fancies, and tries to palm them off upon us as integral portions of the Royal Art. Finally, there are a number of Masonic books which are merely written to cast suspicion upon other systems, in order to recommend one system alone as the only true one."

The first person who in this period of darkness investigated and sifted the character and purpose of Masonry to its very depths, and expressed his opinions to perfection, was G. E. Lessing, whose "Ernst und Falk, Gespräche für Freimaurer" (Wolfenbüttel, 1778)1, is one of the best things that has ever been written upon Freemasonry. While saying this we must take exception to his hypothesis concerning the origin of the Order, which has been long refuted. The plan of these masterly “Gespräche" Lessing had most probably prepared before he was initiated into the Fraternity in Hamburg.

Zinnendorf, who had heard of Lessing's intention, addressed a letter to him to induce him to relinquish the idea of publishing his "Gespräche." But fortunately Lessing did not allow himself to be deterred from his purpose by such an eccentric person as Zinnendorf. Before having them printed, he submitted them to the inspection of Masons and Non-masons of known discernment and penetration who knew how to appreciate them. They met with universal approbation, and assisted most essentially in spreading just views on the subject of Masonry.

A still deeper and more comprehensive view of genuine Freemasonry is taken by Lessing in his "Nathan der Weise", a production which we will not further discuss here.

Masonic periodical literature first began to develop itself at the close of the period we have been reviewing. The first of the kind was "Bode's Almanack or

1 See Ernst und Falk, etc., historisch - kritisch erläutert von Dr. J. F. L. Th. Merzdorf. Hanover, 1855. Herein are all the records known of Lessing as a Freemason.

Pocket Book for the Freemasons of the United Lodges" (1776-1779), a publication which is often quoted, and of which Kloss says that within the compass of its four unpretending volumes is "enclosed a perfect literature of Freemasonry." The "Freimaurer-Bibliothek" in eight volumes (Berlin, 1778-1803) has followed in the wake of this almanack, and also the "Freimaurer-Zeitung" which appeared in Berlin in 1783.

A RETROSPECTIVE VIEW.

When trying to present to our view a general idea of the course of the development of Freemasonry from 1717 to 1783, our eye can only rest with complete satisfaction upon the first thirty years of its existence, the happy period when it was in its infancy, that glorious epoch when Freemasonry was first founded, cultivated, and propagated, the time when inward peace and unity prevailed. Being more universal in its tendencies than other confederations, embracing all mankind, and aiming at promoting their moral, spiritual, and physical advancement, it ought to have from the very beginning insisted upon the recognition of the inviolability of the general laws of the Order, upon complete unity on essential points, and upon maintaining the dignity of the institution in all its purity, though in every thing else leaving its members perfect freedom and independence. The Mother Lodge of England had, on the one hand, been guilty of great neglect, and had grievously sinned, while on the other hand many events had combined to retard its progress. The Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland were formed without the co-operation and participation of England, and without a friendly understanding existing between them; and this was not a favourable omen for their labouring together in one common cause, for their unity of spirit, nor for the healthy development of the Fraternity. Nor

had the Society long existed before a deplorable schism broke out in the Brotherhood; for a second Grand Lodge was formed in England by the schismatic "Ancient Masons", and thus a severing element sprung up in the very heart of this "union of unions." Further disturbing causes did not fail to make themselves felt. In France, first of all, there shot up that baneful seed of lies and frauds, of vanity and presumption, of hatred and discord, the mischievous High Degrees, the misstatement that our Order was allied to that of the Templars and existed at the time of the Crusades, the removal of the old Charges, the bringing in surreptitiously of a multitude of symbols and forms which awoke the love of secrecy, knighthood, and in fact every thing tending to poison Freemasonry. We have noticed how luxuriously the tares grew, and how quickly they spread into Germany, Russia, Sweden, and even to Scotland, Ireland, and England, deteriorating from the dignified worth of Freemasonry, hindering the advance of improvement, and everywhere causing and fostering dissension and discord. Lodges and Grand Lodges arose and vanished, systems appeared and disappeared, connections were made and broken; the Grand Lodge of England, who herself formed her own constitutions on hierarchical principles, and thus in many respects deteriorated from its worth, vouchsafed to recognise connections with and allied herself to Grand Lodges which stood on quite another foundation from what she did, with other aims and purposes, and unable to adduce any proof of the lawfulness of their origin. In a word, the record is one of obscurity, ignorance, and confusion, and sometimes even of delusion and manifest cheating. "Not perfectly agreed amongst themselves as to what they desired, sometimes striving after one thing, sometimes after another, now involved in the absurdities of mysticism, alchemy, and theosophy, and again sunk in a miserable cloud of petty secrets, and as much dazzled with their light as if they were that genuine wisdom which they so much needed; some

