The Builder Magazine
October 1919 - Volume V - Number 10
THE PEACE CELEBRATION OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND
BY BRO. GEO L SCHOONOVER, P. G M, IOWA
Early last Spring, when the development of the armistice proved that peace was shortly to be concluded between the Allied and the Central Powers, and that the peace was to be a dictated peace, the Grand Lodge of England invited the Grand Masters and Grand Secretaries of the Grand Lodges in all English-speaking countries to participate in a celebration of the happy event, during the week of June 23-29, 1919. It was not presumed at the time the invitations were issued, that the final signing of the Peace Treaty would be delayed as late as the above date. It was fortunate, and indeed striking, in a way, that the signatures of the various plenepotentiaries were actually affixed to the Treaty during the week selected.
Those brethren who represented our American Grand Lodges in London in response to the invitation were as follows: Arizona, A. A. Johns, P.G.M., Morris Goldwater, P.G.M.; California, William Rhodes Hervey, P.G.M., John Whicher G.S.; Colorado, C.M. Kellogg, G.M., Charles H. Jacobson, G.S.; District of Columbia, Joseph H. Milans, G.M., A.W. Johnston, G.S.; Florida, T. Picton Warlow, G.M.; Georgia, Robert G. Travis, G.M., Raymond Daniel, A.G.S.; Iowa, George L. Schoonover, P.G.M.; Kentucky, John H. Cowles, P.G.M.; Louisiana Rudolph Krause, G.M., John A. Davilla, G. S., Massachusetts, Frederick W. Hamilton, P.G.M., G.S.; Michigan, Hugh A. McPherson, G.M., Lou B. Winsor, G. S.; Montana Major Dr. R. E. Hathaway, S.G.W.; Nebraska, John Ehrhardt, P.G.M., Francis E. White, G. S.; New Jersey, Austin McGregor, G. M.; New York, W.S. Farmer, G.M., Robert J. Kenworthy, G.S., Townsend Scudder, P.G.M.; West Virginia George S. Laidley, G.M., John M. Collins, P.G.M., G.S.-a total of twenty seven.
There were also present representatives of the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland, British Guiana, Burma, Ceylon, Eastern Archipelago, Gibraltar, Hong Kong and South China, Jamaica, Madras, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Queensland, South America and Victoria (Australia), of Britain's Overseas Dominions.
In the number present, and in representation from all parts of the globe, it was undoubtedly the most representative and notable gathering in the history of Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry, and as such deserves careful consideration, because of its Significance for the future weal of Masonry, as well as of all civilization.
SHALL FREEMASONRY, as represented in the English-speaking Countries of the world, make a decided stand in the reconstruction period now begun in behalf of those age-old principles which are its heritage, and endeavor to convince the world of the necessity for their recognition as a method of saving the future? Is the kind of Democracy in which Masonry believes and of which it is in truth a pattern, to be preserved to coming generations, to the end that the prophecies of the brotherhood of man shall not continue to be a mirage ?
These are, in effect, the questions which it was intended that the Peace Jubilee of the Grand Lodge of England should answer. No agenda of the meeting was published, and no one ever spoke these questions publicly. But it was taken for granted that Anglo-Saxons, representing all the English-speaking countries of the earth, and closely in touch with the world-problems pushed to the front as a result of the war, could by no chance gather together in a joint conference, without answering them. Nor was it intended that what visiting delegations should utter would be direct answers to any such question. Yet it was as certain as anything human is certain, that once this group of brethren assembled, loyalty to the mother- tongue and veneration of a joint heritage of principles would compel that unity of spirit which alone can settle these questions, and bring true brotherhood to a world thrown out of joint.
It must have been something like this which inspired the call for this meeting. It must have been a comprehension, perhaps more or less dim, that some such significance would attach to the proposed meeting, which caused representatives twenty-seven in number, hailing from sixteen States of the American Union to leave their homes and their business to attend, at a time when every American feels that his personal problems demand his individual attention. Some good omen must have appeared in the sky. The attendance from the States was much larger than those of us in touch with the probabilities of things expected, only a few weeks previously. To those who attended, and to those others who will hear from their lips the story of Masonic reconstruction already begun, the prophecies will seem well fulfilled.
A glance at the program of the week will reveal little of the significance which has been thus expressed. A reception dinner by Grand Lodge, luncheons and dinners with nine or ten other London lodges, visits to The Royal Masonic Institution for Boys and another to that conducted for Girls, visits to various places of interest in and near the city of London, a dinner with the Lord Mayor, at the Mansion House, a three hour session of the Grand Lodge itself, (this being the formal Peace Celebration proper,) and various other courtesies these, with no mention whatever of any conference, do not convey a real conception of what this week of Jubilee meant, or was intended to mean.
For be it known that when your Englishman wants to talk seriously with you, and has a real desire to get acquainted with you and measure you, he does not tell you that this is his purpose. Instead, he invites you to dinner. After dinner, you talk, briefly and to the point. If he gives you his confidence, you are ready to deny all the stories you ever heard about him being an "imperturbable person," for you find him, at least in Masonic circles, with his guards down, and a real, living heart palpitating underneath. This, at least, was the experience of the delegations from the United States. They met the heads of English Masonry at these luncheons, under conditions most ideal, not wishing to understand one whit more than the English Masons wanted to be understood, and to understand us.
The discussions, if such may be called the exchanges of opinion and of good will which characterized all these festivities, took the form of after-dinner toasts. An English brother, after the formal toasts had been responded to, would propose the health of "Our Visitors," and couple with it the names of those American brethren who were designated to make the responses. In every case the proposal of this particular toast was accompanied by expressions of esteem, friendliness and a wish to understand us which must needs be accepted at par. There could be no thought but that the proposer voiced the genuine desire of the English brethren, or that the motive underlying his remarks was a good motive. Frankly and openly were we greeted, not as "cousins," but as brothers enlisted in the cause of humanity. The hand of fellowship was extended, palm opened upwards. The English Masonic leaders, understanding the needs of the world as they saw them, wanted us to know and appreciate the spirit in which they faced those problems, and did not hesitate to hope for an equally frank expression of American opinion upon the same subjects.
Received in such a spirit, the American representative could do no less than grasp the hand of fellowship so graciously tendered, particularly when what had been said of welcome and of hopefulness for the future was so exactly in accord with the things which we, too, have come to see are the great needs of our Craft. And as the week wore on, friendships ripened in a never to be forgotten manner. We began to understand and appreciate both the men who preside over the destiny of England's Masonry, and their opinions. Everything which a host could do to insure the happiness and tranquility of his guest was done. Every word which would tend toward the elimination of reserve was spoken. Consciously was this done at first the passage of the days caused it to become unconscious. The Anglo-Saxon was coming into his own. He was understanding himself, and his brethren.
No summary of the meetings held with the various London lodges would be complete which did not take account of the admirable personality of H. R. H. Lord Ampthill, Pro Grand Master, who performed the function of Worshipful Master in one lodge and Installing Officer of another with no less of grace and dignity than characterized his presiding over Grand Lodge itself. Withal he was so human that for most of us at least, he ceased to be a part of Royalty to us, we forgot all else save his breadth of understanding and his gracious fellowship. We had no opportunity, unhappily, to meet the Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, for the reason that he was so indisposed physically as to be unable to be present at any of the functions. A message from his own pen expressed his regret for his illness, which was a source of great disappointment to us all. His warm fraternal greeting to us was deeply appreciated, none the less, and one of the prized souvenirs presented to us was a beautiful colorgravure of the Duke himself.
Of the reception accorded us in the various London lodges, one could not speak in appreciation without distinctions between them, and there were none such. Warm and sympathetic and fraternal they all were, memorable to all. If the joint meeting with "Antiquity No. 2" and "Royal Somerset House and Inverness No. 4" had any characteristic more notable than the others, it was only in the fact that neither is chartered by the Grand Lodge of England, nor has a Warrant, because each is older than the Grand Lodge itself ! To sit in these lodges is to realize something of what "time immemorial" means.
We had opportunity to Witness the installation of a Worshipful Master, and took an extra breath when he calmly announced his appointees, beginning with the Wardens and running through a list longer than most of ours. The Master is the only elective officer in the English lodge, all the others being appointive. We saw all of the three degrees conferred in full, and were struck with the simplicity and brevity of the work. The approximate time of conferring each of the degrees was, E. A., twenty minutes, F. C. about the same, and the Raising occupied about thirty-five minutes. Let it be set down that there was no emasculation of a single vital point or part. Nor was there a mere rush of lip service. The work was done with dignity and solemnity, without verbiage or redundance, or slurring of syllables. Leisurely and understandingly it was done, and, while probably less than one-third as many words were used, the essentials were in no wise neglected. Where as a rule our American rituals are extended, theirs were condensed; where we dramatize, they explained. They can teach us much in the matter of ritual.
It is not, however, the purpose of this article to argue from the impressions gained. A chronicle of the events is asked, and a chronicle it shall be, reserving perhaps for a further discussion, the tremendous themes which were suggested by attendance upon these various functions.
If there is to an American visitor an apparent lack in the intercommunication between the lodges of the various classes, a loss of something which we in America dearly prize, it cannot be said that within the lodges themselves there is anything but the closest, most intimate brotherhood. Their numbers are few, but their tastes are similar, their understanding is complete, and their meetings, formal though they may be, are satisfying in the extreme. Again there is the temptation to speak in more detail, for it is in matters of ritual and internal efficiency and fellowship that, with one exception, we can learn most from our English brethren.
That one exception, however, overtops all the others. It is in the matter of their charities. Whatever of social unity may be lacking between the lodges which compose the Grand Lodge of England, certainly they are one in their humanitarian instincts. Their financial support of their Boys' and Girls' Schools makes our American efforts in this direction, even the most pretentious, loom small in comparison. Consider their annual expenditures mount to something like five dollars per capita on their entire membership - this sum taking no account whatever of endowments - and you begin to realize what the joint efforts of the lodges of England are accomplishing. These sums too, come from individual pocketbooks, not from lodge treasuries.
We visited these Schools. They are not carried on in a way to "institutionalize" the children. They are educated in civic duty, and account is taken of the part which they are hereafter to play as men and women of the Empire. The Arts and Sciences receive attention, along with practical tradesmanship. Their teachers are as a rule products of the schools themselves, this being particularly true of the Girls' School. The result is a family relationship, and a family tradition, too, which makes for a splendid morale.
The climax of the entire week was the three hour session of the Grand Lodge at Royal Albert Hall. The introduction of the twenty- five visiting deputations, each under escort of two Grand Stewards, was itself productive of a deep impression upon the visitors, and no doubt also upon the nine thousand members of the Grand Lodge of England there assembled. As one of the visitors, I confess my inability to describe the emotions which surged through me when, after being for many presented to the Pro Grand Master, I was directed to the seat assigned to me and faced the throng. The appeal to the eye was in itself inspiring. Nine thousand brethren, dressed in the light blue regalia designating the officers of the lodges represented, gathered together in that enormous oval building, filling its main floor and the six surrounding galleries; the Grand Stewards with their red collars, seated in two rows on the main floor and forming a cross against the back ground in light blue symbolized in a very real sense the Masonry of England. The knowledge that thousands could not be assigned to seats bespoke the intense interest felt in the event. The deep blue of the officials banked in rows upon the rostrum formed a harmonious contrast indeed.
There was an appeal to ear. The voluminous melody from the enormous organ had no sooner filled the great audience chamber than one realized the awesome import of the world-derived gathering. Then those English brethren sang. Their National Anthem our own in everything but the words employed "Now thank we all our God" and "O God, our help in ages past." It was a unique commentary upon the universal belief in the righteousness of the Allied Cause that this latter song, long suppressed as unfraternal and unchristian, was revived, and sung with the fervor of crusaders returned from the overthrow of the antichrist. The business of the occasion was the Peace Jubilee, expressed in the formalism of moving an address of loyalty to the King, unanimously carried, of course, the unanimous passage of a resolution expressing the sentiments of the Craft toward His Majesty's Forces, and a motion tendering the floor to M.W. Bro. W. S. Farmer, Grand Master of New York, M. W. Frederick W. Hamilton, P. G. M. of Massachusetts, and M. W. Bro. W. H. Wardrope, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario. The addresses of the Pro Grand Master, Lord Ampthill, and Brother Right Hon. T. F. Halsey, P. C., the Deputy Grand Master, were upon a high plane, scholarly, refined and warmly fraternal in their tone, and were ably responded to by the American and Overseas Dominions representatives. Brief, one and all, modest, Anglo-Saxon to the core.
It is a peculiarity of the English that the one way in which they give free expression to their emotions is through some formal, prescribed method a ritual, or a song. The pleading or exaltation of the orator they seem to disdain. But given a ritual, or a song, they will render or sing it, as the case may be, with a dignity, expressiveness and whole-heartedness which puts to shame the studied oration so common to our Western system. It carries conviction to man; one must needs believe that the Most High is attuned to such expression as well, for reverence colored the tone of the voices of the throng, in a definite though indescribable manner.
Schooled as we had become in the methods of expression of these people we could not misunderstand the music of English Masonry thus presented to us. If it was awe-inspiring, it was heartrending, too, for the hozannas were tinged with a great sorrow, though no suggestion of loved one lying in Flanders fields was worn. The commemorative jewel of the occasion was at one with the spirit of the day, and we who had come thousands of miles to join in that day left the stupendous Albert Hall hushed and reverent and chastened we had truly seen the great soul of English Masonry, and were to carry its remembrance to the end of time.
----o----
THE PLAN OF FREEMASONRY
BY BRO. EDWARD B. PAUL. P.G.M. BRITISH COLUMBIA
The following article, written by the author of "The Column of Beauty" published heretofore, takes a broad and philosophical view of Freemasonry as a whole. One may study Masonry from the circumference to the center, from the details to the general, and such is always worth while; he may also study it from the center to the circumference, from the whole to the parts, and this also is richly worth while, as the following essay will show.
TO MOST, if not all, of us, the recollection of our Initiation, Passing, and Raising is fresh and vivid, and stands out from among our subsequent Masonic experiences with a clearness to be explained by the novelty of the situations in which we found ourselves, and by the solemnity of the ceremonies in which we took part for the first time. We perceived, then, that Freemasonry had a message for us, if we could only comprehend it, and we relied on the knowledge of our more experienced brethren to explain to us the many mysteries hidden beneath the ceremonies and symbols of the lodge. As we continued carefully to imbibe the lessons emanating from the East, much that to us had seemed dark became brighter; but we felt there was still much to learn. It is true that each symbol and symbolic act in the lodge was separately explained, and its moral and Masonic uses elucidated; but the detached parts of Freemasonry were never, in our opinion, satisfactorily united into one comprehensive whole, a knowledge of which is necessary in order that the "Noble Science" may have the influence on our lives and conduct, which is its chief end. My purpose, therefore, is to endeavour to demonstrate that the allegories and symbols of the lodge have a correspondence with each other, and are in the nature of hieroglyphics which can be pieced together and made to reveal, when deciphered, the lessons they were intended to convey. But as symbols are, from their nature, susceptible of various meanings, and as all investigators, no matter how honest their intensions may be, are liable to assign forced interpretations to some of them, in order that they may fit into a pre-conceived plan, it is necessary that their pronouncements be submitted to the most rigorous tests, lest Error and not Truth be the result.
The magnitude of my theme and the necessarily limited space allotted to me for this lecture, have caused me to make condensations which detract from the leanness of my arguments, which would require treatment beyond the scope of a short address. However, I lay the results of my investigations before you, begging your indulgence for presenting, in mere outline, a subject of such immense importance.
With this explanatory foreword, I shall now proceed to the subject matter of my lecture.
There are three aspects of Freemasonry to which I invite your attention:
1. Freemasonry as Philosophy.
2. Freemasonry as Education.
3. Freemasonry as the Handmaid of Religion.
These three aspects are sufficiently wide in their scope to deserve much more time for their individual development than is at present at my disposal. A word or two, however, may help to explain my reason for placing them Philosophy, Education, Religion in the order here presented.
Philosophy may be conceived as the science which lays down the principles governing conduct that which states the Moral Ideal; Education, as the means by which that ideal is attained, or, at least, approached; and Religion as the outcome of the two the experience of the individual while realizing, or partially realizing, the Ideal. While these conceptions, no doubt, suggest my divisions of the subject of my lecture, and the order in which they are placed, I fear that, in my treatment of them, I may frequently lose sight of any method which is intended in my design. Indeed, I cannot pretend that this lecture is worthy of being regarded otherwise than as the expression of random thoughts arising out of the careful contemplation of our ceremonies and symbols, and serious speculation as to their meanings.
FREEMASONRY AS PHILOSOPHY
To the philosophical student it will be obvious, in the course of my remarks, that I use the word "Philosophy" in a very loose way. In the first division of my subject I shall touch upon the ideal of life, the nature of the self and the nature of knowledge. In the third the nature of God and the Immortality of the Soul will be among the problems considered problems which lie as much in the province of Philosophy as the three treated under the first head. Perhaps it would have been better to have made a sharper distinction and substituted "Ethics" or "Moral Philosophy" for the word "Philosophy" employed here; but, if you will bear in mind this explanation, it seems to me convenient to allow the term to stand.
"Philosophy is the pursuit of Truth." This is the first and simplest conception and definition of Philosophy we can form. Can we, with truth, substitute the word Freemasonry for Philosophy in that definition? Such a question propounded in a Freemason's lodge can be answered only in the affirmative. The pursuit of Truth, called by us the search for the Lost Word, is indeed the sole aim and the chief end of all the teachings of Freemasonry.
But I do not forget that we are distinctly informed that the "Chief Point of Freemasonry" is the promotion of the happiness of the individual, and, consequently, of society. That is insisted on in the Charge to the Brethren in the Installation Ceremony. The ancient Greek moralists also considered that happiness is "the great end of man, that this is the highest good, the end for which all beings live, the object which they all pursue." In this respect, also, Freemasonry agrees with other philosophies in its definition of the chief end of man.
