MASONIC COMMENTS
LANDMARKS
XXV: Never enter into a dispute with a cowan. Like the deaf adder he
will stop his ears, and refuse to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never
so wisely. No matter how clear are your facts, or how convincing your arguments,
still he will turn an incredulous ear to your reasoning. Though you anxiously
cry out, Oh, Baal, hear us, and even cut yourself with knives and lancets to
bespeak his attention, there will be neither voice nor any answer, nor any that
regardeth. You may as well endavour to extinguish the sun by pelting it with
snowballs, or to cut rocks in pieces with a razor, as to make any genial
impression on the mind of a professed cowan.
LVII: How many disputes arise out of trifles! And how greatly would they be
diminished if every one would deliberatly ask himself this question -- whether
is it better to sacrifice a point which is of no value, or to lose a friend more
precious than rubies?
LIX: Before you pronounce a man to be a good Mason, let him pass the Chair.
That is the test which will infallibly display both virtues and failing, mental
imbecility and moral strength. If he pass through his year of apparent honour,
but real trial, creditably, he will have nobly earned the character of a worth
and intelligent Mason.
LXII: When a cowan critises the science, answer him not, but listen
attentively to his words. They may perchance recall some point, part, or secret
to your recollection, which has escaped your notice, for the castigations of the
cowan are not without their use and benefit;
"Like the toad -- ugly and venemous,
Which wears a precious jewel in its head."
LXV: Esteem the Brother who takes a pleasure in acts of charity, and never
babbles about it; take him to your bosom, and cherish him as a credit to Masonry
and an honour to mankind.
LXIX: Be very cautious whom you recommend as a candidate for initiation; one
false step on this point may be fatal. If you introduce a disputatious person,
confusion will be produced, which may end in the dissoulution of the Lodge. If
you have a good Lodge, keep it select. Great numbers are not always beneficial.
LXXI: He is a wise Brother who knows how to conclude a speech when he has
said all that is pertinent to the subject.
XCIII: The great secret for improving the memory, may be found in exercise,
practice, and labour. Nothing is so much improved by care, or injured by
neglect, as the memory.
XCVII: As the Lodge is opened with the rising sun, in the name of T.G.A.O.T.U.,
and closed at its setting in peace, harmony, and brotherly love, so, if you have
any animosity against a Brother Mason, let not the sun sink in the West without
being witness to your reconciliation. Early explanations prevent long-continued
enmities
TRADITION
In Freemasonry, written history began by reducing tradition to historical
narrative, and for many years legends were accepted without evidence. But with
the critical school of historians the purely traditional was separated from the
evident historical. Traditions are never invented, although often exaggerated,
and much elaborated through successive generations. Tradition, however, has a
foundation in fact, and is valuable for the preservation of knowledge which
might otherwise be lost.
THE MASON'S CHARACTER
Freemasonry has always been true to its name, and the real Mason is the
builder of the temple of his own character. Its mission is to furnish high
ideals for the individual, that may be reflected in his actions towards his
fellow men. The Masonic ideal teaches that moral and spiritual attainments are
far more important than the material and physical.
AN ANCIENT DOCUMENT
In tracing the genealogy of Freemasonry we eventually arrive at the date 1390
A.D., when the Regius manuscript, the oldest known and most important version of
the Old Charges, is supposed to have been written. Traditions lead back to the
creation of the world, and include most of the great teachers of mankind as
Masons; but to those who insist upon applying the approved methods of historical
research to the study of Freemasonry, the Regius Manuscript affords a starting
point in cumulative documentary evidence relative to the direct ancestry of the
fraternity. The Regius Manuscript, as it is known, is a poem written on
sixty-four pages of vellum, handsomely bound. It was presented to the British
museum by King George II, in 1757. It was at first catalogued as a poem of Moral
Duties, and this may have caused its tardy discovery in 1839 as a Masonic
document.
A SPUR TO STUDY
The question of what is Freemasonry is one for individual interpretation, and
calls forth earnest endeavor to construe the lessons taught in each degree. The
question of whence it originated must necessarily be answered by facts, and as
such are limited, it cannot be fully answered until more historical truths have
been recovered. The various theories which have been advanced in regard to its
probable origin are of value as they induce the student to verify the data on
which they are founded, so as to maintain an intelligent theory of his own.
