A Defence of Masonry

[Page de titre]

A DEFENCE OF MASONRY, Occasion'd by a Pamphlet called Masonry Dissected.

Rarus Sermo & magna Libido Tacendi. Juv. Sat.

[London : Printed for J. Roberts, near the Oxford-Arms, in Warwick-Lane. MDCCXXXI.]

CHAP. I.

AMONG the extraordinary Discoveries of the present Age, nothing has been received with more Delight and Exultation, than a few Sheets, written, it seems, without Partiality, called MASONRY DISSECTED. The Grand Secret that has long withstood the Batteries of Temptation, that neither Money, the Master-key of the Heart, nor Good Liquor, that unlocks the very Soul, nor Hunger, that breaks thro' Stone-walls, nor Thirst, a sore Evil to a Working-Mason, could bring to Light ; has at last been disgorg'd upon Oath, to the great Easement of a tender Stomach, the eternal Scandal of the Fraternity, and the Good of the Publick, never to be forgotten ! The Design was no less than to disburden a loaded Conscience, to acquaint the World, That never did so ridiculous an Imposition appear among Mankind ; and to prevent so many innocent Persons being drawn into so pernicious a Society !

WHAT could induce the Dissector to take that Oath, or the Magistrate to admit it, shall not at this time be decided.

HOWEVER, I must give the World Joy of so notable a Discovery, so honourable, so circumstantiated ! A mighty Expectation was raised, and without doubt is wonderfully gratified by this Course of Anatomy. It must be this; it can be nothing else. It is, as we always supposed, a whimsical Cheat supported by great Names to seduce Fools ; who, once gulled out of their Money, keep the Fraud secret, to draw in others !

I confess I cannot come into this Method of Arguing ; nor is it, in my Opinion, a fair Way of treating a Society, to run implicitely with the Cry, without examining whether these Reproaches are founded upon any thing in the Mystery (as now represented) either wicked, or ridiculous. For that stupid Imputation of drawing in Fools, for the sake of their Money, can have no weight in the present Case, since the Fraternity, as it now stands, consists principally of Members of great Honour and Distinction, much superior to Views so sordid and ungenerous.

FOR once then, let this Dissection contain all the Secrets of Free-Masonry ; admit that every Word of it is genuine and literally true, and that the whole Scheme consists of no more nor no less : yet under all these Concessions, under all the Disadvantages and Prejudices whatever, I cannot but still believe, there have been Impositions upon Mankind more ridiculous ; and that many have been drawn into a Society more pernicious. I would not be thought agitated upon this Occasion, as if I were any way concerned whether this Dissection be true or false ; or, whether the Credit of Free-Masonry be affected by it, or not : These Considerations can give me no trouble. My Design is to address to the sensible and serious Part of Mankind, by making a few impartial Remarks upon this Dissection, without contending for the Reputation of Masonry on the one hand, or reflecting upon the Dissector on the other.

CHAP. II.

THE formidable Objection, which has given Offence to the better part of Men, is the Copy of the Oath, as it lies in the Dissection. It has been a Matter of Admiration, that so many Persons of great Piety, strict Conscience, and unspotted Character, should lay themselves under so solemn an Obligation, under Penalties so terrible and astonishing, upon a Subject so very trifling and insignificant.

