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FELLOWCRAFT
MEANING OF THE TERM "FELLOWCRAFT"
"Fellow Craft" is one of the large number of terms which have a
technical meaning peculiar to Freemasonry and are seldom found elsewhere.
In Operative Masonry a "Craft" was an organization of skilled
workmen in some trade or calling, a "fellow" meant one who held
membership in such a craft, obligated to the same duties and allowed the same
privileges.
In Freemasonry it possesses two separate meanings, one of which we may call
the Operative meaning, and the other the Speculative.
In its Operative period Freemasons were skilled workmen engaged as architects
and builders; like other skilled workmen, they had an organized craft of their
own, the general form of which was called a " -Guild." This guild had
officers, laws, rules, regulations, and customs of its own, rigorously binding
on all members.
It divided its membership into two grades, the lower of which composed of
apprenticeship, was explained to you in our first meeting.
You have already learned the Operative meaning of Fellow Craft; now that the
Craft is no longer Operative the term possesses a very different meaning, yet it
is still used in its original sense in certain parts of the Ritual, and, of
course, it is frequently met with in the histories of the Fraternity.
Operative Freemasonry began to decline at about the time of the Reformation,
when Lodges became few in number and small in membership.
A few of these in England began to admit into membership men with no
intention of practicing Operative Masonry, but who were attracted by the Craft's
antiquity, and for social philosophical reasons.
These were called Speculative Masons.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century these Speculatives so
increased in numbers that they gained control, and during the first quarter of
that century completely transformed the Craft into the Speculative Fraternity we
now have.
Although they adhered as closely as possible to the old customs, they made
radical changes to fit the Society for its new purposes.
One of the most important of these was to abandon the old rule of
dividing the members into two grades, or degrees, and to adopt the new rule of
dividing them into three. The
second was called the Fellow Craft’s Degree, the third the Master Mason's
Degree.
The term Fellow Craft is now used as the name of one who has received the
Second Degree. You are a Fellow
Craft; you have passed through the ceremonies, assumed the obligations of the
Fellow Craft's Degree and are registered as a Fellow Craft in the books of the
Lodge. You can sit in either a
Lodge of Apprentices or of Fellow Crafts, but not of Master Masons.
Your duties are to do and to be all that a Fellow Craft's Lodge requires.
Freemasonry is too extensive to be exemplified in a ritual or to be presented
through initiation in one evening. One
Degree follows another and the members of each stand on a different level of
rights and duties; but this does not mean that the Masonry presented in either
the First or Second Degree, so far as its nature and teachings are concerned, is
less important, or less binding, than that presented in the Third Degree.
All that is taught in the First and Second Degrees belongs as vitally and
permanently to Freemasonry as that which is taught in the Third; there is a
necessary subordination in the grades of membership but there is no
subordination of the Masonry presented in each grade.
Do not, therefore, be tempted to look upon the Fellow Craft's Degree as a
mere stepping-stone to the Third. Freemasonry
gave to you one part of itself in the First, another portion in the Second, and
in the Third it will give you yet another, but it is always Freemasonry
throughout. Therefore, we urge on
you the same studious attention while you are a Fellow Craft that you doubtless
expect to give when you are a Master Mason.
In asking you to learn well the duties, privileges, and limitations of an
Entered Apprentice, we also urge you to conceive of apprenticeship in the larger
sense. It is not particularly
difficult for a worthy candidate to become a member in name only, but we want
your ambition to extend far beyond that perfunctory stage.
We believe that you wish to become a Mason in reality and that no idle
desire for the honor of bearing the name has been your motive for seeking our
fellowship. If this be true, we
urgently advise you not to be content with the letter and outward form in this
your beginning period, but to apply yourself with freedom, fervency and zeal to
the sincere and thorough mastering of our Royal Art.
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AN INTERPRETATION OF THE RITUAL OF
THE SECOND DEGREE
You are now a Fellow Craft. Our
purpose is to try to explain some of the meanings of the Degree; a part only, as
it would require many evenings to explain it in full.
