IN
KNOWLEDGE LIES
STRENGTH
American
Canadian Grand Lodge, A. F. and A. M.
A
system of Masonic Education for
constituent Lodges
within the American Canadian
Grand Lodge AF & AM of the
United Grand Lodges of Germany
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
& Foreword
Introduction
A
System of Masonic Education for ACGL Lodges
Methods
and Procedures
Programs
for Four Meetings
The
First Meeting
The
Second Meeting
The
Third Meeting
The
Fourth Meeting
First
Meeting
Subject
1 - A Short History of Freemasonry and the ACGL
Subject
2 - The Qualifications
Subject
3 - Lodge Organization
Subject
4 - The Powers and Functions of the Worshipful Master
Subject
5 - Duties and Privileges of Lodge Membership
Subject
6 - Greetings to a Mason Lady
Second
Meeting
Subject
1 - The Meaning of the Term "Entered Apprentice"
Subject
2 - An Interpretation of the Ritual of the First Degree
Subject
3 - The Tenets
Subject
4 - Symbols of the First Degree
Subject
5 - Duties, Privileges and Limitations of an Entered Apprentice
Third
Meeting
Subject
1 - Meaning of the term "Fellowcraft"
Subject
2 - An Interpretation of the Ritual of the Second Degree
Subject
3 - Symbols and Allegories of the Second Degree
Subject
4 - Duties and Privileges of a Fellowcraft
Subject
5 - The Teachings of Masonry
Fourth
Meeting
Subject
1 - An Interpretation of the Ritual of the Third Degree
Subject
2 - Symbols and Allegories of the Third Degree
Subject
3 - The Legend of Hiram Abif
Subject
4 - The Laws of Freemasonry
Subject
5 - Duties and Privileges of a Master Mason
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
AND FOREWORD
Third
printing - December 1991
This educational pamphlet has been
prepared by the Grand Lodge's Committee on Education and Lodge Services, and
approved for final publication by the Grand Lodge prior to the Annual
Communication held in April 1982.
In presenting this Masonic education
system for publication, the Committee acknowledged, the basic source
material...the educational' booklets published by the Grand Lodges of New York,
South Carolina, and Minnesota, as well as the, Pamphlet entitled "Tried and
Proven", published by the Masonic Service Association of the United States.
In compiling this pamphlet, these
sources were drawn on freely by the Committee, and it is with an expression of
gratitude and thanks for those inspired works that this Grand Lodge publishes
this first edition for the use of its constituent' lodges and members.
Attest:
Frankfurt/
Main
Jess Minton
October,
1982
Grand Secretary
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American
Canadian Grand Lodge
A.
F. & A. M.
WITHIN
THE UNITED GRAND LODGES OF GERMANY
HERMANNSTRASSE
39
6000 FRANKFURT/M.
23 April 1982
To all members of the
American Canadian Grand Lodge, A.F. &
A.M.
Fraternal
Greetings!
"In Knowledge Lies
Strength", my motto during my stewardship of our
American Canadian Grand Lodge, certainly seems to be an appropriate title
for this system of Masonic
education. However, strength can
only be derived from this program when used
as recommended on the following pages, without deletions or major changes.
I sincerely hope that you
will use this program to shed Masonic light to the brethren in our
constituent lodges, thus strengthening your Lodge, this jurisdiction, and
Freemasonry in general.
My deep appreciation is hereby
extended to V. Worshipful Brother T. Wade Elrod, Past District Master, and the
members of the Committee for Lodge Services and Education', who all worked many
months to compile this program. Furthermore,
I express my heartfelt gratitude to Worshipful Brother Herbert E. Peterson and
the members of Truth and Friendship Lodge No. 828 who took it upon themselves to
have the first one hundred copies of this program printed, enabling one free
sample copy to be distributed to each constituent lodge during the Annual
Communication of Grand Lodge held in Bad Kissingen on this date .
Fraternally and sincerely yours,
Wolfgang
Durst
Grand Master, 1981-82
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A SYSTEM OF
MASONIC EDUCATION FOR ACGL LODGES
The essentials of the Lodge System of Education are:
a.
The system is brief.
b.
The instructions are given to the candidate starting before the
initiation and continue after raising to the sublime degree.
c.
A total of four programs are planned.
d.
The system will be offered to each lodge and, if adopted, can be given
with minimum study and work.
Its purpose is simple: The candidate is a stranger to Freemasonry and
Freemasonry a stranger to him. It
is not merely a Lodge that he joins, but a world wide Fraternity touching
millions of lives in hundreds of countries; with a history stretching back over
many centuries, an intricate system of laws, a large number of purposes, ideals
and obligations; many rights, privileges and duties, the Ancient Landmarks to be
preserved, the whole carrying on a program of activities of great variety.
It is too much to expect that without guidance any man shall be able to make
himself at home in such a society or, unaided, take his proper place in the
Lodge work with credit to himself and honor to the brotherhood.
He has a right to expect that the Lodge gives him much of the information
he needs .
It is necessary that new Brethren become imbued with the spirit of
Freemasonry and believe in, as well as understand, its purposes and ideals.
Not only the candidate profits, the Lodge is strengthened from having new
members who, from the beginning, are able to take part in its activities; who
are likely to become regular attendants and who can quickly grasp the aim and
purpose of the Lodge's endeavors, and they come in already prepared to work.
This system will take advantage of at least two publications already
published by the ACGL: Greetings to a Mason's Lady and In The Beginning.
These booklets will be given to each member during the conduct of the
System of Lodge Education. The
System will be no burden on the Lodge. All
the lessons have been researched and printed in complete manuscript format.
One need only to read his part several times before presentation in order
to understand the content. The
candidate need only listen; he has no books to read, no papers to write, nothing
to memorize; it adds nothing to his burden of mastering the lectures.
April 1982
Fraternally and respectfully
Thomas W. Elrod, Chairman
Marlon E. Westenberg, Member
Paul E. MacKenzie, Member
Murray Sentner, Member
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METHODS AND
PROCEDURES
1. The Worshipful Master
appoints a committee of three or five Master Masons with experience, knowledge
and tact, who feel a genuine interest in their work.
2. After a petition has
been favorably balloted upon, the petitioner is notified to meet with the
committee at a time and place to be specified.
3. At this meeting the
committee will give him such instruction as he needs to enable him to receive
the first degree in a proper spirit, and furnish him such information as will
give him a clear understanding of what kind of society it is he is about to
enter. The wife should be
encouraged to be present.
4. The candidate will meet
with this committee three more times, once after each of the degrees.
These meetings will be only for the committee and candidate.
5. At every opportunity the
candidate should be encouraged to ask questions and enter into the discussions.
6. The committee members
are required to confine themselves to their subject as it is written.
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PROGRAMS
FOR FOUR MEETINGS
The First
Meeting
(Preceding the First Degree)
The purpose: to introduce the candidate to Freemasonry and prepare him to
receive initiation. Entering a
strange country, his teachers impress upon him that becoming a Mason is not a
frivolous undertaking, and that Initiation, Passing, and Raising are not
perfunctory ceremonies but important steps.
He will learn that Freemasonry is a life to be lived, not a set of hollow
forms to be hypocritically observed; that he must first become prepared "in
his heart". Also, he will
learn that in the committee he has guides and friends to whom he can come for
counsel.
For these purposes five papers are printed for the use of the committee and
one booklet is given to his Lady and one to him.
These are:
1. A Short History of
Freemasonry and the ACGL (In The Beginning).
2. The Qualifications.
3. The Machinery and
Organization of a Lodge.
4. The Powers and Functions
of the Worshipful Master.
5. The Duties and
Privileges of Lodge Membership.
6. Greetings to A Mason's Lady
(booklet given to Wife).
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The
Second Meeting
(Following the First Degree)
The candidate's initiation has been an experience very different from what
his anticipation had pictured it; he feels mystified by a ceremony unlike
anything he has ever seen; the language has been strange, the symbols unusual.
An Entered Apprentice, he wonders what he is to do next and, what his
duties and privileges are. The
purpose of the meeting is give him an interpretation of the Degree, describe
what an Apprentice can and cannot do, and prepare him for the next step.
To this end the following five subjects are provided:
1. The meaning of the term
"Entered Apprentice".
2. An interpretation of the
Ritual of the First Degree.
3. The Tenets. (Brotherly
Love, Relief and Truth.)
4. Symbols of the First
Degree.
5. Duties, Privileges and
Limitations of the Entered Apprentice.
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The Third
Meeting
(Following the Second Degree)
The Degree of Fellowcraft is a great degree, crowded with importance, and its
explanation offers a golden opportunity to present all aspects of Freemasonry's
appeal to the intellect; education is its heart.
The candidate is now midway in his journey.
Having participated in two degrees and met with his committee twice, he
feels more at home. If he came with
the secret expectation that initiation would be a kind of hazing, full of pranks
and horseplay, or a painful ordeal, he has learned better.
The Liberal Arts and Sciences, assisted by the five senses, climb the
symbolical steps to a Middle Chamber, wherein wisdom is found.
The committee, therefore, will emphasize the philosophy of Masonry, its
great teachings, its messages of education.
For this purpose these five subjects are provided:
1. Meaning of the Term
"Fellowcraft".
2. Interpretation of the
Ritual of the Second Degree.
3. Symbols and Allegories
of the Second Degree.
4. Duties and Privileges of
a Fellowcraft-
5. The Teachings of
Masonry.
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The
Fourth Meeting
(Following the Third Degree)
Too often a candidate is permitted to drop from sight immediately after he
has received the Third Degree, not even examined in its work, but compelled to
find his way as best he can. It is
the most critical period in his Masonic career.
If the Lodge gives him encouragement he will develop into a working
Mason; otherwise he is likely to lapse into chronic indifference.
His initiation is only a beginning.
He needs to know and to understand his duties as a Master Mason; What are
his rights, privileges, and his financial obligations; he should be taught how
to visit other Lodges; he needs information about Grand Lodge, the traditions of
the Craft. At no other time in his
Masonic career will he be so eager to learn, as in the impressionable period
immediately after the Third Degree.
In its fourth meeting the committee has a golden opportunity to help one who
has just become a member in name to become a Mason in fact, in the sense that
throughout his Masonic career he will continue serving and working for the
Craft. To this end, the following
five subjects are herewith provided:
1. Interpretation of the
Ritual of the Third Degree.
2. Symbols and Allegories
of the Third Degree.
3. The Legend of Hiram Abif.
4. The Laws and Landmarks.
5. The Duties, Privileges,
and Rights of a Master Mason.
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FIRST MEETING
Introduction of Course to the
Candidate
By the Chairman
In an attempt to familiarize you with the elementary background of the real
meaning and objectives of Masonry, five papers and two booklets have been
prepared, each having a direct bearing on your preparation for initiation.
We trust that you will listen attentively to these papers and read the
booklets in order that the ceremonies which you are about ' to witness and
experience may mean the most to you, and that the symbolism which you will see
exemplified on that occasion may be significant and impressive.
These subjects are: A Short History of Freemasonry and the ACGL (you will
be given the booklet "In The Beginning" to increase your knowledge of
Masonry as it pertains to the ACGL in particular). 2. The Qualifications. 3.
T-he Machinery and Organization of a Lodge. 4. The Powers and Functions of the
Worshipful Master. 5. The Duties and Privileges of Lodge Membership. and 6. Your
wife will be given a copy of the booklet "Greetings to a Mason's Lady"
in which many interesting and necessary items of information can be found.