To obviate this Objection, I observe ; That the End, the Moral, and Purport of Masonry, as it is described in the Dissection, seems not so idle, and of that very small Importance as may at first be imagined. The real Design of Masonry, as confessed by the Dissector, is to subdue our Passions, not to do our own Will ; to make a daily progress in a laudable Art ; to promote Morality, Charity, Good-fellowship, Good-nature and Humanity. This appears to be the Substance, let the Form or Vehicle be ever so unaccountable. As for the Terms relating to Architecture, Geometry, and Mathematicks, that are dispersed throughout the Dissection ; it would be strange if a Society of such a Denomination could subsist wholly without them, though they seem (to me at least) to be rather Technical and Formal (yet delivered, perhaps, by long Tradition) than essentially attach'd to the grand Design. Now where is the Impiety, where the Immorality, or Folly for a number of Men to form themselves into a Society, whose main End is to improve in commendable Skill and Knowledge, and to promote universal Beneficence, and the social Virtues of Human Life, under the solemn Obligation of an Oath ? and this, in what Form, under what secret Restrictions, and with what innocent Ceremonies they think proper ? This Liberty all Incorporate Societies enjoy without Impeachment or Reflection. An Apprentice is bound to keep the Secrets of his Master. A Freeman is obliged to consult the Interest of his Company, and not to prostitute in common the Mysteries of his Trade. Secret Committees and Privy-Councils are solemnly enjoined not to publish abroad their Debates and Resolutions. There appears to be something like Masonry, as the Dissector describes it, in all regular Societies of whatever Denomination. They are all held together by a sort of Cement ; by Bonds and Laws that are peculiar to each of them, from the highest, to the little Clubs and nightly Meetings of a private Neighbourhood. There are Oaths administer'd, and sometimes solemn Obligations to Secrecy. There are a Master, two Wardens, and a number of Assistants, to make what the Dissector may call (if he pleases) a perfect Lodge, in the City Companies. There is the Degree of enter'd Prentice, Master of his Trade, or Fellow-Craft, and Master, or Master of the Company. There are Constitutions and Orders, and a successive and gradual Enjoyment of Offices, according to the several Rules and Limitations of Admission.

BUT it is replied, That the general Design of Masonry may be commendable, or at least innocent, and yet be carried on to the same Advantage without the Solemnity of an Oath, especially pressed under such dreadful Penalties. In answer I observe, That the Question is not whether the Purpose of Masonry may as well be served without an Oath, but whether an Oath in the present Case be lawful, and may be taken with a good Conscience ? And to solve this Difficulty, I shall introduce the Opinion of Bishop Sanderson, the most judicious Casuist that ever treated upon the Subject of Oaths.* Cum res nullo aut praecepto, aut interdicto divino vel humano legitimè ita determinata est, quin ut possit quisque pro suo arbitrio facere vel non facere, prout ipsi visum fuerit expedire, quod vult faciat, non peccat, 1 Cor. 7. 36. Ut si Caius juret se Titio fundum venditurum aut daturum mutuo centum, respondendum breviter, juramentum in hoc casu & licitum esse & obligare.

Note originale : * De Obligatione Juramenti, Praelectio 3, Sect. 15.

When a thing is not by any Precept or Interdict, Divine or Human, so determined, but every Man, pro hic & nunc, may at his Choice do or not do, as he sees expedient, Let him do what he will, he sinneth not, 1 Cor. 7. 36. As if Caius should swear to sell his Land to Titius, or to lend him an hundred Crowns : The Answer is brief, an Oath in this Case is both lawful and binding.

Now, I would know what Precept, Divine or Human, has any way determined upon the Contents of the Dissection ; and whether the general Design of Masonry, as there laid down, is not at least of equal Benefit and Importance to the Publick, with the lending of a private Man a hundred Crowns ? The Answers to these Questions are obvious, and the Consequence is equally plain, that an Oath upon the Subject of Masonry is at least justifiable and lawful.

As for the Terror of the Penalty, the World upon that Occasion is commonly mistaken ; for the Solemnity of the Oath does not in the least add to the Obligation ; or, in other Words, the Oath is equally binding without any Penalty at all. The same Casuist has this Expression ;* Non magis obligat solenne Juramentum ex se naturâ suâ, quam simplex, quia obligatio Juramenti exurgit praecise ex eo quod Deus Testis & Vindex invocatur. Invocatur autem Deus Testis & Vindex non minus in simplici Juramento quam in solenni & corporali ; nam illa invocatio fit praecisè per prolationem verborum quae eadem est in simplici & solenni, & non per aliquem motum corporalem aut signum concomitans, in quibus consistit Juramenti solennitas.

Note originale : * Praelect. 5. Sect. 12.