It may be asked, then, What is the aim of Freemasonry? Is it Truth or Happiness ? There seems to be no doubt that Happiness is the natural concomitant of Truth, and that that is the explanation of the apparent contradiction in the statement of the aims of Freemasonry. Truth and Happiness would thus have the same relationship which Tennyson points out as existing between duty and glory:
"He that walks the path of duty only thirsting
For the right, and learns to deaden
Love of self, before his journey closes
He shall find the stubborn thistle bursting
Into glossy purples, which outredden
All voluptuous garden roses."
Thus, the aim of Philosophy and of Freemasonry being the same, you will see my justification in dealing with Freemasonry as a philosophy.
The nature of that philosophy cannot be clearly explained without a short allusion to the Allegory of Freemasonry. In that allegory the candidate is made to represent a human being in his progress from birth to death, or, as the mental and moral development of a man from childhood to old age closely corresponds to the mental and moral advancement of the race, he may be said to represent human knowledge as it ascends from darkness to light.
This ascent is made by three steps. And may I be permitted to digress a moment to point out that in nature many physical entities or qualities occur in threes or triads. Thus we have Space and its three dimensions, Length, Breadth, Thickness; Matter and its three states, Solid, Liquid, Gaseous. Physical Magnitudes, Length, Mass, Time. Color, Red, Green, Blue or Violet. Sound, Loudness, Pitch, Quality. Electric Current, Circuit, Electro-motive Force, Resistance, etc., etc.
A three-fold division is also manifested in man's nature, which is generally recognized as being made up of three distinct parts, namely, Body, Mind, Spirit. Browning puts into the mouth of one of the patrons of Freemasonry, St. John, the Divine, the following words, which beautifully set forth this distinction:
This is the doctrine he was wont to teach,
How divers persons witness in each man,
Three souls which make up one soul; first, to wit,
A soul of each and all the bodily parts,
Seated therein, which works, and is what Does,
And has the use of earth, and ends the man
Downward: but, tending upward for advice,
Grows into, and again is grown into
By the next soul, which, seated in the brain,
Useth the first with its collected use,
And feeleth, thinketh, willeth-is what Knows:
Which, duly tending upward in its turn,
Grows into, and again is grown into
By the last soul, that uses both the first,
Subsisting whether they assist or no,
And, constituting man's self, is what Is-
And leans upon the former, makes it play,
As that played off the first; and, tending up,
Holds, is upheld by, God, and ends the man
Upward in that dread point of intercourse,
Nor needs a place, for it returns to Him.
What Does, what Knows, what Is; three souls, one man.
As may be expected, therefore, these three parts of man's nature are fully recognized in Freemasonry, each of the three degrees representing one the First degree, the Body (the material world or world of sense); the Second, the Mind; and the Third, the Spirit, the Ego, of which the other two are ministers. Abundant proof of this is to be found in the symbolism of Freemasonry, and it is supported by the opinion of the ablest Masonic writers. This distinction may be alluded to in each of the three divisions of my lecture.
As has been mentioned above, the Pursuit of Happiness is the "chief point" of Freemasonry as well as the aim of life as presented by Philosophy, according to the ancient Greek moralists. All mankind, in every age, from the darkest period of barbarism to the most civilized epoch the world has ever seen, have been striving after happiness. They may differ in their definition of the term, as well as the means by which they can attain their object; but we may take it for granted that ultimately they have happiness in view in all their schemes for the conduct of their lives.
Among savages, the gratification of their passions and desires, without regard to future consequences, seems to them the "highest good." This is also true, to a certain extent, in the case of children. Philosophy, generally, and Freemasonry have nothing to do with that stage of human existence, except in so far as it might be called a preparation period; for the whole life of man may be said to be preparation for something higher the period of darkness for the E. A., the E. A. for the F. C. and so on. It is, therefore, necessary that, before proceeding further and higher, the human being should be "duly and truly prepared."
It is not to be expected that a child or a savage can be prepared at once to receive all the instruction necessary to the complete development of his three-fold nature. He must advance by steps, from the simplest to the most complex, from the concrete to the abstract. There is no doubt that the idea of Mind, still more of Spirit, comes later than the knowledge of the Body and other objects that can be perceived by the Senses. Preparation, therefore, for education along the lines of such knowledge as can be derived only from natural objects must be incomplete. Hence our candidate's preparation is in the First degree confined to the left side. The symbolism of the left side is well known. That side has always been regarded as the side of less honour that the right, and, consequently, is appropriately used to represent the Sensational part of man's nature, while the right side connotes the Rational side.
Hence it is not difficult to conceive that Freemasonry, if it is concerned at all with Philosophy, should make the First degree to exemplify the Sensational, and the Second, the Rational School of Philosophy-the two great schools of thought which have split thinkers into two opposing camps, from the earliest times to the present day. Both systems agree that happiness, in one form or another, is the great aim of man, and that the life according to nature is virtue, because it leads us right to the end for which we were destined by nature, viz., happiness. But they differ in their doctrines respecting happiness and nature and virtue. Both agree that within certain limits the appetites, passions and desires may be gratified, but the Sensational school maintained that the limit was necessary for prudential reasons only, the Rational that happiness springs from the limitation and subjugation of the passions.
The connection between the First degree and the Sensational School will be apparent if we recollect that "refreshment" in the old days was not a mere banquet to be held or not held, after the ceremonies of the evening were over, in a different room, but that it was an integral part of those ceremonies, solemnized by the placing on the refreshment table of the Lights of Masonry, by the prayers of the Master and the other ceremonies of "opening," but "mingled with social mirth, and the mutual interchange of fraternal feeling." It may be regarded, therefore, as a rite emblematical of the liberty of man to gratify his appetites, desires and passions subject to the check of Temperance and Prudence, the two Cardinal Virtues of the South and North, which we may personify as standing unseen and silent on each side of the table, one behind and one facing the Junior Warden. That check is represented also by the Common Gavel, the symbol of Temperance, which must be used on the rough ashlar before the Square of Morality can be made to fit its angles and faces.
I will not tax your patience by dwelling on the similarity between the Second degree and the Rational School of Philosophy. But I may remind you that happiness according to the latter consists in the limitation and subjugation of the passions, while the emphasis laid by the former on Morality and Virtue and the subjugation of the Passions seems to establish the parallel. The Second degree also lays special stress on the study of Geometry representing Mathematics which subject was regarded by the old Greek philosophers particularly Pythagoras as the symbol of Pure Reason. In Architecture Geometry is the science which determines the form of a structure, and which is more concerned about that than about the substance or matter of which it is composed. The form symbolizes the limit, and the materials, the appetites and passions, the matter, in the Second degree, being completely subordinated to the former, as has been shown to be the case in the tenets of the Rational School.
But Masonry does not, like some of the old Philosophies, maintain the irreconcilable opposition of mind or soul and matter. The oblong squares of the Entered Apprentice and the Fellow Craft show that each degree taken by itself is incomplete. It is only when each is blended with the other that perfection is reached, as is shown in the "perfect square" of a Master Mason, which is formed by the union of the other two squares. This is one of many proofs in our symbolism that the Third degree is the summation of the other two with the addition of further lessons on the Nature of God and Immortality.
The refreshment table of Freemasonry is symbolical not only of our liberty, within the bounds of Temperance and Prudences to partake of the material blessings lavished on us by God, but it is also an emblem of a figurative table provided with materials for the satisfaction of our mental and moral appetites. The viands are the thoughts of great and good men either presented to us in books or by word of mouth, and the satisfaction we derive from moral and virtuous actions.
Freemasonry has set limits to prevent our abuse of these blessings; but in placing before us material as well as mental and spiritual food, it effectually rebukes those who look on physical gratification, even within lawful limits, as sinful, and who seek to obtain God's favour by neglect and contempt of His temple, the human body.
"Let us not always say,
'Spite of this flesh today
I strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole!'
As the bird wings and sings,
Let us cry, 'All good things
Are ours, nor soul helps flesh more, now, than flesh helps soul!'"
FREEMASONRY AS EDUCATION
Plato states that "the aim of Education is to develop in the body and in the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable."
The question before us now is, Does Freemasonry interest itself in the subject of Education, and, if so, does the aim of the Education suggested by Freemasonry resemble the aim of Education as defined by Plato? I think there can be no doubt that the question must be answered in the affirmative. Freemasonry expressly deals with the development of Body and Soul and leaves nothing in the matter of the education of its votaries that can be improved upon; for it works in conformity to Nature, and in the order of Nature in the matter of Education as in all other things in which it concerns itself.
In order to comprehend, then, its system, let me remind you that the First degree is the degree of the material universe. The first step, therefore, in Masonic Education is education through the senses. In the earlier stages of a man's life, he takes cognizance only of such knowledge as can be acquired through the senses. Nothing is real to him unless he can touch, taste, smell, hear or see it. The most natural and, therefore, the most scientific method of teaching the young is through the senses. The concrete must precede the abstract. Such an education would be directed especially to the enlargement and refinement of the receptive powers; of those powers, above all which are directly relative to fleeting phenomena the powers of sensation and emotion.
What is called "practical education" the training of the hand and eye to obey the directions of the mind; aesthetic education occupied very largely with those aspects of things which affect us pleasurably through the senses, including art and the finer sorts of literature; education of the heart dealing with the love of Nature, animate and inanimate, above all, love and charity towards our fellow men, which latter is the special lesson of an E. A., and love to God, from Whom flows every good and perfect gift: all these, without stretching the meanings of the symbolism, are inculcated in the first degree of Freemasonry.
The candidate in the Second degree has made a further advance. Abstract studies are set before him, having for their object the development of all his intellectual faculties, the moral and spiritual elevation of his character, and the further acquisition of truth and knowledge. Cut I must remind you, here, that no degree stands by itself. Each "grows into and is again grown into" by the other two. you must not understand, therefore, that mind and intellect are not trained in the First degree, but that they are further greatly developed in the Second.
The beautiful symbolism of the Winding Stairs represents a synopsis of the Masonic system of education.
The first three steps I take to mean a mere reminder, such as occurs, again and again, throughout all the ceremonies of the lodge, that three parts, Body, Soul and Spirit, constitute the nature of Man; and they are intended simply as an introduction or key to the Educational scale which commences with the flight of five steps.
The first flight, then, refers to the five senses, and alludes to the Education through the Senses, suggested in a former part of this discussion.
The second flight of seven steps, referring to seven purely abstract studies, is symbolical of Pure Reason, and shows an upward advance in the candidate's intellectual progress.
But where is the third member of the triad in this ascent, which the first three steps, according to the interpretation given above, has led us to look for? To answer this we must ask another question, "What has been the goal or aim of the candidate during his long and arduous pilgrimage?" To which question there is only one answer, "The Truth." He does not yet find it; but high up and suspended in the distance he descries the letter "G." a mere initial, a glimmering hope that his labour has not been in vain, and that he has at last seen, faintly indeed and indistinctly, an indication of the object of his search. He has still far to go, he still has a rough and rugged road to travel; but his Faith is now buoyed up by Hope, and he knows that he will reach the goal if he continues true to his purpose.
There is another aspect of the Winding Stairs which has struck me as beautiful and worthy of your consideration. If we imagine a spiral line drawn round a conical hill, it will appear to be like a number of circles narrowing in diameter, or growing closer to the centre the higher they rise, till, at the top, the circumference disappears in the centre. So man, by labour, virtue, and faith in God, may ascend, step by step, in his progress through life, drawing nearer and ever nearer to Him, till finally, his earthly pilgrimage over, his liberated spirit comes before His Holy Presence, and is lost in the Light and Warmth of His infinite Intelligence and His inexhaustible Love.
FREEMASONRY THE "HANDMAID OF RELIGION"
There is probably no society in this world more imbued with the religious sense than the Fraternity of Freemasons. Questions of Morality and Religion are freely and reverently discussed by them in their lodges, and lectures on subjects bearing on the conduct of human life are listened to by them with an interest and patience which shows that they are animated not so much by fraternal courtesy as by sincere desire for self-improvement. Nor is that to be wondered at when one considers the reverence which every member of the Craft pays to the ceremonies of the lodge and to the excellent principles which are always inculcated therein. An examination, therefore, into the principles of Freemasonry which bring about this religious inclination among Masons, which my experience assures me exists, is my purpose at this stage of my lecture.
In the first place, a belief in God and Immortality is required of every applicant for admission into a lodge. That is necessary for- two reasons. First, as the name of God is so frequently invoked in our assemblies, and as all our ceremonies and lectures tend to impress on our mind His wonderful government of the world and our dependence on Him, the presence in our midst of an atheist who would certainly not sympathize with, if he did not actually scoff at our proceedings, would prove a source of discord in a society so dependent on harmony as its "strength and support."
Another reason for requiring of an applicant a belief in God, is that without such belief he would lack the very foundation on which the lessons of Freemasonry are based, and would, consequently, finding himself out of sympathy with our beliefs, either cease to associate himself with the Fraternity, or, keeping up a nominal connection with it, lose no opportunity of belittling the importance of our work, and of designating our symbolical teaching as puerile and unworthy of the serious attention of any thoughtful man. Thus he would not only derive no benefit himself, but would be likely to create prejudice against us in the eyes of the profane. This he might be able to do without violating the letter of his obligation.
The preparation for and symbolism of each of the three degrees has, of course, the same significance when Freemasonry is discussed from the point of view of its being ancillary to Religion, as it had when we were dealing with its Philosophical and Educational sides. You will, therefore, not require further explanation if, as I proceed, I refer to the Degree of Nature, the Degree of Mind and the degree in which both the former are united into one Degree of Perfection.
But, before proceeding to discuss this part of my subject I propose to deal briefly with symbolisms which might be classified under each of those three heads, but which it is more convenient to take by themselves, as they throw light on what is to follow. And the first of these that I shall speak about is the three knocks of the candidate seeking admission to a lodge open on any degree. The first knock refers to the fundamental necessity of prayer. The subject of prayer is the first lesson given the E. A. on his entrance into the lodge; prayer is taught by example, in each of the Degrees; and prayer was the last act of H. A. B. before his tragic death. "Ask and ye shall receive" is the interpretation of the first knock, and that command, with its gracious promise, is, further, beautifully symbolized on the Tracing Board of the E. A. The story of Jacob's dream is familiar to you all and need not be told here. But I shall give you what seems to be the Masonic significance of it. The ascending angels bear to heaven the prayers and petitions of men, and the descending angels bring back the answers from God in the form of bounties and blessings.
The second knock, we are told, means "Seek, and ye shall find." Here is a direct injunction to search for Truth. That search is the paramount duty of every Freemason; in fact it is the sole object of all the teachings of Freemasonry.
"Knock and it shall be opened to you."
If with all your hearts you prayerfully and truly seek Him, your admittance into the Grand Lodge Above will not be denied. Your search will then be rewarded; you will find the Lost Word; in God's holy presence you will discover the Truth.
Sacrifice, of which the altar is a symbol, is also one of the requisites of Freemasonry. All that a Mason has property, even life--must be given up for the "protection of innocence and virtue, and for the defense of Truth."
The symbolism of the Sun is perhaps the most important vehicle for the conveyance to our minds of Divine Truth. The Sun is the pattern for the imitation of the Worshipful Master, because it is symbolical of certain attributes of the Deity Love and Intelligence, Order and Harmony. The warmth of the Sun is emblematical of Love, and his light of Intelligence or Mind. The three Lesser Lights are said to represent the Sun, Moon and Worshipful Master. The Sun symbolizes the attributes of God, Love and Intelligence. The Moon, which reflects the light, but not the warmth, of the Sun Intelligence. The Worshipful Master, Man, the most perfect of His works.
The Sun also represents the Immanence of God. Its warmth pervades the Earth and is necessary not only for the comfort, but also for the life, of all organic creatures. In like manner God is everywhere. In the beautiful words of Mrs. Browning:
"Earth is crammed with Heaven
And every bush and tree
Afire with God. But only he
Who sees takes off his shoes."
His love is unfailing even to the lowest organism He has made; and His intelligence is manifested in all the works of His hands, and acts in the formation of a frost crystal as certainly and as beautifully as in the growth of a blade of grass. "This deity," quotes Tagore from the Upanishad, "who is manifesting himself in the activities of the universe, always dwells in the heart of man as the supreme soul. Those who realize Him through the immediate perception of the heart attain immortality."
One word more about Sun symbolism. The point within the circle is the astronomical symbol of the Sun. The Sun is represented by the central point, the circumference represents his rays. The compasses is the instrument used for describing circles, the pivotal point representing the central Sun, and the other point Light. Thus, in the Fellow Craft degree, when one point has been elevated above the square, the meaning seems to be that a certain measure of intellectual and moral light has been vouchsafed to the candidate. But when the pivotal point is also placed above the square, he has received the pure light and warmth of Masonry all the knowledge of the Truth that "it is possible for him to obtain in a lodge of Master Masons."
But the most important assistance which Freemasonry lends to Religion is when it teaches the Craftsman that the existence of God can be deduced from His works.
And, first, Freemasonry shows that God is manifested in Nature, which is His creation. "The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Earth showeth forth His handiwork." The works of our greatest poets are full of this theme. Nay, even savages, in their own rude way, see a god in every manifestation of nature. It is not wonderful, therefore, that Freemasonry should say that "contemplating these objects" (of nature) "we are led to view with reverence and admiration the wonderful works of Creation, and adore their Divine Creator." All religions and most philosophies agree in the necessity of a First Cause, or God. Freemasonry teaches us to study Nature, to admire its beauties, to comprehend its wonderful harmony, to appreciate the marvellous adaptation of every created thing to its environment and the purpose for which it was created, and reverently to worship the Maker and Creator of all things.
