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THE PERJUR'D FREE MASON DETECTED ; And yet The Honour and Antiquity of the Society of Free Masons Preserv'd and Defended. By a Free Mason.
For Perjury's a Blast upon the Mind, The last Degeneracy of human Kind The utmost Prostitution of the Soul, That poisons every Part, and damns the whole.
London : Printed for T. Warner at the Black-Boy in Pater-noster-Row. MDCCXXX. (Price 6d.)
THE PERJUR'D FREE MASON DETECTED.
The Antiquity of Free Masonry, as an Art and Science, is unquestion'd : And the Honour of it, as preserved in a Society of worthy Members and Masters, and handed down from Age to Age to this Day, as it is admirable in itself, is also as certain and unquestion'd. This Part is historical, and may be inquired into and made publick without any Breach of Oaths and Engagements, and without Injury to the Persons or Memory of any of the Originals : But the Manner and Management of this Society, and by what Steps it has been thus wonderfully preserv'd, is a Secret hid in the Breasts of the faithful Few among whom it has been kept sacred to this Day ; nor is it yet discover'd, notwithstanding the Endeavours of a few Traitors in these unhappy Times to betray it.
A short Abridgment of its History take as follows.
Ham or Cham, the second Son of NOAH, having a Genius to Architecture, is said to have practised it in the Ante-diluvian World, before the Deluge, for he was 90 Years of Age when the Flood came upon the Earth.
Fame tells us, that after the Flood he communicated the Knowledge of it to the Great Council or Meeting upon the Plains of Shinaar, where it was proposed to build a Tower up to Heaven : Nothing but a complete Master of the Science of Masonry could have conceiv'd so immense an Undertaking His Proposal being accepted, it seems he undertook the Work, and became the Master-Builder
But the History imports, that his Workmen growing weary of mounting that stupendious Stair-case, and at last being divided in Speech, mutined and left him, and so the Work was broken off; but the mighty Ruins of that Fabrick shews to this Day the Skill of the Master-Mason ; the immense Arches, the vast Pilasters, the strong Basis, which are still to be seen, are a lasting Testimony as well to the Greatness of the Work as to the Genius of the Workman.
His Grandson by his Son Canaan was called Sidon, whose Tribes travelling from Babel West, came to the Sea-shore of Phoenicia, and there (being instructed in the Art of Masonry by his great Ancestor) he built the City of Sidon, which remains to this Day the most ancient City in the World.
Another of his Grandsons was call'd Mizraim, and he travell'd into Egypt, where he (being long before accepted a Mason by his great Ancestor) erected a powerful Nation on the Banks of the Nilus. And some hundred Years after that, he built those inimitable Fabricks call'd the Pyramids.
Under these great Masters of Masonry, many others in succeeding Ages were found, who being received as accepted Masons, scattered themselves abroad, and spread the noble Science into several Parts of the World.
Hence Cadmus a Phoenician Prince, and one of the immediate Successors of Sidon, carried the Art of Building from Tyre (a City built by the Zidonians) into Boetia or Greece, and taught the Grecians the first Order of Buildings, by whose Skill the said Greeks were instructed and daily improving, built all those glorious Fabricks which History gives us such large Accounts of, and in particular the great Temple of APOLLO at Delphos.
Hence Hiram, that great and famous Master of Art, being also a Phenician, became a Master Mason, and acted the Part of a Founder in the erecting Solomon's Temple ; where he perform'd such surprising Things, and so inimitable that he is said to have been buried there ; the Meaning of which we shall explain by and by.
From these glorious Originals, the Art of Masonry spread it self in the World, being supposed to be in its Meridian Glory in the Time of the Roman Empire, and in the Reign of Trajan, in whose Times those famous Columns, Amphitheatres, Aqueducts, and other magnificent Buildings were rais'd, whose Ruins are at this Day the Wonder of the World, and shew the exquisite Skill and mighty Genius of the Free Masons of those Times.
With the Fall of the Roman Empire, this glorious Art (as many others also did) suffered a fatal Blow ; and as barbarous Nations over-ran the Empire, so the Art of Masonry sunk into Gothicisms and all manner of Irregularities, and the Buildings of the following Ages became for a long Time rude and impolite ; the Rules of Art being sunk, and as it were forgotten in the World.
But under these Discouragements there were always found A Few, Fate so directing, who associating together, with the utmost Secresy and Fidelity constantly instructed one another in the Rules of Art, and preserved their Councils from the Eyes of all Men ; binding themselves to one another by an inviolable Oath of Secresy, and a Word or Token of Amity and Fellowship ; by which Means they have preserv'd the Knowledge of Masonry in all its most exquisite and accomplish'd Parts, and handed it down to us even to this Day.
This we call the brief History of this Matter, and however, the Pryings, Searchings, Guessings, and Inquiries of busy Men, have laboured to dive into the Mystery of this Society, and into the Manner how the same has been carried on and preserved, and have in spite of Oaths solemnly taken, attempted to betray and expose it ; yet the Secret remains untouch'd and the Traytors have only exposed themselves in those Attempts.
Having thus brought down the Account of the Society of Free Masons historically to the present Age ; and mentioned also some Attempts to find out and expose the well deposited Secret : It brings me of Course to fix upon one or two of those particular Attempts which are just now broke out among us, and which contrary to the Expectation of the Traitors, have issued no less to the Honour of Free Masonry itself, and of the Society which has lately flourish'd in this City, than to the Infamy and Reproach of the scandalous Authors, who have been able to do no more than just to expose themselves, shew their Contempt of all the Obligations as well of Conscience as of Honour ; and let the World see in short that they have not been able to come at the Secret itself, and really know nothing of the Matter.
