The Museum - a Masonic Establishment De VIRGIL STEFAN NITULESCU, 31

Muzeul - o institutie masonic

Sursa:http://www.masonicforum.ro/archiv e/en/nr17/museum.html

Museum is one of those cultural establishments which should be very close to Freemasonry, first of all because it is a temple. Like many other establishments which lie at the basis of modern society, the museum is related to the civilization of Greeks, its name, mouseion, meaning in Greek the temple of the museums, temple that in Athens is raised on a small hill near Acropolis. Thus, the original word shows us the museum as place of meditation, of collecting the thoughts, of prayer. In the ancient time, museum gets a new dimension through the meaning given by Ptolemy Soter, who in one side of his palace raised in Alexandria set up the Mouseion as place for scientific debates between the scholars of that age, because the Muses were in those times not only embodiments of arts (Thalia for comedy, Melpomene for tragedy, Erato for elegy, Polymnia for lyrics, Calliope for heroic poetry and oratory, Euterpe for music and Terpsichore for dancing) but also of science (Clio for history and Urania for astronomy and geometry). The medieval scholasticism brought another order in understanding and studying the arts and the sciences, separating them, more or less artificially, but the most important thing is that in Western Europe, facing the wave of migration, the wisest clergymen of the time tried to shelter the inherited treasures, making up the treasury of the great cathedrals.

Muzeul este una dintre acele institutii culturale ce ar trebui s fie foarte apropiat de Francmasonerie, N PRIMUL RND, PENTRU C ESTE UN TEMPLU!!!. La fel ca multe alte instituii care stau la baza societii moderne, muzeul este legat de civilizaia grecilor, numele, mouseion, nseamn n limba greac templu al muzelor (greeala n textul original), templu ce n Atena este ridicat pe un mic deal n apropierea Acropolis. Astfel, cuvntul original, ne arat muzeul ca loc de meditatie, de reculegere, de rugciune. n timpuri strvechi, muzeul primete o nou dimensiune prin sensul dat de Ptolemeu Soter, care ntr-o parte a palatului su ridicat n Alexandria a nfiin at Mouseion ca loc pentru dezbateri tiinifice ntre nvceii din acele vremuri, deoarece muzele au fost nu doar ntruchipri ale artelor (Thalia pentru comedie, Melpomene pentru tragedie, Erato pentru elegie, Polymnia pentru versuri, Calliope pentru poezia eroic i oratorie, Euterpe pentru muzic i Terpsichore pentru dans), dar i ale tiinei (Clio pentru istorie i Urania pentru astronomie i geometrie). Scolastica medieval aduce o nou ordine n nelegerea i studierea artelor i tiinelor, separndu-le, mai mult sau mai puin artificial, dar cel mai important lucru este faptul c n Europa de Vest, ce se confrunta n acele vremuri cu un val de migraie, cei mai nelepi clerici ai timpului au ncercat s adposteasc comorile motenite, formndu-se astfel tezaure n marile catedrale.
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We shouldn't forget that the builders of those cathedrals ( the most illustrative examples are those extraordinary buildings from Rochester, Barcelona, Sevilla, Strasbourg, Chartres, Reims, Rouen, Bruges, Magdeburg, Nurnberg, Milano a.s.o.) are the Operative Masons who planned in the basement of each cathedral one room for storing the treasury. So we could say that in the XIIIth century, when all these cathedrals, built in a style subsequently known as Gothic, were practically finished, Masonry had already brought through the agency of the Operative Masons its major contribution at the maintenance of the European cultural patrimony.

Nu trebuie s uitm - constructorii acestor catedrale (cele mai ilustrative exemple sunt acele cldiri extraordinare din Rochester, Barcelona, Sevilla, Strasbourg, Chartres, Reims, Rouen, Bruges, Magdeburg, Nurnberg, Milano etc) sunt masoni operativi care au prevzut n subsolul fiecrei catedrale cte o camer pentru depozitarea tezaurului.

