Shakespeare and
Freemasonry
by William Norman M'Daniel
The American
Freedom - January 1912
We have set it down as a law to
ourselves to examine things to the bottom, and not to receive
upon credit, or reject upon probability, until these have passed
a due examination. BACON'S NATURAL HISTORY. SPECULATE:-
To consider by turning a subject in the mind and viewing it in
its different aspects and relations; 2. In philosophy, To view
subjects from certain premises given or assumed, and infer
conclusions respecting them a priori. [a priori, From the cause
to the effect.] - WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY. ANYTHING proposed
at this late day as a new contribution to the history and
purpose of Freemasonry should be accompanied by the best of
credentials. And yet the very fact of its being new may preclude
almost any evidence except what it bears within itself; so that
the most one can do is to state what appears to be a truth, show
how it has become such to him, and then rely upon it being
apprehended by others. In offering to the Craft this
essay, which in its main proposition may seem altogether new,
and perhaps revolutionary, all that is asked for it is the
application of a primary Masonic rule of action. A strange
brother coming into a community is not received as such on his
own representation, but neither is he discarded. Let the same
method by which he is duly accepted as a member of the
Fraternity be applied to the views here expressed. It is the
only way in which they will become true to other
persons. Should these views appear to any reader like an
attempt to overthrow some of the most ancient landmarks of the
Fraternity, the assurance is given that such is not the writer's
purpose. Rather it is an effort to restore to the Order the
original patent or charter of Freemasonry, thus making it
possible to verify or correct all its landmarks. In
reflecting upon the work in Lodge meetings, and its
exemplification in the lives of brethren, these questions often
presented themselves: What is the purpose of it all? Is its full
purpose understood? Are the results commensurate with the
ideals of expectations? And to answer these questions was
not an easy matter. There is a feeling abroad, which must be
wide-spread, as its expression can be traced through many
Masonic journals, that something is wanting in the working of
the Order; either there is a misconception as to its origin and
object, or errors have crept into the exposition of the work. At
any rate it seemed worth some study to ascertain whether
there might not be a reasonable explanation for such
conditions. It is apparent to many of the most zealous
and loyal Masons that the discussions and uncertainty as to the
origin of their Order is placing it on the defensive, and is a
handicap to its progress. In these days of libraries and general
reading, the influence of standard works of popular education
cannot be ignored. At the beginning of the article on
"Freemasonry," in the New International Encyclopedia, after a
passing reference to the claims made for the antiquity of the
Order, the statement is made that "the Order, however, is now
considered to have been instituted about the early part of the
eighteenth century - the pretensions put forth to a date
coeval with the building of the Temple at Jerusalem, with
King Solomon as its first Grand Master, being considered by
those who have thoroughly investigated the subject as not
worthy of credit." In the new Encyclopedia Britannica the
article on "Freemasonry" was written by William James Hughan,
recently deceased, a recognized authority on questions
pertaining to Masonry. After noting that the Mother Grand
Lodge is that of England, which was inaugurated in the
metropolis on St. John Baptist's day, 1717, and that a Grand
Lodge was founded in Ireland in 1725 and in Scotland in
1736, he states "it is important to bear in mind that all the
regular Lodges throughout the world, likewise all the Grand
Lodges, directly or indirectly, have sprung from one or the
other of these three governing bodies named." Continuing he
says: "It may be a startling declaration, but it is well
authenticated, that there is no other Freemasonry, as the
term is now understood, than what has been so derived. In
other words, the Lodges and Grand Lodges in both hemispheres
trace their origin and authority back to England for working
what is known as the Three Degrees, controlled by regular Grand
Lodges." Yet in face of all this the general work and reputation
of the Order is based on the assumption that modern Freemasonry
is something very ancient. Studies extending over a number of
years led to a generalization so remarkable that at first it
seemed incredible, as no doubt it will to many other persons;
but it grew so clear and definite, accounting for an origin of
the Order consistent with the known facts, furnishing a
reasonable explanation for the difficulties which beset it, and
giving such an exalted conception of Freemasonry, that its
truth could scarcely be questioned. A point was reached
where there was no avoiding the conclusion that the teachings
and purpose of Shakespeare and Freemasonry are identical; that
their origin was coincident, or nearly so, the Order being
designed to prepare a special body of men to exemplify in actual
life the principles embodied in the plays; and, reciprocally,
the plays being intended to supply, with concrete illustrations,
correct rules of conduct and life; and that both are parts of
the grand and comprehensive philosophical scheme of Francis
Bacon to regenerate the world and unite mankind into a universal
brotherhood. This view of Freemasonry places it at the
very top of that vast scheme, making the institution a necessary
integral part of the wonderful plan, without which it would have
been incomplete. This view makes the purpose of the Order the
sublimest conception of man, this being no less than to
secure and maintain the freedom, the welfare and the very
preservation of the human race, A little reflection will
convince any member of the Order that its work has tended
toward that end; but what has been done, notable as it has
been, is hardly more than a beginning or earnest of what it
was meant to accomplish. To show how such conclusions
were reached naturally is
-a chronicle of day by day,
Not
a relation for a breakfast.