One of these has taken some Pains to tell us his Name, and has himself branded it with a Mark of Infamy, as inimitably ridiculous as it is wicked ; telling us at the same time, that he is a received and accepted Free Mason, and from thence would infer that he knows the whole Secret, and so goes on to betray (ignorant Wretch !) All he knows, in spite of all the Oaths and Engagements he had entered into to the contrary, tho', to his great Disappointment, all he knows amounts to just nothing.
The others, having been not quite so shameless, have concealed their Names, under the weak Pretences of having receiv'd their Informations from other Hands, but must know at the same time, that those other Hands must then have been guilty of the same Perjury and Prevarication, and must have been equally Traytors to their Trust, to their Masters, and to their Country ; so that let it come which Way it will, it is much the same.
They have copied from one another, and all their Informations intimate a kind of Dialogue between the Person of a Free Mason and some imaginary Inquirer at the Time of that Person being admitted into the Society ; which Dialogues, and especially the Answers are full of such nonsensical inconsistent Things, that they are not able to give the Reader the least Diversion or Information, if he had Patience to go thro' them.
The following is a short Entertainment of like kind between one of the Masters of the Society, and a junior Member lately admitted, and who, as appears, is one of the weak Bretheren mention'd above.
Mast. Come hither, Young Man, pray what do you wear that Apron, and these white Gloves for ? are you a Free Mason ?
Jun. N.B. [Here instead of an Answer he pronounces (as he thinks) the SECRET WORD, by which he supposes he should pass for a Member.]
Mast. N.B. [Here the Master pronounces ANOTHER WORD, which the Junior does not at all understand.]
Jun. What's that pray ?
Mast. A Token by which I understand that you are only admitted to the first Steps of a Free Mason, but are not yet taken into the full Confidence of the Society.
Jun. Ay, have they serv'd me so ! I can't believe that ; I tell you I am an accepted Free Mason ?
Mast. But I tell you, that you are not ; but do not be angry ; after having approv'd your self honest, and given the Society some Year's Experience of your Fidelity, as well as of your Improvement in Knowledge, and the Science of a Mason, you may at length attain to the full Degree of an Accepted Mason, but not yet I assure you.
Jun. I tell you, I am all that already.
Mast. I know better, Friend ; if you were, you would have understood what just now I said : However, are you willing to be farther examin'd ?
Jun. Ay, ay ; I can answer all the Questions which you put at our Admission.
Mast. I doubt you can't ; pray, who was the first Master Mason in the World ?
Jun. He that built the Tower of Babel.
Mast. Well, but who was he ?
Jun. We were not told his Name.
Mast. I knew that well enough ; they would not trust you with that Secret at first.
Jun. Pray what was his Name ?
Mast. No, hold there ; do you think I have so little Regard to my Oath ?
Jun. I thought when I was accepted a Free Mason I had a Right to be told every Thing.
Mast. No, you are mistaken there ; after one and forty Years Tryal of your Fidelity, perhaps you may, but not before.
Jun. I believe I know every Thing as well as you do.
Mast. Come then, let's put you to the Tryal again ; who was the Head Master Mason in the Building of Solomon's Temple.
Jun. Hiram the great Master Mason of Tyre, of the Tribe of Naphtali ?
Mast. There you are wrong again ; Hiram was a Caster of Brass, or, if you please, a Founder ; the greatest and best that ever was in the World.
Jun. I say he was a Free Mason.
Mast. Yes, alegorically ; as a Man of one Employment may be a Member of a Society that is of another ; so a Handicraft in London, may be by Profession a Smith, and by his Freedom or Company a Tallow Chandler ; and so Hiram was a free Accepted Mason, and no doubt he understood Masonry perfectly well too ; yet his principal Work in Solomon's Temple, was Casting of Brass, and it was he that cast the two vast Brazen Pillars call'd Boaz and Jachin, such as never were seen before or since.
Jun. Well, but who was the Head Mason then ; who was the Master Builder of the Temple ?
Mast. Nay, that's not a Secret for you to understand yet ; I tell you it must be Matter of Time.
Jun. But I say Hiram (say what you will) was the Man, and he built Solomon's Porch too ?
Mast. Yes ; and don't they tell you Hiram was buried in the Sanctum Sanctorum ?
Jun. Yes, and he was buried there too to be sure.
Mast. Yes, allegorically ; but not really ; the Meaning of the Figure is this : That his Art sunk with him, was buried in the exquisite Workmanship which he perform'd for the Temple, and was never recover'd since, for that no such Things were ever done after it, in or for any Building in the World.
Jun. Was that the Meaning of it ?
Mast. Yes ; for you might easily know, a dead Body to have been buried in the Temple, would have polluted the Place, and the Jews would never have come into it again.
Jun. There may be something in that indeed ; but why was not I told all that before ?
Mast. I tell you why, because you had not been long enough enter'd to be a fully Accepted Free Mason.
Jun. And was the Art of Masonry buried then in Solomon's Temple ?
Mast. I don't say so ; but Hiram's Art of Foundry was so buried to be sure ; for all the World never made two such massive Pillars of Brass as BOAZ and JACHIN, nor was there ever any such heard of in the World.
Jun. And what became of Masonry in Egypt at the same time ?
Mast. Why that died with old Mizraim, for there was never any Free Mason in the World that could build such Pyramids, and therefore the old Royal Architect is said to be buried under his own Pyramids, that is to say, his Knowledge and the Perfection of the Science died with him.