A solemn Oath of itself, and in its own Nature, is not more obligatory than a simple one ; because the Obligation of an Oath ariseth precisely from this, that God is invoked as a Witness and Revenger no less in a simple Oath than in the solemn and corporal (for the Invocation is made precisely by the Pronunciation of the Words, which is the same both in the simple and solemn, and not by any corporal Motion, or concomitant Sign, in which the Solemnity of the Oath consists.

I write to intelligent Readers, and therefore this Citation wants not to be explained.

BUT further : If the Oath in the Dissection be taken by all Masons upon their Admission, no Member of the Fraternity upon any Pretence whatsoever dares violate the Obligation of it, without incurring the Guilt of Perjury ; supposing that Masonry were more trifling and indifferent, than in the Dissection it may appear to be. And therefore if the Conduct of the Dissector has stagger'd the Conscience of any one of the Brotherhood, concerning the Observation of that Oath, and has induced him to trifle and play with the Force of it, I hope he will desist betimes, lest he becomes actually forsworn. This Case is thus determined ;† Juramentum ultro praestitum vel maximè obligat cum nullum vinculum arctius obliget quam quod spontè susceptum est.

Note originale : † Praelect. 4. Sect.

A voluntary Oath is the more binding for being voluntary, because there is no straighter Obligation than that which we take willingly upon ourselves.

AND in another place the Casuist is more particular : ‡ Cum res aut ob sui levitatem indigna est viri prudentis deliberatione, nec cassâ nuce interest fecerit an non fecerit, ut levare festucam de terrâ, fricare barbam, &c. aut ob parvitatem materiae non est multum aestimabilis, ut dare pomum puero, aciculam commodare, &c. obligare Juramentum in re vel levissimi momenti constat, quia in re gravi & levi eadem est veritatis & falsitatis ratio ; & quia omnis jurans tenetur facere totum quod promisit, quatenus potest & licet ; sed dare puero pomum & possibile est & licitum, ergo tenetur praestare, ubi juratum est debet impleri.

Note originale : ‡ Praelect. 3. Sect. 15.

Where a Matter is so trivial, that it is not worth the Deliberation of a wise Man, nor matters a Straw whether it be done or not done, as to reach up a Chip, or to rub one's Beard, or for the slightness of the Matter is not much to be esteemed, as to give a Boy an Apple, or to lend a Pin, an Oath is binding in a Matter of the least Moment, because weighty and trivial things have a like respect unto Truth and Falshood ; and further, because every Party swearing is bound to perform all he promised, as far as he is able and it is lawful : But to give an Apple to a Boy is both possible and lawful ; he is bound therefore to perform it, he ought to fulfil his Oath.

CHAP. III.

HAVING taken off the Weight of the great Objection, the Design of this Chapter is to remove an Imputation, which has been often urged with great Confidence, that the Principles and the whole Frame of Free-Masonry is so very weak and ridiculous, that it reflects upon Men of the least Understanding to be concerned in it. And now, say the merry Gentlemen, it appears evidently to be so by the Dissection, which covers nothing but an unintelligible Heap of Stuff and Jargon, without common Sense or Connection.

I confess I am of another Opinion ; though the Scheme of Masonry, as revealed by the Dissector, seems liable to Exceptions ; nor is it so clear to me as to be fully understood at first View, by attending only to the literal Construction of the Words : And, for aught I know, the System, as taught in the Regular Lodges, may have some Redundancies or Defects, occasioned by the Indolence or Ignorance of the old Members. And indeed, considering through what Obscurity and Darkness the Mystery has been delivered down ; the many Centuries it has survived ; the many Countries, and Languages, and Sects, and Parties it has run thro', we are rather to wonder it ever arrived to the present Age without more Imperfections. In short I am apt to think that Masonry, as it is now explained, has in some Circumstances declined from its original Purity : It has run long in muddy Streams, and as it were, under Ground ; but notwithstanding the great Rust it may have contracted, and the forbidding Light it is placed in by the Dissector, there is (if I judge right) much of the old Fabrick still remaining ; the Foundation is still intire, the essential Pillars of the Building may be discovered through the Rubbish, though the Superstructure may be overrun with Moss and Ivy, and the Stones by Length of Time disjointed. And therefore, as the Busto of an old Hero is of great value among the Curious, though it has lost an Eye, the Nose, or the Right-hand, so Masonry with all its Blemishes and Misfortunes, instead of appearing ridiculous, ought (in my humble Opinion) to be received with some Candour and Esteem from a Veneration to its Antiquity.

