The analogy of ancient craft masonry to natural and revealed religion

407 Pages·2012·17.6 MB·English

by  Charles Scott

THE
ANALOGY
OF
40rnft 311nsnntlJ
inri~nt
TO
NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION.
BY
CHARLES ~9.0TT, A.M.
eJLUfD KASTER OF TBE GRAND LODGE OF TBE STATE OF XISSISSIPPL
"Can there any good thing oome out of Nazareth I Come and see."
SIXTH BDITIOll.
PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY E. H. BUTLER & CO.
1857.
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TESTIMONIALS
FROM DISTINGUISHED MASONS.
From Hon. A. HUTCHINSON, P. D. G. H. P.
Jadatm, Oct. 20, 1848.
CBARLBS S<XITT, Grand Master, &c.
M. W. Brother :-I am obliged to you for submitting to my
examination " The Analogy of Ancient Craft Masonry to
Natural and Revealed Religion."
To the general reader, it will be a rich treat and instructive
monitor; to the craft, a pearl of great prU:e i to yoUJ'8elf, a
lasting memorial of the purity of taste, fervour of fancy, force of
demonstration, and ardour of philanthropy that glow and burn
in every period. It will indeed be a guide to thousands of
bewildered wanderers, by opening, through the lighta of the
sacred oracles and testimonies of nature, the seals of many
precious symbols and types.
During twenty years I have had inclination and opportunity
of acquiring an intimate knowledge of the rites, lectures, and
lore of all the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry, constituting
the landmarks and occult science, as distinguishable from what I
;, moniWrial ~• phbli~ "'d oon Uooly ,..,. that 1"" Amol<>gy,
whilst it enriches the external illustrations of the order, does
not in any instance encroach upon ita cabala. Of this the fra..
ternity may be assured.
Some years since I was struck with the originality of your
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views concerning the Number Three, and can never forget the
thrilling discourse you pronounced upon it in Brown Lodge.
You could justly claim those views as your own before Dr. Oli
ver's treatise had passed over from London; besides, his obser
vations on the Triad are different, and not in coincidence.
I anticipate with gladness the moral effect which your work
is destined to produce. It seems to me to be a 'work of the
proper material, and duly shaped and polished, to be received
for the Spiritual Building of the Supreme Architect.
--- A. HUTCHINSON.
·.From Hon. W. L. SHARKEY, LL.D., Chief Justice of the High
Ontrt of EN'01'8 and .Appeak, of Stale of Miss.
Jaclu(lft, Sept. 10, 1848.
CHARLES Scorr, Esq.
Dear Sir :-I have read with great care and equal interest
the manuscript of the first ten lectures of your work on the
" Analogy of Ancient Craft Masonry to Natural and Revealed
Religion." I regard it as a work of great research and pro
found thought, as I think all must, who will read it. To the
fraternity it is worthy of special commendation. Every Mason
should read and study it. They will derive great improvement
from it, and appreciate more highly our ancient Order, the
moral beauties of which are made apparent. To the general
reader, also, it will be found to be deeply interesting and in
structive. No one can read it carefully without forming a high
estimate of Masonry. I promise myself great pleasure from
perusing the succeeding numbers, and trust that you may be
amply compensated for the great labour you have bestowed on
the work.
Your friend and obedient servant,
WILLIAM L. SHARKEY.
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TESTIMONIALS. 8
JocluM, Sept. 15, 1848.
CuuLES ScoTT, G. M.
Dear Sir :-1 have examined hastily the manuscript of your
"Analogy of Ancient Craft Masonry to Natural and Revealed
Religion," and believe that its publication will be a valuable
acquisition to the stock of Masonic literature. I have seen
nothing better calculated to interest and improve the inquiring
Craftsman.
Your friend and obedient servant,
-
J. W. MATTHEWs.
u.s.
.From CHARLES GILMAN, G.G.R.G.G.E.
Baltitrwre, D~ 18, 1848.
Dear Sir and Brother :-1 have been allowed the very great
pleasure of perusing, in manuscript, "The Analogy of Ancient
Craft Masonry to Natural and Revealed Religion," and I rise
from that perusal with no ordinary feeling of satisfaction.
It has been matter of regret with the better informed, that
the great mass of the fraternity content themselves with a
superficial knowledge of the forms and ceremonies of the Craft,
without further examiuation into the arcaua of its ritual, and
emblematical, moral signification. But I am very confident no
one can follow you through your just and beautiful Analogy,
·without discovering that, heretofore, he has been too unmindful
:J
of the more important teachings of the science of Free Masonry,
and without feeling a resolution that henceforth he will en
deavour to be a better Mason and a better Christian.
I am fraternally yours,
CHARLES GILMAN.
CB.&llLBS SCOTT, Eeq.,
M. W. Grand Muter of the G. Lodge of Miae.
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4 TESTIMONIALS.
Prcnn Rev. C. K. MARsHALL, G. C., of 1M Metlwdist
.})piswpal Ohwrch.
Vicklburg, Oct. 19, 1848.
Respected Sir :-I seize this opportunity to offer you my
thanks for the pleasure I have received, and the information I
have gained, from the examination of your manuscript work on
the Science of Free Masonry. ·
From the examination I have bestowed upon the work, I am
so favourably impressed with your method of presenting and
illustrating the peculiar doctrines of the Great Brotherhood,