Jun. So we have no fully and completely finish'd Artist in Masonry left in the World, have we ?
Mast. Not in those particular Branches of Art, but in some others we have Men that have excell'd to a Wonder.
Jun. Who are they ?
Mast. Nay, it is not your Business to examine me ; I thought I was examining you ; but you may go back to the History of Masonry abridg'd as above, and answer yourself.
Jun. Well then, I know nothing belike of Free Masonry.
Mast. Not much indeed ; and not enough to do the Free Masons any Harm, that I can assure you, tho' you break your Oath tomorrow, and tell all you know.
Jun. I may try that perhaps ; it seems they have cheated me, why shou'd not I be even with them ? If they have deluded me, my Oath is void.
Mast. I don't see how you will make out that ; but if you think so, you may do your worst, there is no body in fear of your Resentment.
Jun. If they were not afraid, they would not make us take such horrid Oaths for Secrecy ; but I don't value their Oaths of a Farthing, not I.
Mast. Not value the Oaths ! Mr. Free Mason, say you so ! What, are you arriv'd to such a Pitch that you value neither God nor Devil !
Jun. I don't think either God or Devil is any thing concern'd in this Case, 'tis an Oath and no Oath to me ; and I tell you, if they don't use me very handsomly, I'll expose the whole Craft, I know how to do it very well.
Mast. All you know of it, you mean.
Jun. Yes, all I know of it.
Mast. And that is just nothing at all, I tell you ; why you did not so much as know what Trade old Hiram was ; or who was the Master Builder of Babel : You expose us ! you can expose no body but your self.
Jun. Well, well, I will let the World see what Cheats you are, and how you have impos'd upon me and all the World : If I an't better us'd, I'll make my self amends upon some of you, I'll warrant you.
Mast. What do you mean by being better us'd ? Explain yourself, pray.
Jun. Explain my self ; ay, so I will ; I want Money, and I must have Money, and by G—d I will have Money, or it shall be worse for them.
Mast. Well, now you talk like your self ; want Money ! must have Money ! and will have Money ! What's the Difference, pray, between that and D—mn you, Sir, Deliver, or I'll . . . &c. Pray, where is your Pistol ?
Jun. No, no ; I am no high-way-man, and yet I tell you, if your damn'd Society do not take care of me, I'll take care of them, I'll lay it all open by G—d.
Here the Dialogue broke off, as well it might ; for what could be said further to such a Pretender to Free Masonry, as this ? He might have laid a Man flat without Square or Level, and cut a Perpendicular thro' his Head without Rule or Plumb-Line.
Upon this very Foundation the Enemies of the Free Masons have proceeded, and these are the Men we have to do with in this Tract : They have taken the Oath of a Free Mason, and have with an audacious Front broke thro' that Oath, and they would come off of it by objecting against the Manner of the Oath and the Obligations of it, insisting that it is not binding upon them, because not administer'd in the ordinary Form of Law or before a Magistrate, and the like.
PART II
Thus far we have seen the Fools of the Society discovering themselves ; Fools we may call them without any Injustice, that could believe, a Society, claiming to have been establish'd so many Ages, and whose secret Deposit, had been preserv'd so inviolable under so many sacred Bonds and Ties of Secresy, could be so weak at last as to discover the Arcana of Free Masonry to every Comer that did but think fit at the Expence of a Trifle to offer themselves, and to take a Modern Oath, for these Men affirm the Oath that they have taken to be all Modern, and, as they say, form'd of yesterday ; and so it is indeed, compar'd to the ancient Engagements of Free Masons, which were founded upon Principles of Honour, and in Times when a solemn Parole was of equal, if not superior Force with the Consciences of Men as the warmest Imprecations of these swearing Days : This has appeared in the Consequences, seeing we find the firmly combin'd Force of the Honourable Society of Free Masons remaining untouch'd, nay unattempted, notwithstanding the Difference of the Bonds : Till these wicked Times, when, as we see in the present Example, Men are not to be bound by the most awful and solemn Oaths, Promises and Asseverations in the World.
Now, tho' the Sense of this Degeneracy of Mankind may have led the Society to draw up some new and additional Forms of Oaths, by which they might hope to secure the Fidelity of their Junior Members, yet wisely also foreseeing what might happen, and that Men would be found who would perhaps break through all those Obligations, and make light of Faith and Honour ; they took care likewise to communicate no more of the Secrets of the Society to those young Members than they thought fit, till they had in their first Station given ample Proofs of their Fidelity ; and yet the little which they knew being opened to them under the most horrid Imprecations and the most solemn Oaths, they could not break thro' that little without branding themselves with the grossest Marks of Infamy, as well as Folly ; the first, in the evident Perjury ; and the last, in their ignorantly supposing they were Masters of the happy Secret, when indeed they knew little of the Matter.
We have had the inside of the latter sort turn'd outmost in the former Discourse with a Junior admitted in Form as above : We shall now entertain you a little with a more flagrant piece of Treachery, and Perjury committed, avowed and openly boasted of in the Teeth of Shame, and in Contempt of all that can be call'd Honourable among Men. This is fully describ'd in another Dialogue between a True Mason and one Mr. Samuel Prichard ; for he has given up his Name to the D— under the Sanction of a Counter-Oath, even in Print ; swearing himself perjur'd, which any Man would have believ'd without a second Oath, and no Man the more for the Addition, the Dialogue is as follows.
