MASONIC PHILOSOPHY: AN OVERVIEW
by Bro. Robert G. Aberdeen, P.G.St
There is
something going on in your mind right now!
If you are
wondering "Just what does he mean by that?", then in a broad sense,
you are philosophizing!
What is
Philosophy? We all recognize that it's a manner of thinking, but let's be
more precise. About 2500 years ago a Greek philosopher wrote "Men who
love wisdom must inquire into a great many matters." The word in his
Greek text which was translated into English as "Men who love wisdom"
was "Philosophoi". It stems from two root words, both Greek:
"philia", which means love or "philos" which means friend or
lover, and "sophos", which means wise.
The term
"philosophy" seems to be much abused and much misused we hear people
talk of the marketing philosophy, the political philosophy, the philosophy of
this, the philosophy of that. Purists may argue that these uses are
incorrect, and they may be right. Personally, I don't really care, as long
as the word refers to wisdom. What I do object to is the use of the word
to mean or to imply knowledge or information. To have knowledge does not
necessarily make us wise.
One
dictionary defines philosophy as "love of wisdom"; or "the study
of the causes or laws of phenomena"; or "the study of first
principles". To philosophize is "to search into the reason and
nature of things"; or "to reason like a philosopher". A
philosopher is defined as "a lover of wisdom"; or one who studies
philosophy, or lives according to its rules". I think it should be
"one who studies philosophy and lives according to its rules!"
What has all
this to do with us? As the title of this talk implies, I intend to
investigate Masonic philosophy in a general way, without going into it in very
great depth. I will attempt merely to provide a layman's background for
further thought, for Masons who may be wondering what Masonic philosophy means
and what, if anything, they should do about it.
If you've
already delved into philosophical inquiry, much of what I discuss will be old
hat. If you've read anything at all about the development of western
thought, you might be expecting me to expound on - or at least quote from - the
famous works of ancient philosophers with names that are, well . . .
"Greek" to you. I'm not going to do that because it's not of
great importance to us in the context of this discussion. My specific
concern is with the value I can derive as a man and a Mason by developing from
the tenets and principles of Freemasonry a personal code by which to guide the
course of my everyday life. To do this, I must philosophize!
What is the
philosophy of Masonry? The Masonic Bible contains this description:
.
. . the philosophical basis of masonry involves the history of its origin, an
inquiry into the ideas that lie at its base, an investigation of its peculiar
form, an analytical study of its several degrees, and a development of the ideas
which are illustrated by its ritualistic emblems, myths and veiled allegories
and which speak through its sublime system of symbols.
Some time ago
I was having supper with a business associate from out of town and since I had
been giving the matter quite a bit of thought, I brought up the general subject
of philosophy. He commented that philosophy is only of academic interest
and that it has nothing to do with the business of earning a living.
"It's ancient history," he said, "and only useful as mental
exercise." I'm sure he was just putting me on, because to me,
philosophy is as modern as the space shuttle and as relevant to daily living as
knowing how to drive a car. It touches each of us. Indeed, it
directs our entire lives; moreover, it's something we can make conscious use of,
with very little effort.
What use is
philosophy? It aids us to understand the nature and development of our
civilization and to realize just where we stand. It both interprets our
world and changes it, by changing us. Philosophy is largely a matter of
meanings and the analysis of meanings. It insists, therefore, that we
learn to view all alternatives. At the very least, it improves our use of
language. I'll comment further on that a bit later. First,
however, I ask that you consider this explanation of Freemasonry in the second
paper in Alberta's Lodge Plan for Masonic Education:
.
. . certain principles or fundamental truths which have been proven Freemasonry
has gathered together or taken those by time to be necessary for right thinking
and moral living . . . (and) presents these fundamentals to its initiates for
their use in formulating their own personal philosophy of life or establishing
their own personal code of moral living.
A
turn-of-the-century philosopher named William James once remarked that all men
have a philosophy, in the sense that every person has general views on the
universe and strong commitments to certain inclusive values. These views
and values are generally the product of blind custom and a narrowly limited
experience. Most people are hardly aware that they do have a philosophy or
that their conceptions of the world are built on assumptions and traditional
beliefs which may not be valid.
