We would like lo thank R.W. Bro. Pollard for this extremely important view of the role of Ihe Past Master. Bro. Pollard is the immediate Past Executive Secretary of the MSA.

Anyone who has served in the East of any Masonic body, but more especially in the East of a symbolic lodge, has a special feeling of satisfaction and pride in his accomplishments in that office. It is only natural that he will also have a feeling of regret that he was not able to ac complish everything he had hoped during his term. He will also have second thoughts on how he handled some situations. Most of all, though, he has a deep and abiding concern for his lodge.

But, what about “life after service in the East?” What happens then? The answer will de pend a great deal upon the individual and his at titude. There are some who relinquish the gavel with great reluctance. . . and there are some who never seem to give it up. And, yes, there are a few (fortunately a very few) who walk away from the job and never appear to look back and seldom come back. Fortunately, the vast majority of Past presiding officers take on a status of “senior ad visors” who greatly assist their successors in the government of the Craft.

Many lodges take full advantage of the talents of these experienced leaders. They are used on “executive councils”, as Trustees, Committee Chairmen, coaches, and as protem officers. So long as they are used to good advantage and are made to continue to feel needed and useful, they will continue to be great assets to the organiza tion. It is when they are ignored and “cast off” that they look around for other outlets for their talents.

Some lodges which have a number of Past Masters available have formed them into a “Past Masters Association”, and when there are several lodges in close proximity they often form a regional association of Past Masters. One of the most successful of this type is the Past Masters Association of the District of Columbia. Thanks to the talents of a dedicated Secretary, it publishes a quarterly newsletter which is sent to all of its members “wheresoever dispersed”, keeping the membership informed of activities in the various lodges, news of the activities of the members, losses through death, changes of address, mar riages, etc. It is a most appreciated service which promotes pride, continued interest, and as a periphery benefit, it increases contributions to the Masonic and Eastern Star Home and other fund raising activities of the D.C. Iodges. Dues in the Association are kept at an absolute minimum, with a number of the D.C. Iodges paying the dues in the Association for all of their Past Masters. This serves as an additional link in the chain of communication. The Past Masters Association meets several times each yearusually at the “festive board.”

That special kinship which Past Masters have with one another is evident in many ways. In many lodges it is customary for the Past Masters to sit together (frequently in the Southeast cor ner) where they have been likened to “buzzards sitting on a fence.” It seems they want to be near the Secretary so that they can see and hear everything that is going on, and, of course they are willing, ready and able to assist, prompt or correct the Master. If you were to eavesdrop on them, you’d hear frequent comments such as, ” During my year, we did such and so; ‘ or, “Remember when such and such happened?” And there is usually a good amount of reminisc ing done. But, it is part of that special fellowship which Past Masters enjoy.

In a number of retirement communities across the country, you will find that the strong “tie that binds” has brought Past Masters together. They have been the founders of literally hundreds of Masonic clubs in those communities, and have been instrumental in increasing attendance at local lodges. And, bless ‘em, many of them have become active in those lodges, bringing with them a wealth of experience and knowledge. Some of them have gone through the line again. Essen tially, they give proof to that old adage that Freemasonry is a universal society of friends and brothers.

We frequently hear Past Masters referred to as the “backbone of the lodge.” That just might be a gross understatement of fact. Past masters may be described as the backbone of the entire fraternity. After all, ALL Grand Lodge officers are, first, Past Masters. It is their knowledge, ex perience, enthusiasm and interest which makes any Grand Lodge “tick”. Almost without excep tion, Past Masters are men of vision, who are continuously working for the good of the Craft, steering the course for its future.

The final paragraph of the January 1931 Short Talk Bulletin, “The Past Master,” reads: “The honorable station of Past Master can not be honored by the brethren if it is not honored by its possessor.” Fortunately, almost all who have earned the title of Past Master continue to serve their lodges with distinction. It is a title which has been earned by their total involvement in lodge activities and by their personal sacrifices. As with all honors and titles, Past Masters find that there are new rights and privileges which go with the title. There are also additional duties and responsibilities…and new challenges.

Among the initial shocks that a new Past Master faces is that the telephone stops its cons tant ringing, that he now has time for a personal life and an opportunity to read and study. Many find that in their first year as a Past Master they gain more Masonic knowledge than in all the preceding years. To aid them in this period, there are several of The Masonic Service Association Short Talk Bulletins which are recommended reading: “The Past Master” (Jan. ‘31); “Lodge Courtesies” (Aug. ‘24); “Master” (Feb. ‘41); “Past Master’s Jewel” (Apr. ‘45); “The Master’s Jewel Speaks” (Oct. ‘43).

With the title of Past Master, he is also accord ed the accolade of “Worshipful”indicating that he is an honored and respected brother. It is a reputation which he must continually strive to uphold.

Yes! Past Masters can be properly referred to as the “backbone of the Craft.”

It is a wise Master who recognizes the talents of the Past Masters and who uses them to good advantage. They can serve as a “sounding board” for the programs and activities a master is con sidering. He can “pick their brains” for ideas and he can count on the Past Masters to give him the wisdom of their experience. The Master serves as the rudder, steering the course, but it is often the Past Masters who assist him to “keep it on an even keel.”

Why are a Past Master’s compasses, in his jewel, open at 60 degrees on a quadrant instead 90 on a square?

The compasses open sixty degrees are in easy position to construct a square. The Master has worn the square while he presided; now, as Past Master, he is supposed to be in possession of the knowledge necessary to make a square, hence the position of the compasses and the quadrant.

There are many geometric methods of erecting a square; the Past Master’s jewel hints at one of the simplest and most used methods as best for the Past Master to employ in instructing his successor.

From “101 Questions about Freemasonry” available through The Masonic Service Association.

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1. THE GILD SYSTEM IN GENERAL

WHEN the Angles and Saxons settled in ancient England (Britain it was then called) they at first maintained their military form of organization, so that each settlement was a kind of camp; but as time went on and villages became permanent, a civil form of social order began slowly to evolve. The first step in this was the institution of the kin-bond, wherein blood relatives stood together for support and protection, the individual and his family being mutually responsible.  This gave way in the course of ti me to voluntary associations founded not on blood relationship but on community ties, existing to protect the individual against the group, to preserve order in the settlement, and for a variety of similar purposes.  These associations, described as “artificial” in contrast to the “natural” bond of blood, were the first gilds in England, in virtue of which fact it cannot be said that anybody ever “discovered” or “invented” gilds; they grew out of natu ral conditions in response to social necessity, just as t hey had come into existence among the Greeks and Romans centuries before, the former calling them “thiassoi”, etc., the latter, “collegia”.  It is generally believed by the more dependable authorities that it is very possible that there may have been some historical continuity between the gilds of early England and the Roman collegia, but the historical remains of the period are too scanty to enable us to make sure on that point.  If such a continuity ev er existed it was more probable in Italy, where the co llegia longest endured, and which, like most other European countries, had a gild system of its own.

The word “gild” (sometimes spelled “guild”)  continues to be a puzzle so far as its etymology is concerned.  The North Germans had “geld”, meaning money; the Danish, “gilde”, a religious feast in honour of the god Odin; the Anglo-Saxons, “gild”, from same root as “yield”, and meaning a fixed payment of money; the Bretons “gouil”, a feast or holiday; the Welsh “gmylad”, a festival.  In later times, when gilds became everywhere common, the North Germans used the word “gild”; the South Germans, “zunft”; the Fr ench, “metier”; and the Italians, “arte”.  In the sixteenth century England the word was generally superseded by “company”, “corporation” or “mystery”, the last name derived from the Latin “ministerium”, or trade, and having no reference to anything mysterious, being preserved in our usage to this day, as when we speak of the arts, parts and mysteries of Freemasonry.

The first gilds, as it is believed, were organized in Italy.  In France they were very common before Charlemagne, and are first mentioned in the Carolingian Capitularies of 779 and 789.  Commercial and craft gilds began to become common in France, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Sweden in the eleventh century.  The oldest known ordinances, as the written laws for the government of a gild were called, occur in England in the eleventh century.  The gild principle proved so successful and was applied to s o many uses that by the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it became the outstanding feature of the social and economic life of Europe.

One of the commonest early uses of that principle was in the “frith”, or peace, gilds, which became very popular in North Europe in the sixth century – the Vikings organized then to suppress piracy – and in England the century later, where they were referred to in the Laws of Ine.  These were voluntary associations of men organized for mutual defense, to supplement defective laws, and to police the community in a period when national governments were not known and when the authority of the town was very wea k.  We saw this system at work in our own land under pioneer conditions, as in the case of the Vigilantes, and even today, in spite of our elaborate machinery for the enforcement of law and the protection of citizens, impatient men in some communities strive to make or enforce law by similar methods.

In the course of time gilds multiplied until they came to be used for every conceivable purpose, for good-fellowship, for drinking, for insuring a decent burial, for worship, for hunting, travel, art and for banking; priests and friars organized, sailors, travelers, woodsmen and shepherds; there were gilds for men, women, children, for rich and for poor, in the country and in the town.  Functions now performed by government, armies, schools, stores, factories, hospitals, trade unions, and most of the other innumerable forms into which social organization has differentiated itself, were then held in keeping by gilds.

The typical gild had prayers for the dead; a common chest for incidental upkeep and for the relief of the widows and orphans of deceased members; periodical meetings, with banquets; admitted members on an oath, sometimes two; administered fines; adopted ordinances for the regulation of its own activities; punished members for improper conduct, and co-operated in many ways with the town or national governments.  Most of these societies were small, the largest on record being the Corpus Christi gild at York, which once boasted of 15,000 members.  Sometimes many gilds in a community consolidated, but there was never a country-wide merger.  Of the city of London there is record of one gild in 1130; of eighteen in 1180, and of 110 in 1422.  In the time of Edward III there were listed more than 40,000 religious and trade gilds in England; the census of 1389 showed 909 in Norfolk alone.  This proliferation received its first serious set-back during the Ref ormation when Henry VIII despoiled all religious gilds; it di ed down rapidly with the advent of the capitalist system, and came to a dead stop, except in a few unimportant instances, in the last century.  France prohibited them in 1789-91; Spain and Portugal, 1833-40; Austria and Germany, 1859-60; Italy, 1864; Scotland, where the development had followed Continental lines, in 1846, and England in 1835.

In its heyday the gild system was very closely connected with the church, so closely that some writers credit the church with its origin; almost every gild had its patron saint, before whose image it kept a candle burning, and many set aside sums of money for the sustenation of a priest, the maintenance of a chapel and for masses, chantries, church charities and church schools.  Oftentimes a gild had its own chaplain, and a very large number, as already noted, were devoted exclusively to religious purposes; these religious fraternities were suppressed in England in 1547, and other gilds were at the same time forbidden to give money to churches.  A number of the Roman Catholic fraternities now existing are lineal descendants of the old religious gilds.

Partly as a result of their alliance with the church many gilds, otherwise devoted to purely secular pursuits, participated in pageants and in mystery, morality and miracle plays, the forerunners of our modern drama.  These plays were staged on wagons drawn in a “procession” from one exhibition point to another across the town, and always it was a day of excitement when they were shown, and vast crowds gathered.  Expenses were divided among the gilds and parts allotted, as at Norwich, where the mercers, dra pers and haberdashers presented the creation of the world; the grocers, Paradise; the smiths, the fight between David and Goliath; or as at Hereford, the glovers gave Adam and Eve; the carpenters, Noah’s ship; the tailors, the three kings, etc.  It is of record that on a few instances parts were taken by gilds of Masons.  I am of the opinion that the drama of our Third Degree may very probably have been originally an old mystery play, which may have found its way to us through some Masons’ gild that partici pated in it.

It used to be the fashion to say that the gild corporation and the town corporation were identical, or that the former gradually metamorphosed into the latter, a view given a very wide circulation by Brentano; this idea has been abandoned.  There was always a close connection between town government and gild government, but the two were always distinct, except possibly in two or three negligible instances.  In many cases a man had to be a gild member before he could become a citizen, but the gild ordinances were always subordinate to the town authority.  The manner in which the gilds governed themselves will be described later.

It is a remarkable fact, and one worthy of especial remark to us Masons, that many gilds accepted men not at all engaged in the craft as patrons or as a means of bestowing an honour or some special privilege.  “Indeed,” writes one of the best authorities, E. Lipson, “the members of many London companies frequently came to have only a very faint connection with the business of the company to which they were attached,” a fact that makes it easier for us to understand how non-operatives came to be admitted int o the old Masonic gilds, or lodges.  “They included in their membership,” writes another authority, “most of the wealthy men of the nation, and the great [gild] halls now standing in the city of London testify to the proud names with which they are so generously decorated that the men who made England what she was, the men who built her commerce, won her wealth and risked their lives and fortunes in extending England’s commercial supremacy, were mighty i n the gilds.” Henry IV, Henry VI and Henry VIII were g ild members, so also Edward III, who belonged to a gild of armourers.  There is therefore nothing extraordinary in the fact that Elias Ashmole and other worthies of his time sought membership among the operative masons.