Q. Pray, Sir, is your Name Samuel Prichard ? A. Yes, Sir.
Q. Are you the same Man who has publish'd that wonderful Book call'd the Free Mason dissected ? A. Yes, I am Sir, what have you to say to it ?
Q. Nothing at all Sir, only I wonder you did not give it a better Title. A. What Title cou'd have been more to the Purpose, and to the Design of the Book ?
Q. O, a great many ; but one in particular. A. What is that pray, what wou'd you have had it call'd ?
Q. Why, I wou'd have had you call'd it Mr. Samuel Prichard dissected, or Mr. Samuel Prichard, who calls himself a Free Mason, dissected. A. And why so pray ?
Q. Because the Book would then have answer'd the Title exactly, for it has the very Inside of a R— laid open in it from the very Title Page to the Word Finis, and the Name set to it at full length thus, (I am the Man) Samuel Prichard. A. You are very rude, is this all your Business with me ?
Q. No, no ; I have several Things of Moment to talk with you about ; pray why do you call your self a Free Mason ? A. Because I am so.
Q. How do you make it out ? A. I am an Accepted Free Mason, a Member of the Free Masons, and I wear the Leather Apron and white Gloves.
Q. How was you accepted, and by whom ? A. By a Constituted Lodge of Accepted Free Masons.
Q. Well, but you should change your Stile a little. A. How shou'd I change it, and why ?
Q. Why, you shou'd say, I was a Free Mason, not I Am. A. Why am I not so now, pray ? once a Free Mason, and always a Free Mason.
Q. Ay, but once a Renegade, and always a Turk ; once a Traytor, and always a R— ; those Things you know are Maxims in all Affairs of this kind, you know it well enough. A. You are very abusive, you talk as if you had an Authority to rail.
Q. I say nothing of Mr. Prichard, but what I have Mr. Prichard's Authority for, under his Oath before a Justice of Peace. A. What have I given under my Hand ?
Q. Nothing but that you are perjur'd, and have divulged what you had sworn to conceal ; is not that Writing your self a .......... under your own Hand, and have I not a good Authority to call you any thing or every thing that you call your self ? A. I say no such Thing.
Q. Come let us see how Jesuit-like you will work your self out : Pray, who presented you to the Society to be receiv'd a Free Mason ? A. I went of my own accord, it was my own Desire to be amongst them.
Q. Pray for what Purpose did you desire it ? A. That I might see into the Mystery that was talked so much of.
Q. Then it was not to attain to any of the Perfections and Improvements of a Society so ancient and honourable, but meerly to satisfy your own Curiosity. A. Perhaps there might be something else in it too, I wanted to know what they were a doing as a Society, and to be let into the grand Secret, which the World talked so much of.
Q. What did you propose to your self ? A. That I might get Money by it.
Q. How cou'd you suppose you should get Money by it, you did not design to discover it, did you ? A. It may be I did.
Q. A very honest Design indeed, Mr. Prichard, very honest. A. As honest on my Side as on theirs it may be.
Q. Well, but when you were receiv'd or admitted, you took Oath, did not you ? A. Yes, yes ; I took all the Oaths they offer'd to me.
Q. And would have taken forty more, I suppose, if they had offered them ; for he that breaks an Oath is perjur'd you know, and is no more you'll say, if he takes a Bag full : So here was a premeditated Perjury, and an Oath taken with an Intent to break it. A. Well, and what d'ye make of all that ?
Q. Nothing Mr. Prichard, nothing at all only forsworn a little, that's all, Mr. Prichard ; pray, is that a true Copy of the Oath you took, which you have printed in your Book ? A. Yes, don't you see I have sworn to it in the first Page.
Q. You must pardon me, Mr. Prichard, I can't believe it a jot the more for your new fashion'd Oath : He that will forswear once, will forswear twice ; but I think I know the Oath, and if you please I'll set it down again for you, that you may have a Voucher ; the Oath you took, if you were admitted a Free Mason, was this.
The Free Mason's Oath
I Hereby solemnly Vow and Swear in the Presence of Almighty God and this Right Worshipful Assembly, that I will Hail and Conceal, and never Reveal the Secrets or Secresy of Masons or Masonry, that shall be revealed unto me ; unless to a True and Lawful Brother, after due Examination, or in a Just and Worshipful Lodge of Brothers and Fellows well met.
I furthermore Promise and Vow, that I will not Write them, Print them, Mark them, Carve them, or Engrave them, or cause them to be Written, Printed, Marked, Carved or Engraved on Wood or Stone, so as the Visible Character or Impression of a Letter may appear, whereby it may be unlawfully obtain'd.
All this under no less Penalty than to have my Throat cut, my Tongue taken from the Roof of my Mouth, my Heart pluck'd from under my Left Breast, them to be buried in the Sands of the Sea, the length of a Cable-rope from Shore, where the Tide ebbs and flows twice in 24 Hours, my Body to be burnt to Ashes, my Ashes to be scatter'd upon the Face of the Earth, so that there shall be no more Remembrance of me among Masons. So help me God.
Q. Is this a true Draft of the Oath ? A. Yes, yes ; 'tis the same I published, and the same that I took.
Q. On purpose to break, I perceive. A. Well, and what then ? I tell you, I am not guilty of Perjury for all that.
Q. Nay, have you not sworn that you are forsworn ? A. Don't tell me of Perjury, and being foresworn ; why did they not answer my just Demands then ? I tell you they are all Cheats and R—s, I did not cheat them.