Thus, and far too briefly, I have laid before you the argument which deduces the Cause from the Effect in the material world. By our objective consciousness we try to trace the Divine in Nature. But there is a higher consciousness-the subjective-which deals with the Mind, and which traces the Divine in Man. This part of my subject might also be presented to you under the heading: "God as comprehended by the individual mind."
"Are the intelligence of God and the intelligence of man of the same character ? Intelligence itself seems to constrain us to answer this question in the affirmative. To suppose that the supreme intelligence has nothing whatever in common with the human intelligence, is to suppose that one of them is an intelligence, and that the other is no intelligence at all. It is to dissolve the very ground on which we conceive both of them as intelligences. This truth, then, in regard to the constitution of the human mind, and of all minds, seems to be a necessary axiom of reason. In all intelligence there is an essential unity of kind, however small the point of unity may be. . . . This unity constitutes the very bond, and the only bond, between the Creator and the creature. Deny this connection between the divine and human reason, and you destroy the very possibility of religion." The preceding sentences, taken from the philosophical works of Professor Ferrier, are, in short, the summary of his argument for the connection between all finite minds and the infinite mind of the Creator. The mind of Man, who, compared with the rest of Creation, is physically insignificant, is the most wonderful phenomenon that exists in the Universe. It traces the paths of comets and planets, and predicts their appearance at any position in the sky to a fraction of a second; it calculates the distances from the Earth and from each other of the most remote fixed stars; it even can tell their weights, specific gravity, and the constitution of the solid and gaseous matters of which they are composed. It harnesses the lightning and the cataract and forces them into the peaceful service of humanity. No object is too minute or too immense for its comprehension. And its steady and daring progress in the past from one pinnacle of knowledge to another makes the forecast of its further and greater triumphs logical and certain.
The achievements of the human mind are not confined, however, to the discoveries of scientific truth. Too great homage cannot be paid to the mighty minds of the men to whom such triumphs are due. But the unveiling of the workings of the soul by poets, philosophers and other men of letters is further and even greater testimony to the majesty of the human intellect. Well might the great world-poet exclaim:
"What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!"
Man, endowed with mental faculties which enable him to comprehend the laws by which the Universe is governed and the harmony of Creation, cannot fail, by comparison with the processes of his mind, to believe that the natural objects whose secrets it has been able to discover, are governed and regulated by a mind similar in nature to his own, and only differing in degree. He perceives that other human minds are like his own, and that mind is an indissoluble bond of union between man and God. Wordsworth, in "Tintern Abbey," not only brings out the thought of union between God and Man, but also emphasizes the bond of union between Nature and God, which I have already discussed. Man, he says, has:
"A sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean, and the living air,
And the blue sky, and the mind of man,-
A motion and a spirit that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things."
God is thus revealed in Nature, and God is thus revealed in Man. But there is another revelation recognized by Freemasonry in every degree namely, the V. O. T. S. L. "the inestimable gift of God to Man as a guide to his daily faith and practice." The religion of a Freemason is left to his own conscience, but the sacred writings are always open in his lodge, a silent, but eloquent, witness that Freemasonry is not only not indifferent to religion, but that she expects every craftsman to be a religious man. In fact, she mentions the "irreligious libertine" as a man who has no right to the privileges of the Craft.
These are some, only, of the many arguments which prove Freemasonry to be the Handmaid of Religion. Could any mistress be better served?
IMMORTALITY
We have given much time to the contemplation of the lessons of the South and West. Have we no message from the North? Yes, indeed! The place of darkness is a region not to be afraid of, but rather to be regarded with affection and gratitude. For it is the place of "sleep and his brother, death."
"Now blessings light on him who first invented sleep!" says Sancho Panza in Don Quixote, "It covers a man all over, thoughts and all, like a cloak; it is meat for the hungry, heat for the cold, and cold for the hot. It is the current coin that purchases all the pleasures of the world cheap, and the balance that sets the king and the shepherd, the fool and the wise man, even."
What better eulogy could be written on Sleep than that? It is rightly associated with refreshment in the first division of the twenty-four-inch Gauge.
But, some one may say, "Sleep is a blessing, I grant you, but how about Death? After sleep comes waking; but Death means the leaving all that is near and dear to men, and the severing of every tie which binds them to earth. Death is the end." Is it? If it is, then is the teaching of Freemasonry vain; vain is the teaching of Religion. But we Freemasons are taught that Death is not the end. Though all things are dark, and the knell of low-twelve is sounding in our ears, though our brother's mangled body is lying covered only by the rubbish of the temple; though our loving hands remove him from the grave where he was "indecently interred," and the evidence of our nostrils gives unmistakable evidence of physical dissolution, we know that all is well with him, for the G.A.O.T.U. has taken him by the hand, and raised him to take his place in another lodge a real lodge of Perfection where he is surrounded by the dear ones who have preceded him there, and where he awaits the arrival of those whom he dearly loved and by whom he was dearly loved, with perfect confidence, for he knows the Truth. He has found the Master Mason's Word
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PART IV ACTION OF STATE AND CHURCH AUTHORITIES AGAINST FREEMASONRY
FROM THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
CURIOUSLY enough, the first sovereign to join and protect Freemasonry was the Catholic German Emperor Frances I, the founder of the actually reigning line of Austria, while the first measures against Freemasonry were taken by Protestant Governments: Holland, 1735; Sweden and Geneva, 1738; Zurich, 1740; Berne, 1745. In Spain, Portugal and Italy, measures against Masonry were taken after 1738. In Bavaria Freemasonry was prohibited 1784 and 1785; in Austria, 1795; in Baden, 1813; in Russia, 1822. Since 1847 it has been tolerated in Baden, since 1850 in Bavaria, since 1868 in Hungary and Spain. In Austria Freemasonry is still prohibited because as the Superior Court of Administration 23 January, 1905, rightly declared, a Masonic association, even though established in accordance with law, "would be a member of a large (international) organization (in reality ruled by the 'Old Charges,' etc., according to general Masonic principles and aims), the true regulations of which would be kept secret from the civil authorities, so that the activity of the members could not be controlled" (Bauhutte, 1905, 60). It is indeed to be presumed that Austro-Hungarian Masons, whatever statutes they might present to the Austrian Government in order to secure their authorization, would in fact continue to regard the French Grand Orient as their true pattern, and the Brothers Kossuth, Garibaldi, and Mazzini as the heroes, whom they would strive to imitate. The Prussian edict of 1798 interdicted Freemasonry in general, excepting the three old Prussian Grand Lodges which the protectorate subjected to severe control by the Government. this edict, though juridically abrogated by the edict of 6 April, 1848, practically, according to a decision of the Supreme Court of Administration of 22 April, 1893, by an erroneous interpretation of the organs of adminstration, remained in force till 1893. Similarly, in Gngland an Act of Parliament was passed on 12 July, 798, for the "more effectual suppression of societies stablished for seditions and treasonable purposes and or preventing treasonable and seditious practices." By this Act Masonic associations and meetings in general were interdicted, and only the lodges existing on 2 July, 1798, and ruled according to the old regulations of the Masonry of the kingdom were tolerated, on condition that two representatives of the lodge should make oath before the magistrates, that the lodge existed and was ruled as the Act enjoined (Preston, "Illustrations of Masonry," 251 sqq.). During the period 1827-34, measures were taken against Freemasonry in some of the United States of America. As to European countries it may be stated, that all those Governments, which had not originated in the revolutionary movement, strove to protect themselves against Masonic secret societies.
The action of the Church is summed up in the papal pronouncements against Freemasonry since 1738, the most important of which are:
Clement XII, Const. "In Eminenti," 28 April, 1738; Benedict XIV, "Providas," 18 May, 1751; Pius VII, "Ecclesiam," 13 September, 1821; Leo XII, "Quo graviora," 13 March, 1825; Pius VIII, Encycl. "Traditi," 21 May, 1829; Gregory XVI, "Mirari," 15 August, 1832; Pius IX, Encycl. "Qui pluribus," 9 November, 1846; Alloc. "Quibus quantisque malis," 20 April, 1849; Encycl. "Quanta cura," 8 December, 1864; Alloc. "Multiplices inter," 25 September, 1865; Const. "Apostolicae Sedis," 12 October, 1869; Encycl. "Etsi multa," 21 November, 1873; Leo XIII, Encycl. "Humanum genus," 20 April, 1884; "Praeclara," 20 June, 1894; "Annum ingressi," 18 March, 1902 (against Italian Freemasonry); Encycl. "Etsi nos." 15 February, 1882; "Ab Apostolici," 15 October, 1890. These pontifical utterances from first to last are in complete accord, the latter reiterating the earlier with such developments as were called for by the growth of Freemasonry and other secret societies.
Clement XII accurately indicates the principal reasons why Masonic associations from the Catholic, Christian, moral, political, and social points of view, should be condemned. These reasons are: (1) The peculiar, "unsectarian" (in truth, anti-Catholic and anti- Christian) naturalistic character of Freemasonry, by which theoretically and practically it undermines the Catholic and Christian faith, first in its members and through them in the rest of society, creating religious indifferentism and contempt for orthodoxy and ecclesiastical authority. (2) The inscrutable secrecy and fallacious ever-changing disguise of the Masonic association and of its "work," by which "men of this sort break as thieves into the house and like foxes endeavour to root up the vineyard," "perverting the hearts of the simple," ruining their spiritual and temporal welfare. (3) The oaths of secrecy and of fidelity to Masonry and Masonic work, which cannot be justified in their scope, their object, or their form, and cannot, therefore, induce any obligation. The oaths are condemnable, because the scope and object of Masonrv are "wicked" and condemnable, and the candidate in most cases is ignorant of the import or extent of the obligation which he takes upon himself. Moreover the ritualistic and doctrinal "secrets" which are the principal object of the obligation, according to the highest Masonic authorities, are either trifles or no longer exist (Handbuch, 3rd ed., I, 219). In either case the oath is a condemnable abuse. Even the Masonic modes of recognition, which are represented as the principal and only essential "secret" of Masonry, are published in many printed books. Hence the real "secrets" of Masonry, if such there be, could only be political or antireligious conspiracies like the plots of the Grand Lodges in Latin countries. But such secrets, condemned, at least theoretically, by Anglo-American Masons themselves, would render the oath or obligation only the more immoral and therefore null and void. Thus in every respect the Masonic oaths are not only sacrilegious but also an abuse contrary to public order which requires that solemn oaths and obligations as the principal means to maintain veracity and faithfulness in the State and in human society, should not be vilified or caricatured. In Masonry the oath is further degraded by its form which includes the most atrocious penalties, for the "violation of obligations" which do not even exist; a "violation" which, in truth may be and in many cases is an imperative duty. (4) The danger which such societies involve for the security and "tranquility of the State" and for "the spiritual health of souls," and consequently their incompatibility with civil and canonical law. For even admitting that some Masonic associations pursued for themselves no purposes contrary to religion and to public order, they would be nevertheless contrary to public order, because by their very existence as secret societies based on the Masonic principles, they encourage and promote the foundation- of other really dangerous secret societies and render difficult, if not impossible, efficacious action of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities against them.
Of the other papal edicts only some characteristic utterances need be mentioned. Benedict XIV appeals more urgently to Catholic princes and civil powers to obtain their assistance in the struggle against Freemasonry. Pius VII condemns the secret society of the Carbonari which, if not an off-shoot, is "certainly an imitation of the Masonic society" and, as such, already comprised in the condemnation issued against it. Leo XII deplores the fact, that the civil powers had not heeded the earlier papal decrees, and in consequence out of the old Masonic societies even more dangerous sects had sprung. Among them the "Universitarian" is mentioned as most pernicious. "It is to be deemed certain," says the pope, "that these secret societies are linked together by the bond of the same criminal purposes." Gregory XVI similarly declares that the calamities of the age were due principally to the conspiracy of secret societies, and like Leo XII, deplores the religious indifferentism and the false ideas of tolerance propagated by secret societies. Pius IX (Allocution, 1865) characterizes Freemasonry as an insidious, fraudulent and perverse organization injurious both to religion and to society; and condemns anew "this Masonic and other similar societies, which differing only in appearance coalesce constantly and openly or secretly plot against the Church or lawful authority." Leo XIII (1884) says: "There are various sects, which although differing in name, rite, form, and origin, are nevertheless so united by community of purposes and by similarity of their main principles as to be really one with the Masonic sect, which is a kind of centre, whence they all proceed and whither they all return." The ultimate purpose of Freemasonry is "the overthrow of the whole religious, political, and social order based on Christian institutions and the establishment of a new state of things according to their own ideas and based in its principles and laws on pure Naturalism."
In view of these several reasons Catholics since 1738 are, under penalty of excommunication, incurred ipso facto, and reserved to the pope, strictly forbidden to enter or promote in any way Masonic societies. The law now in force (Const. "Apostolicae Sedis," 1869 Cap. ii, n.24) pronounces excommunication upon "those who enter Masonic or Carbonarian or other sects of the same kind, which, openly or secretly, plot against the Church or lawful authority and those who in any wny favour these sects or do not denounce their leaders and principal members." Under this head mention must also be made of the "Practical Instruction of the Congreg. of the Inquisition, 7 May, 1884, 'de Secta Massonum' " (Acta Sanctae Sedis, XVIII, 43-47) and of the decrees of the Provincial Councils of Baltimore, 1840: New Orleans, 1856; Quebec, 1851, 1868; of the first Councils of the English Colonies, 1854; and particularly of the Plenary Councils of Baltimore, 1866 and 1884 (see "Collect. Lacensis," III, 1875 and "Acta et decr. Concil. plen. Balt. III," 1884). These documents refer mainly to the application of the papal decrees according to the peculiar conditions of the respective ecclesiastical provinces. The Third Council of Baltimore, n. 254 sq., states the method of ascertaining whether or not a society is to be regarded as comprised in the papal condemnation of Freemasonry. It reserves the final decision thereon to a commission consisting of all the archbishops of the ecclesiastical provinces represented in the council, and if they cannot reach a unanimous conclusion, refers to the Holy See.
These papal edicts and censures against Freemasonry have often been the occasion of erroneous and unjust charges. The excommunication was interpreted as an "imprecation" that cursed all Freemasons and doomed them to perdition. In truth an excommunication is simply an ecclesiastical penalty, by which members of the Church should be deterred from acts fhst are criminal according to ecclesiastical law. The pope and the bishops, therefore, as faithful pastors of Christ's flock, cannot but condemn Freemasonry. They would betray, as Clement XII stated, their most sacred duties, if they did not oppose with all their power the insidious propagation and activity of such societies in Catholic countries or with respect to Catholics in mixed and Protestant countries. Freemasonry systematically promotes religious indifFerentism and undermines true, i.e., orthodox Christian and Catholic Faith and life. Freemasonry is essentially Naturalism and hence opposed to all supernaturalism. As to some particular charges of Leo XIII (1884) challenged by Freemasons, e.g., the atheistical character of Freemasonry, it must be remarked, that the pope considers the activity of Masonic and similar societies as a whole, applying to it the term which designates the most of these societies and among the Masonic groups those, which push the so-called "anti-clerical," in reality irreligious and revolutionary, principles of Freemasonry logically to their ultimate consequences and thus, in truth, are, as it were, the advanced outposts and standard-bearers of the whole immense anti-Catholic and anti-papal army in the world-wide spiritual warfare of our age. In this sense also the pope, in accordance with a fundamental biblical and evangelical view developed by St. Augustine in his "De civitate Dei," like the Masonic poet Carducci in his "Hymn to Satan," considers Satan as the supreme spiritual chief of this hostile army. Thus Leo XIII (1884) expressly states: "What we say, must be understood of the Masonic sect in the universal acceptation of the term, as it comprises all kindred and associated societies, but not of their single members. There may be persons amongst these, and not a few, who, although not free from the guilt of having entangled themselves in such associations, yet are neither themselves partners in their criminal acts nor aware of the ultimate object which these associations are endeavouring to attain. Similarly some of the several bodies of the association may perhaps by no means approve of certain extreme conclusions, which they would consistently accept as necessarily following from the general principles common to all, were they not deterred by the vicious character of the conclusions." "The Masonic federation is to be judged not so much by the acts and things it has accomplished, as by the whole of its principles and purposes."
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A MEANS
Masonry is a means, not an end; and the reception of a degree, whether it be the first or last of a Rite, does not in itself make the recipient any better than he was before. It simply is the medium for broadening his knowledge of his duties, and the application of those duties in his daily walk and conduct.
To put it in another way, the degrees in Masonry are but working tools whereby the man who receives them may shape his course in life, and he is to be judged by the manner in which he has made those tools Serviceable and profitable in his own betterment and in assisting those around him to he better and more useful. -The Junior Warden.
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Example is the School of mankind, and they will learn at no other. -Burke.
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JERRY JACKSON JASON
"ONLY A MASTER MASON”
There ne'er was truer Mason than Jerry Jackson Jason
He delighted in its mystery, antiquity, and history;
But he ne'er could be persuaded that he should be higher graded
And of more degrees possessor than the fundamental three.
It was argued he'd be apter with the knowledge of the Chapter
That he'd prove a bright exemplar in the character of Templar,
While the Thirty-Second brothers told of roadway 'round the others.
But he left no doubt or question as to higher grade suggestion,
Or, to being "arched" or "knighted," or to any others plighted,
For a Master Mason simply he was satisfied to be.
They declared that he was foolish, even obstinate and mulish
To thus decline advancernent which for them had such entrancement
But to him the title "brother" was the acme of all other,
And the Lodge supremest honor as he understood its plan.
Its symbols with their teaching they were to him far-reaching,
Beyond their surface seeming what hidden truths were gleaming
The wisdom-store of sages transmitted through the ages,
Every angle with its story, every line a ray of glory
In the marvelous design linking human to divine,
And man to man in brotherhood whate'er his race or clan.