Many great ideas are embodied therein, which, if understood, will lead to
comprehension of others.
One of these is the idea of adulthood.
The Entered Apprentice represents youth standing at the portals of life, his
pathway lighted by the rays of the rising sun.
The Master Mason represents the man of years, already on the farther
slope of the hill with the setting sun in his eyes.
The Fellow Craft is a man in the prime of life-experienced, strong,
resourceful, able to bear the heat and burden of the day.
Only in its narrowest sense can adulthood be described in terms of years.
If and when he achieves it, a man discovers that the mere fact that he is
forty or fifty years of age has little to do with it.
Adulthood is rather a quality of mind and heart.
The man in his middle years carries the responsibilities.
It is he upon whom a family depends for support; he is the Atlas on whose
shoulders rest the burdens of business; by his skill and experience the arts are
sustained; to his keeping are entrusted the destinies of the State.
It is said that in the building of his Temple, King Solomon employed
eighty thousand Fellow Crafts, who labored in the mountains and the quarries.
The description is suggestive, for it is by men in the Fellow Craft
period of life that the work is done, in the mountains and quarries of human
experience.
What does the Second Degree say to the Fellow Craft, whether in Masonry or in
the world at large? The Answer
brings us to the second great idea that the Fellow Craft is so to equip himself
that he will prove adequate to the tasks which will be laid upon him.
What is that equipment? The
Degree gives us at least three answers.
The first is that the Fellow Craft must gain direct experience from contact
with the realities of existence. You
will recall what was said about the Five Senses.
Needless to say, that portion of the Middle Chamber Lecture was not
intended as a dissertation on either physiology or psychology; it is symbolism,
and represents what a man learns through seeing, touching, tasting, hearing and
smelling-in short, immediate experience; and a man garners such experience only
with the passage of time.
The second answer is education. The
possibilities of an individual's experience are limited.
Could we learn of life only that with which we are brought in contact by
our senses, we would be poorly equipped to deal with its complexities and
responsibilities. To our store of
hard-won experience we add the experience of others, supplementing ours by the
information of countless men which is brought to us through many channels; our
own knowledge must be made more nearly complete by the accumulated knowledge of
the race.
We have a picture of this in Freemasonry: . In the days when Masons were
builders of great and costly structures, the apprentice was a mere boy, ten to
fifteen years of age, scarcely knowing one tool from another, ignorant of the
secrets and art of the builders. Yet,
if worthy and skillful, after seven years he was able to produce his Master's
Piece and perform any task to which the Master might appoint him.
How was all this accomplished? Only
by the instruction, guidance and inspiration the Master was able to give him
as a result of long years of experience and development.
Such is education, symbolized in the Second Degree by the Liberal Arts and
Sciences. No doubt you were
surprised to hear what was said about grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic,
geometry, music and astronomy, and wondered what such schoolroom topics had to
do with Masonry. You understand
now! The explanation of these
subjects was not intended as an academic lecture.
Like so much else in the Degree, they are symbolism signifying all that
is meant by education.
The third answer is wisdom.
Experience gives us awareness of the world at points of immediate contact;
knowledge gives us competence for special tasks in the activities of life.
But a man's life is not confined to his immediate experience; nor is he
day and night engaged in the same task; life is richer than that!
Wisdom is that quality of judgment by which we are able to adapt our
experience and knowledge to a practical solution of our social relations to
others; wisdom to make our work conform to the plan of the Great Architect.
The Middle Chamber, which is so conspicuous in the Second Degree, is a symbol
of wisdom. Through the Five Senses
(Experience), and through knowledge of the Liberal
Arts and Sciences (Education), the candidate is called to advance, as on
Winding Stairs, to that maturity of life in which the senses, emotions,
intellect, character, work, deeds, habits and soul of a man are knit together in
unity, balanced, poised, adequate: Wisdom.