ONE VERSION OF FREEMASONRY
After the Norman conquest, England was invaded by a perfect army of
ecclesiastics; and churches, monasteries, cathedrals and abbeys were commenced
in every part of the country. Where these buildings were being erected in towns
the work could be undertaken by the local guild, but when they were far from the
populous places a difficulty as experienced in procuring sufficient skilled
labor. To meet this, it is supposed that many experienced members of the guilds
were induced to sever their connection with the local body and accept service
under the new ecclesiastical authority, thus becoming free from the restrictions
and limitations to which they had previously bee subject, and henceforth being
designated Freemasons.
The church building Freemasons, being a national organization whose members
travelled throughout the length and breadth of the land, wherever employment was
obtainable, ofttimes found it impracticable to refer to their late employers for
their character and qualifications. Hence arose the necessity for sign, token
and word, with which our ancient brethren went to and fro. Whence came this
sign, token and word? We do not know. We read of an assembly at York, 926 A.D.,
of which, however, no record remains. But there must have been a meeting held
somewhere, at which regulations were adopted, which served to bind the
brotherhood together for many generations (John A. Thorp, P.A. Gr. D.E.,
England).
THE 1723 CONSTITUTION
In 1723 Brother James Anderson's Constitutions of the Freemasons appeared. It
was purported to have been compiled from old Manuscripts and Records, many of
which have doubtless been lost. Brother R.F. Gould calls attention to "three
striking innovations" in the 1723 Constitutions, to-wit: "It discards
Christianity as the (only) religion of masonry, forbids the working of the
Master's part in private lodges, and arbitrarily imposes on the English craft
the use of two compound words, Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft, which had no
previous existence in its terminology." Brother Gould believed that at the
formation of the grand lodge in 1717 it inherited from the time immemorial
Masons only two degrees, and that the fellow Craft and Master Mason were one.
AN EARLY SPECULATIVE MASON
The earliest record of a "speculative Mason" being admitted to a lodge is the
record of the Lodge of Edinburgh, June 8, 1600, when John Boswell, the Laird of
Auchenleck, attested his presence with his mark.
AN OLD LANDMARK
One of the most prominent of Masonic historical landmarks is contained in the
diary of Elias Ashmole, the celebrated antiquary and founder of the Ashmolean
Museum at Oxford, when he wrote: "1646, October 16, 4:30 p.m. I was made a
Freemason at Warrington, in Lancashire, with Col. Henry Mainwaring," etc.
Brother N. Rylands has conducted an exhaustive research into the records of the
lodge into which Elias Ashmole was initiated, with the result of finding that
there was probably not a single member of the lodge at that time an operative.
SYMBOLS IN EGYPT
Ancient Egypt has ever been of interest to the student of Masonry. In ancient
Egypt we find the building of temples and the teaching of character building by
the use of symbols at an early period. We also find a legend that is of the most
fascinating interest to every Mason. Our ancient brother, the great Pythagoras,
is reputed to have receive the degrees of Masonry in Egypt. The Greeks borrowed
freely from the Egyptians, and the Eleusinian mysteries contain the same
allegory of the resurrection to a future life as those of Persia and Egypt, with
modified detail. In the foundation of Cleopatra's Needle in 1879 were found a
rough ashlar, a perfect ashlar, a square, a trowel, a trestle-board and a
hieroglyph (meaning temple), all placed in such position as to show that they
were used as symbols.
EARLY CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
In China the implements of architecture were used in a system of moral
philosophy at a very early date. Mencius, who wrote about 300 B.C., said: "A
master Mason, in teaching his apprentices, makes use of the compasses and the
square. Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of Wisdom, must also make use of the
compasses and the square." In a book called Great Learning, 500 B.C., we find
that "A man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should
do unto him; and this is called the principle of acting on the square."
WHY WE MEET
We meet for the purpose of admitting members to our fellowship, to instruct
them in the lessons and principles (of Masonry) and to strengthen each other in
adherence thereto, said George W. Speth, in a public lecture in 1892. We meet to
hand down to succeeding generations the knowledge and practice of certain
ceremonies, which we have ourselves inherited from our Masonic ancestors, and
the analogues of which can be traced in the remotest antiquity... Lastly we meet
to practice our three grand principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.