When a man
questions, examines and assesses the validity of the cardinal assumptions
underlying his traditional beliefs, he may be said to be a philosopher, not
merely to have a philosophy. The principles and truths of Freemasonry are
presented symbolically in the degrees. Bro. H. L. Haywood, a distinguished
Masonic writer, tells us emphatically that
One
of the greatest purposes of Freemasonry is to set a man to the task of
understanding these symbols for himself.
You see,
Brethren, the symbols can be interpreted for you by others, but no one can
understand them for you - you have to understand them for yourself. It's
been said that the purpose of Freemasonry is to help the individual man to
improve himself. To make this improvement he must philosophize, that is,
he must question, examine and assess the application of the principles which
Masonry presents.
In spite of
all the foregoing we have yet to answer the question, "what is
philosophy?" Take heart, even philosophers of renown disagree.
They disagree on the ultimate objectives, the proper methods and the legitimate
scope of philosophical inquiry, but whatever else you wish to include in the
aims of the philosophical enterprise, most philosophers do agree that it does
have the task of explaining the meaning of the major concepts we use in
understanding our experiences and clarifying the conditions of responsible moral
judgment. Responsible moral judgment, is that what we're after?
Philosophers
have tried many definitions of philosophy: "the study of the universe and
man's place in it"; "the quest for knowledge of the first or ultimate
principles of things"; "a stubborn attempt to think clearly" and
"a questioning of answers rather than an answering of questions".
I like that last one, "a questioning of answers". Early in our
careers as Masons we are admonished to ". . . make a daily advancement in
Masonic knowledge." As man advances in knowledge, he invariably
discovers new tools for analyzing his accepted world. Often he may begin
to doubt the adequacy of previously proposed answers. "The more we
learn, the less we know," as they say. Philosophy, then, has
come to mean the search for truth, not the possession of it.
There are, of
course, several branches of philosophy. The ancient philosophers were
particularly concerned with the study of the physical world, which we call
Natural Philosophy. This branch led to our modern science with its facts
and proven theorems. Here we can see clearly that advances in knowledge
replaced old answers with newer, more adequate ones. In the field of Logic
we can see progress in the refinement of the methods of reasoning. The
study of how one attains knowledge is called Epistemology and the appreciation
of beauty is called Aesthetics. The study of the first principles of
being, the ultimate reality, is called Metaphysics, meaning beyond natural
science, and deals with concepts of divinity and life after death (as taught by
Freemasonry). Moral Philosophy deals with the principles of human action
and conduct.
The two
last-mentioned branches, Metaphysical and Moral Philosophy, seem to encompass
what we call Masonic Philosophy. We are concerned with beauty, but in the
Metaphysical sense, as a representation of the design of Deity.
In the
twelfth paper of our Lodge Plan for Masonic Education the teachings of Masonry
are discussed. We are reminded that Masonry is dedicated to the Great
Architect of the Universe and that
.
. . this philosophy of masonry, like all else in its teaching, is not set forth
in written creeds or in any other form of words; the the Mason must come upon it
for himself and put it in such form as will satisfy his own mind.
Now, that
statement may seem hard to believe, at first. We can understand that each
of us must "put it in such form as will satisfy his own mind," but
with our vast libraries filled with thousands of Masonic books and papers, how
can we say that Masonic philosophy and teachings are "not set forth . . .
in . . . words"?
Let's
consider words, for a moment. Words and language are the tools of philosophers.
Wittgenstein (1889-1951), an influential philosopher, put forward what some
people considered to be a radical thesis. He said, "The problems of
philosophers arise in consequence of fundamental errors in the use of
language." Language is the instrument we use in the formation
and communication of ideas and is therefore of central importance to philosophy.
The difficulty is that when you transmit a thought, you use words which are
clear to you but which may not hold exactly the same meaning for your listener.
He tends to understand your words in his own terms of reference, not yours, and
distortion creeps in. You may recall the party game in which one person
whispers a prepared story to another; he in turn passes it on to the person next
to him and so on until it comes back to the originator, who writes it down for
comparison. The result usually differs a great deal from the original,
often to the point of hilarity, to the delight of all as both versions are read
aloud.