II. THE MERCHANT GILDS

The gild system in general had two grand periods of development, the first of which culminated in the merchant gilds, as were called those associations formed in all the towns (save a few, among which was London) for the purpose of managing and controlling trading and commerce. Such a gild included all engaged in a given kind of commerce, including wage-earners as well as proprietors, and the object was to enable the merchants to maintain a monopoly of, and an efficient organization of, all the merchandisin g in a given community. These organizations grew apace and waxed powerful and became in time the foster parents of English commerce; more than 100 towns in England and seventy in Ireland and Wales had them.  They reached their zenith in the twelfth century, began to disappear in the fourteenth century and were almost completely superseded by craft gilds in the fifteenth century.

Merchant gilds engaged in so many activities, some private, some public, that it is impossible to describe them in full; among the most important of their functions was the control of import and export of wares; the limiting of the number permitted in any trade; the regulation of wages and prices, and the inspection and standardization of goods. Every member had to pay “scot” and “lot”, as the general taxes were called, and take oath to obey the rulers and ordinances, as well as contribute his annual dues. As a reward for his membership he was privileged to share in business transactions and in bargains, and was given a “status” in the community very much coveted.  If he fell ill he was cared for; his family was looked after in case of his death; in unemployment he was helped to find a position, and he was protected against quarrels and unjust dealings. The gild was governed by an alderman (“elder man”) and his associates, two or four in number; it had it s own treasury; passed its own ordinances; could fine o r otherwise punish its members; and in some instances had its own court.  At periodical meetings – called “morning speeches” – the brethren passed or revised ordinances, admitted new members, feasted and elected officers.

As industry developed in scope and complexity it became increasingly difficult for these gilds merchant to retain their monopolies; gradually there grew up a new system to supersede the old, known as craft gilds, in which not commerce but a handicraft was the unit; there was a struggle between the new system and the old, but the old at last gave way and in the fifteenth century ceased to be.  Craft gilds were not, as has often been alleged, the offspring of the merchant gilds, for there was no organic conne ction between them; they were variously two similar but quite distinct and separate developments of the gild principle due to economic changes.

III. CRAFT GUILDS

“The primary purpose of the craft gild was to establish a complete system of industrial control over all who were associated together in the pursuit of a common calling.” The merchant gild, working usually in the smaller towns, organized a whole industry; the craft gilds, springing up everywhere, from London to almost every hamlet, organized each separate part of every industry, or vocation, as an independent entity.  For example, where the merchant gild had organized the leather business as a whole, craft gilds broke it up into specialties, so that tanners, saddle makers, harness makers, bridle makers, shoe makers, slipper makers, boot makers, etc., had each their own fraternity.  This high degree of specialization was extended to the arts, to social interests, amusements and education; it was even extended to religion, so that in one church might be a gild of priests, of musicians, of singers, of actors in the mystery play, and a gild to look after the altar besides to see that it was properly dressed with rich cloths and its candles always burning.

The gilds devoted wholly to some one handicraft performed an astonishing number of functions and became a little family world to each member in which he found his social fellowship, his school, his business, his hospital, his sick, health and life insurance, protection against enemies, employment bureau, a court to which to be responsible for his conduct and laws and ordinances for controlling his conduct.  The old debate among Masonic writers as to whether the medieval operative Masonic gilds possessed any “speculative” elements would seem to be singularly beside the point; every gild was full of “speculative” elements, even the pig drivers and sheep herders, who, like the rest had their patron saints, their religious festivals and burned a candle at the altar.

“Many free grammar schools were founded and maintained by the gilds,” writes Lipson, in his excellent Economic History, “which formed one of the main sources of education in the Middle Ages; and one gild, that of Corpus Christi, Cambridge, perpetuated its memory by founding the famous college that still bears its name.  In this way the gilds contributed to the spread of learning, and the voluntary efforts of artisans helped to keep burning the lamp of knowledge.” He could have added many more examples.  Dea n Colet turned over to a gild the management of his St. Paul’s school.  William Shakespeare secured his “little Latin and less Greek” at a gild school in Stratford-on-Avon.

Many writers have described craft gilds as “the trade unions of the Middle Ages”, but this is most inaccurate.  As Sidney and Beatrice Webb have stated so clearly in their magnificent History of Trade Unions there was no connection whatever between the two, and only a superficial resemblance.  The craft gild was a quasi-public body, often so interwoven with municipal government that learned writers have confused the two; it controlled trade not in the interests of workmen merely but of all, the public inclu ded; membership in it was compulsory, and so recognized by local and national laws; its ranks included employers as well as employed, and these two groups did not come into conflict until later, with the rise of journeymen’s gilds; it accepted into membership only trained men, all others, servants, etc., being left outside and considered as “cowans”; it was a purely local institution, with a territory limited by the community boundaries; and in addition to the reg ulation of wages, hours and general trade co nditions, it was also engaged, as described above, in many activities of a purely social character, and unrelated to the trade itself.

At the head of the typical gild were the wardens, two or four, usually elected by the assembly but sometimes appointed by the mayor, holding office for one year, whose duty it was to supervise the work turned out by the craft and to see that certain standards were maintained.  The assembly usually met once a year, but sometimes four times, and at stated intervals.  The gild often had its own court and members were admitted on oath.  The general membership was divided into the three grades of masters, journe ymen (fellow crafts) and apprentices, but any journeyman might become a master so that, so far as skill was concerned, there were only two classes.  Women were admitted into many gilds and were permitted to take apprentices and to hire journeymen.

The most admirable feature in the whole gild system was the institution called apprenticeship, which was a method for training youths in their vocation never since surpassed and not often equalled.  A boy was “indentured”, or contracted, to some master for a term of years, which in earlier times might last from one to ten years, but in 1563 was everywhere (in England) fixed at seven years.  The master furnished bed and board, technical training, sometimes a small salary, sometimes schooling, supervised his conduct, and generally stood to the boy in loco parentis; the boy in his turn was obliged to be no bondsman, of good physique, a faithful workman and alive to his master’s welfare.  The beginnings of this system have been traced to 1260; it became a vital part of the whole economic system in the thirteenth century. Apprentices were usually registered with the town authorities and otherwise given a recognized status in the community.  The terms an d experiences of his position passed into popular speech, rema ining in use until the present day, coloured all social thinking, and often was celebrated in literature, as in Goethe’s Wilhelm Maister.

The apprentice custom, as the reader will already have discerned, remains imbedded in our own Masonic system to remind us that a candidate for our “mystery” stands as much in need of training as the youth of old times who knocked at the door of a gild; if our statesmen and rulers ever come to understand Masonry as they should, and its possibilities in the world, the reconstitution of the apprentice system in our Fraternity, and a more thorough and intelligent use of it, will be one of their first concerns. To expect a man to be able to understand or practice Freemasonry without adequate preparation is a ridiculous now as it was when Masonic gilds were devoted to architecture and the building crafts.  We are not called on to raise fabrics of wood and stone into the sky, but ours is an even more difficult task, for it is our duty to build manhood and to reorganize the whole world into the forms of brotherhood, surely a high calling, and demanding skil led workmen!

The time of his indenture completed, the apprentice graduated into the ranks of the journeymen, becoming thereby a fellow of the craft, i.e., entitled to its liberties and privileges on equal terms with all others.  This passing to a higher grade was signalized by some proof of his skill a “masterpiece” in many cases or an examination before the wardens. (Wardens were known as “deacons” in Scotland, whence some of our Masonic nomenclature was derived.) In Europe the young journeyman went out on a “wander to ur” in order to see something of the world and of the practices of his craft in other places, but this custom never secured a foothold in England; usually (in some cases compulsorily) a journeyman (sometimes called yoeman, “young man”) hired himself out to some master for two or three years at wages and then, with a little money of his own, set up in his own shop, hired journeymen, indentured apprentices and became a master.

In the course of time the masters, being the moneyed class, tended to arrogate to themselves more and more power and to adopt legislation in their own interests, and the journeymen, as their numbers increased, learned to combine to secure their own interests, especially after a permanently wage earning class was developed. Upon this journeymen began to form gilds of their own, often in despite of the authorities, a thing that became quite common by the fifteenth century.  On the continent, especially in the industrial centers and in Germany, this conflict between masters and men often broke out into pitched battles with much shedding of blood (the Medici family emerged from such a welter to the control of Florence), but in England the struggle was more quiet.  By the sixteen seventeenth century journeymen gilds were quite subdued and content to remain subordinate to the masters who grew more and more oligarchical.  In many of the large cities the masters secured all control in their own hands, and gradual ly, with the coming of modern capitalism and manufacturing and the whole gild system gradually rise of nationalism the whole gild system broke up and quietly passed away.  Some of the craft societies still survived so late as the latter half of the eighteenth century, but their privileges were formally and finally abolished by parliament in 1835.

The study of the medieval Masonic gilds from which Freemasonry evolved, or at least with which it has at least a certain amount of historical continuity, must be reserved for another chapter, as demanding more space reserved than is here available.  In the present connection it is not necessary to call a Masonic reader’s attention to the fact that whatever that historical connection may have been and to what extent our modern craft is indebted to the old gild system, Freemasonry was in its beginning of a pi ece with that system and inherited many things from it, so that it is quite impossible to understand our Fraternity today apart from the craft gilds of old in which apprentices, fellow crafts and masters united in the one hand, toiled and lived together in brotherhood to the end that the word might be served and themselves enabled to earn masters’ wages and to perfect themselves in their mystery.

WORKS CONSULTED IN PREPARING THIS ARTICLE

A. Abram, English Life and Manners in Later Middle Ages. J. DeW.  Addison.  Arts and Crafts in Middle Ages. Ars. Quatuor Coronatorum, II, 159; II, 165; V, 125; IX, 28; XV, 153; XV, 197.  F. Armitage, The Guilds of England.  W. J. Ashley, An Introduction to English Economic History.  E. Bain, Merchant and Craft Gilds. L. Brentano On the History and Development of Gilds.  H.M. Chadwick, Studies of Anglo-Saxon Institutions. E.K. Chambers. The Medieval Stage. Jas.  Coiston, Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh. H.C. Coote, The Romance of Britain. W. Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce.  W.Denton, England in the Fifteenth Century. O.J. Dunlap, English Apprenticeship and Child Labour.  Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol XII, 14. E.A. Freeman, History of the Norman Conquest of Freemasonry;

R.F.Gould, Concise History of Freemasonry; History of Freemasonry.  N.S.B. Gras, Introduction to Economic History. A.S. Green, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century J.R. Green, Short History of the English People. C. Gross, Biblio graphy of British Municipal History; Gild Merchant. J.L. and B. Hammond, The Village Laborer.  M.D. Harris,  Story of Coventry.  James Hasting, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. VI. W.C. Hazlitt, Livery Companies of City of London.  K. Hegel, Stadte und Gilden. F.A. Hibbert, Influence and Development of English Gilds. A. Jessop, Coming of the Friars. J.J. Jugseiand, English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages.  S. Kramer, English Craft Gilds and the Government.  J.M. L ambert, Two Thousand Years of Gil d Life.  Lethaby, Medieval Art.  E. Lipson, Economic History of England.  A.S. McBride, Speculative Masonry.  Machiavelli. Florentine History.  Mackey, Revised History of Freemasonry. A.L. Miller, Notes on the Early History and Records of the Lodge, Aberdeen 1 ter.  H.B. Morse, Gilds of China. A.W.  Pollard, English Miracle Plays.  M.B. Reekitt, Meaning of National Guilds.  George Renard, Guilds in the Middle Ages. J.E.T. Rogers, Economic Interpretation of History.  H.G. Sel fridge, Romance of Commerce.  L.T. Smith, York Mystery Plays. T. Smith, English Gilds.  Edgcumb Staley, The Guilds of Florence, J. Thomson, An Essay on English Municipal History. G. Unwin, Gilds and Companies of England. L.Vibert, Story of the Craft. P. Vinagradoff, Edtr., Oxford Studies in Social and Legal History. A.E. Waite, New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Ward, Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods. S. and B. Webb, History of Trade Unionism.  H. Zimmern, The Hansa Towns.

FREEMASONRY AND THE GILD SYSTEM

Supplementary References Mackey’s Encyclopedia (Revised Edition)

Adoptive Masonry, 24-30; Apprentice, 70-72; Architecture, 75;

Assembly, 83; Cowans, 183; Craft, 184; Craftsman, 184; Deacon, 197-198; Fellow Crafts, 261-262; Female Masons, 262; Foreign Country, 269; Gilds,. 296-297; Journey, 373; Journeyman, 373;

Master, 473-476; Mysteries, 497-500; Roman Colleges of Artificers, 630-634; Wages, 834.

A NOTE ON THE COMACINES

I have recently encountered a note on the Comacine Masters which should be included with the chapter on that subject published in this department last month.  It was contributed by A. L.  Frothingham to “Dictionary of Architecture and Building”, edited by Russell Sturgis; the article is headed “Guilds” and is, so far as I could discover, the solitary reference in that work to Freemasonry.  Having no competence in etymology I am unable to pass judgment on Mr. Frothingham’s theory, but am under the impression that etymologists in general would not agree with him.  Further light on the point will be appreciated.  Students will do well to read the article in its entirety; in the present connection there is space for only one paragraph:

“A great deal of grave nonsense has been written by grave authorities on these magistri commacini; chapters and even volumes have been based on the supposition that Commacine means ‘a native of Como,’ and that this region was so specifically the center of the revival of architecture under the Lombards as to give its name to the profession of architect; master from Como = architect.  Such a fact would be without a parallel and is, besides, an etymological blunder.  The word com-macinus is from the same stem as macio, the common Latin word for stonemason, with the addition of the collective prefix, and may also be connected with the current Byzantine word for practical architect, mechanicos.” – H.L.H.

