Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry.pdf - FatimaMovement

p. 217
ROYAL ARCH, OR SEVENTH
DEGREE.
THE Royal Arch Degree seems not to have been
known to what are called modern Masons as late
as about 1750. That portion of the old
Freemasons who met at the famous Apple-Tree
Tavern, in 1717, and formed the society upon
somewhat new principles, that is, so far as to
admit into fellowship, indiscriminately,
respectable individuals of all professions, were
denominated, by the non-adherents to this plan,
modern Masons. This affair caused the division
of the Masonic Society into two parties, which
continued till 1813, nearly one hundred years. To
the rivalry occasioned by this schism, Masonry, it
is presumed, is mainly indebted for the great
celebrity it has obtained in the world.
It appears that the non-conformists to this new
scheme, who considered themselves the orthodox
party, by rummaging among the old records of
the Order, first discovered the Royal Arch
Degree, which had probably lain dormant for
centuries; during which time, it would appear, the
society had been confined almost exclusively to
operative masons; who continued the ceremonies
only of the apprentice, fellow-craft or
journeyman, and master mason, these being