Though Ashmole was “one of the earliest Freemasons, [and] appears from his writings to have been a zealous Rosicrucian“, John Gadbury wrote that “Anthony Wood hath falsely called him a Rosicrucian, Whereas no man was further from fostring such follies.”Ashmole’s involvement with Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism may have been social or the interest of an antiquarian, rather than born out of any religious fervour. However, the notion of a repository of universal knowledge is described in Rosicrucian writings and this idea may have partly inspired Ashmole’s desire to found a great museum.
the source: Wikipedia
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external links
- The Correspondence of Elias Ashmole in EMLO
- Ashmolean Museum
- The Royal Society Library and Archives Catalogues includes biographical details of former Fellows
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