Q. What Demands ? Did they owe you any Thing ? A. Why Money, why did they not give me some Money ?
Q. Did they promise you any when you entered, or before it ? A. It's no matter whether they did or no, I expected it, and I wanted it, and more than that, I was told I might get Money of them, if I was but once admitted.
Q. Who told you so, was he a Free Mason, or one that had any Commission from them to promise in their Names ? A. No, no ; but it was one that understood Things.
Q. What's that to them ? Did they make any Bargain with you ? A. What tho' they did not, I told them I wanted Money.
Q. When did you tell them so, before you took the Oath or since ? A. No, not before you may be sure, but often enough since.
Q. And did you threaten to discover and break the Oath if they would not give you Money ? A. Yes, I did.
Q. And what did they say to that, did they promise you any then ? A. They abused me, like a Knot of R—s as they are, set me at Defiance, and bade me do my worst.
Q. And so you have done your worst, han't you ? A. I have done what I told them I would do, I have exposed them.
Q. What, in your printed Book ? A. Ay, in the Book called the Free Mason Dissected.
Q. Pray, how then comes the World to have such a different Opinion of that extraordinary Piece from what you think of it ? A. What different Opinion have they ?
Q. Why, I can't meet with one Man that has read it, but what like my Title much better than they do yours, and think it should have been call'd not the Free Mason Dissected, but Mr. Samuel Prichard Dissected. A. I don't believe a Word of it.
Q. But I can bring you good Witness of it, there is not one Page in it but what they say, calls you both Knave and Fool. A. But how can they make it out ?
Q. Why first they say, you own yourself perjur'd, nay you have sworn to it ; that calls you K........ and something worse : And as for the F...., certainly he that publishes his own Shame may pass for a F.... in any Part of the World. A. I own no such thing.
Q. Well, we will talk farther of that by and by, but in the mean time what does all the Discovery you have made amount to ? A. Nay, you say I have discovered nothing.
Q. Nothing that (as you expected) can do the Free Masons the Injury you intended. A. Then what is all this Noise for ?
Q. Nay nothing, but to shew how blind a piece of Work you have made of it, and what a Trifle you have perjur'd yourself for ? A. What is it you call a Trifle ? Han't I laid open all the Bottom of the Mystery, that they have cheated the World with so long.
Q. Truly, thou hast laid open neither Bottom or Top, nor is there either Head or Tail in all the Book ; you have only told the World that when People come first to be admitted into the Society of Free Masons, they take an Oath of Secresy, a solemn Oath in the Terms as above recited, and as it seems you have taken it. A. Yes, I have so.
Q. Ay, and have broken it too, as bare fac'd as you took it. A. So I have, make your best of it.
Q. And that after the Oath, they used a formal Office of Admission to serve for a Tryal of the Fidelity of the Junior Members, for that the Society not being able to know the Characters and Principles of every new Member, did not think fit to commit the whole Trust of their Secret deposit to Novices and 'Prentices, as you see they are call'd, till after a sufficient Probation ; so that if they prov'd treacherous, they could discover no more than they knew, which was nothing significant to the main Affair, and nothing by which the grand Secret could be expos'd. A. A fine Story truly ; how do you make it out ?
Q. The Thing makes out itself ; let any body that has had so much Patience as to read your Libel, tell themselves what they can learn from it of the Society's Affairs. A. Yes, they may learn the whole Secret.
Q. How can that be, when 'tis plain you don't know it yourself ? They can only learn that the Society have been too wise to trust you, and that you are too ignorant to hurt them. A. If this was true, then what do you make all this Stir about Perjury for ?
Q. Why you are not a jot less perjur'd for that : A House-breaker is no less a Thief when a House is so well secur'd that he can't get into it, than he would be if he had got in and rob'd it of all that was in it. A. You make very homely Comparisons.
Q. But they are very just. A. I tell you the Oath itself is void in its own Nature. It is an illegal Oath.
Q. But you allow it is an Oath, and that you swore it. A. Well, and what can you make now of such an Oath as this ?
Q. I make of it ; nay, what do you make of it ? A. I make nothing at all of it, nor is the thing sworn to worth a Farthing.
Q. I make so much of it, that I would not break it, tho' it were of less Importance than it is, for a thousand Guineas. A. And I would break an hundred such for half the Money.
Q. If you have such a case-harden'd Conscience as that, you have so far got the start of me, Mr. Prichard, I can't help that. A. There's nothing in it, you can't call it an Oath.
Q. Not an Oath ! Was it not intended to be an Oath by those that impos'd it ? A. Ay, ay ; but they had no Power to give me an Oath at all, much less to impose the Form of it.
Q. Very well, and will that bring you off, think you ? Pray, had they Power to stand still and hear you swear it ? And, I hope, you remember you did not swear to them, tho' you swore it before them, but to Almighty God, and his sacred Name you invok'd in the Conclusion to help, or not to help you, as you perform'd or did not perform what you had sworn. A. I tell you, I swore nothing ; the Form of the Oath being illegal, the Matter is illegal also, and of no Import, I do not lay the least Stress upon it.
Q. Unhappy shuffling perjur'd Creature ! that won't do, that Jesuitical Shift will not stand thee in any stead against the solid part of an Oath ; hear the Words again : that is, I Samuel Prichard, solemnly swear in the Presence of Almighty God, &c. is not that swearing ? A. Not such swearing as to make the Breach of the Oath Perjury.
Q. Not Perjury ! A. No, not Perjury ; and if any Man says I am perjur'd, I'll bring my Action against him.
Q. Begin with me then, Sam, for I tell thee to thy Face thou art forsworn in the Sight of God and Man. A. I don't care for that, so long as it is not so in the Sight of the Law.