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SYMBOLS AND ALLEGORIES OF THE
SECOND DEGREE
Of the allegories peculiar to
this Degree the most striking and important is that in which you acted the part
of a man approaching King Solomon's Temple; you came into its outer precincts;
passed between the Two Pillars, climbed a winding stairs and at last entered the
Middle Chamber where our ancient brethren received their wages of Corn, Wine,
and Oil. During certain stages of
this allegorical journey you listened to various parts of a discourse which
Masonry calls the Middle Chamber Lecture.
We gradually achieve a greater appreciation of the great values of life;
religion, which is man's quest for God; brotherhood, which is a life of
fellowship grounded in good will; art, by which we enjoy the beautiful;
citizenship, by which we enjoy the good of communal life; science, by which we
learn the nature of the world we live in; literature, by which we enter into
communion with the life of all mankind. A
good life is one in which all such things are appreciated and enjoyed.
All this is commonplace, in the sense that it conforms to the experience of
wise men everywhere. It is not
commonplace in the sense that all men understand it or follow it.
For many men do not understand it, or if they do, have not the will to
follow it. Such men, when young,
are so impatient, or indolent, or conceited, that they refuse to submit to a
long and painful apprenticeship, and reach adult life with all its tasks and
responsibilities, without training and without knowledge, blindly trusting to
their luck.
This belief that the good things of life come by chance to the fortunate, is
a fatal blunder. The satisfying
values of life, spiritual, moral, intellectual, or physical, cannot be won like
a lottery prize; they cannot come at all except through patient, intelligent and
sustained effort.
Your instructions relative to the wages of a Fellow Craft, given in the place
representing the Middle Chamber of King Solomon's Temple, are by no means
completed at this point, for, in common with all other values of Freemasonry,
they are a continuing experience. The
“wages" are the intangible but no less real compensation for a faithful
and intelligent use of the Working Tools, fidelity to your obligations, and
unflagging interest in and study of the structure purpose, and possibilities of the Fraternity. Such wages may be
defined in terms of a deeper understanding of Brotherhood, a clearer conception
of ethical living, a broader toleration, a sharper impatience with the mediocre
and unworthy, and a more resolute will to think justly, independently, and
honestly.
You recall the prominence which was given the letter G. It is doubtful if
this symbol in its present form was of any Masonic significance prior to the
18th century, but since that time it has come to have a double interpretation:
first, as being the first letter of our name for the Deity in whose existence
all Masons have professed belief, the continued expression of which is
symbolized by the presence of the Volume of the Sacred Law upon our altar;
second, as being the initial of Geometry, regarded as the basic science of
Operative Masonry, now symbolizing to Speculative Masons the unchanging natural
laws which govern the whole material universe.
Together they symbolize that attribute of God revealed to us through
Geometry: God as the great intelligence of the universe.
This is consistent, as the entire Degree makes its appeal to the
intellect.
Such are some of the meanings of your allegorical entrance into Solomon's
Temple as a candidate in the Second Degree.
Other symbols and allegories in the Degree may be interpreted in the
light of these definitions when the
Degree as a whole becomes a living influence upon our lives, not only in the
Lodge room but in the world of human experience of which the Lodge room is a
symbol.
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DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF A
FELLOWCRAFT
The first and foremost duty of a Fellowcraft is to live according to the
obligations of the Degree; to be obedient to the officers of the Lodge and to
the rules, regulations, and laws of the Fraternity.
Also he must learn well the work in order to pass his test for
proficiency. If he be earnest and
sincere he will study the meaning of the Degree as a preparation for his Masonic
life in the future.
His limitations are equally plain. He
may sit in Lodge only when open on the Fellow Craft or Entered Apprentice
Degree. He is not entitled to vote,
to hold office, to have a voice in the administration of the Lodge, nor would he
be entitled to relief, to join in public Masonic processions, or to Masonic
burial.
He has a right to instruction whereby he may prove himself proficient in open
Lodge; and he can make himself known to other Fellow Crafts by means of his
modes of recognition.
A Mason remains a Fellow Craft, in a real sense, as long as he lives.
Taking the First Degree is like drawing a circle; the Second Degree is a
circle drawn around the first; the Third Degree is a still larger circle drawn
around the other two, and containing both.