THE FIVE SENSES
The five senses may be defined as man's faculty for receiving impressions,
and are the means by which he received his knowledge of the material world.
Their proper use enables us to form just and accurate notions of the operations
of nature, to provide sustenance for our bodies, to ward off danger, to enjoy
the blessings which God has given us, and contribute to the happiness and
comfort of others. Their improper use tends to impair our faculties and weakens
our power to grow. Masonry urges us to make proper use of these senses and
thereby attain to the fullness of true manhood. (C.C. Hunt, Iowa).
MORE ABOUT SYMBOLISM
Two features of Freemasonry are particularly prominent, its teachings of
morality by means of symbolism, and the antiquity of its symbols.
A ritual was used in the Ancient Mysteries which many Masons believe to be
predecessors of the Freemasonry of today, and from which many of our forms and
ceremonies may have been either directly or indirectly derived. It contained a
dialogue, darkness, light, death and resurrection. In the times in which the
Ancient Mysteries flourished, the most important truths of science as well as
morality were taught to the qualified and were veiled from the multitude by
symbolic teaching.
The square and compasses used in China 500 B.C. as emblems of morality, and
the tools of Speculative Masonry, found in the foundation of Cleopatra's Needle,
are evidences of the age of masonic symbolism. The Masons may have borrowed the
symbolism of the original users and adapted it to the present as well as they
could with limited knowledge of its original significance, or it may have come
down to them through unbroken sources.
WORDS AND SIGNS
Attached to the Harleian ms, (1665) is a scrap of paper on which is written
"there is several words and signs of a Freemason to be revealed to you which as
you will answer before God at the great and terrible day of judgement you keep
secret and not to reveal the same in the ears of any person but to the Masters
and fellows of the said society of Freemasons so help me God." This is the
earliest mention of words and signs in the Old Charges of Masons.
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS
"Thales of Miletus had been the first of the philosophers, the first to tread
the ground of the interpretation of nature in principles of the understanding.
He and the others of that early school though to find the elemental principle,
one in air, another in water, another in fire, another in chaotic primeval
matter. Then came Pythagoras with his teaching that number was the essence of
all things. He and his school said that as the forms and proportions of all
things are referred at last to number, so number is necessarily the principle of
things. Not only, said they, is 1 the point, 2 the line, 3 the plane, and 4 the
solid, but quality is 5, justice is 9, temperance but a number, fortitude a
number, prudence a number. 'Their error lay in mistaking the symbol for the
essence' " (M.W.G.M. Melvin M. Johnson, Roxbury, Mass., 1916).
THE SECRET PRINCIPLE
"It is singular that the philosophical historian, in tracing the progress of
various peoples, and in noticing the institutions which served to develop their
intellectual and moral capabilities, should have passed by, nearly, without note
or comment, those remarkable associations, which, although working in silence
and secrecy, achieved no mean or unimportant task, in the great work of human
education, and social regeneration and advancement. The universal prevalence of
the secret principle, in both ancient and modern times, is of itself a most
significant fact, and of sufficient magnitude to arrest the attention of all
earnest and intelligent minds. The secret institution could not have existed, as
it has done, through all time, or at least since the dawn of civilization,
enlisting the warmest sympathies of the purest and best of men -- the fathers of
civilization, the chiefs of philosophy, and science, and art -- unless it had
responded, in a degree at least to some of the most urgent and vital needs of
humanity." (Philosophical History of Freemasonry, Arnold).
OLD TRACING BOARDS
To the Masonic student reviewing changes which have taken place in forms and
ceremonies during the past 200 years, the old tracing boards and charts furnish
much that will repay scrutiny. The emblems of fidelity, and the sword pointing
to a naked heart, are missing from the old tracing boards of the eighteenth
century, and the number of steps of the winding stairs is seven in most cases.
In some of the old tracing boards we find three windows as the three lights of a
Lodge, and the "broached thurnel" as a substitute for the perfect ashlar. In the
latter half of the 18th century the "ancients" displayed the operative tools on
the floor of the Lodge; while the "moderns" used a drawing to illustrate them.
The suspended key of the old tracing boards has no significance to the Mason
unfamiliar with the ritual of the 18th century.
