Thelemagick Library - Freemasonry - The Constitutions of the Free-Masons

LONDON Printed; Anno 5723.
Re-printed in Philadelphia by special Order, for the Use of the Brethren in NORTH-AMERICA.
In the Year of Masonry 5734, Anno Domini 1734.

Freemasonry

THE CONSTITUTION,
History, Laws, Charges, Orders, Regulations, and Usages
of the Right Worshipful Fraternity of Accepted Free-Masons

Collected from their general RECORDS , and their faithful TRADITIONS of many Ages.

TO BE READ

At the Admission of a NEW BROTHER,
when the Master or Warden shall begin, or order some other Brother to read as follows:

ADAM, our first Parent, created after the Image of God, the great Architect of the Universe, must have had the Liberal Sciences, particularly Geometry, written on his Heart; for even since the Fall, we find the Principles of it in the Hearts of his Offspring, and which, in process of time, have been drawn forth into a convenient Method of Propositions, by observing the Laws of Proportion taken from Mechanism : So that as the Mechanical Arts gave Occasion to the Learned to reduce the Elements of Geometry into Method, this noble Science thus reduc’d, is the Foundation of all those Arts, (particularly of Masonry and Architecture) and the Rule by which they are conducted and perform’d.

No doubt Adam taught his Sons Geometry, and the use of it, in the several Arts and Crafts convenient, at least for those early Times ; for CAIN, we find, built a City, which he call’d CONSECRATED, or DEDICATED, after the Name of his eldest Son ENOCH ; and becoming the Prince of the one Half of Mankind, his Posterity would imitate his royal Example in improving both the noble Science and the useful Art.^[01]

Nor can we suppose that SETH was less instructed, who being the Prince of the other Half of Mankind, and also the prime Cultivator of Astronomy, would take equal care to teach Geometry and Masonry to his Offspring, who had also the mighty Advantage of Adam’s living among them.^[02]

But without regarding uncertain Accounts, we may safely conclude the old World, that lasted 1656 Years, could not be ignorant of Masonry ; and that both the Families of Seth and Cain erected many curious Works, until at length NOAH, the ninth from Seth, was commanded and directed of God to build the great Ark, which, tho’ of Wood, was certainly fabricated by Geometry, and according to the Rules of Masonry.

NOAH, and his three Sons, JAPHET, SHEM, and HAM, all Masons true, brought with them over the Flood the Traditions and Arts of the Ante-deluvians, and amply com municated them to their growing Offspring ; for about 101 Years after the Flood we find a vast Number of ’em, if not the whole Race of Noah, in the Vale of Shinar, employ’d in building a City and large Tower, in order to make to them selves a Name, and to prevent their Dispersion. And tho’ they carry’d on the Work to a monstrous Height, and by their Vanity provok’d God to confound their Devices, by confounding their Speech, which occasion’d their Dispersion ; yet their Skill in Masonry is not the less to be celebrated, having spent above 53 Years in that prodigious Work, and upon their Dispersion carry’d the mighty Know ledge with them into distant Parts, where they found the good Use of it in the Settlement of their Kingdoms, Commonwealths, and Dynasties. And tho’ afterwards it was lost in most Parts of the Earth, it was especially preserv’d in Shinar and Assyria, where NIMROD,^[03] the Founder of that Monarchy, after the Dispersion, built many splendid Cities, as Ereck, Accad, and Calneh, in SHINAR ; from whence afterwards he went forth into ASSYRIA, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth, Caleh, and Rhesin.

In these Parts, upon the Tygris and Euphrates, afterwards flourish’d many learned Priests and Mathematicians, known by the Names of CHALDEES and MAGI, who preserv’d the good Science, Geometry, as the KINGS and great Men encourag’d the Royal Art. But it is not expedient to speak more plain of the Premises, except in a formed Lodge.

From hence, therefore, the Science and Art were both transmitted to latter Ages and distant Climes, not withstanding the Confusion of Languages or Dialects, which tho’ it might help to give Rise to the Masons Faculty and ancient universal Practice of conversing without speaking, and of knowing each other at a Distance, yet hinder’d not the Improvement of Masonry in each Colony and their Communication in their distinct National Dialect.