The mystery of the scroll was the temple of the soul;
Integrity must build it, virtue ornament and gild it;
Truth's shining presence light its hope sustain and love unite it,
Wisdom raise the dome above it faith uplift the turret tall.
Such was Masonry's ideal, and he strove to make it real-
Sanctified by loving deeds prompted by a brother's needs.
To his course the plumb applying, by the square his actions trying,
As the master hand of duty shaped his ashlar into beauty,
More and more its surface glowed through the good which he bestowed,
Freer grew from earthly blemish, fitter for the Living Wall.
Was there sick or suffering Mason thither sped good Brother Jason,
And the sunshine of his face brightened many a cheerless place,
While his words were so assuring, they did more than drugs toward curing,
And disease full oft was baffled and the threatening crisis passed.
But if all was unavailing and the stricken one fast failing,
Then he took the wasted hand, voiced the thought of better land,
Which the worthy would set eye on through the strength of Judah's Lion,
In the Father's house on high when life's burden was laid by -
On the listener's fading sight there had dawned celestial light,
And on face with rapture beaming death had set his seal at last.
To the dead as to the living willing service ever giving
Ever 'mong the faithful found who a brother’s grave surround,
And the last sad tribute pay to the lifeless form of clay
With acacia-sprigs proclaiming that his spirit liveth still.
To the widow, orphan, friendless, his good deeds 'twould seem were endless,
And affairs of self as naught when their wants vrere in his thought.
His, the words fresh courage woke when there fell misfortune's stroke
His, the hand that help extended and despairing ones befriended:
His, the work beyond compare, tested by the plumb and square
His, the wage of fadeless glory over which the angels thriil.
Yet they'd say of Brother Jason, "He is only Master Mason!"
And implying, by the stress, that his rank was thereby less!
Less than theirs, degree-entangled and befeathered and bespangled,
And befogged beyond perception of the true Masonic light.
Vain and thoughtless brethren these, valueless are mere degrees;
'Tis the lessons they impart and their lodgment in the heart,
Which, if rightly understood, prove the measure of their good.
Though a thousand such there be, they can ne'er eclipse the three;
And the faithful, zealous Mason, such as Jerry Jackson Jason,
Stands supreme 'mid glare and glitter, peerless in his apron white.
- Lawrence N. Greenleaf, P.G.M., Colorado.
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Be cheerful always. There is no path but will be easier traveled, no load but will be lighter, no shadow on heart and brain but will lift sooner for a person of determined cheerfulness. - Willitts.
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CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN No. 31
DEVOTED TO ORGANIZED MASONIC STUDY
Edited by Bro. H. L. Haywood
THE BULLETIN COURSE OF MASONIC STUDY FOR MONTHLY LODGE MEETINGS AND STUDY CLUBS
FOUNDATION OF THE COURSE
THE Course of Study has for its foundation two sources of Masonic information: THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. In another paragraph is explained how the references to former issues of THE BUILDER and to Mackey's Encyclopedia may be worked up as supplemental papers to exactly fit into each installment of the Course with the papers by Brother Haywood.
MAIN OUTLINE:
The Course is divided into five principal divisions which are in turn subdivided, as is shown below:
Division I. Ceremonial Masonry.
A. The Work of the Lodge.
B. The Lodge and the Candidate.
C. First Steps.
D. Second Steps.
E. Third Steps.
Division II. Symbolical Masonry.
A. Clothing.
B. Working Tools.
C. Furniture.
D. Architecture.
E. Geometry.
F. Signs.
G. Words.
H. Grips.
Division III. Philosophical Masonry.
A. Foundations.
B. Virtues.
C. Ethics.
D. Religious Aspect.
E. The Quest.
F. Mysticism.
G. The Secret Doctrine.
Division IV. Legislative Masonry.
A. The Grand Lodge.
1. Ancient Constitutions.
2. Codes of Law.
3. Grand Lodge Practices.
4. Relationship to Constituent Lodges.
5. Official Duties and Prerogatives.
B. The Constituent Lodge.
1. Organization.
2. Qualifications of Candidates.
3. Initiation, Passing and Raising.
4. Visitation.
5. Change of Membership.
Division V. Historical Masonry.
A. The Mysteries--Earliest Masonic Light.
B. Studies of Rites--Masonry in the Making.
C. Contributions to Lodge Characteristics.
D. National Masonry.
E. Parallel Peculiarities in Lodge Study.
F. Feminine Masonry.
G. Masonic Alphabets.
H. Historical Manuscripts of the Craft.
I. Biographical Masonry.
J. Philological Masonry--Study of Significant Words.
THE MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS
Each month we are presenting a paper written by Brother Haywood, who is following the foregoing outline. We are now in "First Steps" of Ceremonial Masonry. There will be twelve monthly papers under this particular subdivision. On page two, preceding each installment, will be given a list of questions to be used by the chairman of the Committee during the study period which will bring out every point touched upon in the paper.
Whenever possible we shall reprint in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin articles from other sources which have a direct bearing upon the particular subject covered by Brother Haywood in his monthly paper. These articles should be used as supplemental papers in addition to those prepared by the members from the monthly list of references. Much valuable material that would otherwise possibly never come to the attention of many of our members will thus be presented.
The monthly installments of the Course appearing in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin should be used one month later than their appearance. If this is done the Committee will have opportunity to arrange their programs several weeks in advance of the meetings and the brethren who are members of the National Masonic Research Society will be better enabled to enter into the discussions after they have read over and studied the installment in THE BUILDER.
REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PAPERS
Immediately preceding each of Brother Haywood's monthly papers in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin will be found a list of references to THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. These references are pertinent to the paper and will either enlarge upon many of the points touched upon or bring out new points for reading and discussion. They should be assigned by the Committee to different brethren who may compile papers of their own from the material thus to be found, or in many instances the articles themselves or extracts therefrom may be read directly from the originals. The latter method may be followed when the members may not feel able to compile original papers, or when the original may be deemed appropriate without any alterations or additions.
HOW TO ORGANIZE FOR AND CONDUCT THE STUDY MEETINGS
The lodge should select a "Research Committee" preferably of three "live" members. The study meetings should be held once a month, either at a special meeting of the lodge called for the purpose, or at a regular meeting at which no business (except the lodge routine) should be transacted--all possible time to be given to the study period.
After the lodge has been opened and all routine business disposed of, the Master should turn the lodge over to the Chairman of the Research Committee. This Committee should be fully prepared in advance on the subject for the evening. All members to whom references for supplemental papers have been assigned should be prepared with their papers and should also have a comprehensive grasp of Brother Haywood's paper.
PROGRAM FOR STUDY MEETINGS
1. Reading of the first section of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers thereto.
(Suggestion: While these papers are being read the members of the lodge should make notes of any points they may wish to discuss or inquire into when the discussion is opened. Tabs or slips of paper similar to those used in elections should be distributed among the members for this purpose at the opening of the study period.)
2. Discussion of the above.
3. The subsequent sections of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers should then be taken up, one at a time, and disposed of in the same manner. 4. Question Box.
MAKE THE "QUESTION BOX" THE FEATURE OF YOUR MEETINGS
Invite questions from any and all brethren present. Let them understand that these meetings are for their particular benefit and get them into the habit of asking all the questions they may think of. Every one of the papers read will suggest questions as to facts and meanings which may not perhaps be actually covered at all in the paper. If at the time these questions are propounded no one can answer them, SEND THEM IN TO US. All the reference material we have will be gone through in an endeavor to supply a satisfactory answer. In fact we are prepared to make special research when called upon, and will usually be able to give answers within a day or two. Please remember, too, that the great Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa is only a few miles away, and, by order of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Secretary places it at our disposal on any query raised by any member of the Society.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The foregoing information should enable local Committees to conduct their lodge study meetings with success. However, we shall welcome all inquiries and communications from interested brethren concerning any phase of the plan that is not entirely clear to them, and the Services of our Study Club Department are at the command of our members, lodge and study club committees at all times.
QUESTIONS ON "THE TWO PILLARS"
I Where do you keep the pillars in your lodge room during the time they are not in actual use? Has such position any particular significance? In some jurisdictions we find them at either side of the entrance from the preparation room; in others they stand in front of the Senior Warden's station. Can you give a reason for either or both of these locations other than "for convenienced? How did the pillars impress you when you first saw them ? What do they mean to you now?
II Why did early peoples set up pillars before their places of abode, about their villages and over the graves of their dead? What did they believe such pillars to symbolize?
What did pillars portray to the Mayas and Incas? How were they looked upon in bible times? By whom were monoliths most widely used? In what manner, and for what purposes? In the course of religious development what did they come to symbolize? What did the obelisk symbolize?
III Whence did the custom of placing pillars before temple entrances proceed from Egypt? What did Hiram probably use as his models for the pillars placed before Solomon's Temple?
What do the pillars used in the lodge room represent ? What is the height of the pillars as given in the Book of Kings ? In the Book of Chronicles? What is Brother Haywood's theory concerning these variations ? How does Mackey describe the original pillars?
What was the shape and composition of the pillars ? What was their combined weight? What were they respectively called and what were their positions? How are these names interpreted Masonically ? What part did they occupy during celebrations? Where were the pillars supposedly cast?
What should be the height of the pillars used in our lodge rooms? What are the heights as adopted by American Grand Lodges? What was the height of the pillars as now accepted by present-day authorities ? Is it imperative that we know the actual height of the pillars to pursue our Masonic studies? In what light should we consider them ?
What did the pillars symbolize to Preston ? To Caldecott? To Covey- Crump ? To Mackey ? To the old Jewish Rabbis ? What is brother Haywood's interpretation?
IV What two theories have been offered by Masonic Scholars concerning the origin of the globes? How was the first theory suggested? What is the symbol of the winged globe? What did its oval shape suggest or symbolize? Do you accept this Egyptian theory? If so. why? If not, why not?
V Why does it appear that Preston modified the chapiters of the pillars into globes? How is Preston's theory verified? Do you agree with Brother Haywood that we of today have the same right to interpret the symbols in our own way as did the ancients? If not, why not?
SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES
Mackey's Encyclopedia:
Globe, p. 298; Pillar, p. 565; Pillars of Cloud and Fire, p. 566; Pillars of the Porch, p. 566.
THE BUILDER:
Vol. I. Globes on the Pillars, p. 10; Pillars, Height of, pp. 192, 310.
Vol. II. Pillars, The Two, pp. 176, 222.
Vol. III. Pillars of the Porch, pp. 177, 200, 236.
Vol. IV.-Jachin and Boaz, pp. 21, 264; The Globes, p. 265; The Lily-Work, p. 265; The Net-Work, p. 265; The Pomegranate, p. 266.
Vol. V. The Origin of the Pillars to King Solomon's Temple, (this issue) C. C. B. p. 8; The Position of the Pillars, (this issue) C. C. B. p. 6; The Two Pillars Standing in the Porch of the Temple, (this issue) C. C. B. p. 5.
SECOND STEPS
PART VI THE TWO PILLARS
OF ALL objects which greet the eyes of the candidate as he stands before the stairs leading to the Middle Chamber none are so conspicuous as the two great pillars nor are any more deserving of careful study. They stand there before him as if to guard the sanctum from the profane world while they invite him into newer mysteries; so noble in proportion are they, so intricate in design, so beautiful to see, they keep solemn watch above the scene and throw a hush of awe about the soul that would mount to the Upper Room of the spirit. What they mean, it is difficult, although not entirely impossible, to say. If our Masonic students and savants have surrounded them with a host of theories more intricate than the network and more multitudinous than the pomegranates it is because so many hints of ancient wisdom and symbolism have been carved into their capitals, their chapiters, and their bases. Our own study may lead to apparently contradictory results; this need not disturb us; no symbol can walk on all fours; a symbol which says hut one thing is hardly a symbol at all.
II It was the custom of many of the early peoples, as Frazer describes so abundantly in his "Golden Bough," (six volumes on primitive religion, etc.) to set up stone pillars before their huts, about their villages, and over the graves of their dead. In some cases these stones were believed to be gods or demons, or the abodes of gods or demons; in others they were believed to be the homes of the ghosts of departed human beings; in many cases they were looked upon as symbols of sex. Of the last named usage one competent historian speaks as follows: "Pillars of stone, when associated with worship, have been from time immemorial regarded as the symbols of the active and passive, the generating and fecundating principles." In India at the present time one may see almost anywhere the sacred "lingam," a stone pillar, emblem of the organs of sex, and consequently the symbol of life forever renewing itself. Also, pillars have often been used as emblems of stability; Dr. Newton, in his "The Builders," speaks as follows:
"In India, and among the Mayas and Incas there were three great pillars at the portals of the earthey and skyey temple, Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. When man set up a pillar, he became a fellow worker with Him whom the old sages of China used to call 'the first Builder.' Also, pillars were set up to mark the holy places of vision and divine deliverance, as when Jacob erected a pillar at Bethel, Joshua at Gilgal, and Samuel at Mizpeh and Shen. Always they were symbols of stability, of what the Egyptians described as 'the place of establishing forever' emblem of the faith 'that the pillars of the earth are the lord's and He hath set the world upon them."'
"In all countries," remarks another writer, "as the earliest of man's works we recognize the sublime, mysteriously-speaking, ever- recurring monolith." By no peoples were these monoliths (the word literally means "one stone") so venerated, or so widely used, as among the Egyptians: originally, it is thought, they were used as astronomical instruments to mark the time and to denote the stages of the movements of the heavenly bodies; also they were employed to orient temples, that is, as markers through which the ray of a star might pass at a given time. Connected with places of worship they were at last connected with the gods and became in after time symbols of deity, as we may learn from Professor Breasted's "History of the Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt," in which interesting and helpful book he tells us that the obelisk, as the solitary pillar came to be called, stood pre- eminently for the great Sun God.
III From Egypt, scholars believe, the custom of placing pillars at the entrance to a temple passed to Phoenicia: be that as it may we know that a king of Tyre erected two great columns before his magnificent temple at Melkarth, where Herodotus saw them five centuries afterwards. It was these, perhaps, which served Hiram as models for the more famous pillars which he erected before the Temple of Solomon.
It is these last named pillars, of course, of which copies stand in our Masonic lodge room. Two descriptions of the originals are given in the Old Testament, -one in the Book of Kings, another in the Book of Chronicles. In the former record the height is given as 18 cubits, or (if a cubit is believed to have equalled 18 inches) 27 feet; in Chronicles, the height is given as 35 cubits, or 52 1/2 feet. This variation has occasioned much controversy but it is thought that the Book of Kings gives the height of but one pillar while Chronicles combines the two, making allowance for the sockets of the chapiters, or head pieces. These last items are the conspicuous features of the pillars and first challenge attention: Mackey has given a good description of the originals, as good as our scant knowledge makes possible:
"Above the pillar, and covering its upper part to the depth of nine inches, was an oval body or chapiter seven feet and a half in height. Springing out from the pillar, at the junction of the chapiter with it, was a row of lotus petals, which, first spreading around the chapiter, afterwards gently curved downward towards the pillar, something like the Acanthus leaves on the capital of a Corinthian column. About two-fifths of the distance from the bottom of the chapiter, or just below its most bulging part, a tissue of network was carved, which extended over its whole upper surface. To the bottom of this network was suspended a series of fringes, and on these again were carved two rows of pomegranates, one hundred being in each row."
The pillars were cylindrical in shape and were cast of brass; their combined weight is estimated to have been no less than fifty-three tons. one of them was called Boaz, the other Jachin: the former stood in the northeast corner of the porch, the latter in the southeast. To one who stood inside the temple looking out. Jachin stood at the right, Boaz at the left. What these names signified nobody knows, but some think the High Priest was wont to stand at one, the King at the other, on such occasions as when all the people held high celebrations at the Temple. According to tradition the pillars were cast in foundries situated between Succoth and Zeredatha, about thirty-five miles northeast of Jerusalem; jewelers of the holy city still use clay brought from that region.
The symbolical pillars employed in our lodges should be of a size that best comports with their surroundings albeit there is a certain fitness in making them of one height throughout. Some believe that a cubit was only four inches in length; acting on this theory some American Grand Lodges claim the pillars to have been just six feet in height; one that they were 30 cubits, and twenty- five insist that they were thirty five cubits. The best authorities are now very sure that a cubit equalled eighteen inches according to our measurements; inasmuch as the Temple itself was only ninety feet long and thirty feet wide, thirty-five cubits would have been altogether out of proportion! But such discrepancies as these need not trouble us for to us the pillars are symbols only and quite as worthy of study when six feet high as when thirty.
What do these pillars symbolize ? To Preston they stood for the pillar of cloud and of fire which guided the Israelites through the day and the night; to Caldecott they meant the principles of authority in religion and in politics whereby all social organization is guided: to Covey-Crump they have become the pictures of Space and Time, those two mighty monoliths through which the mind passes into all truth; and Albert Mackey, our own encyclopedist, makes them to stand for strength and stability. With these meanings we have no quarrel but there is, we believe, a far truer interpretation, one that goes right back to the Jewish Rabbis themselves who should have known the meaning of the symbols if they ever had any meaning. One of them wrote of them as follows:
"The names of the pillars signified potency and perpetuity; the pomegranates on their capitals or chapiters were symbols of generation."
This, I myself believe, is the true interpretation. The pillars stand at the entrance to the Middle Chamber even as birth is the entrance to life. To pass between them into the lodge room means that a man is being born into the world of Masonry; to pass between them and on up the Winding Stairs means that a man is being born into one of the higher and more spiritual realms of the life Masonic, a thing high and noble for him that has a mind to think.