DECLINE OF ARCHITECTURE
"The human race has two books, two registers, two testaments -- architecture
and printing, the Bible of stone and the Bible of paper. Up to the time of
Gutenberg architecture was the chief and universal mode of writing. In those
days, if a man was born a poet he turned architect. Genius scattered among the
masses, kept down on all sides by feudality, escaped by way of architecture, and
its Iliads took the form of cathedrals. From the moment that printing was
discovered, architecture gradually lost its virility, declined and became
denuded. Being no longer looked upon as the one all-embracing sovereign and
enslaving art, architecture lost its power of retaining others in its service.
Carving became sculpture; imagery, painting; the canon, music. It was like the
dismemberment of an empire on the death of its Alexander -- each province making
itself a kingdom." (Victor Hugo).
MASON'S MARKS
One of the subjects of great interest to the Masonic student is that of
Mason's marks. These are found in great profusion both in the form of letters
and geometrical designs, some of them apparently intended as proprietary marks,
of the workmen who used them, and as symbolic marks. The first authentic
documents on the regulation of marks are said to have been found in German
ordnances in 1462. This does not prove, however, that there were not regulations
preceding that date. One instance is known of a mark descended to the user from
his father, who obtained it from the grandfather, "who received it from the
Lodge." It is an odd fact that there is no reference in the Old Constitutions of
England to proprietary marks, and this phase of the subject is shrouded in
uncertainty.
ROYAL ARCH MASONRY
The oldest minutes of Royal Arch Masonry discovered are those of
Fredericksburg Lodge, Virginia, Dec 22, 1753, and the earliest records in
England of 1758. The Royal Arch is now the most popular and universally
practiced of the so-called higher degrees. The earliest recorded reference to it
so far discovered was found in 1743, when the master of the lodge at Youghai,
Ireland, was preceded by "the Royal Arch carried by two Excellent Masons."
RULE AND LINE
"The rule directs that we should punctually observe our duty and press
forward in the path of virtue, neither inclining to the right or left. The line
teaches moral rectitude, to avoid dissimulation in conversation and action, and
to direct our steps in the path which leads us to immortality. The plumb
admonishes us to walk uprightly in our station, to hold the scales of justice in
equal poise. The Square and compasses are emblematical of the mathematical
sciences and useful arts." (A. Lewis, London).
DUTY
"Every crime against our laws, every sin against decency and morality, every
sharp practice against square dealing in business, is a serious reflection on
the Masonic Lodge, in the neighborhood in which it is committed. Masonry should
not take the pure principles of morality and preserve them in the walled up
seclusion of lodge halls, like as we preserve fruit and vegetables and keep them
in dark cellars for our own use; but our lodges and our lives should be as
lighthouses, blazing out the truths of right living, to bless the community,
state and nation, in which we have our being." (Milton Winham, P.G.M.,
Arkansas).
SOURCES OF LIBERTY
"Two-thirds of the Masons of the world are to be found in North America, and
have built upon the sure foundation of a belief in God. Since France removed the
Holy Writings from its altars and struck from its ritual all reference to the
Bible and a belief in and dependence upon the Supreme Being it has practically
stood still, Masonically. With one-third the population of the United States,
its three rival Grand Lodges have less members under their obedience than a
single American grand jurisdiction. We refuse to acknowledge anyone as a brother
Mason who does not put his trust in God. We cannot substitute for this, vague
platitudes concerning 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.' They have no
comprehended the source from which true liberty springs." (Aldro Jenks, P.G.M.,
Wisconsin).
THE TRIANGLE
"The triangle with its three sides has played a great part In the traditions
of Asia, in the philosophy of Plato, in Christianity; indeed in all religions
and all mysteries. It has ever been regarded as the image of the Supreme Being.
Neither the line nor two lines can represent a perfect geometrical figure. But
three lines, by their juncture, form a triangle, the first, the primal perfect
figure. This is one reason why it serves to symbolize the Eternal Who,
infinitely perfect in His nature, is as the creator, the first being,
consequently the first perfection. There are three essential degrees in Masonry,
three secret words of three syllables each. There are three grand masters. There
are three principal officers of a lodge. This continual reproduction of the
number three, of which I have given only a few instances, is not accidental nor
without profound meaning. The same is to be found in all the ancient mysteries."
(M.W.G.M. Melvin M. Johnson, Roxbury, Mass., 1916).