We five brethren will attempt to interpret these subjects in a logical
meaningful manner and should any question arise in your mind, whether prompted
by the addresses of from a preconceived idea, be perfectly frank to state your
problem. Our purpose is to discuss
these questions as they arise.
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Subject 1
A SHORT HISTORY OF
FREEMASONRY AND THE ACGL
In the book of human history Freemasonry has a chapter of its own.
When you become a member of this Lodge it is a chapter you will wish to
read, as much for its own fascination as for the light it will throw upon your
path as you , progress in Masonry. A
little of that story will enable you better to understand the three steps of
initiation which lie before you.
In all ages and in all lands men have formed secret societies, made use of
ceremonies of initiation, employed symbols, emblems, and means of recognition.
When freemasonry came into existence (nobody knows how many years ago) it
inherited much from such societies. Along
your path of -initiation you will encounter ancient rites and symbols, sacred to
us partly because of their great antiquity.
The oldest existing written record of our Craft is a manuscript written by
some unknown brother in England, about 1390, nearly six centuries ago; but the
document itself, known to be copied from one much earlier, shows that even then
Freemasonry was very old.
At the time this document was written nearly all Freemasons were Operatives.
Evidence indicates that "Freemasons" were those builders of a
superior skills who designed, supervised and erected the great cathedrals and
other marvelous structures-
Operative Freemasons designed the buildings; dressed the stones from the
quarries and laid the floor, set up arches, pillars, columns, and buttresses and
built the roof; carved the decorations; made and fitted the stained-glass
windows into place and produced much of the sculpture.
Their work was difficult; it called for a high degree of skill and
genius, and required much knowledge of mechanics and geometry as well as
stone-masonry. They were among the
great artists of the Middle Ages.
The training for such work called for a long period of severe discipline.
Boys, sound in body, keen in mind, and of good reputation, at the age of
ten or twelve, were apprenticed to some Master Mason for a number of years,
usually seven. This Master Mason
was such a boy's tutor, his mentor, guide and coach who taught him both the
theories and the practices of the Craft. At
the end of his apprenticeship the youth was required to submit to exacting tests
of his proficiency before being accepted into full membership in the Craft.
When a number of Freemasons worked together on a building over a period of
years they organized one or more Lodges, which might meet in a temporary
building or in one of the rooms of the uncompleted structure.
Such a Lodge was governed by a
Master assisted by Wardens; it had a Secretary to keep its book, a Treasurer to
keep and disburse its funds, a charity chest from which to dispense relief to
the members in distress, and to their widows and orphans It met in regular
communication, divided its membership into grades, admitted members by
initiation--in short, it was in many essentials what a Masonic Lodge is today.
The beginner in the builder's art was called an Apprentice; when he had
served as such a sufficient time to give evidence of his fitness, his name was
entered in the Lodge's books, after which he was called an Entered Apprentice.
At the end of his seven years of apprenticeship he was called into open
Lodge, his conduct was reported, and he then had to prove his skill by producing
what was called a "Master's Piece." Hitherto he had been on probation,
if he passed his test satisfactorily he was made full member of the Craft.
Then he stood on an equality of duties, rights, and privileges with all
others, a Fellow of the Craft--the word "Fellow" meaning full
membership. In the sense that he
had now mastered the theories, practices, rules, secrets, and tools of his trade
he was called a Master Mason. Bear
these historical facts in mind as you take your Entered Apprentice Degree, and
the parallels of Masonry and life will be readily recognized.
Completing their work in one community the Freemasons would move to another,
setting up their Lodges wherever . they worked.
Other types of Masons were compelled by law to live and work in t ' he
same community year in and year out, and under local restrictions.
A number of our historians believe that it may have been because they
were free from such restrictions that the Gothic builders were called
"Freemasons".
Such was the Fraternity in its Operative period; and as such it flourished
for generations. Then came a great
change in its fortunes. Euclid's
geometry was rediscovered and published, thereby revealing many of the Mason's
trade secrets. The Reformation came
and among others, the Gothic and Romanesque style of architecture began to die
out. Social and religious
conditions underwent a revolution. These
and some other factors made it difficult for Operatives to follow their trade
and brought about a decline in the Craft. As
a result, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries FreeMasons became so
few that only a small Lodge here and there clung to a precarious existence.
At some period in the dim and distant past Freemasons began to accept
non-Operative members. Gentlemen
with no intentions of becoming builders, who for social reasons, or from
interest in the Craft's ancient customs, were received as "Accepted
Masons." At first there were few of these, but as time passed their number
increased, until by the early part of the eighteenth century they were more
numerous than the Operatives and were more influential.
The Craft then took a step destined to revolutionize it and to set it on a
new path of power and magnitude. On
St. John the Baptist's day, June 24, 1717, four old Lodges of London and
Westminster met in London and organized a Grand Lodge, and on the same day
selected their first Grand Master, Most Worshipful Anthony Sayer.
Within a few years of that date the Craft had completed the transformation
from an Operative Body into a Speculative Fraternity (by "Speculative"
is meant Masonry in a moral, or symbolical sense as you will learn more fully in
the Fellow Craft's Degree); reorganized their ceremonies of initiation into the
three degrees of Entered Apprenticeship, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason;
collected and collated the old Masonic manuscripts known as the York
Constitutions; and codified them into the first book of Constitutions.
Very soon thereafter it was chartering Lodges in many countries,
including the United States, Canada and Germany.
The London Grand Lodge is usually considered the first or premier Grand
Lodge, though it is questionable if the Grand Lodge at York, England does not
have a prior claim. In 1751 another
Grand Lodge was organized in England. Prior
to that, Grand Lodges had been set up in Scotland, Ireland, and on the
continent.
American Lodges were under the charge of Provincial Grand Lodges, which were
ruled by Provincial Grand Masters appointed by the Grand Lodges of England,
Scotland, or Ireland.
As a result of the Revolution, one after another of the American Grand Lodges
became sovereign and independent. At
that time the advisability of organizing one Grand Lodge for the whole United
States was discussed, but the Craft in its wisdom abandoned the scheme, and the
plan of having an independent Grand Lodge for each state finally prevailed.
Thus as the years passed one Grand Lodge was organized in each state,
sovereign within its own limits, no other Grand Lodge having any right to
control Masonic affairs within that state.
Today in the United States there are forty-nine Grand Lodges, one for
each state (except Hawaii) and one for the District of Columbia.
Here in Germany the organization of Masonry assumed a slightly different
path. While recognizing the
sovereign power of each Grand Lodge, the five Grand Lodges in Germany united to
form the United Grand Lodges of Germany. The
American-Canadian Grand Lodge is one of the Five Grand Lodges within the United
Grand Lodges of Germany.
Speculative Freemasonry did not spring full-formed out of nothing in 1717,
but came as a gradual expansion of Operative Masonry.
Through an unbroken line we can trace our lineage back to those builders
of the early Middle Ages. We too,
are Masons, except that instead of erecting material buildings, we build
manhood; their tools we have transformed into emblems of moral and spiritual
rules and forces; their practices and secrets we have embodied in the Royal Art
of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Their
rituals, mellowed, enriched, and made more beautiful with the passing of time,
we employ in the entering, passing, and raising of our candidates.
All that was living and permanent in their Craft we have preserved to use
in behalf of good will, kindliness, charity and brotherhood among men.
Such is our heritage, and, as you enter into it, you will discover, it
inexhaustible in its interest, life-long in its appeal, a power in your life to
enrich, to ennoble and to inspire.
In order for you to have a special knowledge of the History of the
American-Canadian Grand Lodge, or the ACGL, you may keep this copy of this
booklet, In The Beginning. It has
been prepared for Masons in this jurisdiction so that they will have a better
understanding of our Grand Lodge and its beginning.
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Subject 2
THE QUALIFICATIONS
In as much as the ballot box, indicated that you possessed the qualifications
required of a petitioner, you may question the need of giving any further heed
to the subject. But qualifications
are not merely a test of petitioner's fitness to become a Mason.
In a larger and more important sense they determine also a man's fitness
to remain a Mason.
These qualifications are two kinds, internal, and external.
One of the internal qualifications is that a petitioner must come of
"his own free will". The
necessary corollary of this is that no Mason shall solicit other men to petition
for membership.
Another internal qualification is that a petitioner shall come uninfluenced
by mercenary motives. He is not to
expect that in the Fraternity he will find business or professional advantages
for himself, and no brother already in membership has any right to solicit such
favors from him. Both of these
qualifications are "internal" because they have to do with motives,
and only a man himself can know what his motives are.
The external qualifications may, for the sake of convenience, be divided
under four heads:
1. PHYSICAL.
A petitioner must be a man in the full sense of the word.
To be eligible for the degrees he must be able to conform to all the
ceremonies required in the work and practice Masonry.
No person can undertake all the Masonic obligations unless he has reached
years of discretion and is legally responsible for his acts.
This rules out a young man under age, an old man in dotage and a fool.
2. MENTAL.
The mental qualifications are not expressly defined, though a number of
Grand Lodges demand that a petitioner be able to read and write English.
But they are implied, and are as binding as though explicitly expressed.
Much is taught a Mason; much is demanded of him; it is impossible for him
to understand such teachings, or to meet the demands, unless he possesses at
least average intellectual ability.
3. SOCIAL.
By these are meant all that have to do with citizenship and a man's life
as a neighbor, as a member of his community.
He must be "well recommended"; that is, possess a sound
reputation among those who know him best. He
must be a good citizen, and one who is obedient, as the Old Charges express it,
"to the Civil Magistrates."
4. MORAL AND SPIRITUAL.
A mason must be a "good man and true." a man of honor and
honesty. So imperious are the
Fraternity's moral requirements that to think of a Mason as not devoted to
integrity and rectitude of character is a contradiction of terms.
It is required of a petitioner that he believe in a Supreme Being.
It is expected that all Masons practice tolerance, and that no petitioner
be questioned as to the peculiar form or mode of his faith, and he must not
question his brethren.
In this list of qualifications is a portrait of the Mason drawn by the
Fraternity. That portrait is
official. It is vital that you
grasp this fact in your endeavor to arrive at a true understanding of
Freemasonry.
The qualifications stand at the center of the Craft, expressing standards,
describing who may be Masons in reality, and setting before us the goal of all
Masonic endeavor. It is not
sufficient that a man shall possess such qualifications for the mere purpose of
petitioning for membership; to promote the interests of the Craft they are
required of us all, all of the time, so long as we remain therein.
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Subject 3
LODGE ORGANIZATION
You have been elected to. receive the Entered Apprentice, or first, degree of
Masonry. In due course we hope you
will become a member of this Lodge with full membership rights.
It will be of assistance to you to learn how a Lodge is organized and
what its machinery is. Much about a
Lodge is secret, to be learned only through initiation; what is now told you is
written in the Code of our Grand Lodge.
A Lodge is an organization of seven or more Master Masons duly assembled,
with the Holy Bible, Square and Compass, and a Charter or warrant empowering
them to work, where they may confer the three degrees of Masonry and carry on
such activities as are necessary to its proper administration.
Authority is conferred by a Charter issued by a Grand Lodge.
You will later be shown the Charter of our own Lodge.
It was issued to us by the United Grand Lodges of Germany.
