《History of Freemasonry》

飛翔朱雀

TRADITION AND HISTORY IN MASONRY

IN the study of Freemasonry there are two kinds of statements
which are presented to the mind of the inquiring scholar, which
are sometimes concurrent, but much oftener conflicting, in their
character.

These are the historical and the traditional, each of which
appertains to Freemasonry as we may consider it in a different
aspect.

The historical statement relates to the Institution as we look at
it from an exoteric or public point of view; the traditional
refers only to its esoteric or secret character.

So long as its traditional legends are confined to the ritual of
the Order, they are not appropriate subjects of historical
inquiry. They have been invented by the makers of the rituals
for symbolic purposes connected with the forms of initiation.
Out of these myths of Speculative Masonry its philosophy has been
developed; and, as they are really to be considered as merely the
expansion of a philosophic or speculative idea, they can not
properly be posited in the category of historical narratives.

But in the published works of those who have written on the
origin and progress of Masonry, from its beginning to the present
time, the legendary or traditional has too much been mingled with
the historical element. The effect of this course has been, on
adversely prejudiced minds, to weaken all claims of the
Institution to an historical existence. The doctrine of "false
in one thing, false in all," has been rigidly applied, and those
statements of the Masonic historian which are really authentic
have been doubted or rejected, because in other portions of his
narrative he has been too credulous.

……

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