The History Of Freemasonry Its Antiquities Symbols Constitutions Customs Etc Vol Ii 2

Author : Robert Freke Gould
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9780267790258
Total Pages : 574 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (92 download)

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Download or read book The History of Freemasonry, Vol. 2 written by Robert Freke Gould and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-02-04 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The History of Freemasonry, Vol. 2: Its Antiquities, Symbols, Constitutions, Customs, Etc; Embracing an Investigation of the Records of the Organisations of the Fraternity in England, Scotland, Ireland, British Colonies, France, Germany, and the United States The common belief in Wren's membership of the Society of Freemasons rests upon two sources of authority. Historically, the general impression derives what weight it may possess from the importance that is attached to an obscure passage in Aubrey's Natural History of Wiltshire, and traditionally (or masonically) the acceptance of the legend, and its devolution from an article of faith into a matter of conviction, is dependent upon our yielding full credence to statements in Dr Anderson's Constitutions of a.d. 1738, which are quite irreconcilable with those in his earlier publication of 1723. The Natural History of Wiltshire, originally commenced in 1656, and of which the last chapter was written on April 21, 1686, was the author's first literary essay. He subsequently made some additions, but none Of a later date than 1691. In 1675 it was submitted to the Royal Society; sub sequently Dr Plot 2 - curator of the Ashmolean Museum, and author of the Natural History of Stafi'ordshire - was requested by Aubrey to prepare it for the press. This, however, he declined to do, but strongly urged the writer to finish and publish it himself. The work remained in ms. Until 1847, when it was first printed, under the editorial supervision of John Britten.3 The original ms. Was never removed from Oxford, but a fair copy was made by the author and presented to the Royal Society. Of the Oxford ms., Britten says, Being compiled at various times, during a long series of years, it has a confused appearance from the numerous corrections and additions made in it by Aubrey. The same authority continues - SO far as Aubrey's own labours are concerned, the Royal Society's copy is the most perfect; but the notes of Ray, Evelyn, and Tanner were written upon the Oxford ms. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.