Deci, am putea spune c n secolul al XIII-lea, cnd toate aceste catedrale, construite ntrun stil ulterior cunoscut sub numele de gotic, au fost practic finalizate, Masoneria va fi adus deja prin intermediul masonilor contribuia sa important la meninerea patrimoniului cultural european . Modelul de colecii de cult este, de asemenea, adoptat de ctre prinii laici, astfel nct, chiar n 1335, n Italia, este menionat camera de antichitati. Aceste colecii cunosc o evoluie interesant n urmtoarele trei secole. Pe de o parte, a fost Renaterea ce a adus cu sine construirea primelor muzee, cum a fost cel deschis la Capitol n 1471 de ctre Papa Sixtus al IV-lea (primul pap care interzice prin bul papal exportul de antichitati, pentru o mai bun protecie a acestora n statul Papal), lucru ce conduce la moda marilor coleciilor regale - n acea perioad termenul de muzeu desemna o colecie de obiecte rare i preioase.

The model of clerical collections is also adopted by the lay princes; so that even in 1335 in Italy is mentioned a chamber of antiquities. These collections know an interesting development in the following three centuries. On one hand, it was the Renaissance that brought with itself the building of the first museums, as was the case with that one opened on Capitol in 1471 by Pope Sixtus the IVth (the first pope who forbode with a bull the exportation of antiquities, for a better protection of them in the Popal State), that lead to a fashion of great royal collections; in that period the term museum meant a collection of rare and precious objects.

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On the other hand, the antiquity collections influenced by the humanist thought and ideas of the Accepted Masons from the lodges -, in the XVIth century were doubled by the so-called chambers of curios, where, together with works of art, one could find mineral flowers or rare botanical and zoological samples. Again, among the initiators of these museums and chambers were the Freemasons, now the speculative. It's famous the case of Ashmoleene collection, set up by the renowned alchemist Elias Ashmole (considered by some researchers as "the first speculative mason"), collection that nowadays is part of the British Museum's treasury. It was again the speculative masons who had the idea of opening those galleries, collections and museums for the wide public, so as to raise the general cultural level and to share the treasure of wisdom and beauty gathered with great effort for centuries.

Pe de alt parte, coleciile de antichiti influenate de gndirea umanist i de ideile masonilor acceptai din loji -, n secolul al XVI-lea au fost dublate de aa -numitele camere ale curiozitilor, unde, mpreun cu opere de art, se puteau gsi flori minerale sau mostre botanice i zoologice rare. Din nou, printre iniiatorii acestor muzee i camere au fost francmasoni, de data aceasta cei din ordinul speculativ.

Este celebru cazul coleciei Ashmoleene, creat de renumitul alchimist Elias Ashmole (considerat de unii cercettori ca fiind "primul mason speculativ"), colectie care n zilele noastre este parte a British Museum. Masonii speculativi sunt cei ce au avut ideea de a deschide aceste galerii, colecii i muzee pentru publicul larg, pentru a ridica nivelul cultural general i pentru a mprti comoara de nelepciune i frumusee adunat cu mare efort de-a lungul secolelor. Astfel c, la nceputul secolului al XVIII-lea, n mai multe muzee accesul a devenit general, chiar dac taxa de intrare era foarte mare. Se pare c unul dintre primele muzee cu acces gratuit pentru publicul larg a fost creaia unui mason : mpratul Iosif al II-lea de Habsburg - Lotharingia - Toscana, care a permis jurul anului 1770 intrarea liber la colecia imperial din cadrul Palatului Belvedere din Viena.

So that at the beginning of the XVIIIth century in even more museums the access became general, even though the fee was very high. It seems that one of the first museums with free access for public was established by a Mason also: Emperor Joseph II of Habsbourg - Lotharingia Toscana, who allowed around 1770 the free entrance at the imperial collection in the Viennese palace Belvedere. It is worth mentioning that this happened after less than two decades after the birth of Encyclopaedia, initiated by another Freemason, Denis Diderot. This brilliant Freemason considered, in the article regarding the Louvre in the Encyclopaedia, that the Palace should become a great cultural and artistic center, doubled by its working as a scientific center, comparing it to the Alexandrine Museion.