and yet it may be possible to
give in a reasonably small compass at least an intelligible, if
bare, outline of the course which led up to it. It is but
fair to remark that others have had suspicions or intimations of
some close relation between Shakespeare and Freemasonry. The
Worshipful Master of Bard-of-Avon Lodge claimed Masonic
fraternity with Shakespeare, thinking that allusions to Masonic
terms and customs are scattered through the plays, but chiefly
on the strength of Hubert's words in King John:
They
shake their heads,
And whisper one another in the ear,
And
he that speaks doth grip the hearer's wrist.
That action
being symbolic of the Sublime degree. (1) Of course this is but
a slight and superficial argument, since such actions are not
peculiar to Masons. Frederick Nicolai, a learned book-seller
of Berlin, advanced the belief that Lord Bacon, influenced by
the writings of Andrea, the alleged founder of the Rosicrucians,
and of his English disciple, Robert Fludd, gave to the world his
"New Atlantis," a beautiful apologue, in which are to be found
many ideas of a Masonic character. But in his opinion the
Order was not established until 1646, when a number of men
met for that purpose. It is worth noting that this is the same
year in which the Royal Society was founded. Had Nicolai
understood the relation between Shakespeare and Freemasonry, and
the part they bear in Bacon's system of philosophy, no doubt he
would have made a different guess. In the effort to establish
the truth of the main proposition - the identity of Freemasonry
and Shakespeare - let all questions relating to their history be
laid aside for the present, and let attention be directed to
their actual nature. Long ago the wise man who, it is believed,
knew all about these subjects, said: "The nature of everything
is best considered in the seed"; that is, by beginning with the
elements of which it is composed. This course is pursued in
all the investigations of modern science, and it should be the
proper course for Speculative Masonry. That is the
significance of the term Speculative. It will hardly be
questioned that the whole system of Freemasonry is the expansion
of some principle, some fundamental idea, just as truly as the
mighty oak has developed from the germ within the acorn. Now,
the germ idea of Freemasonry is contained in one paragraph of
the Charges of a Free-Mason (1723), and in the first line - "A
Mason by his tenure is obliged to obey the moral law." And
as the embryo of the acorn sends roots down into the ground
for the sake of the tree that grows above, so the observance
of the moral law is to the end that mankind may be united
into one brotherhood - a high ideal, never to be attained, but
still the goal toward which to strive. While the main part of
this Book of Constitutions pretends to trace the history of
Masonry from the earliest period of the world's history, the
least reflection will convince one that all this has nothing to
do with speculative Masonry. Almost all the book having
reference to Freemasonry may be said to be in that one
paragraph, which is here given: A Mason is obliged by his
Tenure to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly understands the
ART, he will never be a stupid ATHEIST, nor an irreligious
LIBERTINE. And though in ancient Times Masons were charg'd in
every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation,
whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to
obligate them to that Religion in which all Men agree; leaving
their particular opinions to themselves; that is, to be GOOD MEN
AND TRUE, or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever
Denomination or Persuasion they may [be] distinguish'd;
whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Unity, and the means
of conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must else
have remained at a perpetual distance. This paragraph may be
summed up in a single phrase, which fully expresses the vital
spirit of Freemasonry - The Majesty of the Moral
