THE BUILDER MAGAZINE
august 1915
volume 1 - number 8
REGENBERG STONEMASON'S REGULATIONS
(A NEW TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN)
BY BRO. F. W. KRACHER, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN, STATE
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
(The historic document herewith presented is a new
translation, made especially for the National Masonic Research Society, of the
oldest Regulations of the German Stonemasons--or Steinmetzen-- dating from 1459.
The original German, as quaint as the English of Chaucer, may be found in Die
Romanische and Gothische Architektur, by Max Hasak, published at Stuttgart 1902.
Other documents of the kind fall chiefly in the time of the German Renaissance,
and present nothing but unimportant extensions or modifications of the first
Regensburg Regulation. They are mainly as follows:--the Strassburg Regulation of
1459, the Torgau of 1462, the Basle of 1497, the so-called Brothers' Book of
1563, and the Querfurt Regulation of 1574. Further, there were different records
of the original Regulation, such as those of Vienna, of Admont and the Tyrol
Regulation of 1480.
This interesting document brings up the question, so hotly
debated in Masonic literature, as to the relation of the German Steinmetzen to
the Guilds on the one hand, and to the Freemasons on the other. English writers,
like Speth, go so far as to deny to the Stonemasons any esoteric lore, while
German scholars, like Krause, Findel and Steinbrenner, insist that they were
Freemasons. Of course this question cannot be discussed in an introductory note,
but we shall have something to say about it in due time. Meanwhile, with this
debatable question in mind, the Brethren will find these old Regulations a very
profitable study if they will read them in the light of what Brother Gould has
to say in his "Concise History of Masonry," (pp 42-62) and on the other side the
discussions of Findel and Steinbrenner in their histories of the Craft.--The
Editor.)
In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and
the mother Mary and also her saintly servants, crowned in honor of the holy
quartet, be it stated that genuine friendship, harmony and obedience is the
foundation of all virtues. For the common good and for the information of all
princes, nobles, lords, cities, founders, and monasteries who are now erecting
churches or other large buildings of stone or may erect such buildings in the
future, this is written, so that each one may know his rights and privileges. It
is also written for the benefit of all master masons and journeymen throughout
the German lands, who are especially desirous to keep the Craft clean from all
discord, jealousy, care, expense, and harm. Some of the regulations which the
fathers had drawn up with the best intentions are being misused by both, masters
and workers, and they no longer endeavor to adhere to the rules. To change this
condition, delegations of master masons and workers met at Spyr, Strassburg, and
Regensburg with power to act for the Craft. The old existing rules were renewed
and somewhat purified, thereby bringing all peacefully together. After the
regulations had been written down we solemnly promised not only to keep them
ourselves but to enforce them in the future among the followers of the
stonemason craft. The rules are as follows:
1. Whoever finds any of the rules in this regulation too
severe or too lenient may, in accordance with the conditions of the time or the
country, add to or subtract from them. Any change must neither disturb the
arrangement nor the spirit of the original rules and must then be faithfully
observed by all.
2. Any stonemason who has the desire to join our order, for
which this book is written, must promise (swear) to keep all the separate rules
of our regulation. Master masons shall be those who can erect a stone structure
according to a plan. They do not have to do actual work with their own hands
unless they so desire. Whether they are masters or journeymen, they ought to
conduct themselves honorably, harm no one in his rights, and in case of
necessity are to be punished in accordance with the rules laid down.
3. Buildings which are erected at present and where the
workmen are paid by the day are, Strassburg, Cologne, Vienna, and Passan, also
in the workshops belonging to the same. Day wages shall continue in connection
with these buildings and in no way shall the contract system be used, so that no
interruption in the work arises due to the change from the day labor system to
the contract system.
4. In case of death of any stonemason employed on a regular
building, it is permissible that any workman or master, capable of doing the
work, apply for the vacancy. In this manner the supervisors of the work shall
find a proper successor. The same rule applies also to a journeyman who
understands stone masonry.
5. If a master should accept a second job, or any master
who is not occupied accept a new job, it is their duty to start work by the day
immediately so that no discredit may come to the craft. Should trustworthy
parties lodge complaint against a master as to the work or the employment of a
certain kind of labor, then he shall be tried and punished according to the
rules. The complainant may not carry his case that far but simply demand that
the master begin the work either by the day or contract. The master must then
act according to the suggestion.
6. If a master in charge of some work dies and another
master steps in his place and finds prepared stones either placed in position in
the wall or not, he is not allowed to remove placed stones nor to discard loose
ones. This is necessary so that employers may not be subjected to unnecessary
expense, and that the master who did the work may not be criticised. Should the
employer wish to remove stones it may be permitted as long as no danger to the
structure arises therefrom.
7. A master shall not hire out his masons for any other
work except such which is directly connected with the hewing of stones. He may
use them for breaking stone, lime, or sand by the day or by the job without
danger of reproach.
8. In case masons are needed either to hew stones or to set
them, the master may shift them. Those so shifted are not subject to the rules
set forth as long as they do it on their own accord and willingly.
9. Two masters shall not jointly supervise a job or a
building unless it be a small building which can be finished within a year. Such
a job may be undertaken with a partner.
10. If a master accepts a contract according to the
submitted specifications he must not change anything. The work must be done
according to the specifications which he submitted to the employers, cities, or
to the country. This will prevent the weakening of any part of the work.
11. If there be any master or journeyman who attempts to
force a master, who is conducting a job under these regulations, out of his
position, he shall be tried. The same is to be done if one openly or secretly
intrigues against any master without his knowledge. No master mason or
journeyman shall associate with him, and no craftsman belonging to the order
shall work for him as long as he is busy with the job wrongfully obtained. This
is to continue until the one forced out of the job shall be reinstated and
explanations given him by the committee of master masons appointed for this
purpose by the order.
12. If any one should attempt to break stone without having
previously served as a regular workman and acquired some shop training, his
stones must not be accepted by anyone. In case some one should do so, then no
journeyman must stand by him or go with him, so that employers are not given
unnecessary expense thru such an unwise master.
13. No workman or master, neither parlierer (instructor)
nor journeyman shall instruct anyone, not a stonemason, from any manual unless
the instructor be a member of the craft.
14. No workman or master shall take any money from a
journeyman for teaching him something concerning stone-masonry. No parlierer
(instructor) or journeyman shall instruct for money. If one wishes to show or
teach something to others he may do so step by step for fellow-workman's sake.
15. Any master having charge of a building may have three
helpers, either master masons or journeymen. If he has more than one building he
shall not have more than two helpers on the second building. Not more than five
helpers shall be employed on both buildings
16. No master or workman shall be taken into the order who
does not receive the holy sacrament at least once a year, or who does not
observe the Christian rules of conduct, or who gambles. In case such an unfit
person did by chance get into the order, no master mason should have any
association with him whatsoever. No workman should work for him unless he turns
from his old ways and has been punished by those who are in the order.
17. No workman or master mason should be adulterous. Should
one insist upon such a course, no journeyman or stonemason should work for him
or associate with him.
18. If a fellow craft accepts work with a master who has
not yet been raised to the rank of overseer in the order, he shall not be
subject to a punishment. He may very well do so because each craftsman should
seek advancement. The workman should keep the rules of the order although he is
not working in a regulation shop or for a brother of the order. Should one take
a wife unto himself and not work in a regulation shop but settle down in a city
where he had to work at a craft, he will have to pay four pennies poll- tax but
be free of any other tax, as long as he does not work in a regular shop.
19. In case a complaint is made by one master against
another master that he acted against the rules of the order; or by a master
against a craftsman, or by a craftsman against another, it shall be brought to a
master who has been appointed to handle such cases. Both sides shall be heard,
and then a day set when the case will be considered. During the time up to the
trial no controversy whatsoever shall take place between master and worker until
the case has been settled. The decision shall be given by masters, and this
decision must be carried out. The case is to be tried where it arose by the
master in whose jurisdiction it happened.
20. A "parlierer" shall respect his master and obey him
willingly in everything pertaining to the craft. The same shall be done by the
fellowcraft.