Este demn de menionat faptul c acest lucru s-a ntmplat la mai puin de dou decenii dup naterea Enciclopediei, iniiate de un alt francmason, Denis Diderot. Acest francmason genial a luat n considerare, n articolul cu privire la Luvru din Enciclopedie, faptul c Palatul ar trebui s devin un mare centru cultural si artistic, dublat de activitatea specific unui centru tiinific, comparandu-l cu Museion-ul alexandrin.

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The influence of Illuminists over the revolutionists from 1789 lead to the establishment of the first real public museum. The Louvre became indeed, between 1792 and 1795, such a pile of buildings, including the Republic Museum, inaugurated in August 10, 1793, but also a museum of French monuments, one of natural history and one of arts and trades.

Influenced by these ideas, baron Samuel von Brukenthal, initiated in the Viennese Lodge "Zu den Drei Adler", set up in 1790 a collection that was to become in 1817, after 14 years from baron' death, the museum from Sibiu that bears his name today. The members of the Cluj Lodge, founded in 1782, also had some concerns for the establishment of a Transylvanian museum. On the other side of the Carpathians there were also some attempts to organize public expositions based on personal collections, after the courageous trial of organizing a museum in 1834 in the premises of College St. Sava from Bucharest (where even since 1830 there had been Mason teachers) failed because of the straitened circumstances. The National Museum of Antiquities of Bucharest was set up in 1864 and modernized in the following decades. The cultural patrimony was fermly defended, often by Masons through different means, as is the case with the legislation adopted in 1892-1893 at the initiative of some personalities like P.P.Carp, Take Ionescu, Spiru Haret and Ion Kalinderu. We shouldn't neglect the fact that among the most important private collections were, at the end of the XIXth century, those initiated by Brethren M.Kogalniceanu and I. Kalinderu.

iluminitilor Influena asupra revoluionarilor de la 1789 conduce la instituirea primului muzeu cu adevrat public. Muzeul Luvru a devenit, ntr-adevr, ntre 1792 i 1795, o gramada de cldiri, inclusiv Muzeul Republicii, inaugurat la 10 august 1793, dar, de asemenea, un muzeu de monumente franceze, unul de istorie natural i unul de arte i meserii.

Influenat de aceste idei, baronul Samuel von Brukenthal, a iniiat n loja vienez "Din trei vulturi", nfiinat n anul 1790 - o colecie ce avea s devin n 1817, dup 14 de ani de la moartea baronului, muzeul din Sibiu care poart n zilele noastre numele lui. Membrii lojei din Cluj, nfiinat n 1782, au avut, de asemenea, unele preocupri pentru nfiinarea unui muzeu transilvan. De cealalt parte a Carpailor au fost, de asemenea, unele ncercri de a organiza expoziii publice bazate pe colecii personale, dup ncercarea temerar de a organiza un muzeu n 1834, n incinta Colegiului Sf. Sava din Bucureti (unde chiar din 1830 erau profesori masoni) ce a euat din cauza circumstane lor nefavorabile. Muzeul Naional de Antichiti din Bucureti a fost nfiinat n 1864 i modernizat n urmtoarele decenii. Patrimoniul cultural a fost aprat cu fermitate, de multe ori de ctre masoni, prin diferite mijloace, cum este cazul cu legislaia adoptat n 1892-1893 la iniiativa unor personaliti cum ar fi P.P. Carp, Take Ionescu, Spiru Haret i Ion Kalinderu. Nu trebuie s neglijm faptul c printre cele mai importante colecii private au fost, la sfritul secolului al XIX -lea, cele iniiate de fraii M.Kogalniceanu i I. Kalinderu.

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Unfortunately, the long decades of dictatorship affected seriously the activity of museums and of Masonry in Romania. But the last decade of the past century brought not only the Rekindling of Masonic Light, but also the promise of a rebirth of national museography.

Din pcate, lungile decenii de dictatur au afectat grav activitatea muzeelor i a Masoneriei din Romnia. Dar ultimul deceniu al secolului trecut a adus nu numai reaprinderea luminii masonice, dar, de asemenea, promisiunea renaterii muzeografiei nationale.

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