that central school of art, had its prototype in the fifteenth century at Stras- burg and Cologne ; while, ever obedient during the past three hundred years to the lessons taught in those central schools of their art, the knowledge of one became the property of the whole, and individual promptings of beauty in ornament or decoration were not admissible, as none were free from that obedience which involved the use of a similar style of ornament. The symbolic and satirical markings which distinguished the architectural monuments of the fifteenth from those of the twelfth century are indicative of the gradual changp that had been wrought by the abuses of the clergy, and by those attempts to enslave the popular mind in ignorance and his turn, although very desirous of claiming the credit of the inTentiou for France, is compelled by his regard for truth to say: "There is no doubt that the employment of the ogee, or pointed arch, and the style which resulted therefrom, was first practiced among the learned, modest, pious, and truly Christian Freemasons of foreign countries, and the knowledge of which they communicated to their brethren in G-ermauy, England, France, Spain, and Italy.' SECOND CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 303 Buperstition, which subsequently culminated in the Prot- estant Reformation. A. D. 1251. Louis IX, called St. Louis, directs the architect Eudes, of Montreuil, to fortifj the harbor and town of Joppa, and he is accompanied thither by a certain number of Freemasons. A. D. 1272. The construction of "Westminster Abbey is completed this year, under the direction of the grand master Giffard, archbishop of York. A. D. 1275. Erwin of Steinbach' evoked at Strasburg a Masonic congress, for the purpose of adopting measures to continue the labors which for a long time had been interrupted, upon the cathedral of that city, and to enlarge the dimen- sions of that structure to a plan more ^extended than that by which the foundations had been laid in the year 1015, and upon which latter plan a part of the church was erected. The architects from all countries of Europe repaired to Strasburg, and there, according to their usage, organized a general assembly, or grand lodge, at which each representative renewed the oath to observe the laws and rules of the Fraternity. Near the foundations of the cathedral is constructed a wooden building, wherein are held the meetings of the assembled brethren, and the ob- jects of that assembly discussed and adopted. Erwin of Steinbach is elected, by the architects and directors of the 1 Since the thirteenth century the names of some of the most celebrated architects who conducted the labors upon the most remarkable cathedrals of the middle ages are known to us ; but, for the chief part, their names remain unknown, and this is easily explained : these monuments were the creation of a general association, and it was not necessary that the proper names of persons comprising its membership, no matter how important, Bhould be publicly mentioned. 304 GENERAL HISTORY OF BRBBMASONRT. edifice, president (chair master) ; and, as a sign of the judicial character delegated to him by these brethren, he is seated under a canopy, with a sword in his hand. Signs and tokens which enable the workmen upon the cathedral to distinguish themselves from others not so engaged are adopted, and made known to all the brethren assembled, some of which words and signs being those in use among the brethren in England. Apprentices, fellow-crafts, and masters are initiated with particular symbolic ceremonies, under which are indicated the most profound secrets of architecture. A. D. 1300. The number of monuments commenced or finished within the thirteenth century, just closed, far exceed any previous similar period. Among the most remarkable were, in England, Westminster Abbey, at London, and the cathedral of Litchfield, at Exeter. In France, the cathedrals of Paris,' of Rheims, of Chartres, of Rouen, of Amicus, Bruges, Beauvais, and Strasburg; the holy chapel at Paris, and the church and abbey of St. Denis. In Germany, the cathedrals of Cologne, Friburg and Breslau; the domes of Madgeburg and Halberstadt; the churches of Notre Dame of Cologne and St. Elizabeth, at Marburg, and of St. Catharine, at Oppenheim. In Belgium, the churches of St. John at Tournay, those of the Dominicans ' This cathedral was built, according to undisputed authority, with the money that Maurice, hiahop of Paris, obtained from the sale of indulgences, and of which he had sufficient to also erect four abbies. The French bishops, following the example set in 1016 by the pontifical bishop of Aries, who was the first to preach this matter, established tliis principle, viz.: that whoever consecrated a small sum of money to the erection or restoration of a church or a ohapel, received, in the name of the Lord, remission of the third to the fourth part of the penitential punishment awarded them in the confessional. When Pope Julian II wished to build St. Peter's church at Rome, he followed the example set