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“Below the highest sphere four Regents sit, who rule our world……

The Light of Asia-Sir Edwin Arnold.

Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. . . . As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.” Ezekiel i, 5, 10.

And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.” Revelation iv, 5.

After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: ‘Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’ And he said to me: ‘The first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel. . .’.” The Book of Enoch, x1, 8, 9.

Let Prudence direct you, Temperance chasten you, Fortitude support you, and Justice be the guide of all your actions.”

Charge of First Degree.

“And thou shalt make a veil of blue and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen … and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold … and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. . . .”

Exodus, xxvi, 31-33.

“Come unto me, 0 thou of the four winds, Almighty One, who breathest spirit into men to give them life; whose name is hidden, and beyond the power of men to speak.”

Thrice Greatest Hermes- G.R.S. Mead.

What is a square? … An angle of 900 or the fourth part of a circle.”

The Ritual.

FOUR

From very ancient times, it has been the custom of men to refer all created matter to what they called the ” Four Elements “, or the mystical Elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. We have seen, in our study of the Zodiac, that the twelve signs can be divided into four triangles which, respectively, have their “fixed” signs in Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio and Leo, and we refer these signs to ” the leading standards of the four divisions of the army of Israel “-to the Ox, the Man, the Eagle and the Lion. Even in our Craft Rituals we follow the progression, although by implication; we refer to the “sand (Earth) of the sea (Water)”. to the … ravenous birds of the Air and devouring beasts of the field (Earth) …”, and to the “b.b. to ashes (Fire) … face of Earth and Water … four cardinal winds (Air) of heaven.” Thus, the progression is from the dense (Earth), through elements which progressively become less dense (Water and Air) until we reach the slate which results in the transmutation of matter-what so many people speak of as being the destruction of matter, although we now know that this conception is incorrect; matter, on burning, is transmuted with the release of energy.

In mystical teachings, we have many examples of the number four: it is called the number of “completion” and “manifestation of light”. In the fourth verse of the first Chapter of the book of Genesis, we read that God divided the light from the darkness. Pythagoras called the Tetrad “the root of all things, the fountain of nature, and the most perfect number. God was expressed as the Tetrad because the Decad (the Ten) was the sum of the first four numbers. It is the centre of the series 1-7, and, as the tetrahedron, it forms the first geometrical solid. The faces of the perfect Ashlar are perfect squares and the form of our Lodges is said to be that of an “oblong square”. It is interesting to note that the reference in the explanation of the first Tracing Board to the form of the Lodge as a “Parallelopipedon” assumes that each Lodge is in the form of a solid, bounded by six parallel faces each, presumably, in the form of a rectangle although this is not made clear in the definition. In Hebrew, the fourth letter-the “Daleth”-has the meaning of a “door”, and it seems that this is in good accord with the object of our Lodge Meetings, which, surely, are the door by which we are made aware of higher things. We speak of five steps ” . . . as though ascending and we speak of “raising”, or, again, we refer to the “rising” of that bright morning, star which brings peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human race. I want to suggest to you that the “star” is not the one that we see in the sky, it is the star of our inner consciousness, whose enfoldment brings that peace which the world cannot give; it is the symbol of increasing “awareness” which allows us to assess the things of this world at their proper value.

The Hebrews revered the “One God” under the sacred Tetragrammaton, the great four-lettered name which only the High Priest was permitted to pronounce, the sacred name which has been handed down to us in the form of Josh, He, Vau, He. On our Second Tracing Board we often find this name in small letters above the entrance to the Middle Chamber, and we say that they are “here depicted by the letter ‘G’ … signifying God …”. It probably is not a coincidence that, as pointed out in the book on “Numbers” by Isidore Kozminsky, many of the ancient peoples wrote the name of God with four letters, we have Thot, Alla, Sire, Orsi, Abdi, Esar, Deus, Thor, and Jove, later we have Lord, Dieu, King, Gott. In the Zodiac we have the four triplicities, and the Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable crosses. In the elemental sphere we have the four elements, the four seasons, the four winds, and the four qualities-” Heat, Moisture, Cold and Dryness ” (the two pairs of opposites). In the lower sphere we have the four elements of man-Mind, Spirit, Soul and Body, and the four cardinal virtues-Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice. In astrology, the square is evil, possibly because it is symbolic of the pressure of matter, and the sign for Earth, in alchemy, often is a square-again suggesting something which is contained by boundaries. You will, of course, remember that our Aprons are square in shape, denoting material limitation.

Still following the significance of the four, the Hebrew Cabbala refers to the four worlds, called respectively: Assiah (the material world), Yetzirah (the formative world), Briah (the creative world), and Aziluth (the archetypal world). In some ancient Chinese pictures, the symbolical figure of a god is shown either seated on a cube or holding the Mason’s square in his hand, and the Egyptian Gods, when sitting in judgment, are always seated on a square. It is symbolic that the term ” square conduct ” should denote just and upright dealing. As Kipling wrote: ” We met upon the level and we parted on the square . . .”.

Continuing the simile, our Ritual says: There in a G., from the ‘C,’ 3 ft. East and 3 ft. West, 3 ft between North and South, and 5 ft. or more perpendicular …” in reference to the “crucifixion” of the spirit of each one of us on the cross of matter, to the compression and limitation which the spirit must undergo when it “incarnates” in a physical body. The G. in which the body of our Master is buried is the material body which is cruciform in shape, and well may our own spirits-our real selves-be struck with horror at the dreadful and afflicting sight of that divine spark buried under the rubble of our errors and transgressions, both against the divine and the natural laws of the universe, and well may they express their sympathy with the sufferings which each Ego must experience in its slow climb of return to its native home. Can we not see also in the dimensions of the G. the form of the Master’s square-the three feet, the four cardinal points, and the five feet (or more) perpendicular; and the resultant of these three, when conjoined, is a right-angled triangle-the triangle of Pythagoras. How often do we miss such an important detail of our Ritual when, in the perambulations of the third Degree, the Deacons and the Candidate pause at each corner of the Lodge. In almost every case, they pause after turning the corner–mainly with the idea of starting off again in step–but the pause should be with the Candidate in the corner, i.e. before turning. The Deacons and the Candidate form a right-angled triangle, with the Candidate as the right angle, and the pause is a symbolical representation of applying that right angle to each corner of the Lodge in turn, the “Lodge” symbolically being the Candidate’s personal life. Notice also that the Lodge is “squared” four times during each perambulation, and therefore twelve times in all, being symbolical of testing the Candidate in each of the twelve houses of the Zodiac. In other words, he must prove that he is in harmony with each part of the material universe before he is considered a fit person to be subjected to that last and greatest trial by which means alone he can participate in the higher mysteries. No person who is out of harmony with lower things can hope to attain mastery over higher things, and it is essential that the Candidate should pass before the Brethren, not the Brethren who are seated on chairs round the Lodge room, but those of the Grand Lodge above before whom we must prove ourselves if we wish to be admitted to those secrets which, throughout the ages, have been incommunicable.

THE ELEMENTS

One of the early objects of initiation, therefore, is to learn how to control the elements of life. The traditional expression is that one must learn to control “the Elements and the Elementals”. The Elements we know as Earth, Water, Air and Fire, and the Elementals are the “nature spirits” or “genii”, or “fairies” connected with those Elements; they represent particular part-aspects of the human soul. In the Western world, they are the Gnomes of the element Earth, the Nymphs or Undines of the element Water, the Sylphs of the element Air, and the Salamanders of the element Fire. The names are known from the fairy-tales of our childhood, many of which reveal psychological hints of great significance. In modern Analytical Psychology, the four elements are revived as Perception, Feeling, Thinking and Intuition, or as Intuition, Emotion, Reason and Action-terms which we have met in our study of the Zodiac. The traditional colors of the four Elements are “woven” into the veil of the Temple; they are “White Linen” from the flax of the earth, “Purple” of the sea (from the Tyrian purple obtained from a species of shell-fish), “Blue” of the air (assimilated to the air when dark, or the “blue vault of heaven”), and Scarlet of fire. There is important symbolism in the colors of the robes of the Candidate and the Principals in our Chapter ceremonies. We have seen that the sign of Leo and the sun is the crown of the East and this is the sign of Fire. Just as the Lion is called the king of beasts, so can the sign of Leo be considered as the royal sign, the sign of the royal line of Judah and the crown of our Order. The purple of water is the appropriate color of the emotional plane, of the astral which is free from the bonds of the earth and can reflect the future as well as the past; which can provide the gift of tongues as well as the gift of prophecy. The element Air is associated with the mind and the mental plane; it is the function of the priesthood to guide the mind toward the higher planes, and it is appropriate that the color of Craft Masonry should be blue for it also seeks to guide the mind to the study of the hidden mysteries of nature and science. Traditionally, the element Fire was ascribed to the evangelist St. Mark, the interpreter of Peter, the element Air (and the Eagle) to St. John -the mystic, the element Water to St. Matthew-the tax gatherer who apportions the “wages” in accordance with the astral records, and the element Earth to St. Luke-the physician who is called upon to heal the wounds of our earthly existence.

In considering the symbolism of the four Elements, it is important to remember that they should be co-related in accordance with two traditional systems. In the circular Zodiac, as in medieval alchemy the four Elements were considered as pairs of opposites, i.e. Fire was opposed to Water, since the latter quenches fire, and Air was opposed to Earth since the former was light and tended to rise whereas the latter was heavy and tended to fall. In this way, the two interlaced triangles (the seal of Solomon) referred to the opposites of Fire and Water; that pointing upwards represented Fire and the masculine forces of nature, while that pointing downwards represented Water and the feminine forces of nature. The union of the two, in perfect balance, was a symbol of the mystical marriage, and the seventh point often placed at the centre of the interlaced triangles had the same symbolism as the child of that marriage, the bud of the lotus, or of ” Tom Thumb “-the power of the seventh Chakra, the development of super-consciousness, the attainment of Samhadi, the attainment of the golden crown. The triangle of Fire represented spiritual aspiration ascending, like fire, ever upwards, while the triangle of Water represented spiritual grace descending like the gentle dew from heaven upon the place beneath-upon the faithful and the obedient of the human race. The triangle of Fire symbolizes Justice, raised upward like the sword held in the right hand (the male side) of the traditional figure of “Justice”, and the triangle of Water symbolizes Mercy, like the dew descending from heaven, represented by the balance held in the left hand (the female side) of “Justice”. The feminine aspect of the balance is further emphasized by the fact that it is fitted with two scale pans, two being the first female number.

THE CROSS

The traditional four Elements of Astrology are based on a slightly different arrangement, which appears to date from about the time of Aristotle, who considered that all matter was composed of varying proportions of one or more elements. He suggested that the characteristics of any particular body could be described in accordance with its content and proportion of two pairs of opposites which he called: “Hot” and “Cold”, and “Dry” and “Wet”. His teaching was that all substances contain, in various proportions, the four elementary qualities of “fixity”, i.e. “solidity” (Earth), “liquidity” (Water), “fluidity” (Air), and “radiation” (Fire). When these elementary characteristics were applied to Astrology, the Elements which support life (Earth and Water) were ascribed to the Fixed Negative signs (the feminine), while those which activate life (Fire and Air) were ascribed to the Fixed Positive signs (the masculine). Thus Leo (Fire) and Taurus (Earth) remained constant in both systems, but the signs of Aquarius and Scorpio could represent either Air or Water, depending on the system in use. This duality of Aquarius and Scorpio is found throughout the literature of Mysticism and Astrology, and it can lead to confusion unless one is sure which system is under consideration. In the circular Zodiac, the sign of Aquarius (the Waterman) is the centre of the quadrant of “the Sea” and that of Scorpio-Aquila (the Scorpion and the Eagle) is the centre of the quadrant of the Air (the “blue arch of Heaven”). On the other hand, in the symbolism of the Fixed Cross, the two positive signs of Leo and Aquarius represent Fire and Air respectively, while the two negative signs of Taurus and Scorpio (Aquila) represent Earth and Water respectively. As we have seen previously, the horizontal bar of the cross represents the feminine aspect of nature (Earth and Water) while the vertical bar represents the masculine aspect of the spirit (Fire and Air)-see Transaction No. 8. When the cross has its four arms of equal length, spirit and matter are in equal balance and we can see this balance in the cruciform division of the four elements at the centre of the circle of the Zodiac, as illustrated in Transaction No. 88. The Tau cross, which has the horizontal arm at the top of the vertical, is the symbol of spirit totally submerged in matter. This is the cross of suffering and of darkness, and it is that which is formed in space by the Master of the Lodge when the Candidate of the First Degree is to be restored to light. The Tau cross should be traced by the Master’s gavel, but the sign is not always given correctly. The inverted Tau cross, what we call the Master’s Level, is the symbol of spirit in contact with, but above, matter, and this is the “mark or sign of Life” of which the Angel said: “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof…. For these reasons it has ever been considered a mark or sign of life”.