A Lodge may retain its Charter only as it obeys the laws of the Grand Lodge
and works according to the traditions and ancient usage’s and customs of the
Masonic Fraternity.
A Lodge is governed by the Grand Lodge according to laws laid down in the
Constitution or Code. Local
regulations and rules of its self-government are embodied in its by-laws.
Each Lodge in this jurisdiction has at least eleven officers, five of whom
are chosen by ballot. These are the
Worshipful Master, Senior Warden, Junior Warden, Treasurer, and Secretary.
They are elected at the first stated communication in September of each
year. Prior to the installation,
the Master-elect appoints the Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Chaplain, two
Stewards, and Tiler. Additional
officers such as Marshall, Master of Ceremonies and Organist may also be
appointed. Each Lodge will have
several Committees which are also named by the Master-elect.
The primary executive power of
the Lodge is vested in the office of Worshipful
Master.
The Senior Warden is the second ranking officer.
If the Worshipful Master is absent, the Senior Warden presides in -his
place; if, through absence or inability, the office of Worshipful Master becomes
vacant, the Senior Warden succeeds to all his prerogatives and duties until the
regular election is held. The
Senior Warden has other duties which you will learn at another time.
Next in rank is the Junior Warden, who governs the Lodge in the absence or
inability of the Worshipful Master and Senior Warden, and has charge of the
Craft during refreshment.
In addition to its officers a Lodge has various standing and special
committees. A Lodge may also have a
board of trustees. The trustees are
elected.
The meetings of the Lodge are called "Communications," and are of
two kinds, Stated (or Regular), Special (or Called).
Stated Communications are held at regular intervals on dates set by the
by-laws of the Lodge. Called or
Special Communications convene at the will and pleasure of the Worshipful
Master.
Before Receiving the degrees a petitioner must pay an initiation fee as fixed
by the Lodge by-laws, subject to the limitations of the Grand Lodge.
When he becomes a member he must pay annual dues, also fixed in the
by-laws, subject to the same limitations. These
fees and dues comprise the principal sources of income of a Lodge, though the
Lodge may also receive income from endowments and other sources.
For each member the Lodge must pay annual Grand Lodge dues except as
otherwise provided by the Code.
In brief outline and to the extent to which you can now understand it, such
is the machinery and form of organization of a Masonic Lodge.. It conveys only a
hint of the rich life and manifold activities of a Lodge as a member knows them.
Each year two Grand Lodge Communications are held and presided over by
officers substantially the same as those just enumerated.
You will become, in time, directly and indirectly, vitally concerned in
the entire machinery of the local and Grand Lodge operation since any Master
Mason may attend the Grand Lodge Communications.
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Subject 4
THE POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
WORSHIPFUL MASTER
You have already learned that the principal officer of a Lodge is called the
Worshipful Master and, as you are yet unfamiliar with the language of Masonry,
this may sound strange, but as you progress in the Craft you learn that it is
singularly accurate.
"Worshipful" means "worthy of honor" and as such the
Master is entitled to the honor and respect of every member of his Lodge;
"Master means that he is, in strict truth, The Master, not, as in so many
other societies, only a presiding officer, but a controlling executive with many
sovereign rights. As you progress
in Masonry and devote yourself to serious study you will come to fully
understand why this is so.
His powers and duties are, broadly: (1) to congregate his Lodge upon any
emergency; (2) to summon its members; (3) to see that the duties of the officers
are faithfully performed; (4) to discharge appointed officers for sufficient
cause. But it is only when we begin to
examine his office in detail that we discover the full scope of his powers and
functions.
It is a prerogative of the Worshipful Master to convene his Lodge either for
Stated Meetings, at times provided in the by-laws, or for Special
Communications, which are called by him for special business.
When the Lodge is convened he is to set it at work and to give its
members proper instruction for their labor.
It is not necessary for him to request or to persuade the Lodge members
to do their duties; he may order them, and they are under obligation to obey
him.
It is his prerogative to preside at the meetings of his Lodge.
The only exception to this is when the Grand Master, or a representative
officially appointed by him, takes the gavel of authority.
Then the right of the Master is superseded for the time being.
The Master may choose a brother to preside temporarily during his
presence. The Master may not be
denied his right to preside, nor may such power be taken from him so long as he
holds office, except by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge.
When the Master is installed the Charter is given into his keeping and he is
henceforth responsible for its custody and for transmitting it to his successor.
A Lodge cannot be legally convened, opened, nor transact business unless
its Charter is present. The Master
determines what business, aside from routine, shall come before the Lodge, in
what order, and the manner in which it shall be conducted.
This is a more important responsibility than it may appear, because only
certain kinds of business may legally be brought before a Lodge.
The members may not always be familiar with Masonic law and hence may not
know whether a given matter is Masonic business or not.
It is for the Master to decide, and this power is a Lodge protection
against possible violation of Masonic law.
It is a duty of the Master to supervise all ritualistic work.
He should himself be able to take any part; he should be able to instruct and
train others; and he should supervise the work as a whole to see that it is
properly carried out according to the ritual recognized and authorized by
the Grand Lodge.
Many matters of business or social functions may arise which do not fall
within the province of any elective or appointive Lodge officer; to carry on
such work, committees are necessary. Not
the least of the Master's responsibilities is his power to appoint all
committees.
Brethren in sickness or distress are the Master's particular charge.
If he cannot visit all of them it is his duty to appoint others to do so,
and in general to see that the Lodge properly discharges its duties to its
unfortunates.
At this stage of your journey we do not expect you to carry all these details
in your mind, but we hope that this presentation will impress on your memory the
fact that the Master's is the most responsible office in Masonry, except that of
Grand Master.
The Master is indeed master of his Lodge, its chief executive, its head,
vested with great authority, entrusted with great powers.
But there should be nothing arbitrary, nothing willful in his use of such
powers and authority, because they are defined and regulated by law and by
ancient custom. His duties are
equal to his powers, and he must be a true Mason indeed to discharge them with
credit to himself and honor to his Lodge. It
is for this reason that his title is "Worshipful".
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Subject 5
DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF LODGE
MEMBERSHIP
In petitioning for the Three Degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry your presumed
desire was to become a member of the order that you might enjoy the fraternal
fellowship of the brethren and that you might be serviceable to your fellowman.
It will be helpful to you to have some conception in advance of what
Lodge membership implies.. This subject may as yet be explained but partially,
although there is much that you can and should understand at the start of your
journey.
You will become a member by receiving the three degrees.
You will become entitled to all the rights, and privileges of membership,
by proving your proficiency in, each degree.
By. taking the obligations of the degrees you enter into a contractual
relationship with the Lodge, wherein you bind yourself to perform certain
duties, and the Lodge binds itself to protect you in certain rights and
privileges.
One of your first duties will be loyalty to the Fraternity and to your
superior officers, and obedience to the laws.
This is a fundamental requirement.
It will be your duty to pay regularly and promptly such dues as your Lodge
may establish. No option is given;
to do such is a necessary condition of membership.
And it will be your duty, as your conscience shall guide and your means
permit, to do your share in maintaining the charities of the Lodge and to stand
ready to lend a helping hand to a Brother Mason in distress.
If you are present at a communication of the Lodge when a ballot is taken on
a petition for initiation affiliation, or reinstatement, you must vote unless
excused by the Lodge. This is only
another way of saying that the responsibility for deciding Masonic membership
rests on each and every member. To
cast a vote is not merely a right or privilege to be exercised on choice, but a
duty.
It will be your duty to attend the communications of your Lodge, to join in
its deliberations and decisions and to assist in discharging its
responsibilities. You are not
required nor even expected to attend if by so doing it works an unnecessary
hardship on yourself or your family, but otherwise your attendance is expected.
If the Master, acting according to the provisions of the Grand Lodge Code,
issues a summons to you to attend a communication of the Lodge for some special
purpose, or to discharge some duty required of you as a Mason, it will be your
duty to obey the summons, unless the circumstances render obedience impossible.
Such duties inhere membership in a Lodge; others will be made clear to you as
you progress in Masonry. In many
fundamental respects a Lodge differs from any other organization.
Membership is not a mere question of honor, nor an idle privilege, with
duties and obligations to be laid down or taken up at pleasure.
A member should not stand outside in idleness until he has opportunity to
secure something from it for his own selfish advantage, nor evade his
responsibilities by shifting his duties to more willing shoulders.
The Mystic Tie by which he is bound to his fellows has in it a strand of
steel.
Certain rights and privileges accompany these duties and are equally
maintained and made secure by the Fraternity.
As a member of a Lodge you will be eligible to any office in it, except
that no member can become Worshipful Master, unless he has previously served as
an installed Warden, by dispensation or as otherwise provided in the Code of the
Grand Lodge.
You will have the right to join in our public processions, a privilege
carefully guarded and protected by our laws, since to join in such is to
identify oneself with the Fraternity.
As a Master Mason in good standing, you will be entitled to additional rights
and privileges which, in due time, will be explained to you.
In case of death you will be entitled to Masonic burial, a privilege to
be valued over and above its public recognition of your standing.
In all communications of the Lodge you will have a voice in its discussions
and a vote on questions decided by the Lodge.
Neither in Lodge nor in Grand Lodge is there taxation without
representation, nor is any Masonic officer permitted to exercise arbitrary or
unreasonable authority.
The Lodge and Grand Lodge give many services and extend many opportunities
for entertainment, good fellowship and educational advantages; as a Mason you
will have the privileges of enjoying these equally with all others of your
fellow members. When among
strangers you will possess certain modes of recognition by which to prove
yourself to another Mason and to exact similar proof from him, thereby enabling
you to establish Fraternal relations with men who otherwise "must have
remained at a perpetual distance." To know that wherever you may go you
will find brothers ready to extend the hand of fellowship, men whom you have
never met but who already stand bound to you by the Mystic Tie, is one of the
greatest of all privileges of membership.
These duties, rights, and privileges of Masonic membership are not
exhaustive. We have just touched
the fringe of a great theme, but it is our hope that, with such light as has
been given you, you will go forward with a livelier, keener understanding of
what Masonry can mean to you and also of what you may mean to it.
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Subject 6
GREETINGS TO A MASON'S LADY
This subject is devoted to the wife in the hope that a better understanding
of the Craft, its purpose and work will inspire the Masonic Lady to provide the
needed support and encouragement to her Mason.
While you personally have not joined our organization there are certain
things that may be helpful for you to know in the future.
This little booklet will explain some of those things.
At the same time there are matters of general interest about your Mason
and his new organization we think you would also like to know.
Save this booklet as it is very unlikely the information contained herein
will materially change in the years to come.
Much of what we have been telling you this evening is covered again in the
pages of the booklet. It however,
is designed to remind you of the important things necessary for you to know and
do should the occasion arise. It
will also be of help to your Mason. Therefore,
we ask that you loan it to him for review and assistance.
This book is yours to keep. The
only other thing a Lodge can give you personally is a better husband - not a
different one but help make your present one a better man.
(This subject may of course be omitted it the candidate is single or his wife
cannot be present at the first meeting.)
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SECOND MEETING
Subject 1
THE MEANING OF THE TERM
"ENTERED APPRENTICE"
You are now an Entered Apprentice. The
first step in your journey to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason has been
taken. Doubtless you found your
initiation an experience you will never wish to forget.