This
distortion is compounded by our natural tendency to add coloration by using
words metaphorically, emotionally and pictorially. You might describe a
dear friend of yours as being firm in his convictions, but to someone else, he's
nothing short of pig-headed. Both descriptions mean that your friend is
not easily influenced. Another difficulty that leads to confusion is
that the accepted meanings of some words change with the passing years.
Language is
ever fluctuating: it is, after all, a product of culture and therefore subject
to cultural change. The words we use in communicating thoughts, ideas,
feelings, are imperfect tools and are often vague or uncertain in
definition. Every philosopher since the days of Socrates and Plato
has struggled with the problem of the precise meaning and definition of words,
which we call Semantics.
Dictionaries
frequently give several meanings of a word and these meanings are usually
obvious from the context in which the word is used, but many words are
indefinite and ambiguous. What is "religion", an organization or
a spiritual impulse? What is "love", and how do you
"make" it? How do you assign a precise meaning to
"mind", "reality", "justice",
"happiness", "truth", "God"?
Unfortunately,
the key terms in philosophy are such as these. We can and do argue
indefinitely over misunderstood statements because of our errors in the use of
language. But, when one undertakes a study of philosophy or engages in a
philosophical discussion, he must take care to stay within one meaning of a
term, without limiting that term to that single meaning forever.
The authors
of the rituals which we use probably chose their words and phrases with great
care in order to convey their meanings with utmost clarity.
Certainly the rituals have changed over the years but still many Masons of today
have difficulty in comprehending what our forefathers found so obvious.
When we begin to learn the work, many passages seem difficult and lacking in
continuity. But as the original meanings sink in, they become clear and
fluid. The principles of Freemasonry are there, in words and symbols.
It only remains for us to study them, to view them from all angles, to
categorize them and put then, in usable form: to come to understand them for
ourselves.
Let's review
our progress in this review of Masonic Philosophy. We've defined
philosophy as a search for ultimate truth in the sense of wisdom, not merely
knowledge or information. Truth is one of the fundamental principles of
Freemasonry, but we never clearly explain what we mean by truth. We'll
talk about that a bit later, but you can see the reason why we say, in the Lodge
Plan for Masonic Education, that Masonry's teaching method
.
. . makes a Mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the
truth, compels him to take the initiative, as a grown man should, so that the
very act of learning is in itself of great educational value.
When the
candidate comes to our door he already holds general views on the universe which
guide his actions, but those views may be based on assumptions and beliefs of
dubious validity. By a careful study of Masonic principles his views and
values may be improved and, we hope, he will because of this become a better
person. To discover the real meaning of Masonry, the secret of the Masonic
art, the dedicated Mason must philosophize on its teachings. We've said
that those teachings seem to be primarily concerned with the guiding influence
of a Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul, and with the necessity of
morality. Let's examine those concerns more closely.
Freemasonry
is devoted to Brotherhood in the sense that all men are brothers under the
Fatherhood of one Supreme Being. Our Brotherhood, then, has a spiritual
basis, a commonality regardless of religion or creed. To ensure that
commonality, we require that our initiates believe in the existence of one God
and the immortality of the soul, and that God's will has been revealed to man.
Is it important whether we believe that the Holy Book of our Faith was authored
by God or that it was authored by men who were inspired by God? I'll leave
that to you, but the book on our altar is at the centre of our Lodge and at the
centre of Masonry. Masonry begins and ends every undertaking with
prayer. Our candidates are received into the Lodge in the name of God and
immediately after the reception we invoke the blessing of Deity. We ask,
among other things, that the candidate ".
.
. may be the better enabled to display the beauties of true godliness What do we
mean by "true godliness" and what is meant by the "beauty"
of it?
After the
first invocation, the candidate is asked in whom he places his trust. To
avoid the embarrassment of an incorrect response his guide usually whispers the
required answer in his ear. There has been some argument that to do so is
improper. Perhaps his guide should whisper "If you place your trust
in God, say 'in God'," thus leaving the candidate to make the decision.