I was exceedingly pleased to find the Dissector lay the original Scene of Masonry in the East, a Country always famous for symbolical Learning supported by Secrecy ; I could not avoid immediately thinking of the old Egyptians, who concealed the chief Mysteries of their Religion under Signs and Symbols, called Hieroglyphicks. And so great was their Regard for Silence and Secrecy, that they had a Deity called Harpocrates, whom they respected with peculiar Honour and Veneration. A learned * Author has given a Description of this Idol ; Harpocrates silentii Deus effingebatur, Dextrâ prope cor admotâ, pelle anteriùs indutus, quae oculis atque auribus pluribus erat distincta, ut eo intelligeremus multa videnda atque audienda, sed loquendum parum. Harpocrates, the God of Silence, was formed with his Right-hand placed near the Heart, cover'd with a Skin before, full of Eyes and Ears, to signify by this, that many things are to be seen and heard, but little to be spoken. And among the same People, their great Goddess Isis (the same as Minerva the Goddess of Strength and Wisdom among the Greeks) had always the Image of a Sphinx placed in the Entrance of their Temples, quia Arcana sub sacris Integumentis tegi debent, ut a promiscuo vulgo non secus atque AEnigmata a Sphinge proposita ignorentur : That their Secrets should be preserved under sacred Coverings, that they might be kept from the Knowledge of the Vulgar as much as the Riddles of Sphinx.

Note originale : * Imagines Deorum qui ab antiquis colebantur, à Vincentio Chartario.

Pythagoras by travelling into Egypt became instructed in the Mysteries of that Nation, and here he laid the Foundation of all his symbolical Learning. The several † Writers that have mentioned this Philosopher, and given an Account of his Sect and Institutions, have convinced me fully, that Free-Masonry, as published by the Dissector, is very nearly allied to the old Pythagorean Discipline ; from whence I am persuaded it may in some Circumstances very justly claim its Descent. To mention a few.

Note originale : † Jamblichus Vit. Pythag. Porphyrius. Laertius Vit. Pythag. Clem. Alex. Stromat.

UPON the Admission of a Disciple, he was bound by a solemn Oath to conceal the Mysteries from the Vulgar and Un-initiated.

THE principal and most efficacious of their Doctrines were (says Jamblichus) ever kept secret among themselves ; they were continued unwritten, and preserved only by Memory to their Successors, to whom they delivered them as Mysteries of the Gods.

THEY conversed with one another by Signs, and they had particular Words which they received upon their Admission, and which were preserved with great Reverence as the Distinction of their Sect : For (it is the judicious Remark of Laertius) as Generals use Watch-Words to distinguish their own Soldiers from others, so it is proper to communicate to the Initiated peculiar Signs and Words as distinctive Marks of a Society.

THE Pythagoreans professed a great Regard for what the Dissector calls the four Principles of Masonry *, a Point, a Line, a Superficies, and a Solid ; and particularly held that a Square was a very proper Emblem of the Divine Essence. The Gods, they say, who are the Authors of every thing established in Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty, are not improperly represented by the Figure of a Square.

Note originale : * Proclus in Euclid. Lib. 2. Def. 2. Proclus in Euclid. Lib. 2. Def. 34. Clem. Alexand. Strom. 5.

MANY more Instances might be produced, would the Limits of my Design admit ; I shall only observe, that there was a false Brother, one Hipparchus, of this Sect, who, out of Spleen and Disappointment, broke through the Bond of his Oath, and committed the Secrets of the Society to Writing, in order to bring the Doctrine into contempt. He was immediately expelled the School as a Person most infamous and abandoned, as one dead to all Sense of Virtue and Goodness ; and the Pythagoreans, according to their Custom, made a Tomb for him as if he had been actually dead. The Shame and Disgrace that justly attended this Violation of his Oath threw the poor Wretch into a Fit of Madness and Despair, so that he cut his Throat, and perished by his own Hands ; and (which surprized me to find) his Memory was so abhorred after Death, that his Body lay upon the Shore of the Island of Samos, and had no other Burial than in the Sands of the Sea.