21. If a journeyman decides to travel on, he should depart
from his master and the shop without any complaint against him, and leaving no
debts, whatsoever, behind.
22. Any journeyman, in whatever kind of a shop he shall be
employed, ought to be obedient to the "parlierer" and his master in everything
pertaining to the craft.
23. And he shall not scold about the master's work secretly
nor publicly, unless the master were to act contrary to the rules of the order.
24. Every workman who has received the power to enforce the
rules of the order in all disputes touching upon stonemasons and masonry, has
also the power to bring to trial and to decide upon punishment. All masters,
parlierers, and craftsmen shall be obedient to him.
25. Even though a craftsman has journeyed and worked as a
stonemason and made advancement in the order, he should not be accepted by a
master if this experience be less than two years, and if he only wanted to do a
little work.
26. Masters and workers belonging to this order shall obey
all the rules of this regulation. Should one or the other break any one of the
rules he is not to be punished if he repents and promises to keep the rule in
the future.
(To be continued.)
----o----
BUILD ME A HOUSE
Oh Soul build me a house of Dreams,
And roof it with the stars;
With walls of awe and azure beams,
And ether bolts and bars.
A house of Joy, Oh Life build me,
With windows vision-wide;
With friends of Mirth and Ecstasy
To neighbor on each side.
Oh Love build me a House of Hope
Where happiness dwells free,
And set on a sunny slope
Of my heart's hill for me.
Oh Faith build me a House of Prayer,
With words that cry unsaid,
And rear to heaven a perfumed stair
On which my dreams may tread.
Oh God build me a house of Rest,
And hallow it with sleep;
Be Thou the one celestial Guest
My happy house would keep.
Let music wake me in the night
When this old house is still,
And let me feel a Presence bright,
That all the place would fill.
--Edwin Liebfreed.
----o----
MAKE US SEE
Dear God and Father of us all,
Forgive our faith in cruel lies,
Forgive the blindness that denies.
Cast down our idols--overturn
Our bloody altars--make us see
Thyself in Thy Humanity."
--Whittier.
----o----
GLACIER PARK HYMN
Here wrought He in His might,
Temples of shade and light,
Altars of praise.
On snow-clad mountain crest,
In vales with verdure blest,
Each heart with peace at rest,
Its homage pays.
O! land of mighty form,
Sunshine and shifting storm,
Blest for all time;
By lakes of azure blue,
Glaciers of varied hue,
Our hearts to you are true,
Glacier, sublime.
--Clifford Trembly.
----o----
LOVE'S TRAPPIST
There is a place where lute and lyre are broken,
Where scrolls are torn and on a wild wind go,
Where tablets stand wiped naked for a token,
Where laurels wither and the daisies grow.
Lo: I, too, join the brotherhood of silence,
I am Love's Trappist, and you ask in vain,
For man, through Love's gate, even as through Death's gate,
Goeth alone, and comes not back again.
Yet here I pause, look back across the threshold,
Cry to my brethren, though the world be old,
Prophets and sages, questioners and doubters,
O world, old world, the best hath ne'er been told.
--From "Poems," by G. K. Chesterton.
----o----
THE ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA
BY BRO. MELVIN M. JOHNSON, G. M. OF MASONS IN MASS.
CHAPTER II Part 1
IN previous issues the writer has pointed out that
Massachusetts is entitled to precedence as the founder of Masonry in America
whether determined upon the first presence of Masons, or upon the first meetings
of Lodges, or upon the first exercise of authority from the Grand Lodge of
England. Attention has also been called to the beginnings of Masonry in
Pennsylvania and to the acknowledgment at the time by Franklin and his
associates in Philadelphia of the precedence of Massachusetts.
Within the next few years after Henry Price organized the
Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston on June 30, 1733, regular Masonry was
established in other colonies. With this spread of the institution this article
will not attempt to deal except so far as it was fostered by, and emanated from,
Price and his successors and tends to the historical establishment of their
positions and authority for many years as Provincial Grand Masters for North
America (with certain definite exceptions.)
1734
Reference has already been made to the extension by Grand
Master Craufurd of Price's authority over all North America, and his immediate
exercise of that authority by granting the petition of Benjamin Franklin and his
associates.
1735-1738
In 1735-6 Price chartered a Lodge in Portsmouth, N. H. The
original petition for this Charter, dated Feb. 9, 1735-6, is still preserved. On
June 28, 1736, a petition was forwarded for the appointment of Brother Tomlinson
to succeed Brother Price as Provincial Grand Master. I can find no copy of that
petition. The Commission to Brother Tomlinson issued under date of Dec. 7, 1736,
and arrived in Boston April 20, 1737. On St. John the Baptist's day in 1737,
occurred the first public procession of the fraternity in America, Governor
Belcher being in the line. The Masonry of South Carolina sprung from
Massachusetts in 1735 Nova Scotia and the West Indies in 1738.
1738-1740
In 1738 Pennsylvania Masonry ceased utterly, being revived
until 1749.
During the year 1738, Provincial Grand Master Tomlinson
went to England by way of Antigua where he stopped long enough to establish
Masonry. On 31, 1739, he attended a meeting of the Grand Lodge of England.
This year also, on December 27, marked the beginning of the
record pra of the First Lodge in Boston so far as it has been preserved. It is
singular that the keeping of formal records did not sooner occur to these bodies
founded in the early part of the eighteenth century, but such seems to be the
case with all of them, both English and American. Careful as Franklin was about
keeping a record of his personal affairs, he caused no record to be kept of the
affairs of his Lodge save a financial record. Or at least if any were kept it
has disappeared as effectually as Franklin's Commission.
Brother Tomlinson died in 1740 and the Provincial Grand
Lodge was held by Thomas Oxnard as Deputy Grand Master until March 6, 1744, when
he received his Commission as "Provincial Grand Master for North America in the
Room of Our Bro. Robt. Tomlinson, Esq., Deceased."
In 1740 a Deputation was granted from Massachusetts for a
Lodge at Annapolis and Bro. Erasmus James Phillips was appointed to act in Nova
Scotia.
1741
Again it was publicly proclaimed that Massachusetts was the
Mother of Masonry in America; For instance, on Oct. 23, 1741, Bro. Peter Pelham,
Secretary of the First Lodge in Boston, in an address of congratulation to Gov.
Wm. Shirley, made public claim that the First Lodge in Boston was the Mother
Lodge of America.
Governor Shirley was Belcher's successor. The Masonic
correspondence between these officials and the First Lodge in Boston is so
interesting historically that I quote from the records of that Lodge as
follows:-- Wednesday, September 23, 1741.
(At a regular meeting of the First Lodge in Boston, held)
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1741, our Rt. Worshipful Master recommended to the
Brethren, that it was his opinion, some perticular order should be observed in
toasting the health of our Rt. W: Bro: the Honble Mr. Belcher: and that a
Committee might be appointed as soon as possable to wait upon him, with
acknowledgments from the Lodge, of his past favours, and to return our thanks,
etc.
Voted, that next after the G: M: the late Governor of this
Province, is to be toasted in the following manner, viz: To our Rt. W: Bro: the
Honble Mr. Belcher, Late Governour of N. E., with 3-3-3--9.
Voted, that Our Rt. W: Bro. T. Oxnard, D. G. M., Brors.
Phillips, Rowe, Price, Hallowell, Forbes, McDaniel and Pelham, be a Committee to
form a speech, and wait upon the Honble Mr. Belcher in behalf of this Society,
and to make report of their proceeding the next Lodge.
On Fryday Septemr 25, 1741, the Committee appointed by this
Lodge waited upon the Honble Mr. Belcher, etc., and made the following Speech:
Thrice Worthy Brother.
We being a Committee by the Mother Lodge of N. England held
in Boston to wait on You, take this Opportunity to Acknowledge the many favours
You have always shewed (when in Power) to Masonry in General, but in a More
Especial manner to the Brethn of this Lodge, of which we shall ever retain a
most grateful Remembrance.
