LODGE COURTESIES
Conventions are the rules which society makes for itself, without the force
of law, by which its members live together with the least friction. It is not a
sin to eat with one's knife or to keep one's hat on in the house; but these are
"Not" good form, or good manners.
Masonry has developed its own conventions, by which its members act in Lodge
and the Anteroom. Not to proceed according to their dictates is not a Masonic
offense; it is merely a lack of Masonic manners.
As you Passed through the Third Degree you received instructions in the
Ritual and the obligation. You were carefully taught those essential things
which a man must know in order to be a Mason. But unless you belong to a most
unusual Lodge, or had a most wise Brother for a mentor, it is doubtful if you
were told much about these little niceties of Lodge conduct. You are supposed to
attend your Lodge and learn by observation. Not all Brethren are observing,
however. It is not uncommon to see some brother, old enough in Masonry to know
better, crossing the lodge room between the Alter and the East (when lodge is
open). He might have observed that his Brethren did not do it; but it is much
more difficult to note the absence of an act than to take cognizance of
something done.
Brethren do not pass between the Altar and the east in a Lodge that is open.
It is a convention and there is no penalty for the infraction. It is a courtesy
offered the Master. It is rooted in the theory that, as the Great Lights are
necessary to shed their eternal light and wisdom upon the Master to govern the
lodge with wisdom, this light should never be interrupted at any time; except,
during the processions of an initiation and degree work; even for an instant.
Well informed Brethren do not take a seat in the East without an invitation.
All Brethren within a tiled room are equal; and the officers are the servants of
the Brethren, and not their superiors. All seats, then, might be considered
"Open" to all. But Masonry exacts long services of her officers; Past Masters
have worked hard and long for the Lodge they love. The Master recognizes their
devotion and their loyalty with a special word of welcome, and an invitation to
a "Seat in the East" to any distinguished visitor, or some member the Master
wishes especially to honor. If all in the Lodge helped themselves to seats in
the East there would be no opportunity for the Master to offer that courtesy.
Brethren who respect the formalities of their Lodge will not enter it
undressed; that is, without their apron, or while putting that apron on. The
spectacle of a brother walking up to the Altar, tying the strings and adjusting
his apron while the Master waits for his salute, is not a pretty one. A man who
entered church putting on his collar and tying his necktie could hardly be
arrested, but he would surely receive unflattering comment. The strangeness of
the new badge of a Mason and unfamiliarity with its meaning cause many to forget
that it is as important to a Mason in lodge as clean clothing, properly adjusted
is to a man in the street.
The Worshipful Master in the East occupies the most exalted position within
the gift of the lodge. A lodge which does not honor its Master, not because of
what he himself may be, but on account of the honor given him, is lacking in
Masonic courtesy. The position he occupies, not the man, must be given the
utmost respect, if the traditions of the Fraternity are to be observed.
It is, therefore, to the Master, not to John Smith who happens to be the
Master, that you offer a salute when you enter or retire from your lodge, or any
lodge. Like any other salute, this may be done courteously and as if you meant
it, or perfunctorily as if you did not care. The man who puts one finger to his
hat brim when he speaks to a woman on the street compares poorly with his well
brought up neighbor who lifts his hat. Taking the hat off is the modern remains
of the ancient custom of knights who removed their helmets in the presence of
those they felt their friends, and thus, before those they wished to honor by
showing that they trusted them. A man removes his hat before a woman to show his
respect. Touching the brim is a perfunctory salute. Similarly, the salute to the
Master is your renewed pledge of fealty and service, your public recognition
before all men, or your obligation. It is performed before the Master and the
Altar to show him your veneration for his authority, your respect for all that
for which he stands. To offer your salute as if you were in hurry, too lazy to
properly make it, or bored with its offering, is to be, Masonically, a boor.
A man in lodge is the servant of his Brethren, if he engages in any lodge
activity. Servants stand in the presence of their superiors. therefore, no Mason
sits while speaking, whether he addresses an officer or another brother. This
does not refer to conversation on the benches during refreshment, but to
discussion on the floor during a business meeting.
During the refreshment the Master relinquishes the gavel to the Junior Warden
in the South, which becomes, for the time being, constructively the East. All
that has been said about the respect due the Master in the East applies now to
the Junior Warden in the South.
It is illegal to enter or leave the room during a ballot; it is discourteous
to leave during a speech, or during a degree, except at the several natural
periods which end one section and begin another.
