March, 1947
Contents
THE LITERATURE OF MASONRY THE HOME INFLUENCE
THE ROUGH ASHLAR PRINCE HALL MASONRY
THE GREAT NEED OF OUR TIME THE MASONIC WAY OF LIFE
MAUNDY - THURSDAY INDIAN FREEMASONRY
THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY NEWS FROM OUR MAIL BAG
MASONRY IN FOREIGN LANDS THE GOOD SAMARITAN
By William H. Knutz, M.P.S.
Evanston, Illinois
Norman B. Hickox, Past Master of Evans Lodge, had a Masonic Library of about 700 books. A professor of English was astonished that so much could be written about Masonry. This is probably a common reaction among the uninitiated, which is shared by far too great a number of Masons.
At least one Grand Lodge Library contains 25,000 or more books on Masonry. Several others have a large number. A great many Masonic magazines are published. They range all the way from small publications, devoted to local news, to the more pretentious ones carrying articles on history, philosophy and symbolism. A few, most under English Constitutions, devote considerable space to research.
Masonic literature may be classified as:
Biblical Patriotic
Symbolical Mystical
Monitorial Historical
Philosophical Fictional
Constitutional Poetic
Judicial Biographical
Encyclopedical General
Research
The literature of Masonry, particularly the works on historical and research, may also be grouped as to method of subject treatment. There are three of these methods, each confined to a period in our history, and each differing greatly from the others.
Our early writers set forth as facts, all the fancies and fictions developed by the early ritualists. From these views, we still have a quite common belief of great antiquity.
Eventually the imaginative stories of early writers exceeded the credulity of serious students, and a new viewpoint developed. Literature written during this period was based on rigidly proven facts.
We are now in the third period of Masonic literature. Proven facts are amplified by scientific deduction.
The oldest Masonic manuscript is the Regius poem, written about 1390. It is believed to have developed from earlier documents. About 100 ancient Masonic manuscripts have been discovered. By a careful study of these manuscripts and a knowledge of contemporary history scholars are now better able to present a truer record of the Craft.
To provide a guide to Masonic literature, Brother Hickox directed a survey to determine the twelve Masonic books a Mason should read first. The selections were determined by ballot with seventeen Masonic scholars participating. The selections in the order of preference are:
The Bible
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (Mackey) - (Clegg)
The Constitutions (Anderson)
The Builders (Newton)
History of Freemasonry (Gould)
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum (various)
Jurisprudence of Freemasonry (Mackey) - (Clegg)
Symbolism of the Three Degrees (Street)
Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies (Tatsch)
Illustrations of Masonry (Preston)
Morals and Dogma (Pike)
The Secret Traditions of Freemasonry (Waite)
Masonic students seldom agree as to which books should be required reading or on the relative order of preference. Most, I believe, will agree that "The Builders" by Joseph Newton should be among the first to be read. It is informative, very interesting and easy reading. Encyclopedias are excellent for reference, and they will supply the answers to many questions. Mackey's Encyclopedia is the most complete.
The literary inclinations of the reader will determine the subjects he wishes to read. The general classification provides a guide. For some of the subjects, it is advisable to secure up-to-date books.
Readers who are so inclined, and have the time, will find the Annual Proceedings of Grand Lodges and other Grand bodies the source of our modern history and law.
One of the most fascinating subjects in Masonic literature is history. Three periods of our history are of particular interest. The period before the forming of the first Grand Lodge in London, in 1717, is that period when many Masons worked at building. Many imposing Cathedrals were erected, and Sir Christopher Wren, the famous architect, was a leader in the Craft.
The year 1717 witnessed the forming of the first Grand Lodge and from this date to 1730, the form of Masonry began to develop along modern lines. At the same time, rival Grand Lodges were formed in England. Five existed, not all at the same time, between 1717 and 1813, when they united. Gould's "History of Freemasonry" is our most authoritative general history. Charles C. Hunt's "Rival Grand Lodges of England," in pamphlet form, gives a clear picture of the period from 1717 to 1813. It may best obtained from the Iowa Grand Lodge Library, at Cedar Rapids.
The principles of liberty and justice are practiced by the Craft. They are the principles upon which democracies are founded. It is not strange that Masonry played an important part in the Revolution.
Washington, Franklin, Warren, Revere, Lafayette, and many other leaders of that period were active Masons. "Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies," by Tatsch; "Revolution and Freemasonry, 1680-1800," by Fay; "Paul Revere," by Esther Forbes, are just a few of the books we should class as required reading. A well illustrated booklet called "A Masonic Tribute, Sesquicentennial of the Constitution," provides in statistical form, much Masonic data pertaining to the Revolution.
H.L. Haywood, F.P.S., a prominent modern author, has written on Symbolism, Famous Masons, and many other subjects. His work deserves serious attention.
The reading of Masonic Literature will lead to a greater appreciation of Masonry. The reader will be astonished at the scope covered and at the important part Masonry has played in progress of civilization, the advancement of law and order, and the establishment of public schools. Masonic Literature will give you pleasure, information and a "lift" to see you through these trying times.