PAUL REVERE
"Col. Paul Revere was initiated in St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston, Mass., Sept.
4, 1760, and was Grand Master from December 12, 1794 to December 27, 1797. In a
letter to the secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society relating to the
events of April, 1775, he said: 'We held our meetings at the Green Dragon
tavern. We were so careful that our meetings should be kept secret that every
time we met, every person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any
or our transactions, but to Messr. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Church, and
one or two more.' "
SECRECY
"Within proper bounds, Masons may and should welcome publicity. A secret
society is one which seeks to conceal its existence and its objects. Freemasonry
is not such a society and is secret only as to the obligations, means of
recognition, ballots upon candidates and forms and ceremonies observed in
conferring degrees. With the exception of those particulars, Masonry has no
reservations from the public. As to everything else -- its design, its moral and
religious tenets and the doctrines taught by it, the time and place of its
meetings, the names of the officers of a Lodge and those belonging to it -- are
all in no way secret and may be known by any one." (Committee on Publicity,
Connecticut Grand Lodge).
THE SQUARE
The square as an emblem is geometrical and not mechanical in its origin
according to authorities, who trace it back to the ancient Egyptians, who in
solemn processions carried the cubit of justice, by which perpendiculars, right
angles and squares might be laid our, its form being that of one arm of a
square, with the inner end cut to an angle of 45 degrees.
"The close analogy between justice and that which is perfectly upright is so
obvious as to have become universal. The terms 'an upright man' and a 'just man'
are in nearly all languages synonymous, hence the scriptural phrases: 'The way
of the just is uprightness; thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the
just;' 'He that walketh uprightly' and the admonition 'to walk uprightly before
God and man.' Besides this, the square was used in Egypt to redetermine the
boundaries of each man's possessions when, as frequently happened, the landmarks
were swept away by the inundation of the Nile, thus recovering to every man his
just rights. The Egyptian land-measure itself was an aroura or a square,
containing one hundred cubits.
"The square representing the fourth part of a circle, has a direct allusion
to division of the ecliptic and celestial equator into four equal parts,
indicative of the solstitial and equinoctial points, and the division of the
year into four seasons. By it we are also enabled to divide the circle of the
horizon into quadrants, and by the aid of the sun in the south to correctly mark
out the four cardinal points of the compass. In not only geometry, but astronomy
also, the use of the right angle is indispensible.
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
One of the hidden mysteries of ancient Freemasonry is that symbolism which
teaches that character can be built or developed in only one way, and that is by
doing good to others. It is hidden from those who are unworthy to receive it but
it unveils itself to those who seek truth, ask for light, and knock at the door
of their better nature.
"Man cannot assume a moral obligation; nor can anyone thrust a moral
obligation upon him. With every acquisition of knowledge a moral obligation
automatically attaches to him."
SPIRITUAL WEALTH
"Mason receiving the third degree should be entering upon a lifetime of
study, self-improvement and service to his fellows, and his lodge is intended to
be and should be the source of light and instruction and a field for serious and
devoted work for the principles, which our institution inculcates and upon which
it is founded. The conception that the prosperity and greatness of a lodge is
measured by its large membership and its wealth is erroneous. That lodge is
prosperous and great which commands the affections of its members, and displays
spiritual rather than material wealth." (William Rhodes Harvey, P.G.M.,
California).
A REMARKABLE RITUAL
"The ritualism of Masonry is truly a wonderful thing. Simple in its dignity
and with no striving for dramatic effect, its power is so intense that, when
even fairly rendered, levity is impossible and the initiate is consciously
impressed with a serious grandeur. So distinctive is it in its character that
ten consecutive words from it cannot be used in the press, on the rostrum or in
conversation without practically every Mason recognizing them; so quaint in its
context that its antiquity is instantly impressed on the hearer; so tuneful in
its rhythm that it rivals the stately measure of poetry; so natural in its
movements and so devoid of restraint that its force is felt at first
subconsciously but the words often spoken always convey a new idea; and withal,
so lofty in its principles and so true its precepts that it is not a wonder some
men make Masonry their religion." (Louis H. Fead, P.G.M., Michigan).
