The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1868-01-10
A Summary Of the Origin OF ma
BOmry. he ub

~ SUMMARY OF the ORIGIN Of MAJ
sOnry. ~ 40
Much speculation has arisen as'to The
source from which Masonry sprang. Be-
cause OF the Temple Of Solomon in the an.
cient documents Of the craft now existing.
some have contended that the institution
could be traced back to the time of the
building OF the temple. Indeed. not = few
persons cherish the absurd, but NOT alid.
gether nninspiring idea, that Moses was
Grand Master of Lodge Joshua his Dep
uty, and Aholiab and Bezaleel Grand War.
dcns But II is now maintained by many
ut the best thinkers In the order that II IL
the legitimate descendant aud sueceaaoF
OF the societies of operative masons of Ser
many, who bailt nearly all the splendid
cathedrals which still remain as n monuments
of the skill of the German n1asons during
the thirteenth aud fourteenth centuries.
Plimarally the lodges in Germany were
established tor the purpose of preserving
the knowledge Of the science OF architec.
ture, which remained almost exclusively
with them duriog the Middle Ages. The
members ielt q decided contempt fo~ .l---7--
outside thvir iaas,itp tis,u, ,sS,Ie ivd no COM
municaton with the maSons who use only
the trowel and mortar. They invented
pass. words, tokens, OF recognition, and pos
sessed portion of tho symbols now en-
ployed in modern Masonry. In l440, the /,
parent society Of Masons at Strasburg bore
the appellaton of Brothers Of st. John.
The ritual of reception was very close
imitation of the ceremonies of initiation Of
the Order of Benedictiues.
1t is supposed that German stono ma
sons were the master workmen Of the priu-
cipal Gothic ediices erected in England
during the fourteenth century, aud that
they carried with thom, and introduced
among the English, the peculiar ussges
and customs OF tho German lodge, and
there is very little doubt that the English
Freemaso and German stone masons, were
actually branches OF one and tho Same fYa-
lgrnity.
For long time in England none but &C.
tual mosous were allowed to participate in
the benefits Of the institution, but toward
the close OF the sixteenth centuries, and
the beginning of the seventeeth centuries,
persons who were not masons by trade be-
gan to be admitted into the fraternity.
These were distinguished from the work.
ing masons by the title of accepted ma.
sons. Sir Christopher Wren, who built
St, Paurs was free and accepted mason.
Soon the latter class obtained the supre-
macy in the order, and then it rapidly took
it's present form as an organisation for tho
promotion Of charity, hospitality and BROTH
erly love. The seeds of these qualities are
however, plainly seen in the German build
ing guilds. In l459, the Masons Of Stras-
burg would not allow in their fellowship
unworthy persons stipulated for the set
tletnent of all quarrels between MEMBERS
nculcated u proper respect tor religious
observances, and provided for the relief Of
the sick and destitute members of their 80
ciety.
The propositions to initiate other thar
working masOns into the fraternity in Eng.
land grew out of the decline Of the ORDER.
In I'LL there were only four lodges In
London, and these met on st. Johns Day
and constituted a grand lodge, which is
the parent of the present system Of Free
masonry. The three degrees of initiation
woro unknown 10 the craft before the re-
vival that occurred in 1877. Originally
there was only one degree. In 1899 q
schism occurred in England. and the Grand
Lodge Of Ancient York Masons was estab-
lished in opposition to the Old Grand
Lodge. In 1919 these two lodges, after
years of antagonism, we're happily united.
large number of American lodges have
derived their charters from the original
grand loges in correspondence with it,.
The difference between the two grand
lodges was chiefly in regard to the compo-
sition of the third degree. llt6e
We may well close this brief sketch by
saying that many of the ancient symbols
preserved in lodges OF the present day are
derived from the operative masons Of the
III ddle ages such as the form of the lodge,
the covering OF the lodge, the working
craft, &c.