by the French bishops, and promul- gated his order for the sale of indulgences. The Protestant Reformation was the result. SECOND CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 305 at Gand and at Louvain ; of St. Paul and of Sante Croix at Liege; of St. Gudule and Our Lady of the chapel, at Brussels. In Italy, the cathedral of Venice, the dome of Arezzo, and the churches of St. Francis of Padua, and those of Campo Santo and St. Marie della Pina ; of St. Margaret at Crotona, of St. Mary the HJTew, of St. Croix, and of St. Mary of the Flowers, at Florence; of St. John and of St. Paul; at Venice ; of St. Francis, at Bologna ; the lodge of the public palace at Padua; the old palace at Florence ; and the ducal palace at Venice. In Spain, the cathedrals of Burgos and Toledo; the monastery of Pobelt, and the churches of St. Thomas and St. Maria Blanca, at Toledo. A. D. 1310. The construction of the magnificent cathedral of Co- logne, commenced in 1248, elevates the fraternity engaged in this work to a high degree of superiority — in fact, raises it to the rank of a school to which repair brethren from all countries for the purpose of studying this master- piece of architectural genius. The lodges of Germany, recognizing this superiority, regard the master of this work as the master of all the German masons, and the brethren engaged upon it as the Grand Lodge, {Haupt- hutte.) A. D. 1312. During the persecutions directed by Philip the Fair, king of France, and Pope Clement V, against the Knights Templar, many of the latter sought refuge in the fast- nesses of Scotland, where, until after the death of their grand master, Jaques de Molay, they found security for their persons in the bosom of the Masonic lodges. A. D. 1360. At this time nearly every city in Germany had its lodges, for wherever religious edifices were being con- 20 306 GENERAL HISTORY OF BREEMASONET. structed, there the fraternities of builders were congre- gated. These lodges had accorded to and recognized a superiority as existing among some of their numbers, and, in consequence, characterized them, as in England, by the title of grand lodges. That at Cologne was from at first the most important of all, and continued to be the central lodge for a long time after that at Strasburg was elevated to the same rank ; and the master of the work w^as equallj' recognized as chief of the Masons of upper Germany, as him of Cologne was of those of the lower country. A. D. 1380. The fortress and palace of the Alhambra at Grenada, the capital of the kingdom of this name, which was founded by the Moors, under Mahomet I, creator of the dynasty of the Alhamarides, in. 1235, and the construction of which fortress and palace was begun in 1248, is finished during this year. This marvelous monument is the most beautiful that Moorish architecture has produced in Spain. If we exam- ine this edifice in all its details, we will find that it is un- surpassed in luxury and taste by any construction of mod- ern times. The palace of the Alhambra is the work of a happy congregation of artists of every kind, such as com- posed the Roman colleges until after the third century of our era ; and this fact allows us to believe that this mon- ument of human genius, like others in Grenada, was equally the work of Masonic and artistic associations, or- ganized' and directed in manner similar to those of other countries at the same period, of whom, however, history has failed to furnish us with any record. A. D. 1400. The monuments the most remarkable which have been erected, begun, or finished by the Masonic fraternities within the century just closed, are, in England, the cathe- SECOND CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 307 drals of York and Exeter, and the King's College at Cam- bridge. In France, the cathedrals of Perpignan, Meaux, Auxerre, Toul, Tours, and Mdtz; the churches of St. Owen at Rouen, and of St. James at Dieppe. In Bel- gium, the belfry, the cloth hall, the city hall, and acad- emy of fine arts at Tournay ; the church of the Domin cans, and the cloth hall at Louvain; the city hall at Brussels, and the cathedral of Malines. In Germany, the dome of Gefurth, as also those of Prague and of Ulm ; the church of ]!^otre Dame at Niiremberg, and that of St. ]S"ich- olas at Stralsund. In Italy, the cathedrals of Como and Milan ; the dome of Orvita ; the churches of Anastasia and St. Peter at Verona, of St. Mary at Rome, and of St. Stephen at Venice ; the ducal palace at Venice, and those of Flor- ence and of Bologna. In Spain, the cathedrals of Seville and Barcelona ; and the church of St. Mary at Toledo. In Switzerland, the cathedrals of Berne, of Lausanne, of Fri- burg, and of Zurich.' A. D. 1480. The astonishing sacrifices which the people had made to erect so many magnificent churches, joined to the cry- ing abuses of the clergy and of the popes at this time, have relaxed the religious ardor and weakened the popu- lar faith to such an extent as not Only to preclude the idea of erecting new church edifices, but also to stop opera- tions upon