Low. Professor Henry Van Dyke has made the splendid
generalization that the aim and purpose of the Shakespearean
dramas also is to teach the Majesty of the Moral Law. It will be
found, when the plays are studied from this viewpoint, that they
form a comprehensive and consistent body of ethics or moral
philosophy, the term being used in the Baconian sense as
embracing politics, ethics, as commonly conceived, and logic;
and that this system is entirely in harmony with the teachings
of Freemasonry. It may be more exact to say that Freemasonry is
a training school to make the realization of this philosophy
possible. Perhaps the simplest and yet most satisfactory
definition of Freemasonry is Dr. Hemming's, that "Freemasonry is
a beautiful system of morals, veiled in allegory and illustrated
by symbols." Shakespeare may be also defined as a beautiful
system of morals, veiled in allegory and illustrated by
fictitious and historical personages. Further, one play, The
Tempest, which stands first in the collected plays, is an
epitome, a miniature of the whole. The argument of our main
proposition - the identity of Shakespeare and Freemasonry - may
be based upon the proper interpretation of this play. One
primary idea must be kept in mind: these plays are works of art;
works of literary art, which, next to music, is the highest art;
and again, in the form of the drama, which is the highest form
of literary art. And as Alfred Noyes has so aptly expressed it,
"The content and import of a work of art are not to be weighed
in the same way as those of a philosophic system or a work of
science." It is to be realized more as a personal experience,
not so much comprehended by the mind as apprehended by the
soul. Let it not be thought strange, therefore, if for many
persons The Tempest has little significance. For that matter,
to how comparatively few persons is Shakespeare anything
more than a name. The reason is to be found in our
one-sided, unnatural and, in many respects, false education.
Others can place themselves where Shakespeare and
Freemasonry meet, if they but free their minds from
traditions and prejudices. Hence, to read these plays as
mere stories in dramatic form, filled in with many wise
reflections, is to miss their real character. The Tempest may be
read simply as such a story, and even as having a moral purpose.
Sir Edward Strachey says quite aptly that it is "a mimic, magic
tempest which we are to see, a tempest raised by art, to work
moral ends with actual men and women," But he fails to show how
it is to bring about such a state in the actual affairs of men,
say of our day or of any time. The play contains hints
suggesting that it is meant to be of universal application. It
will yet be clear that this play can be fairly interpreted as an
allegorical drama, summing up the whole method of Francis
Bacon's philosophy, and especially his moral philosophy, as it
is to affect in actual life the individual, and all the
relations which men and women sustain toward each other, from
the primary relations of the family to the highest, which is
that of government. And when so interpreted it will be found
that it is also the philosophy of Freemasonry. In a small
frame hanging on one of the beautiful marble columns in the
Library of the Masonic Temple at Philadelphia Pa. are a number
of Masonic Landmarks, which may be accepted as a fair statement
of some fundamental principles of Freemasonry. They are
reproduced here; MASONIC LANDMARKS.
The Moral Law is
Masonic Law. Obedience to lawful authority is inculcated by
Masonry. Masonic qualifications are mental, moral and physical.
Masonic preferment is grounded upon real worth and personal
merit only Charity should be the distinguishing characteristic of
a Mason. The will of the majority governs for the good of
the whole. Secrecy is indispensable in Masonry. The Master is
the head of the Lodge. In his absence the Wardens preside
according to rank. The Grand Lodge is supreme in its sphere of
jurisdiction. The approbation of God is the highest Masonic
honor.