----o----
By V.M. BURROWS. M.P.S.
Long Bench, California
(conclusion)
Men who do their work without enjoying it are like men carrying statues with hatchets. The Statue gets carved, and is a monument forever of the dogged perseverance of the artist; but there is a perpetual waste of toil. and there is no fine result in the end. A man who does his work with thorough enjoyment of it is like an artist who holds an exquisite tool which is almost as obedient to him as his own hand. It is just so with the shaping of our lives. We need the effective and efficient tool of a good common-sense philosophy.
A splendid little book by Edgar Guest is entitled, "Between You and Me, My Philosophy of Life." He says, in part: "I have known a number of wealthy men who were not successes as fathers. They made money rapidly; their factories were marvels of organization; their money investments were sound and made with excellent judgement, and their contributions to public service were useful and willingly made. All this took time and thought. At the finish there was a fortune on the one hand, and a worthless and dissolute son on the other. Why? Too much time spent in money-making implies too little time spent with the boy.
"To be the father of a great son is what I should call success.
"Better than money would be to leave him self-reliant and manly and able to earn his own way in the world.
"Bud is calling to me now to play marbles again. He wants his Dad and he needs him. In these few minutes on the ground I may teach him the way of honor. The stranger will play with him if I do not. I do not know. The stranger may teach him what I myself would teach, but I cannot be sure. The risk is too great to be run. I know that I shall never knowingly lead him astray. Boyhood is calling to its father, and boyhood cannot wait. If I lose this opportunity to be his comrade I may lose him forever.
"So out I go to play marbles."
America needs more mothers with the pioneer spirit of Sarah Bush Lincoln. And we need more fathers with the philosophy of Edgar Guest. At the beginning of the book, - "Between You and Me - My Philosophy of Life," - he gives his personal creed, as follows:
"To live each day as though I may never see the morning come; to be strict with myself, but patient and lenient with others; to give the advantage, but never to ask for it; to be kindly to all, but kindlier to the less fortunate; to respect all honest employment; to remember always that my life is made easier and better by the service of others, and to be grateful.
"To be tolerant and never arrogant; to treat all men with equal courtesy; to be true to my own in all things; to make as much as I can of my strength and the day's opportunity, and to meet disappointment without resentment.
"To be friendly and helpful whenever possible; to do, without display of temper or of bitterness, all that fair conduct demands; to keep my money free from cunning or the shame of a hard bargain; to govern my actions so that I may fear neither reproach nor misunderstanding nor words of malice nor envy, and to maintain, at whatever cost, my own self respect.
"To keep faith with God, my fellowman, and my country.
"This is my creed and my philosophy. I have failed it often, and shall fail it many times again; but by those teachings of my mother and my father, I have lived to the best of my ability; laughed often, loved, suffered, grieved, found consolation, and have prospered. By friendship I have been enriched and the home I have builded has been happy."
----o----
In all the misfortunes the greatest consolation is a sympathizing friend. - Cervantes.
----o----
Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues. - Bishop Hall.
----o----
No progressive Mason will deny the need of Masonic periodicals. The time when Masonry was obliged to work in the dark is a thing of the past. Our Brethren everywhere demand further Light in Masonry and they are anxious to keep informed on the activities of the Craft. Everywhere is a thirst for Masonic News and other related works and to quench this thirst is the aim and purpose of the Philalethes Society. - Walter A. Ouincke. F.P.S.
----o----
A great deal of talent is lost in the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whom timidity prevented from making a first effort; who, if they could have been induced to begin, would in all probability have gone great lengths in the career of fame. The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. - Sydney Smith.
----o----
Eden's Roses
Eden's roses burgeoned fair,
Bled pure perfume into the air -
It still is there.
- Milford E. Shields, M.P.S.
----o----
By Francis R. Hobson, M.P.S.
Port Huron, (Ontario), Canada
The Rough Ashlar is symbolical of the Entered Apprentice who is also a living allegory of Freemasonry. A writer in an Australian magazine early last year complained that Masons did not have a peculiar system of morals and should drop that claim. That writer could not have been well skilled in Masonic phraseology or he would have noticed that the accent should have been on the word SYSTEM, and not on the word MORALS. Our morals are no better than any other code; but our system is certainly peculiar - we generally say "beautiful."
We are so familiar with our ritual that we probably fail to recognize the abstract nature of its wordage most of which is current with us all; but there are exceptions. Not many men will have heard of ASHLARS before joining the Craft.
Now, an ashlar is a cut stone as distinct from rubble stone, and a rough ashlar means a stone intended for dressing, just as we speak of rough lumber which is intended for the planer.
A Mason's Lodge is really a workshop. Primitively it was only a roof and windbreak where the operative wielded his mallet, tempered his chisels, and kept his equipment. Nowadays it has sidewalls, upholstery, a heating plant to temper its members, and gilded equipment.
We are not permitted to make "innovations" into Freemasonry. Why should we? It is already better than we can live up to.