A Degree of Masonry is not an isolated experience, but an ever-enduring
privilege. Always you may sit in
your own Lodge when open on the Entered Apprentice Degree; always you can return
to observe, to participate in, and to study its ceremonies.
Your possession of the Degree is complete.
Doubtless you have an eager curiosity to learn more about this remarkable
Degree before you receive that of Fellow Craft.
Perhaps its ceremonies seemed strange to you; its language fell on your
ears with unaccustomed accents; and at its end you may have been somewhat
bewildered. It is our function to
help you interpret it by giving you a brief explanation of the term
"Entered Apprentice."
The builders of those remarkable structures in Europe and Great Britain, from
six hundred to nine hundred years ago, we call "Operative Masons,"
because they were builders in the literal sense.
It was necessary for the Operative Masons to recruit new members to replace
those lost through removal, accident, illness or death.
To do this they used the apprenticeship system, which was in vogue in all
crafts for many centuries.
The word "apprentice" means "learner", or
"beginner," one who is taking his first steps in mastering a trade,
art or profession. The Operative
apprentice was a boy, usually from ten to fifteen years of age. He was required
to be sound in body, in order to do work requiring physical strength and
endurance. He had to be of good
habits, obedient and willing to learn, and of unquestioned reputation, and be
well recommended by Masons already members of the Craft.
When such a boy was chosen as an apprentice he was called into the Lodge
where all the members could assure themselves of his mental, moral and physical
qualifications. If they voted to
receive him, he was given much information about the Craft, what it required of
its members, something of its early history and tradition, and what his duties
would be. He gave a solemn promise
to obey his 'superiors, to work diligently, to observe the laws and rules and to
keep the secrets.
After being thus obligated, he was bound over, or indentured, to one of the
more experienced Master Masons. As
a rule he lived with this Master Mason, and from him day by
day learned the methods and secrets of the trade.
This apprenticeship lasted usually seven years.
After this young man had "gone to school" in this manner long
enough to give assurance of his fitness to master the art and to become an
acceptable member of the society, his name was entered on the books of the Lodge
and he was given a recognized place in the Craft organization; and because of
this official entering of his name he was given the title "Entered
Apprentice." All of the same degree of advancement constituted the rank, or
grade, of Apprentice Masons.
It is difficult to exaggerate the care our Operative Masonic forebears
devoted to these learners. The
Intender, as the Master Mason to whom the Apprentice was indentured was called,
was obliged by law to teach him theory as well as practice.
Not until the Apprentice, after many years, could prove his proficiency
by meeting the most rigid tests of skill, was he permitted to advance to a
higher rank in the Craft. Other
Master Masons with whom he was set at work at the simpler tasks also were his
teachers. He was given moral
instruction: his conduct was carefully scrutinized; many rules were laid down to
control his manner of life. When we
read the Old Charges and ancient documents that have come down to us we are
impressed by the amount of space devoted to Apprentices.
The Operative Masons knew that the Apprentice of today made the Master
Mason of the future.
As time passed, therefore there grew up about the rank and duties and
regulations of the Apprentice an organized set of customs, ceremonies, rules,
traditions, etc. These at last
crystallized into a well-defined unit, which we may describe as the Operative
Entered Apprentice's Degree. When,
after the Reformation, Operative Masonry was transformed into Speculative
Masonry, The Entered Apprentice's Degree was retained as one of the Degrees
of-the Speculative Lodge, modified, of course, to meet the needs of the,
Speculative Fraternity.
As an Entered Apprentice you are a learner, a beginner, in Speculative
Masonry. You have taken the first
step in the mastery of our art. And
it is because you have this rank that certain things are expected of you.
First, you must learn certain portions of the Degree, so as to prove your
proficiency in open Lodge. But you
are to learn these parts not merely to pass this test; you should master them so
thoroughly that they will remain with you through life, because you will have
need of them many times in the future.
Second, you must learn the laws, rules, and regulations by which an Entered
Apprentice is governed.
As you stood in the northeast corner of the Lodge during your initiation you
were taught a certain lesson concerning a cornerstone.
The meaning of that lesson should now be clear to you.
You are a cornerstone of the Craft.
The day will probably come when into your hands will fall your share of
the responsibilities of the Lodge. You
are a cornerstone on which the Fraternity is being erected.
It is our hope and expectation that you will prove a solid foundation,
true and tried, set four-square, on which our great Fraternity may safely build.
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Subject 2
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE RITUAL OF
THE FIRST DEGREE
The Masonic Lodge room is represented in the Ritual as a symbol of the world.
The particular form in which this symbol is cast harks back to early
times when men believed the earth to be square and the sky a solid dome; but
while this no longer represents our idea of the physical shape of the world, the
significance remains the same.
The world thus represented is the world of Masonry; the Masonic career from
beginning to end, including all that lies between.
The West Gate through which the candidate enters represents birth.
In the First Degree the candidate is ushered into Masonic life; the old
life with all its accessories has dropped from him completely.
He now enters on a new life in a new world.
Masonry is systematic, well proportioned, balanced.
Duties and work are supervised and regulated, controlled through laws
written and unwritten, expressed through Landmarks, traditions, usage’s,
Constitutions and By-Laws, guided and directed through officers vested with
power and authority. The candidate
obligates himself to uphold that lawful system; when he salutes the Master and
Wardens he signifies his obedience to the legally constituted officers; when he
follows his guide and fears no danger he expresses his trust in, and loyalty to,
the Fraternity.
The new world is a lawful world in which caprice and arbitrariness have no
part. It has a definite nature, is
devoted to specified purposes, committed to well defined aims and ideals ' Its
members cannot make it over to suit their own whims or to conform to their own
purposes; they must make themselves over to conform to its requirements.
One should not become a Master Mason in order to become a Lodge member;
he should become a member in order to become a real Master Mason.
Among the first requirements of the Apprentice is that he shall offer
himself as a rough stone, to be shaped under Masonic laws and influences for a
place in the Temple of Masonry.
This world of Masonry is dedicated to Brotherhood.
Unless the Apprentice is willing and qualified to lead the brotherly life
he will never master the Royal Art. Unless
he is willing in all sincerity to abide by his obligations and the laws which
define, regulate, and control the brotherly life, he will be out of harmony with
the Fraternity, unable to find foothold in the world he seeks to enter.
All of our ritual, symbols, emblems, allegories and ceremonies, in the
richness and variety to comprehend Masonic teaching.
In his first Degree an Apprentice takes his first step into this life; leaves
the darkness, destitution and helplessness of the profane world for the light
and warmth of this new existence. This
is the great meaning of the Degree; not an idle formality, but a genuine
experience, the beginning of a new career in which duties, rights and privileges
are real. If a candidate is not to
be an Apprentice in name only, he must stand ready to do the work upon his own
nature that will make him a different man.
Members are called Craftsmen because they are workmen; Lodges are
quarries because they are scenes of toil. Freemasonry
offers no privileges or rewards except to those who earn them; it places Working
Tools, not playthings, in the hands of its members.
To become a Mason is a solemn and serious undertaking.
Once the step is taken, it may well change the course of a man's life.
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Subject 3
THE TENETS
Brotherly Love, Relief and
Truth
The principal tenets of Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.
It is necessary not to overlook the word "principal," for it
signifies that, while our Fraternity lays the greatest emphasis on these three
teachings, there are others which must not be overlooked.
By a "tenet" of Freemasonry is meant some teaching so obviously
true, so universally accepted, that we believe it without question.
Examples lie everywhere about US. Good health is better than illness; a
truthful man is more dependable than a liar; it is better to save money than to
waste it; an industrious man is more useful than an idle one; education is to be
preferred to ignorance -- these are but a few of the countless examples of
teachings that no intelligent man can possibly question.
Everybody takes them for granted. They
are tenets.
Freemasonry considers Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth to be teachings of
this kind, true in the sense that no man can question them; they are obvious,
self-proving, axiomatic. It is not
uncommon for men to consider brotherly love, while highly desirable, as not
practicable, and therefore but a vision, to be dreamed of but never possessed.
It is challenging for Freemasonry to call these "tenets", thus
stating that they are plainly and obviously and necessarily true.
Unless you grasp this, and see that the teachings of Freemasonry are
self-evident realities, not visionary ideals, you will never understand Masonic
teachings. For Freemasonry does not
tell us that the principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth ought to be
true, that it would be better for us all if they were true-she tells us that
they are true. They are tremendous
realities in human life, and it is as impossible to question their validity as
to question the ground under our feet, or the sun over our heads.
Our question is not whether to believe them or not, but what are we going
to do with them?
Love places the highest possible valuation on another person.
A man's mother or father, his wife or sweetheart, his children, his
intimate friends, he values not for advantages he may gain from them, not for
their usefulness, but each one in his own person and for his own sake.
We work for such persons, we make sacrifices for them, we delight to be
with them; that in detail and practice, is what is meant by love.
What, then, is Brotherly Love? Manifest,
it means that we place on another man the highest possible valuation as a
friend, a companion, an associate, a neighbor.
By the exercise of Brotherly Love, we are taught to regard the whole
human species as one family. We do
not ask that from our relationship we shall achieve any selfish gain.
Our relationship with a Brother is its own justification, its own reward.
Brotherly Love is one of the supreme values without which life is lonely,
unhappy, ugly. This is not a hope
or a dream, but a fact. Freemasonry
builds on that fact, provides opportunity for us to have such fellowship,
encourages us to understand and to practice it, and to make it one of the laws
of our existence; one of our Principal Tenets.
Relief is one of the forms of charity. We
often think of charity as relief from poverty.
To care for the helpless or unemployed is deemed usually a responsibility
resting on the public. As a rule
the public discharges that responsibility through some form of organized
charity, financed by general subscriptions or out of public funds.
Our conception of relief is broader and deeper than this.
We fully recognize the emergency demands made by physical and economic
distress; but we likewise understand that the cashing of a check is not
necessarily a complete solution of the difficulty.
There sometimes enters the problem of readjustment, of rehabilitation, of
keeping the family together, of children's education, and various other matters
vital to the welfare of those concerned; and through the whole process there is
the need for spiritual comfort, for the assurance of a sincere and continuing
interest and friendship, which is the real translation of our first Principal
Tenets: Brotherly Love.
Masonic Relief takes it for granted that any man, no matter how industrious
and frugal he may be, through sudden misfortune, or other conditions over which
he has no control, may be in temporary need of a helping hand.
To extend it is not what is generally described as charity, but is one of
the natural and inevitable acts of Brotherhood.
Any conception of Brotherhood must include this willingness to give
necessary aid. Therefore, Relief,
Masonically understood, is a Tenet.
By Truth, the last of the Principal Tenets, is meant something more than the
search for truths in the intellectual sense, though that is included.
Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue.
To be good and true is the first lesson we are taught in Masonry.
In any permanent Brotherhood, members must be truthful in character and
habits, dependable, men of honor, on whom we can rely to be faithful fellows and
loyal friends. Truth is a vital
requirement if a Brotherhood is to endure and we, therefore, accept it as such.
Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth are the Principal Tenets of Masonry.
There are other tenets, also; Teachings so obvious that argument is never
necessary to sustain them. With
this in mind we urge you to ponder the teachings of the Craft as you progress
from Degree to Degree. You may not find them novel, but novelty is unimportant
in the light of the knowledge that the truths upon which Freemasonry is founded
are eternal. The freshness of
immortality is on them because they never die; in them is a ceaseless
inspiration and an inexhaustible appeal. They
are tenets of Freemasonry because always and everywhere they have been tenets of
successful human life.