many of those which were yet unfinished for want of funds. In consequence of this condition, and notwithstanding the renewal, in 1459, by the emperor MaxinCiilian, of their ancient privileges, and his sanction to their constitution, tho number of the Masonic corpora- tions established in every continental country declined, and their privileges became of little value; so that, hav- ing no more religious edifices to construct, they disperse 1 For the years 1425, '37, '42, '59, '64, and '69, see those dates at pp. 239 and 240, ante. 308 GENERAL HISTORY OF EREEMASONET. and seek employment at such places and of such kind aa hitherto had been occupied and executed by men not con- nected with the fraternities of builders. More particularly was this the case in France ; while in Germany they, still preserved some consistence and connection among them- selves — the fortune of their French brethren not having overtaken them until later; and in England they con- tinued to flourish with unabated prosperity.* A. D. 1500. During the century just closed, the Masonic fraternities may be said to have finished their labors in church archi- tecture, and dispersed to find occupation in their individ- ual capacities as constructors of public buildings for civic and municipal purposes. A. D. 1575. Since the beginning of this century, when the greater part of the fraternities found it necessary to dissolve their associations, the more wealthy architects undertook the erection of public buildings, and employed the others to construct the same, in the capacity of hired workmen. The tie of brotherhood which, up to this time, had closely united master and workmen, was gradually dis- solved, and they assumed such relationship toward each other as was habitual with other bodies of tradesmen since the fourth century. In this manner, and at this time, the trades unions appear to have had their origin. A. D. 1600. With the close of the sixteenth century, the Masonic corporations had entirely disappeared in continental Eu- 1 It was not until the middle of the seyenteenth century that the Masonic corporations in England abandoned, to some extent, the material object of their organization, and admitted to honorary membership many persons not artists as accepted Masons. It was this element that subsequently caused their entire dissolution as operatiTe Masonic bodies. SECOND CHKONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 309 rope, as long before that time all religious constructionB had been abandoned. After this date no traces of any regular Masonic organization can be found "Outside of the kingdom of England. A. D. 1646. The Masonic corporations in England are found to be composed for some time and in great part by learned per- sons, artists, and men eminent for their knowledge of sci- ence and art, as well as their influential positions in society, who had been received into the corporations as honorary members, under the designation of Accented Masons. It was at this time that the association, no more occupied with the material object of its organization, in- itiated as an accepted Mason the celebrated antiquary Elias Ashmole, who founded the museum at Oxford, and who re-arranged and composed the forms of the society of the Rose Cross Brothers, which had been organized in Lon- don, after the model of the new Atlantis of Lord Bacon, and held its assemblies in the hall which had been hitherto used by the Freemasons. To the rituals of reception of the Eose Cross Brethren, which consisted of some cere- monies having a historical foundation, and the commu- nication of the signs of recognition, and which, to some extent, resembled those used among the Freemasons, Ash- mole added some others. This labor inspired him with the idea of arranging also a new ritual for the Freemasons, and he therefore composed and substituted for the ritual then in use another mode of initiation, copied in part from the ancient" manuscripts and the Anglo-Saxon and Syrian rituals, and in part from the mysteries of Egypt, and otherwise, as he supposed, most resembled the initia- tion ceremony, as it was conducted in the colleges of Ro- man architects and builders. These rituals were at once adopted by the lodges in London, and subsequently by those every-where in England. 310 GKNERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. A. D. 1670. The progress of Masonry having been suspended by the civil wars which during the previous twenty years had been desolating England, Charles 11 sought its revival by assuming its protectorship ; and the fire of London, which took place four years previous, gives employment to the lodges, of which, at present, seven exist in the city of London. A. D. 1685. When James 11 ascended the throne in 1683, his lean- ing toward Roman Catholicism greatly agitated a num- ber of his subjects ; but in this year, having accorded freedom of conscience in religious matters the most com- plete to all within the bounds of his kingdom, the Free- masons divided into two camps, which, arrayed against each other, threw their whole