He might otherwise answer "I trust in my own ability to wiggle out of tight
spots, but if all else fails, I would put my trust in God." Should we
accept a qualified answer? I'll leave that to you, as well, and
although the answer may seem evident, remember that we must learn to view all
alternatives.
In the Charge
to the Newly Initiated Candidate we recommend that he contemplate the Volume of
the Sacred Law, charging him to regulate his actions by the divine precepts
therein and to learn from them his duties to God, to society and to self.
There are other charges in our Constitution which we are directed to read at the
making of new brethren or when the Master shall order it, yet very seldom are
they read. These are commonly called the Ancient Charges, the first
of which is Concerning God and Religion. They all deserve the
contemplation of Masonic philosophers (as I hope you consider yourself to be)
but since we're discussing spiritual matters, let me quote from the first:
Man
looketh at the outward appearance, but God looketh to the heart. A Mason is,
therefore, particularly bound never to act against the dictates of his
conscience. Let a man's religion, or mode of worship be what it may, he is not
excluded from the order, provided he believe in the Architect of heaven and
earth, and practice the sacred duties of morality.
Here we find
the spiritual and the moral closely interlinked. We seem to be instructed
to try to understand and respect the creeds of others without bias or prejudice.
The Charge continues:
Masons
unite with the virtuous of every persuasion, in the firm and pleasing bond of
fraternal love; they are taught to view the errors of mankind with compassion,
and to strive, by the purity of their own conduct to demonstrate the superior
excellence of the faith they may profess.
Doesn't that
seem to contradict the previous instruction? It depends on the meaning you
apply to the word "faith". Faith can mean "the truth which
one believes", that is, one's own personal religion, or it can be given the
broader meaning of "trust in the Great Architect of the Universe".
Do you see the importance of precise meanings and definitions of words?
Let's consider another aspect of the last quotation - "Masons unite with
the virtuous of every persuasion. . ." Here we have a qualifier in
the word "virtuous". The corollary is that Masons do not
unite with men who believe in God, unless they are also virtuous. May we
not then ponder the purpose of providing lessons of virtue only to the virtuous?
"The lessons of virtue . . ." as we say in the General Charge, ".
. . are carefully imbibed by the workmen." According to one
dictionary, a virtuous man is already "pure in thought and deed" and
is "living a good, upright life." Pure means "free from
moral or physical defilement." Is not a thing either pure or impure?
The Charge concludes:
Thus
Masonry is the centre of union between good men and true, and the happy means of
conciliating friendship amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a
perpetual distance.
Well - that
charge by itself is certainly something on which to philosophize. There are, of
course, many other considerations of this aspect of Masonic philosophy.
Indeed, the Master Mason Degree itself is almost wholly devoted to the
spiritual. Or is it? The paper in the Lodge Plan for Masonic
Education which deals with the interpretation of the ritual of this degree
states that "it is, indeed, a 'sublime' degree, which a man may study for
years without exhausting." Sublime means "having noble
qualities" or "giving rise to high or noble thoughts". The
paper goes on to say:
In
the first two degrees you were surrounded by the symbols and emblems of
architecture; in this 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 of this sublime and historic step in
"Craft Lodge" Masonry. The second point is to recognize that the
Master Mason Degree has many meanings; it is not intended to be a lesson
complete, finished, closed.
There are
many interpretations of the Degree, all true. But most essentially, it is
a drama of the immortality of the soul, setting forth the truth that, while a
man withers away and perishes, there is that in him which perishes not.
Let's change
the emphasis now and consider morality. Freemasonry has been defined as a
"system of morality," and is described in the Canadian Rite as
"....the most moral human institution that ever existed ...."
The definitions of "moral" include: "Pertaining to a person's
conduct"; "concerned with the rightness or wrongness of thoughts and
actions"; "acting according to the law of right and wrong".