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Subject 4
SYMBOLS OF THE FIRST DEGREE
The symbols, emblems and allegorical ceremonies of the First Degree have a
meaning and comprise a large part of the teachings of the Degree.
Our time is too brief to give you complete explanations, but we believe
it will be profitable for you to have a few suggestions, especially as they will
show that every detail of the Ritual is filled with a definite significance.
The language of symbols is as universal as man.
In fact, language itself is an illustration of the uses of symbols to
transfer ideas from man to man.
We may divide symbols into two classes-natural and artificial-though sometime
the dividing line between them is very vague, and in many cases the same symbol
is used in both classes. By a
natural symbol we mean one in which the nature of the thing itself conveys an
idea and is independent of any other language, either spoken or written.
An artificial symbol is one to which an arbitrary meaning has been
assigned by common agreement.
In general we may say that the letters of the alphabet and words formed from
them are artificial symbols, and the level as it conveys the idea of equality is
a natural one.
The Hoodwink represents the darkness in which the uninitiated stand as
regards Masonry. It is removed at
the moment of enlightenment, suggesting that we do not create the great things
of life, such as goodness, truth and beauty, but find them.
They always exist regardless of the blindness of any individual.
The ancient significance of the Cable Tow is uncertain, and evidence of this
is found in the widely divergent interpretations one may read in the literature
of Masonry. However, without
stating in detail the reasons, we regard the assumption of the Cable Tow in
advance of each of the Degrees as a symbol of the voluntary and complete
acceptance of and pledged compliance with whatever Masonry may have in store;
and his subsequent release after taking the obligation indicates this symbol is
no longer needed, since he has assumed the definite and irrevocable pledge of
the Degree.
Concerning the penalty it suggests it may also be regarded as a physical
symbol of the spiritual penalty which naturally and inevitably follows the
violation of moral obligations. If
a man does not keep the law of his own free will he must be compelled to keep
it. The removal of the Cable Tow
signifies that when a man becomes master of himself he will keep the law
instinctively.
The Ceremony of Entrance signifies birth or initiation, and symbolizes the
fact that the candidate is entering a new world-that of Masonry.
The reception typifies the one real penalty for violation of the Obligation:
the destructive consequences to a man's nature through failure to be true to his
vows.
The Rite of Circumambulation is Masonry's name for the ceremony in which the
candidate is conducted around the Lodge room, an allegorical act rich with many
meanings. One of these is that the
Masonic life is a progressive journey, from station to station of attainment,
and that a Mason should continually search for more light.
An equally significant ceremony is that of Approaching the East.
The East is the source of light, that station in the Heavens in which the
sun appears to dispel the darkness. Masons
are sons of light, therefore, we face the East.
The Altar is a symbol of the spiritual heart of Masonry.
The Obligations have a literal meaning and as such are the foundations of our
disciplinary law, but above this they signify the nature and place of obligation
in human life. An obligation is a
tie, a contract, a pledge, a promise, a vow, a duty; in addition to the
obligations we voluntarily assume, there are many under which we stand
naturally-obligations to God, to our country, to our families, to employers or
employees, to friends and fellow citizens.
The Great Lights in Masonry are the Holy Bible, Square and Compass.
As a Great Light the Holy Bible represents the Sacred Book of the Law and
is a symbol of man's acknowledgment of and his relation to Deity.
The Square is an emblem of virtue. It
is an instrument of architecture that has been used throughout the ages, and our
ancient brethren who wrought in Operative Masonry could not have erected the
superb temple which immortalized the name of King Solomon without the use of
this instrument.
The Compass was employed in Operative Masonry for the accurate measurement of
the architect's plans and to enable him to give just proportions which would
insure stability and beauty. In
Speculative Masonry it is an equally important implement symbolic of that true
standard of rectitude of living which alone can insure beauty and stability in
life. The Compass signifies the
duty which we owe to ourselves-that of circumscribing our desires and keeping
our passions within due bounds. We
might also properly regard the Compass as excluding beyond its circle that which
is harmful or unworthy.
The Lesser Lights represent the Sun, Moon, and Master of the Lodge.
The Word and Grip are our means of recognition by which among strangers we
are able to prove others or ourselves regular Masons in order to enter into
fraternal intercourse.
The Rite of Salutation, in which the candidate salutes each station in turn,
is not only a test of his ability to give the proper due guard and sign, but it
is his recognition of the authority of the principal officers.
It is also a symbol of a Mason's respect for and obedience to all just
and duly constituted authorities. The
Old Charges state this in a single sentence: "A Mason is a peaceable
subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works."
The Worshipful Master is a symbol as well as the executive officer of the
Lodge. As the sun rules the day, he
should endeavor to rule and govern his Lodge.
The Apron is at once an emblem of purity and the badge of a Mason.
By purity is meant clean thinking and clean living, a loyal obedience to
the laws of the Craft and sincere good will to the brethren; the badge of a
Mason signifies that Masons are workers and builders, not drones and
destructionists.
The symbolism of the Rite of Destitution reverts to those ancient times when
men believed that the planets determined human fate and controlled human
passions, and that there was a mental by which each planet was itself
controlled. In ancient initiations
candidates were compelled to leave all metals behind, lest they bring into the
assembly disturbing planetary influences. While
with us this symbolism no longer has an astrological character, the old point
about excluding disturbing influences remains; the candidate is not to bring
into the Lodge room his passions or prejudices lest that harmony, which is one
of the chief concerns of Masonry, be destroyed.
There is another and more obvious significance in this Rite of Destitution:
that of the obligation of every Mason to recognize and alleviate, so far as his
resources reasonably permit, the distress of his fellowman; and we are reminded
that this obligation rests with even greater weight upon us when the one in
distress is a Masonic Brother.
The Northeast Corner is traditionally the place where the cornerstone of a
building is laid. The Apprentice
is, therefore, so placed to receive his first instruction on which to build his
moral and Masonic edifice.
The Operative Mason would have been helpless without his Working Tools.
Except for them there would have been no magnificent cathedrals, no
superb Temple of Solomon; even the Craft itself would have been non-existent,
and the world today infinitely poorer.
Nowhere in Masonry do we find the impact of symbolism more significant than
in its application to the Working Tools. Without
them, Speculative Masonry would be but an empty shell of formalism-if, indeed,
it managed to exist at all. While
they do not contain the whole philosophy of Masonry, the various Working Tools
allocated to the three Degrees by their very presence declare there is
constructive work to be done; and by their nature indicate the direction this
work is to take.
The Entered Apprentice is himself a symbol, one of the noblest in the
emblematic system of the Craft. He
represents youth, typified by the rising sun; trained youth, youth willing to
submit itself to discipline and to seek knowledge in order to learn the great
art of life represented and interpreted by all the mysteries of Masonry.
It is by such voices and arts as all these, that our magnificent First Degree
gave its teachings to you as a man and an Entered Apprentice.
We sincerely hope that these suggestions as to the meaning of these
symbols and emblems will lead you to seek further for more light, not only that
you may become a well-trained Mason, but also for their value to your life
outside the Lodge room.
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Subject 5
DUTIES, PRIVILEGES AND LIMITATIONS
OF AN ENTERED APPRENTICE
As an Entered Apprentice you have an immediate and personal interest in our
subject, but our discussion should lead you to see that it has a permanent and
important interest for every Mason, however long it may have been since he
received the First Degree. In a
sense we always remain Entered Apprentices; the teachings of the Degree remain
always in effect; its obligations and charge, subject to additions in the
succeeding Degrees, continue to be binding.
As Masons we associate with Apprentices, work with them, perhaps are
sought by them for counsel. Therefore,
it is important for us to have as clear an understanding as possible of the
duties, privileges and limitations of Apprentices.
An Apprentice cannot be a member of a Lodge, vote or hold office.
He is, therefore, not entitled to Masonic burial.
An Apprentice may not visit or sit in a Lodge except when opened on the
First Degree. Since most business
of a Lodge is conducted in the Third Degree, he has neither voice not vote.
Nevertheless, he possesses certain important rights and privileges.
He has the right to be instructed in his work and in matters pertaining
to his Degree. If charged with
violating his obligation, he is entitled to trial.
He has the right to apply for advancement to a higher Degree.
Also the Apprentice possesses modes of recognition by which he can make
himself known to other Apprentices, as well as to brethren who have taken
additional Degrees, and he has the privileges of using them.
Complete faithfulness to his obligation, and implied obedience to the charge
are among his important and lasting responsibilities.
'It is also the duty of the Apprentice to learn the required portions of the
Degree with thoroughness, not only because he must prove himself proficient in
order to advance, but also because it contains Masonic teachings of fundamental
importance that remain forever binding on every Mason.
He should not be content with learning the words letter perfect, but
should study the meanings, also-and if he cannot interpret these for himself he
should seek help from others. In a
measure the Degree is complete within its own field, and its teachings should be
permanently incorporated as a part of his Masonic life.
The Apprentice is on probation-- A Mason in the making; he is passing through
a period of trial and testing; his relation to the Craft is like that of the
medical student to the profession of medicine.
Therefore, it is his duty to be obedient, trusting himself without
question to his guides, and in a spirit of humility to respond quickly to the
instructions of the officers of the Lodge.
As yet it is not for him to question what he finds, to discuss the Lodge,
to enter into arguments, or to set himself up as a critic.
The clue to his whole position is furnished by
the word "Apprentice", which means "learner." Since his
status is that of a learner, his chief task is to learn.
But the Entered Apprentice's Degree has a larger meaning.
It signifies the doctrine of Masonic Apprenticeship as a whole, in which
Fellow Crafts and Master Masons also are included.
Freemasonry preserves a secrecy about all its work; it meets behind tiled
doors; it throws over its principles and teachings a garment of symbolism and
ritual; its Art is a mystery; a great wall separates it from the profane world.
Nor is its work easy to understand.
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THIRD MEETING
Subject 1
MEANING OF THE TERM "FELLOW
CRAFT"
"Fellow Craft" is one of the large number of terms which have a
technical meaning peculiar to Freemasonry and are seldom found elsewhere.
In Operative Masonry a "Craft" was an organization of skilled
workmen in some trade or calling, a "fellow" meant one who held
membership in such a craft, obligated to the same duties and allowed the same
privileges.
In Freemasonry it possesses two separate meanings, one of which we may call
the Operative meaning, and the other the Speculative.
In its Operative period Freemasons were skilled workmen engaged as architects
and builders; like other skilled workmen, they had an organized craft of their
own, the general form of which was called a " -Guild." This guild had
officers, laws, rules, regulations, and customs of its own, rigorously binding
on all members.
It divided its membership into two grades, the lower of which composed of
apprenticeship, was explained to you in our first meeting.
You have already learned the Operative meaning of Fellow Craft; now that the
Craft is no longer Operative the term possesses a very different meaning, yet it
is still used in its original sense in certain parts of the Ritual, and, of
course, it is frequently met with in the histories of the Fraternity.
Operative Freemasonry began to decline at about the time of the Reformation,
when Lodges became few in number and small in membership.
A few of these in England began to admit into membership men with no
intention of practicing Operative Masonry, but who were attracted by the Craft's
antiquity, and for social philosophical reasons.