EARLY ABSTAINERS
"The first temperance society on record was established by the Free Masons of
Italy, just a century since. On the 28th of April, 1748, Pope Clement XII issued
his celebrated bulletin forbidding the practice of Free Masonry by the members
of the Roman Catholic church. Many of the Masons of Italy continued, however, to
meet; but for the purpose of evading the temporal penalties of the bulletin,
which extended in some instances to the infliction of capital punishment, they
changed their exoteric name, and called themselves Xerophagists. This is a
compound of two Greek words signifying "those who live without drinking." This
title they selected because they then introduced a pledge of total abstinence
into their by-laws." (Charles Scott).
MASONRY
"A regular system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by
symbols."
"The subjugation of the human that is in man by the divine; the conquest of
the appetites and passions by the moral sense and reason; a continual effort,
struggle and warfare of the spiritual against the material and sensual."
"Masonry is the activity of closely united men, who, employing symbolic forms
borrowed principally from the mason's trade and from architecture, work for the
welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others, and
thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to
exhibit even now on a small scale."
ILLITERACY AN ENEMY
"It requires the educated mind to appreciate and give expression to the high
ideals of Freemasonry. Illiteracy, therefore, is an enemy to the Masonic
institution. This is not a new conception as is evidenced by the fact that in
the Fellowcraft degree as handed down to us through the ages, the candidate's
attention is pointedly directed to the necessity of becoming familiar with the
liberal arts and sciences. It is not only vital to Freemasonry but absolutely
essential to the establishment and perpetuation of democracies." (Aldro Jenks,
P.G.M., Wisconsin).
A FORCE FOR GOOD
"Our lodges should maintain that high efficiency of moral rectitude, in both
principles and practices, which would be helpful and beneficial to the
neighbourhoods in which they are located. While masonry is neither religious,
political nor financial, yet it should stand among all these giving that moral
support, to those just and correct relations, that each should sustain to the
other. Masons, as men of the community, should in their conduct and conversation
create and maintain that healthy public opinion, that assures respect to our
churches and sanctity to our religion; that upholds our government and gives
dignity to the enforcement of our laws; that sustains our various industries,
and promotes honesty and fair dealings in all our financial relations; that
creates the community stamina and loyalty; that brings peace and security to our
homes, and joy and happiness to our hearts." (Milton Winham, P.G.M., Arkansas).
WHY FREEMASONRY SURPASSES
It is in its symbols and allegories that Freemasonry surpasses all other
societies, says Oliver Day Street. If any of them now teach by these methods, it
is because they have imitated Freemasonry. In our Masonic studies, the moment we
forget that the whole and every part of Freemasonry is symbolic or allegoric,
the same instant we begin to grope in the dark; its ceremonies, signs, tokens,
words and lectures at once become meaningless or trivial. The study of no other
aspect of Freemasonry is more important.
MYSTICAL NUMBERS
One of the many interesting and important assertions made by Dr. Mackey in
his History of Freemasonry, which may be found in the Wisconsin Consistory
library, Scottish Rite cathedral, is that a predilection for mystical numbers
occurs in all the churches of the mediaeval period. Thus the cathedral of Rheims
has seven entrances, and both it and the cathedral of Charters have seven
chapels around the choir. The choir of Notre Dame at Paris has seven arcades.
The cross aisle is 144 feet long, which is sixteen times nine; and 42 feet wide
with is six times 7. The towers of Notre Dame are 204 feet his, which is 17
times 12, the astronomical number. The length of the church of Notre Dame at
Rheims is 408 feet, or 34 times 12. The cathedral of Notre Dame has 297 columns;
but 297 divided by 3 gives 99, and this divided by 3 again produces 33. The
naves of St. Ouen, at Rouen, and of the cathedrals of Strasburg and Charters are
of the same length -- 244 feet. The Saint Chapelle, at Paris, is 110 feet long
and 27 feet wide; but 110 is 10 time 11, and 27 is 3 time 9. In these few
examples we have developed the numbers 3,7,9,10,11 and 12, all of which have
been retained in the mystical system of the Speculative Freemasons; and their
appearance among the mediaeval Masons could have been neither by accident or
coincidence, but must have arisen from a pre-determined selection.