Many of our ills come from a bad heredity; a man who poisons his blood makes war on the unborn; he is anti-Masonic, whatever be the watch-charm on his breast; he has placed rotten pillars before the house of life, and causes his children to pass through them, as heathen Israelites made their babes to pass through the fire to Moloch. What is true of birth into life is true also of birth into any of the realms of man's life. If the pillars at the entrance to the home be strong and straight the child will live a clean, happy life; if wise men guard the doorway of the school our children can pass into the Middle Chamber of a real education, untainted by superstition, unpoisoned by bigotry. He who would become a wise master of life must learn the secret of the beginnings; a little deflection at the start means a long way off the path later on; he who begins aright and who perseveres until the end will himself become strong, a pillar strengthened and strengthening, against which kings and priests may lean, and past which others may safely go, seeking life. woe be it to humanity if ever it neglects to give, in any of its spheres, right birth to its children, its seekers, its learners !
IV On top of each of the two pillars thus described stand two globes, one the celestial, representing the heavens; the other the terrestrial, representing the earth. Whence came these, and what do they signify ?
In answer to the first of these questions our scholars have offered two hypotheses first, that they are of Egyptian origin; second, that they are a modified form of the chapiters or headpieces of the pillars. The first of these theories was evidently suggested by the ancient Egyptian symbol of the winged globe, often found on the entablature above a temple, surrounded by a snake holding its tail in its mouth, and flanked by two wide outstretched wings. So common was this device that it became at last one of the national emblems, so that Isaiah speaks of Egypt as "the land of the winged globe." This globe was in all probability oval in shape, to suggest the egg, symbol of life; the serpent was the symbol of Infinity, the wings of power; combined, the figure stood for the infinite life- giving power of Deity. If it be supposed that the globe was a true circle then it may have represented the Sun, the first great God of Egypt, but the meaning remains practically the same.
If our two globes could be made to serve as a modern form of the Egyptian winged globe they might be enriched in meaning and interest, but there is no evidence whatever that the older symbol ever transmigrated into Masonry. The probability is all against it, for we have two globes instead of one, and we do not have the serpent or the wings; besides, as actually exhibited, our globes manifestly refer to the earth and the heavens as modernly understood.
V The chapiters on the two pillars were spherical in shape and always so represented. It would evidently seem, therefore, that the men who framed our ritual, among whom Preston was chief, simply modified the chapiters into globes. By why did they do this ? Because Preston and his school undertook to transform the lodge into a school, and consequently required symbols for geography and astronomy, two very important branches of the curriculum they outlined. This theory is verified, it seems to me, by reference to the Prestonian lectures, in which we find the following paragraphs, as slightly modified by Webb:
"The sphere, with the parts of the earth delineated on its surface, is called the terrestrial globe; and that with the constellations and other heavenly bodies, the celestial globe."
"The principal use of the globes, besides serving as maps to distinguish the outward parts of the earth and the situation of the fixed stars, is to illustrate and explain the phenomena arising from the annual revolution and the diurnal rotation of, the earth around its own axis. They are the noblest instruments for improving the mind (this was Preston's motive - H.L.H.) and giving it the most distinct idea of any problem or proposition, as well as enabling it to solve the same."
Certain of our writers have ridiculed all this, arguing that it is trite and schoolboyish and that the placing of two such globes on top of two ancient pillars is a glaring anachronism. Granting as much, however, it may be that Preston builded better than he knew, for the two globes do symbolize a truth profound and fruitful of application; and if it be objected that this symbolism is modem, we may reply, What of it ? Surely we moderns have as much right to fashion symbolism as the ancients!
The monitors explain the globes as indicating the universality of Masonry, a subject to which we have already adverted; and, as inculcating reverence. This last is really a noble insight and not so banal as it sounds, because it is the central idea in no less a work of genius than the Book of Job, in which, as you will recall, the suffering patriarch learned to trust and revere the Creator by a contemplation of the power and majesty of the Creation. Beyond these monitorial interpretations my own mind discovers in the two globes a symbol of the truth that we humans are citizens of two worlds, the earthly and the heavenly, the temporal and the eternal, the material and the physical. If it be charged that this is merely a private interpretation I am willing to let the charge stand; for why were we released from the cabletow if it were not to encourage us to follow our own Light?
THE TWO PILLARS STANDING IN THE PORCH OF THE TEMPLE
Next, in view, come the two famous Pillars which stood in the Porch of the Temple; and were for Matter, Brass; for Form, Cylinders; for Height, 18 Cubits a piece; for Compass, twelve Cubits; for Diameter, about four Cubits, which is conceived to be the meaning of that expression, That they were four Cubits in the Porch, that is, the Chapiters were four Cubits Diameter, and so the Brass Cylinder under them, taking up so much ground-room in the Porch. But some there be, who would have the meaning to be this, that the Lilly-Work, which hung over the Pillars, was four Cubits deep round about the Chapiters. Indeed, the Chapiters seem to be of an Oval Form; for, their Diameter, in their middle, was four Cubits, and their Height five, if we compare the I King, 7:16 with the 19 ver. For having declared the measures of the Pillars, ver. 15, he proceeds to describe the Measures and Ornaments of the Chapiters, and tells us, v. 16, that the height of each was five Cubits; and then mentioning some of their Ornaments, goes on to tell us, that the top of the Pillars (where they were placed) was of Lilly-Work, and that the Chapiters thus situated on the top of the Pillars, which had a compass of Lilly-work at their upper edge, were four Cubits, that is, in their middle Dimetient Line, and so were about twelve Cubits round, like unto the Pillar beneath. So that we may read and point the 19th verse thus (And the Chapiters which were on the head of the Pillars of Lilly-Work, were in the Porch four Cubits), that is, did comprehend in the Line measuring their Belly, as much as would take up four Cubits on the Floor of the Porch. So that Opus Lilii, is by apposition to be construed with Caput Columnarum; and the two other words (Four Cubits in the Porch) are to delineate the quantity of these Chapiters that stood on the Lilly-wrought head of the Pillars. The Accounts for this Construction may be two-fold.
First, because this Verse aims not at the mention of the Lilly-work on the Pillars: for if it did, then were it superfluous to mention it again, as a particular work by itself, v. 22. Wherefore it seems, that this verse aims rather at the Description of the Chapiters set upon that Lilly-work, which are the principal things, and so more nicely described, the Lilly-work being but an Ornament. But,
Secondly, if the hole of the Chapiter resting on the Pillar with this Lilly-work sustaining it, were as large as the Pillar it self, as is affirmed by some, to let in the top of the Pillar; and that this Lilly-work on the top of the Pillar, in a circling Border, stood out four Cubits in the Porch, at the bottom of the Chapiter, fastened to the top of the Pillar: then will there arise twelve Cubits Diameter, that is, four of the Pillar, and four on each side of this Lilly-work and so the pillars will be shut out of the Porch, which was but ten Cubits abroad, I King, 6:3.
On the top of the Pillars then were two Chapiters, of five Cubits higher then the Pillars with Nets of Checker-work; and each Pillar had seven Wreaths of Chain-work, with two Rows of Pomegranates; in each Row, one hundred; but ninety six only could be seen by those that stood upon the Pavement of the Porch. So that there were on both Chapiters four hundred goodly Pomegranates in all which were put upon Chains in two Rows. Both Pillars joined together in their measure, were but thirty five Cubits high, that is twice eighteen, bating one Cubit, because each Chapiter did sink half a Cubit within the Socket of the Cylinder for their fastening. So that each Pillar, with its Chapiter, was twenty two Cubits, and, 1/2 high. The Pillars seventeen, and 1/2, and the Chapiter five: Whereas 'tis said each Chapiter was but three Cubits high, it's to be understood of the stately embroidery, and Ornaments of Net-work, Chains, and Pomegranates, which were at the beginning of the third Cubit. Thus being fitted and prepared, they were placed within the Porch; the Pillar on the right side that is, the South was called Jachin, (being the future Hiphil from stabilize). He shall establish: noting the fixediness of this pillar upon its Foundation, and that on the left hand, or on the North side, was called Boaz, denoting the strength and firmitude of that stately piece of Brass. These famous Pillars, though never so strong, were broken in pieces, and conveyed to the City of Babylon; but Saints, that are Spiritual Pillars in the House of God, shall go no more out of that Heavenly Temple.
From Lee's "Orbis Miraeulum," 1669.
I need do nothing contrary to my mind and divinity, since no one can force me to act thus, or force me to act against my own judgment. Marcus Aurelius.
THE POSITION OF THE PILLARS
BY BRO. JOHN T. THORP, P.M. QUATUOR CORONATI LODGE, ENGLAND
The author of this interesting paper is one of the veteran Masonic scholars of England to whom THE BUILDER has been often indebted; he is almost the last of the band of giants who composed the Quatuor Coronati group of savants. Accepting the Old Testament record as he finds it, he has endeavored to ascertain therefrom the position of the two great pillars with what results the following essay will show- we hope that Brother Thorp will be yet spared to the Craft for many years. Editor.
IN endeavouring to fix the respective positions of the two brazen pillars at the Porchway-entrance of King Solomon's Temple, I must first give a brief historical account, as well as describe the form and situation, both of the original Tabernacle and also of the Temple itself, as a proper understanding of these will materially assist in estimating the evidence that I have to bring forward.
The Tabernacle was erected in the wilderness by Moses, Aholiab and Bezaleel, by the special command of the G. A. O. T. U., according to instructions given by Him to Moses on Mount Sinai the form, situation, ornaments, and furniture being minutely given, and as minutely and faithfully carried out by His faithful servants, as we find recorded in the Book of Exodus, chapters 25, 26, 27. The word "Tabernacle" means 'tent of meeting," the place where the Holy One meets with the congregation, and Whey with Him, and it was the centre and seat of the Hebrew Theocracy. The theocracy was a kingdom, of which God was King, and the Tabernacle was His palace or abode; the kingdom was visible, so was the palace, so was at least the Presence of the King; there the people had audience of the Monarch, and thence He issued commands in a way cognizable by the senses for their guidance.
It will be best to proceed with the account of the Tabernacle, (1) beginning from the outside and going inwards, as one would naturally do who inspected it for the first time. The first object that would present itself is the Court; this, although an important part of the whole edifice, was, strictly speaking, no part of the Tabernacle, being merely a large enclosure in the shape of a parallelogram, with the narrow ends situated east and west; the only entrance to this Court was in the east. As confirmation of this, take the following passage from Exodus, chapter 38:
"And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were . . . an hundred cubits their pillars twenty; and for the north side an hundred cubits, their pillars twenty. And for the west side fifty cubits, their pillars ten. And for the east side eastward fifty cubits; the hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, their pillars three; and for the other side of the court gate fifteen cubits, their pillars three; and for the gate of the court twenty cubits, their pillars four."
Going into the outer court by the entrance at the east, and proceeding westward, we come first to the Altar of Burnt Offering; passing this, to the Laver, at which the priests washed their hands before entering the Tabernacle, then immediately we reach the entrance of the Tabernacle itself.
The Tabernacle, like the outer Court, was of rectangular form, having its entrance in the east, and at a point two-thirds of its length from the entrance, was divided into two portions by a hanging vail; the larger portion was called the Holy Place, the smaller portion, or westmost part, was called the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies. The Holy Place contained the Altar of Incense, symbol of prayer and thanks, opposite the entrance, together with the Table of Shewbread, symbol of holy deeds and works of faith, on the north side; and the Golden Candlestick, symbol of heavenly light, on the south side. The Holy of Holies contained only one object, viz.: a small gilt rectangular chest, with a lid of solid gold, and on each end, attached to the lid, a small winged human figure of solid gold. The chest was called the Ark of the Covenant, and within it were deposited the two tables of the Law; the golden lid was called the Mercy Seat, and the two figures Cherubim, and from between them, on the Mercy Seat, the G.A.O.T.U. spoke to the High Priest. The whole of the people were admitted into the Court, but Priests only into the Tabernacle, whilst into the Sanctum Sanctorum the High Priest alone entered once a year, after many washings and purifications, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
The Tabernacle was completed and erected on the first day of the first month of the second year of the Exodus, and it was carried about by the Israelites during all their wanderings in the wilderness. After their entrance into Canaan, it was first set up in Gilgal, afterwards at Shiloh, still later at Gibeon and Jerusalem, and for a period of 447 years it was esteemed the centre of the religious life and worship of the people; and it was not until the Temple was erected by King Solomon that it ceased to be such, and until, as we read in II. Chronicles, chap. 5, "that Solomon brought up the Ark and all the holy vessels from the Tabernacle on Zion Hill, and placed them in the Temple that he had made."
The incongruity of a settled people having only a tent for the celebration of their splendid ritual service, first occurred to the mind of David. It appeared unseemly to him that the Ark of God should still dwell "between curtains," while he abode in a "house of cedar." He therefore proposed to build a Temple, in which the worship of God might be more becomingly conducted. The prophet Nathan was, however, commissioned to inform him that having been engaged in constant warfare, and shed much human blood, he could not be allowed to execute the design he had formed, which was to be reserved for the peaceful reign of his son Solomon. This undertaking was, however, the principal subject of David's thought and care during the remainder of his reign, and to it he appropriated a large proportion of the immense treasure which his many victories produced. He may be said to have provided all, or nearly all, the materials before his death, secured the services of skilful mechanics and artificers for every branch of the work, and furnished the design, plan, and site of the building, so that more of the credit of this work seems due to David than to Solomon.
The foundation of the Temple was laid B. C. 1012, being the fourth year of Solomon's reign, and in seven years and a half it was completed, during which time no less than 183,000 persons were employed in the work.
The Temple, (2) in its general idea, did not materially differ from the Tabernacle; it was situated also due east and west, but had three entrances, viz.: at the north, south, and east (referred to in the Masonic Traditional History). The general form of the Tabernacle was retained in the Temple, and like the Tabernacle, the Temple looked towards the east, having the Most Holy Place at the extreme west. The principal entrance was at the east, where there was a porch, adorned by two large brazen pillars. We have in the volume of the S. L. two accounts of these pillars; one will ho found in I. Kings. chap. 7. and is as follows:
"And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. . . . And he came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he east two pillars of brass of eighteen cubits high apiece. (3) . . . And he made two chapiters of molten brass to set upon the top of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: and nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars. . . And he set up the pillars in the porch of the Temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. . . And he made a Molten Sea. . . And he made ten bases of brass Then made he ten lavers of brass, . . . and upon every one of the ten bases (placed he) one laver. And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
Again, in II. Chronicles, chapter 4:
"Also he made a Molten Sea of ten cubits. . . He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. And he made ten candlesticks of gold, according to their form, and set them in the Temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. He also made ten tables, and placed them in the Temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. . . And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south."
When finished, the Temple was dedicated with great solemnity by King Solomon; but its day of glory was not of long continuance. The revolt of the ten tribes in the next reign withdrew from it a large proportion of the worshippers, and scarcely forty years had Passed when the Egyptian Shishak spoiled it of many of its treasures. Successive plunderings followed rapidly, till, by reason of the great wickedness of the people, the Holy City and Temple were laid in ruins by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, after the sacred building had stood about 416 years.
The second Temple was built by Zerubbabel, after the return of the Jews from their Babylonian captivity; this Temple was as near as possible a counterpart of the first, although greatly inferior to it in beauty and splendour, and was completed about B. C. 516.
This Temple stood for about five hundred years, when Herod the Great sought to rival, if not to exceed, the greatness of Solomon, by the erection of the third Temple. He took the old one down piecemeal, and put up the other in its place, so as to preserve the continuity of the edifice; and it was said to be, except in respect of its magnificence and splendour, an exact copy of the original Temple built by Solomon. Indeed the porchway entrance was still called "Solomon's Porch," and is thus spoken of in the New Testaments
About this time there lived and flourished the great Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, a man of noble family, being descended on his mother's side from the Asmonean princes, and on his father's side from the highest of the priestly families, himself being also a priest. this Josephus wrote a history of the Jews, under the auspices off the Roman Emperors, Vespasian and Titus, and in this history he gives a full description of Solomon's Temple.
Josephus was well acquainted with Herod's Temple, which it must be remembered was an exact copy of Solomon's; he was accustomed to officiate therein, and was an eye-witness of its destruction by the Romans under Titus, A. D. 70.
This history of Josephus was written in Greek, and the following description of the pillars is from a translation made by William Whiston, professor in the University of Cambridge. It is as follows:
"Moreover, this Hiram made two pillars, whose outsides were of brass, . . . there was cast with each of their chapiters lily-work, that stood upon the pillars, and it was elevated five cubits, round about which there was net-work interwoven with small palms, made of brass, and covered the lily-work. To this also were hung two hundred pomegranates, in two rows. The one of these pillars he set at the entrance of the porch, on the right hand, and called it Jachin; and the other on the left hand, and called it Boaz. . . . He also made ten large round brass vessels, which were the Savers, . . . and he set five of the lavers on the left side of the temple, which was on that side towards the north wind, and as many on the right side, towards the south."
And then he adds the following explanation:
"By the right hand is meant what is against our left, when we suppose ourselves going up from the east gates of the courts, towards the Tabernacle: whence it follows that the pillar Jachin, on the right hand of the Temple, was on the south, against our left hand; and Boaz on the north, against our right hand."
Here, then, we have the evidence of a man, who was personally acquainted with Herod's Temple, which was a copy of Solomon's, and who was familiar with the opinions of men of his time, as to the various parts of the sacred edifice. His veracity and trustworthiness as a historian are seldom questioned, and his statements therefore we may safely accept as facts.
I think that the three extracts I have given two from the Vol. of the S. L. and one from the historian Josephus, settle the respective positions of the two pillars, Boaz and Jachin.
(1) See cut "Plan A." (2) See cut "Plan B." (3) In II. Chronicles, chap. 3, the height of the pillars is given as 35 cubits, which included the pedestals on which the pillars stood, and also the chapiters. (4) John x., 23; Acts iii., 11: Acts v., 12.