Do we want our Lodges to be mills where members pass through and away? Or, are they to remain and become cemented into the body of the Lodge? It is largely a matter of good Masonic housekeeping.
So, let us proceed to build up our membership.
In the N.E. corner lecture a Candidate is told that he represents the Foundation Stone. Here is another idea that might be put to the assembled Brethren.
He is actually, in Masonic parlances a living rough ashlar, being built into the permanent structure of the Lodge. Since Speculative Masonry is of an abstract nature, he is free to move about and does not have to remain in the N.E. corner. In fact, he has to move over because there is another Candidate coming up.
Every Mason goes through the same experience. He enters the Lodge penniless, etc. No matter what his real age, for Masonic purposes he is 21. He is starting a new life. For the first few minutes he has been working with his ears. He has been paraded before the Brethren to show that he is properly prepared; but when told to rise, etc., he is only a newly obligated Brother. He can now use his eyes as well as his ears, yet it is practically impossible for him to understand much of what has been offered, for no man has yet digested all the possible imports and hidden mysteries, even after many years of intensive studies.
However, other material is coming up and he must keep moving.
In the 2nd degree the Master Architect is implored to .... continue His aid to ourselves, and of him who kneels....
The Candidate is again paraded for inspections still hearing and seeing things for the first time, and the assembled Brethren are still learning. The Master's Gavel, symbolical of the operative's mallets is being used to dress the Rough Ashlar - not merely to make noise. (This, of course, is more apparent in the Chapter work).
The Candidate, having passed a satisfactory examination, is made a newly obligated Fellow Craft and given much further information which will be useful to him only to the extent in which he applies it.
In the 3rd Degree Divine aid is sought particularly for Fortitude. Our Rough Ashlar is made a M.M., and in some measure he is such; but the finishing touches are performed in the three degrees of the H.R.A. which is the ultimate zenith of Craft Masonry. But he will still have to prove himself in everyday life when properly called upon.
----o----
By Leo Fischer, F.P.S.
Alhambra, California
The most recent contribution to the bibliography on Freemasonry among Negroes in America is a 334-page volume published under the auspices of The United Supreme Council Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Jurisdiction, U.S.A (Prince Hall Affiliation) Incorporated. Its title is "A History of Freemasonry among Negroes in America" and its author is Harry E. Davis, 33, Special Deputy for Foreign Relations of the body above mentioned. Perhaps not 25 per cent of the Masons of the United States know that, side by side with what we term regular Masonry, there exist in this country Bodies composed of Negroes of similar denominations and purposes which are not recognized as regular by our Bodies. That the historical legitimacy of this so-called Prince Hall Masonry is sustained by the evidence, is the argument of the author of the work herein referred to, a member of the Cleveland, Ohio, Bar. He has documented his case with 48 historical documents and excerpts from records, and cites in the defense of his thesis numerous authors, such as Grimshaw, Upton, Crawford, Williamson, Voorhis, and Shepherd. The history of the origin and growth of the Prince Hall Masonry, as related by Bro. Davis, is very interesting. Prince Hall was born in 1748 of an English father and a free colored woman of French extraction, on the West Indian island of Barbados. He came to Boston in 1765. A leather worker by trade, he acquired an education and became a Methodist minister In 1778, he enlisted in the Revolutionary Army for nine months. He died in 1807.
In 1775, Prince Hall and fourteen other free colored men were initiated into Masonry in Boston by an Army Lodge of a British regiment stationed in that city. From this Body, African Lodge No. 1 developed. It received a charter from the Grand Lodge of England in 1785 and is the foundation on which the structure of Prince Hall Masonry was erected. The legitimacy of this organization has been assailed, largely by prejudice or ignorance; but there is little doubt that it will sooner or later be generally recognized. In view of prevailing social conditions some time will pass before there can be anything more than an detente cordiale, though the realization of the latter may be closer than we think it is. In the meantime seekers of truth and justice - and all Masons should be that - should at least familiarize themselves with the subject, and works like those of Bro. Davis are to be highly recommended. We should not forget, either, that Bro. Harold V. B. Voorhis, a Fellow of the Philalethes Society, has also written an excellent book on Negro Freemasonry.
----o----
(Thoughts of a Non-Mason)
From "ALPINA," official organ of the Swiss Grand Lodge, October 1946.
Translated from the German by Leo Fischer, F.P.S.
It was during the great persecution of Masonry that I learned to know and esteem Masonry as a tremendous spiritual movement of great importance for the upbuilding of humanity. Unfortunately it is too little known and recognized as such, and too little utilized and considered in practical social life.
In an earlier article I endeavored to prove, and did demonstrate, that Masonry has always championed peace. In pursuance of its ideal, the brotherhood of man, it was working in the spirit of the Kellogg Pact before that document was ever drawn up, and it strove to make the provisions outlawing war effective before they were ever officially put on paper.