THE Essenes among the Jews were a sort of Pythagoreans, and corresponded in many Particulars with the Practice of the Fraternity, as deliver'd in the Dissection. For Example : When a Person desired to be admitted into their Society, he was to pass through two Degrees of Probation before he could be perfect Master of their Mysteries. When he was received into the Class of Novices, he was presented with a white Garment ; and when he had been long enough to give some competent Proofs of his Secrecy and Virtue, he was admitted to further Knowledge ; but he still went on with the Trial of his Integrity and Good Manners, and then was fully taken into the Society. But before he was receiv'd as an establish'd Member, he was first to bind himself by solemn Obligations and Professions, to do Justice, to do no Wrong, to keep Faith with all Men, to embrace the Truth, to keep his Hands clear from Theft and fraudulent Dealing, not to conceal from his Fellow-Professors any of the Mysteries, nor communicate any of them to the Profane, though it should be to save his Life ; to deliver nothing but what he received, and endeavour to preserve the Principle that he professes. They eat and drink at the same common Table, and the Fraternity that come from any other Place are sure to be received there ; they meet together in an Assembly, the Right-hand is laid upon the Part between the Chin and the Breast, and the Left-hand let down streight by their Side.*

Note originale : * Philo de Vitâ Contemplativâ. Joseph. Antiq. lib. 8. cap. 2.

† THE Cabalists, another Sect, dealt in hidden and mysterious Ceremonies. The Jews had a great Regard for this Science, and thought they made uncommon Discoveries by means of it. They divided their Knowledge into Speculative and Operative. David and Solomon, they say, were exquisitely skilled in it, and no body at first presumed to commit it to Writing ; but, what seems most to the present Purpose, the Perfection of their Skill consisted in what the Dissector calls Lettering of it, or by ordering the Letters of a Word in a particular manner.

Note originale : † Collier's Dictionary on the Word Cabala. Basnage's History of the Jews, Chap. on the Cabala.

‡ THE last Instance I shall mention, is that of the Druids in our own Nation. They were the only Priests among the ancient Britons. In their Solemnities they were clothed in White, and their Ceremonies always ended with a good Feast. Pomponius Mela relates of them, that their Science was only an Effort of Memory, for they wrote down nothing, and they never fail'd to repeat many Verses which they received by Tradition. Caesar observes, that they had a Head, who had sovereign Power : This President exercised a sort of Excommunication, attended with dreadful Penalties upon such as either divulged or profaned their Mysteries.

Note originale : ‡ Samm's History of Britain, B. 1. Chap. 4. Caesar's Comment. lib. 6.

LET the sensible Reader (if he pleases) peruse the Dissection with Care, and compare it (with reasonable Allowance for Distance of Time, Place, and other intermediate Accidents) with the Particulars of the preceding Collections, and if he does not discover something at least like Masonry (if the Dissection contains any such thing) I think he must be exceedingly blind or prejudiced.

CHAP. IV.

WHATEVER Reflections may attend the few Remarks that follow in this Chapter, arising either from an Overflow of Wit or Ill-nature, I shall be unconcerned, and leave them wholly to the Mercy of the serious Reader ; only desiring him to remember, that no more ought in any Case to be expected, than what the Nature of it will reasonably admit : I own freely, I received a great Pleasure in collecting, and was frequently surprized at the Discoveries that must evidently occur to an observing Eye. The Conformity between the Rites and Principles of Masonry (if the Dissection be true) to the many Customs and Ceremonies of the Ancients, must give Delight to a Person of any Taste and Curiosity, to find any Remains of Antique Usage and Learning preserved by a Society for many Ages, without Books or Writing, by oral Tradition only.