Smoking is permitted in some lodge rooms during the business meeting. Alas,
there are some which do not interdict it during a degree! You will, or course,
be governed here by the custom of your own lodge, although it is to be hoped you
will never lend the weight of your opinion toward establishing the custom of
smoking during the solemn ceremonies of a degree. unless, indeed, you would like
to smoke in church!
A courteous brother does not refuse a request made in the name of the lodge.
There are three duties which devolve upon the membership which are too often
"the other fellow's business." Every lodge at some time has a knock upon the
door from some visiting brother. This requires the services of two brethren from
the lodge in the examination committee. Some one has to do that work. To decline
it, on any ground whatever, is discourteous to the Master, to whom you have
said, in effect, "I don't want to do my share; let George do it. I just want to
sit here and enjoy myself while other fellows do the work."
A degree cannot properly be put on without the services of conductors. When
you are assigned such a piece of work, it is not Masonic courtesy to refuse, for
the same reasons given above. And if you are selected as a member of the
Fellowcraft Team in the Master Mason degree, the only excuse for not accepting
is that of physical disability. Like other matters herein spoken of, refusal
here is not a Masonic offense. Neither is it a legal offense to drink from a
finger bowl, seat yourself at the table before your hostess, or spit on your
host's parlor floor! But the convention of good manners is what makes society
pleasant, and Masonic good manners make lodge meetings pleasant.
One does not talk in church. God's House is not for social conversation; it
is for worship and the learning of the lesson of the day. A good Mason does not
talk during the conferring of a degree. The lodge room is then a Temple of the
Great Architect of the Universe, with the brethren working therein doing their
humble best to make better stones for His spiritual Temple. Good manners as well
as reverence dictate silence and attention during the work; officers and degree
workers cannot do their best if distracted by conversation, and the irreverence
cannot help but be distressing to the candidates.
There is a special lodge courtesy to be observed in all debates to any
motion. One speaks to the Master; the Master is the lodge. One does not turn
one's back on him to address the lodge without permission from him. One stands
to order when addressing the chair; customs differ in various jurisdictions as
to the method of salute, but some salute should always be given when addressing
the Master. The spectacle of two brethren on their feet at the same time,
arguing over a motion, facing each other and ignoring the Master, is not one
which any Master should permit. But it is also one which no Master should have
to prevent!
Failure to obey the gavel at once is a grave discourtesy.
The Master is all powerful in the lodge. He can put or refuse to put any
motion. He can rule any brother out of order on any subject at any time. He can
say what he will, and what he will not, permit to be discussed. Brethren who
think him unfair, arbitrary, unjust, or acting illegally have redress; the Grand
Lodge can be appealed to on any such matter. But, in the lodge, the gavel, the
emblem of authority, is supreme. When a brother is rapped down, he "Should" obey
at once, without further discussion. It is very bad manners to do otherwise;
indeed, it is close to the line between bad manners and a Masonic offense.
Failure to vote on a petition is so common in many jurisdictions that it may
be considered stretching the list to include it under a heading of lodge
discourtesies. In smaller lodges the Master probably requires the satisfaction
of the law which provides that all brethren present vote. In larger ones, where
there is much business, and many petitions, he may, and often does, declare the
ballot closed after having asked, "Have all Brethren voted?" Even though he
knows quite well that some may not have voted. This is not the place to discuss
whether the Master is right or wrong in such an action. But the brother who does
not vote, because he is too lazy, or too indifferent or for any other reason; is
discourteous because he injures the ballot, its secrecy, its importance, and its
value. Few brethren would be so thoughtless as to remain seated, or stand by
their chairs, when a candidate is brought to light. Yet, indifference to one's
part in this solemn ceremony is less bad manners than indifference to the
ballot; the former injures only a ceremony; but the latter may injure the lodge,
and by that injury, the fraternity!
It is a courtesy to the Master to advise him beforehand that you intend to
offer thus and such a motion, or wish to offer thus and such a matter for
discussion. You have the right to do it without apprising him in advance, just
as he has the right to rule you out of order. But the Master may have plans of
his own for that meeting, into which your proposed motion or discourse does not
fit in. Therefore, it is a courtesy to him, to ask him privately if you may be
recognized for your purpose, and thus save him the disagreeable necessity of
seeming arbitrary in a public refusal.
Lodge courtesies, like those of the profane world, are founded wholly in the
Golden Rule. They oil the Masonic wheels and enable them to revolve without
creaking. They smooth the path of all in the lodge, and prove to all and sundry
the truth of the ritualistic explanation of that "More Noble and Glorious
Purpose" to which we are taught to put the trowel!
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