THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

[127] _Jewish Encyclopedia_, art. "Freemasonry." Also _Builder's
Rites_, G.W. Speth.
[128] In the _Book of Constitutions_, 1723, Dr. Anderson dilates at
length on the building of the Temple--including a note on the meaning
of the name Abif, which, it will be remembered, was not found in the
Authorized Version of the Bible; and then he suddenly breaks off with
the words: "_But leaving what must not, indeed cannot, be communicated
in Writing_." It is incredible that he thus introduced among Masons a
name and legend unknown to them. Had he done so, would it have met with
such instant and universal acceptance by old Masons who stood for the
ancient usages of the order?
[129] Letter to Gould "Touching Masonic Symbolism."
[130] _Hermes and Plato_, Edouard Schure.
[131] _History of the Lodge of Edinburgh._
[132] Steinbrenner, following Findel, speaks of the Third Degree as if
it were a pure invention, quoting a passage from _Ahiman Rezon_, by
Lawrence Dermott, to prove it. He further states that Anderson and
Desaguliers were "publicly accused of manufacturing the degree, _which
they never denied_" (_History of Masonry_, chap. vii). But inasmuch as
they were not accused of it until they had been many years in their
graves, their silence is hardly to be wondered at. Dr. Mackey styles
Desaguliers "the Father of Modern Speculative Masonry," and attributes
to him, more than to any other one man, the present existence of the
order as a living institution (_Encyclopedia of Freemasonry_). Surely
that is going too far, much as Desaguliers deserves to be honored by
the order. Dr. J.T. Desaguliers was a French Protestant clergyman,
whose family came to England following the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes. He was graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1710,
succeeding Keill as lecturer in Experimental Philosophy. He was
especially learned in natural philosophy, mathematics, geometry, and
optics, having lectured before the King on various occasions. He was
very popular in the Grand Lodge, and his power as an orator made his
manner of conferring a degree impressive--which may explain his having
been accused of inventing the degrees. He was a loyal and able Mason, a
student of the history and ritual of the order, and was elected as the
third Grand Master of Masons in England. Like Anderson, his later life
is said to have been beclouded by poverty and sorrow, though some of
the facts are in dispute (Gould's _History of Masonry_, vol. iii).
UNIVERSAL MASONRY
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_These signs and tokens are of no small value; they speak a
universal language, and act as a passport to the attention and
support of the initiated in all parts of the world. They cannot be
lost so long as memory retains its power. Let the possessor of