According to my evidence, numerous wars between South American countries have been prevented by the influence exercised by Members of the Fraternity. I know of a prominent person who, moved by the spirit of peace, declared, upon assuming office, that he would immediately resign if, in the discharge of his functions, he should be required to commit an act of aggression against any neighboring country. This pacific spirit resulted in many years of a real policy of peace.
Unfortunately too many such men of peace have been unsuccessful in their efforts to influence the mighty, warning them against plunging their countries heedlessly into war.
The false rumor of the warlike spirit of the Masons should have been disposed of long ago, and that for good and all, because the humanity and tolerance practiced by them absolutely preclude such an attitude, especially as regards a war of revenge. "In these sacred halls vengeance is unknown." And where tolerance and humanity are coupled with personal courage, the result is a sense of justice which is known to be the greatest of virtues.
Justice protects persons and nations against chauvinism as well as against an exaggerated sense of their own importance. It is a force creative of peace that should be applied everywhere in our time. This force, as I have learned and appreciated in many gears of acquaintance with Masons, is the real basic force of Masonry. It must permeate all acts of the individual in order that his fellow-men may recognize him as a true Mason. It is the spirit of creative peace, an active spiritual power which creates from love of perfection. No idle peace, no supine, leaden passivity.
The great lack of our present time is that, unfortunately, too few hearts have been opened to this creative spirit of peace, and too few souls have devoted all their precious gifts and qualities to its service. And, though not a Mason, I pray with all my heart that, for the sake of the whole world, this need of our present time will soon be filled so that the true Masonic spirit may prevail everywhere.
For I know that the true Mason respects the country of his fellow man; but his own country he loves, as a brave son of our Mother Helvetia has well said. And what he loves as a precious gift of his Creator, that he is ready to defend, in case of necessity, to the very last.
The mighty of the world of to-day are showing by their actions and by all that they allow to go on, that unfortunately this true Masonic spirit is not at work as it ought to be. Everywhere obstacles are put in the way of real peace and of the possibility of its development. What else can you say when you hear of foreign territory being turned over to a nation while, on the other frontier, territory belonging to that same nation is taken away from it and given to a neighboring country?
In our beautiful land scarcely one in every thousand of population is a Mason. I am convinced that things would be quite different if there were a hundred times that many Masons, if there were, in rough figures, not only 3,000 but 300,000 real servants of the spirit of peace in our country. That would mean the disappearance of all racial and class hatred. The religious dissension, which is reappearing in such an alarming degree, would likewise vanish. Brotherhood between employer and employee would bring about a happy solution of the social question. For that Englishman was right who said: "Nothing that is morally wrong can be right politically." That is the motto with which we must all make ourselves familiar. How else could we fill the need of our present time adequately?
Masons are accused, further, of having no religion and being enemies of the Church. That is another altogether groundless accusation, because they are known to adore the Creator, whom they call the Architect of the Universe. The thought expressed by Schiller, also a non-Mason, in the following verse is applicable to them:
"What religion do I profess?
None of those that you name.
And why not? For reasons of religion."
Past Master Goethe also said: "He who has science and art has also religion. And he who does not possess them, let him get religion " A blind dogmatic belief or so-called faith in things which a thinking man cannot conceive at all, which are opposed to all reason and nature, is unacceptable.
Maurus Quidam
----o----
By GEORGE R. HARVEY. F.P.S.
Berkeley, California
(Introductory Note. M. W. Brother George R. Harvey, during a most active Masonic life of half a century, has received about all the honors to which a member of the Masonic Fraternity can aspire. Using the language of the Master Mason's charge, we can say that in his case merit has been the just title to his privileges and that on him our favors have not been undeservedly bestowed. Each of his titles of honor - Past Grand Master of F. & A. M. of the Philippine Islands, Past Commander of Far East Commandery No. 1, K.T., of Manila, P.I., Past Master of too many other Masonic Bodies to enumerate here, the 33rd degree of the A. & A. Scottish Rite, etc., etc., was earned by intelligent and unremitting work and service. A distinguished member of the Bar and Bench in the Philippines for four decades, Brother Harvey also has military service to his credit as a major in the U.S. Army during World War I. His brilliant work as a Masonic editor and writer has singled him out for the honor recently conferred on him by the Philalethes Society. Our new FELLOW, who still holds membership in Corregidor-Southern Cross Lodge No. 3, of Manila, P.I., now resides at 246 Purdue Avenue, Berkeley 8, California. The article hereunder was submitted by him on his promotion to F.P.S., in accordance with the rules of the Philalethes Society - L.F.)
The Holy Bible is the Great Light in Freemasonry. We are taught that it is dedicated to God, it being His inestimable gift to man as the rule and guide of his faith. From it we learn that Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, gave a new commandment unto his disciples "That ye love one another." He added by way of emphasis, "As I have loved you, that ye also love one another," and that "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13: 34, 35).
The first words of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven," clearly express the spiritual relation between God and man, who was created by Him in His own image and likeness, and we are accordingly justified in claiming the relationship of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
The Masonic Fraternity has exemplified the fraternal idea, and was the first of all the great fraternities which have spread over the world and entered into almost every avenue of life, and it has had influence in unifying men and nations in harmonious relations.