And, no doubt, the Royal Art was brought down to Egypt by MITZRAIM, the second Son of Ham, about six Years after the Confusion at Babel, and after the Flood 160 Years, when he led thither his Colony ; (for Egypt is Mitzraim in Hebrew) because we find the River Nile’s overflowing its Banks, soon caus’d an Improvement in Geometry, which consequently brought Masonry much in request : For the ancient noble Cities, with the other magnificent Edifices of that Country, and particularly the famous PYRAMIDS, demonstrate the early Taste and Genius of that ancient Kingdom. Nay, one of those Egyptian PYRAMIDS^[04] is reckon’d the First of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Account of which, by Historians and Travellers, is almost incredible.

The Sacred Records inform us well that the eleven great Sons of CANAAN (the youngest Son of Ham) soon fortified themselves in strong Holds, and stately walled Cities, and erected most beautiful Temples and Mansions ; for when the Israelites, under the great Joshua, invaded their Coun try, they found it so regularly fenc’d, that without the im me diate Intervention of God in behalf of his peculiar People, the Canaanites were impregnable and invincible. Nor can we suppose less of the other Sons of Ham, viz. Cush, his eld est, in South Arabia, and Phut, or Phuts, (now called Fez) in West Africa.

And surely the fair and gallant Posterity of JAPHET, (the eldest Son of Noah ) even such as travell’d into the Isles of the Gentiles, must have been equally skill’d in Geometry and Masonry ; tho’ we know little of their Transactions and mighty Works, until their original Knowledge was almost lost by the Havock of War, and by not maintaining a due Correspondence with the polite and learned Nations ; for when that Correspondence was open’d in After-Ages, we find they began to be most curious Architects.

The Posterity of SHEM had also equal Opportunities of cultivating the useful Art, even those of ’em that planted their Colonies in the South and East of Asia ; much more those of ’em, that in the great Assyrian Empire, liv’d in a separate State, or were blended with other Families : Nay, that holy Branch of SHEM (of whom, as concerning the Flesh, CHRIST came) could not be unskilful in the learned Arts of Assyria ; for ABRAM, after the Confusion at Babel about 268 Years, was called out of Ur of the Chaldees, where he learned Geometry, and the Arts that are perform’d by it, which he would carefully transmit to Ishmael, to Isaac, and to his Sons by Keturah ; and by Isaac, to Esau, and Jacob, and the twelve Patriarchs : Nay, the Jews believe that ABRAM also instructed the Egyptians in the Assyrian Learning.

Indeed, the select Family long used Military Architecture only, as they were Sojourners among Strangers ; but before the 430 Years of their Peregrination were expired, even about 86 Years before their Exodus, the Kings of Egypt forc’d most of them to lay down their Sheperds Instru ments, and Warlike Accoutrements, and train’d them to another sort of Architecture in Stone and Brick, as holy Writ, and other Histories, acquaint us ; which God did wise ly over-rule, in order to make them good Masons before they possess’d the promis’d Land, then famous for most curious Masonry.

And while marching to Canaan thro’ Arabia, under Moses, God was pleased to inspire BEZALEEL, of the Tribe of Judah, and AHOLIAB, of the Tribe of Dan, with Wisdom of Heart for erecting that most glorious Tent, or Tabernacle, wherein the SHECHINAH resided ; which, tho’ not of Stone or Brick, was framed, by Geometry, a most beautiful Piece of Architecture, (and prov’d afterwards the Model of Solomon’s Temple) according to the Pattern that God had shewn to MOSES in the Mount ; who therefore became the GENER AL MASTER-MASON, as well as King of Jessurun, being well skill’d in all the Egyptian Learning, and divinely inspir’d with more sublime Knowledge in Masonry.

So that the Israelites, at their leaving Egypt, were a whole Kingdom of Masons, well instructed, under the Conduct of their GRAND MASTER MOSES, who often mar shall’d them into a regular and general Lodge, while in the Wilderness, and gave them wise Charges, Orders, &c. had they been well observ’d ! But no more of the Premises must be mention’d.