influence into the political rather than the architectural or philosophical arena. The Scottish Masons, having at its head the knights of St. Andrew, adhered to James 11, or the Catholic party, while the English Masons ranged themselves among the ranks of that party which decided to remove the Catholic king. This latter party succeeding; James was forced into exile, and, accompanied by many of the nobles of his court and the leading Jesuits, took up his residence in Paris, in the convent of Clermont. [The revival of the order of St. Andrew' engendered the Templar system, sub- sequently called Strict Observance, which gave birth to various fashions of exclusive Christian Freemasonry dur- ing the last century, with the hierarcljical forms of the Knights of the Temple, and the ancient titles of grand commander, etc.^] A. D. 1695. The revolutions in England which succeeded the exile 1 See pages 238 and 243, (A. D. 1314 and 1685.) 2 See History of all the Rites for High Degrees, p. 212. SECOND CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 311 of James II having completely suspended the labors of the Masonic institution, king "William III afforded it some protection and character by being himself initiated, and often presiding in the lodge he assembled at Hampton Court. A. D. 1700. At this time, except in England, the Masonic corpora- tions were every-where dissolved. The close of the sev- enteenth century, in consequence of the active part taken by the fraternity in politics, wars, and revolution, saw them scattered, their lodges dissolved, and the operative members of the Masonic lodges exerting no influence upon architecture, and had no rank or importance in the land. Having ceased their labors as operative Masons, the vast crowd of operatives, the protectors, the friends of art and of humanity, who, during fourteen centuries, had ■ contrib- uted, through the organization of the Masonic fraternity, so much to the increase of civilization in Europe, are to- day represented by a few persons, who resolve to perpetu- ate the name of their ancient organization by remodeling it as a purely philosophic institution; and at a meeting of the lodge of St. Paul, held on St. John's day, A. D. 1703, Resolve, " That the privileges of Masonry shall no longer be confined to operative Masons, but be free to men of all professions, provided they are regularly approved and in- itiated into the Fraternity." At this time Christopher Wren, Knt., was grand master of Freemasonry, nearly all the operative Masons in England being employed under him upon the construction of St. Paul's cathedral. Ht opposed the execution of this famous resolution while he lived ; so that it was not until after his death, which oc- curred in 1716, that the brethren were at liberty to en- force their new regulation. 812 GENERAL HISTORY OE ERBBMASONRT. From the year 1717 to the present time. A. D. 1717. After the death of the grand master, GlbiiiBtopher "Wren, the four lodges of London resolve to elect a new grand master, detach themselves from thei/ connection with the brethren at York, of whom they held their con- stitution, for the purpose of forming a new grand lodge, and thus be at liberty to put into execution the resolution of 1703. The four lodges, with these objects in view, in- voked in general assembly all the Masons of London and vicinity, and constituted a central authority, under the title of the Grand Lodge of England, and recognizing in the three symbolic degrees alone all the principles of Masonry. It is from this time we must date the era of modern or philosophic Freemasonry. A. D. 1720. The Grand Lodge of England has, since its installation, organized a certain number* of lodges, in which many persons of distinction have been initiated. The Grand Lodge of York, suddenly excited with sentiments of jeal- ousy at the growing prosperity of its young rival, the Grand Lodge of England, and in defiance of the principles of the Fraternity, proscribes those members as illegitimately made. An irreparable loss has been perpetrated by some too jealous brethren of the lodge of St. Paul, who, fear- ing that improper use may be made of them, burn all THIRD CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 313 the ancient manuscripts, charters, rituals, and documents of all kinds. A. D. 1721. Freemasonry begins to extend upon the continent. The grand lodge organize a lodge at Dunkirk, and an- other at Mons, and the rules and regulations of the Fra- ternity are revised. George Payne, being reelected grand master, compiled from the ancient charter documents a series of " charges " and " regulations " more suited to the present condition and objects of the Society, and, prefaced by a history of the Fraternity as an association of arch- itects, he submitted the same to the grand lodge. This work being submitted by that body to the examination of a committee composed of fourteen of its members, was intrusted to the critical revision of Dr. James Ander- son, with directions to prepare the same for publication, as a body of law and