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THE ORIGIN OF THE PILLARS TO KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
One thing is perfectly clear about the design of the Temple, and that is that the plan of it was not an original one, for it was designed to be only a copy on a larger scale of the Tabernacle. This want of originality in design was also reflected in its ornamentation, for the King of Tyre being appealed to for assistance, which was evidently lacking in Jerusalem at the time, at.- artificer was sent from Tyre itself to supply those ideas which were needed at the headquarters of the building. One can imagine Hiram the Architect gazing at the plans which merely attempted to translate into the more lasting form of stone the temporary woodwork of the Tabernacle, and wondering in what way it could be improved. His thoughts would naturally turn to the Temple which stood in Tyre itself, and which is thus described by Herodotus, the Greek Historian (B. ii., c. 44), "And being desirous of obtaining certain information from whatever source I could, I sailed to Tyre in Phoenicia, having heard that there was there a Temple dedicated to Hercules; and I saw it richly adorned with a great variety of offerings, and in it were two pillars, one of fine gold, the other of emerald stone, both shining exceedingly at night." ache Temple was probably open to the air, and the historian is picturing the magnificent view of the pillars as they appeared by bright moonlight.
Hiram, when summoned to Jerusalem, might naturally have bethought himself of these magnificent pillars of the Tyrian temple, and designed two others of different shape and different materials, but yet intended by him to be as noteworthy as those of his native city.
It will probably be remarked that Herodotus viewed the Temple at Tyre in 443 B. C., or about 550 years after the temple at Jerusalem had been built, but on this question he expressly tells us that the priests at Tyre assured him that their temple had stood for 2,300 years, and consequently it must have been in existence prior to King Solomon's time.
Whether the two pillars in King Hiram's temple had any special religious significance, or were merely architectural necessities, remains to be seen, but it is worthy of attention that amongst the Egyptians, who were the earliest builders of the world, and from whom other peoples, and probably also the Tyrians, derived their ideas, pillars were held in great honour, and that the Egyptian great god Osiris was known as the "Lord of the Pillars." One of the familiar scenes in Egyptian sculptures was the great festival of "setting up the pillars," in which the Kings took a prominent part.
F. Armitage, A. Q. C., Vol. 1.
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A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner, neither do uninterrupted prosperity and Success qualify for usefulness and happiness. The storms of adversity, like those of the ocean, rouse the faculties, and excite the invention, prudence, skill, and fortitude of the voyager. The martyrs of ancient times, in bracing their minds to outward calamities, acquired a loftiness of purpose and a moral heroism worth a lifetime of softness and security. Anon.
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KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE AND A LEAGUE OF NATIONS
BY BRO. CHARLES B. SINDENT, BERMUDA
WITHOUT a League of Nations there would have been no King Solomon's Temple. This is no idle Masonic boast, nor is it founded on tradition, but a fact of history attested to by Holy Writ and the Jewish historian Josephus. There can be no doubt of the former and the latter has long been accepted as reliable. About the year 1050 B. C. we hear for the first time in Phoenician history of a king on the throne of Tyre, Abibalus or Abi-Baal by name, and he began to reign about the same time that David was acclaimed king by the tribe of Judah at Hebron in Palestine. While David was still in the prime of his career Abibalus was succeeded by his son Hiram, a prince of great energy and keen statesmanship. In viewing the political conditions of his day he seems to have realized that his neighbor was one worthy of friendship and one with whom political and commercial relations would be beneficial. Acting on this judgment we find him sending messengers to David at Jerusalem with a present of "timber of cedar, with masons and carpenters to build him an house." 1 Chron. 14:1. Later when David was assembling materials for the Temple "the Zidonians and they of Tyre" i.e. subjects of Hiram "brought much cedar wood to David." 1 Chron. 22:14. This friendship continued until the close of David's reign "for Hiram was ever a lover of David," 1 Kings 5:1. Immediately Hiram heard that Solomon had succeeded to his father's throne, he sent an embassy to present his congratulations, and this gave the opportunity sought by the new king to enter into negotiations for the materials needed to realize the purpose of his father David and erect the Temple to Jehovah. Correspondence ensued between these two monarchs which resulted in the formation of a League or Covenant of Nations on terms of very great intimacy. The letters which passed between the two rulers were preserved in their respective capitals, and the Tyrian versions are said to have been still extant in the public record office of the city in the first century of the Christian era. Josephus Ant. Jud. VIII, 2, 6. "And they two made a League" (1 Kings 5:12) is the terse summing up of the sacred writer but like so many other brief passages, much is contained therein no less than an early "League of Nations" which made possible peace and harmony between two great nations and left to the world a glorious witness to this Covenant in that magnificent structure on Mount Moriah.
The terms of the League are familiar to all Masons. The wheat, barley, oil and wine so abundant in Palestine was given in exchange for the timber of Lebanon and the labor of artificers, workers in metal, carpenters and masons. The casting of the pillars known as "Jachin and Boaz" in the mud of the valley of the Jordan, the "molten sea" standing on twelve oxen, and "the lavers standing on wheels" are among the outstanding works of the Tyrian workmen led by that other Hiram whom the king sent because of his skill. At the close of the Temple building the following still closer "entente cordiale" was arranged. The Tyrians possessed abundant ships and their sailors "had full knowledge of the sea" and held practically the whole of the trade in the Mediterranean Sea. King Solomon on his side controlled the Red Sea and the land routes leading to it, and had access to the lucrative traffic with Arabia and possibly India. A close commercial union was thus beneficial to both nations and was duly arranged. Hiram admitted Solomon to a participation in his western traffic and the two kings maintained a joint "navy of Tarshish" which "once in three years came bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks." 1 Kings 10:22. In return Solomon opened to Hiram the route to the East by way of the Red Sea, "and King Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon." 1 Kings 9 :26. This League of Nations continued happily during the life-time of the two kings and until the disruptions which followed the death of Solomon and the domestic troubles of Tyre caused it to pass into insignificance. After several generations a descendant of Hiram, Ithobal by name, made an alliance with Israel by giving in marriage his daughter Jezebel to King Ahab. But that is another story.
These historical facts prove that only by the union of these two powers in a League or Covenant could the materials or workmen have been gathered together for the construction of the temple. King Solomon had the wealth and ambition and much labor but Hiram possessed the skilled workmen and the metals, and only by harmonious agreement could these necessary men and materials have been gathered together and the work completed. This League of Nations, while not the first recorded in history, is worthy of note as so much of it centres around the Temple. All Leagues and Covenants of necessity, if they are to be abiding, must centre around the Temple. Not necessarily that Temple of Solomon or any other king or nation but rather that spiritual Temple, "that house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens."
The Temple held, and though for many years hidden, "that which was lost" is the true secret of national harmony and individual greatness. All true and worthy Masons believe this, and are seeking the establishment of right principles in the world, all of which have their origin in Him to whom the Temple was erected and in whom all these reconstructive principles can alone be realized. A "League of Masons" is appearing and must undoubtedly come into being. The spirit of the age and the trend of world affairs demand it. And what shall be its contribution to the world narrow, exclusive, secret benefit only? Far be such a purpose from Masonry! Our order exists for the betterment of mankind and its tenets so beautifully taught in symbolism are those very principles which will make possible an abiding League of Nations not only for the abolition of war, but for the reconstructing of Society on an equitable basis of justice and true brotherhood. Freedom of religious opinion and political thought are the very essence of the right of self determination so much talked of today between nations, and Masons well know what place these principles hold among our Fraternity. Masonry has a glorious part to contribute in this reconstruction period, and as her sons fought for Freedom and Truth in the more strenuous days of war may her sons be equally aggressive, but in a more peaceful manner, for the rebuilding of our social scheme and of putting a new soul into this old world. Masonry holds to those principles of right represented to the world by the Presence in the Temple, and as it was true that without a League of Nations there could have been no Temple, so it is equally true that without the Temple and its principles and Presence, there can be no League of Nations.
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THE OBELISK
The Pharaoh himself might reasonably expect that his imposing tomb would long survive the destruction of the less enduring structures in which his nobles were laid, and that his endowments, too, might be made to outlast those of his less powerful contemporaries. The pyramid as a stable form in architecture has impressed itself upon all time. Beneath this vast mountain of stone, as a result of its mere mass and indestructibility alone, the Pharaoh looked forward to the permanent survival of his body, and of the personality with which it was so indissolubly involved. Moreover, the origin of the monument, hitherto overlooked, made it a symbol of the highest sacredness, rising above the mortal remains of the king, to greet the Sun, whose offspring the Pharaoh was.
The pyramid form may be explained by an examination of the familiar obelisk form. The obelisk, as is commonly known, is a symbol sacred to the Sun-god. So far as I am aware, however, little significance has heretofore been attached to the fact that the especially sacred portion of the obelisk is the pyramidal apex with which it is surmounted. An obelisk is simply a pyramid upon a lofty base which has indeed become the shaft. In the Old Kingdom Sun-temples at Abusir, this is quite clear, the diameter of the shaft being at the bottom quite one-third of its height. Thus the shaft appears as a high base, upon which the surmounting pyramid is supported. This pyramidal top is the essential part of the monument and the significant symbol which it bore. The Egyptians caned it a benben (or benbenet), which we translate "pyramidion," and the shaft or high base would be without significance without it. Thus, when Sesostris 1 proclaims to posterity the survival of his name in his Heliopolis monuments, he says:
"My beauty shall be remembered in his house, My name is the pyramidion and my name is the lake."
His meaning is that his name shall survive on his great obelisks, and in the sacred lake which he excavated. The king significantly designates the obelisk, however, by the name of its pyramidal summit. Now the long recognized fact that the obelisk is sacred to the sun, carries with it the demonstration that it is the pyramid surmounting the obelisk which is sacred to the Sun-god. Furthermore, the Sanctuary at Heliopolis was early designated the "Benbenhouse," that is the "pyramidion house." The symbol, then, by which the sanctuary of the Suntemple at Heliopolis was designated was a pyramid. Moreover, there was in this same Sun-temple a pyramidal object called a "ben," presumably of stone standing in the "Phoenix-louse '; and upon this pyramidal object the Sun-god in the form of a Phoenix had in the beginning first appeared. This object was already sacred as far back as the middle of the third millennium B. C., and will doubtless have been vastly older. We may conjecture that it was one of those sacred stones, which gained their sanctity in times far back of all recollection or tradition, like the Ka'aba at Mecca. In hieroglyphic the Phoenix is represented as sitting upon this object, the form of which was a universally sacred symbol of the Sun-god. Hence it is that in the Pyramid Texts the king's pyramid tomb is placed under the protection of the Sun-god in two very clear chapters, the second of which opens with a reference to the fact that the Sun-god when he created the other gods was sitting aloft on the ben as a Phoenix, and hence it is that the king's pyramid is placed under his protection.
From Breasted's "Development of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt."
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INTROSPECTION
BY BRO. GERALD NANCARROW, INDIANA
I dreamt that I went to the Temple
And came to the Tyler's door,
I was clothed and waiting to enter
And sit with my brothers once more,
When there came to my mind a summons
From a questioner in my soul:
"Let us pause outside for a reason
While the craft responds to the roll."
So I sat there with him who summoned
And he asked me to answer him
And say if full service I'd rendered,
Or whether my zeal had grown dim.
Can you, O my brother, and truly,
Say now that you've wrought as you could
On the block the Master has given?
Will He say your work has been good?
"Have you kept your tools in your bosom
All polished and sharpened and bright,
Or used them in Brotherhood's service,
So they must be whetted tonight ?
"The tools that the Master has given
Were placed in your hands to be used;
The talents He gave to His servant
To grow in the hearts He has fused."
And I to the questioner answered:
"O thou who my secrets can read
But let me go back to my hewing
To serve Him in truth and in deed.
"I will fill my years with His service,
I will use my tools ev'ry day,
Then be ready to serve on the morrow
By edging them all as I pray."
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It is better to admonish than to reproach; for the one is mild and friendly, the other harsh and offensive; the one corrects the faulty, the other only convicts them. - Epictetus.
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Success is growing to our full spiritual stature, under God's sky. - Thomas Carlyle.
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EDITORIAL
AMERICA NEEDS US NOW
THE critical times through which we are passing - the aftermath of war - is of immeasurable import to every Mason in these United States. No one dare minimize the danger of what we might term national disintegration that is confronting us. The hydra-headed monster of discontentment looms up everywhere. Strikes, riots and revolutions face us in small or great degree in every corner of the land. Social equilibrium and sanity are wanting almost everywhere. Cupidity, fear and hatred are enthroned after the dark night of sorrow for the whole world.
War, we were told, was made to prevent war. And yet there are wars today that threaten the bulwarks of civilization as persistently as they were threatened prior to the great cataclysm. Idealism abroad has clad itself in the habiliments of terror and its promises have left its votaries stranded on the sands of impotence. Class consciousness, as a guide to those who strive for more humane conditions for labor and life, has intoxicated its millions the wide world over with the wine of selfishness that urges them to an inconsiderate action that cannot but breed misery and sorrow for all should it be carried out. Indeed if there is to be a continuation of this orgy of discontent it is a grave question whether some of us will not live to see the ushering in of a new barbarism or worse savagery.
Dark forebodings these. But who of thought upon the seriousness of national affairs is not violently disturbed, when he reasons upon these questions. Yet from those who think must we look for the expression of hope. The student of history may well assure us that God is not dead and that ultimately all will be well. A power not ourselves - but always using the human channel - has ever hitherto prevailed for righteousness. Let us, then, as Masons who pride ourselves upon having in our midst those who have learned to control their passions, reveal our sanity.
From every walk in life we have men who have been admitted, passed and made masters of life by the sublimity of Masonic teaching. Let us in these trying moments recall those things that are large with importance for every Mason who loves his country. Likewise let us not forget the noble part that Masonry, through her wisest and best sons, has played in the past in the molding of the character of this nation. While some of us are grappling with the realization for the world of a league of nations let us not overlook our urgent need of realizing in our own midst a league of Americans. May we not, indeed, declare that we are engaged in this great land in the task of working out and demonstrating as practicable that which many are asking for as a government for the whole world?
We Americans are engaged in the greatest experiment that any people have engaged in since the world began - demonstrating the validity of democratic institutions for the service, comfort and uplift of man. We know no aristocracy save that which is a landmark of our Institution - the aristocracy of character. From all lands did our forefathers and many among us today come. From heath the heel of a Lord who lived on a hill they came, each with a hope and a promise that within these borders each should find a hill for himself. Antecedents were lost sight of in the face of the opportunity for independence that brightened the horizon. Americanism, a thing ever of the spirit, was born with the vision of new possibilities, and no danger was tap great to be faced, no sacrifice too exacting for the realization of a land where neither faiths nor castles were to deny the honest effort for the attainment of the things worth living for.
The evil days that are threatening, clouding our sky, engendered largely by a sort of national paranoia, greed for wealth, have obscured the significance of the divine mission of the people of these United States. We have loosely aped the habits and customs and civilization of others instead of diligently working out the ideal of an enlightened democracy that is commensurate of our abilities. We have imported art and science, literature and religious faddism, and finally Bolshevism. The house again is divided and cannot stand unless there is a determined concentration of effort for the realization of a league of Americans.
We extracted sacrifice from every citizen during the great struggle as the foundation of success for the common cause. Now we must impose upon ourselves in this, the most trying moment of our national history, that which we deemed to be right and just when we contested for right on the field of battle.
Masons of high ideals were the guarantors of this Republic at its inception, and today from every lodge large and small must go Masons consecrated to keep this nation off the rocks of disaster. Corporations and trades-unions have Masons among them. Their Masonry can only be interpreted today in terms of patriotism. Wise restraint must be exercised everywhere. Passion must give way to reasoning, hate to dispassionate inquiry. The heart of the American people is sound, and woe betide Masonry if its two millions, representing probably ten millions of souls, are not revealing the Americanism of Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt.
As at the birth of this nation Masons left lodge rooms imbued with the holiest purpose hitherto known to men, so these days out of our lodges must we go, missionaries of true freedom, worthy of our traditions and of those of our sires who kept faith with God and man, and by their labors and sorrows gave us this goodly land of freemen. Away with class hatred and Bolshevism, away with our cupidity and incompetent administrators and makers of law whether of high or low station! On with a new America that will be a reflection of the dream of its founders and a type of the City of God! Robert Tipton.
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AMERICAN UNITY
Nations have been disrupted by differences in languages. Differences in languages have caused more wars than differences in religion; more unhappiness than all other causes combined.
For the sake of the Republic, we should plead for American Unity. Unity cannot obtain or be preserved with foreign colonies fenced in and neighborhoods closed to callers and with preaching and teaching in foreign languages.
Brethren, I would break up all cliques in our Government. It is a big undertaking to govern this people. Even now the forces of dissension and anarchy are beating upon our shores and it will take the steadfast patriotism of all our people to drive them back and to assure the life and perpetuity of this nation.
Here and at this time, we should all possess the American spirit. Indulge in American Music; American Art; American Literature; American Customs; American Ideals; American Education and above all, we ought not to flatter everything which is brought here from other countries, and whether that be humans or merchandise does not matter. America cannot attain its highest standing among nations, half foreign and half American.
All newspapers printed in this country should be in English. All public speeches on national questions should be on English. All telephonic and telegraphic communications in this country should be in English.
Yes, every man should be required to transact his business at the bank, the counting-house, at the grocer, the tailor and all public places in the English language, not by reason of spite or to annoy or harass but to adopt simply a wise precaution.
An alien language gives the alien viewpoint and if this country is to endure, we must have nothing but the American viewpoint.
If we all set to and earnestly and faithfully follow these things, ere long we shall be cemented into one complete and undivided people possessing one country, one flag, one language, one contentment, one God.
William S. Farmers Grand Master, New York.
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MASONRY IN DARK COUNTRIES
The brethren of San Francisco have recently had brought home to them certain startling facts which strongly illustrate the character of the opposition Masonry has to meet in some countries where it is striving to raise the torch of enlightenment, in propagating intelligent thought and liberty of action.