And after they were possess’d of Canaan, the Israelites came not short of the old Inhabitants in Masonry, but rather vastly improv’d it, by the special Direction of Heaven ; they fortify’d better, and improv’d their City-Houses and the Palaces of their Chiefs, and only fell short in sacred Architecture while the Tabernacle stood, but no longer ; for the finest sacred Building of the Canaanites was the Temple of Dagon in Gaza of the Philistines, very magnificent, and capacious enough to receive 5000 People under its Roof, that was artfully supportcd by two main Columns^[05]; and was a wonderful Discovery of their mighty Skill in true Masonry, as must he own’d.

But Dagon’s Temple, and the finest Structures of Tyre and Sidon, could not be compared with the ETERNAL God’s Temple at Jerusalem, begun and finish’d, to the Amazement of all the World, in the short space of seven Years and six Months, by that wisest Man and most glorious King of Israel, the Prince of Peace and Architecture, SOLOMON (the Son of David, who was refused that Honour for being a Man of Blood) by divine Direction, without the Noise of Work-mens Tools, though there were employ’d about it no less than 3600 Princes,^[06] or Master-Masons, to conduct the Work according to Solomon’s Directions, with 80,000 Hewers of Stone in the Mountain, or Fellow Craftsmen, and 70,000 Labourers, in all 153,600 besides the Levy under Adoniram, tobwork in the Mountains of Lebanon by 30,000 turns with the Sidonians, viz. being in all 183,600 for which great Number of ingenious Masons, Solomon was much oblig’d to HIRAM, or Huram, King of Tyre, who sent his Masons and Carpenters to Jerusalem, and the Firs and Cedars of Lebanon to Joppa the next Sea-port.

But above all, he sent his Namesake HIR AM, or Huram, the most accomplish’d Mason upon Earth.^[07]

And the prodigious Expence of it also enhaunceth its Excellency ; for besides King David’s vast Preparations, his richer Son SOLOMON, and all the wealthy Israelites, and the Nobles of all the neighbouring Kingdoms, largely con tributed towards it in Gold, Silver, and rich Jewels, that amounted to a Sum almost incredible.

Nor do we read of any thing in Canaan so large, the Wall that inclos’d it being 7700 Foot in Compass ; far less any holy Structure fit to be nam’d with it, for exactly proportion’d and beautiful Dimensions, from the magni ficent Porch on the East, to the glorious and reverend Sanctum Sanctorum on the West, with most lovely and con venient Apartments for the Kings and Princes, Priests and Levites, Israelites, and Gentiles also ; it being an House of Prayer for all Nations, and capable of receiving in the Temple proper, and in all its Courts and Apartments to gether, no less than 300,000 People, by a modest Cal culation, allowing a square Cubit to each Person.

And if we consider the 1453 Columns of Parian Marble, with twice as many Pillasters, both having glorious Capitals of several Orders, and about 2246 Windows, besides those in the Pavement, with the unspeakable and costly Decorations of it within ; (and much more might be said) we must conclude its Prospect to transcend our Imagination; and that it was justly esteem’d by far the finest Piece of Masonry upon Earth before or since, and the chief Wonder of the World ; and was dedicated, or consecrated, in the most so lemn manner, by King SOLOMON.

But leaving what must not, and indeed cannot, be communicated by Writing, we may warrantably affirm that however ambitious the Heathen were in cultivating of the Royal Art, it was never perfected, until God condescended to instruct his peculiar People in rearing the above-men tion’d stately Tent, and in building at length this gorgeous House, fit for the special Refulgence of his Glory, where he dwelt between the Cherubims on the Mercy-Seat, and from thence gave them frequent oraculous Responses.