times branching out into wide-spreading boughs, and then again uniting in the bonds of friendship with unworthy companions, all this forms as melancholy an aspect as can well be conceived. It assumes the appearance of a restless struggling and contending by the Fraternity without any plan, only to exhibit themselves in an agree able light in the eyes of the uninitiated, and thus conceal from themselves their own extreme wretchedness. Nowhere is there combination, solidity, or real vitality 1." It is much to be lamented that at that time there was no well-conducted, generally circulated Masonic periodical. The spirit of Freemasonry was not, howewer, entirely extinguished. Sociability was at least nurtured; benevolence was practised here and there; the desire to improve was visible the germ of what was excellent and genuine was carefully sustained by single individuals; and the outward form at any rate was preserved, so that nothwithstanding all the ill usage it had to undergo, the pith remained whole and unscathed. "The Fraternity concealed in its symbols moral and social principles which enclosed the germ of a new society more noble in its ideas, and in secret paved the way for the establishment of the same. These were ideas of liberty and justice, of equality and fraternity, of association and consolidation ideas which had for their aim the bringing out in the people a more perfect and manly feeling, far superior to that which governed the world in general; ideas, the results of which were an appreciation of man's moral worth, his.conscience, reason, and reflecting powers, a mine of wealth peculiarly his own, the keystone to which lay in his rights as man."

"To remain true to these principles, to disseminate them from generation to generation, from country to country, handing them down to posterity in religious worship and symbols, this was the mission of Freemasonry,

1 Speech of Br. J. Schuderoff in " Neues Journal jür Freimaureret” I. 3. Altenburg, 1819.

which she attained to at this epoch by means of her heroic zeal, firmness, and constancy, and surviving every persecution." (Ausonio Franchi.)

Notwithstanding the intrusion of the High Degrees there, England, which gave birth to Freemasonry, upheld the Institution, comparatively speaking, in its greatest purity. The old Charges remained there untouched, and a consciousness was cherished of the universality of the Brotherhood and of the legality of the Lodges. In Germany and France the confusion was extensive and penetrated deeply. It is true that in Germany Masonry never sank so low as for a time was the case with her neighbours, and she was likewise the first to gather her strength together and to set about radical reform both within and without. After the introduction of the Templar-Rosicrucian system into Sweden, she did not submit to any further innovations; her organisation was firmly established, and as the single Lodges enjoyed but little independence, the King being at their head as Masonic Pope, or Master of the Order, surrounded by a college of cardinals (Brother architects), and provided with unalterable teaching, the Swedish Fraternity rejoiced in as profound a peace and repose as in olden times had fallen to the lot of the Catholic Church, with which this system was united in spirit. Freemasonry in general assumed in each country a different character, according to the peculiar disposition of the nation, which then became expressed in the forms and arrangements of the Institution. This, however, was not in itself wrong, but only in so far as community of purpose suffered by it.

In the second part of this work, we shall become acquainted with the period of the purifying and refining of Masonry, of its return to its ancient simplicity and genuineness, the period of reform and progress both within and without. Union and reconciliation, a deeper recognition of the true meaning of Freemasonry, an ardent longing to know the real history of the Order and to assist