LAURENCE DERMOTT, AHIMAN REZON, 2ND EDN, EXCERPT CONTAINING POLEMIC AGAINST MODERNS FREEMASONS AND IN PRAISE OF ANTIENTS FREEMASONRY (1764)

First published in 1756, Laurence Dermott ’s Ahiman Rezon codified and publicized Antients Freemasonry, arguing in favour of its greater antiquity and superior ritual as compared to the (not dissimilar) masonic practices of the now disparagingly named ‘Moderns’ . Dermott’s later editions of his book extended the argument, highlighting the Antients’ relationship with the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland and emphasizing a claim of masonic pre-eminence.