I. THE Number Three is frequently mentioned in the Dissection, and I find that the Ancients, both Greeks and Latins, professed a great Veneration for the same Number. Theocritus * introduces a Person who dealt in Secret Arts :

Ἐς τρὶς ἀποσπένδω καὶ τρὶς τάδε πότνια φωνῶ, Thrice, thrice I pour, and thrice repeat my Charms.

† Verbaque ter dixit. Thrice he repeats the Words.

‡ Necte tribus Nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores. Three Colours in three Knots unite.

Note originale : I. Masonry Dissected, p. 10. * Idyll. † Ovid. Metam. lib. 7. ‡ Virgil. Ecl. 8.

WHETHER this Fancy owes its Original to the Number Three, because containing a Beginning, Middle, and End, it seems to signify all Things in the World ; or whether to the Esteem the Pythagoreans and other Philosophers had for it on account of their Triad or Trinity ; or lastly, (to mention no more Opinions) to its Aptness to signify the Power of all the Gods, who were divided into three Classes, Celestial, Terrestrial, and Infernal ; I shall leave to be determined by others. The Gods, as * Virgil asserts, had a particular Esteem for this Number.

Numero Deus impare gaudet. Unequal Numbers please the Gods.

We find Three Fatal Sisters, Three Furies, Three Names and Appearances of Diana :

† Tria Virginis ora Dianae. Three different Forms does chaste Diana bear.

Note originale : * Ecl. 8. † Virg. AEn. lib. 4.

THE Sons of Saturn, among whom the Empire of the World was divided, were Three ; and for the same Reason we read of Jupiter's Fulmen trifidum, or Three-forked Thunderbolt, Neptune's Trident, with several other Tokens of the Veneration they bore to this particular Number.

II. A particular Ceremony belonging to the Oath, as declared by the Dissector, bears a near Relation to a Form of Swearing mentioned by a ‡ learned Author ; the Person, who took the Oath, was to be upon his bare Knees with a naked Sword pointed to his Throat, invoking the Sun, Moon, and Stars to be Witnesses to the Truth of what he swore.

Note originale : II. Masonry Dissected, p. 10. ‡ Alexand. ab Alexandro, lib. 5. cap. 10.

III. A Part of the Mason's Catechism in this Page has given Occasion to a great deal of idle Mirth and Ridicule, as the most trifling and despicable sort of Jargon, that Men of common Sense ever submitted to. The Bone-Box, and the Tow-Line has given wonderful Diversion. I think there are some Verses in the last Chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes which in some manner resemble this Form of Expression. I shall transcribe them, with the Opinion of the Learned upon them, without making any particular Application.

§ In the Day when the Keepers of the House shall tremble, and the Grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out at the Windows be darkned ; and the Doors shall be shut in the Streets when the Sound of the Grinding is low ; and he shall rise up at the Voice of the Bird, and all the Daughters of Musick shall be brought low. Or ever the Silver Cord be loosed, or the Golden Bowl be broken, or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain, or the Wheel broken at the Cistern.

Note originale : III. Masonry Dissected, p. 16. § Ecclesiastes, chap. 12. ver. 3, 4, 6.

* THE Expositors upon these Verses are almost unanimous in their Opinion, that they ought to be thus explained. The Keepers of the House are the Shoulders, Arms, and Hands of a Human Body ; the Grinders are the Teeth ; those that look out at the Windows are the two Eyes ; the Doors are the Lips, the Streets are the Mouth, the Sound of the Grinding is the Noise of the Voice, the Voice of the Bird is the Crowing of the Cock ; the Daughters of Musick are the two Ears ; the Silver Cord is the String of the Tongue ; the Golden Bowl is the Pia Mater ; the Pitcher at the Fountain is the Heart, the Fountain of Life ; the Wheel is the great Artery, and the Cistern is the left Ventricle of the Heart.

Note originale : * Bp. Patrick, Dr. Smith, Forsterus, Melancthon, &c. in Eccl.