When a few months ago, the Grand Master of Philippine Masonry and a number of his brethren passed through San Francisco on their way to Washington to appeal for the absolute independence of the Philippine Islands, they stopped long enough in this city by the Golden Gate to give an insight to our brethren of the obstacles set in their path before American occupation. Under Spanish regime, to be a Mason meant to be a traitor to his country; to be the possessor of a lambskin apron, deemed in all ages an emblem of innocence, meant persecution and in the words of one of our distant brethren, punishment perhaps worse than death - deportation to far-off portions of the islands where radically different climatic conditions were sure to undermine health and where barbarism was given full sway.
Torn from those nearest and dearest to him, such was his punishment for daring to aspire to see the light; - to perform the duties he owed to God, his country, his neighbor and himself, in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience!
To be caught at a meeting clandestinely held, meant term of imprisonment, physical or mental torture, in endeavors to extort from him, by force or otherwise, the manner of teaching the most excellent tenets of Freemasonry - brotherly love, relief and truth!
American occupation changed all that, just as it changed the standard of living of nearly all the inhabitants of the more than six hundred Philippine Islands. Instead of physical and Financial exploitation and compulsion in religious belief, the pioneer of "Farthest America" extending into thy wilderness was the bamboo school house! Here was the original center of civilization, at first looked upon with extreme suspicion, but when discovered to be harmless and helpful, flocked to by the population, young and old.
By progressive education and enlightenment, the Filipino mind was gradually brought to a sense of responsibility which, in generations to come will enable him to enjoy freedom of thought and liberty of action, individually and collectively, in like proportion as the white race in highly civilized countries has stricken off its fetters and developed its spirit upward and onward.
But many countries of the white race are still in the dark; teeming millions yet await the first slender beam of light penetrating to them, to give them hope! These millions are yet ill-prepared to assume control of their national burdens; relieved of the iron shackles of autocracy, they yet are willing prey to the mental bondage of religious hierarchy. There is yet hope for these peoples, but before they can be accepted into a family of free nations, they must be first duly and truly prepared. In this the task of Masonry is yet before it. Will she be equal to the task?
That Masonry will be equal to this task must never for a moment be held in doubt, for far greater have been the emergencies through which her course from her dim, distant origin has passed. But she must work conscientiously, breaking down barrier after barrier of ignorance and persecution, until the true light reaches to the uttermost limits of the most distant countries. Her path will not be easy, for her most virulent opponents work under cover in the dark and never sleep; therefore opposition from unexpected sources must be met at times both opportune and inopportune. There must be rehabilitation, first of all of Masonry itself in the war-stricken countries. Assured of its own sound future, it will help to promulgate peace and purity of principles to what were recently enemy countries, but from west to east the travels must continue, this time not to seek, but to spread further light in Masonry!
Thus legitimate propaganda will become effective in countries experiencing their first flight on the wings of freedom and a new generation, like the Filipino during the recent past, will bear aloft the same glorious golden tiara which has made our own country the foremost leader of nationals and the unchallenged protector of mankind. - The Junior Warden.
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A fool with a good memory is full of ideas and facts, but he can't draw sound conclusions from them; everything turns upon that. - Vauvenargues.
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THE LIBRARY
EDITED BY BRO. ROBERT TIPTON
The object of this Department is to acquaint our readers with time-tried Masonic books not always familiar; with the best Masonic literature now being published; and with such non-Masonic books as may especially appeal to Masons. The Library Editor will be very glad to render any possible assistance to studious individuals or to study clubs and lodges, either through this Department or by personal correspondence; if you wish to learn something concerning any book,what is its nature, what is its value, or how it may be obtained - be free to ask him. If you have read a book which you think is worth a review write us about it; if you desire to purchase a book - any book - we will help you get it, with no charge for the service. Make this YOUR Department of Literary Consultation.
AS THE winter approaches studious Masons turn their thoughts to the great indoors. The nook with a book, the fireside and lamp, the long hours of evening afford moments for the courtship of the wisest and best that ever have walked the earth among men. Wisdom, studiousness, thoughtfulness should be the virtues gracing the life of the Mason claimed by the mighty passion of building the spiritual Temple, and he should welcome the hour when the sanctum is open to his will and pleasure.
Were we to file an indictment against the American Mason it would be that he had ceased to be a thinker - a Masonic thinker. Verily we believe that even as we often discover many ministers of religion are impoverished of books that would minister to their power as leaders of men in religious activity, even so we believe that the too frequent failure on the part of Masons to give intelligible interpretation to Masonic thought, practice and idealism, is due to the lack of such valuable information as is to be obtained through the channels of literature.
You will observe that we say "literature," without any particular specification as to what kind of literature. Let us accept as axiomatic that all literature that is constructive in character building is of fundamental import. A serious mistake has been made, we believe, in assigning to but certain classes of books the title "Masonic." We often say at the making of a Mason whose character is such as to commend him to our fellowship, that "he was already a Mason" and all that was needed was the initiation into the fraternal ranks to complete his investiture. May we not say the same things of the books which do not bear the legalized Masonic stamp, but are ever constructively helpful in the building of the City of God?
The future policy of this department will be the continuation of the purpose of bringing to the notice of THE BUILDER readers those books that are constant in their telling of things for the good of the Order. The searcher after truth can in no wise afford to ignore the humble offering of the scholar to the enlightenment of the world, and as those whose lives are consecrated by a solemn charge to the betterment of the world it behoves us to consider deeply the theoretical contributions of economists and sociologists whose work purports the amelioration of those evils resultant from revolutionary world conditions. To be a scholar is imperatively enjoined upon every Mason, and a scholar has said "The sage of concord is man thinking.”
Life in order to be progressive persists in demanding of us moments of retrospection. Such retrospection ought to afford us the desirable view of our limitations and thus consequently enable us to take the forward step that will warrant better things. As Masons it is our purpose to view honestly what we believe to be our limitations as evangels of a gospel for the common good. In older lands than ours Masons are made, as a rule, when they are nearing the middle age period of life. The time has then arrived apparently when they are capable of giving the maturer consideration to the problems and subjects that are dear to the Masonic heart. Let us abolish the tendency of regarding our lodge as a social center established for club purposes. Let us insist that Masons young and old read widely, think deeply, and act as Masons ever should. Even so it is the desire of the editor of the Library department to lend such aid to the brethren through the columns of THE BUILDER that will direct their attention to the consideration of those books that are written with devout and earnest desire of ushering the wider fellowship where the brotherhood of man will be realized.
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"THE IFS OF HISTORY"
"The Ifs of History," by Joseph E. Chamberlain, published by Henry Altemus Company, 1326 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
One thought-provoking little volume on our desk is "The Ifs of History." To those interested in whether this old world is advanced and governed by contingency, or by the benevolent arbitrary ruling of Deity, the pages of this book will afford a great deal of interest. The publishers announce its having had a great amount of attention from many review editors. And we may well believe that it challenged many astute thinkers who may have chanced to read it.
Among the many questions asked are: What if Abraham Lincoln's father had gone South instead of coming North? What if Washington had gone into the British Navy? What if Jackson had not been helped by a pirate in the War of 1812? Enough is here suggested, we believe, to indicate the character of this pertinent little book which embodies a choice set of "Ifs" antedating Christ to the present moment.
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"THE RIVAL PHILOSOPHIES OF JESUS AND PAUL"
"The Rival Philosophies of Jesus and Paul," by Ignatius Singer. Open Court Publishing Company, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
Of a different character entirely from the foregoing is "The Rival Philosophies of Jesus and Paul." The iconoclast is at work in this book. The scholar, however, is in evidence throughout the volume, but we cannot but feel that his Pauline criticisms tend to reveal the author out of his province. Orthodoxy is subjected throughout to a caustic treatment. No doubt much of it is deserved, but the word of the author will not yet suffice to demolish the Apostle Paul or his (Paul's) conceptions of Christianity. While the author is eminently fair and certainly enlightening in his gospel analysis and translations of sayings purported to Jesus, one constantly feels that his pen has too much acidity in its temper toward Paul.
A perusal of the book will be well worth while, especially to those Masons interested in the relationship of the Essenes to the Master. No finer picture, stripped of theological millinery, has come from recent hands revealing that wondrous humanity of Him who reveals the divine. While it will no doubt be a disturber of the beliefs of many, yet we cannot but welcome its challenging observations.
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RELIGION AND WAR
"The War and Preaching," by John Kelman, D. D., published by The Yale University Press, 209 Elm Street, New Haven, Conn. Price $1.25 net.
"The Sword of the Spirit," by Joseph Fort Newton, published at $1.25 net by Geo. H. Doran Co., 38 West 32nd St., New York.
We heartily commend these two volumes to the readers of THE BUILDER. Both are pertinent and timely. John Kelman served at the Front and his interpretation of the religion of the soldier is remarkably worth while. Critics of the Church will find him a stout defender, one conscious of her limitations but one, too, who speaks with authority on her future purposes. Preacher Masons would do well to grace their shelves with this little volume.
Our own beloved Newton speaks in his usual admirable strain and the sermons of this volume of his go a long way in confirming his ambassadorship from this land to the one across the seas. True interpreter of the American spirit that he is, we feel through these sermons that his labor of love will be abundantly blessed.
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AN INTERESTING WORK ON SPIRITUALISM
"Spiritualism: Its History, Phenomena and Doctrine," by J. Arthur Hill, published by Geo. H. Doran Co., 38 West 32nd Street, New York, N. Y. Price $2.00.
The War has without question quickened our interest in the immortality of the soul. And from the gleaning of this volume we doubt not but that many souls were comforted in their bereavement through the channels of Spiritualism. The author of "Spiritualism: Its History, Phenomena and Doctrine," is a remarkable Englishman, a member of the Psychical Research Society of Great Britain and consequently has through that institution been associated with some of the most prominent scientists of our day who like himself are careful and studious investigators of spiritualistic phenomena. The world, as this book amply reveals, can no longer slight the convictions of men like Professor James of Harvard, Professor Hyslop of Columbia and Sir Oliver Lodge of England, in this particular field Their investigations are the work of men committee dispassionately to the weighing of evidences in the research for truth.
The book is written in a lucid style, free from any sort of dogmatic assertion, and probably presents the question in as reasonable a light as any book on the subject. We confess to having felt quite spooky as we read some parts of it.
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THE EVOLUTION OF THE BIBLE
"How the Bible Grew," by Frank Grant Lewis. Published by the University of Chicago Press, 58th St. and Ellis Ave., Chicago. Price $1.50.
Here we have a logical account of the natural development of the Holy Book of our altar. It is admirable from the point the Bible is revealed to be self interpretative in the matter of its growth.
It is entirely free from the academic strain that makes books of this character hard reading and this little volume will lend invaluable assistance to the student of the Great Light who desires to give an intelligible answer for the faith that is in him.
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LETTERS FROM "A DEPARTED DEMOCRAT"
"Last Letters from a Living Dead Man," by Elsa Barker. Published by Mitchell Kennerley, 15 East 40th St., New York, N. Y. $1.50.
A well written series of letters, but try as we might we could not feel any pressure from beyond the border in the perusal of the book. Once we were about persuaded that God must he a Democrat judging from the warm praise that the departed California judge, the sender of the messages, accords Mr. Wilson.
Throughout the volume, however, there is a note of confident optimism for America and we would com mend it for its sane patriotic utterances.
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CAVE DWELLERS AND PRIMITIVE WORSHIPPERS
"Animism," by George William Gilmore. Published at $1.75 by The Marshall Jones Co., 212 Summer St., Boston, Mass.
Those of the Craft who are interested in cave dwellers and all sorts and conditions of primitive worshippers will find a fund of interesting information in a hank entitled "Animism," by George William Gilmore. The ample quotations and footnotes indicate the breadth of the writer's researches.
We found the book of gripping interest from beginning to end. The lucid fashion in which the author reveals the growing consciousness of man and his tendency to project his own experience into things inanimate which he comes to regard as gods to be appeased or praised is alone commendation sufficient for the book. Those of anthropological or ethnilogical bent will find it a very handy book for their study.
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BOOKS RECEIVED
Anatole France, by Lewis Paget Shanks. The Open Court Publishing Co., 122 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. $1.50.
Education in Ancient Israel, by Fletcher Harper Swift. The Open Court Publishing Co., 122 South Michigan Ave., Chicago.
Religion of Old Glory, Guthrie. Geo. H. Doran Co., 38 West 32nd Street, New York. $2.50.
Starvation (Alley) Treatment of Diabetes, Hill Eckman. W. M. Leonard, 101 Tremont St., Boston.
The Evidences of Freemasonry from Ancient Hebrew Records, by Bro. Rabbi J. H. M. Chumaceiro. Bloch Pub. Co., 40 East 14th St., New York. 25 cents.
The Jews and Masonry in the United States before 1810, by Samuel Oppenheim. Bloch Pub. Co., 40 East 14th St., New York. 25 cents.
Masonic Responses for the Blue Lodge. A splendid compilation of chants and odes. Hinds Hayden, Eldridge, New York.
Pacific History Stories, Wagner Pub. Co., 239 Geary St., San Francisco, Calif.
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OCTOBER BOOK LIST
1915 bound volume of THE BUILDER $ 3.00
1916 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.00
1917 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.00
1918 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.50
Mackey's Encyclopaedia, 1918 edition, two volumes, black Fabrikoid binding 15.00
The Builders, a story and study of Masonry, by Brother Joseph Fort Newton. 1.50
Philosophy of Masonry, by Bro. Roscoe Pound, Dean of the Harvard Law School 1.25
Symbolism of Freemasonry, Mackey 3.15
True Principles of Freemasonry, Grant 2.00
Speculative Masonry, MacBride 2.00
Early History and Antiquities of Masonry, Fort 7.50
Concise History of Freemasonry, Robert Freke Gould, English Edition 4.50
1722 Constitutions (reproduced by photographic plates from an original copy in the archives of the Iowa Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids.) Edition limited to 1,000 copies 2.00
"The Story of Old Glory, The Oldest Flag," by P.G.M. Barry, Iowa, red buffing binding, gilt lettering, illustrated 1.25
"The Story of Old Glory, The Oldest Flag," paper covers .50
Further Notes on the Comacine Masters, Ravenscroft, illustrated .50
Symbolism of the Three Degrees, Street, (pamphlet) .35
Symbolism of the First Degree, Gage, (pamphlet) .15
Symbolism of the Third Degree, Ball, (pamphlet) .15
Deeper Aspects of Masonic Symbolism, Waite, (pamphlet) .15
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THE QUESTION BOX
THE BUILDER is an open forum for free and fraternal discussion. Each of its contributors writes under his own name, and is responsible for his own opinions. Believing that a unity of spirit is better than a uniformity of opinion, the Research Society, as such, does not champion any one school of Masonic thought as over against another, but offers to all alike a medium for fellowship and instruction, leaving each to stand or fall by its own merits.
The Question Box and Correspondence Column are open to all members of the Society at all times. Questions of any nature on Masonic subjects are earnestly invited from our members, particularly those connected with lodges or study clubs which are following our "Bulletin Course of Masonic Study." When requested, questions will be answered promptly by mail before publication in this department.
GENERAL PERSHING'S MASONIC STATUS
Is General Pershing a Mason? - W.W.D., Virginia.
John Joseph Pershing (now General) petitioned Lincoln Lodge No. 19, A.F. & A.M., Lincoln, Nebr., for the degrees on Nov. 6th, 1888. He received the Entered Apprentice degree on Dec. 4th, 1888, was passed to the degree of a Fellow Craft on Dec. 11th, 1888, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason on Dec. 22nd, 1888. He remained a member of Lincoln Lodge until March 16th, 1900, when he was suspended for nonpayment of dues. On Dec. 4th of the same year (1900) he was reinstated and granted a dimit at the same meeting. It is presumed that he took his dimit from Lincoln Lodge for the purpose of affiliating with a lodge in the Philippines where he was located after leaving Lincoln, but Brother Newton C. Comfort, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands, advises us that Brother Pershing did not affiliate with any lodge in the Philippines, although he was active among the Masons of that country in the early days and was at one time President of "Bamboo Oasis," a Shriner's association. During the larger part of his stay in the Islands he was in portions where there were no lodges. In a recent conversation with one of the members of the Masonic Overseas Mission in France he stated that he still carried his dimit.
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A HISTORY OF THE CRYPTIC DEGREES
Are the degrees of Cryptic Masonry (the Royal, Select and Super Excellent Masters' degrees) of Scottish Rite origin ? Where can a history of them be obtained?
B. H. J., California.
In 1914 a committee of Maryland Companions, of which Companion Gustav A. Eitel was chairman, prepared a report for their Grand Council setting forth the claims of both the Scottish Rite and those dissenting from the Scottish Rite theory of the origin, introduction and dissemination of the Cryptic degrees which we expect to publish in an early forthcoming issue of THE BUILDER.
Brothar Wm. F. Kuhn, of Missouri, has been assigned the task of preparing an up-to-date history of these degrees for presentation to the General Grand Council at their coming Triennial Assembly and has promised us a copy of his.findings as soon as they are prepared. We are also hopeful of an article from Brother Warvelle, of Illinois, in the near future giving us the results of his latest studies of the subject.
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GRAND LODGES IN CANADA AND DATES OF THEIR ORGANIZATION
How many Grand Lodges are there in Canada, and when were they respectively organized? R.J.T., Texas.
Alberta, 1905; British Columbia, 1871; Ontario (Grand Lodge of Canada, having jurisdiction only in Ontario), 1855; Manitoba, 1875; New Brunswick, 1867; Nova Scotia, 1866; Prince Edward Island, 1874; Quebec, 1869; Saskatchewan, 1906.