This most sumptuous, splendid, beautiful and glorious Edifice, attracted soon the inquisitive Artists of all Nations to spend some time at Jerusalem, and survey its peculiar Excellencies, as much as was allow’d to the Gentiles ; whereby they soon discover’d, that all the World, with their joint Skill, came far short of the Israelites, in the Wisdom and Dexterity of Architecture, when the wise King SOLOMON was GRAND MASTER of the Lodge at Jerusalem, and the learned King HIRAM was GRAND MASTER of the Lodge at Tyre, and the inspired HIRAM ABIF was Master of Work, and Masonry was under the immediate Care and Direction of Heaven, when the Noble and the Wise thought it their Honour to be assisting to the ingenious Masters and Craftsmen, and when the Temple of the TRUE GOD became the Wonder of all Travellers, by which, as by the most perfect Pattern, they corrected the Architecture of their own Country upon their Return.

So that after the Erection of Solomon’s Temple, Masonry was improv’d in all the neighbouring Nations ; for the many Artists employed about it, under Hiram Abif, after it was finish’d, dispers’d themselves into Syria, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Chaldea, Babylonia, Media, Persia, Arabia, Africa, Lesser Asia, Greece and other Parts of Europe, where they taught this liberal Art to the free born Sons of eminent Persons, by whose Dexterity the Kings, Princes, and Potentates, built many glorious Piles, and became the GRAND MASTERS, each in his own Territory, and were emulous of excelling in this Royal Art ; nay, even in INDIA, where the Cor respondence was open, we may conclude the same : But none of the Nations, nor all together, could rival the Israelites, far less excel them, in Masonry ; and their Temple remain’d the constant Pattern.^[08]

Footnotes:

[01] As other Arts were also improved by them, viz. working in Metal by TUBAL CAIN, Music by JUBAL, Pastorage and TentMaking by JABAL, which last is good Architecture.

[02] For by some Vestiges of Antiquity we find one of ‘em, godly ENOCH (who dy’d not, but was translated alive to Heaven) prophecying of the final Conflagration at the Day of Judgment (as St. Jude tells us) and likewise of the General Deluge for the Punishment of the World : Upon which he erected his two large Pillars, (tho’ some ascribe them to Seth) the one of Stone, and the other of Brick, whereon were engraven the Liberal Sciences, &c. And that the Stone Pillar remain’d in Syria until the Days of Vespasian the Emperor.

[03] NIMROD, which signifies a Rebel, was the Name given him by the holy Family, and by Moses ; but among his Friends in Chaldea, his proper Name was BELUS, which signifies LORD, and afterwards was worshipped as a God by many Nations, under the Name of Bel or Baal, and became the Bacchus of the Ancients, or Bar Chus, the Son of CHUS.

[04] The Marble Stones, brought a vast way from the Quarries of Arabia, were most of ’em 30 Foot long ; and its Foundation cover’d the Ground 700 Foot on each Side, or 2800 Foot in Compass, and 481 in perpendicular Height. And in perfecting it were employed every Day, for 20 whole Years, 360,000 Men, by some ancient Egyptian King long before the Israelites were a People, for the Honour of his Empire, and at last to become his Tomb.

[05] By which the glorious SAMPSON pull’d it down upon the Lords of the Philistines, and was also intangled in the same Death which he drew upon his Enemies for putting out his Eyes, after he had reveal’d his Secrets to his Wife, that betray’d him into their Hands ; for which Weakness he never had the Honour to be number’d among Masons : But it is not convenient to write more of this.

[06] In 1 Kings v. 16. they are call’d Harodim, Rulers or Provosts assisting King Solomon, who were set over the Work, and their Number there is only 3,300 : But 2 Chron. ii. 18. they are called Menatzchim, Overseers and Com forters of the People in Working, and in Number 3,600 ; be cause either 300 might be more curious Artists, and the Over seers of the said 3,300 ; or rather, not so excellent, and only Deputy-Masters, to supply their Places in case of Death or Absence, that so there might be always 3,300 acting Masters compleat ; or else they might be the Over seers of the 70,000 Ish Sabbal, Men of Burden or La bourers, who were not Masons but served the 80,000 Ish Chotzeb, Men of Hewing, called also Ghiblim, Stone Cutters and Sculpturers ; and also Bonai, Builders in Stone, part of which belong’d to Solomon, and part to Hiram, King of Tyre, 1 Kings v. 18.