These were called Speculative Masons.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century these Speculatives so
increased in numbers that they gained control, and during the first quarter of
that century completely transformed the Craft into the Speculative Fraternity we
now have.
Although they adhered as closely as possible to the old customs, they made
radical changes to fit the Society for its new purposes.
One of the most important of these was to abandon the old rule of
dividing the members into two grades, or degrees, and to adopt the new rule of
dividing them into three. The
second was called the Fellow Craft’s Degree, the third the Master Mason's
Degree.
The term Fellow Craft is now used as the name of one who has received the
Second Degree. You are a Fellow
Craft; you have passed through the ceremonies, assumed the obligations of the
Fellow Craft's Degree and are registered as a Fellow Craft in the books of the
Lodge. You can sit in either a
Lodge of Apprentices or of Fellow Crafts, but not of Master Masons.
Your duties are to do and to be all that a Fellow Craft's Lodge requires.
Freemasonry is too extensive to be exemplified in a ritual or to be presented
through initiation in one evening. One
Degree follows another and the members of each stand on a different level of
rights and duties; but this does not mean that the Masonry presented in either
the First or Second Degree, so far as its nature and teachings are concerned, is
less important, or less binding, than that presented in the Third Degree.
All that is taught in the First and Second Degrees belongs as vitally and
permanently to Freemasonry as that which is taught in the Third; there is a
necessary subordination in the grades of membership but there is no
subordination of the Masonry presented in each grade.
Do not, therefore, be tempted to look upon the Fellow Craft's Degree as a
mere stepping-stone to the Third. Freemasonry
gave to you one part of itself in the First, another portion in the Second, and
in the Third it will give you yet another, but it is always Freemasonry
throughout. Therefore, we urge on
you the same studious attention while you are a Fellow Craft that you doubtless
expect to give when you are a Master Mason.
In asking you to learn well the duties, privileges, and limitations of an
Entered Apprentice, we also urge you to conceive of apprenticeship in the larger
sense. It is not particularly
difficult for a worthy candidate to become a member in name only, but we want
your ambition to extend far beyond that perfunctory stage.
We believe that you wish to become a Mason in reality and that no idle
desire for the honor of bearing the name has been your motive for seeking our
fellowship. If this be true, we
urgently advise you not to be content with the letter and outward form in this
your beginning period, but to apply yourself with freedom, fervency and zeal to
the sincere and thorough mastering of our Royal Art.
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Subject 2
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE RITUAL OF
THE SECOND DEGREE
You are now a Fellow Craft. Our
purpose is to try to explain some of the meanings of the Degree; a part only, as
it would require many evenings to explain it in full.
Many great ideas are embodied therein, which, if understood, will lead to
comprehension of others.
One of these is the idea of adulthood.
The Entered Apprentice represents youth standing at the portals of life, his
pathway lighted by the rays of the rising sun.
The Master Mason represents the man of years, already on the farther
slope of the hill with the setting sun in his eyes.
The Fellow Craft is a man in the prime of life-experienced, strong,
resourceful, able to bear the heat and burden of the day.
Only in its narrowest sense can adulthood be described in terms of years.
If and when he achieves it, a man discovers that the mere fact that he is
forty or fifty years of age has little to do with it.
Adulthood is rather a quality of mind and heart.
The man in his middle years carries the responsibilities.
It is he upon whom a family depends for support; he is the Atlas on whose
shoulders rest the burdens of business; by his skill and experience the arts are
sustained; to his keeping are entrusted the destinies of the State.
It is said that in the building of his Temple, King Solomon employed
eighty thousand Fellow Crafts, who labored in the mountains and the quarries.
The description is suggestive, for it is by men in the Fellow Craft
period of life that the work is done, in the mountains and quarries of human
experience.
What does the Second Degree say to the Fellow Craft, whether in Masonry or in
the world at large? The Answer
brings us to the second great idea that the Fellow Craft is so to equip himself
that he will prove adequate to the tasks which will be laid upon him.
What is that equipment? The
Degree gives us at least three answers.
The first is that the Fellow Craft must gain direct experience from contact
with the realities of existence. You
will recall what was said about the Five Senses.
Needless to say, that portion of the Middle Chamber Lecture was not
intended as a dissertation on either physiology or psychology; it is symbolism,
and represents what a man learns through seeing, touching, tasting, hearing and
smelling-in short, immediate experience; and a man garners such experience only
with the passage of time.
The second answer is education. The
possibilities of an individual's experience are limited.
Could we learn of life only that with which we are brought in contact by
our senses, we would be poorly equipped to deal with its complexities and
responsibilities. To our store of
hard-won experience we add the experience of others, supplementing ours by the
information of countless men which is brought to us through many channels; our
own knowledge must be made more nearly complete by the accumulated knowledge of
the race.
We have a picture of this in Freemasonry: . In the days when Masons were
builders of great and costly structures, the apprentice was a mere boy, ten to
fifteen years of age, scarcely knowing one tool from another, ignorant of the
secrets and art of the builders. Yet,
if worthy and skillful, after seven years he was able to produce his Master's
Piece and perform any task to which the Master might appoint him.
How was all this accomplished? Only
by the instruction, guidance and inspiration the Master was able to give him
as a result of long years of experience and development.
Such is education, symbolized in the Second Degree by the Liberal Arts and
Sciences. No doubt you were
surprised to hear what was said about grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic,
geometry, music and astronomy, and wondered what such schoolroom topics had to
do with Masonry. You understand
now! The explanation of these
subjects was not intended as an academic lecture.
Like so much else in the Degree, they are symbolism signifying all that
is meant by education.
The third answer is wisdom.
Experience gives us awareness of the world at points of immediate contact;
knowledge gives us competence for special tasks in the activities of life.
But a man's life is not confined to his immediate experience; nor is he
day and night engaged in the same task; life is richer than that!
Wisdom is that quality of judgment by which we are able to adapt our
experience and knowledge to a practical solution of our social relations to
others; wisdom to make our work conform to the plan of the Great Architect.
The Middle Chamber, which is so conspicuous in the Second Degree, is a symbol
of wisdom. Through the Five Senses
(Experience), and through knowledge of the Liberal
Arts and Sciences (Education), the candidate is called to advance, as on
Winding Stairs, to that maturity of life in which the senses, emotions,
intellect, character, work, deeds, habits and soul of a man are knit together in
unity, balanced, poised, adequate: Wisdom.
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Subject 3
SYMBOLS AND ALLEGORIES OF THE
SECOND DEGREE
Of the allegories peculiar to
this Degree the most striking and important is that in which you acted the part
of a man approaching King Solomon's Temple; you came into its outer precincts;
passed between the Two Pillars, climbed a winding stairs and at last entered the
Middle Chamber where our ancient brethren received their wages of Corn, Wine,
and Oil. During certain stages of
this allegorical journey you listened to various parts of a discourse which
Masonry calls the Middle Chamber Lecture.
We gradually achieve a greater appreciation of the great values of life;
religion, which is man's quest for God; brotherhood, which is a life of
fellowship grounded in good will; art, by which we enjoy the beautiful;
citizenship, by which we enjoy the good of communal life; science, by which we
learn the nature of the world we live in; literature, by which we enter into
communion with the life of all mankind. A
good life is one in which all such things are appreciated and enjoyed.
All this is commonplace, in the sense that it conforms to the experience of
wise men everywhere. It is not
commonplace in the sense that all men understand it or follow it.
For many men do not understand it, or if they do, have not the will to
follow it. Such men, when young,
are so impatient, or indolent, or conceited, that they refuse to submit to a
long and painful apprenticeship, and reach adult life with all its tasks and
responsibilities, without training and without knowledge, blindly trusting to
their luck.
This belief that the good things of life come by chance to the fortunate, is
a fatal blunder. The satisfying
values of life, spiritual, moral, intellectual, or physical, cannot be won like
a lottery prize; they cannot come at all except through patient, intelligent and
sustained effort.
Your instructions relative to the wages of a Fellow Craft, given in the place
representing the Middle Chamber of King Solomon's Temple, are by no means
completed at this point, for, in common with all other values of Freemasonry,
they are a continuing experience. The
“wages" are the intangible but no less real compensation for a faithful
and intelligent use of the Working Tools, fidelity to your obligations, and
unflagging interest in and study of the structure purpose, and possibilitiesmof
the Fraternity. Such wages may be
defined in terms of a deeper understanding of Brotherhood, a clearer conception
of ethical living, a broader toleration, a sharper impatience with the mediocre
and unworthy, and a more resolute will to think justly, independently, and
honestly.
You recall the prominence which was given the letter G. It is doubtful if
this symbol in its present form was of any Masonic significance prior to the
18th century, but since that time it has come to have a double interpretation:
first, as being the first letter of our name for the Deity in whose existence
all Masons have professed belief, the continued expression of which is
symbolized by the presence of the Volume of the Sacred Law upon our altar;
second, as being the initial of Geometry, regarded as the basic science of
Operative Masonry, now symbolizing to Speculative Masons the unchanging natural
laws which govern the whole material universe.
Together they symbolize that attribute of God revealed to us through
Geometry: God as the great intelligence of the universe.
This is consistent, as the entire Degree makes its appeal to the
intellect.
Such are some of the meanings of your allegorical entrance into Solomon's
Temple as a candidate in the Second Degree.
Other symbols and allegories in the Degree may be interpreted in the
light of these definitions when the
Degree as a whole becomes a living influence upon our lives, not only in the
Lodge room but in the world of human experience of which the Lodge room is a
symbol.
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Subject 4
DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES OF A
FELLOWCRAFT
The first and foremost duty of a Fellowcraft is to live according to the
obligations of the Degree; to be obedient to the officers of the Lodge and to
the rules, regulations, and laws of the Fraternity.
Also he must learn well the work in order to pass his test for
proficiency. If he be earnest and
sincere he will study the meaning of the Degree as a preparation for his Masonic
life in the future.
His limitations are equally plain. He
may sit in Lodge only when open on the Fellow Craft or Entered Apprentice
Degree. He is not entitled to vote,
to hold office, to have a voice in the administration of the Lodge, nor would he
be entitled to relief, to join in public Masonic processions, or to Masonic
burial.
He has a right to instruction whereby he may prove himself proficient in open
Lodge; and he can make himself known to other Fellow Crafts by means of his
modes of recognition.
A Mason remains a Fellow Craft, in a real sense, as long as he lives.
Taking the First Degree is like drawing a circle; the Second Degree is a
circle drawn around the first; the Third Degree is a still larger circle drawn
around the other two, and containing both.
A portion of Freemasonry is contained within the first; another part is
in the second, still a third in the last. Being
a Master Mason includes being also an Entered Apprentice and a Fellow Craft.
The Entered Apprentice's and Fellow Craft's Degrees are not like stages
left behind in a journey to be abandoned or forgotten; rather are they preserved
and incorporated in the Master Mason's Degree and form the foundation on which
it rests.
The ideas, the ideals, and the teachings of the Second Degree as permanently
belong to Freemasonry as the Third; the moral obligations continue always to be
binding. A Master Mason is as much
the Brother of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts as of Master Masons.
Freemasonry has many aspects. The
First Degree makes its appeal to the conscience, and we are taught how necessary
is obedience, apprenticeship and industry if we would become good men and true.
The Second Degree exalts the intellectual, paying its tribute alike to
knowledge and wisdom. In the Third
Degree, as you will learn in due time, is the Masonry of the soul.