IV. THERE could not possibly have been devised a more significant Token of Love, Friendship, Integrity, and Honesty, than the joining of the Right-Hands, a Ceremony made use of by all Civilized Nations as a Token of a faithful and true Heart. Fides, or Fidelity was a Deity among the Ancients, of which a learned † Writer has given this Description : Fidei propria sedes in dexterâ manu credebatur, ideo interdum duabus junctis manibus fingebatur, interdum duabus Imagunculis dexteram dexterae jungentibus, quamobrem apud veteres dextera tanquam res sacra credebatur. The proper Residence of Faith, or Fidelity, was thought to be in the Right-Hand ; and therefore this Deity was sometimes represented by two Right-Hands joined together ; sometimes by two little Images shaking each the other's Right-Hand ; so that the Right-Hand was by the Ancients esteemed as a thing sacred. And agreeable to this are those Expressions in Virgil :

‡ En Dextra Fidesque !

as if shaking by the Right-Hand was an inseparable Token of an honest Heart.

§ — Cur dextrae jungere Dextram Non datur, & veras audire & reddere voces ?

Note originale : IV. Masonry Dissected, p. 18. † Chartarius in lib. ut supra. ‡ AEneid. 4. § AEneid. 1.

|| IN all Compacts and Agreements (says Bishop Potter, in his Antiquities of Greece) it was usual to take each other by the Right-Hand, that being the manner of plighting Faith ; and this was done either out of Respect to the Number of Ten, as some say, there being ten Fingers on the two Hands ; or because such a Conjunction was a Token of Amity and Concord, whence at all Friendly Meetings they joined Hands as a Sign of the Union of their Souls.

Note originale : || Vol. I. p. 251. last Ed.

IT was one of the Cautions of Pythagoras to his Disciples, Take heed to whom you offer your Right-Hand ; which is thus explained by Jamblichus : * Take no one by the Right-Hand but the Initiated, that is, in the Mystical Form ; for the Vulgar and the Profane are altogether unworthy of the Mystery.

Note originale : * In Vit. Pyth.

V. THE Dissector frequently taking notice of the Number Seven, I instantly recurred to the old Egyptians †, who held the Number of Seven to be Sacred ; more especially they believed that whilst their Feast of Seven Days lasted, the Crocodiles lost their inbred Cruelty ; and Leo Afer ‡, in his Description of Africa, says that even in his Time the Custom of Feasting so many Days and Nights was still used for the happy Overflowing of the Nile. The Greeks and Latins professed the same Regard for that Number, which might be proved by many Examples.

Note originale : V. Mason. Diss. p. 21. † Pignorius in Mens. Isiac. ‡ Lib. 8.

VI. THE Accident, by which the Body of Master Hiram was found after his Death, seems to allude in some Circumstances to a beautiful Passage in the sixth Book of Virgil. Anchises had been dead for some Time, and AEneas his Son professed so much Duty to his departed Father, that he consulted with the Cumaean Sybil, whether it were possible for him to descend into the Shades below, in order to speak with him. The Prophetess encouraged him to go, but told him he could not succeed unless he went into a certain Place and pluck'd a golden Bough or Shrub, which he should carry in his Hand, and by that means obtain Directions where he should find his Father.

THESE are the Words

§ — Latet arbore opaca Aureus & foliis & lento vimine ramus Junoni infernae dictus sacer : hunc tegit omnis Lucus, & obscuris claudunt convallibus umbrae. Sed non ante datur telluris operta subire, Auricomos quam quis decerpserit arbore foetus. Hoc sibi pulchra suum ferri Proserpina munus Instituit. Primo avulso, non deficit alter Aureus, & simili frondescit virga metallo. — ipse volens facilisque sequetur.

— In the neighbouring Grove There stands a Tree, the Queen of Stygian Jove Claims it her own ; thick Woods and gloomy Night Conceal the happy Plant from mortal Sight. One Bough it bears, but wond'rous to behold, The ductile Rind and Leaves of radiant Gold ; This from the vulgar Branches must be torn, And to fair Proserpine the Present born, E're Leave be given to tempt the nether Skies ; The first thus rent, a second will arise, And the same Metal the same Room supplies. The willing Metal will obey thy Hand, Following with Ease — DRYDEN.