THE LODGE
Dudley in his Naology says that the idea that the earth was a level surface
and of a square form may be justly supposed to have prevailed generally in the
early ages of the world. The biblical idea was that the earth was square. Isaiah
(xll 13) speaks of gathering "the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth," and in the Apocalypse (xx,9) in the vision of "four angels standing
on the four corners of the earth." So thoroughly grounded were these beliefs
that in ancient times the "square," now the recognized symbol of the lodge, was
the recognized symbol of the earth, as the circle was of the sun. In this
antiquated expression "Oblong square," we therefore have not only an apt
description of the ancient world and evidence that the lodge is symbolic
thereof, but also a remarkable evidence of the great age of Freemasonry. (Oliver
Day Street in Symbolism of the Three Degrees).
NOT A RELIGION
Freemasonry, says George W. Speth, is not a religion. It admits men of all
religions. The Deputy District Grand Master of Burman wrote to me from
Rangoon:
I have just initiated Moung (i.e. Mr.) Ban Ohm, a Burman, who has so far
modified his religious belief as to acknowledge the existence of a personal
God. The W.M. was a Parsi, one Warden a Hindu, or Brahmin, the other an
English Christian, and the Deacon a Mohammedan.
UNION OF PRINCIPLES
It has been noted, says Dr. Mackey, as an evidence of the union of principles
which began to distinguish the architects of and after the Tenth century, who
called themselves Freemasons, that in the time of Caesar a habitation in
Helvetia differed more from a dwelling in the northern part of Italy, though the
regions were adjacent, than the church reared in England and Sweden did from one
erected in Sicily or Palestine, remote as the countries were from each other
(quoted from Mr. Thomas Hope). Now let it be remembered that this unity of
design was introduced by the Traveling Freemasons; that these derived a
knowledge of the great principles of the art of building from the artificers
sent by the Roman College, in company with the legions of the Roman army, into
all the conquered provinces... and finally that these stone-masons, for purposes
of their own aggrandizement, admitted non- professionals... into their ranks,
who eventually overcame the former in influence and numbers and transmuted the
Operative into a Speculative institution.
THE ANCIENT SECRET
Michelet, in his History of France, says on the subject of the secret of the
mediaeval Masons that it was geometrical, and consisted of an application of the
science of numbers, used in a mystical sense, to the art of building according
to the principles of Gothic architecture, which was the peculiar style of the
Freemasons, says Dr. Mackey in his History of Freemasonry. He says that this
geometry of beauty, as he calls it, is conspicuous in the type of Gothic
architecture, as exhibited in the cathedral of Cologne. This is a regular body
which has grown in its appropriate proportions with a regularity equal to that
of the formation of crystals. The cross of this church is strictly deduced from
the figure by which Euclid constructs the equilateral triangle.
HOW THE LAWS DEVELOPED
The jurisprudence of Freemasonry emphasizes the importance of conforming to
"ancient usages," and has much in common in this respect with the :common law"
of England. The written laws of Freemasonry have been gradually developed as
necessity seemed to warrant. Sometimes they were modified to protect certain
interests which appeared to be vital to the harmony of the Craft as, for
example, the legislative action in regard to jurisdiction. Prior to 1717, when
lodges may by immemorial usage, there does not appear to have been any question
as to jurisdiction, and brethren would meet and practice the rites of
Freemasonry without authority other than their unquestioned time immemorial
prerogative. The grand lodges of the United States were originally formed by
lodges in the states declaring Masonic independence in emulation of the
political Declaration of Independence.
IMPROVEMENT IN MASONRY
It is desirable that an approximation to Masonic ideals be obtained in its
jurisprudence, and to accomplish this result the largest possible number of
brethren should be well informed on the facts and theories bearing on the
fraternity. If they fail in their duty to improve themselves in Masonry, an
Institution will replace a Fraternity. To avoid such a catastrophy, each brother
should contribute his best thought, knowing not only what the law is, but why it
is so.
FRATERNITY AND PHILOSOPHY
In considering Freemasonry as a fraternity and a philosophy, there is
disclosed a much more complex and diversified field of investigation than exists
in its element as an institution. The four old lodges that met and formed the
Grand Lodge of England in 1717, were, to a certain extent, both operative and
speculative, and it is of first concern to determine the measure of the
operative feature then existing, and the extent to which the speculative leaven
had entered into the workings of the lodges just prior to the grand lodge era.