doctrine, for the use of the lodges of England. A. D. 1722. The manuscript, with the revision of which he was in- trusted, is presented by Dr. Anderson to the grand lodge, and upon reception of the report of the commission of fourteen, it is adopted and ordered to be printed under the title of " The Constitutions of the Freemasons, con- taining the History, Charges, Regulations, etc., of that Most Ancient and Right "Worshipful Fraternity." From this time the organization of the new Freema- sonry was established in prosperity. In accordance with the constitution — which is, in fact, but an adaptation of that of York of 926, more suited to the people and pres- ent time — ^the new grand lodge of England took up its position as the only legitimate Masonic authority in Eng- land, and thus excited the ill-will of such scattered bodies as assumed to be invested with inherent rights, because antedating the grand lodge in authority. This constitu- tion, in fact, deprived Freemasons in their lodge capacities 314 GENEBAL HISTORY OF EKEEMASONKT. of their ancient privileges, in prohibiting, among other restrictions, the formation of any lodge withont being au- thorized in such act by this grand lodge. The conse- quence of this assumption of authority on the part of the grand lodge promptly occasioned the protest and denial of such rights by the grand lodges of York ahd Edin- burgh. A. D. 1725. This year the new Freemasonry is introduced into Paris, where many lodges are organized within a few years. A. D. 1728. Baron Eamsay, a Scotchman, and a partisan of the Stuarts, sought to introduce in London a new style of Masonry, created in the interest of " the Pretender," and which he asserted had descended from the crusades, as it was created by Godfrey of Bouillon, and of which the lodge of St. Andrew, at Edinburgh, was the principal modern authority. The political character of this Ma- sonry caused it to be very promptly rejected, and he returned to Prance without meeting with any success. A. D. 1729. The activity displayed by the lodges holding under the Grand Lodge of England, and the brilliancy which attached to their labors, stimulated the zeal of the Masons of Ire- land and Scotland, who previously had assembled them- selves together, but at irregular and uncertain periods. The Masonic temples are opened in all parts of the king- dom, and the initiations greatly multiplied. A convoca- tion of Irish Freemasons resolve to organize a grand lodge upon the basis and constitution of that of London ; and thus a central power is constituted under the title of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. THIRD CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 316 A. D. 1730. The lodges greatly increase as well in England as upon the continent — ^the latest being those at Hamburg and the Hague. A provincial grand master, named Pemfrees, is employed to go to India, and in a short time he organ- ized in Bengal eleven lodges. A central committee of charity is instituted in London to succor brethren in dis- tress, and the funds for this institution are raised by a voluntary annual contribution of four shillings from each member of a lodge in London, and two shillings from each member of a lodge elsewhere in England. A. D. 1732. The Grand Lodge of York, representing the ancient system of operative Masonry, and of which the regula- tions conform more readily to the free system of the an- cient Masonic corporations, recognized the necessity of changing this system to correspond in 'greater degree with the object of the new Freemasonry. A. D. 1733. The first provincial grand lodge in America is insti- tuted at Boston. During this year lodges have been or- ganized in Italy, at Eome and Florence; in Spain, at Gibraltar and Malta; in Eussia, at St. Petersburg. The lodges in Bengal have sent abundant aid to the charity fund in London. A. D. 1734. A general assembly of the Masons of Holland is con- voked at the Hague, for the purpose of organizing a pro- vincial grand lodge, which being done, the same is char- tered regularly by the Grand Lodge of England, in 1735 A. D. 1735. The Grand Lodge of England nominate provincial grand masters for South America and Africa. Lodges are or- 316. GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. ganized at Madrid and at Lisbon. This year is rendei'ed memorable by the commencement of persecutions directed against the Fraternity by the general government of Hol- land, which interests the Masonic assemblies. A. D. 1736. The Grand Lodge of Scotland, at Edinburgh, believing the great prosperity of the new English lodges to be con- sequent upon the more liberal constitution of the new grand lodge, is desirous to introduce similar changes into its own system ; but the hereditary charge of patron that James I had, in 1430, conceded to the family of B,oslin prevented. The baron Sinclair of Roslin, the grand mas- ter, being approached by the grand lodge upon the subject, acceded readily to the request; and, in an assembly con- voked by the four oldest lodges of Scotland, at Edinburgh, after