I've always thought that the term "moral" was interchangeable with the
term "ethical" in the same way that we interchange Masonry and
Freemasonry. Ethic is derived from the Greek word "ethicos"
which means "moral" and moral comes from the Latin "mores",
meaning "custom" or "conduct". The word
"moral" is also used as a noun and in this sense means the lesson of a
story or fable. Perhaps this meaning is more applicable to Masonry than we
realize. I found one dictionary definition of "ethics" which
seems to draw a fine distinction - it calls ethics "the rules which
regulate duty or conduct." That distinction, I believe, is of
some importance when considering the teachings of Masonry. Masonry not
only demonstrates the important truths of morality, it also instructs us in how
to apply these truths to our daily lives and conduct. Morality, we are
told, "is a name for the forces that bind us in the relations of amity and
accord ...." Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, said: "I have
taught men how to live."
At the
conclusion of the Master Mason Degree, the newly raised candidate is charged, in
part, "to improve the morals and correct the manners of men in society
...." The phrase "to improve the morals" implies to me that
morals are subject to change. If they can be improved, may they not also
worsen? We speak of the current wave of sexual freedom as a "new
morality" or as a loosening of moral standards. The point I'm making
is that if morals can be changed and improved, improved in relation to what?
What is the standard? Are we referring to that perfection toward which we
must ever strive, the "beauty of true godliness," or have we a more
earthly standard? Who sets these standards? Are they not
contained in the divine precepts of the Volume of the Sacred Law?
The new Mason is told in the Charge to regulate his actions by these precepts,
and ethics is defined as the rules which regulate duty or conduct.
Further, he is charged to consider the Volume of the Sacred Law as the unerring
standard of truth and justice. The Holy Bible itself, however, reveals
evidence of ethical advancement. The Mosaic Law of Retaliation (life
for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot) is
contained in Exodus, Chapter 21, verses 23 and 24. The previous chapter of
the same book reveals the Ten Commandments and the 19th chapter of
Leviticus, the following book, contains the statement of the Golden Rule:
". . . love thy neighbor as thyself."
Adding to the
confusion of changing customs and morals is the problem of differing standards
among the various cultures. How do we know that our morality is the only
right one? Many differences in moral standards between cultures are due to
geographic locations. Differing climates dictate differing modes of dress
and this may lead to traditional beliefs with no basis in fact. To a
person who has gone naked all his life because of the hot, humid nature of his
environment, whose entire background accepts nudity as an everyday fact, may not
the wearing of clothes, a covering and concealing of the body, seem immoral?
Can we legitimately question the moral validity of the differing practices of
other cultures? How do we know that right is right, that good is good,
that we ought to love our neighbor and strive for excellence?
We know that
all peoples have certain rules of behavior and that these rules may vary from
man to man, from country to country and from civilization to civilization.
Everyone receives some kind of moral education, beginning in his formative years
and continuing through adulthood. Somewhere along the line this education stops
or "sets in". Values are established. Freemasonry
continues this moral education, changing and improving the morals of men in
society, with reference to the highest standards accepted by that society.
These are the norms which we regard as true.
As stated in
an earlier explanation, Masonry presents to its initiates those fundamental
truths which have been proven by time to be necessary for right thinking and
moral living. Thought, as well as action. We accept, then, that at
least some moral values are permanent, but when we talk about maintaining the
good order of society, we must also accept that under certain conditions, even
these "permanent" values may change. Thus we may find moral problems
in our definition of ". . . murder, treason, felony and all other offences
contrary to the laws of God or man." Is abortion or execution murder?
Is draft-dodging treason? Is the Mosaic Law of Retaliation a law of
God? Must we always obey the man-made laws of our society which have long
been obsolete but which still exist simply because we haven't gotten around to
passing the necessary legislation to remove them? Would you act as
Socrates did when he drank the hemlock when the doors of his prison were open
rather than set the example of disobeying the laws of his country?
These are the type of questions that each must ponder for himself in his search
for truth.
Earlier, I
suggested that philosophy has come to mean the search for truth, but
"truth" is never clearly defined. What do we mean by
truth? Truth is agreement with fact; yes, but as a tenet of
Freemasonry, truth must be exact.
Actually,
truth refers not to the fact itself, but to what we believe or state about the
fact. I hold in my hand a long, narrow instrument. It is something
that I use to write with, but it is neither true nor false: it is a fact.