[07] We read (2 Chron. ii. 13.) HIR AM King of Tyre (called there Huram) in his Letter to King SOLOMON, says, I have sent a cunning Man, le Huram Abhi, not to be translated according to the vulgar Greek and Latin, Huram my Father, as if this Architect was King HIRAM’s Father ; for his Description, ver. 14. refutes it, and the Original plainly imports, Huram of my Father’s, viz. the Chief Master-Mason of my Father, King ABIBALUS ; (who enlarg’d and beautify’d the city of Tyre, as ancient Histories inform us, whereby the Tyrians at this time were most expert in Masonry) tho’ some think HIRAM the King might call Hiram the Architect Father, as learned and skilful Men were wont to be call’d of old Times, or as Joseph was call’d the Father of Pharaoh ; and as the same Hiram is call’d Solomon’s FATHER, (2 Chron. iv. 16.) where ‘tis said Shelomoh lammelech Abhif Churam ghnasah, "Did Huram, his Father, make to King Solomon".

But the Difficulty is over at once, by allowing the Word Abif to be the Surname of Hiram the Mason, called also (chap. ii. 13.) Hiram Abi, as here Hiram Abif ; for being so amply describ’d, (chap. ii. 14.) we may easily suppose his Surname would not be conceal’d : And this Reading makes the Sense plain and compleat, viz. that HIR AM, King of Tyre, sent to King Solomon, his Namesake HIR AM ABIF, the Prince of Architects, describ’d (1 Kings vii. 14.) to be a Widow’s Son of the Tribe of Naphthali ; and in 1 Chron. ii. 14. the said King of Tyre calls him the Son of a Woman of the Daughters of Dan ; and in both Places, that his Father was a Man of Tyre ; which Difficulty is remov’d by supposing his Mother was either of the Tribe of Dan, or of the Daughters of the City called Dan in the Tribe of Naphthali, and his deceased Father had been a Naphthalite, whence his Mother was called a Widow of Naphthali ; for his Father is not called a Tyrian by Descent, but a Man of Tyre by Habitation ; as Obed Edom the Levite is call’d a Gittite by living among the Gittites, and the Apostle Paul a Man of Tarsus. But supposing a Mistake in Transcribers, and that his Father was really a Tyrian by Blood, and his Mother only of the Tribe either of Dan or of Naphthali, that can be no Bar against allowing of his vast Capacity ; for as his Father was a Worker in Brass, so he himself was filled with Wisdom and Understanding, and Cunning to work all Works in Brass : And as King SOLOMON sent for him, so King HIRAM, in his Letter to Solomon, says, And now I have sent a cunning Man, endued with Understanding, skilful to work in Gold, Silver, Brass, Iron, Stone, Timber, Purple, Blue, fine Linnen and Crimson, also to grave any manner of Graving, and to find out every Device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning Men, and with the cunning Men of my Lord David thy Father. This divinely inspired Workman maintain’d this Character in erecting the Temple, and in working the Utensils thereof, far beyond the Performances of Aholiab and Bezaleel, being also universally capable of all sorts of Masonry.

[08] For tho’ the Temple of Diana at Ephesus is suppos’d to have been first built by some of Japhet’s Posterity, that made a Settlement in Jonia about the Time of Moses ; yet it was often demolish’d, and then rebuilt for the sake of Improve ments in Masonry ; and we cannot compute the Per iod of its last glorious Erection (that became another of the Seven Wonders of the World ) to be prior to that of Solomon’s Temple ; but that long afterwards the Kings of Lesser Asia join’d, for 220 Years, in finishing it, with 107 Columns of the finest Marble, and many of ’em with most exquisite Sculpture (each at the Expence of a King, by the Master-Masons DRESIPHON and ARCHIPHRON) to support the planked Cieling and Roof of pure Cedar, as the Doors and Linings were of Cypress : Where by it became the Mistress of Lesser Asia, in Length 425 Foot, and in Breadth 220 Foot ; Nay, so admirable a Fabrick, that XERXES left it standing when he burnt all the other Tem ples in his Way to Greece ; tho’ at last it was set on Fire and burnt down by a vile Fellow, only for the Lust of being talk’d of, on the very Day that ALEXANDER the Great was born.