reading his renunciation to the rights and privileges of patron, George Sinclair, baron of Roslin, was duly elected grand master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland for 1737, and the same was properly organized under a con- stitution, charges, and regulations similar to those of the Grand Lodge of England. In this year, also, a provincial grand lodge of England was organized as the governing body of the lodges in Paris. The Grand Lodge of England named the count Scheffer provincial grand master for the lodges of Sweden. A. D. 1737. During this year the English provincial grand lodges of Switzerland and Saxony are founded, respectively at Geneva and Hamburg ; and the Grand Lodge of England nominates William, king of Prussia, provincial grand master for the lodges of Lower Saxony. THIRD CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 817 A. D. 1788. Pope Clement XII promulgates his bull of excommuni- cation against the rreemasons ; and it is followed by the edict of the emperor Charles VI, who interdicts the assemblies of Freemasons in the Low Country. Prince Frederick subsequently, as Frederick 11, king of Prussia, iS initiated, at Brunswick, on the night of August 15 of this year. A. D. 1739. The Grand Lodge of England is accused, by many of the brethren, with having suppressed some of the cere- monies, altered the ritual, and introduced innovations ; also of having appointed provincial grand masters to or- ganize lodges in towns under the jurisdiction of the Grand. Lodge of York — a measure that of itself was considered suf- ficiently offensive. From these charges there resulted some new divisions among the lodges of the north and south of England. Many of the discontented separated themselves from the grand lodge at London, and declared themselves adherents of the grand lodge at York, and then formed a new grand lodge, neither of England nor York, which they styled the Grand Lodge of "Ancient and Accepted Ma- sons." The grand lodges of Ireland and Scotland, having recognized this body as truly representatives of the ancient rite, refused to correspond with the elder jurisdiction, con- cemptuously styled by this new body as modern. N^ever- theless, the so-called modem grand lodge augmented in importance and consideration, while the latter organization, though styling itself ancient, remained in obscurity, and was but little known outside of London city. A. D. 1739. The cardinal Ferraro, in his edict, published on the 14th January, wishing to remove all doubt and equivocation in the interpretation of the bull of excommunication of his holiness the pope, launched against the Freemasons on the 318 ^ GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. 27th of April of the preceding year, explained that docu- ment in the following manner : " That no persons should assemble or meet in any place in the capacity of a society, nor be found present at such assemblies, under the penalty of death and confiscation of all their goods, and also incur damnation without hope of grace." By the same edict it is expressly directed that "all house-holders are prohibited from allowing meetings of Freemasons to take place within their houses, under penalty of having the same demolished, and themselves mulcted in a fine of one thousand crowns of gold, and being condemned to the galleys." A. D. 1740. The Grand Lodge of England named a provincial mas- ter for the lodges founded in Russia. At this time France had two hundred lodges, twenty-two of which were located in Paris. The provincial grand lodges instituted, to the present time, in ditterent countries, by the Grand Lodge of England, in their turn now began to organize themselves into independent grand lodges. A. D. 1741. .Foundation of the provincial grand lodge of Hanover, at Hanover ; and the provincial grand lodge of Saxony, at Dresden, by the Count Rutowski, who is elected grand master, and which became an independent grand lodge in 1755. A. D. 1742. Founding of the provincial grand lodge of the Sun at Beyreuth, and a provincial grand lodge at Antigua, for the Euglish West Indies. A. D. 1744. The grand lodge at the Three Globes, in Berlin, which was organized in 1640 by Baron Bielfeld is this year ele- vated to the rank of % grand lodge by Frederick the Great, THIRD CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 319 king of Prussia, and he is elected its permanent grand master, a position which he filled until 1747. (In 1849 this grand lodge had organized fourteen operative lodges.) A. D. 1746. Lord Derwentwater, the first grand master of the prov- incial grand lodge of France, perishes upon the scaffold, a victim of his attachment to the Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. A. D. 1747. The Grand Lodge of Scotland institutes, at Copenhagen, a provincial grand lodge for Denmark, which, shortly after- ward, proclaimed its independence of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. In this year Charles Edward Stuart, known as "the Pretender," son of James II, deposed king of Eng- land, institutes