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CLARENCE M. BOUTELLE, AUTHOR OF “THE MAN OF MOUNT MORIAH”
A desire to learn something of the history of the author of “The Man of Mount Moriah” prompts me to put this question up to you: “Does Clarence Miles Boutelle still live and can his bsography be secured?” C.A., Indiana.
Brother Boutelle died at Marshall, Minn., September 16, 1903. A sketch of his life will be found in Volume I of THE BUILDER, page 94.
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THE SUPER EXCELLENT MASTER’S DEGREE IN KENTUCKY
Do the Councils of Cryptic Masonry of the State of Kentucky confer the Super Excellent Masters degree following the conference of the Royal and Select Master’s degrees? W.P.M., Texas.
Yes. It can be conferred by any Council in the State of Kentucky. Many of the smaller Councils do not work the degree on account of the difficulty in securing a proficient working team, but the members generally obtain the degree from the larger Councils. A degree team from one Council will go to another Council and confer the degree upon a large class of candidates from the local and surrounding Councils. The work is generally done by the Councils located in Lexington, Louisville, Newport and Covington.
Owing to the elaborateness of the degree the same custom is followed, we believe, in the majority of other Jurisdictions.
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MASONIC CLUBS IN THE A.E.F.
Can you publish a list of the Masonic Clubs that have been organized in France since our boys went over there, and where such Clubs are located? F.R.B., Illinois.
We do not have a complete list of these organizations but give the following from a Directory published by the Trowel and Triangle Club, Paris:
Aix (Savoie) Masonic Club; President, Senator Benson of California.
Beaune (Cote-d’Or), American Masonic Club of Beaune; meets Friday; Secretary, A. Paterson, Y.M.C.A., A.P.O. 909.
Bitburg (Germany) Middle West Masonic Club of the Third Army; Secretary, C.C. Kensick.
Blois (Loir-et-Cher) Masonic Club; President, Captain E. Q. Jackson, A.P.O. 726.
Bordeaux (Gironde) Masonic Club; Vice-President, Captain James D. Hatch, A.P.O. 705a.
Brest (Finistere) Acacia Club; First Battalion, 110th Engineers, A.P.O. 911.
Brest (Finistere) Masonic Club; Secretary, Corporal Henning H. Wallman, Motor Transport Corps, Service Park Units, A.P.O. 71R
Brion-Sur-Ource (Cote-d’Or) Stonewall Masonic Club; meets Tuesdays and Thursdays; Secretary, Corporal Young, A.P.O. 791.
Camp Coetquidan (Morbihan) Knights of the Forest 102 Masonic Club; Secretary, Sergeant F. W. Foss, 102d Field Artillery, A.P.O. 709.
Camp de Souge (Gironde) Masonic Club; meets Wednesdays; President, Sergeant Boas, A.P.O. 705.
Camp de Valdahon (Doubs) 140 Field Artillery Masonic Club; Secretary, Clarence B. Jones.
Camp Villebernier Masonic Club; Secretary, Sergeant James H. Hay, 6th Company, 14th Grand Division, A.P.O. 718.
Chateauroux (Indre) Masonic Club of Base Hospital 63; Secretary, Second Lieutenant Harold B. Pool, Sanitary Corps A.P.O. 738.
Chatillon-Sur-Seine (Seine) Social Ten Brothers; Secretary, R. S. Karesh, 20th Company, 4th Motor Mechanical Regiment Air Service, A.P.O. 730.
Chaumont (Haute-Marne) Good Fellowship Masonic Club; meets first and third Tuesdays; President, Captain A. C. Howard Post Quartermaster, A.P.O. 706.
Clamecy (Nievre) Masonic Society; Secretary, H. C. Bishop, Army Field Clerk, Infantry School, A.P.O. 786.
Coblenz (Germany) Third Army Masonic Club; President, Major W. S. Solomon; Secretary, Lieutenant Aldrich, A.P.O. 927
Genicart (Gironde) Fellowcraft Club of the 58th Artillery; Secretary, F. A. H. Kampfer, A.P.O. 705a.
Gievres (Loir-et-Cher) Trowel Club; President, W. R. Bristow, A.P.O. 713.
Gondrecourt ( Meuse ) Masonic Club; Secretary, Ray M. Dille
Grenoble (lsere) Acacia Club of the Union; A.P.O. 923
Heather Hill Masonic Club; Secretary, Sergeant First Ciass A. G. Wyant, Company B. 13th Engineers, A.P.O. 907.
Issoudun (Indre) Masonic Club; President, Captain Clayton
Is-Sur-Tille (Cote-d’Or) Washington-Lafayette Masonic Club; Secretary, Sergeant Leonard A. Wilcox, Supply Company, Quartermaster Corps 307, A.P.O. 712.
Laigne-en-Belin (Sarthe) Masonic Club; meets Wednesdays; President, F. W. Butler, 103d Infantry, 76th Division.
Langres (Haute-Marne) Masonic Club, A.P.O. 714.
Le Mans (Sarthe) American Masonic Club, President, H. B. Mook, Y.M.C.A. Headquarters.
Libourne (Gironde) Craftsmen Club; A.P.O. 911.
Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhone) American Expeditionary Forces Masonic Club; Secretary, Second Lieutenant F. D. Redwine, A.P.O. 752.
Mars-Sur-Allier (Nievre) Masonic Society; A.P.O. 780.
Mayen (Germany) Masonic Club; Secretary, Private George P. Eberle, Headquarters Company, 30th Infantry, A.P.O. 740.
Mehun Masonic Club; Secretary, Private R. L. Marsh, Section 2, Ordnance Company, U. S. Troops, A.P.O. 741.
Mon Rivage Square and Compass Club.
Montierchaume (Indre) Fellowcraft Club; President, T. J. Phillips, A.P.O. 738.
Montpellier (Herault) Peyru Masonic Club; meets first and third Mondays; A.P.O. 949.
Nantes (Loire-Inferieure) Masonic Club; Evacuation Hospital 1; Secretary, Joseph E. Hickman.
Neuenahr (Germany) Forty-Second Masonic Club (Rainbow Division) .
Nevers (Nievre) American Masonic Club; Secretary, Captain Frank A. Starr, Engineers Corps, A.P.O. 708.
Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) Riveria Masonic Club; President, James C. Gipe, Y.M.C.A.
Paris Masonic Club; meets Mondays; Governor, Lt. Colonel Whitney; Recording Secretary, Merwin W. Lay; Corresponding Secretary, Cass Connaway; Treasurer, M. E. Waite; 10 Avenue Victor Emmanuel III, Paris.
Pontenex-les-Forges (Landes) Masonic Club of 503d Engineers, Service Battalion; Secretary, Private L. W. Bowes, Company B. Base Section 1.
Romorantin (Loir-et-Cher) Square and Compass Masonic Club; President, Captain Holmes, Barracks 1006, A.P.O. 713a.
Saint-Aignan Masonic Club of Camp Hospital 26; Secretary, Sergeant Bernard Ettinger, A.P.O. 727.
Saint-Florentin (fonne) Masonic Club of 66th Engineers; Secretary, Sergeant G. A. Collister, Company 73, 66th Regiment Transportation Corps, A.P.O. 702.
Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Inferieure) Masonic Club; Secretary, Hall G. Van Vlack, Base Section 1, A.P.O. 701.
Souilly (Meuse) Masonic Club; Secretary, Wm. Clark Seab, 114th Field Signal Battalion, A.P.O. 771.
Souilly (Meuse) Twenty-Third Engineers Masonic Club; Chairman, A. W. Provost, A.P.O. 701.
Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) University of Toulouse Masonic Club; Secretary, Louis S. Berlin.
Tours (Indre-st-Loire) Acacia Club; Colonel George M. Newell, Quartermaster Corps, A.P.O. 717.
Verneuil (Nievre) Masonic Club; President, Captain Van Hise, 303d Motor Transfportation Corps, A.P.O. 772.
Vicenza (Italy) Square and Circle Masonic Club; Secretary, Derval Jones, Adv,anced Base.
Vichy (Allier) Masonic Club; meets Sundays; Base Hospital Centpr 5
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CORRESPONDENCE
AN AUSTRALIAN GRAND MASTER APPROVES THE EFFORTS OF THE OVERSEAS MASONIC MISSION
I have read with intense interest the compiled facts and narrative of the magnificent effort made by the American Craft to be permitted to discharge its duty without any expense to the American Nation, or to the Allies outside of the War Area in Europe, and deeply deplore that any Government, on its own initiative or as the result of influence, should have curbed in any way the natural benevolent and humane desires of the most loyal non-sectarian, non-political and most beneficient non-secret Society ever known to the world, and I think THE BUILDER has added another service to the Craft in publishing the irrefutable facts.
I see in at least two places in the correspondence that Masonry is stated as being a secret Society. Surely this is a mistake. Our lodges do not meet in secret: it is well known where they respectively meet, and though we have secrets not disclosed to the outsider, we in no way, I think, come under the category of a secret Society.
Alexander Corrie, District Grand Master,
District Grand Lodge of Freemasons of England,
Queensland.
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EVERY MASON IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD READ THE REPORT OF THE MASONIC OVERSEAS MISSION
The article in the August number of THE BUILDER which relates the progress of the Masonic Overseas Mission is one which cannot fail to interest all members of the Craft.
Under existing conditions, no single subject of greater importance could be discussed in your columns than that of the part which the Masonic Order endeavored to play in the Great War.
At first glance it seems pitifully small for brethren bound together by a tie such as ours - for a fraternity based on a foundation of the noblest principles. One can but feel that there was dereliction of duty somewhere, that an apathetic mist enshrouded those who should have been first to aid in dispelling the gloom of dark war clouds.
Here was a call to labor worth while, our brothers-in-arms were confident that it would not remain unanswered.
How few Masons know of the stumbling blocks set in the path, so adroitly placed as to be well-nigh invisible, and of the untiring efforts of the Mission to remove them.
First approved, then set aside, later an attempt to antagonize the authorities of Grand Lodge and Supreme Council, the wearying delays - all should be published for the information of those 200,000 Masons who went "over there" and the almost 2,000,000 brethren "over here" who were eager to aid and assist. Curtis G. Culin Jr., New Jersey
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THE QUEST FOR GOLD FOR SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.
Referring to the query of M. I. M. in the August Question Box as to a book on the sources of the gold used for Solomon’s Temple, I am thinking that he may have in mind "The Voyage of Ithobal," by Sir Edwin Arnold.
This work is based on the statement of Herodotus that Neco, Pharaoh of Egypt, when he had finished his canal from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, called for a volunteer from among the great sea captains of his time who would lead an expedition into the southern waters and the great unknown. He was to return by the Pillars of Hercules and the Northern Sea.
The quest was undertaken by Ithobal, a Phoenician, who returned after three years with much treasure and wondrous experiences, the most incredible being that he had found a land where the sun was on the right hand as he had voyaged westward, and made the first journey around the African continent.
I venture to suggest this book, because Masonry plays queer tricks at times, especially in associating ideas of similar type. Then, too, the Phoenicians were the greatest seafaring nation of the age in which Solomon is supposed to have lived, yet in much reading of the legends which preserve the tradition of an Atlantian continent, I do not remember any traceable to the enterprise in trade and discovery of that nation. And it seems probable that they would attempt such a voyage, for Solon has reported the statement made to him by priests of Egypt of the great land far to the west of the Pillars of Hercules, which had been destroyed by the wrath of the gods, and from which their own land in its earliest history appears to have been colonized. N.W.J. Haydon, Ontario.
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AN ENGLISH MASONIC CUSTOM WORTHY OF EMULATlON
During six months' service at the U. S. Naval Base, Plymouth, Devon, England, I had the great pleasure of frequent visits to a number of the thirty-five lodges in that city of 210,000 population. Many of the customs of our English brethren struck me as worthy of emulation.
The Masonic charities are largely supported by contributions of individual members and are not dependent upon large bequests or gifts, or lodge fund contributions. The charity funds of the lodges are largely kept up by the penny collections taken at each meeting, including those of the School, and to which all contribute whether members or visitors.
The Provincial Masonic funds, such as the Devon Widows’ Fund, Devon Educational Fund, Fortescue Fund, etc., are all supported by the monies collected by the Charity Stewards of the lodges. For example, the Steward will ask for and collect from each member at each communication the contribution of, say, not less than a shilling. For each guinea, i.e., twenty-one shillings, so raised there is a vote at the annual meeting of the Fund as to the beneficiary, and often the members draw lots for the honor of voting. The well-to-do members will contribute a guinea or so each year, and thus be entitled to a vote. On special anniversaries, such as the lodge's 25th, or the 10th of the Provincial Grand Master, the lodge will celebrate by contributing a guinea to each of the Provincial Charity Funds.
Then, too, each member of a lodge, physically able, is expected to attend every communication, or send an excuse by letter or by another member, so the attendance is very high. The membership of Devon lodges runs from as few as thirty-five in country lodges to one hundred and fifty in several Plymouth lodges, and a local lodge having nearly two hundred members was forming a new lodge from its membership. Dual membership is permitted and is not uncommon.
There is no uniform ritual prescribed by the Grand Lodge of England. The subordinate lodges install always in the same month as their first installation, so that there are installations every month of the year.
In Devon the Tyler examines visitors and prepares the candidates.
As I was leaving Plymouth aboard the U.S.S. Zeppelin on April 7th, my Christmas box arrived, and I had just enough time to open it and send ashore in the mail, addressed to The Devon and Cornwall Freemasons' Club, Princess Square, Plymouth, a souvenir album of our Philadelphia Temple, some picture postals and booklets of the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown, Penna. On my return this trip to the U. S. A. I found a letter of thanks from the Secretary of the Club, from which I take the following extracts, which may be of interest to you:
"You certainly have a magnificent structure, worthy of the best traditions of Masonry, atnd which every Freemason must be proud to own. The brethren of every nationality must share equally with yourselves the beautiful surroundings in which Freemasonry is practiced, as we are taught the first place we are made a Mason is in "our heart," consequently we are a universal brotherhood and should share in the joys and sorrows of each and every Mason.
"Nothing has given the brethren in the whole of England greater pleasure than that of entertaining and holding out the hand of good fellowship to our American confreres during the time you have been sojourning among us, and I am sure the hospitality of the lodges in the western part of England has not only been a duty, but we have profited by meeting such splendid specimens of the New World Freemasons.
"There is one great thing which this World War has been instrumental in bringing about, and that is the application of Freemasonry universal, as we have had members besides yourselves from nearly every nation in the world, and we have been mutually delighted at meeting each other. I am becoming more and more convinced that the precepts of our Order, if carried out in their entirety, would bring about the consummation of our highest hopes, that of a true and lasting Peace agreeable to all."
Apropos to the article in THE BUILDER last September, on the arrangement of the lesser lights, in Devon they are placed on the pedestals of the officers, and the Secretary and Treasurer use a long joint desk situated in the north near the east.
I have noticed in several autobiographies of Englishmen that they do not neglect to state that they were Masons, and in one autobiography nearly half a chapter is given to accounts of various Masonic functions which they attended. On the other hand Americans seem to avoid mention of their Masonic connections in their biographies. A. H. Vail, Pennsylvania.
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BLUE LODGE MEMBERSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES
There has been so much uncertainty in the minds of many of the members of the Fraternity as to the actual number of members in the United States that I have taken the matter up with the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Lodges in an endeavor to compile a correct statistical table, and the following is the result:
State
Members
Alabama
32,538
Arizona
3,366
Arkansas
24,000
California
68,095
Colorado
20,239
Connecticut
29,417
Delaware
4,169
District of Columbia
11,857
Florida
14,749
Georgia
49,190
Idaho
5,681
Illinois
176,286
Indiana
90,000
Iowa
62,472
Kansas
48, 157
Kentucky
49,071
Louisiana
20,588
Maine
33,386
Maryland
20,638
Massachusetts
78,282
Michigan
96,403
Minnesota
35,377
Mississippi
21,000
Missouri
74,201
Montana
12,463
Nebraska
28,136
Nevada
2,079
New Hampshire
11,520
New Jersey
49,788
New Mexico
4,338
New York
220,777
N Carolina
28,500
North Dakota
11,612
Ohio
122,343
Oklahoma
29,520
Oregon
16,607
Pennsylvania
141,693
Rhode Island
9,832
S Carolina
19 636
South Dakota
13,526
Tennessee
31,434
Texas
83,600
Utah
2,727
Vermont
15,246
Virginia
28,467
Washington
25,536
West Virginia
21,650
Wisconsin
36,386
Wyoming
4,081
Total
2,040,659
Frank B. Ladd, California.
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THE SECRETS OF MASONRY
To my mind the matter of the secrets of Masonry presents a great field for the imagination of different temperaments to draw upon. Perhaps no two get the same spiritual and moral results out of the Order. What these two differentations may be constitutes the margin of secrets as between them and whatever they both fail to draw from its almost immeasurable supply comprises the margin of what is on beyond them, but for them, the secrets of Masonry to them till their vision is so addressed.
There is much in the Masonic inner soul that is quite undefinable. It has its secret impressions upon the mind according to the receptiveness of the receiver.
Few men, perhaps, attain to the vision of what Masonry, by its Builders, was intended to comprehend. It is in this field, this unlimited, this "unexplored remainder," wherein to most of us may be said to exist the real and the countless imagined secrets of Masonry.
It might be said in a broader way that the secrets of Masonry are those things that the initiate has to learn and may learn in becoming a member of the Craft. This is what, more than all else, comprises Masonry's pull upon the imagination of those seeking its degrees and, in its way which is undefinable, holds its influence upon the greater public.
It is truly of no use to spin theories as to what the secrets of Masonry really are. Beyond the practicability of the system few have any concern. But he who may set to his vision the glass that may have been ground by some Masonic wizard may find that there is much beyond the common view, and this margin may constitute what may be as countless as the stars, the secrets of Masonry to most of the rest of us who are merely mortal men.
L. B. Mitchell, Michigan.