The horizontal bar of the cross is that connecting the two feminine signs of Taurus and Scorpio or, according to our Astrological symbolism, that connecting the Elements Earth and Water-the two elements which support life. In Eastern symbolism, these frequently were described as the “Dragon’s Head” and the “Dragon’s Tail” respectively, and the symbol of St. George slaying the Dragon is another reference to the lance (the vertical bar of the cross) of spirit overcoming (slaying) the horizontal axis (the Dragon) of matter. The vertical axis, that of the spirit, is represented by many forms of symbolism. It is found in various forms of sacred poles and pillars, in the steeples of churches and the minarets of mosques, in the Masonic pillar of J., and in the wand as representing a power from above. This wand is the wand of the magician, the baton of the conductor of an orchestra, and the magic wand of Mercury-Hermes, the God of Air, the messenger of the Gods, the wanderer between the Spheres, the Lord of the function of inspiration and intuition. We use the same symbol in the wands of the Deacons, the messengers of our Lodges, whose sign of office originally was the caduceus of Mercury-Hermes. When this symbolic wand touches a person, his world is transformed into a more joyful realm and he becomes charged with the power of the spirit. Perhaps, at the same time, he sees his old world in a new light-for the first time in its true light-and then commences the fight for mastery between the Dragon of materialism and the Angel of light, in whose hand is the lance of the spirit. The two axes of the cross are present also in our Lodges as the two columns of the Wardens, and it is for this reason that the one is erect while the other is laid horizontally. When the Lodge is at labour the column of the Senior Warden is erect to indicate that the power of the spirit is flowing due East and West and that the Lodge is orientated in this axis. When the Lodge is called from labor to refreshment, the spiritual axis is horizontal to signify lying down to rest, and the Lodge then becomes orientated along the axis of Earth and Water-the Bread and Water of our material sustenance. But, brethren, man cannot live by Bread (and Water) alone, and those who look on the Masonic banquets as of more importance than the Masonic ceremonies, are living according to the laws of the Dragon. It is a matter of passing interest that the sign of Taurus, the Bull, and also the position of the Junior Warden are in the South, the location of the sun at high noon for the Northern Hemisphere, while the Dragon usually is represented with flames issuing from its mouth. The sign of Taurus is represented only by the head of the Bull (corresponding to the head of the Dragon), while the opposite sign (corresponding to the tail of the Dragon) is represented by the Scorpion, having the sting in its tail. We have seen that the vertical axis of the spirit is assigned to the two Elements of Fire and Air, and that the colors associated with these Elements respectively are scarlet and blue. These are the colors of the robes of the King and the Priest, and the colors of the “ribbon worn by the Companions…”-“… a sacred emblem, denoting light, being composed of two of the principal colors with which the veils of the Temple and Tabernacle were interwoven…. It has ever been considered an emblem of regal dignity and power “. It is thus a symbol of the spiritual axis of Leo (the royal sign) and Aquarius (the Water-man), the power of the human mind.

If we care to ascribe to the two axes their astrological symbols, the vertical represents the opposite poles of Intuition and Reason, while the horizontal axis represents the opposite poles of Emotion and Action. Alternatively, they represent Intuition and Thinking (the mind), and Feeling and Willing, In each case, the “lowest” element-action and will-is that of Earth, while the highest-intuition-is that of Fire. The reference to the four rivers which watered the Garden of Eden also is connected with the symbolism of the four Elements. These mystical rivers were named:

PISON (fire)-meaning “joining together as one”.
HIDDEKEL (air)-meaning “freely flowing”.
GIHON (water)-meaning “to run out, to burst forth into thought”.
(Phrath) EUPHRATES (earth)-meaning “to increase, the creative power, the fruitful river”.
 

All these four rivers were said to issue from the river Nahar, meaning the “one river”-the Spirit. The word Nahar refers to “breathing deeply” so that this one river is connected with what we otherwise call the Breath of Life, and the mystical fire of the East; the river Pison, refers to the union with the fire-the transmutation into gold, the attainment of the crown of the East. Alternatively, the action of the Fire of the spirit (the red color) acting on the axis of Earth and Water (bread and water) converts them into the mystical bread and wine of the Sacrament-the transmuting effect of the Holy Grail. But, just as we know that the contact of two poles of an electric battery produces current, or even a spark, so does the entry of spirit into matter bring about a change resulting from the spark of that light which, at our Initiation, we proclaimed to be the “predominant wish of our hearts”. Just as the passage of a current of electricity through an electrolyte produces a permanent change, so the effect of that light which is from above will have a permanent effect on the Candidate, and he can never revert to his original state of darkness. It is often said: “Once a Mason always a Mason” and, having experienced the power of that light, it would be spiritual death for the Candidate to attempt to retreat, for then the running noose of our astral cord, the cable-tow of the Freemason, would lead to strangulation of the mind. Ignorance is one of the deadly evils but, knowledge wrongly applied leads to spiritual destruction. It is fully in accord with this teaching that the sharp i. placed to the breast of the Candidate should be of cruciform shape, and in the form of man himself.

THE THREE PILLARS

A study of the signs in the circle of the Zodiac shows that they are in the form of three crosses which we call the Fixed Cross, the Cardinal Cross, and the Mutable Cross, and it is useful to separate these, placing the appropriate planetary signs at the end of each axis in place of the zodiacal signs. We find that the Fixed and the Cardinal crosses are mirror images of each other, except that the Fixed Cross has the Sun at its Eastern arm while the Cardinal Cross has the Moon in the corresponding position. Since the Moon only shines by reflection of the light of the Sun, the one truly is a mirror image of the other. The planets included in these two crosses are: the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The Mutable Cross consists of two planets only: Mercury and Jupiter. According to occult teaching, the planet Mercury represents “Mind or Variety of Mental Experience”, while Jupiter represents “Single Pointed Mind, or Law and Order”. This Cross is bipolar, i.e. it forms a link between the positive and the negative signs and, as you will see, it is in the form of a St. Andrew’s Cross. According to Dionysian symbolism, man as the Microcosm is represented as stretched out on the diagonals of a square (on a St. Andrew’s Cross) and this square is composed of 21 smaller squares along each side, making 441 squares in all (=9). The square is inscribed in a circle which, in turn, is inscribed in a larger square having 30 component squares along each edge, making 900 in all. Nine is the number of the perfect man and this symbol gives a subtle relationship between the 1+2=3 and the 9 and, according to our analysis of the Zodiac, the figure of man as the Microcosm would have the sign of the planet Mercury at the tip of each hand and that of Jupiter at the tip of each foot. Can we not say that this Man represents Mind incarcerated in matter, with the feet of the figure based on Law and Order, while the hands reach outward and ever upward for further variety of mental experience. The corresponding Zodiacal signs, which form this Mutable Cross and, therefore, the figure of Man as the Microcosm, are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces and, to these traditionally are ascribed the virtues of Understanding, Modesty, Generosity and Sympathy (or Charity). We have ample reference to them in our Ritual: “… yet ought no eminence of situation make us forget that we are brothers, for he who is placed on the lowest spoke of fortune’s wheel (our circle of the Zodiac) is equally entitled to our regard…”. Again:.. humility in each is an essential qualification…Again: “… that virtue which may justly be deemed the distinguishing characteristic of a Freemason’s heart; I mean Charity…… And finally: ” … to drop a tear of sympathy over the failings of a brother …”.

Our peculiar system of morality truly is veiled, and all that we can do is to raise the tip of that veil, and then retire with all respect and reverence. Do we not find, in our Cardinal and Fixed Crosses, a symbol of that double cube which was covered by a veil? It is said to represent Heaven and Earth or, again, the rough and the perfect Ashlars of our early symbolism. The Cardinal signs remind us of the in-flowing power, and the Fixed signs of our capacity for receiving what we call “flashes of inspiration”, be they rushing mighty winds or still small voices. Just as the hammer of the smith does not produce sparks until it strikes the resistance of the anvil or of the rough lump of metal on that anvil, so the powers of the spirit do not manifest until they meet the resistance of our imperfect beings. The Cardinal and the Fixed Crosses, therefore, represent the opposite poles of the great cosmic forces which, like great magnets, hold matter in perfect equilibrium, but the human being, whose mental powers are crucified on the third Cross, that of incarnate humanity-the bipolar or Mutable Cross-is equipped with the capacity to interpret the signs and symbols of the other two, although so very often he regards them only as figures of wood and stone.

We can consider the three Crosses in another way: -The Cardinal Cross is governed by the Moon, the symbol of Isis and of the Feminine or intuitional aspect of human nature. The Fixed Cross is governed by the Sun, the symbol of Osiris and of the Masculine, the strength and the reasoning aspect of our nature. We know that the Cardinal Cross corresponds to the four Cardinal Virtues which, collectively, may be called “Wisdom” so that, with the “Strength” of the Fixed Cross, we have two of the three great Pillars which are said to support a Mason’s Lodge: “Wisdom, Strength and Beauty”. In the fourth Section of the first Lecture, we are told that they represent-” Wisdom to contrive, Strength to support, and Beauty to adorn … Wisdom to conduct us in all our undertakings, Strength to support us in all our difficulties, and Beauty to adorn the inward man”. Further, we are told: “The Universe is the Temple of that Deity whom we serve; Wisdom, Strength and Beauty are about his throne as Pillars of his works, His Wisdom is infinite, His Strength omnipotent, and His Beauty shines forth throughout the whole of the Creation in symmetry and order. The Heavens He has stretched forth as a canopy (the out-stretched arms of the man on the Mutable Cross). He has planted the Earth as His footstool (the out-stretched feet of the man on the Mutable Cross). He has crowned His Temple with stars as with a diadem, and His hands extend their power and glory. The Sun and Moon are Messengers of His Divine Will, and all His laws are concord. The three great pillars which support a Mason’s Lodge are emblems of these three Divine attributes …”. These are the pillars which, in the Lodge are represented respectively by the Doric of the S.W., the Ionic of the W.M., and the Corinthian of the J.W., thus allocating the Cardinal Cross of the Moon to the S.W. who is situated in the place of the setting sun and to whom is allocated the celestial globe. The Fixed Cross of Strength, therefore, is allocated to the W.M. who rules by virtue of the Power in him vested, and the Mutable Cross of Beauty is allocated to the J.W. who represents the personal human being-the man as the microcosm.

Since the Universe is always considered to be feminine with respect to God-The Great Mother, Mother Nature, The Widow, The Virgin Mother–we are guided to a contemplation of the triplicity of “the Universe, God and Man”, or man as the off-spring from the mystical marriage of God and the Universe, i.e. man as the son of the Widow, whereby we are all “..brothers to H.A.B. who was a Widow’s son”. As we have seen previously, he was the great Exemplar of our Order and, therefore, represents the ideal man-” … and I hope that this will make a lasting impression on his and your minds should you ever be placed in a similar state of trial “. We place two of the great pillars at opposite ends of our Lodge-the Strength of the Sun (Ionic pillar) beside the W.M., and the Wisdom of Isis (Doric pillar) beside the S.W.-the two pillars being located due East and West. Notice also that the Doric architecture originated in Egypt and that the word “Dor” means a “dwelling”; also the first letter–the Delta or the Daleth–has the numerical value of 4 and that, in Hebrew, the symbolic meaning of the Daleth is “the breast and every nourishing and abundant object”. The symbolic meaning is “the universal quaternary, the source of all physical existence”. As we read in the V.S.L.-Matt. xi, 19- “Wisdom is justified of her children”. The beautiful Corinthian pillar is placed beside the J.W. as the ” ostensible steward of the Lodge” -the Lodge of humanity and the interior Lodge of every individual human being, the beauty of the inward man. Inside each one of us there is the white altar of incense, the altar of purity, and it is within the potential of every one to allow that purity and that beauty to radiate as the body of light-the body of lustration.

Possibly it is not surprising that the fixed points of the compass should be associated with the Fixed Cross of the Zodiac. You will remember that some authors have placed the letters ROTA, the wheel, at the four points of the Cross, and have suggested this as a possible origin of the word TAROT. According to the Greek numerical alphabet, the word ROTA has the value of 100+70+300+1=471=12. This is our circle of the Zodiac. In our Ritual we refer to the “Brethren of the N., E., S. and W. will take notice that Mr…. is about to pass in view before them to show that. . . and a fit and proper person to be made a Mason”, and we have the same proclamation to the four points of the compass early in the Coronation ceremony of the monarch of the British Commonwealth of Nations. While we are inclined to think that the Master is calling on the Members assembled in the Lodge to “notice Mr….”, is it not far more likely that he really is calling on the four Regents of the World, with their attendant hosts, to witness that another human being is seeking guidance towards the first rung of that great ladder which reaches from the Earth to the Heavens? In his great work-” The Light of Asia”-Sir Edwin Arnold says: “… But when they brought the painted palanquin to fetch him home, the bearers of the poles were the four Regents of the Earth, come down from Mount Sumeru –they who write men’s deeds on brazen plates…”. We have seen that, in the book of Enoch, the four Regents are given the names respectively of Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Phanuel (or Haniel). The name Michael means “Who is like unto God”, that of Raphael means “The healing of God”, Gabriel means “The Strength of God” (the Man-God), and Phanuel (or Haniel) means “the Grace of God”. You will notice that Raphael corresponds to the physician (the healer) and that the name Phanuel (Haniel) is very similar to that of St. John (=Phan or Han); we still have the Scottish name of Ian and its related variations in other countries–e.g. Hans, Johannes, each with a similar meaning. St. John is the mystic, the visionary; he is associated with the North-the place of material darkness, which is but spiritual light-the symbol of spiritual vision and aspiration. But directly at the opposite end of the axis is the evangelist St. Luke, the physician, the symbol of the great Regent Raphael, who heals the wounds of those mortals who, during their upward climb on the way of return, “fall among thieves”. Is it not appropriate that the Junior Warden should be situated in the place of the physician, for it is he who calls us from labor to refreshment but only that, after being refreshed, we should be the better able to continue with the great work, for he warns us to “keep within hail … for the further despatch of Masonic business”. You will be familiar with the symbol of the Buddha in contemplation with the hands showing the sign of the opposite triangles in perfect balance-the balance of the horizontal axis of the cross, the balance of the material sense nature and the inward spiritual (or soul) nature, the balanced food of bread and water, for the twain are but the life-giving food for ourselves.

