An
Address to an Initiate
The Master Mason - May 1927
THE
following address -was delivered recently to an initiate in the
Tranquillity Lodge, No. 185, by Bro. John Goulston, P.M. This
lodge, which is composed mainly of brethren of the Jewish faith,
is one of the most renowned in England for its support of
Masonic and Jewish charitable institutions. HAVING been
admitted to the privileges of Freemasonry, you would surely wish
to be made acquainted with its principles and purposes, its
meaning and significance. Let me, therefore, tell you, in a few
words, something of what it stands for and what it seeks to
carry out. First, let me assure you that Freemasonry is
not merely a masked pretence for empty self-glorification, as
some of the uninitiated believe; nor even an opportunity for
frivolous boon-companionship, as others may think. Freemasonry
is a serious business of life, which, if conducted in a proper
spirit and directed to the purpose which is its manifest object,
cannot but prove a source of infinite good and benefit to
mankind, bound up, as it is, With some of the highest hopes and
interests of humanity. According to the authorized definition
of the term, Freemasonry is an art, founded on the principles of
Geometry and directed to the service and convenience of mankind.
Its purpose is to knit together, in one common bond, all
humanity by appealing to that charity and sympathy which are
innate in every healthy-minded man. If the ancient dictum
be accepted, that religion is the discharge of our duty to God
and man, then Freemasonry, if not actually a religion, is
certainly a very important adjunct to it, proclaiming, as it
does, the law of universal love and inculcating the hatred of
strife, contention and dispute. In Freemasonry, as in religion,
the sentiment is all; the ritual or ceremony, merely
symbolical. IT is not only a service, but a discipline. Its
teachings are not to be put off with the apron at the close of
the Masonic business, but must be brought into all departments
of life, to ennoble and adorn it; for Freemasonry lays down
rules of conduct for the working portions of our lives, as well
as for the devotional periods. It embraces equally as brethren
men of every race, religion, and language and speaks to each man
in his own tongue. It teaches us to have reverence for the
highest, to have pity for the lowest and to be charitable in our
thoughts as well as in our actions. It exhorts us never to judge
harshly or rashly, nor to attribute an evil motive to the
actions of our fellow-man; to listen patiently to the cry of the
unhappy, pity their infirmities, aid them in their weakness, and
to succor their distress, even though we may know that their
distress is the result of their own errors or folly, for such
charity is the very touchstone of our true Masonic
fellowship. As a chain is no stronger than its weakest link
and the slightest flaw in the metal may jeopardize the safety of
the whole, so may your individual conduct reflect on the whole
of the Craft. We, therefore, trust that by the practice of those
virtues which we have adopted as our Masonic emblem, you may
become a source of strength to the chain, in which this evening
you have forged the newest link. TONIGHT, Brother
Initiate, you have been admitted to a great inheritance: some of
the greatest, the wisest, and the best of mankind have labored
for you. You have been permitted to enter into their harvest.
You have witnessed the rites which they once performed and you
are now able to undertake the sublime task which they
undertook-the task of making our common brotherhood wiser and
happier. You can build forward where they were forced to leave
off and so help to bring nearer to perfection the great edifice
which they left uncompleted. back to top
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