Note originale : VI. Mason. Diss. p. 27. § AEneid. 6.

Anchises, the great Preserver of the Trojan Name, could not have been discovered but by the help of a Bough which was pluck'd with great Ease from the Tree ; nor it seems could Hiram, the Grand-Master of Masonry, have been found but by the Direction of a Shrub, which (says the Dissector) came easily up. The principal Cause of AEneas's Descent into the Shades was to enquire of his Father the Secrets of the Fates, which should some time be fulfilled among his Posterity : The Occasion of the Brethren's searching so diligently for their Master was, it seems, to receive from him the secret Word of Masonry, which should be deliver'd down as a Test to their Fraternity to After-Ages. This remarkable Verse follows

Praeterea jacet exanimum tibi corpus amici, Heu nescis ! The Body of your Friend lies near you dead, Alas, you know not how !

This Person was Misenus that was murdered and buried Monte sub aerio, under a high Hill, as (says the Dissector) Master Hiram was.

BUT there is another Story in Virgil, that stands in a nearer Relation to the Case of Hiram, and the Accident by which he is said to have been discovered ; which is this : Priamus King of Troy, in the Beginning of the Trojan War, committed his Son Polydorus to the Care of Polymnestor King of Thrace, and sent with him a great Sum of Money ; but after Troy was taken, the Thracian, for the sake of the Money, killed the young Prince, and privately buried him. AEneas coming into that Country, and accidentally plucking up a Shrub that was near him on the Side of a Hill, discovered the murdered Body of Polydorus.

* Forte fuit juxta tumulus quo cornea summo Virgulta, & densis hastilibus horrida Myrtus Accessi, viridemque ab humo convellere sylvam Conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras ; Horrendum, & dictu video mirabile monstrum. Eloquar an sileam ? gemitus lacrymabilis Imo Auditur tumulo, & vox reddita fertur ad aures : Quid miserum, AEnea, laceras ? jam parce sepulto.

Not far a rising Hillock stood in View, Sharp Myrtles on the Sides and Cornels grew, There while I went to crop the sylvan Scenes, And shade our Altar with the leafy Greens, I pull'd a Plant, with Horror I relate A Prodigy so strange and full of Fate. Scarce dare I tell the Sequel ; from the Womb Of wounded Earth, and Caverns of the Tomb, A Groan as of a troubled Ghost renew'd My Fright, and then these dreadful Words ensu'd, Why dost thou thus my bury'd Body rend ? O spare the Corps of thy unhappy Friend. DRYDEN.

Note originale : * AEneid. lib. 3.

The Agreement between these two Relations is so exact, that there wants no further Illustration.

VII. WE are told that a Sprig of Cassia was placed by the Brethren at the Head of Hiram's Grave, which refers to an old Custom in those Eastern Countries of Embalming the Dead, in which Operation Cassia was always used, especially in preparing the Head, and drying up the Brain, as * Herodotus more particularly explains. The Sweet-wood, Perfumes, and Flowers used about the Graves of the Dead, occur so frequently in the old Poets, that it would be tedious to mention them. Ovid thus describes the Death of the Phoenix :

† Ilicis in ramis tremulaeve cacumina palmae Unguibus & pando nidum sibi construit ore. Quo simul ac Casias, & Nardi lenis aristas, Quassaque cum fulva substravit Cinnama Myrrha Se super imponit, finitque in odoribus aevum.

Upon a shady Tree she takes her Rest, And on the highest Bough, her Funeral Nest Her Beak and Talons build ; then strews thereon Balm, Cassia, Spikenard, Myrrh and Cinamon : Last on the fragrant Pile herself she lays, And in consuming Odours ends her Days.

Note originale : VII. Mason. Diss. p. 28. * In Euterpe. † Metamor. lib. 15.

Reproduction intégrale de la transcription citée en tête de page, dans l'orthographe d'origine, sans commentaire ni modernisation. Les titres et notes d'époque sont conservés ; l'appareil éditorial moderne a été écarté.