Author: John W. Simons

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2015-06-05

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9781330034286

Excerpt from Familiar Treatise on the Principles and Practice of Masonic Jurisprudence In presenting the following pages to the attention of the Fraternity, we are but repeating a thrice-told tale, and should, perhaps, apologize for attempting a topic which has already been so exhaustively treated by brethren learned in the law. Our title will, however, indicate our design, which is to bring the subject within the grasp of the Fraternity in general, and, by our method of treatment, to make it comprehensible to those who have heretofore deemed it too abstruse for the common intellect, and have therefore been satisfied to accept the decisions of any whom they might deem qualified to instruct them. The lamentable want of knowledge, in regard to the simplest principles of Masonic law, which prevails even among otherwise intelligent brethren, can only be fully known to those who, like the writer, have held official station in the Craft, and been called upon to answer the multitudinous questions that arise in the practice of lodges. A dozen different interrogatories are frequently propounded in relation to the same subject, all of which might be readily answered, were the questioners in possession of the fundamental principle on which it is based. To supply this principle, and to simplify its application, has been the object in view in our work; and to it we have brought the experience of a long and active participation in every branch of our institution, with an extended intercourse with Craftsmen from every portion of our own country and Europe. 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.