We are also taught in Freemasonry to regard the whole human species as one family, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, who, as all created by one Almighty Parent and inhabitants of the same planet are to aid, support and protect one another; and we have also learned that on this principle Masonry unites men of every country, sect and opinion, and causes true friendship to exist among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.
In accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible and the precepts of Masonry, the Fatherhood of God is not only a theme upon the lips of our members, but it is given expression in the lives of those who are true to such teachings and precepts. With these teachings and precepts we are able to realize the truth that all men are our brothers, not merely because they are human, but because we are all bound together by an indissoluble spiritual tie which has its springs in the Infinite.
With the background of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, we are able to understand why Freemasonry is the foe of strife and discord among men and consistently pursues the paths of peace; that is to say, that the teachings and practices of our Fraternity are conducive to peace, harmony and concord among men.
We have learned from Masonic tradition that during the erection of King Solomon's Temple there was not heard the sound of axe, hammer, or any tool of iron, for the reason that iron was a metal used in making weapons of warfare, and it was not believed that anything having relation to war, in which the vilest passions of men are excited, should be used in the erection of a temple for the worship of the God of love. Thus we have the symbolism of peace, harmony and concord which the Mason must endeavor to exemplify and maintain among men and nations. We should, on all proper occasion, seek to maintain friendship and brotherly love among the people and nations of the world. One of the great needs of the world today is a brotherly love that is inclusive enough to encircle all men regardless of race or creed.
The thoughts of great men of all nations and creeds are now turning from the contemplation of war to the consideration of plans for peace and concord among nations. It is only natural, after a most devastating world war, that the cry for peace should be heard, even peace at any price. Yet there is a widespread belief among men that war is necessary to the production and maintenance of a strong and efficient manhood. This idea is largely based upon the theory that war between nations is a necessity, and some men even believe that might makes right. Some good may come from war as far as it subserves the interests of peace by awakening mankind to the realities below the surface. The acuteness of a crisis is at once an inspiration to a nation as well as to an individual. It acts as a revealer of the true self and a clarifier of mental vision which brings with it an adjustment of values and a correction of judgement. Despite the hideousness of war, men discover themselves and the good which enables them to emerge successfully from their trials and discords and find peace. Therefore, let us strive with all our might and main to preserve and promote harmony and brotherly love among men and nations. There is no conduct more despicable than that of men or nations seeking to stir up trouble between other men or nations, whether it be for mere personal glory or material gains.
It is true that we may not be able to do very much in our time or generation toward the end that war between nations shall become a thing of the past; but may we not hope that our efforts will not have been in vain? Every Mason, indeed every citizen, should realize his responsibility and make use of every opportunity to serve the interests of humanity in general, and in this way we may have some part, however small, in working out the designs drawn upon the Masonic trestle board for the happiness and betterment of mankind.
The glory of Freemasonry has not been dimmed by the procession of the years. Nations, governments and men have risen and fallen into oblivion, but the principles of Freemasonry have endured throughout the ages. Its votaries have found in its teachings and practices just cause for pride, and they have been ever ready to give a reason for the faith that is in them and for their devotion to this brotherhood of men. It has weathered every storm of antagonism and hostile criticism, and it has been a ministry of good to the great number who have passed within its portals and to the countless thousands who have been the recipients of blessings vouchsafed to them by the lives and services of its adherents.
Freemasonry is not a religion, and it does not usurp the functions of the church, but it teaches morality without demanding the sacrifice of religious principles. Around its altars the Christian, the Hebrew and the Mohammedan meet in fraternal intercourse. It is patriotic, but not political; its precepts are of a religious character, but not sectarian; it is charitable, but not eleemosynary. Any attempt to alter its purpose or the plan of its government will never succeed as long as it holds to its present principles and practices.
"Men are not made religious by performing certain actions which are externally good, but they must first have righteous principles, and then they will not fail to perform virtuous actions" Luther.
----o----
By WALTER A. QUINCKE, F.P.S.
Los Angeles, California
Within a few weeks, on April 3 to be exact, the Brethren of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite will again observe solemn services of Maundy-Thursday, so-called from the "new commandment" which Jesus gave His disciples on Thursday before the Last Supper. An essential part of the celebration of this day was the washing of the feet of twelve pilgrims, in imitation of the washing of the twelve Apostles' feet by Jesus. The word "Maundy" is probably a corruption of the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment."
Maundy-Thursday is celebrated in Jerusalem by the Holy Supper, which is spread in a building especially designed for this purpose, but at no special hour of the day. This, evidently, constitutes the proper manner, while the services in the evening are regarded as the preparations for the day to follow, Good Friday.
In Rome and Milan, during the Middle Ages, another custom was the sacramental anointment, usually mixed with balm and spices and consecrated by the Bishops for use in the administration of baptism.