Several widely quoted historians have held that the era mentioned was "a period
of transition" from an operative art to a speculative science. Mackey, devoting
the greater part of three volumes to the elucidation of this theory, traces the
"builders" through the Roman colleges and the traveling Masons of the Tenth
century to the Steinmetzen of Germany, the Mestrices des Masons in Gaul, the
guilds of England and the lodges of Scotland, to whom were transmitted the
secrets of the building craft and the spirit of fraternal cooperation in labor.
R.F. Gould, noted Masonic historian, says: "If we go back to the Ancient
Mysteries, we meet with dialogue, ritual, darkness, light, death and
reproduction. Many features of the Mysteries were preserved until a
comparatively late era, and to me at least it seems a not unreasonable
conjecture that some of them may have survived without a break or continuity,
and are now a part of Masonry."
Albert Pike says: "I became convinced that in Freemasonry the Ancient Greater
Mysteries were revived."
The Philosophies of all ages are of Masonic interest, and a possible cause
for some of the obscurity, surrounding Masonic symbolism may be found in the
influence wielded by alchemy, astrology and magic in the past.
OLD MASONIC MANUSCRIPTS
Seventy-eight of the old Masonic manuscript charges have been found, and
within the last sixty years have been critically studied by some of the most
scholarly craftsmen, who show what they meant to our ancient brethren, and the
extent to which we may call the mediaeval "guilds" our Masonic ancestors. The
:Old Manuscripts" are the connecting link between what Freemasonry is known to
be (as established by research), and the theories concerning it in the past.
Secrecy was maintained to a greater degree by the Craft before, than after the
era of Grand Lodges, and only hints are given of the arcana that they possessed;
but the "Old Manuscripts" contain evidence that our ancient brethren were the
custodians of a system of morality not known to any other craft or guild.
GRAND LODGE ERA
In 1717 the Masonic Grand Lodge are commenced. It has been popularly called
the revival. There appears to have been a period when the fraternity languished,
and the theory has often been advanced that this was due to the decadence in
architecture, and to the fact that cathedral building no longer claimed the
skill and thought of the best talent of the world. Before the decadence began,
the Craft was to a great extent connected with the guilds, and many historians
claim that we are the direct descendants of the mason's guild.
SYMBOLISM
Masonic symbolism has claimed a large share of attention, and necessarily so,
because Masonry without its symbolism would be a lifeless form. It is so
conspicuously the most prominent feature that every reader is eager for works
which will assist him to interpret it and reveal the "hidden mysteries." Much
has been written on this subject; but the book has never been produced, and
probably never will be, that will fully explain the symbolism of Freemasonry.
MANY MASONIC BOOKS
The great interest that has been aroused by Masonry through many centuries is
indicated by the great number of Masonic books that have been published. Dr.
G.B.F. Kloss, one of the strongest exponents of the theory that the Freemasons
derived their origin from the builders of the Middle Ages, wrote many works on
the subject, but his most valuable contribution was A Bibliography of
Freemasonry, published 1844, and containing a list of five thousand six hundred
and forty-nine books on Masonry, which in all probability enumerated almost the
entire number then in existence. Many of the more important Masonic works,
however, are those of the modern school, published since the latter half of the
Nineteenth century.
THE MODERN SCHOOL
The Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry by George F. Fort, published
in 1875, was the first Masonic history written according to modern critical
methods, as he carefully separated facts and theory, and gave tradition its
proper place. Much has since been brought to light, but he was a pioneer in that
rational thought advocated by later historians, and the first to give us a
substantial basis for the belief in our connection with the Comacine Masters,
which has recently been amplified by Leader Scott...
CATHEDRAL BUILDING
"The pre-eminence which cathedral building attained in Europe from about 1100
to 1500 A.D. is one of the most pertinent facts in history. During the Crusades,
and for a period which lasted until the Reformation, there was in Europe a
highly developed religious zeal which found its expression in the building of
structures which are the wonder and admiration of mankind. Some have ascribed
the principal ecclesiastical structures to the fraternity of Freemasons,
depositaries of a concealed and traditionary science. There is probably some
ground for this opinion' and the earlier archives of that mysterious
association, if they existed, might illustrate the progress of Gothic
architecture, and perhaps reveal its origin. 1997-07-01
back to top |