In the accounts of the mysteries of Mithra (the Sun God), we are told that the symbol of “Boundless Time” was placed at the pinnacle of the Divine Hierarchy, and that it was represented as the figure of a man with the head of a lion. Round the body, coiled anti-clockwise, was a serpent with its head looking down on to the top of the head of the lion, above which was a key. Here we have the symbol of ascent, anti-clockwise, along a spiral path, from Aquarius (the Water-man) to Leo (the Supreme man). The key was a golden one, indicating that boundless time is the key to the mystery of existence; it is the key of Peter who, like the lion, is represented as having long flowing hair. He was the lion of the twelve, the symbol of the lion of Judah the crown. This is the symbol of the vertical axis of the Cross, the symbol of spirit descending into incarnation and the symbol of the return of that spirit to its own inevitable destiny-the return to its royal home however often we stumble on the way and so delay the speed of that return.

CHURIM

We have seen that the four Elements are referred to the Ego (intuition), Emotion, Reason and Will or, as some place the order differently, the four human possibilities: to Know, to Will, to Dare, and to Keep Silent. If we place the Ego (intuition) as Fire, and Reason (mind) as Air at opposite ends of the vertical axis, and Emotion as Water, and Will as Earth at opposite ends of the horizontal axis, we shall have some clue to one factor in the behaviour of human beings. Man normally is influenced on the lower plane by his will and on the higher plane by his reason, whereas Woman is influenced on the lower plane by her emotion and on the higher plane by her intuition. Thus the pairs of opposites can be traced in their effect on the behavior as normal reaction and, to be in perfect balance, it is necessary for each to cultivate the fundamental characteristics of the other. We know that Will without Emotion leads to tyranny, to the dictator of the present day and to all forms of oppression, while Emotion without Will is unstable as water, leading to mass hysteria and many of the troubles of our modern large cities. On the other hand, intuition without reason becomes sterile unless translated into action, and reason without intuition can be cold and hard, as is evident in so much of our present-day materialism. Each Element, alone, leads to unbalance in the human being, who is still out of balance in proportion as that being is ruled by any one Element at the expense of the other three. In the language of Alchemy, the Elements were called: Sulphur (fire), Mercury (air), Salt (water) and Earth, and the chemical processes of the Alchemists had the object of converting things of the earth into those of the higher realms. As we read on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes:”…

IT IS TRUE, NO LIE, CERTAIN, AND TO BE DEPENDED UPON, THE SUPERIOR AGREES WITH THE INFERIOR AND THE INFERIOR WITH THE SUPERIOR, TO EFFECT THAT ONE TRULY WONDERFUL WORK…”. This is the basis of the teaching of the mystery system throughout the ages, and it is also the teaching of our modern Freemasonry, that the whole of creation is One. ” Man cannot live by bread alone “. Just as we cannot imagine a positive pole of an electric battery without having a negative pole somewhere or other, so are what we call Heaven and Earth opposite ends of “Jacob’s Ladder”, and all men are Brothers; thus the hurt of one can be the harm of all. As our Ritual so aptly puts it: “… The Level demonstrates that we are all sprung from the same stock, partakers of the same nature, and sharers of the same hope; and although distinctions among men are necessary to preserve subordination, yet ought no eminence of situation make us forget that we are Brothers …”. The word “subordination” may well give rise to false ideas either of pride in those of high rank or of offence in those who have not yet reached high rank, but the meaning in the older dictionaries is given as “Dependence of persons or things with respect to, or upon one another”. In the same dictionary, there is an interpretation of the word “ordinate” as applied to geometrical figures saying that these are “the same as regular ones, i.e. they are equilateral and equi-angular “. And one other thought on this subject-we know that the word “sub” means “below” and that the normal meaning of the word “ordination” means “the act of ordaining, or putting into Holy Orders”.

Can we not see the veiled reference to our duties in this world below-in our sub-lunary abode as part of the consecrated work of the Great Architect in the great family, each member of which is dependent on all the others? In these modern day, we hear so much talk about Freedom and about the Rights of Men, but so little about their Duties and Responsibilities. When, at the early stage of our Initiation ceremony we are asked: “Are you a free man…”, we follow almost immediately by binding the Candidate to a rigid code of conduct and discipline, with the obligation that he is no longer free but, in future, must work for the good of all. This is one of the fundamental teachings of our Order that, although the Fellow Craft is to be known and proved by the Square, yet is that square only a part of a greater whole -it is, as we say, but the fourth part of the great circle of life. In the book of Manly P. Hall entitled: “Masonic, Hermetic Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy “the following passage refers to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: “When the first seal was broken, there rode forth a man on a white horse wearing a crown and holding in his hand a bow. When the second seal was broken, there rode forth a man on a red horse and in his hand was a great sword. When the third seal was broken there rode forth a man upon a black horse with a pair of balances in his hand. And, when the fourth seal was broken, there rode forth Death upon a pale horse and hell followed after him. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse may be interpreted to signify the four main divisions of human life. Birth is represented by the rider on the white horse who comes forth conquering and to conquer, the impetuosity of Youth by the rider on the red horse who took peace from the earth; Maturity by the rider on the black horse who weighs all things in the scales of reason; and Death by the rider on the pale horse who was given power over a fourth part of the earth. In Eastern philosophy, these horsemen signify the four Yugas, or ‘Ages of the world’ which, riding forth at their appointed times, become, for a certain span, the rulers of creation”. The four Yugas, or periods of time, are described in the East as follows: (See “Isis Unveiled”, by H.P. Blavatsky):-

KRITA YUGA. The Golden Age, the age of joy and spiritual innocence of man.

TRETA YUGA. The Age of Silver, the period of the supremacy of man, of giants and of the sons of God.

DVAPARA YUGA. The Age of Bronze-a mixture of purity and impurity, (spirit and matter), the age of doubt.

KALI YUGA. Our present Age -the Age of Iron, of darkness, misery and sorrow. Kali is the best emblem to represent the “fall of man “-the fall of spirit into matter, with its terrific and far-reaching results.

It is said that these four Yugas represent also the psychological and mental states of man as well as the physical states, during the period of their reign. The Greek mystics also recognized four Ages: The Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. These were metaphysical expressions referring to the four major periods in the life of all things; in the divisions of the day, they refer to Dawn, Midday, Sunset and Midnight; in the duration of the Gods, Men, and Universes they denote the periods of Birth, Maturity, Decay (or dissolution) and Withdrawal. Even so, when we say that the square is but the fourth part of a circle, which is subtended by four right angles, are we not saying that no one part of the whole (the cosmos) can exist without all the remainder? If we really understood this teaching we should recognize that what we call physical death is but the opposite facet of physical birth, and that the one leads to the other according to the universal Law; but if this law really is universal, then physical death must lead to rebirth on some plane of existence, even as the dawn follows the sunset. Perhaps we are too deeply rooted in materialism to recognize that rebirth does not of necessity imply return to this planet which we call Earth, nor does it imply that we shall again put on the “coats of skin” which, in the book of Genesis, refer to the enclosure of flesh-what we call the human body in which the Divine Spirit was confined when, as we read in that book, “Man became a living Soul”. That soul is a manifestation of the Divine Being on this plane of existence and, therefore, each human being is a positive aspect of the same Divine Being. If we really could understand that every person we meet is a manifestation of the Supreme Being, however imperfect that person may appear to our imperfect eyes, the divisions and dissentions of this world would assume a very different meaning than they have now. Is it a coincidence that we arbitrarily distinguish four main types of color in the people of this world? We speak of men as being Black, White, Yellow or Brown and surely each one of these types is essential for the balance of world progress; no one should or can be dominant, because each one is a manifestation of the Divine Spirit or, in the words of our Ritual, each one is a fourth part of the circle-the circle of the Zodiac, the circle of humanity, and the circle of the spirit which has neither beginning nor end. Let us remember always that, although each stone in the temple of the Most High may be of different form than the rest, that temple will be incomplete if even one stone is missing or is imperfect, for the strength of the whole structure is that of its weakest link.

In closing, let us remember those significant words of Rudyard Kipling, in his poem “My New-cut Ashlar” (L’Envoi to Life’s Handicap):

One stone the more swings into place
In that dread Temple of Thy worth.
It is enough that, through Thy Grace,
I saw nought common on Thy Earth.
 

Take not that vision from my ken-
Oh, whatsoe’er may spoil or speed.
Help me to need no aid from men
That I may help such men as need!
 

PEACE TO ALL BEINGS.

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by: Unknown

The history of law and law making is the history of civilization.  As man’s sense of justice developed with increasing needs and responsibilities, his ideas of legal enactments altered and changed.  What was lawful in one age became crime in the next; what was criminal in one age was sanctioned by legislation in the next, in a thousand periods, climes and countries.  Within the memory of men now living in the west it was permissible to hang a horse thief with no more legal basis than common necessity; today we name it lynching and make it illegal.  Similarly, it was once illegal for a man to run away from his employer (slaves, prior to the Civil War) whereas now any man may travel where he will.

Masonic law, also, has seen developments during the nearly two and a quarter centuries since the formation of the Mother Grand Lodge; 

Some acts right in one age are wrong in this, and certain wrongs of one century become right in the next.  For instance, the power to make a Mason at sight is now denied by some Grand Lodges to their Grand Masters; the ancient right of all Lodges to be represented in Grand Lodge by both Master and Wardens is not now universal.  In the narrower sense, Masonic law rest upon the Old Constitutions, the Old Charges and the Landmarks; the superstructure is made up of the Constitutions and By-Laws of Grand Lodges; the decisions of Grand Lodges on appeals; the edicts of Grand Masters; the decisions of Grand Masters, sometimes standing without review, more often reviewed and confirmed by Grand Lodges.

But in the wider sense, Masonic law is based upon English law – which goes back to Roman law – so that it is within the facts to say that Masonic law is a development  of the ideas of equity, and the administration of justice, of the days of ancient Rome.  From the time of the reign of Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) on political theory the Roman State was republic.  Ultimate sovereignty was in the Roman people.  The Emperor was the First Citizen, to whom the Roman people had delegated their sovereignty for the time being, by act of legislative authority.  As time went on, the Emperor became thought of as the ultimate repository of sovereignty, the source of law.  His powers began when he welded the authority which the sovereign Roman people delegated to him.  But inasmuch as the people, through their legislative assembly, could lawfully enact a law, the Emperor, having been delegated their authority, came to be thought also to have the power to enact a law.  Law thus enacted by the Emperor, by virtue of legislative authority vested in him, was called “Constitution,” or in our language, Constitution.  Actually enacted by the Emperor, such laws were considered rules established by legislative act.  A second medium by which the Roman Emperor made law was by decisions in cases taken before him on appeal, or cases adjudicated directly by him.  The Emperor filed his opinion or judgment, which when rendered was called a decree.  Under the Roman system. a Roman magistrate had no power to render a decision of judgment; such decisions were rendered only by judges or arbitrators chosen for the case.  A magistrate, however, could decide certain matters and render a decree; these powers also were delegated to the Emperor at his accession.

Power to make or declare law by edict originally belonged to the magistrates of the Roman Republic, and was exercised by the Praetors or judicial magistrates.  In the beginning edicts were pronouncements by a magistrate of a course which he proposed to take in the administration of his office, to the end that the citizen might know what to expect.  In time these pronouncements easily became authority, and had the force and effect of law which governed the administration of the official who made the pronouncement.  When the power of the magistrate was delegated to the Emperor, the power of issuing an edict also passed to him.  The Emperor was thus given authority to issue general orders governing matters of administration, which had the full force and effect of law.  In the Roman Empire an edict was a general administrative law, as distinguished from a judicial order, prescribing the conduct of some matter of administration.

The Roman Emperor also made or declared law by “rescripts”; letters or answers which he made to questions put to him by judges or magistrates.  In the judicial system of Rome, a judge, having a cause for adjudication, was advised by the expert opinion of a person learned in the law, known as the Jurisconsult.  As the Emperor was the Jurisconsult of highest authority, the practice of submitting questions of law to him for his opinion was but natural; having all the sovereign power of the Roman people vested in him, his determination was final.

“The Constitutions of the Free-Masons” published in 1723 contains the “History, Charges, Regulations, & etc.” of the Craft.  This volume is the foundation stone of our Masonic law.  But it is not the only “Constitution” of Freemasonry.