the chapter of Arras, and delivers to the Masons who are attached to his person a bull of institution, or letters patent, for a governing chapter of what he named the Scottish Jacobite Rite. A. D. 1751. Freemasonry, as constituted in London thirty years ago, has now extended into nearly every civilized country. Its humanitarian doctrines and the civilizing principles it manifested, together with its radical leaning toward the dogma of " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," had, by this time, intimidated kings, popes, and princes to such an ex- tent that they seek to arrest its progress. As early as 1731 edicts had been promulgated against it in Eussia, while in 1735, in Holland, and in 1737-'38-'44-'45, at Paris, similar interdictions had been drdered. At Rome and in Florence, the meetings of Freemasons were prohibited, as -also in Sweden, Hamburg, and Geneva the bull of Pope Clement was enforced. The Holy Inquisition, as the court accusa- tive in those countries wherein it existed, caused the breth- ren to be imprisoned, and their books and papers to be 820 GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY. burned by the hands of the public executioner. But to crown all these persecutions, King Charles of N'aples, as also Ferdinand VII, king of Spain, wishing to interdict Masonry within their States, rendered edicts prohibiting the assemblage of Freemasons, under pain of death ; and the pope, Benedict XIV, renewed this year the bull of excommunication of Clement XII, in 1738, against the Freemasons, whose assemblies he interdicted under penalty of death. But all these violent measures had but slight effect in stopping the progress of Masonry, which finds it- self propagated upon the civilized globe with a rapidity that nothing can arrest. Notwithstanding the bull of Benedict XTV, Freemasonry is practiced at this time openly in Tuscany, at Naples, and in many other parts of the Ital- ian peninsula. At Rome, even, there are lodges which adopt but feeble measures to keep themselves hidden. A. D. 1753. The Masonic Orphan Asylum is established at Stock- holm. Its fund is the accumulation of special collections taken up in the Swedish lodges. (At the present time this institution is very rich.) A. D. 1754. Under a patent or charter from the Grand Lodge of Scot- land, the provincial grand lodge of Sweden is organized. The G-rand Lodge of England transmits charters to organize lodges in South Carolina, Guadaloupe, and Gibraltar, and in this year many new lodges are instituted in England. The Templar system, created by the partisans of the Stuarts, is revived at Paris by the institution of the chapter of Cler- mont, ill the convent of that name, under the direction of the Chevalier de Bonneville. A. D. 1763. The Grand Lodge of England, in consequence of the THIRD CHRONOLOGICAL EPOCH. 321 Bcliism that has taken place in its ranks, establiBlies the cus- tom of granting diplomas to the brethren under its jurisdic- tion, to distinguish them from those initiated by the seceders. A. D. 1756. The English grand lodge in France, instituted in 1736, and which took the title in 1743, detaches itself from the Grand Lodge of London, and proclaims itself the Grand Lodge of France. The confusion manifested under the grand mastership of the Duke of Clermont, however, does not abate, but rather increases. By constitutions delivered to masters of lodges, securing them in the enjoyment of such office for life, Masonic authorities never contemplated are established in France. The practice, begun with a political motive by the lodge of St. Andrew of Scotland, situate at Edinburgh, was continued by the English pro- vincial grand lodge of France, and the confusion thus en- gendered the new Masonic authority, into which that body has resolved itself, now finds it impossible to correct. Those masters of lodges, for the sake of gain, vend the privileges accorded to themselves ; and, to do this the more easily, they fabricate false titles, and antedate charters and diplomas. In shaking off the control of the Grand Lodge of England, and in proclaiming itself the grand lodge of the kingdom of France, that body declared in its constitu- tion to sacredly continue the custom of granting personal titles to these lodge masters ad vitam and, by so doing, in- creased the existing confusion ; for the result was that these masters governed their lodges not more by the forms laid down by the grand lodge than by their individual caprices, and this, taken with the vending of authorities to open lodges, which lodges, in their turn, felt at liberty to organize grand lodges, (or bodies in authority amounting thereto,) chapters, councils, and tribunals embracing the objects and practice of all the degrees then known, created, at this time, so chaotic a condition that it was apparently impossible 21 322 GENERAL HISTORY OP FREEMASONRY. to determine the legal governing Masonic authority in France. A. D. 1756. In this year the national grand lodge of Italy was or- ganized at I^aples. (In 1790 this body was dissolved.) A.t the