Comparing these Masonic Landmarks with The Tempest it
can be seen how they are woven into the word-pictures of the
play. As the Moral Law forms the first Landmark, so the main
theme of the play is illustrated by the story of the violation
of the moral law by the false Duke and his confederates, and
their repentance; with the result that a reconciliation of all
the persons is brought about, and they agree to live in harmony
and unity. The second landmark is the recognition of
lawful authority. Now, the very first scene of the play teaches
the same lesson. In the first twenty-seven lines is embodied the
whole theory of authority and obedience, as the basis of true
liberty. Notice the cheerful obedience of the sailors to the
commands of their proper superiors, and the sudden change to
sullen opposition to those who had no lawful right to order them
about. In the same way it can be seen how the other general
abstract principles of Masonry are illustrated as the play
progresses. But it is desired to call special attention to
the distinguishing term of Freemasonry - the word Free. Freedom
is the enveloping, penetrating atmosphere of the play as a
whole, and of every part of it. It is the necessary life-giving
principle for the development of the individual and society as
therein portrayed. The idea of freedom is present in almost
every action of importance throughout the entire play, and forms
the theme of a postscript, in form of an apologue. The simple
wish of Caliban, type of primitive man, or of the animal
becoming human, is for his freedom; and it forms the last
wish of Prospero, type of the highest developed man. But
above all, the promise of freedom and the hope of attaining it
formed the very life of Ariel, and was the spur to all his
activity; and Ariel, it is believed, symbolizes the spirit of
man. To analyze the play in detail would make this paper too
long. Let this marvelous drama of The Tempest be interpreted as
an allegory expressing in the form of literary art what Bacon
meant to express in sculpture by the statue of Orpheus,
which he erected in his grounds of Gorhambury. The result
will show whether it bears such an interpretation and has
any relation to Freemasonry. Bacon inscribed the statue,
Philosophy Personified. He interpreted Orpheus as denoting
learning, and the ancient fable as a picture of universal
philosophy. The music of Orpheus was of two kinds: one that
appeased the infernal powers, he applied to natural philosophy,
which seeks to understand and control the physical world; the
other, which draws together men and beasts, to moral and civil
discipline. In other words, Bacon understood Orpheus to have
been to the Greeks a civilizing hero, who had induced their
ancestors to renounce cannibalism, and taught them the arts and
sciences and how to live together. This, Bacon thought, was
the true Orpheus music or harmony. Now, The Tempest
presents to us a picture of similar sordid, selfish and warring
social conditions transformed into a society where reparation
has been made for all injustice, where no man is to "shift" for
himself, but where each shall shift for the others, and where,
as a result, peace prevails. "The supreme harmony prevails when
all things are in harmony with the moral order." The events
which brought this about culminated in the marriage of Miranda,
the admired daughter of Prospero, to the prospective reigning
prince. This marriage, with its attendant happiness, is
emblematic of the prosperity and peace of a state which
would accept Bacon's philosophy, symbolized here by Miranda.
It will be noticed that she is the very embodiment of pity,
sympathy for her fellow-men, as Ariel is the embodiment of
thought, especially in its highest manifestation, that of the
creative imagination. Herein lies the explanation of the figure
which represents Freemasonry as spanning the world with its arms
of light and love and benevolence. It is indeed a picture of an
ideal civilization, of a state requiring a high degree of
education to be even approximately realized. This is the
invisible Temple, continually being built. The teachings
of Freemasonry lead in this same direction, and I submit that
the Order was instituted to bring to pass just such a condition
of society, in which Masons are to be the living stones. It was
meant to be a civilizing force, working throughout the whole
world. The universal application of its principles and teachings
attest to this fact. These principles in their general form are
embodied in The Tempest, while in the other plays they are
exemplified as they apply to the manifold conditions of human
relations. It should be said that these plays are
extra-institutional, something like the post-graduate studies of
schools and colleges. They have no immediate connection with the
secret work of the Lodge. Freemasonry is frequently
conceived as a religion. The language of the Ancient Charges
implies that it may be so considered. Every religion has its
body of doctrines, its votaries, and an organization through