Running through all three degrees is the Masonry of fellowship, good
will, kindness, loyalty, tolerance, brotherly love; we also learn the Masonry of
benevolence, expressed in relief and charity; again we have Masonry as an
institution, organized under laws and managed by responsible officers; and yet
again we have a Masonry that holds above and before us those great ideals of
truth, justice, courage and goodness, to which we can always aspire.
The Operative builders gave the world among other masterpieces, the great
Gothic cathedrals of Europe. Their
art was one of the highest and the most difficult practiced in their period.
The Masons were Masters of mathematics, which they called Geometry, of
engineering, of the principles of design, of carving, of stained glass, and of
mosaic. Through all the changes of
the Craft in after years, through its transformation more than two hundred years
ago into a Speculative Fraternity, their great intellectual tradition has
remained and stands today embodied in the Second Degree, which teaches Masons to
love the Liberal Arts and Sciences, and apply them in daily living.
This Masonry of the mind develops one of the real meanings of the Second
Degree; it is what truly signified by our term "Fellowcraft".
Whenever you prove yourself a friend of enlightenment, whenever you
become an enemy of bigotry or intolerance, and a champion of the mind's right to
be free, to do its work without check or hindrance, when you support schools and
colleges, and labor to translate into action the command "let there be
light", you live the teachings of the Fellowcraft Degree.
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Subject 5
THE TEACHINGS OF MASONRY
You have now had conferred upon you the First and Second Degrees of Ancient
Craft Masonry. And while you have
yet to reach the climax of your journey in the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason,
already you have discovered that Freemasonry has a certain teaching of its own,
and to expound on this is one of the principal functions of the Ritual.
You have likewise discovered that Masonry's method of teaching is unlike that
of the schools. Instead of
employing teachers and textbooks and lessons in didactic form, expounding its
teaching in words, Freemasonry uses Ritual, symbol, and allegory.
This is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but has this
great advantage; it makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to
search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act
of learning is of educational value. The
purpose of secrecy is not to keep a candidate in the dark, but to stimulate him
to seek the light; the symbols and emblems do not conceal the teaching, they
reveal it, but in such a manner that a man must find it for himself.
Only when a man finds truth for himself is it likely to remain a
permanent possession.
A few interpretations of Masonic teachings can only suggest what you will
find by your own efforts, how you will find it, and where.
Necessarily there can be no exhaustive exposition of Masonic truth,
because in its nature it is something each man must discover for himself.
Freemasonry is devoted to Brotherhood, exists to furnish opportunities to its
members to enjoy it not only for its own sake but as a means to something
beyond. Brotherhood rests on a
religious basis; we are all brothers because God is the Father of us all;
therefore religion is one of the foundations of Masonry.
Masonry is dedicated to God, the
Great Architect of the Universe. An
altar at the center of every Lodge room bears the Holy Bible open upon it.
Lodges begin and end their meetings with prayer.
When Freemasonry obligates a candidate he must be upon his knees.
Petitioners must believe in God. All
this is genuine religion, not a formal religiousness; it is sincerely held and
scrupulously upheld, and without this basic the Craft would wither and die like
a tree with roots destroyed.
But this religion of Masonry, like all its teachings, is not set forth in
written creeds; the Mason must come upon it for himself, and put it in such form
as will satisfy his own mind, leaving others to do likewise.
This is Masonic tolerance, one of the prime principles of the Craft, and
protected by the Old Charge which forbids all sectarian discussion in our
assemblies.
Masonry teaches the necessity of morality, requiring its member to be good
men and true, righteous when tried by the Square, upright when tried by the
Plumb, their passions kept in due bounds by the Compass; just in their dealings
with their fellows, patient with the erring, charitable, honorable.
A candidate must possess such a character as indicated to be qualified
for admittance, and a Mason must persevere in it to retain his right to
membership.
Through the agency of the Lodge and of the Grand Lodge each of us gives
support to the charities maintained by both.
Also each of us should privately extend a helping hand in relief of an
unfortunate brother, or of his dependents.
Masonry does not advocate a charity carried to the limits of fanaticism;
it is limited by the extent of ability and opportunity, and we are not asked to
give relief to the injury of ourselves or hardship to our families.
Another of Masonry's great teachings is Equity, symbolized by the Level.
This does not represent that doctrine which would erase all distinctions.
There are no duplicates in Nature. Equity
is, rather, the principle that we owe good will, charity, tolerance, and
truthfulness equally to all, and that within our Fraternity all men travel the
same road of initiation, take the same obligations, pay the same dues, and have
the same duties, rights and privileges.
The Mason is a good citizen, loyal to his government and just to his country,
conducting himself as a wise and moral man, remembering in all things that he
has in his keeping the good name of his Fraternity.
These teachings are bound together in an organic unity by the nature and
needs of the Brotherhood for the sake of which the whole system of the Craft
exists. To endure through all
vicissitudes, and to satisfy our natures, Brotherhood must have a spiritual
basis, hence the importance of our conception of religion.
Brotherhood requires that men must be held together by unbreakable ties,
hence the necessity for morality, which is a name for the forces that bind us
together in ethical relations. Differences
in beliefs and opinions must not rupture these bonds, hence the need for
tolerance. Men cannot easily come
together except when they have the same rights and privileges, hence the
necessity of equality. They cannot
work together unless all understand the work to be done, hence the need of
enlightenment. They will not be
drawn together unless they are filled with that spirit of good will which
necessarily expresses itself in charity and relief.
And Brotherhood cannot exist except in a nation which admits of it, hence
the need for Masons to be good citizens. Through
all the teachings of Masonry run these principles which lead back to the
conception and practice of Brotherhood; from the conception all teachings
emerge, to it all come in the end. Gain
a clear understanding of that and you will have that secret by which all else is
made plain.
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FOURTH MEETING
Subject 1
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE RITUAL OF
THE THIRD DEGREE
You have been raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.
It is indeed a "sublime" Degree, which a man may study for
years without exhausting.
Any interpretation must necessarily be a hint only; yet a hint may stimulated
man to reflect upon it for himself and to study it more thoroughly in the
future.
In the First and Second Degrees you were surrounded by
the symbols and emblems of architecture; in the Third Degree you found a
different order of symbolism, cast in the language of the soul--its life, its
tragedy and its triumph. To
recognize this is the first step in interpretation.
The second step is to recognize that the Third Degree has many meanings; it
is not intended to be a lesson, complete within itself, but rather a pointing
out of paths, a new department, a series of inspiration, like a great symphony,
drama or picture to which one may evermore return to find new meanings, new
beauties and new truths.
There are many interpretations of the Degree; but essentially .it is a drama
of immortality of the soul, setting forth the truth that while a man's body
withers away and perishes, the man, himself, perishes not.
That this is the meaning most generally adopted by the Craft is shown by our
habits of language; we say that a man is "initiated", an Entered
Apprentice; "passed", a Fellow Craft; and "raised", a Master
Mason. By this it appears that it
is the raising that most Masons have found at the center of the Master Mason's
Degree.
Evil in the form of tragedy is set forth in the drama of the Third Degree.
Here is a good and wise man, a builder, working for others and giving
others work, the highest we know, as it is dedicated wholly to God; a man who
through no fault of . his own experiences tragedy from friends and fellow
Masons. Here is evil pure and
unhallowed, a complete picture of human tragedy.
How did the craft meet this tragedy? The
first step was to impose the supreme penalty on those who had possessed the will
to destroy and therefore had to be destroyed lest another tragedy follow.
The greatest enemy man has makes war upon the good; to it no quarter can
be given
The next step was to discipline and to pardon those who acted not out of an
evil will, but through weakness were misled.
Forgiveness is possible if a man himself condemns the evil he has done,
since in spite of his weakness he retains his faith in the good.
The next step was to recover from the wreckage caused by the tragedy whatever
of value it had left undestroyed. Confusion
had come upon the Craft; order was restored.
Loyal Craftsmen took up the burdens dropped by the traitors.
It is in the nature of such a tragedy that the good suffer for the evil
of others and it is one of the prime duties of life that a man shall toil to
undo the harm wrought by sin and crime, else in time the world would be
destroyed by the evils that are done in it.
But what of the victim of the Tragedy. Here
is the profoundest and most difficult lesson of the drama--difficult to
understand, difficult to believe if one has not been truly initiated into the
realities of the spiritual life. Because
the victim was a good man, his goodness rooted in an unvarying faith in God,
that which destroyed him in one sense could not destroy him in another.
The spirit in him rose above the reach of evil; by virtue of it he was
raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular.
Let us imagine a genuinely good man who has been the victim of the most
terrible of tragedies, one caused by the treachery of friends.
This treachery has brought destruction upon the foundation of his life,
his home, his reputation, his ability to earn a livelihood.
How can he be raised above the clutch of such circumstances?
How can he emerge a happier man than before?
By his spirit rising to the level of forgiveness, of resignation, of
self-sacrifice, refusing to stoop to retaliation or to harbor bitterness.
In such a spirit the truest happiness is found.
The secret of such a power is in the Third Degree, symbolized by the Word.
If that Word is lost a man must search for it' if a man possesses that
word he has the secret of the Masonic Art.
To rise to the height of spiritual life is to stand on a level above the
reach of tragedy or the powers of evil. To
have the spirit rest in God, to have a sincere and unvarying faith in truth and
goodness, is the inner secret of a Master Mason, to teach which is the purpose
of the Third Degree.
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Subject 2
SYMBOLS AND ALLEGORIES OF THE
THIRD DEGREE
In your experience with the Ritual and your meetings with us, you have
learned that every phase, event, and other detail in the ceremonies of
initiation is full of meaning. No
item is merely for effect or ornament. In
the Third Degree are the deepest secrets and profoundest teachings of our
Fraternity. At this time we can
give you but a hint, in the hope that it may inspire you to study the Degree for
yourself.
The symbolism of the First and Second Degrees centers around the art of
architecture; Their purpose is to teach you, in the First Degree to be a builder
of yourself; in the Second Degree to be a builder of society.
In the Third Degree the symbolism takes another form.
Although its background continues to be architecture, and its actions
take place in and about a Temple, it is a spiritual symbolism of life and death,
and its principal teaching is immortality.
Frequent references are made to King Solomon's Temple.
This great temple reflecting majesty, magnitude, and magnificence, after
standing for 420 years, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldees.
Its successor, erected by Zerubbabel, stood nearly 500 years, when it was
reconstructed by Herod-- The Temple of Herod--which was destroyed by the Romans
under Titus. The Mosque of Omar,
occupying the original site, has stood for twelve centuries.
These thirty centuries have produced great changes but the foundations
remain unmoved. Each stone, immense
and artistic, may be identified by the private mark of the quarryman and still
defies the ravages of time.
So with Masonry, its foundation, composed of the grandest principles ever
communicated from God to man, stand unmoved.
The Temple of Freemasonry symbolizes the Temple of the Soul.
Just as the Temple of King Solomon was then considered the finest ever
erected by the hand of man, so the Great Architect intends that we shall develop
the finest and most nearly perfect characters.
As certain working tools were employed to-erect that greatest of temporal
buildings, so in Speculative Masonry we must choose as our working tools in life
those moral lessons that build character. So
may the rough ashlar become in time the perfect ashlar.
The Working Tools of the Degrees are all the implements of Masonry, but more
especially the Trowel, by which we spread the cement of Brotherly Love.