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Freemasonry

Editorial Note

James Anderson (c.1679–1739) was born and educated in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was ordained a minister in the Church of Scotland in 1707, and moved to London, where he ministered to the Glass House Street congregation until 1710, and to the Presbyterian church in Swallow Street until 1734, and at Lisle Street Chapel until his death. He is reported to have lost a large sum of money in the South Sea Company crash of 1720. Anderson was a Master of a Masonic lodge and a Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge. He was commissioned to write this history of the Free-Masons by the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster in September of 1721, and it was published in 1723. A second edition, much expanded, appeared in 1738. The work was translated into many languages, including Dutch (1736), German (1741), and French (1745). His other published works include Royal Genealogies (1732), A Defence of Masonry (1738?), News from Elysium (1739) , and A Genealogical History of the House of Yvery (1742). His authorship of the present work is declared on page 80.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) came to Philadelphia from Boston in 1723, and opened his own printing business in 1728, in partnership with Hugh Meredith, who left in 1730. He began to publish the Pennsylvania Gazette in October of 1729 and became the official printer for the colony of Pennsylvania in 1731. Franklin was admitted to the St. John’s Lodge of Free-Masons in January of 1731, became a junior grand warden of the lodge in June of 1732, and Grand Master of Masons of Pennsylvania in June of 1734.

He advertised his edition of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons as “just published” in the Pennsylvania Gazette for May 16, 1734 (at a price of 2s.6d., or bound at 4s.). Franklin’s connections with Masonry were very important for his professional, intellectual, and political careers, and he maintained them throughout his life, not only in America, but in England and France, as well.

The edition of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons that Franklin produced in Philadelphia in 1734 is a fairly faithful reprinting of the London original of eleven years earlier. It omits only the musical scores for some of the songs, the engraved frontispiece and coat of arms of the Duke of Montagu, and the Hebrew type occurring in the note to page 15 in this edition. In general, it is not as ornate or as typographically complex as the London edition, although clearly the effort was made to produce an attractive and fully ornamented book. It consisted of 96 pages, with the last two blank, on imported Genoese paper, with the pages measuring 8 inches high by 5.7 inches wide. In August of 1734, Franklin sent 70 copies to the Masonic Lodge in Boston and, at some point, another 25 copies to Charleston. Seventeen copies of the edition are known to survive. Facsimile editions have appeared in New York in 1905 and in Washington, D.C., in 1924. (See C. William Miller, Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia Printing, 1728-1766: A Descriptive Bibliography, [Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1974], pp. 39-40.)

One of the five songs (“A New Song,” page 91) in the book appeared in print for the first time in the 1734 edition. It is not known if Franklin composed this song, but it is known that he composed another (“Fair Venus Calls”) around 1741 that continued to be sung at Masonic meetings into the nineteenth century. (See J. A. Leo Lemay, Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History ; » available online, and Leon- ard W. Labaree, ed., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, v. 1, pp. 373-76.)

The text of this edition was transcribed from digi- tal page images of the 1734 edition accessed online in the Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800, no. 3744, which is derived from microfilm of the copy held in the Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, Cali- fornia. The London edition of 1723 is available online as digital page images — in the Eighteenth Century Collec- tions Online series — and it has been used for reference and comparison.

The design and layout of this edition are based on the Philadelphia edition of 1734. The text typeface is IM Fell DW Pica, originally cut by Peter de Walpergen, and dig- itized and furnished by Igino Marini (» available online). Larger type in the ti- tles and text of the “Dedication” is IM Fell Double Pica, from the same source. Some accomodations have been made in the composition: in deference to modern readers, the long “s” and its ligatures have not been used, nor have the ligatures for “ª”, “¤”, “¥”, “{”, “¦”, “}”, and “¬” — in order to allow for easier and more accurate searching and excerpting. Paragraph-long quotations have been rendered in the modern style, rather than beginning each line with quotation marks. One curious feature deserves special note: in the list of “Mas- ters and Wardens of Particular Lodges” in the “Approbation” section, the typesetter apparently ran out of brackets and used double-daggers to indicate the last ten pairs of Wardens; this feature is preserved in this edition. The ornaments reproduced in this electronic version are reproductions or reconstructions of those found in the printed Philadelphia edition.