If I state "this is a pen" and it is a pen, then my statement is
true. If it happens to be a pencil, my statement is untrue. If
I believe it to be a pen when in fact it is not, even if I have always called
that specific type of instrument a pen, my statement is still untrue. Just
because it is true as far as I'm concerned doesn't make it true. Truth
consists in stating the actual fact. This may seem pretty obvious to you
but when we search for ultimate truth, in the philosophical sense, we must
distinguish between reality, and dogma and opinion. We tend to call our
firm beliefs "truths" without knowing if they are, in fact, the case.
We may believe with absolute conviction that a thing is true, but what we
believe may be wrong. How do we prove that our belief is true?
To determine whether a thing is true or false we must apply certain tests.
Our methods of testing are central to the philosophical enterprise.
We know that
about some things we may be quite sure, while others may require exhaustive
study just to arrive at the point of arguable probability. Physical objects can
be identified with a high degree of certainty, things that we can see, touch,
smell, hear and taste. Adding to these impressions our previous
experience, we may be able safely to conclude that the thing we're concerned
with is true. The senses, however, may be confused and experience may be
hallucination. In a darkened room a shadowy form may appear to be
something which it is not. Before we make a statement about such a form we
apply tests - we may touch it, walk around it, even turn on the light or strike
a match. Perhaps it's because we rely so much on the sense of sight to
provide the basic evidence for truth that we often say we are seeking for light.
To illumine the mind is to perceive truth. We find it said, "light
comes from God." Can we now read new meaning into the phrase,
"God said, let there be light: and there was light." Light was
the predominant symbol in all of the ancient mysteries, revered because it was
an emanation from the sun, the common object of worship. Pythagoras called
it the good principle of nature, and the Cabalists taught that eternal light
filled all space before the creation, and that after creation it retired to a
central spot and became the instrument of the Divine Mind in creating
matter. Light, therefore, became synonymous with truth and
knowledge, and darkness with falsehood and ignorance. It is therefore a
fundamental symbol of Freemasonry, and contains within itself the very essence
of the speculative science.
To quote once
more from the Lodge Plan for Masonic Education, on page 58:
The
purpose of secrecy is not to keep the candidate in the dark, but to stimulate
him to seek the light . . .
Again, on
page 60:
Men
. . . cannot work together except they all understand the work to be done, hence
the need for enlightenment.
And once
more, on page 63:
.
. . learning the trial lecture of the three degrees . . . will be a possession
for you within your own mind, from which you will constantly draw inspiration
and light in your daily life.
You've
noticed that throughout this talk I've quoted several times from the Lodge Plan
for Masonic Education, published by the Grand Lodge of Alberta. I've done
this purposely because I wanted to use a commonly-available and easy to read
reference to Masonic philosophy outside of our rituals. Those of you who have
read the booklet thoroughly and have contemplated its contents will agree that
it outlines most of the Masonic philosophy covered in this overview.
There is one
other statement of Masonic philosophy with which we're all familiar - the
General Charge which is given once a year in each Lodge, at the conclusion of
the Ceremony for Investing the Officers of a Lodge. I believe that it
should be printed in our Book of Constitution along with the other charges and
that all charges, particularly the General Charge, should be pointed out as the
first objects of study for each Master Mason as soon as possible after he
completes the degrees.
I'd like to
touch on one or two points brought out in the General Charge. We are told in the
first paragraph and again, just before the moving portrayal of the ideal of a
Freemason, that we should have but one aim, the attainment of the chief point in
Freemasonry, which is to endeavor to be happy ourselves and to communicate that
happiness to others. This, then, should always be uppermost in our minds.
But - what is happiness? Pleasure and mirth? The absence of painful
experience? Peace of mind? A sense of satisfaction and
fulfillment? How is it to be achieved? We are told that the chief
employments in the tyled recesses of the Lodge are constituted in a calm enquiry
into the beauty of wisdom and virtue, and the study of moral geometry.
Perhaps we should refer this as well to the tyled recesses of our minds, whether
within the Lodge or without.