At the end of the eighteenth century the people of this country constituted themselves the sovereign, and as much the highest earthly power, fixing as the frame work of the Government then formed what we call the Constitution, the object being to limit the several organs of Government set up.  Proceeding from the highest earthly power, this is our superior law, to which the several legislatures and departments of the Government must yield.  In the same way, the Constitution of a Grand Lodge, whether called by that name or another, is the superior law of that Grand Lodge; the act of the supreme legislative authority of all Masons in that Jurisdiction, acting through their legally authorized representatives.  Whatever the Grand Lodge establishes and promulgates as its fundamental law becomes its Constitution.  In the early part of the eighteenth century, a Constitution in this sense was unknown; Anderson’s Constitutions was but a reducing to writing of existing usage and customs.  So, in speaking of Masonic Constitutions, we must distinguish between Anderson, whose work was fundamental Masonic law, and the Constitution or governing instrument of an individual Grand Lodge, devised and adopted by it to fit its own particular needs.  Anderson’s Constitutions belong to the Craft as a whole; a Grand Lodge’s Constitution is its alone, and has no force or effect beyond its Jurisdictional limits of authority.  The similarity between the law of Rome and the modern conception of Masonic law is striking.  To the Roman Emperor was delegated the powers of the sovereign Roman people.  To the Grand Master is delegated many (not all) of the powers of the sovereign Craftsmen.  Thus, in Landmark 3, in the “Constitution, By-Laws, General Regulations and Edicts of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey,” we read:

“The Grand Master is elected by the Craft, and holds office until his successor is duly installed.  He is the “Ruler” of the Craft and is, of right, the presiding officer of every assemblage of Masons as such.  He may, within his Jurisdiction, convene a lodge at any time or place and do Masonic work therein; may create lodges by his warrant, and arrest the warrant of any lodge.  He may suspend, during his pleasure, the operation of any rule or regulation of Masonry not a “Landmark.”  He may suspend the installed officers of any lodge, and reinstate them at his pleasure and is not answerable for his acts as Grand Master.  He may deputize any brother to do any act in his absence which he himself might do if present.” This excerpt has been chosen because it sets forth certain powers of the Grand Master more plainly than is done in some other Jurisdictions, but his fundamental powers are rarely questioned in any Jurisdiction.  Particular attention is called to two statements: the Grand Master is the “Ruler” of the Craft, and, he is not answerable for his acts as Grand Master.  These two powers over the Roman people were inherent in the Roman Emperors.  The Roman Emperor made law by decisions in cases taken to him on appeal, or in those which he adjudicated directly.  The Grand Lodge hears appeals from those involved in Masonic trials, and affirms or reverses the decision of the Lodge (or trial commission);  Grand Lodges adjudicate directly in trials involving Masons who are members of Grand Lodge.  The modern conception of justice is bound up in our belief in the right of appeal from a lower authority to a higher, and finally to the highest, that fallible human justice may be made as infallible as possible.  The brother in Lodge cannot appeal from the decision of his Master, but can appeal to the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge.  The brother tried, convicted and punished, may not appeal to the Lodge that tries him, but may appeal to the highest authority, the Grand Lodge.

The Roman Emperor made law by “rescript”; by letters of answer to questions put to him by a judge or magistrate.  All Grand Masters are called upon to make decisions on questions asked by Masters of Lodges or individual Craftsmen.  Like those of the Emperor, these decisions are law for the time being, and usually (not invariably) become part of the written law when Grand Lodge receives the Grand Master’s report of the decisions he has made during the year.  The Grand Lodge either affirms the decision, or, if its legality has been questioned by the Committee on Jurisprudence, mat adopt the Committee’s report, thus determining that the law in the future is contrary to what the Grand Master decided.

The roman Emperor made law by edict.  An edict was initiated by the Emperor; the decision came as a response to an appeal.  the Grand Master may issue an edict as an initiatory act of law making, it stands as law until repealed or affirmed by Grand Lodge.  The development of law making in modern times is divided by Dean Roscoe Pound into four stages:

1.  Unconscious legislation, when dealing with common law principles.  The facts of the case before the Court may differ from those of a former case, to which the Court has applied a common law principle.  Notwithstanding the difference in the facts, the Court may extend the common law principle to cover the case at the bar; the legal effect of this is to extend the common law doctrine to new limits.  This was described by the late Justice Harlan, of the Supreme Court, as “Judicial Legislation,” because in law the latest application of a doctrine establishes the law of jurisdiction.

2.  Declaratory legislation, or reducing the unwritten law to written law.  This does not result in new law, but only gives written authoritative expression to already existing common law.

3.  Selection and amendment, when by the political union of peoples with divergent customs, it becomes necessary.  A new State resulting from a combination of peoples of different customs, requires selecting and amending laws and customs of the different peoples to fit the needs of the new State.

4.  Conscious legislation; law making to meet existing exigencies or new conditions.

Here also we find distinct parallelism with Masonic law.  The law of a certain Jurisdiction states that no man may be made a member of the Craft who is “engaged in the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquor.”  By “unconscious legislation” a Grand Master extended this to mean, also, a book-keeper employed by a man who sold liquor.  A later Grand Master extended this enactment to mean a stockholder in a hotel company who countenanced the sale of liquor by that hotel.  As these decisions were confirmed by Grand Lodge, they became constitutional law in that Jurisdiction.

Masonic declaratory legislation, reducing the unwritten to written law, first took place in London in 1723, when Anderson’s Constitutions were published.  But the process has by no means been completed.  Many Grand Jurisdictions have local customs which have grown up through the years; it occurs to someone, or the need arises, to have this reduced to writing and made a part of the constitution of the Grand Lodge By-Laws.  It is properly put before Grand Lodge, and becomes law.

In a certain Jurisdiction the ancient custom of opening the V.S.L. at definite passages of Scripture during the three degrees was thought by some to be more honored in the breach than in the observance.  Grand Lodge decided that what its prophets contended was the common practice, should prevail.  It is now law in that Jurisdiction that the Bible may be opened “at Random.”

Selection and amendment takes place Masonically when a new Grand Lodge is formed, or an old one splits in two.  When the States of North and South Dakota were formed from the Territory of Dakota, the Grand Lodge of the Territory became two Grand Lodges.  The Grand Lodge of North Dakota selected and amended the law of the Mother Grand Lodge to form its own Constitution.  Conscious legislation in Masonic bodies is similar to that in all other legislative bodies.  In almost every Grand Lodge meeting some amendment to existing law is offered, to lie over for a year, or having been proposed the previous year, it is acted upon and accepted or rejected.

Grand Masters and Grand Lodges today have far more despotic power than any ruler or national legislative assembly in any modern body politic.  That such despotic authority has learned to rule wisely and well; that Grand Masters under-emphasize rather than over-use their powers; that the Craft as a whole is well, sanely and soundly governed, are tributes to the gentle influence of the principles of Masonry, too great for even headstrong men to oppose.  Truly, Masonic leaders have well learned the ancient truth:

“O, ‘tis excellent To have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous To use it like a giant!”

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You have now received the three Symbolic degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry and, I hope soon, such instruction in the work of those degrees as will enable you to pass a creditable examination therein-whenever you should visit lodges in this or other jurisdictions throughout the world where you are unknown and cannot be vouched for as a Master Mason.

You have also received, I hope, through the Lodge System of Masonic Education prescribed by our Grand Lodge an appreciation of the lessons we are trying to teach and are versed, at least to some extent, in the history, traditions, laws, customs and usages of the Craft. As a part of the Masonic Education program, you have been told of your privileges, your duties and your responsibilities as a member of your Masonic Lodge. Some of these may be enumerated briefly as follows:

(a) To hold membership in some lodge.

(b) To pay regularly and promptly such dues and assessments as your Lodge may levy.

To attend the communications of your Lodge, to join in its deliberations, to have a voice in its decisions and to assist in discharging its responsibilities, among which are:

1. Volunteer service on committees.
2. Donations to the Masonic Blood Bank, if eligible.
3. Assistance in conferring degrees.
4. Attendance and assistance at Masonic funeral services when summoned.

Your Lodge needs your help in these and many other ways. Masonry makes no demands; she provides opportunities, she gives you the key to a door, she opens a path to your feet, but she forces you neither to use the key nor travel the path. She beckons; you may follow or not as you please. If you follow, you will travel strange ways, but you will find them increasingly pleasant the further you go.

This paper is limited to providing information about some of the courtesies and etiquette of lodge life as generally, although not necessarily universally, practiced. Masonry has developed its own conventions, governed by tradition, custom and usage, by which its members act in lodge and in the anteroom and live together with the least friction. Not to proceed according to their dictates is not a Masonic offense; it is merely a lack of Masonic manners. Unless you belong to a most unusual lodge, or had a most wise brother for an instructor, it is doubtful if you were told much about these little niceties of lodge conduct. You are supposed to attend your lodge and learn by observation.

A. Entering or retiring from lodge at labor or at refreshment by use of the due guard – symbol of a Mason’s obligations.

One of the prerogatives of a W.M. is to control the admission and retirement of both members and visitors to his lodge. Masons, entering a lodge give the due-guard to salute the W.M. at the Altar, if the lodge is at labor. This practice assures the W.M. that the brother knows on which degree the lodge is open. A brother making a wrong sign can be instructed immediately. He can readily determine this before giving the due-guard by observing how the square and compasses are placed upon the Holy Bible on the Altar. The salute informs the W.M. that the brother is a Mason of the degree on which the lodge is open; if he makes an inferior sign and cannot, on request, give the right one, the W.M. can then use other means to ascertain that no E.A. or F.C. is present in a Master Mason’s lodge. The salute is a silent assurance to the W.M. and through him to the brethren: “I remember my obligations.”

Brethren give a similar salute to the W.M. at the Altar upon retiring in order to get permission to leave. No one can enter or leave a lodge room while a lodge is at labor without permission. If the W.M. does not wish the brother who salutes to retire, he tells him so, instead of responding to the salute.

At refreshment the lodge is in charge of the J.W. in the South, which thus becomes, for the time being, constructively the East. The J.W.’s pillar is raised and the pillar of the S.W. is lowered. The same salutes are given to the J.W, as are usually given to the W.M. and for the same reasons, in the event a brother wishes to enter or retire.

The W.M. in the East occupies the most exalted position in the gift of the lodge. A lodge which does not honor its W.M., not because of what he himself may be, but on account of the honor given him, is lacking in Masonic courtesy. The position he occupies, not the man himself, must be given the utmost respect, if the traditions of the Fraternity are to be observed. It is, therefore, to the W,M., not to John Smith who happens to be the W.M., that you offer a salute when you enter or retire from lodge. Like any other salute, this may be done courteously and as if you meant it or perfunctorily as if you did not care. The man who puts one finger to his hat brim when he speaks to a woman on the street compares poorly with his well-bred neighbor who lifts his hat. Taking the hat off is the modern remains of the ancient custom of Knights who removed their helmets in the presence of those they felt their friends and thus, before those they wished to honor by showing that they trusted them. A man removes his hat before a woman to show his respect. Touching the brim is but a perfunctory salute. Similarly, the salute to the W.M. is your renewed pledge of fealty and service, your recognition before all your assembled brethren of your obligations. It is performed before the W.M. and the Altar to show him your veneration for his authority, your respect for all of that, for which he stands. To offer your salute as if you were in a hurry, too lazy properly to make it, or bored with its offering, is to be, Masonically a boor. Moreover, brethren should not approach the Altar with bundles or papers in hand. Some lodges permit smoking during a business meeting. Even here, however, a brother is not too respectful who makes a solemn salute to the W.M. before the Altar with a cigarette or cigar either in his mouth or in his hand.

B: Addressing Lodge

In addressing the lodge for any purpose, a brother speaks to the W.M. The W.M. is the lodge. A brother stands to order when addressing the chair, gives salute (due-guard and penal sign) and begins speech only after the W.M.’s recognition. A brother does not turn his back on the W.M. to address the lodge without permission from him. He who seconds a motion rises and salutes when doing so. No brother should ever sit while speaking. Moreover, the spectacle of two brethren on their feet at the same time, arguing over a motion, facing each other and ignoring the W.M. is not one which any W.M. should permit. But it is also one which no W.M. should have to prevent!

Failure to obey the gavel at once is a grave discourtesy. The W.M. is all powerful in the lodge. He can put or refuse to put any motion. He can rule any brother out of order on any subject at any time. He can say what he will and will not permit to be discussed. Brethren who think him unfair, arbitrary, unjust, or acting illegally have redress; the Grand Lodge can be appealed to on any such matter. But in the lodge, the gavel, emblem of authority, is supreme. When a brother is rapped down, he should at once obey, without further discussion. It is very bad manners to do otherwise; indeed, it is close to the line between bad manners and a Masonic offense.

C: Advancement

If an officer is absent, the officers below his station do not necessarily each move up a chair. There is no “advancement by right” for any office except that of W.M. The W.M. fills any vacancy by temporary appointment. In the absence of the W.M., the S.W. presides. In the absence of both the W.M. and the S.W., the J.W. presides. The W.M. may ask a P.M. or any brother he believes qualified to fill a temporarily vacant chair.

D: Altar and East

Except in procession during a degree, it is practically universal that brethren do not pass between the Altar and the East in a lodge at labor. Why? This courtesy is rooted in the thought that the W.M. should have the Great Lights constantly in view. In theory, the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses on the Altar are dedicated to God, the Master and the Craft and are in the charge of the Master. He draws inspiration from the Great Lights on the Altar to preside over the lodge and, therefore, at no time should his view of them be interrupted. This custom is but a pretty courtesy, but it is rooted in a fundamental conception of the Craft – that the Altar is the center of Masonry and that from it and the Great Lights it bears, flow all that there is of Masonic inspiration, truth and light.