that I am very anxious .to see it. in print, and placed within the
reach of the thousands who are inquiring for " Light'' on the
various topics you have so ably discussed.
I think your method of investigation eminently calculated to
quicken the spirit of research, prompt to the pursuit of greater
Masonic attainments, and excite a thirst for a knowledge of the
varied, profound, and ennobling truths which constitute the
strength, beauty, and efficiency of our ancient Fraternity.
Emanating from the South-at a period when some exposi
tory work seems evidently called fo~nd from the eloquent
and instructive pen of one of the most gifted and honoured
members of the Fraternity, it cannot fail to meet with a hearty
reception and an extensive circulation. Nor can it fail to exert
a highly salutary infiuence on all candid minds. Few persons,
unacquainted with the peculiar frame-work of Masonry, have
any idea of the depth and richness of the knowledge to be
found within ita sacred enclosures. Consequently, multitudes
hastily conclude that the time spent in attendance at the Lodges
is thrown away in idleness or folly. Can such persons cherish
their erroneous ideas of the toils and studies of Masons, after
glancing over your pages, and considering the numerous subjects
and instructive fields of information that must necessarily en
gage their minds and employ their time ? Can any deem it
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TESTIMONIALS.
folly to study the sublime doctrines taught in the olden time by
the virtuous and the great; or call it idle to walk in their
shining footsteps 7 I think not. ·
But even here, in your interesting pages, the most eagl~yed
can see but "as through a glass darkly," unless they have been
brought to light; and yet enough, I think, is exhibited, to place
Free Masonry in its proper light, and teach the inquirer after
truth many valuable lessons.
With -sentiments of sincere esteem,
I am truly yours,
c.
K. MARSHALL.
Cs.t.llLI3 SCOTJ', Esq., M. W. G. M.
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From tk Hon. JAMES RuCKS, fQ7"f1le1"{!1 of Na.hm1le, 'enn.
Wa•ltingltm Co., Mu1., Ocl. 21, 1848.
Cs.un.ES ScOTT, Esq.
Dear Sir :-From the examination which I have been able
to give your manuscript on Masonry, I think. it ought to be
published. Your object, to vindicate the purity of this ancient
Order, and to set forth the noble ends which the founders of
speculative Masonry had in view, deserves all commendation
and _all patronQge. The lectures will be found to contain infor
mation highly useful to all, but more especially to those who
have been initiated into the mysteries of our Order.
Very truly yours, &c.,
J.uo:s Rucx.s.
61
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6 TESTIMONIALS •
.From Rev. A. B. LAWRENCE, of t'M Preilzyterian Ohttrch.
Jachon, Sept. 23, 1848.
Brother ScoTT,-Having read a small portion of your new
work upon the "Analogy of Ancient Craft Masonry to Natural
and Revealed Religion," and understanding, as I trust, at once
your design and the plan of the work, I am free to express my
cordial approbation of your enterprise. It appears to me at
once a just and worthy vindication of our ancient and honour
able Order, and a happy exemplification of much of the excel
lence of true religion, as well as a valuable addition to the
literature of our day and country.
A. B. LAWRENCE, V.D.M.
[The writer of the following letter, who is an old and bright Mason,
has not examined the following work; but being well acquainted with
the sentiments of the author, has been kind enough to volunteer his
offering.]
Jacklon, Oct. 20, 1848.
CHARLES ScoTT, Esq.
M. W. Grand Master :-Having understood that you had
prepared a work on the nature and principles of our ancient
and venerable iustitution, and in which you have embodied
some of the views which I have heard you advance, whiln acting
as Master of Brown Lodge, with great pleasure and profit to
myself, you will please permit me, through you, to congratulate
the Craft, who must regard the publication of your work as a
very valuable acquisition to the literature of our age and country.
Yours fraternally,
WM. Wmo,
P. G. E. C. of Jackson Encampment.
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TESTIMONIALS • 7
.From Bon. GEORGE T. SwAN, .Auditor of Public ..4.ocm.fttl of
the StaJe of .Mia. .
Ja~:lcstm, Sept. 21, 1848.
CHARLES ScoTT, Esq., M. W. G. M.
Dear Sir :-The Analogies you .trace in your work on Ma
sonry are so cl~ to the informed Mason, that he is compelled
to see how evidently the hand of God has been in the perpetua
tion of our Order, as one of the most valuable instrumentalities
in His hands, of spreading the knowledge of the truths which
alone can make us "wise unto salvation.'' It reveals to us the
most exalted motives, by pure and consistent lives, to extend
our light to the darkened mind of ignorance, and, in the con
templation of Masonry, as the handmaiden and sister of Chris
tianity, to the most fervent prayers for its purity and snooess.
A work undertaken with snch views, and clothed in the
attractive style in which you have executed it, cannot fail, I
think, to gratify the intellectual taste ·and improve the lives of
Masons, and to remove from the minds of many sincere Chris
tians objections to our Order, growing out of misconceptions of
its true origin and design.
That you may be eminently successful, is the sincere wish of
Your friend and brother,
GEO. T SwAB.
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