The Roman Catholic Church observes this day in Rome by the chanting of the "Tenebrae," to commemorate the sufferings of Christ. This service includes the burning of fifteen large candles, set up in the form of a triangle and standing in the sanctuary of every sizable church to denote Christ and the prophets who predicted His coming. As the service proceeds, the candles are extinguished one by one until only the upper one of the triangle remains, which is taken from its holder, carried behind the altar and later returned to its original candelabra.
The ancient custom of washing the pilgrims' feet on Maundy-Thursday is still practiced in some parts of the Christian world. In England, the custom was observed each year by the reigning King up to and including James II, the last of the House of Stuart. History records that Queen Elizabeth was the only English monarch to decline the washing of pilgrims' feet until they had received thorough cleansing by the Bishops.
The annual distribution of "Maundy" money, formerly handled by the Lord Almoner in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall, still takes place at Westminster Abbey during a special service, the recipients being chosen from the London parishes. This ceremony includes a banquet at the Banquetting House, in Whitehall, and is given to the number of poor of each sex in accordance with the King's age. If he is, say, fifty years old, fifty poor men and an equal number of poor women are invited. The menu of boiled beef, shoulders of mutton and bowls of ale is served on wooden platters, followed by a course of fish and loaves of bread. Each person has one platter and at the conclusion of the dinner they are presented with shoes, stockings, woolen clothes and leathern bags containing a complete set of four, three, two and one-penny coins of a special mintage. The edge of each coin is not milled but quite smooth, similar to the ordinary three-penny piece in the British silver currency.
----o----
By the late Cyrus Field Willard, F.P.S.
There are two kinds of Freemasonry among the American Indians. One is a Freemasonry of their own, and the other is the White Man's Freemasonry in which the hero of the degrees is the same as ours.
Of course there are many things that cannot be spoken or described in full except in a tiled lodge Seventeen or eighteen years ago the Bulletin of the GrLodge of Iowa gave a story of an Indian Chief by the name of Clarke in the Southern States who had been in England before the Revolutionary War and was made a Mason there and then came back to this country, having been made Provincial GrMaster for the Choctaws, Cherokees and other Southern Indian tribes whom he led against the Spanish settlements in Florida in favor of the white settlers in Georgia. These Indian tribes were all removed to the Indian Territory. We all remember that Will Rogers was a Mason, and we know that there is now a strong GrLodge in Oklahoma as well as Indian Consistory of the Scottish Rite in McAlester, Okla.
There used to be a prominent citizen of San Diego (Calif.) named Edward W. Bushyhead, who was a member of San Diego Lodge No. 35, and also of San Diego Consistory. He was a printer, at one time half owner of the San Diego "Union" newspaper, sheriff of the county and later chief of police in the city, with whom the writer had many talks an the subject. He was a brother of Chief Bushyhead, chief of Cherokees or Choctaws. The fact that he was an Indian was known to many, but it was hardly to be noticed in his face, which was pale with a slight brownish tint. He wore chin whiskers, which few Indians do. I asked him many times if the Indians had a Freemasonry of their own, and he said there was something that resembled it very closely, but I could not get him to describe it or compare it with ours, and if he had I could not print it. But there is an Indian Freemasonry of their own, which still persists among the Six Nations, the civilized tribes which live in New York State around Syracuse and Rochester. In 1896 I called on Chief La Forte of the Six Nations with Dr. Franz Hartmann, a German chemist who had written many occult books, "Magic, White and Black"; "Among the Rosicrucians," etc., who was also a Mason, having been made in Colorado when in America years before. Much to our surprise, we found this Chief was also a Mason, a member of a Lodge in Syracuse, N. Y. When he found we were both Masons things changed, and he spoke fluently in English where before he pretended he could not. This they have been forced to do by a century of deceit and broken promises by the whites who surrounded them on every side.
We found then that they had a secret Society, and were introduced to the head of it, who was like the Master of a Lodge. It differs from ours inasmuch as they do things we never dream of doing in our Lodges .... they have a rule of picking out from among their boys growing up, those whom they think will assimilate the knowledge of their white neighbors and sending these boys to the white's schools, to High School and College or University.
At the time we were there, a boy of 15 was going through the puberty rites on that reservation, for underneath they have their own philosophy much like that of Plato or Neo-Platonism. I did not meet him then, but later came in contact with him. He went through his training, then he went to Harvard where he majored in archeology and later was employed by the Danish government to explore the kitchen middens on the coast of Denmark. When he returned home he became State Archeologist of New York State and director of the Museum of Arts and Sciences at Rochester. He is the only full-blooded Indian who ever obtained the 33rd Degree, which he did from the Buffalo (N.Y.) Consistory. He took four members of that Consistory and had them initiated in the Indian Freemasonry, and there is nothing in the Mystic Shrine to compare with the ordeals they endured.
There is much that resembles our Third Degree, but, as there are no lions in New York State and have not been in recorded history and there is no skilled Mason builder from Tyre, there have to be some changes in a ritual that is quite old.