Q. Thou hast a hard-mouth'd Soul, Prichard, that's true. But that will carry thee but a little way in Defence of the Fact. Let us go back to the Oath : Did you repeat the Words when you took the Oath, or did you only hear them read, and, having your Hand upon the Book, say the usual Amen to them at the End, that is, So help me God. A. I need not have repeated them, but being officiously forward I did repeat them aloud, being all the while upon my Knees ; but all that's nothing, I tell you.
Q. That is to say still, that you don't call this Swearing, or call the Words, which are the Form of it, an Oath, when so read to you, and acknowledg'd by you in the Presence of Almighty God. Pray, what do you call Swearing — and what is an Oath in your Account ? A. You may call it what you will, I tell you, I value it not.
Q. I believe you don't indeed ; and you may depend upon it, no body will value any thing you shall say or swear for the future, you shall enjoy one Part of the Curse attending your swearing Part (viz.) that tho' your Ashes may not be scatter'd, as you say in the Oath, upon the Face of the Earth ; yet that there shall be no more Remembrance of you among Masons, and so avoid Mr. Free Mason Prichard, avoid for ever. A. Well, but you say I swore to nothing, what then do you make all this a-noise about ; if I swore to nothing, I have forsworn nothing, and so all is well again.
Q. No, Mr. Prichard, no, no ; I do not say you swore to nothing, only I say you have been trusted with nothing, that is to say, nothing of Importance ; nothing but what you may carry away, and make no body much the wiser ; but you are not a Jot the less dipt in the Perjury, for that : He that does all the Mischief he can, is guilty of all the Mischief he would do, if it was in his power ; and 'tis plain by your Confession, if you have not been guilty of all the Treachery to the Society that you design'd to be, it has not been for want of Will, but for want of Power ; you would have murther'd them all upon the same Foot, if it had been in your Power. A. But what is this to the Purpose still, if as you say, I have discovered nothing.
Q. Hold there, tho' what you have discover'd, or indeed, all you know, was not able to do the Free Masons any harm ; yet you are foresworn as much as if you had discovered ten times as much. A. How will you make out that ?
Q. Because you did not swear not to discover Things detrimental to the Company, for that might be to swear to conceal that which you did not know, but you swore not to discover what you knew, be the Importance of it more or less. A. You take a great deal of Pains to make it Perjury, if you could ; I tell you I don't value it, if it is Perjury, as long as you can't prosecute me at Law.
Q. I have nothing to do with the brasen Side of your Conscience, look you to that ; I prove it to be Perjury, and that's enough to the present Case. A. You and I differ about the Word Perjury, perhaps, that's all.
Q. I don't think we differ about it at all ; pray what say you of a Man that solemnly promises with a profess'd Design to break his Word, and not perform ? A. Say, we say he breaks his Word.
Q. Don't we say he is guilty of premeditated Perjury ? A. We may say so, but that is not Perjury.
Q. Indeed, I think it is, for there is very little Difference (if any) between them : a solemn Promise before Witness, and mentioning the Presence of God, is no less than calling God to witness ; and an Oath, I am sure, does no more, so that they are the same in the Intent and Meaning of them. A. That's carrying Things on to Extremes and Niceties.
Q. But what's all this to you ? yours was a plain Oath, as plain and as strong as Words and horrid Imprecations could make it. A. An Oath to do what ?
Q. To conceal and keep secret, and neither directly or indirectly to divulge. A. Divulge what ?
Q. It is really no Matter what, whatever it was except it was criminal to conceal it ; the divulging it was downright Perjury. A. I don't value a hundred such Oaths as that.
Thus far the unhappy Mr. Prichard has carry'd on his Defence, with a Stock of Brass, perfectly agreeable to the Nature of the Thing call'd Perjury ; and holds it out that he is not forsworn, only because he did not swear before a lawful Magistrate, and that the Breach of his Oath cannot be prosecuted as a meer Perjury in the Sense of the Law, or in a Court of Justice ; let him shelter his Conscience under such a Skreen, it may indeed save his Ears, but will never solve his Character.
Nor will it go down with any honest Man, that a solemn Oath, or an Oath solemnly taken between Man and Man, or by a Man to a Society of Men shall not be binding, because the Breach of it is not cognisable in Form of Law.
Justice and Honesty will remain unchang'd and the same, and will have the same Influence upon all honest and upright Minds ; tho' the Penalty were entirely taken off from the Breach of the Bond ; for the Obligation is not fix'd upon the Form, but 'tis fix'd in the Soul, and an honest Man will do what is honest, from an inherent Principle of Justice, tho' there were no Laws to bind him, no Power to punish him, and no Shame or Reproach to attend him.
Mr. Prichard has taken pains to guild his own Character with all the flaming Lustre that the D—l can assist him with, and has not only avowedly broken the Oath of a Free Mason, which he acknowledges he had taken as above, but has with a Strain above all that ever went before him, and in a Manner very particular, gone before a Magistrate to unswear what he had sworn to before, and take an Oath that he is forsworn ; the merriest and most fantastick Piece of Forehead-Work that ever I met with in the World, that a Man (fearing like the Wizard at New England) that his Word should not be taken against himself, has, I say, made Oath that he has broken his Oath, and swore that he is foresworn ; and I doubt by the Way is perjur'd in that Oath too, as well as in the other. What Occasion there was for such an unprecedented Oath as this, I cannot imagine, except to eternize his Memory, which, as above, was doomed by the Imprecations of his former Oaths eternally to be forgotten. Perhaps indeed he might apprehend that a single Affirmation would not go down with Mankind in a Case so flagrant, and therefore he sets a Bill upon the Door, intimating that here was some strange and wonderful Novelty to be seen, such as was never seen or heard of before, viz. a Monster swearing himself to be a Monster, a Man swearing himself to be a D—l. Whether indeed he ought to be depended upon for this last Oath any more than he might for the first, I shall not determine. Perhaps he might act like the Wizard at New England, who swore he dealt with the Devil and had done so for several Years, yet could not gain Credit enough with the Jury to get himself hang'd, tho' every body believ'd he deserv'd it.