As we have had your Protection when in the most Exhalted
Station here, so we think it is Incumbent on us to make this Acknowledgment,
having no other means to testify our Gratitude but this; And to wish for Your
Future Health and Prosperity which is the Sincere desire of Us, and those in
whose behalf We appear, and permit us to assure You we shall ever remain
Honoured Sir Your most Affectionate Brethn & Humble
Servants. Peter Pelham, Secr. In behalf of the Committee.
To which, we receiv'd the following Answer: Worthy
Brothers.
I take very kindly this mark of your Respect. It is now
Thirty Seven years since I was admitted into the Ancient and Honorable Society
of Free and accepted Masons, to whom I have been a faithful Brother, & a
well-wisher to the Art of Masonry.
I shall ever maintain a strict friendship for the whole
Fraternity; & always be glad when it may fall in my power to do them any
Services.
J. Belcher.
Wednesday, October the 14th, 1741. Being Lodge Night, (it
was) Voted, that a Committee be appointed to wait on his Excellency Governour
Shirly to Congratulate him on his Advancement to the Governmt of this Province
&c when it was propos'd, and agree'd that the following persons should form sd
Committee, to act in behalf of this Society; Viz; Our Rt. W. Brors Thos. Oxnard,
Forbes, Overing, Price, Hallowell, Jenkins, McDaniel, Phillips, Johonnot and
Pelham, and to make report of their proceedings next Lodge Night.
On Friday October the 23d, 1741. The Committee appointed by
this Lodge, waited upon his Excellency Willian1 Shirly Esqr and presented him
with the following Address:
May it please your Excellency,
We being a Committee appointed by the Ancient and honorable
Society of Free and accepted Masons of the MOTHER, LODGE of AMERICA held in
Boston, presume to wait upon you with the utmost Sincerity, to congratulate your
Advancement to the Government of this Province, and to assure your Excellency
that our Desire is that your Administration may be successful and easy.
We have had hitherto the Honour of His Majesty's Governor
being one of our ancient Society, who was ever a well-wisher & faithful Brother
to the Royal Art of Masonry.
And as it has been the Custom for men in the most exalted
Station to have had the Door of our Society's Constitutions always opened to
them (when desired) we think it our Duty to acquaint your Excellency with that
Custom, and assure you, that we shall chearfully attend your Excellency's
Pleasure therein; and as we are conscious that our Society are loyal and
faithful Subjects to His Majesty, so we may reasonably hope for your
Excellency's Favour and Protection, which is the Request of
Your Excellency's most obedient humble Servants, Peter
Pelham, Secr. in behalf of the Society.
To which His Excellency was pleas'd to return the following
Answer:
Gentlemen:
I Return the Ancient and honourable Society my Thanks for
their Address, and Invitation of me to the Mother Lodge of Free and Accepted
Masons of America; And they may rest assur'd that their Loyalty and Fidelity to
his Majesty will always recommend the Society to my Favour and Protection.
W. SHIRLEY.
Voted, that the above Address to His Excellency Wm. Shirley
Esqr. &c. with his Excellency's Answer, be printed in one of the Publick papers
next Monday.
Wednesday, May the 25th, 1743. Being Lodge Night the
following Brethren met.
The Rt. Worshipl Bro: H: Price M pro: Bro: Benj: Franklin
of Phila. etc.
Wednesday Augst 10th 1743. Being Lodge Night, Voted, that
Bror. Jenkins, Charles, Hall, H: McDaniel, Phillips, & Price, take a proper
opertunity to wait on Bro: Belcher, (our Late Governor,) with an Invitation from
the Brethren, to give us the favour of his Company, at such time as he shall
please to appoint.
Thursday Feby 9th, 1743. (o. s.)
Being appointed for the Entertainment of the Honble Mr.
Belcher (according to vote,) who attended with about Forty of the Brethren in
Open Lodge; and a Handsome Supper was prepar'd, after which we took leave of Our
Hond Brother in the most solemn manner. (He soon after sailed for England.)
Wednesday, Augst 26th, 1747. Being Lodge Night, Voted, That
Our Rt. W: Bro Oxnard G. M., Brors Brockwell, Aston, Pelham, T. McDaniel and
Secray be a Committee in behalf of the Lodge to Send a Letter of Congratulation
to Our Honble Bror Belcher, upon his Advancement to, and Safe Arrival at his
Government of the Jerseys.
Wednesday Sepr 9th 1747. Being Lodge Night. The Committee
appointed to form a Letter of Congratulation to His Excellency Our Bro Belcher
presented the same to the Lodge, which was to the acceptance of the Lodge. Voted
therefore that the Secretary do forward the same as soon as may be, and the
Commee have the Thanks of the Lodge for the same. It is as follows, Vizt
Thrice Worthy Brother !
It was with the greatest pleasure and the utmost
Satisfaction We recd the News of your Safe Arrival at your Government of the
Jerseys; And from a Just Sence of the distinguishing marks of your Esteem shewn
to the Antient & Honble Society of Free and Accepted Masons when you fill'd the
Chair of Government in this Province, (which upon all Occasions we doubt not but
you would still Continue,) We cannot but hope the sincere and hearty
Congratulations of Our Lodge on your present happy Accession may meet with
favourable acceptance.
You have sufflciently distinguish'd your adherence to Our
THREE GRAND PRINCIPLES in your Firm attachment to his Majesty's Person and
Government with (with Joy we find) has preferr'd you to a second Commission (an
uncommon Instance of Royal Favour) and as the weight of so great a Charge must
be attended with many concerns, so we heartily wish a happy Concurrence of
everything that may Render your Administration Satisfactory to your Prince,
Advantageous to your People, and Easy to your Self; so that full of Days and
full of honour (which but little Survives our Actions) you may finally meet with
a reward of that Honour and Happiness which will be as Eternal as Inconceivable.
By Order of the Rt Worshipful the Provincial GRAND MASTER
of North America, and the Rt Worshipful Master, Wards and Fellows of the LODGE
held in Boston N England Sepr ye 3. in the Year of Masonry 5747 Annoque Domini
1747.
Chas. Pelham Secr.
(Reply to the above letter.)
Wednesday Novr. 11th, 1747. Being Lodge Night. Our Rt
Worshl Bro: Oxnard G: M: presented to the Lodge, a letter from His Excellency
our Bror Belcher at the Jerseys, in Answer to the Congratulatory one sent him
from the Lodge, which was most kindly Recd. and Order'd to be read by the
Secretary, and is as follows, Vizt
Rt. Worshl Brothers !
I have with much pleasure Receiv'd your respectful
Congratulation of my Safe Arrival to this Government, dated from your Lodge in
Boston ye 3 of Last Month. From the Testimonials I carry'd with me to London
from your Lodge I was Receiv'd by the Rt HONOURABLE the GRAND MASTER; and at the
Lodges where I attended as a WORTHY BROTHER; I shall always with great Alacrity
show Respect and Kindness to any one that may fall in my way, who is a BROTHER
of the Society of FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS; and I am the more Gratified in the
Kings Repeated Grace and Favour as it does me double Honor in Clearing my
Character from all Imputation, & setts me at the head of this fine Province, and
may also Reflect some honour on the Society of FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS; that
the King has so Publickly justified the Conduct of a Brother in his
Administration of the Government of two of His Majesty's Provinces in New
England for Eleven Years together.
I am much Oblig'd to the Brothers of your Lodge for their
kind Wishes of my Welfare and Prosperity in the Arduous affairs of Government,
but above all that they extend them to my Obtaining a reward of hor and
happiness that shall be Eternal. I have been receiv'd by the Good People here
with uncommon marks of Respect and kindess, which I shall return by all such
Acts of Goodness in my Power, as may most of all contribute to their Interest, &
to their quiet & Satisfaction.
May you Rt. WORSHL BROTHERS, and all and every one of your
Lodge live long in much health and Ease, and in such other Circumstances of Life
as you would wish for your Selves, and when this Life must be Exchang'd for One
that will have no end, May you all be happy thro the Mercy of God in Jesus
Christ Our only Lord and Saviour, Amen.
From Kingswood House in the City of Burlington (New Jersey)
this Sixth day of Octobr in the year of Masonry 5747. Annoq. Domini 1747.
signed J. BELCHER.