My informant is Dr. Arthur C. Parker, Fellow of The Philalethes Society, grand nephew of General Ely Parker, the military secretary of General U.S. Grant, who wrote for Grant the terms of surrender that General Lee signed at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Parker was a nephew of the celebrated Indian chief, Red Jacket, who proudly wore a medal given him by Washington, which went, on his death, to Gen. Parker. These civilized Indians of the Six Nations or Indian tribes still are settled in New York State, have their own farms, barns and livestock. The name descends from the mother who owns the personal property; that is, the Indian name, as each Indian has his Indian name as well as an American one. Gen. Ely Parker went from Western New York to Galena, Illinois, where Grant lived before the war and where Ely Parker organized "Miners Lodge," of which he was W. Master. After the war, Gen. Parker came to New York and in New York City was influential at the old police headquarters in getting out of trouble poor Indians who came to the city from up-state and got into difficulties.
Dr. Parker is known among the Indians of the whole country and is the one contact man appointed by the secret societies among the Indians to give out such information as seems advisable.
These societies are many among the many thousands of Indians now living in the United States, who are by no means a vanishing race. There are many Indians living in the cities of the country; full-blooded Indians who may rub elbows with you any day and be unknown to you as Indians, as Chief Bushyhead was to many. When we visited the Chief of the Six Nations we found quite a town on the reservation, with three or four churches and a large "Good Templars" Hall, for they are all total abstainers who belong to the secret society, for no one can drink intoxicating liquors.
We first saw the "medicine man," who was a brave sight, with satin jacket of the most flaming red. On his broad breast were all sorts of medals. The chief was a very brainy man and talked of his status with Congress, and how they made their treaties with the United States Senate like any foreign nation. Finally, I said to him, "I have heard that you people believe in reincarnation." "Yes," he said. "What ?," I asked, "Do you believe that men are born again on earth in such position in life as they have done good or bad in a former life?" "Yes, that is exactly what we believe," he said, and he told me that their last great prophet, Ganan-dai-yo- (Handsome Lake), had taught this and had published it in a book in 1828. As the chief saw that the Doctor and I rather turned up our noses at the medicine man as being a show for the uninitiated, he said something to the medicine man in the Indian language that caused the latter to go out of the room, and soon in came a small man of uncertain age, who began to talk, after he had been introduced to us as their head man. Whereupon, I asked the chief if he was the head of their secret society, like the Master, and he smiled and nodded his head and said, "Yes." He and the Doctor began yarning away about psychic experiences, which were rather strange and sometimes amusing, for the Indian has a strong sense of humor. The Doctor, as a scientist, had investigated spiritualism and had many experiences in Germany with gnomes and certain realms of the super-sensuous in fields in which moderns science is now beginning to take an interest. It seems strange that the Indians have a philosophy which, as I have said in the beginning, is like that of Plato, and which modern scientists like Jeans and Sir Eddington are beginning to expound to the world; especially Eddington, who in his book, "The Expanding Universe," declares that the Universe is possessed of consciousness and is made of "Mind-stuff," which is like Plato's calling the planets and stars animals or living beings as the Indians have always claimed.
Two years later, I was in the State of Washington on its western coast above Gray's Harbor, and found myself among the Quiniault Indians. From one of them with whom I knew how to communicate, I found that this same Indian society existed there, clear across the continent from New York State to the shores of the Pacific. There are good and bad among them as in every race and nationality. But everywhere this society exists it has a strong influence for good. Whiskey has been a curse to the Indians, but this secret society of the Six Nations to which no one can belong who is not a total abstainer from all intoxicating liquors, has been responsible for the continuance of the Indians as self respecting men in New York State and as perpetuating the race surrounded by a flood, or ocean, of whites. Masons should be able to know more of their Brothers who owned this land before the white man came to dispossess them. Some few years ago a learned member of the Royal Society of England boldly declared his conviction that the Sioux and Iroquois nations are descendants of a mighty race, the remnants of a prehistoric civilization. This conviction was based on the philosophical reasoning that the languages of these tribes, on analysis, offered evidence of having been developed as the outgrowth of a very advanced development of human thought, capable of high ideas and fine shades of meaning.
Traditions and legends in occult lore, furnish us a glimpse into such deep nature-truths that we are forced to conclude that these must be a portion of the thread-soul of the wisdom-religion itself. The work of the Bureau of Ethnology is superb in preserving much of this matter which, in after years as we lose much of the materialistic concepts that now darken our mental vision, will enable the future historian of the Indian race in America to piece out that history. There is much that has been preserved by such men as Frank Cushing of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, who was not only a trained scientist but an occultist and a Mason as well, who did work among the Zunis and others of the Pueblo Indians. Dorsey also did good work among the Usages, as has also Dr. Parker in his work among his own people, the Iroquois, in preserving the folk-lore of the Senecas and other tribes in New York State as State ethnologist. But I have said enough to show that they have their own Freemasonry, as well as ours, for they are regular Masons as we are. There are members of Buffalo (N.Y.) Consistory visiting the San Diego (Calif.) Consistory who have seen Dr. Parker in their Consistory.
