The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 10 - Conclusion 841
colored race. Social groups which felt neglected by the prevailing system seem
to have wanted their own order which was matched with their special needs and
ideas. A special point of interest and dispute is the acknowledged number of
degrees, differing according to country and Masonic system.
It is a fact today that the Irish Grand Lodge, for example, comprises only the
first three degrees of "Blue Masonry," thus forcing other orders in Ireland to
work separately, although they are approved of in a very limited number:
The Irish Grand Lodge, unlike Scotland, governs only the three Craft
degrees. However, there are several additional orders in Ireland that
work with the approval of the Grand Lodge, but operate separately from
it. These are the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter, the Grand
Council of Knight Masons, the Great Priory of Knights Templar, and
the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for Ireland. No
other approved Orders exist in Ireland, nor would they be permitted by
the Grand Lodge to be formed. 2062
From the beginning of speculative Masonry, different forms of the same have
evolved, and already in A Defence of Masonry, ascribed to Dr. Anderson, and
reprinted in the Book of Constitutions, 1738, it is said that the system taught in
regular lodges may have "some redundancies or defects", but that it is a wonder
that it has come to the present time without "more Imperfections," after having
run through so many countries, languages, and sects:
[...] I am apt to think that Masonry [...] has in some circumstances
declined from its original purity: it has run long in muddy streams, and
as it were, underground; but nonwithstanding the great rust it may have
contracted, there is [...] much of the old Fabrick still remaining: the
Foundation is still entire; the essential Pillars of the Building may be
seen through the Rubbish, though the Superstructure may be over run
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 [...] to be received with some Candour and esteem
from a Veneration to its Antiquity. 2063
Considering the fact that this early statement stems from the first half of the
eighteenth century, and despite the author's erroneous assumption that
Freemasonry dates back to antiquity, it is a clear sign that since its existence, the
ancient ritual has often been remodeled. The first paragraph consists of
2062
Henderson and Pope, vol. II, p. 122.
2063
Cited from A Defence of Masonry in Coil's Collected Essays & Papers relating to Freemasonry,
p. 141/142.