This edition retains the spelling, capitalization, italics, and punctuation of the 1734 Philadelphia edition. No attempt has been made to standardize spellings or orthography. Some typographical errors have been corrected, and a list of emendations is given below, keyed to page and line number of the present edition (the line count includes chapter headings, but not running heads or hairlines):

Page.line	1734 reading	emended to
10.29	perpendciular	perpendicular
20.20	which	(which
22.5	PYTAHGORAS	PYTHAGORAS
24.31	exellent	excellent
33.25	Conjurnation	Conjuration
40.30*	TRINITY COLLEGE	TRINITY-COLLEGE
41.37	Fief	Fife
43.10*	County	County,
43.12*	Drumlanrig Castle	Drumlanrig-Castle
43.18	Clysdaleshire	Clydsdaleshire
43.19*	Wanstead House	Wanstead-House
43.21*	Mereworth Castle	Mereworth-Castle
43.26	Earle	Earl
48.16	may distinguish’d	may be distinguish’d
80.9b	THO	THO.
80.28b	Master	Master.
83.38	belov’d	belov’d.
83.29b	Art	Art.
85.29	thriv’d	thriv’d.
87.6b	King	King ;
88.5b	compleat ?	compleat ;
90.22b	T’each each	T’each
91.14b	are	are !

The five emendations indicated with asterisks represent occasions where the text of the Philadelphia edition departs from its London source-document within a list or context where it is otherwise faithful to that source. In these five cases, the reading of the London text has been adopted (i.e., four hyphens and a comma have been restored). In all other cases, other than the correction of typographical errors, the Philadelphia edition has been followed.

The following bibliographies and webliographies may be helpful to those seeking further sources for research on Masonry:

“Masonry and the Printed Word”, National Heritage Museum, Lexington, MA 02421
“Freemasonry in the Eighteenth-Century”, Brandy Farese
“DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF PHILANTHROPY AND VOLUNTARISM IN THE UNITED STATES, 1600-1900”
“Freemasonry”, Wikipedia
Walgren, Kent Logan, Freemasonry, Anti-Masonry, and Illuminism in the United States, 1734-1850, A Bibliography. Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 2003.

Paul Royster
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
February 14, 2006

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The Constitutions of the Free-Masons

— The History, Charges, Regulations, &c. of that most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity —

Dedication

THE CONSTITUTION,
History, Laws, Charges, Orders, Regulations, and Usages
of the Right Worshipful Fraternity of Accepted Free-Masons

The Charges of a Free-Mason

Coke's Opinion on 3 Hen. VI. Chap. I.

General Regulations

The Manner of Constituting a New Lodge

Approbation

The Master's Song

The Warden's Song

[A Paragraph from an Old Record]

The Fellow-Crafts Song

The Enter'd 'Prentices Song

A New Song

[Order to Publish]

Editorial Note

The Constitutions of the Free-Masons

— The History, Charges, Regulations, &c. of that most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity —

Dedication

THE CONSTITUTION, History, Laws, Charges, Orders, Regulations, and Usages of the Right Worshipful Fraternity of Accepted Free-Masons

The Charges of a Free-Mason

Coke's Opinion on 3 Hen. VI. Chap. I.

General Regulations

The Manner of Constituting a New Lodge

Approbation

The Master's Song

The Warden's Song

[A Paragraph from an Old Record]

The Fellow-Crafts Song

The Enter'd 'Prentices Song

A New Song

[Order to Publish]

Editorial Note

THE CONSTITUTION,
History, Laws, Charges, Orders, Regulations, and Usages
of the Right Worshipful Fraternity of Accepted Free-Masons