which, by means of rituals and worship, these doctrines are
taught to its followers and disseminated among outsiders. In
Freemasonry the Lodges and the secret work correspond to the
religious organizations and their rituals. But Freemasonry has
no body of doctrines. Freemasonry is not a matter of belief. Its
members are to think and feel and act. And in lieu of a body of
doctrines I name the peerless plays of Shakespeare as embodying
and exempliplying the principles which are to serve as a guide
and inspiration of Masons; that is, beyond what is inculcated by
the secret work of the Lodges. If an explanation is asked
how modern Freemasonry was connected with Operative Masonry, the
answer is that the ancient Institution was taken as the wild
stock on which the new was grafted, exactly as each of the plays
was based on some older tale or legend. The process is set forth
quite plainly in that charming play, The Winter's Tale, where
the author says:
we marry
A gentlers cion to the
wildest stock,
And make conceive a bark of baser kind
By bud
of nobler race; this is an art
Which does mend nature - change
it, rather; but
The art itself is nature. (2)
The great
secrecy and mystery which surrounded the early history of the
Order was necessary to establish it, but this should no longer
hold in our day. It may be that all this is well known in the
higher Masonic circles, but kept hid, like so many other things,
from motives of prudence. But if such a course seemed necessary
at one time in the history of Freemasonry, it is difficult to
see a reason for continuing it. If it is not known, then the
conviction is expressed that a careful examination will verify
the discovery. And its importance cannot be questioned or
exaggerated. Freemasonry makes a private appeal to all that
is best, noblest and most unselfish in man; and to stimulate
the interest by a certain amount of mystery, secrecy of
symbolism is well and good. But this has its limitations. In
these days many men have advanced beyond such a stage in
their education. To them the actual truth cannot fail to appeal.
It will solve not only the perplexing question of the authorship
of the plays, but in large measure their real meaning, and
furnish a practical way of relating them to men's lives, thus
making them what they were meant to be - a vital, educating
force. It will explain the tremendous spurt of civilization in
England during Bacon's life-time, and make clear who was the
intellectual dynamo that furnished not only the light and power
of that wonderful period, but the impulse which led to our
present advanced stage of civilization. It will confirm the
opinion that Freemasons were meant to be the special guardians
and conservators of the richest and noblest treasure intended
for the welfare of mankind that the human mind ever collected.
It will establish the fact that in modern times lived a
philosopher, Francis Bacon, the freest, wisest, tenderest of
men, who for three centuries has met the common fate of
philosophers - to be misunderstood and maligned - but who
planned a scheme of philosophy surpassing all that ever
preceded; and who also made provision for its dissemination and
preservation among men. Let Freemasonry acknowledge its
paternity, which will be found to have been noble in name and
most noble in fact, and claim its inheritance, with its
attending responsibilities, and it will have the means to solve
the difficulties and dispel the fears felt by many members and
expressed so forcibly by the good brother, Bishop Charles T.
Williams, of Michigan, when he said: "I have often felt that
Freemasonry should be something more than a mere theatrical
exhibition, with some technical charity and a good deal of
social intercourse; but I do not see just how its moral forces
can be effectually concentrated and directed." It can also meet
the criticism, and fufill the prophecy presented by Oswald
Wirth, (3) who declared that our institution has not yet found
itself, that it seeks itself like the youth who is forced to
recognize himself, and take knowledge of what he really is. He
predicts that an epoch will come forcibly, when all that is
respectable will be universally respected - when forms shall be
appreciated and scrupulously observed no more by instinct or
superstition, but in reason, for what they contain as
living. Let Freemasonry but find itself - and this is
possible by the author's last will and testament, The Tempest -
and there is nothing that can prevent it from becoming the
world-wide civilizing force which it was designed to be,
becoming the most potent factor in dispelling ignorance and
superstition, in bringing about a fuller freedom and development
of man, and in replacing the selfishness, deceit and inhumanity,
which unchecked must eventually destroy our civilization, by
the rule of justice and love, which alone can unite mankind
into a universal brotherhood. (1) John Weiss, Wit and
Humor of Shakespeare, p. 248.
(2) Act iv, scene 4.
(3) THE
AMERICAN FRFEMASON, August,
1911. back to top |