I am
constantly amazed at the ritualist who delivers the Work letter-perfect, with
dignity and with meaning that seems to come from the heart, and then spoils it
all by telling the kind of story at the Festive Board that has no place at a
Masonic gathering. To him, the Ritual appears to be the be-all and the
end-all of the Craft. There are others who seem to feel that Freemasonry
consists in taking in new members at the one end and cranking out past masters
at the other. Of course, not all Masons who have yet to delve into Masonic
philosophy are "one-or-two-night-a-month" Masons by any means.
Many of the men who come knocking at our door do so because they have always
tended, as we say in the General Charge, to move quietly and modestly in the
spheres of their lives, generally conducting themselves as Masons should, and
they're looking for companions with similar standards. Perhaps I
should be satisfied with that. Perhaps I would be, if all the men we admit
were of such a nature. After all, not everyone is interested in
studying. Their improvement will surely come about through their
association with Freemasonry and their participation in its activities, though
it will take much more time and assuming that we can maintain their interest
long enough.
Perhaps I
seem impatient. If so, it's because I'm anxious to share that which I've
found in Freemasonry with those who are still wondering if what they see on the
surface is all there really is to the Craft.
Let me
conclude by sharing with you a bit of prose about fireplaces that appeared some
time ago in the Ottawa Journal and was reprinted in the Reader's Digest.
As I read it, it reminded me of the philosopher's approach to Freemasonry.
It is, in a way, allegorical, and makes us think about Masonic philosophy:
There are
utilitarian souls who assume that a fireplace is meant only to warm people. But
he who tends a fire knows that it means much more.
A man who has
a fireplace need never be lonely. A fire, correctly tended, requires thought and
attention; in return, it offers warmth, music and beauty. And the glow from the
hearth means a glow in the heart.
A man who
cherishes his fire wants a solid backlog of oak or hard maple. If he is
fortunate enough to cut his own wood and has a choice, he sees to it that he has
several kinds. The resin of pine or cedar means quick, hot heat, yellow flames
and a pleasant odor; yellow birch gives an orange-blue flame, burns long and
steady; old apple wood means fragrance and a clear, bluish flame. Elm has deep
russet flames. Balsam and spruce crackle and spit and must be watched.
Don't poke
your fire too much, but use judgement as you put on the logs. A moderately high
fire creates its own draft. A good hearth tender uses his broom occasionally,
but doesn't worry if a few ashes spill out.
Tending fire
is for the patient man. It fosters deep thoughts and a contentment with the
simple basic things in life . . Mechanical heat has its good points and one
wants it. But somehow it is more meaningful if flames paint a picture in a
fireplace and a man has a chance to tend his fire.
Why not make
your fire - Freemasonry?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aberdeen,
Robert G., "What Am I Doing Here?", Edmonton: Edmonton Masonic
Research Group, 1974.
Alberta, The
Grand Lodge of, Ceremony for Investing the Officers of a Lodge, Calgary, 1973.
----,Constitution
of the Grand Lodge of Alberta, A. F. & A. M., Calgary, 1969
----,Lodge
Plan for Masonic Education, Calgary, 1970
----,The Work
(Canadian Rite), Calgary, 1970.
Duncan, A. R.
C., Moral Philosophy, Toronto: CBC Publications, 1965
Grunebaum, L.
H., Philosophy for Modern Man, New York: Horizon Press, 1970.
Highroads
Dictionary, Revised Canadian Edition, Toronto: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.,
1959.
Holy Bible,
The, Temple Illustrated Edition, Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company, 1957.
Hook, Sidney,
Contemporary Philosophy, New York: American Library Association, 1968.
Juthner,
Robert E., "Masonic Philosophy: Its Heritage, and Relevance to Daily
Living", Baner: The Nineteenth Masonic Spring Workshop, 1974.
Mackey, A. C.
and R. T. Clegg (rev.), Mackey's Symbolism of Freemasonry, Chicago: The Masonic
History Company, 1960.
Reader's
Digest, Canadian Edition, Westmount, PQ; Reader's Digest Magazines Limited,
January 1974.
Thouless,
Robert H., Straight and Crooked Thinking, London: Pan Books Ltd., 1973.
Ward, J. S.
M., The E.A's Hancbook, Fourth Edition, London: The Baskerville Press, Ltd.,
1974.
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