To the Rt. Worshl Thos Oxnard Esqr. Provincial Grand Master
of No. America
The Rt Worsl Master, Wards & Fellows of the Lodge of the
Ancient and Honble Society of Free an Accepted Masons in Boston.
1743-1749
Meanwhile Franklin was again visiting his Masonic Brethren
in Boston. On May 25, 1743, he and Price attended the meeting of the First Lodge
in Boston. Governor Belcher dined with the Brethren of the First Lodge Feb. 9,
1744, and soon after sailed for England bearing the tidings of Masonry in
America and a letter from the Lodge which he read in person to the Grand Lodge
held at the Devil Tavern, Temple Bar, London Sept. 26, 1744.
Of the Master's Lodge in Boston, Price was Master from its
Constitution on Jan. 2, 1738, until his resignation in 1744. In 1746 Oxnard
constituted a Lodge in Newfoundland.
In 1749 Franklin revived Masonry in Pennsylvania and, with
full knowledge of the facts and the proper course of procedure, came again to
Massachusetts for authority. In response, Thomas Oxnard, successor of Price, and
duly commissioned Provincial Grand Master for North America, granted the rights
and privileges for which Franklin petitioned. Thus, for the second time,
Benjamin Franklin, leading Mason of Pennsylvania's earliest Masonic days,
recognized the authority of Massachusetts and his need to apply to Massachusetts
for authority to conduct Masonry in Pennsylvania. His authority under his
Massachusetts commission was instantly recognized at home. In the same year
Price accepted another election as Master of the Masters' Lodge in Boston, and a
Lodge was chartered by Oxnard in Newport, R. I.
1750-1754
The Second Lodge in Boston was established Feb. 17, 1750,
and Price accepted the chair, although he was retiring from business. He
remained active in Boston's affairs, joining the Boston Episcopal Charitable
Society the same year. August 12, 1750, Charters were granted from Boston to
Brethren in Maryland and Connecticut, and, the preceding month, in Nova Scotia.
October 7, 1751, another proclamation of the precedence of Massachusetts was
made in a request to the Grand Master of England that all Deputations for any
part of North America should be asked from Oxnard and his successors, "which
some Lodges have not observ'd" though "Masonry in British America has wholly
Originated from us."
In 1750 P. G. M. Oxnard also visited England. On April 10,
1752, Pennsylvania sent tangible evidence of her loyalty to Massachusetts as the
fountain head, for Brother McDaniel appeared for the Lodge at Philadelphia, and
paid for its constitution thirty-one pounds and ten shillings.
On Oct. 13, 1752, Lord Colville had gone to England, and on
October 12 of the following year a letter was voted to be sent to him there.
January 12, 1753, a Charter went from Boston to New London, Conn. On Feb. 4,
1754, we find Oxnard again acting officially as Provincial Grand Master of North
America in a Charter granted by him to Middletown, Conn., and on July 12 Henry
Price again assumed the East of the Grand Lodge after Oxnard's death.
1754
When Oxnard died, the Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston, on
Oct. 11, 1754, voted that a petition be sent to the Grand Master of England for
the appointment of his successor, also to be Grand Master of North America. Its
last paragraph is as follows:
"And Whereas Masonry Originated Here anno 5733, and in the
year following Our then G. M. Price received order from G. M. Craufurd to
Establish Masonry in all North America in Pursuance of which the Several Lodges
hereafter mentioned have received Constitutions from us. We therefore Crave due
Precedency, & that in order thereunto Our GM Elect, may in his Deputation be
stiled GM of all North America, and your Petitioners as in duty Bound shall ever
Pray."
This petition set out also the dates of the constitution of
Lodges in other colonies subordinate to Price, including Pennsylvania, as
follows:
5734 Philadelphia. 35 New Hampshire & South Carolina. 38
Antigua and Annapolis in Nova Scotia. 46 Newfoundland. 49 Rhode Island. 50
Hallifax in Nova Scotia. 50 Annapolis in Maryland. 53 New London in Connecticut.
54 Middletown in Connecticut. 52 New Haven in Connecticut.
The petition was signed by the following Brethren as a
Committee, viz.:
Hugh McDaniel. Benjamin Hallowell. Chas. Brockwell. James
Forbes. Robert Jenkins. William Coffin. Henry Leddell.
Is it conceivable that this petition did not truly
represent the facts ? Henry Price was in the chair and not one word of suspicion
has ever attached to him. Bro. Benjamin Franklin was present. The Brethren at
that meeting and those who formed the Committee which drafted the petition were
well acquainted with the history of Masonry in those times.
Of those who signed it:
McDaniel was made or admitted Jan. 30, 1735, and rose to D.
G. M. in 1737 and was the accredited representative of Philadelphia to the
Provincial Grand Lodge in Boston.
Hallowell was made or admitted Jan. 23, 1735, and rose to
D. G. M. in 1753. Brockwell was a clergyman made or admitted Jan. 28, 1746, and
rose to S. G. W. in 1753.
Forbes was made or admitted Nov. 20, 1735, and rose to D.
G. M. in 1756.
Jenkins was made or admitted July 25, 1739, and rose to D.
G. M. in 1757.
Coffin was made or admitted Aug. 8, 1744, and rose to S. G.
W. in 1758.
Leddell was made or admitted Oct. 11, 1749, and rose to M.
of the First Lodge in 1752 and of the Masters' Lodge in 1755.
They were all close associates of Henry Price and so
constant in attendance upon Masonic functions that their names appear literally
hundreds of times in the first volume of the printed Proceedings. Among those
voting in favor of the resolution was apparently Benjamin Franklin himself. Of
the others voting, Rowe was made or admitted July 23, 1740, and had been Master
of the First Lodge in 1748; Leverett passed F. C. Oct. 11, 1749, having been
made abroad, Junior Warden of the same in 1750; Williams made or admitted May
29, 1746, Junior Warden of the Master's Lodge in 1750; Byard, made or admitted
May 11, 1748, Senior Warden of the First Lodge in 1750; Erving, Junior Warden of
the same in 1753; Pelham, made or admitted Nov. 8, 1738, Junior Warden of the
First Lodge in Boston in 1750; Tyler, made or admitted Feb. 11, 1749, Junior
Warden of the Third Lodge in Boston in 1752; Gridley, made or admitted Jan. 22,
1745, was also present at the Grand Lodge, and while at this meeting was elected
for nomination as Provincial Grand Master of North America. Ezekiel Price was
Junior Warden of the Third Lodge in Boston in 1752; Stowe had been present at
the Grand Lodge as early as 1753, though I have not his official Masonic record;
and Holbrook was Junior Warden of the Second Lodge in Boston in 1752. Many of
them rose to great public prominence and to exalted Masonic station. Will anyone
contend that these brethren did not speak the truth, or that they did not know
the facts about which they were talking? If so, they also discredit the
intelligence of Benjamin Franklin, who was present and participated in the
Proceedings of that meeting of Oct. 11, 1754, and who wrote the letters quoted
heretofore. No court in the world would decline to believe the evidence of the
men named with their personal knowledge of the facts.
So desperate in argument has one Pennsylvania partisan
become, however, that he not only ascribes Franklin's acts to unworthy political
motives, but also quotes with apparent approval the words of a forgotten
scurrilous writer of 1764 who calls Franklin "false and insidious," an
"ungrateful incendiary," of no consideration, a vilifier, and other equally
polite appellations. The impartial verdict of history has settled the integl ity
of Franklin. It is to be regretted that any writer, to bolstel a weak position,
finds it necessary to republish such a maudlin attack. There is equal
contemporaneous evidence to discredit Washington and Lincoln and indeed every
great man our country has known. Even our learned Brother in Philadelphia, who
would have it believed that these Brethren had testified to what was not true,
will hardly accuse Franklin of being prejudiced against Pennsylvania and in
favor of Massachusetts. Nor can he so belittle the intelligence of Franklin as
to have anyone believe Franklin did not know all there was to be known about the
then Masonry in Philadelphia, or that Franklin would have remained present and
yet non-protesting in the face of the solemnly declared claims of Massachusetts,
if he did not know them to be in absolute accord with the facts. Franklin's
letters of 1734 show that the knowledge came then to him and his participation
in the meeting of 1754 shows that after twenty years of Masonic experience as
the leading Mason of Pennsylvania, he still recognized that "Masonry Originated
Here (i.e. Boston), anno 5733 and in the year following Our G. M. Price received
orders from G. M. Craufurd to establish Masonry in all North America."