E: Altar and Lesser Lights

You have observed that, in our jurisdiction, the Lesser Lights are placed in a triangular form about the Altar. It is customary not to walk between the Altar and a light. The theory is that the Altar and the three lights about it represent the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies, of the original tabernacle in the wilderness. Into this the High Priest could go, but only to return the same way. Brethren enter this symbolic representation in the lodge room, but do not use it as a passageway by passing through it.

F: Altar and West

In passing from the South to the North side of the lodge at labor, or vice versa, between the Altar and the S.W. in the West, a brother should look to the East and give the penal sign of the degree on which the lodge is open.

G: Aprons

Brethren who respect the formalities of their lodge will not enter it undressed; that is, without their apron or while putting on that apron. Aprons should be put on before entering the lodge room. When, as sometimes happens on “big nights”, there are not enough aprons, a handkerchief may be tucked in the belt to take its place. The spectacle of a late brother hurriedly entering the lodge room at the last moment, tying on his apron as he approaches the Altar is much on a par with a member of church entering it while putting on his collar and tie.

As you have already learned, the use of the apron is extremely old, not, as with the operative Masons, as a protector of clothing and body against tools and stone, but as a badge of honor. In all times and climes, it has been a badge of distinction. It is as such that a Mason wears it. The material of the Masonic apron – lambskin – is a symbol of innocence, as the lamb has always been. It is a courtesy much appreciated by all Tilers if brethren leaving the lodge room lay their aprons neatly in a pile or in the apron box, instead of dropping them anywhere for the Tiler to pick up and put away.

H: Balloting

The etiquette which surrounds the ballot is a reflection of Masonic thought upon its value and importance. Brethren ballot one at a time after a salute to the W.M. No one should leave or enter a lodge room during the taking of a ballot, with the exception of the Tyler, if he is a member of the lodge. It is customary to present the box first to the W.M. for his inspection, then to the Wardens. The three principal officers ballot without leaving their seats. In some lodges the box is passed also to all officers and P.M.’s. What is customary is good manners. It is a gentle courtesy for the Master to ask the Tyler to enter and vote, his place being taken by another meanwhile. This is properly done after all but the Tyler have voted.

In all Grand Jurisdictions the ballot on candidates is secret and inviolable. It is considered un-Masonic for a brother to divulge how he intends to or has balloted or to attempt to ascertain how another will or has balloted. Peace and harmony are the foundations of all Masonic meetings. For Brother A to learn that Brother B has balloted or will ballot against his friend would disrupt that peace and harmony.

The rejection of a candidate is a blow to him who has applied. If everyone knew who had cast the black cube, the rejected man might speedily learn and cause of friction in the profane world would then have come out of a Masonic Lodge.

It is the duty of every member present to vote and the W.M. may oblige him to do so. A Brother who does not vote, because too lazy, or too indifferent, or for any other reason, is discourteous because he injures the ballot, its secrecy, its importance and its value.

I: Conclusion

The thoughts above outlined will disclose that good manners in Masonry, like those in civil life, are rooted in kindness and flower in good will. They oil the Masonic wheels and enable them to revolve without creaking. They smooth the path of all in the lodge and prove to all the truth of the ritualistic explanation of that “more noble and glorious purpose” to which we are taught to put the trowel.

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The Druids were priests of ancient Celtic Britain and Gaul. (1) They constituted a priestly upper class in command of a highly ritualistic religion, which apparently worshipped ancient nature gods. Highly educated themselves, they directed the education of the youth and judged. without appeal all controversies. (2) They paid no taxes. If anyone disagreed with their decisions, he was excommunicated and thereafter was refused admittance to all their religious services and barred from all communication with his relatives, friends and countrymen. They never committed to paper any of their rituals or ceremonies. Consequently what is known comes second hand from the Romans, notably Julius Caesar. (3) Rome was well aware of the Druids as they formed its chief adversaries in the lands held by the Celtic tribes. At the head of their organization was the Arch Druid. He was supported by Arch Flamens and Flamens. They had three orders, the Vates or Bards, the Prophets and the Druids. Before a candidate was accepted into the first degree he had to undergo a careful preparation which could in some cases last for twenty years. In the first degree or order he was taught fortitude, which they considered one of the leading traits of perfection. In the second order, the candidate underwent lustration after which he was instructed in the morality of the order. Very 1 Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Vol, 1, p. 221
2 Columbia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7, p. 1886
3 Mackey, History of Freemasonry, Vol.1, p. 201

Few passed beyond the second order. Only those of rank were admitted to the third order of Druids where the aspirant passed through arduous ceremonies of purification. In the third order the candidate was secluded in solitude for a period of nine months. This time was devoted to reflection and to a study of the sciences. in this order, as in the first, he was submitted to a symbolic death and resurrection. (4) At the end he was actually set adrift in a small boat into the open sea, and was left to his own devices to reach the opposite shore. If he succeeded he passed; if he refused any of the tests, he was rejected forever, even when some of these trials could and did cost the candidate his life. This final sacred ceremony was followed by an oath of secrecy, the violation of which could only be expiated by death.

Druids believed in the existence of One Supreme Being, a future state of reward or punishment, the immortality of the soul and a metempsychosis or a conversion into various types of animals. These doctrines were communicated by symbolism. Some of our ancient Brethren, such as Preston and Hutchinson, have suggested that Freemasonry was derived from the Druids. (5) The theory is advanced that the Phoenicians in their journeys around Cornwall and Wales introduced their religion into the area. This cannot be supported by any proof since what is known of the religion of the Phoenicians bears little resemblance to the fierce and sanguinary superstition of the Druids with its human sacrifices.

The conclusion Dr. A. G. Mackey arrives at is . . . that Freemasonry has no more relation or reference or similitude to Druidism than the pure system of Christianity has to the barbarous Fetichism of the tribes of Africa.” (6)

4 Mackey, History op.cit., p. 205
5 Ibid. p. 210
6 Ibid. p. 216

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Columbia Encyclopedia Mackey, Albert G. and C. T. McClenachan, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Philadelphia: Moss & Co., 1875, Vol. 1 Mackey, Albert G. and Wm. R. Singleton, History of Freemasonry, New York and London: The Masonic History Company, 1898/1906, Vol. 1

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This is a question that has concerned a number of members but a simple answer cannot be given. There has been a suggestion made that the plural form came into common use when the mariners compass was invented.The word compas has been recorded as having been used in the 14th century.Three examples are: 1340 “craftily casten with a compas”; 1387 “made the first compas”; and in 1391 by Chaucer who wrote of the “poynt of my compas”. In 1551 this sentence was recorded “haue a payre of compasse aptelye made for to draw the circles.” In 1570 a mathematical text had “geometrie teacheth the vse of the Rule and cumpasse.” Swift wrote in 1745 “to fix one foot of their compass wherever they think fit.” As recently as 1845 Emerson wrote “defined by compass and measuring wand.”

Earliest uses of the plural form have been recorded in the 16th century.In 1555 “we took owre compases and beganne to measure the sea coasts” and an example from 1594 “how to make with your compasses a perpendicular line to fall from any point given another right line.” Milton wrote in Paradise Lost in 1667 “in his hand he took the golden compasses to circumscribe this universe.”

The mariners compass first appeared in 1515 “Some the anker layde . . . . one kepte the compass and watched the our glasse.” In 1552 this was recorded “ane skypper can nocht gyde his schip without direction of his compas.”

In at least four verses of the Old Testament compass appears in its singular form.Isaiah 44:13 “The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass . . . . “Other references are Exodus 27:5, Exodus 38:4 and Proverbs 8:27.

Early masonic rituals do not show any marked preference for either form. Prichard’s Masonry Dissected of 1730 uses the singular four times and the plural once. Three Distinct Knocks published in 1760 has the plural form seven times and the singular twice. Jachin and Boaz which appeared in 1762 shows a slight preference for the singular over the plural by five to four.

In the United States some jurisdictions use compass and there are also masonic clubs known as square and compass clubs.

After reading this far it would be a bold reader who would say one or the other was correct.There is, however, a criterion of correctness for the modern New Zealand constitution mason and that is how the word appears in our Book of Constitution and Ritual.As it always appears as compasses then as far as our working is concerned compasses is the correct form.

Published from the proceedings of The Waikato Lodge of Research, No. 445 A.F. & A.M. New Zealand.

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From Northern Ireland to Iran, from the Middle east to the United States, religious extremism is a growing force throughout the world. Jarred by the rapid pace of social and cultural change, especially the apparent disintegration of moral values and the break-up of the family, some people within this movement have sought refuge from the complexity of modern life by embracing absolute viewsand rejecting tolerance of other beliefs.

Simple, easy, seemingly stable answers bring comfort in a rapidly changing world. For example, some churches have responded to the personal anguish of their members by circling the wagons, that is, by strictly defining theological concepts and insisting their members “purify” their fellowship by renouncing any other beliefs.

The next step, already taken by various churches, is to yield degrees of control within their ranks to vocal factions espousing extremist views. These splinter groups focus the congregation’s generalized anxieties on specific targets, The proffered cure-all is to destroy the supposed enemy. Freemasonry has become one of these targets precisely because it encourages members to form their own opinion on many important topics, including religion.

Thus some churches have expressed concerns, even condemnations, of Freemasonry. Generally, these actions are based on misunderstandings. A case in point is the June 1993 report to the Southern Baptist Convention by the Convention’s Home Mission Board. This report defined eight alleged conflicts between the tenets and teachings of the Masonic Fraternity and Southern Baptist theology.

Let’ s briefly look at those areas, as representative of the thinking of some well-meaning but misinformed church members today, and see if the concerns are real or simply a matter of misinformation or misunderstanding.

Most of the issues really deal with language in one way or another. Almost every organization has a special vocabulary of words which are understood by the group. It’s hardly appropriate for someone outside a group, and without the special knowledge of the group, to object to the terms unless he or she fully understands them and why they are used.

If someone wants to read the Journal of American Medical Association for example, that is his right-but he doesn’t have a right to complain the articles use medical terms. A person reading a cookbook had better know terms like fold, cream the butter, or soft ball have special meanings-or he’ll make a mess instead of a cake. The same is true of a non-Mason reading Masonic materials. As to the critique of Freemasonry by the Southern Baptist Convention (which, incidentally, had several positive things to say about Freemasonry), here is a brief explanatory discussion of each point.

1. Because they do not see specific words in their historic context, some critics complain of the prevalent use in Masonry of offensive titles and terms such as Worshipful Master for the leader of a Lodge. The leader of a Masonic Lodge is called the Master of the Lodge for the same reason the head of a Boy Scout troop is called a Scoutmaster, an orchestra’s leader is termed the Concert Master, or a highly-skilled electrician is called a Master Electrician. The term arose in the guilds of the Middle Ages when the most skillful workman was called the Master. Much Masonic vocabulary dates from that period. Worshipful in Worshipful Master has nothing to do with worship in any religious sense. Masonically, Worshipful is a term of honor and, in this sense, it is a term still used in England and Canada today to refer to such officials as mayors of cities. Worshipful John Doe means exactly the same thing as the Honorable John Doe. In the same vein, the Mayor of” London is addressed as the Worshipful Lord Mayor. Certainly there is nothing irreligious here in the use of Worshipful or Lord. Such terms are a matter of history and tradition, not religion.

2. Some critics of Freemasonry object to what they term archaic and offensive rituals or so-called bloody oaths in Masonry. There is nothing offensive in them. They are ancient, not archaic, since many of them are so old their origins are lost in history. But there is nothing bad in that. The Declaration of Independence is about the same age as the Master Mason Degree, but few complain it is “archaic.”

The alleged bloody oaths refer to the penalties associated with the Masonic obligations. They originated in the medieval legal system of England and were actual punishments inflicted by the state on persons convicted of opposing political or religious tyranny. Masonry’s obligations do not contain any promise ever to inflict any of the penalties or to participate in the execution of them. In Masonry, they are entirely symbolic and refer exclusively to the shame a good man should feel at the thought he had broken a promise,

3. Certain critics claim the recommended readings for the Degrees of Masonry are “pagan” in origin- “Pagan”, as they are using the term, simply means “pre-Christian.” The major purpose of Masonry is the study of man’s intellectual and moral history for the purpose of developing ourselves morally and intellectually. Such a study has to start with the concepts of man and God as held by early cultures and evidenced in their mythologies. The Greeks and Romans, as well as earlier peoples, had much of importance to say on many topics, including religion. The idea that a physician must act in the best interests of his patient comes from the pagan Hippocrates, and the concept that the government cannot break into your house and take what it wants on a whim comes from the pagan Aristotle. None of us would want to live in a world without these ideas.

In almost every field- law, government, music, philosophy, mathematics, etc.

-it is necessary to review the work of early writers and thinkers. Masonry is no exception. But to study the work of ancient cultures is not the same thing as to do what they did or believe what they believed. And no Mason is ever told what he should believe in matters of faith. That is not the task of a fraternity, nor a public library, nor the government. That is the duty of a person ‘s revealed religion and is appropriately expressed through his or her church.

