PAGE H. AN ORATION AT THE DEDICATION OF A NEW MASONIC HALL 184 K. AN ORATION AT THE DEDICATION OF FREEMASONS' HALL, IN SUNDERLAND, JULY 15, 1778 L. LETTER FROM MR. LOCKE TO THE EARL OF PEMBROKE 197 THE SPIRIT OF INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION ON THE STATE OF FREEMASONRY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.' IN ages of comparative darkness, whether it proceed from the prevalence of ignorance and superstition on the one hand, or from the existence of vice, arising out of a false estimate of human happiness, on the other, Free or Speculative Masonry has never unreservedly displayed her charms. The Operative branch, in all countries, effected the greatest and most comprehensive designs during such benighted periods; but even this was owing to the circumscribed sphere to which its mysteries were confined. None could comprehend or practise it but the honoured few whose minds were enlightened by a taste for science and philosophy; while the ignorant multitude wondered at the results which were accomplished by the judicious union of Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. It will be unnecessary to revert to distant ages in proof of this hypothesis, although it is fully exemplified in the productions of India, Egypt, and the new world; the remains of which, by their sublimity of conception, blended with the beauty of their execution, still excite the admiration and astonishment of mankind. Within little more than a century from our own times, we have sufficient evidence to show, that, when Speculative Masonry refused to flourish amidst the rank weeds of ignorance, superstition, and vice, which disfigured the soil of our native land, Operative Masonry shone forth in all its glory, and produced specimens of art which will convey the names of our eminent brothers, Sir Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Archbishop Sheldon, Sir John Vanbrugh, and others, with honour to posterity. The splendid churches, palaces, and public edifices which were erected by these ingenious masons, are master-pieces of architectural science as it was understood and practised in the age when they flourished. St. Paul's Cathedral, with all its defects, constitutes a triumph of the art; for it was begun and completed, in the space of thirty-five years, by one architect, the great Sir Christopher Wren; one principal mason, Mr. Strong; and under one Bishop of London, Dr. Henry Compton; whereas St. Peter's, at Rome, the only structure that can bear a competition with it, continued one hundred and fifty-five years in building, under twelve successive architects, assisted by the police and interests of the Roman See, and attended by the best artists in sculpture, statuary, painting, and mosaic work.1 In this age, Speculative Masonry was little known. At the Revolution, in 1688, only seven Lodges were in existence, and of them there were but two that held their meetings regularly, and these were chiefly Operative. This declension of the Order may be attributed to the low scale of morality which distinguished the latter end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century. And how, indeed, could Freemasonry, pure and spotless as it is, continue to flourish at a time when the literature and morals of this country were in a state of semi-lethargy, and a taste for reading, or the pursuits of science and philosophy, had scarcely begun to manifest itself amongst the middle classes of society? A modern writer says, "Though the reign of Queen Anne has been generally termed the Augustan age of literature in this kingdom, owing to the co-existence of a few celebrated writers, it is astonishing how little, during the greatest part of that period, was the information of the higher and middle classes of society. To the character of the gentleman, neither education nor letters were thought necessary; and any display of learning, however superficial, was, among the fashionable circles, deemed rudeness and pedantry. That general knowledge,' observes Johnson 6 1 Anderson's Book of Constitutions, p. 169. Edit. 1784. 'which now circulates in common talk, was then rarely to be found. Men, not professing learning, were not ashamed of ignorance; and in the female world, any acquaintance with books was distinguished only to be censured.' When we reflect, that to express contempt for all literary acquirement was then a certain proof of gentility, and ignorance the characteristic of superior station a statement which, I believe, previous to the publication of the Tatler, is nearly correct-we ought to hesitate in assigning the epithet of Augustan to this era of our history." And again: "He who aspired to reputation in the circles of gallantry, assumed that laxity of morals and looseness of manners which he had so frequently contemplated and admired upon the stage; whilst to be known to have devoted any leisure to the duties of devotion, to the study of the classics, or the acquisition of science, would have ruined him for ever in the estimation of the fashionable world. Nor, after all these sacrifices at the shrine of dissipation and vice, were the accomplishments and address of these gentlemen entitled to the praise of either refinement or grace. On the contrary, their manners were coarse, their conversation obscene, and their amusements frequently so gross that bull-baiting, bear-baiting, and prizefighting were considered as appropriate recreations for the highest ranks: They were not only attended,' remarks an annotator upon the Tatler, by butchers, drovers, and great crowds of all sorts of mob, but likewise by dukes, lords, knights, squires, &c. There were seats particularly set apart for the quality, ornamented with old tapestry hangings, into which none were admitted under half-a-crown, at least. The neighbourhood of these amusements was famous for sheltering thieves, pick-pockets, and infamous women, and for breeding bull-dogs.""2 This state of things was very 6 2 Drake's Essays, pp. 32, 34. As a necessary consequence of such examples, a very great laxity of morals prevailed amongst the inferior classes of society. The historian has recorded that "England was at this period infested with robbers, assassins, and incendiaries; the natural consequences of degeneracy, corruption, and the want of police in the interior government of the kingdom. This defect, in a great measure, arose from an absurd notion, that laws necessary to prevent those acts of cruelty, violence, and rapine, would be incompatible with the liberty of British subjects; a notion that confounds |