1755-1767
Explicit and first-hand testimony of one who knew whereof
he spoke is the letter of Aug. 6, 1755, written by Henry Price himself to the
Grand Secretary of Grand Lodge of England, desiring a Deputation pointing the
noted Gridley as Provincial Grand Master. It is as follows:
Worthy & Dear Bro:--It was with the utmost pleasure I saw a
Letter from you to the Honble Peter Leigh Esq. with his Deputation appointing
him Grand Master of South Carolina the last year and whom I have had the
pleasure of Seeing in our Lodges in Boston.
I would Inform you that as I rec'd my Deputation from the
Right Honble Lord Montague in April 1733 Signed by Thos. Batson Esq. D.G.M.
George Rook James Moor Smith Esq. G.W., made out by Bro. Reed late Grand
Secretary for North America, which I held four Years and Constituted several
Lodges, and was succeeded in the office by Bro: Tomlinson, and after him Bro:
Oxnard who Dying it Reverted back to me again according to the Constitutions.
Now with my consent all the Brethren in North America have made Choice of our
Bro. Jeremy Gridley Esq. Counsellor at Law to be Grand Master for Three Years,
and then the Brethren to have power to Continue him or apply for a new Grand
Master, and as our numbers of Gentlemen increase here and we are the oldest (or
first Constituted) Regular Lodge in America, We have made application to the
Grand Master of England for our said Bro. Gridley, which application and Three
Guineas we sent per Capt. John Phillips last Dec to our Rev. Bro. Entick Minster
at Stepney desiring him to forward the affair, but we are surprised that we have
not yet Rec'd the Deputation, nor a line from Bro Entick, whose Receipt we have
for the Three Guineas p'd to him by the said Capt. John Phillips who using the
London Trade may be now found at the new England Coffee House at Change Time.
I Therefore beg the favour of you to make enquiry after
the Money, and application Transmitted as aforesaid to Bro. Entick and as much
as in you lies forw'd the affair, which I shall acknowledge as a great favour
and will be a service to Masonry in These parts.
Masonry has had as great Success in America since my
Settling here as in any part of the World (except England.) Here is not less
than Forty Lodges sprung from my First Lodge in Boston. Therefore we desire that
our Deputation may be made out for all North America or over all North America.
I shall be glad of a few Lines from you even though you should have made out and
forwarded our Deputation before this Reaches you; as I shall have sundry things
to Communicate to you from Time to Time and cannot do it but by Letter to you,
most of my old acquaintances of Masons being either Dead or Remov'd from London.
I have some remote thoughts of once more seeing Lodon with all my Brethren in
the Grand Lodge after Twenty Two years absence, In the mean Time I am
Sir! Your most affect and faithful Bro. and Humble Serv't
(Endorsed)
Boston New England
Copy of a letter
August 6, 1755.
Desiring J. Gridley's Dep.
MEMORIALS TO GREAT MEN WHO WERE MASONS
BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P. G. M., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA|
IN August, 1783, the Continental Congress resolved,
unanimously, to have an equestrian Statue
erected of George Washington, in the Nation's Capital, and the resolution
specified that Washington should be represented "in a Roman dress holding a
truncheon in his right hand, and his head encircled in a laurel wreath." The
resolution was never carried into effect. But in February, 1832, the House of
Representatives resolved that "The President of the United States be authorized
to employ Horatio Greenough, of Massachusetts, to execute, in marble, a full
length pedestrian statue of Washington, to be placed in the centre of the
rotunda of the Capitol: the head to be a copy of Houdon's * Washington, and the
accessories to be left to the judgment of the artist."
While the legislators
may have had an idea what a pedestrian statue was, artists and critics had not,
and they had their jokes about the wording.
Mr. Greenough took up
his residence at Florence, where he could get Carara marble, and where skilled
assistance could be obtained, and there modeled and chiseled the statue, which,
when completed, weighed about 21 tons.
In 1840 the Secretary
of the Navy sent Captain Hull, in the famous old Frigate Ohio, to bring the
statue to the United States, but, on arriving and examining the work, it was
found that it was too heavy to be carried on deck (it would have capsized the
ship), so captain Hull was obliged to write to Washington for permission to tear
out his decks, to get the statue into the hold. As the mails were carried in
sailing ships at that era, several months were consumed and it was finally
determined to employ a Merchant ship for the purpose.
After several months
delay the statue reached the Navy Yard at Washington, when it was discovered
that there was no derrick there capable of lifting such a great weight, and, as
Congress was not in session, and there being no money in the Treasury available
for the purpose, it was necessary to await Congressional action, and still
further time was required to build the derrick.
When this was
accomplished, the Navy Yard gate not being large enough for the passage of the
statue, it was determined to land it on large floats ("camels") and tow it via
the canal to a point nearest the Capitol, and then skid it through the streets
to its position. This was admirably done by Boatswain Waters. ** But when the
statue had been lifted up the east stairs of the Building it was found the door
was too small to admit it. Congress, however, supplied the funds to tear out the
door framing and the statue was finally landed in the centre of the great
rotunda.
The great artists of
Italy, who had seen the statue had praised it so highly that its merit was
accepted everywhere. The great sovereign people of the U. S., however, had
become restive, and it was their privilege to find fault with something. The
shape of the statue did not conform to the great vaulted dome above. The public
was merciless in criticism. Mr. Greenough himself admitted that the contours
were not pleasing. The public relieved itself in vulgar puns. One of these is
attributed to a "Hoosier" who had visited the City for the first time, and had
seen in the Patent Office (where the nucleus of a museum existed) the uniform
and camp-chest of Washington. He walked around the statue and read the
inscription on the three sides,
"First in War: First
ill Peace: First in the hearts of his countrymen," and, turning to his
companions said he had interpreted it all. He said "Washington is saying here's
me sword, and me clothes is in the Patent Office."
The figure of
Washington shows him handing his sword to Congress, and, with the other hand,
pointing towards the Heavens, as if invoking aid and inspiration.
Smarting under the
scoffs of an inconsiderate and perhaps the unlettered part of the public,
Congress had the Statue moved out of the Building, about 500 feet to the
eastward, where it remained until 1908 when it was placed in the Smithsonian
Institution.
To an Artist, this
piece of work is a dream: It has excited the admiration of connoisseurs of every
Nation.
The words of Light
Horse Harry Lee, uttered at the funeral of Washington, are appropriately
sculptured in raised letters on the base, as quoted above, while, on the back of
the chair, is engraved
Simulacrum istud
ad magnum Libertatis exemplum
nec sine ipsa duraturum
Horatius Greenough
feciebat.
Below the Rotunda
there is a Crypt of immense proportions, to which place it was intended to
remove the remains of General Washington, but it was never carried out.
George Washington was
initiated in Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, in Fredericksburg, Va., on the 4th of
November, 1752, when in his 21st year. He was passed and raised in the same
lodge. He became the charter Master of Washington Lodge, in Alexandria. He took
an active part in Masonry while in the Field, when circumstances permitted. One
of the records shows that "immediately after the close of the negotiations at
Yorktown (the surrender of Lord Cornwallis) General Washington, General
LaFayette, General Nelson and John Marshall went together to Lodge No. 9, in
Yorktown and there, by their union, gave testimony to the beautiful tenets of
Masonry." As Acting Master of Federal Lodge he laid the corner stone of the
Capitol at Washington.
* Houdon was a member of the lodge Soeurs, in Paris.
** Mr. Waters was a member of Naval Lodge.
----0----
HUNGER
The Starving Men they walk the dust,
With hunger in their eyes.
To them a Lighted House is like
A Lamp in Paradise.