But Brotherly Love itself has its source and seat in the soul.
To love a man above his sins, to cherish him in spite of his faults, to
forgive him in all sincerity, to bear with him and to forbear, is possible only
as we feel the influence of the spiritual, and have divested ourselves of
selfishness.
The Tragedy of Hiram Abif is the climax of the Degree.
Next in importance, and in many ways equal in interest, is the
allegorical Search For That Which Was Lost.
This has an historical background. To
the early Jewish people a name was something peculiarly identified with a
person, and held in reverence. Sometimes
it was secret and a substitute was used in daily life.
All this appears in our Ritual in the form of an allegory.
A Word was possessed; a Word was lost.
Like all symbols, this means many things.
One of its profounder meanings is that if a man has lost the ideals and
standards of his youth, his character, his faith in truth and goodness, he must,
if he is to live the Masonic life, go in search of that which was lost, and
continue searching until he finds it.
You may wonder why the Ritual does not explain fully and clearly the meaning
of this symbolism, why it leaves the candidate to find the meaning for himself.
There are at least three reasons for this silence, apparently so strange.
First, lack of sufficient time. Second,
the Masonic life grows by what we do for ourselves, infinitely more than by what
others do for us. The Ritual
presupposes that we are grown men, not boys in school, and that each of us does
his own thinking. Third, the method
of the Ritual is to bring us into the presence of the greater truths of life
knowing that their mere presence will have a deep influence over us; each man is
left to work them out in detail according to his own needs.
Of the Emblems of the Third Degree, one after another is set before us,
apparently in no given order, and each with only a hint of what it signifies.
Yet each of them stands for some great idea or ideal.
Each of them is a master truth.
In the three Pillars we have the three great ideas-Wisdom, Strength and
Beauty. The three steps remind us
of how Youth, Manhood, and Old Age is a unity in itself, each possessing its own
duties and problems, each calling for its own philosophy.
The Pot of Incense teaches that, of all forms of worship, to be pure and
blameless in our inner lives is more acceptable to God than anything else,
because that which a man really is, is of vastly greater importance than that
which he appears to be. The Book of
Constitution is the emblem of law, and that our moral and spiritual character is
grounded in law and order as much as is government or nature.
It teaches that no man can live a satisfactory life who lives lawlessly.
The sword Pointing to a Naked Heart discovers that one of the most rigorous
of these laws is justice, and that if a man be unjust in his heart, the
inevitable results of injustice will find him out.
The All Seeing Eye shows that we live and move and have our being in God;
that we are constantly in His Presence, wherever or whatever we are doing.
The Anchor and the Ark stand for that sense of security and stability of life
grounded in truth and faith, without which sense there can be no happiness. The
Forty-seventh Problem of Euclid is an emblem of the arts and sciences; by them
we are reminded that next to sinfulness the most dangerous enemy of life is
ignorance. In the Hour Glass we
have the emblem of the fleeting quality of life.
The Scythe reminds us that passing time will end our lives as well as our
work, and if ever we are to become what we ought to be, we must not delay.
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Subject 3
THE LEGEND OF HIRAM ABIF
In the Sublime Degree you were doubtless impressed by the Tragedy of Hiram
Abif above all other features of its impressive ceremonies.
As the degree is the climax of initiation so is that Tragedy of climax of
the Degree. To understand and
appreciate its richness of profound meaning might well be your ambition.
Since the drama of Hiram Abif is ritualistic, it is immaterial whether it be
historical or not. There was a
Hiram Abif in history, but our Third Degree goes far beyond what history tells
of him. Our Hiram Abif is a symbol
of the human soul. If, therefore,
you have been troubled with the thought that some of the events of this drama
may not have happened, you may ease your mind.
Even if not historically true they are symbols of what occurs in the life
of every man.
It is an inexcusable blunder to treat the drama as a mock tragedy, a serio-comedy.
Savage peoples employ initiation ceremonies as an ordeal test to the
nerve and courage of their young men, but Freemasonry is not savage.
The exemplification of our ritualistic drama should be as sincere, as
solemn, as earnest as a prayer before the Altar; he who takes it trivially or
with perverted humor, betrays a shallowness of soul which shows him unfit to be
a Mason.
Did you ask, while participating in the drama, why you were made to
participate? Why you were not
permitted to sit as a spectator? It
was your drama, not another's! No
man can ever be a mere spectator of drama in his own soul.
It was intended that your participation should prepare you to become a
Master Mason by teaching you the secret of a Master Mason, by which your soul
may rise above its internal enemies if you are to be a Mason in reality as well
as in name. The real Master Mason
is master of himself.
Did you ask why the three enemies came from his own circle, not from outside?
The enemies most feared by the soul are always within: its own ignorance,
passions and sins. As the Great
Light reminds us, it is not that which kills the body that we need most to shun,
but that which has power to destroy the spirit.
Another lesson of profound significance is that of fidelity.
Even in the face of certain death as a result of refusal to betray his
trust, this ancient Grand Master steadfastly guarded his secret.
His standards admitted of no compromise with evil; principle was not
sacrificed to expediency.
The most we can obtain from others are such hints and suggestions as these.
Print the story of Hiram Abif indelibly upon your mind; ponder upon it.
When you are at grips with your enemies recall it and act according to
the light you have found in it. Your
inner self will give, in first-hand experience, that which the drama gave in the
form of Ritual, and you will be wiser and stronger for having the guidance the
Tragedy provides.
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Subject 4
THE LAWS OF FREEMASONRY
Every Master Mason is obliged to abide by the laws, regulations and edicts of
his Grand Lodge, the by-laws of the particular Lodge of which he is a member,
and to maintain the support the Landmarks and "ancient usage’s and
customs of the Fraternity."
The laws of Masonry, like the laws of nations, are both unwritten and
written. The written laws, based on
the "General Regulations" and the "Old Charges" are the
Constitution and laws or ode of the Grand Lodge, its regulations and edicts, and
the by-laws of his particular Lodge. The
Ancient Landmarks are a part of the unwritten law.
The "General Regulations," as set forth in "Anderson' s
Constitutions of 1723," have a curious history, into which it is not
necessary to go; suffice it that they were adopted shortly after the formation
in 1717 of the Grand Lodge in London.
In general, it may be said that the "Old Charges" are concerned
with the individual brother, and his relations to his Lodge and his brethren;
the General Regulations with the conduct of the Craft as a whole.
The General Regulations permit their own alteration by Grand Lodge, the
Old Charges do not.
Most civil laws are provided with measures of enforcement and penalties for
infringement; Masonic law knows but three penalties for infringement: Reprimand,
Suspension and Expulsion. These
penalties can be inflicted after Masonic trials with a guilty verdict only.
Compared to the number of Masons, these trials are very rare.
Masons as a rule are willing to obey the laws and enforcement is seldom
required.
There is no complete uniformity in the Masonic Law of the various Grand
Jurisdictions. Different latitudes,
different characteristics and ideas have left their impressions upon all Grand
Lodges.
The "Ancient Landmarks" as we customarily call them, may be briefly
defined as those fundamental laws of Masonry which are not subject to change.
Many Masons want to know what these landmarks are.
The Great Masonic student, Albert Gallatin Mackey,
formulated a list of twenty-five which have been adopted by many of the
Grand Lodges while others have adopted a different list, varying all the way
from seven in Massachusetts to fifty-four in Kentucky.
We may liken the Masonic landmarks to the fundamental principles of character
building, which you will understand more fully as you advance in Masonry, but do
not be disturbed if you cannot make a list of all those principles.
With the "Old Charges" for precedent, the first "General
Regulations" for organic law, Grand Lodges write and adopt their
constitutions and laws and particular Lodges write and adopt their by-laws,
subject to the approval of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge in our jurisdiction.
Grand Masters, ad interim, formulate and issue edicts and make decisions;
often these are later incorporated by the Grand Lodge into the written law of
the jurisdiction. All of these
together form the legal structure of Freemasonry.
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Subject 5
THE DUTIES, RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES
OF A MASTER MASON
You will not find the duties, rights, and privileges of a Master Mason
anywhere completely stated and numbered. They
are scattered here and there, some in symbols, others in the form of customs,
others in laws. Some are explicit,
others are implied.
A Master Mason's first duty is obviously to live by and act consistently with
his obligation. Unless this is done
he cannot perform his other duties, nor can he justly claim his rights and
privileges. With this as a
foundation, a number of those duties and rights can be discussed in detail.
Full privileges of membership are established when he is raised to the
sublime degree of a Master Mason. Thereafter
he has a right to a voice in the administration of the affairs of the Lodge, to
vote, hold office, and demit.
It is a Master Mason's duty, legal and moral, to pay his share of
the financial costs of the Fraternity, promptly
and ungrudgingly.
He has the right to petition for affiliation under various circumstances in
accordance with the provisions of the Code.
Visiting in Lodges in which he does not hold
membership is both a right and a privilege, though not a duty. it is a right in
the sense that he may seek admittance into any regular Lodge; it is a privilege
in the sense that his admission into that Lodge is contingent upon his being
vouched for, or examined, if necessary, and being permitted to enter by the
Worshipful Master. If a Mason is
not permitted to enter some Lodge at a certain time, the fact does not cancel
his right to seek to visit it at another time or to seek to visit any other
Lodge. The right to attempt to
visit is indisputable.
Masonic relief, within its proper limitations, is a privilege to be valued,
on the one hand, and a responsibility to be recognized, on the other.
The rite of Destitution in the First Degree provides an object lesson
that should never be forgotten, and the obligation of the Third Degree contains
a still broader definition of the requirements of Masonic relief.
Every affiliated Master Mason has the right to Masonic burial.
In practice his family has the right
of requesting this honor. This
right is of more importance than may at first appear.
If without giving cause a Lodge refused to give Masonic burial, the
community might naturally infer something reprehensible, known only to the
Lodge, and both his name and family would suffer accordingly.
Among the most important of his rights, though exercised under unhappy
conditions, is his right of trial by his peers, under regulated conditions, with
freedom to present evidence. This
assures him that no Lodge can degrade him without a fair trial.
Neither his Lodge, nor any officer or member, can remove him through
malice or spite, nor can he be made to suffer the penalties of Masonry through
idle gossip or hearsay.
If he is brought to trial in his own Lodge on charges of unmasonic conduct
and found guilty, he has the right of appeal to the Grand Lodge.
This right is his guaranty against possible injustice, more particularly
against local prejudice or spiteful persecution by some private enemy.
A Master Mason's rights and privileges are to be described in principle and
in spirit rather than in detail. Beyond
all specific duties, rights and privileges exists a region in which a11 are
mingled together; the whole domain of Masonry's teachings, her ritual and
symbols, her history, her ideals of jurisprudence, her philosophy, her
literature, the whole Royal Art. It
is his right to be taught that Art and to have it in its fullness, none of it
being reserved for a privileged few. It
is his to enjoy all the privileges it offers to the spirit, the mind, the heart.
All that Freemasonry is, all that it means, all that it has to give or to
offer, belongs to every individual Mason in the same way and to the same extent
as to all others. However onerous
your duties may prove to be, or however rigidly your rights may at times appear
to be regulated, such burdens sink into nothingness by comparison with this one
privilege, that Freemasonry in all her height, and breadth, and length, and
richness belongs to you to use and enjoy.
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