And what shall we call this double Swearing now, but a Testimony even in favour of Free Masonry it self, viz. that not one Word of this Author's Work ought to be depended upon or even believ'd ; and indeed, as I have advanced already, there is so little Consistency in the Relation, and such confounded Falsehood in the Relator, that whoever would hang a Beast upon his Affidavit, should never pass with me for a just Judge or a good Juryman.
When a Man has once made himself infamous in the Sense of the Law, his Evidence is no more accepted in a Court of Justice. If a Man shall upon Oath declare himself to have perjur'd a most solemn Oath, and own'd that he regards neither God or the Devil, so that he can but be free from that one Evil call'd Punishment ; he may pass with other Men for what they please, but with me shall always pass for what the Law calls by a hard Name, and cannot deserve a soft one.
But I am still mightily inclin'd to believe one Thing in favour of this unhappy Author, and that is, that he did not really take the Masons Oath, and if so, then he is guilty but of one Perjury ; but then to what purpose was his second Oath ! and he must be brought in committing that Sin for the meer sake of sinning, which is what wise Men say out-sins the Devil ; if the Devil does Mischief, 'tis with some View, and Design of still farther Mischief : But if he did not take the first Oath, then he forswore himself in the second without any View at all, and for no manner of purpose ; and on the other hand, if he did take the first Oath and break it, his second Oath might well be said to stand for nothing, for owning himself forsworn already, who would believe any thing he should say or swear after it ?
In short, 'tis all a piece of Nonsense and Confusion, and we shall say no more to it, but see a little into the Design and Event of it all.
I. What his Design was in this double Prevarication.
II. How far the Event has answer'd the Malice of the Design, or whether it has answer'd it at all or no ? These two Enquiries have afforded us another short Entertainment upon the Subject by way of Dialogue, and which may serve to dismiss this worthy Subject and its Author also from the Stage and Scene of Action, and indeed from all Conversation among Free Masons in the World. The Discourse is as follows.
Q. Pray, Mr. Free Mason PRICHARD, let me ask you another short Question or two upon the Subject of our last Conference, and (if that be possible) answer me sincerely. A. I won't promise you that.
Q. No indeed, I doubt you can't ; and if you did, it would be of no great Weight ; but I shall judge a little by the Manner of your Answers, whether they are sincere or no. A. Well, what is it you would ask me ?
Q. Why, in the first place, what did you propose to yourself in your late extraordinary Pamphlet called Masonry Dissected ? A. Propose to my self, what do you mean by that ?
Q. The Question is plain ; no Action is done by any rational Creature, but it is done for some End, something is proposed, as an End in the Work : Now in that Part, either you proposed some thing to your self, or you proposed nothing. A. I told you before I proposed to get Money.
Q. Money ; of whom, pray ? A. Why, of the Free Masons.
Q. What, after you had spit your Venom at them ; after you had done all the Mischief you could ? you could not expect they would give you any thing then, especially seeing, as it seems, they would give you none before. A. But I did expect it for all that.
Q. What, Did you think they would give you Money for railing, when they would give you none to hold your Tongue ? A. Well, it were better for them that they had.
Q. Had what ? given you Money, after you had done your worst : I am indeed of Opinion now, that your Answer is sincere, it is so silly. A. But perhaps I had another End in it, that may have been answer'd effectually, and that I shan't let you into the Secret of.
Q. I believe I can tell it you, if you won't tell it me, and I believe so, because there is no room for any thing else, and that is REVENGE. A. Well, if that is the Case, han't I good Cause ? Han't I Provocation enough ?
Q. No indeed, I see no Provocation at all : Pray, wherein have the Free Masons affronted you, that it should raise your Spleen so much ? A. Why, they would give me no Money ; is not that sufficient Provocation ?
Q. I am perswaded they gave you as much as they promis'd you. A. Why they gave me nothing at all.
Q. Did they give Money to any body else ? A. I don't inquire into that.
Q. But why should you expect it, if no body else did ? A. It's no matter for that, I will be reveng'd of them, they had better have done it.
Q. That's not worth notice : But this brings me to ask you another Question, and that is, are not all the Ends you propos'd to your self disappointed ; or to put it another Way, has any one of your Expectations been answer'd ? A. Perhaps they have.
Q. I doubt not ; I believe you cannot pretend to it. A. Yes, yes, I have got Money by my Book.
Q. Poor Scribbler ! What little you have got by the Copy of your Book is hardly worth being call'd getting, and you have bought that Gold (if there was any) much too dear. A. Well, you have nothing to do with that ; I have not done with them yet.
Q. Well, now you are sincere again, for that's a free and full Confession. A. Confession of what ?
Q. Why, that you have been disappointed in what you have done already. A. How disappointed ?
Q. Why, that it has not answer'd your End or Design. A. You don't know what my End or Design was.
Q. Why, did not you tell me just now, that it was Revenge, because you could get no Money of them ? A. Well, it may be it was that, among other Things.