It is the window in the dusk,
That marks the drifter's coast;
It is the thought of love and light
That mocks the drifter most.
Now I have been a Starving Man
And walked the winter dusk;
And I have known how life may be
A Heaven and a Husk.
The Fainting Hands they pulled my sleeve,
And bade me curse the Light.
But I had seen a Rich Man's Face
That looked into the night.
A hungry face, a brother face,
That stared into the gloom,
And starved for life, and starved for love
Within the lighted room.
Dana Burnet. Harper's Magazine.
----o----
In one hundred years Europe will be either all Cossack or
all Republic.
- Napoleon.
----o----
THE MASON I LIKE
The kind of Mason that I like,
Is one who always goes to Lodge
When not detained by reasons good -
And tries no duty there to dodge.
Who to himself is never false,
But keeps his moral record clean
Because too proud to court the base
He scorns the actions that are mean.
The kind of Mason that I like
Will strive to treat his brother right
And make his welfare, when he can,
The measure of his own delight.
Who helps him bear his daily load,
And shields him with a friendly hand;
That kind of Masonry we know,
The world will bless and understand.
The kind of Mason that I like
Will not forget to think of God
Nor fail to choose the shining way,
And follows where the good have trod.
To serve Him with a willing mind,
He builds his temple to the skies
Where light and love eternal reign:
This is the Mason that I prize.
- Neal A. McAulay.
----o----
THE FAITH OF AMERICA
Not in dumb resignation
We lift our hands on high;
Not like the nerveless fatalist
Content to trust and die.
Our faith springs like the Eagle
Who soars to meet the sun,
And cries exulting unto Thee,
O Lord, Thy will be done !
Thy will ! It bids the weak be strong,
It bids the strong be just;
No lip to fawn, no hand to beg,
No brow to seek the dust.
Wherever man oppresses man
Beneath Thy liberal sun,
O Lord, be there Thine arm made bare,
Thy righteous will be done.
- John Hay.
----o----
THE PLUMB
Build up your life like the temple of old
With stones that are polished and true;
Cement it with love, and adorn it with gold
As all Master builders should do:
Upon a foundation, well chosen and strong,
Build now for the ages to come:
Make use of the good, while rejecting the wrong -
And test all your work with the plumb.
- Neal A. McAulay.
WHENCE CAME FREEMASONRY? WHO KNOWS?
THE BUILDER
BY BRO. J. W. NORWOOD, KENTUCKY
GREATLY to my surprise as a charter member of the National
Masonic Research Society and a subscriber to "The Builder," I find in the April
issue a broadside attack upon "The School of Natural Science," none he less
unfortunate because cloaked with the language of ridicule and irony.
That it comes from the pen of so distinguished a Masonic
journalist as Past Grand High Priest Dr. Wm. F. Kuhn of Missouri, associate
editor of the Kansas City Freemason, surprises me still more. But supposing Bro.
Kuhn to be a philosopher, he should not think it discourtesy if I paraphrase
Shakespeare and suggest that there are more things in heaven and earth than are
dreamed of in his philosophy.
Not having the honor to be a member of the "Great School of
Natural Science" any more than of Bernard Shaw School of Dramatists, or the
Futurist School of Music, though proud to call myself a Friend of Man and of the
Work, like Abou Ben Adhem, perhaps Dr. Kuhn will not consider me so biased as to
ignore the following suggestions. [The editorial remarks concerning "TK" and the
remarkable book "The Great Work" in the May issue of The Builder are much more
in line with the spirit animating those engaged in Masonic research than Dr.
Kuhn's article, and because of the disposition to be fair, evinced by the
editor, I am emboldened to make these suggestions.]
First, how much real knowledge have we of the origin of
Freemasonry? What does Dr. Kuhn or any of the Masonic writers he quotes,
actually KNOW of the matter ? Do they not all confess the origin of Freemasonry
to have been before their day and generation? How then, can he consistently
assert so dogmatically that "no one will deny that the so-called philosophy was
engrafted into Masonry with the evolution of the Royal Arch," in answer to the
claim of the Great School that the Guilds of "Operative Masons" were but the
refuge and not the origin of the Masonic system ?
If an historical discussion embracing the various legends
of Masonry were entered into, probably many would be found to deny what Dr. Kuhn
so positively asserts. Of late years, not even the historians of the Guild
system, now almost extinct, have been able to prove their case to the
satisfaction of all scholars. And then it is a matter of definition as to the
meaning of Freemasonry, whether it is a mere social club or a system of
morality. Also one might ask when or where the "Royal Arch" had its rise. There
have been many degrees of the name, extending back thousands of years before the
Christian era to the "Holy Royal Arch" of ancient Egypt.
Second, without knowledge of the subject, is it fair to
condemn? Is it Masonic
The reading of the "Great Work" and its companion books of
the "Harmonic Series"--the text books of the Great School, gave the present
writer unalloyed pleasure. They also challenged his belief in many statements
contained therein.
Not desiring to deny matters of which he had no knowledge,
there was only one course to pursue, without deliberately turning away and
refusing to investigate what had been offered in the way of light upon some very
dark subjects. As a Master Mason pledged to the search for Truth, he would have
been false to his obligations not to have made some effort to prove or disprove
matters of such alleged vital importance.
The result, so far, has been, that I have been unable to
prove one single assertion made by the author of "The Great Work," false in any
particular. Nor have I ever found any one else who has. I should be greatly
pleased to discover any man or set of men who can do so.
On the contrary, a somewhat careful excursion into the
realms of history, archaeology and comparative religion, has indicated the truth
of those brief statements connecting the Great School with the origin of
Freemasonry, so sneeringly flouted by Dr. Kuhn.
The author of the "Great Work" is a Freemason, a member of
the same rites of which Dr. Kuhn is a member. He has not sought to impress the
philosophy of the "Great School" upon Freemasonry nor to force the two into a
companionship. In the sense the term is commonly used, the "Great Work" is not
even regarded as a "Masonic Book."
Yet no more beautiful exposition of the Masonic tenets
could be imagined than that contained in the works of this true friend of
humanity. The very spirit of all that relates to Freemasonry, might be
paraphrased in the words of Dr. Kuhn himself:
"I have always believed that Freemasonry was a very
practical thing; a something that manifests itself, chiefly in a man's life;
that it is a life and not a theory; practical living and doing, not dreaming and
philosophizing. That it was a beautiful, every day practical system of morality,
veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols; not veiled to confuse or hide,
but to make plain; not buried in symbols to obscure, but to fix indelibly, some
plain, possibly homely truth."
The value of individual effort and personal responsibility
is made plain without even the aid of symbols and ritual which beautify and make
impressive the Fellowcraft degree. The living of a life in conformity to a
"practical system of morality," is insisted upon as forcibly as ever done in a
Masonic lodge. Dreaming and philosophizing are certainly not the basis of "The
Great Work."
The Masonic beliefs in a Supreme Being and in a life after
physical death are asserted to be scientifically true and proof is offered to
all who will take advantage of it. And here comes the rub. Science hesitates and
Religion denies. It almost seems as though Material Science will investigate
before Religion is willing to admit the possibility that the "miraculous" is
only "natural" after all.
But however strong the disbelief of the searcher after
Truth, no true Freemason will ever dogmatize over his own assumed knowledge.
There is but one road to Truth. Wherever it leads, whatever cherished delusions
it overturns, the true Builder will follow it. If a thing is True, it cannot be
otherwise and all the ridicule in the world will not make it so
Every member of the National Masonic Research Society owes
it to himself and to his membership in the Society, to investigate the claims of
the "Great School," regardless of his prejudices or desires. If he can find one
thing in the entire philosophy set forth in its text books, contrary to the
principles of Freemasonry, he may be excused for dropping the matter and warning
his fellows against it. If he should discover that the friends of the work are
the truest friends of Freemasonry in this hard and cynical world, at a time when
friends are most needed, he may find himself entered upon a road to "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness," that many have dreamed of, but few
realized.