A portion of Freemasonry is contained within the first; another part is
in the second, still a third in the last. Being
a Master Mason includes being also an Entered Apprentice and a Fellow Craft.
The Entered Apprentice's and Fellow Craft's Degrees are not like stages
left behind in a journey to be abandoned or forgotten; rather are they preserved
and incorporated in the Master Mason's Degree and form the foundation on which
it rests.
The ideas, the ideals, and the teachings of the Second Degree as permanently
belong to Freemasonry as the Third; the moral obligations continue always to be
binding. A Master Mason is as much
the Brother of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts as of Master Masons.
Freemasonry has many aspects. The
First Degree makes its appeal to the conscience, and we are taught how necessary
is obedience, apprenticeship and industry if we would become good men and true.
The Second Degree exalts the intellectual, paying its tribute alike to
knowledge and wisdom. In the Third
Degree, as you will learn in due time, is the Masonry of the soul.
Running through all three degrees is the Masonry of fellowship, good
will, kindness, loyalty, tolerance, brotherly love; we also learn the Masonry of
benevolence, expressed in relief and charity; again we have Masonry as an
institution, organized under laws and managed by responsible officers; and yet
again we have a Masonry that holds above and before us those great ideals of
truth, justice, courage and goodness, to which we can always aspire.
The Operative builders gave the world among other masterpieces, the great
Gothic cathedrals of Europe. Their
art was one of the highest and the most difficult practiced in their period.
The Masons were Masters of mathematics, which they called Geometry, of
engineering, of the principles of design, of carving, of stained glass, and of
mosaic. Through all the changes of
the Craft in after years, through its transformation more than two hundred years
ago into a Speculative Fraternity, their great intellectual tradition has
remained and stands today embodied in the Second Degree, which teaches Masons to
love the Liberal Arts and Sciences, and apply them in daily living.
This Masonry of the mind develops one of the real meanings of the Second
Degree; it is what truly signified by our term "Fellowcraft".
Whenever you prove yourself a friend of enlightenment, whenever you
become an enemy of bigotry or intolerance, and a champion of the mind's right to
be free, to do its work without check or hindrance, when you support schools and
colleges, and labor to translate into action the command "let there be
light", you live the teachings of the Fellowcraft Degree.
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Scriptures
You will recall that during the conferral
of the Fellowcraft Degree, a portion of the Holy Scriptures was read to you. The
reading was either from the Book of Amos, Chapter 7, verses 7 and 8 or may have
been from the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, verses 2 -7.
The Fellowcraft Degree is one in which a
great moral lesson is taught by the Plumb Line. In all languages and in the
experience of all builders the use of the plumb line in fundamental. Builders
depend upon the plumb line to erect perpendiculars; buildings straight and true
and upright. From the use of the plumb line, we get such words as rectitude,
just, true, rightness, straightness, integrity, honesty, and many others.
"Thus he shewed me;
And Behold the Lord stood
Upon a wall made by a plumb-line
With a plumb-line in His hand.
And the Lord said unto me:
'Amos, what seest thou?
And I said, 'A plumb-line.'
Then said the Lord,
'Behold, I will set a plumb-line
In the midst of my people Israel,
I will not again pass by them any more."
(Book of Amos, Chapter 7, verses 7 and
8)
The background of this Scripture from Amos
is interesting. Amos was an ordinary citizen of Judea who was moved of God to go
to the Northern Kingdom and point out the sins that were bringing that nation to
ruin.
He prophesied sometime between 783 and 745 B.C. Israel was
prosperous, too prosperous, for most of the people had forgotten God and were
living in a time when honor and justice were forgotten virtues. There were the
very rich and the very poor and a condition wherein judges could be bought as
bread or oil.
The nation was crooked inside and out. God was disgusted with
their evils and sins. Amos could see no hope for Israel and felt that the only
remedy God had was to destroy them utterly. So this message was one of gloom and
ruin.
If you read further, you will find what
God meant when He said that He would not "pass by them any more." He
meant that He would not visit them, He would ignore them, they would be
destroyed. "And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the
sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of
Jeroboam with the sword."