Q. And are you not disappointed now, as effectually as you were before ? I tell you, you have taken wrong Measures in both : I think you should go to School, to learn the A B C of a R— you have enough of the Rage, but no Method. A. By your Way of talking, I suppose you are able to teach me.
Q. You are witty upon me, it seems, for my Advice : No, I shan't pretend to teach you, but I may direct you to them that can. A. Who may that be, pray ?
Q. Why, I think, you may learn of some of those lesser R—s at Bristol. When you wanted Money of the Free Masons, I wonder you did not threaten to burn their Houses, if they did not send it you. A. What, do you take me for an Incendiary then ?
Q. Yes, indeed, I do ; for there are other People call'd Incendiaries, besides those that burn Houses, and I think the Crimes bear a strong Analogy. A. How can you make that out ?
Q. Why Revenge, 'tis apparent, is the grand Apparatus of both ; Want of Money is the Spring which moves them both ; and if you attack by Slander, and they by Fire, God and the Gallows has only prevented it, or else the Method had been the same in both. A. What d'ye mean by that ?
Q. Mean ! my Meaning is direct, not equivocal like yours : Providence has been the Safety of the Innocent, and the Gallows has been the Terror of the Guilty. A. You are raving sure, pray what have I done to you ?
Q. Nay nothing, Mr. Prichard, nothing at all, nor to any body else ; only shew'd your Teeth, shew'd us what you would have done, had it not been for the Gallows. A. Why the Gallows, pray ?
Q. Because you are something of a Coward, it seems, and afraid of being hang'd ; your Brethren of Bristol had more Courage by half than you. A. I never intended to burn any body's House.
Q. I don't think you did. A. Why do you talk thus then ?
Q. Because I tell you, I can never believe that he who, to extort Money unjustly and where none is due, will attack innocent Men, endeavour to blast them with Slander and Calumny, and in mere Revenge perjure himself to fasten the Dirt of his Reproaches upon them, would ever stick at robbing, ay or burning their Houses to bring it to pass, if it was not for mere Cowardice and Fear of the Gallows ; and now I think I have explained my self. A. Explain'd your self in what ?
Q. Why, in stating the Affinity between the Bristol Men and you, and saying you were Brethren ? A. Very well ; and is there no Difference between us then ?
Q. Yes, yes ; there's a great deal of Difference between you too. A. It's well you'll allow me that.
Q. Nay, nay, don't boast of it ; there's none in the Crime, tho' there's some in the Manner. A. None in the Crime ! monstrous ! Why I han't burnt Houses, nor sent Letters to threaten any of the Free Masons, have I ?
Q. Perhaps not ; I tell you, Fear of the Gallows has prevented that, but no Thanks to your Intention, which, like theirs, was Revenge ; a Crime in its very Nature, and fruitful of all the other Crimes we talk of, as the Boldness and Spirit of the Criminal guides it, so that (as I said) there is no Difference in the Principle at all. A. Well, where is the Difference then ? For you own we differ.
Q. Why the Difference is plain. They have done all the Mischief they threaten'd, and you have been able to do no Mischief at all. They have shewn their Villany in Fire, and you only in Smoke. They have hurt the Man they pointed at, you have only grinn'd and shew'd your Teeth, and been able to hurt no body. A. Well then, you say I have done no Hurt.
Q. No, none at all, Mr. Prichard, none at all ; that is to say, not to a Free Mason. A. What then do you exclaim against ? what do you make such a Noise for ?
Q. Your wicked Design has not been the Less, and you have done hurt too. A. But what is my Design to you ?
Q. Yes, yes, as I said before, if a Man attempt to robb my House, but can't get in, or to fire my House, but can't fasten his Combustibles, he does me wrong, tho' he does me no hurt, he injures me and assaults me, tho' he can't do the Mischief he would do. A. Well, well, if I have been disappointed, as you pretend, I may let you know you are not invulnerable.
Q. I believe we are, as to any Thing you can do, and I am sure we are, as to all you have done yet ; so as the Free-Mason told you before, you may do your worst.
THE CONCLUSION
Thus the Free-Mason, and Mr. Prichard parted ; and indeed he had so little to say, that it was not worth while to talk any more with him. They had indeed some other Disputes about the ancient Masons in the first Ages of the World ; but this poor Fellow was so ignorant, so unread, and so unteachable, which was worse in matter of History and Antiquity, that it was to no purpose to go back to former Times with him, or to say any thing of what had been.
The Free Mason ask'd him how many free Masons were employ'd in the building of Solomon's Temple, but he knew nothing of it Then he ask'd him how many Master Masons there were employ'd ; and he answer'd, none but old Hiram, mentioned above, who, as is observ'd, was a Brasier or Founder, and no Mason at all : Upon this he shewed him one of Sr. Walter Raleigh's History of the World, that there were 80000 Masons and 30000 Carpenters and Joyners employed in that Work, and 3500 Master Masons or Directors to oversee and direct the Work and asked him if he thought the Antiquity of Free Masonry was not sufficiently defended by the learned Author.
To all this the ignorant Creature had nothing to say, but to complain that he was not informed of all these Things when he was admitted, to which it was answered, That if he had continued an Honest Free-Mason, these Things, and all the other Arcana of the Society, would have been communicated and committed to him, but that he lost all that by turning R— too soon ; and upon this he went swearing away and vowing farther Revenge, but utterly unable to do the Free-Masons the least hurt.
FINIS.
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.