----o----
(Perhaps it will clear the air somewhat if we state, once
more, the position of Dr. Kuhn and the Editor with regard to the Great Work,
which Brother Norwood and some others seem to misunderstand. Several facts must
be kept in mind if we are not to fall into hopeless confusion in our criticism
and appreciation of the book, such facts as these:
First, the Great Work professes to be an exposition of the
teachings of an ancient School of Natural Science which has existed from the
beginning of time, having in its keeping records reaching back beyond the days
of Moses, if not further, which school was the inspiration of Buddhism, early
Christianity, and Freemasonry. Surely these are amazing statements, and yet not
one item of evidence is offered in support of them. Some of us cannot accept
such statements without facts to justify them on the authority of an anonymous
author, and therefore we make request for proof. Truly that is reasonable if we
are to seek for the truth, much less find it
Second, the Great Work purports to tell us the origin of
Freemasonry in its chapter on the Lineal Key--and this is really our only
interest in the book as students of the history of Masonry. Masonry, we learn,
is, or was, until it turned out abortive, one of the efforts of the said Great
School to instruct mankind and lead it into the light. Here again no evidence is
set forth but only bare affirmation of a man who does not even sign his
name--and many Masons seem willing to accept anything he says over against the
labors and researches of their own historians. Brother Norwood says he has not
proved the statements of TK false in any particular. Why not ask TK to prove
that they are true, and save himself the logical difficulty of trying to prove a
negative? If the origin of Masonry is obscure that is no valid reason for
accepting the theory of TK, which is still more obscure.
Some of us, because we love Freemasonry, flatly refuse to
accept any such account of its origin when no facts are forthcoming to prove it.
No consider! This book calmly tells us that Masonry is only a makeshift
substitute for something withheld by a mythical Great School, a faded sham, an
echo, an imitation, if not a counterfeit--not the real truth that makes men free
and fraternal, but a thing almost worthy of contempt alongside the alleged Great
School. Indeed, Masonry is only used in this book as a kind of tail to fly the
kite of the Great School in which the author is, apparently, an instructor.
Seldom have we seen a book which so belittles the noble order of
Freemasonry--not intentionally so, perhaps, but actually so none the less--and
some of us resent it.
In these despites, we find Masons accepting the whole book
as if it were a revelation. It is indeed strange. And this, too, without any
evidence save the dicta of a man whom they never saw and whose name they do not
know. If this is what is meant by Masonic Research, then we might as well set
fire to our libraries and set sail into fairyland, the while we make contest as
to who can spin the most extravagant fancy and call it history.
Third, the Great Work teaches a very noble and inspiring
system of moral philosophy, and emphasizes the necessity of practicing it. With
most of its ethical teaching we agree, though we would use different words to
express it. (For example, much is said about "the constructive principle of the
universe"--a large remark, truly--which we take to mean the principle on which
the universe is constructed; since no one ever heard of a principle constructing
anything, not even a sewing machine.) The reading of the moral thesis of the
book will do a man good. It will bring him to pause and think if he is living a
careless and unworthy life. It will compel him to realize that intelligent
righteousness is the only solid basis of character, and inspire him to do justly
and love mercy. But the value of its moral teaching does not prove that its
historical statements are true--not at all. The two things are different, and
the one does not prove the other.
Fourth, the author of the Great Work claims to have found,
or rather learned, a process by which he not only can, but actually has,
demonstrated scientifically the fact of life after physical death. The formula
is not disclosed in the book, it being deemed indiscreet and dangerous to make
it known; but the author offers to teach it to any one who approves himself
worthy to receive it-- making himself, in this way, a kind of keeper of the keys
to a knowledge of a future life. It may all be true. For ourselves, we are
content to live by the ancient, high and heroic faith which Masonry teaches in
her great and simple drama, and face the future as brave men have faced it
before us.
Now surely Brother Norwood can understand, from this
statement of our case, why we suggested that the Great Work should be read with
discrimination and care, like all other books. He agrees that it is not a
Masonic book, albeit written by a Mason, it is said, and professing to tell us
the origin, or rather the decay, of Masonry. If we have dealt with this part of
the book sharply, and not without satire, it is because it is an injury to the
cause of Masonic Research. If we have not made the matter plain in this
statement, then it is because we are hopelessly stupid and will not try it
again.--The Editor.)
----o----
THE SECRET
A sunbeam fell across the way I trod.
"Whence do you come?" I asked; it said, "From God."
"Where do you go; what is your mission here ?" With radiant
head
The sunbeam brighter shone. "I am the love Of life," it
said.
----o----
"Death has no existence for the wise man: it is a phantom
made hideous by the ignorance and weakness of the crowd. Change is the evidence
of movement, and movement is life. The very corpse would not decompose were it
dead; all the molecules which form it remain alive and are in motion to
disintegrate. And you think that mind is the first to be dissipated and lives no
more! You believe that thought and love can cease when the grossest matter never
perishes!"
--Eliphas Levi
THE LANDMARKS OF MASONRY
BY BRO. SILAS H. SHEPHERD, WISCONSIN
THE "Ancient Landmarks" and "Landmarks of Masonry" are
terms which appear throughout the literature of Masonry, and are the source of
deep study by many Craftsmen who have devoted time, talent and genius to promote
the best interests of our fraternity.
On the subject of "landmarks," as on the subjects of
history and symbolism, there is a great diversity of opinion, both by Grand
Lodges and by individuals, and the need of a comparison of ideas which are held
by those who have made the subject a study was the cause which prompted us to
compile this article.
"What is a landmark?" is a debatable question. It has been
answered in part by definitions; it has also been answered by enumerating
certain laws or customs which are considered landmarks by the authors of the
compilations; it has also been considered a proper subject for legislation by
some Grand Lodges and they have enacted laws as to what are to be considered
landmarks in their jurisdiction.
After the organization of the Premier Grand Lodge in 1717,
the "Charges of a Freemason" were extracted from the old manuscript copies and a
set of thirty-nine "General Regulations" were adopted, the last of which reads
in part as follows: "Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent power and
authority to make new Regulations, or to alter these, for the real benefit of
this ancient Fraternity: Provided, always, that the old Land-Marks be carefully
preserved." This is the earliest mention of landmarks in connection with
Freemasonry.
Neither at that time nor at any subsequent period can we
find any enumeration of landmarks by the Grand Lodge of England, "Ancient,"
"Modern" or United.
On Oct. 19th, 1810, the Lodge of Promulgation resolved
"that it appears to this Lodge, that the ceremony of Installation of Masters of
Lodges, is one of the two Land Marks of the Craft and ought to be observed.
We are left entirely in the dark as to what they considered
the other landmark. This is the only case where we have been able to find any
attempt to say how many or what constituted a landmark until 1856 when the Grand
Lodge of Minnesota adopted a list of twenty-six articles which had the force of
landmarks, which was two years earlier than Bro. Albert Mackey enumerated his
list which has been generally considered the first attempt to enumerate them.
We will give the definition of landmarks by several learned
brethren.
"Of the nature of the Landmarks of Masonry, there has been
some diversity of opinion among writers; but perhaps the safest method is to
restrict them to those ancient, and therefore universal, customs of the Order,
which either gradually grew into operation as rules of action. or if at once
enacted by any competent authority, were enacted at a period so remote, that no
account of their origin is to be found in the records of history." (Albert G.
Mackey, Mas. Jur. page 15.)
"The very definition of Landmarks shows that an enumeration
of them is scarcely possible. All we can know is that it is a law or a custom
that has existed from time immemorial. If any universal usage exists, and has
existed so long that its origin is unknown, it is a Landmark." (Josiah Drummond,
Maine Masonic Text Book.)
"With respect to the Landmarks of Masonry, some restrict
them to the O.B., signs, tokens and words. Others include the ceremony of
initiation, passing and raising; and the form, dimensions and supports; the
ground, situation and covering; the ornaments, furniture and jewels of a Lodge,
or their characteristic symbols. Some think that the order has no landmarks
beyond its peculiar secrets. (Geo. Oliver, Dict. Symb. Mas. )
"We assume those principles of action to be Landmarks which
have existed from time immemorial, whether in the written or unwritten law;
which are identified with the form and essence of the society; which, the great
majority agree, cannot be changed, and which every Mason is bound to maintain
intact, under the most solemn and inviolable sanctions." (Simons, Prin. of Mas.