Hague the representatives of thirty lodges in the ^Netherlands constitute a grand lodge of the United Prov- inces, and elect the Baron of Aersen-Beyeren first grand master. A. D. 1758. The Grand Lodge of Scotland, at Edinburgh, in adopting and conferring the high degrees, and establishing rituals for each of these degrees, renders herself liable to the same charges of unmasonic conduct which she had but a shorl time before directed against the Grand Lodge of England, viz. : of changing the basis of Freemasonry and altering the rituals. These high degrees give her, however, an in- fluence not before enjoyed, and creates a corresponding energy in the work of the Scotch lodges. Perceiving the increasing prosperity of her sister grand lodge at London, occasioned mainly by the custom, originated by the latter, of establishing, every-where, provincial grand lodges, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, for the purpose of initiating a like proceeding, authorized a Colonel Young as provincial grand master of such lodges as he might organize, as well as those already existing and holding their charters from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in ISTorth America and the British West Indies, with plenary powers to introduce the high degrees then known to Scottish Masonry into those countries. A. D. 1760. At Avignon, the mother lodge of the Rite of Swedenborg is instituted by the Benedictine monk Dom Pernetti, and a Pole named Grabiauca. The philosopher Swedenborg, one of the most loarned and illustrious Freemasons of his THIRD CHRONOLOaiCAL EPOCH. 323 time, in instituting this rite, had in view a desire to reform the Koman Catholic religion. The dogmas of the reform of Swedenborg are adopted by a good many influential persons in Sweden, England, and Germany, where societies which practice his religious system have been formed by these persons. A. D. 1760. In this year Freemasonry in. Germany was greatly con- fused and injured by the introduction of the high degrees of every kind known to and having their inception in 'France. Chapters of Emperors of the East and Westjwith a rite of twenty-five degrees, (subsequently known as the Rite of Perfection,) founded in Paris in 1758 by the estab- lishment of the Chapter of Clermont, are the children of this parent, and they are introduced by the Marquis of Berny, a French gentleman, into the lodge at the Three Globes, in Berlin. This lodge propagates this right by the aid of its deputy Rosa, a Lutheran priest, who in a short time has organized seventeen lodges. Subsequently the army of Broglie introduced the other rites, such as Tem- plarism, Rosecrucianism, etc., until, in a few years, the brethren in Germany are in as great confusion, as to what is and what is not Freemasonry, as they are in France. A. D. 1762. At this time Freemasonry had attained great progress, the diflfereut grand lodges of Europe having instituted lodges in nearly every part of the world. The baron of Hund introduces into Germany the Templar system known as " Strict Observance," which he has studied at Paris, wliere he was initiated into the high degrees of the chapter of Clermont. A. D. 1763. The two parties into which the Grand Lodge of France had been divided, in consequence of the maladministration 324 GENERAL HISTORY OF FRBBMASONRT. of the grand master, the duke of Clermont, reunited Id 1762, after having, during their separation, injured the Masonic institution almost beyond repair, by their crea- tions of moveable lodges and immoveable matters. Not* withstanding the union, confusion, consequent upon their previous misconduct, continued, and the effects of the high degrees are as apparent for evil as they are lamentable, not only in France, but wherever they have been introduced. A. D. 1764. A man named Johnson, a secret agent of the Jesuits, who styled himself Envoy and Plenipotentiary of the un- known superiors of Strict Observance, establishes at Jena some chapters of this system. He announced, in an assem- bly that he convoked at this place on the 25th December, 1763, that he alone had the power of conferring the de- grees of the system and organizing chapters, by virtue of the documents, patents, and briefs granted to him by the unknown superiors of his system in Scotland. At a sec- ond convention, assembled on the 14th of June of this year (1764), he invited the presence of Baron Hund, who had been engaged in similar duty elsewhere in Germany since 1762. At this convention the baron, who had never heard of unknown superiors, requested the privilege of inspecting the documents, patents, etc., possessed by Johnson, which request being refused, the baron denounced this self-styled plenipotentiary as an arrant imposter. A. D. 1765. The baron of Hund is elected at Jena, grand master of the Templar System of Germany, styled " Strict Observ- ance." A. D. 1766. By an edict of the Grand Lodge of France, all charters granted by chapters, councils, colleges, and tribunals of the high degrees are declared void and of no effect. The at- XHIBD CHKONOLOGIOAL EPOCH.