4. Ironically, some people complain about the Bible used in Lodge being referred to as the “furniture” of the Lodge. No disrespect is intended.  Indeed, just the opposite is true. Masons use the word “furniture” in its original meaning of essential equipment. Since no Lodge can meet without an open Volume of the Sacred Law, (which in North America is almost always the Bible) the Bible is essential and given a special place of honor as the “furniture” for every regular Lodge.

5. The Masonic use of the term “light” is often misunderstood by non-Masons.  This confusion may lead some to think Masons are speaking of salvation rather than knowledge or truth. Nowhere in Masonic ritual is “light” implied to mean anything other than knowledge. Light was a symbol of knowledge long before it was a symbol of salvation. The lamp of learning appears on almost every graduation card and college diploma. Masonry uses Light as a symbol of the search for truth and knowledge. it is very unlikely that any Mason would think that Light represents salvation.

6. Masonry does not imply salvation may be attained by one’s good works.  Masonry does not teach any path to salvation. That is the duty of a Church, not a Fraternity. The closest Masonry comes to this issue is to point to the open Bible, and tell the Mason to search there for the path to eternal life.  Masonry does believe in the importance of good works, but as a matter of gratitude to God for His many great gifts and as a matter of individual moral and social responsibility. The path to salvation is found in each Mason’s house of worship, not in his Lodge.

7. Various critics accuse Masonic writers of teaching the “heresy of universalism.” Universalism is the doctrine that all men and women are ultimately saved. Masonry does not teach universalism or any other doctrine of salvation. Again, that’ s the province of the church, not a fraternity.  You have to look rather hard to find Masonic writers who “teach universalism.” Even if you could find one, it’s important to remember that any Masonic author writes for himself alone, not as an official of the fraternity. Masonry simply does not have a position, official or otherwise on salvation. Since men of all faiths are welcome in the fraternity, Masons are careful not to offend the faith of any. Possibly this in itself may seem to be universalism to some critics. Masons call it common courtesy.

8. Some critics, less eager to put their own houses in order than to find fault with others, contend most Lodges refuse to admit African Americans as members. Masonry today is not a whites only organization as the hundreds of thousands of Black, Native American, Hispanic and Oriental Masons can testify . Petitions for membership do not ask the race of the petitioner, and it would be considered completely wrong to do so. At the same time it must be said that Freemasonry, like American society and churches in general, has not lived up entirely to its high ideal of brotherhood in dealing with African Americans and other minorities. This is a situation which most Freemasons, like most Americans, are trying to overcome.

There is a schism in Freemasonry dating back over 200 years to when “Prince Hall” Masons, who are African-Americans, declared them selves independent.  This schism is similar to the division of the United Methodist Church from the A.M.E., C.M.E., and United Methodist Church from the A.M.E., S.M.E., and A.M.E. Zion churches or the National Baptists from the American and Southern Baptists. In each of these three examples, the organizations are working to repair the damages of centuries of segregation. for each, complete reunification remains an elusive goal hindered by social resistance on both sides, but not by organizational ideals. In the case of Freemasonry, mutual recognition between “black” and “white” Grand Lodges has proceeded at a steady pace for nearly ten years, while African-American members are increasingly common in formerly “white” Lodges.

For instance, at the international celebration of the 275th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of England in i992 (the most recent Masonic gathering of about the same size as the Southern Baptist Convention), there were far more Blacks present than there were at the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston in 1993. Freemasonry’s movement regarding racial matters affirms Masonry’s genuine revolution with the rest of American society and churches toward genuine brotherhood among all races.

In summary, looking over the concerns raised in the report, none are the tenants and teachings as the report claims. Four of the concerns are merely misunderstandings of Masonic vocabulary by non-Masons.  The complaint that some of the writers whose work Masonry studies are pre Christian could be raised against any study of man, government, or philosophy. Almost all areas of study start with the ancient (pagan) Greeks.  All members of the Fraternity know that Masonry does not invade the area of the Church to teach any doctrine of salvation, neither universalism, salvation by works, nor any other. And the objection that Masonry is some sort of whites only club is refuted by the myriad of non whites wearing the Square and Compasses. Freemasonry is simply a Fraternity—an organization of men, banded together to further develop themselves ethically and morally, and to benefit the community at large!The Masonic Information Center
8120 Fenton St.
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4785
Phone: (301) 588–@010
Fax: (301) 608-3457

With special thanks to Jim Tresner, Masonic Author and John Boettjer, Editor, The Scottish Rite Journal for their work preparing this Short Talk Bulletin.

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On April 14, 1996, Japan was visited by His Grace, Archbishop Lufti Laham, Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem. He was here at the invitation of the Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Grand Priory of Japan. This is the first time anyone of his stature from his church has visited Japan, and the members of the order considered it a great honor.

After other conversations and having prepared myself, I said, “Sir, I have a question I must ask. Where do you stand on homosexuality?”

“Are you a Christian?” was his reply. Continuing, he said “If you mean by that, do I believe in the principles of love, compassion, and understanding put forward in the teachings of Jesus?, the answer is yes. If you mean, do I believe Christ is the one way, the only way, and that those who do not know of or believe in Christ do not have continuity of life after death?, the answer is no. I believe paths are many, truth is one, and all religions lead to God. Some just take longer and require more trips through life.

I live in Jerusalem. It is the center of the world. It is a land of Arabs who are Muslims, Arabs who are Jews, Arabs who are Christians, and people from all over the world. I am a Christian. One of about 130,000 among millions. This is my faith. I am lucky. I know this, so I don’t have to explain my answer to the question as you do. This is my path and I choose to live it. The only reason to be different from others is to be of service to others. I run a hospital and a school, not for Christians, but for those who need a hospital and a school. I try to keep Christians in the Holy Land so we can be of service to those who live there. Religion does not belong to us, we belong to it. That is why I am a Christian. That is why I serve. And that is why it is not for me to judge the path of others. I live my path and others must live theirs.

I am not a homosexual. It is not my path. But I do not judge the path of others. My faith is to serve.”

Sometimes to stand in the shadow is to stand in the light.—Ralph Parks

From the Summer 1997 / Gnosis Magazine

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Have you heard the sad story about the dog that someone tried to dry off in a microwave oven? What about the one where a jealous husband poured concrete into a new convertible, not realizing it was a surprise anniversary gift from his wife? Or maybe you’ve read about Albert Pike’s so-called “Luciferian Doc-trine,” which teaches Masons that Lucifer is God?

These stories have one thing in common:

They’re all false. The first two are harmless “urban myths,” innocently retold as cautionary tales. The story about Albert Pike and Lucifer, however, is a lie that will not die.  Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pages (writing as Leo Taxil) conceived the hoax and designed it to slander Freemasonry and embarrass the Catholic Church. It has been repeated for a century by anti-Masons who accept with childlike eagerness any slur against our gentle craft.

No other lie has captured the imagination of anti-Masons quite like this Leo Taxil hoax (just one of many he Perpetrated against Freemasonry and the Catholic Church). Once our critics have twisted logic to convince themselves that Freemasonry is the work of Satan, they are ready to accept this perversion. It usually comes in the form of a quotation that starts,

“On July 14, 1889, Albert Pike, Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry, addressed to the 23 supreme Confederated councils of the world the following instructions…..” That is all you need to read to know the author has fallen prey to this infamous hoax.

It is not entirely certain when the quote was fabricated nor where it was first published. We can, however, trace its modern appearances to Edith Starr Miller who wrote Occult Theocracy in 1933 under the pen name “Lady Queens borough.” Her work is excerpted and treated as the gospel truth, usually without attribution. Such practices are known as plagiarism in other disciplines, but neither serious research nor intellectual integrity stand in the way of the headlong rush to slander Free Masonry.

Ms. Miller found her quote in the 1894 book by Abbe Clarin de la Rive, Le Femme et L’Enfanr dans la Franc-Maconnerie Univer-seile (Woman and Child in Universal Free masonry). Abbe de la Rive, like Ms. Miller, was duped by the hoax; they are guilty only of incompetent research and an eager willing-ness to believe the worst about Freemasonry.  The ultimate source was the pornographer, anti-Mason, and anti-Catholic Leo Taxil (Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pages). Taxil publicly confessed his  deception in 1897; his story is widely available for anyone willing to look for the truth. Just a few of the many references are listed below.

R. Limouzin-Lamothe. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. Taxil, Leo.

Henry W. Coil, et al., Coil’s Mosonic Encyclopedia (Richmond, Va.: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1961), s.v. Taxil, Leo.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3^rd ed., s.v.

Taxil, Leo.

” Arthur E. Waite, A New, encyclopedia of Freemasonry, new & rev.ed ed. (New York: Weathervane Books, 1970), s.v. Palladian Freemasonry.  AIec Mellor, “‘A Hoaxer of Genius-Leo Taxil. “Our Separated Brethren, the Free-Masons, translated by A. W. Barnett and C. N. Batham (Richmond, Va., Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1964), PP- 14-9-155.

The entire passage from Ms. Miller is not worth quoting, though we will give the portion most repeated.

The Bogus “Luciferian Doctrine” of Albert Pike from Edith Starr Miller (Lady Queens borough) Occult Theocracy 2 vols, 1933. Reprint. Hawthome, Calif.: the Christian Book Club of America, 1980.

“(P-233) In La Femme et L’Enfant dans la Franc-Maconnerie Universelle page 578 , A.C.  De La Rive states that on July 14, l889, AIbert Pike, Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasory, addressed to the 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world the following instructions, which we quote herewith in part.

(p-220) That which we must say to the crowd is:-We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition.

To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that  you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32^nd, 31^st and 30^th degrees-The Masonic religion should be, by all of its initiates of the higher degrees, maintained  in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine. if Lucifer were not God, would Adonay (the God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty perfidy, and hatred of man, Babarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?

Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is hersey; and the true and pure philosophic religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay: but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.

There are several problems with this quotation, some obvious and some subtle. To start with, about 1,000,000 out of 2,500,000 Ameri-Masons have the 32ø in the Scottish Rite, including ministers, rabbis, bishops, and other devout worshippers of God, It is inconceivable that there would not be mass resignations if these men were taught this disgusting “Luciferian doctrine.” It believable that the millions of Scottish Rite Masons during the last two centuries could be cowed into such total silence’!

The quote is riddled with logical inconsistencies. There is no position of “Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry.” There is no ‘”Confederation of Supreme Councils.” In the United States virtually all Scottish Rite Masons receive the 32ø so why would Albert Pike suggest special treatment for 30ø, 31ø, and 32ø Masons, when that would have included everyone?

The real evidence pf a hoax comes in De La Rive’s footnote, which neither Ms. Miller nor anyone else bothers to quote. It refers to Diana Vaughan, the matchless creation of Leo Taxil’s twisted mind. The footnote (and a translation) are printed below.

“Ce fut la Soeur Diana Vaughan a’Albert Pike, -ASfin de lui donner la plus grande marque de confiance, -chargea d’apporter son encyclique luciferienne, a Pairs Pen-dant l’ Esposition Universelle.

Abbe Clarin de la Rive. La Femme et l’Enfant dans la Frqanc-Maconnerie Universelle, Paris:  Delhomme & Briquet, Editeurs, 1894-, p. 589.

It was the Sister Dianna Vaughn  that Albcrt Pike,-in order to give her the greatest mark of confidence,–charged to carry his luciferian encyciical, to Paris, during the Universal Exposition.”‘

The Dianna Vaughn hoax is well known and has been explained time, and time again for nearly a century. Here’s what the New; Catholic Encyclopedia (R. Lilmouzin-Lamothe, s.v.  Taxil, Leo) says about Leo Taxil.

Taxil purported to reveal the existence of “Palladium,” the most secret Masonic order, which practiced devil-worship, He re-counted the story of its high priestess Diana Vaughan: and  ended by publishing the Memories d’une ex-Palladiste after her  con-version t0 Catholicism. When doubts began to spread, Tsxil realized the time had come to end the deceit.  In a conference in Paris (April 19, 1897), he cynically admitted his hoax, whose aim, he said. was to hold up Catholicism to derision.

After Taxil ‘s public confession, Abbe de la Rive expressed his disgust and recanted his writings on Diana Vaughan in the April 1897 issue of Freemasonry  Disclosed, a magazine devoted to the destruction fo the Craft. As much as he hated Freemasonry, dc la Rive had the integrity to admit Taxil’s hoax.

After Taxil’s public confession, Abbe de la person we shall not name here (Taxil) declared before an assembly especially con-veined for him that for twelve years he had preoaired and carried out to the end the most extraordinary and most sacrilegious of hoaxes.  We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Dianna Vaughn. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed.

Quoted in Alex Mellor, Strange Masonic Stories (Richmond, Va. : Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc., 1982),p. 151.

Anyone interested in the plain truth can easily discover the story of L@o Taxil. Recent critics of Masonry, however, are not interested in simple facts. These detractors have convinced themselves that Freemasonry is the work of the devil. Thus they apparently justify their perversions with the thought that they are doing the Lord’s work-saving an unsuspecting world from Satan, No misquotation, no distortion, no lie is too great if it accomplishes what they perceive as their holy mission. This includes gleefully perpetuating the bogus “Luciferian Doctrine” of Albert Pike. All this is done in the name of Him who said, “‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Freemasonry teaches its members tolerance, even of its assailants. If you are presented with the story of Pike and Lucifer, quietly but firmly state, “It’s a lie.” Don’t let it pass without comment, but don’t provoke an argument. The truth is on our side.

But remember the words attributed to Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Source: Masonic World

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