Juris.)
"Those fixed tenets by which the limits of Freemasonry may
be known and preserved." (Dictionary of Freemasonry, Morris.)
"The Landmarks of Masonry are those ancient principles and
practices which mark out and distinguish Freemasonry as such, and they are the
source of Masonic Jurisprudence." (Lockwood's Mas. Law and Practice, Page 14.)
My idea of an Ancient Landmark is a rule or usage of the
Premier Grand Lodge which can not be abrogated, without cutting off the
offending Body from the Universal Craft." (W. J. Hughan.)
"A belief in God, oui Father; in the immortality of the
soul; in the brotherhood of man; and in the necessary practice of all the moral
and social virtue, were the essentials, our duty to God, our country, our
neighbor and ourselves, was everywhere and universally inculcated. These we take
to be the Landmarks of the Order." (John Q. A. Fellows, Proc. G. L. of La.,
1889.)
"A 'Landmark' that cannot be established by the writings of
the fathers, or other recognized authorities, to have been the rule or belief
among Freemasons in 1723 and before, or that is not now generally accepted as
such, can hardly be held as Landmark. (H. B. Grant, Const. G. L. of Ky., 1910.)
"A Landmark, to be a Landmark, must command the universal
respect and observance of all Masons." (T. S. Parvin, Iowa Proc. 1889, Page 106,
cor. report.)
"The fundamental principles of the Ancient Operative
Masonry were few and simple, and they were not called landmarks. Each lodge was
independent of every other, and there was no superior authority over all. Each
was composed of Apprentices and FellowCrafts. Each had its Master and Wardens,
and these were elected by vote of all the members. The ancient charges show by
what principles the relations of those of the fellowship to each other were
regulated; and these may not improperly be said to have been the 'landmarks' of
the Craft." (Albert Pike, Iowa Proc. 1888, Page 156, cor. report.)
"The Old Landmarks were, in fact, the secrets which existed
amongst the Operative Masons in the days when they alone supplied the membership
of the Craft." (W. B. Hextall, Ars. Q. C. XXV, Page 91.) "The Ancient Landmarks
of Freemasonry, like all other landmarks material or symbolical, can only
preserve their stability, when they reach down to sure foundations. When the
philosophic student unearths the underlying rock on which our Ancient Landmarks
rest, he finds our sure foundations in the triple dogma Georgia-- of the
Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man, and the Life to come. All laws,
customs and methods that obtain amongst us and do not ultimately find footholds
on this basis, are thereby earmarked as conventions and conveniences, no way
partaking of the nature of Ancient Landmarks." (Chetwode Crawley, Ars. Q. C.
XXIII. )
The Masonic Congress at Chicago in 1893 defined the
landmarks thus:
"The Ancient Landmarks are those fundamental principles
which characterize Masonry as defined by the Charges of a Freemason, and without
which the institution cannot be identified as Masonry, combined with the
essentials of the unwritten language by which brethren distinguished each other
as Masons."
Having given a few of the definitions of landmarks by
individual brethren and the collective opinion of the Masonic Congress at
Chicago, 1893, which was very representative of Masonic scholarship in America,
we will give what each Grand Lodge in the United States does or does not do in
respect to landmarks.
Alabama--
Alabama recognizes as the landmarks the Old Charges of 1722
by Anderson. Arizona--
Arizona is the only Grand Lodge on which we have no
authentic information. We have searched the proceedings in vain to find what
they hold to be the landmarks and have not been favored with a reply to our
letter of inquiry.
Arkansas-- Arkansas has no enumeration of the landmarks.
California-- California-- California has no legislation on
the subject of landmarks, but as a general proposition accepts Mackey's
twenty-five.
Colorado. Colorado has never adopted a particular list of
landmarks, having been governed by the old constitutions and those published in
Mackey's Encyclopedia.
Connecticut-- Connecticut has adopted as its code the
treatise known as "Lockwood's Masonic Law and Practice" and by inference holds
to the specification of Landmarks contained therein.
Delaware-- No mention is made of Landmarks in the
Constitution of 1909 and no list of landmarks appears in their code.
District of Columbia-- The District of Columbia accepts as
the landmarks the twenty-five laid down by Mackey.
In the Masonic Code of 1905 is a valuable address on the
"Outline of Masonic Law," by Geo. H. Walker, P. G. M.
Florida-- Florida has never taken any action on the subject
of landmarks.
Georgia-- Georgia has no list of landmarks. Art. IV of the
Constitution of 1909 reads: "The Grand Lodge shall have power as follows: To
propose, enact and establish new regulations for the government of the Craft
within its jurisdiction, and the same to alter, amend, explain or repeal, not
contravening the ancient landmarks of the Order."
Edict 177 reads: "The Unwritten Law, the Immemorial Usages,
the Landmarks and the like, of Masonry, are not repealed by the adoption of any
Constitution and By-Laws, nor is it in the power of any man or body of men to
change, alter or repeal these or any of them."
Idaho-- Idaho has no legislation defining or enumerating
what landmarks are.
Illinois-- Illinois has no legislation defining landmarks.
Illinois follows Robbins and Drummond on this subject.
Indiana-- No mention is made in the Indiana Constitution of
Landmarks; and no list of landmarks appears in their code.
Iowa-- Iowa has no list of landmarks. The following is Sec.
5, Gen. Law: "The unwritten laws of this jurisdiction consist of the time
honored customs and usages of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of general
recognition, as they are found in the traditional and historic records of
Freemasonry and adapted to the conditions and time in which we live, together
with such rules for application as will perpetuate its integrity and usefulness,
and not repugnant to its written laws."
Kansas-- Kansas does not consider the landmarks a subject
for legislation. With their code they publish the "Bassett notes" containing
list of landmarks by Mackey, Morris, Simons and Lockwood for the information of
the brethren.
Kentucky-- The declaration at the beginning of the
Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky 1908, reads: "The Grand Lodge of
Kentucky acknowledges belief in God to be the great fundamental principle and
Landmark of Masonry upon which our fraternity is erected."
The Ancient Charges of 1723 are printed on pages 200-205,
and on pages 209 to 240 are the "Ancient Landmarks with supporting evidence," by
H. B. Grant, 54 in number. (G. W. Speth reviewed them in Ars. Q. C. VII.)
Louisiana-- Louisiana Constitution of 1902, Sec. 4, second
paragraph, considering the powers of the Grand Lodge reads: "It may make all
laws and regulations necessary for the government of the lodges and brethren
under its jurisdiction, and for the propagation and advancement of the true
principles and work of Ancient Freemasonry, not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Constitution, the old Charges of Free and Accepted Masons of 1723
hereunto annexed, or the ancient usages and landmarks of the Order."
Edict 44 reads: "That the only written landmarks are those
in the ancient Charges of the Craft, forming part of the Constitution of the
Grand Lodge; and the unwritten, those contained in the ceremonies of initiation,
and the ties which bind us together as Masons: Nor is it proper by legislation
to make any new obligations with penalties attached, nor for a lodge to attempt,
by resolution, to define the landmarks of the Craft."
----o----
FURTHER LIGHT IN MASONRY
As I look down the misty past
Through its vistas dim and weird and vast,
Through the centuries of life and joy
And the monuments of its employ,
My craving centers in the plea
For "further light in Masonry."
The stones were from the quarries raised,
And paths through mighty forests blazed.
The throbbing heart of labor then
Was in the patient days of men.
But much is vague, and hence my plea
For "further light in Masonry."
And as the craftsman learned the arts
Of the operative in all its parts,
And traveled to foreign lands away
To wages earn and skill display,
My heart goes with them in the plea
For "further light in Masonry."
And as those builders, great in heart
And in the world's then foremost art
Sought in themselves the nobler things
That brotherhood unfailing brings,
I catch their spirit in my plea
For "further light in Masonry."
And O, what minds conceived the plan
Of working out the art for man
From the symbols to the lessons taught
That have so long such blessings brought!
My wonder accentuates the plea
For "further light in | 