The plumb-line is an instrument of
testing. God had tested the morals of Israel and found them crooked. God had
tested the loyalty of Israel and found it covered with avarice, greed, and sin.
This is a lesson of judgment. We are continually being judged by God's
plumb-line......we as individuals, as a nation, as a world, even as Masons.
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masonic
glossary OF THE SECOND DEGREE
| Admonish |
to
caution advise or counsel against; to express warning or disapproval;
to give friendly, earnest advice and encouragement
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| Artificer |
a
skilled or artistic worker or craftsman; one who makes beautiful
objects
|
| Beneficent |
doing
or producing good
|
| Bourne |
boundaries;
limits
|
| Brazen |
made
of brass
|
| Candor |
freedom
from bias, prejudice or malice; fairness; impartiality
|
| Capital |
the
uppermost part of a column
|
| Chapiter |
an
alternate, and earlier, form of the word capital
|
| Column |
a
supporting pillar consisting of a base, a cylindrical shaft and a
capital
|
| Composite |
one
of the five orders of architecture, combining the Corinthian and Ionic
styles
|
| Conflagration |
fire,
especially a large, disastrous fire
|
| Contemplate |
to
look at attentively and thoughtfully; to consider carefully
|
| Contrive |
to
devise; to plan; to invent or build in an artistic or ingenious manner
|
| Corinthian |
one
of the three classical (Greek) orders of architecture - the most
ornamented of the three. Originated in the City of Corinth in Greece
|
| Cubit |
an
ancient unit of linear measure, approximately 18 inches in today's
measure
|
| Depressed |
underneath;
lower than its surroundings |
| Discerning |
showing
insight and understanding; excellent judgement |
| Dispersed |
scattered;
spread widely |
| Diurnal |
recurring
every day; having a daily cycle |
| Doric |
one
of the three classical (Greek) orders of architecture - the oldest and
simplest of the three, originated in an area of ancient Greece known
as Doris |
| Edifice |
a
building, especially one of imposing appearance or size |
| Ephraimites |
members
of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from Ephraim, one of
the sons of Jacob
|
| Homage |
respect
or reverence paid or rendered; expression of high regard |
| Injunction |
an
order or requirement placed upon someone by a superior |
| Inundation |
to
overflow with water; a flood |
| Ionic |
one
of the three classical (Greek) orders of architecture, originated in
an area of ancient Greece known as Ionia |
| Judicious |
having,
exercising or characterized by sound judgement; discrete; wise |
| Naphtali |
one
of the sons of Jacob, brother of Joseph, and a founder of one of the twelve
tribes of Israel
|
| Novitiate |
a
beginner; a novice |
| Palliate |
to
try to conceal the seriousness of an offense by excuses and apologies;
to moderate the intensity of; to reduce the seriousness of; to relieve
or lessen without curing |
| Pilaster |
an
upright architectural member that is rectangular in plan and is
structurally a pier, but is architecturally treated as a
column; it usually projects a third of its width or less from
the wall |
| Pommel |
a
ball or knob |
| Reprehend |
to
voice disapproval of; to express an attitude of unhappiness and
disgust |
| Salutary |
producing
a beneficial effect; remedial; promoting health; curative; wholesome |
| Severally |
one
at a time; each by itself; separately; independently |
| Summons |
a
written notice issued for an especially important meeting of a Lodge;
the written notice or requirement by authority to appear at a place
named |
| Superfice |
a
geometrical object which is of two dimensions and exists in a single
plane |
| Superstructure |
anything
based on, or rising from, some foundation or basis; an entity, concept
or complex based on a more fundamental one |
| Tuscan |
one
of the five orders of architecture, originated in the Tuscany area of
southern Italy |
| Undiscovered
Country From Whose Bourne No Traveler Returns |
that
which lies beyond death; the afterlife
(Shakespeare,
Hamlet: Act III, Scene 1)
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| Vicissitudes |
the
successive, alternating or changing phases or conditions of life or
fortune; ups and downs; the difficulties of life; difficulties or
hardships which are part of a way of life or career |
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