----o----
NEW MEMBERS
Brown Cooper; Masonic Temple, 216 East Washington Blvd; Fort Wayne 2, Indiana.
William Leon Cummings; 228-230 Gordon Ave.; Syracuse 4, New York.
Harry Dean Proudfoot; 7887 S.W. Fourth Ave.; Portland 1, Oregon.
Lloyd Rime; 131 East Second Street, Ottumwa, Iowa.
Ward K. St. Clair; 14 Meadow Lane; East Williston, Long Island, New York.
Jan Sybolt van Solkema; 24 Wildhoeflaan; The Hague, Holland.
Frank Emil Stromberg; 84-23 90th Street; Woodhaven, New York.
Douchan Tomitch; 119 rue Cardinet; Paris (17), France.
* * *
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Edwin E. Gruener; 866 Lockhart Street; Pittsburgh 12, Pennsylvania.
----o----
Our mail bag, with its messages from many different parts of the world; brings us often thoughts that we feel like sharing with our readers. The other day, for instance, we received a letter from Bro. J. A. F. Ch. H. van den Broeke, of Rotterdam, Holland, describing the plight of those who suffered in silence, powerless and helpless, waiting anxiously for the liberation of their country from the invader. He speaks of the dreary, cold evening hours:
"Hungry and cold, at candlelight or with a little oil-lamp, covered with blankets, we sat at our table waiting day after day, week after week for the Liberation. The ringing of the bell might be a sign for deportation, concentration camp, the burning of the house, etc.
"But we learnt one great thing and that was how to concentrate on other things, less 'real' than material wealth, and that was how to stick together, how to esteem friendship with other people, but also the friendship with our books. Night after night we were sitting together, my mother, my wife and myself, each with a book by a good author, and the books we read made a far greater impression upon us than in former days.
"I believe that the war was of great benefit to many people and I hope that we shall not soon forget then lessons we received. Formerly I could not imagine that war might mean progress; now I understood. The material destruction in our country was immense; but there was also a destruction of false standards and ethics. Now old and new have a chance to prove their qualities. The outlook is not yet very attractive but there is a hope that human intellect and human love will be the strongest forces in the reconstruction. Already the political aspect has changed considerably and there are signs that other methods will be followed than before the war."
Our Brother in Holland believes that the result will be a better understanding and closer friendship between the United States of America and the peoples of Western Europe, and that the European nations have as much to learn from America as America from the European nations. To hasten such a mutual understanding and close friendship is one of the chief objects of the Philalethes Society and is an endeavor that every good Mason must and will favor and support. - L.F.
----o----
By LEO FISCHER, F.P.S.
Alhambra, California
SWITZERLAND. "Alpina," the official organ of the Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina, quotes in its October 1946 issue a confidential circular of the catholic organization CARITAS, recently published by the Swiss newspaper DIE NATION. This circular which was addressed to the ecclesiastic personnel, reads as follows:
"We take advantage of this opportunity to inform you that it is advisable to be prudent where the Red Cross Child Relief is concerned, because the president of it is now a socialist. We further advise that prudence be also exercised as regards aid to the children of the Pestalozzi Village. The persons at the head of that movement are not catholics. The former pastor Boeni is one of them. We beg you to treat communications on this subject as strictly confidential "
Director Crivelli signs this communication with the Latin words "In caritate Christi" preceding his name.
ALPINA, after expressing its satisfaction that the circular above quoted has been brought to the attention of the general public, explains that the "former pastor" Boeni mentioned in this "strictly confidential communication" is the Grand Master of Swiss Masonry, formerly a catholic priest but now a highly esteemed protestant pastor. The paper further points out that the Swiss Masons and protestants have always been giving generously to charity without inquiring whether the money went to protestants, catholics or others, and have more of a right to sign "In caritate Christi" than Director Crivelli as they are doing good for its own sake.
To sabotage noble charities simply because they are managed by persons of a different religious or political persuasion is certainly not an act inspired by a Christian spirit!
* * *
FRANCE:. Prof. Bernard Fay, who headed the anti-Masonic movement in France and was a very active "collaborator" during the war, has been arrested and taken to the Fresnes prison, with various other individuals accused of intelligence with the Nazis. Warrants have been issued against some twenty other suspects.
* * *
NORWAY. The Swiss Masonic paper "Alpina", in its November 1946 issue, relates the following amusing story: "We quote from a report from Trondheim (Norway): When the Germans raided the Grand Lodge POLAR-STJERNEN and the Lodges under its jurisdiction, they looted and carried away all their property except what they destroyed on the spot. All the correspondence and archives were confiscated and ordered taken to Germany However, through a miracle the whole shipment was saved. It disappeared in transit in Norway, in a manner altogether unexplainable to the Germans, and since the war a considerable portion of it has re-appeared and been placed at the disposal of the Lodges."
* * *
THE world will never be better than the men who inhabit it. Everything begins and ends with the individual. One man living a good life is worth a thousand lectures on good living. Men can make many things by wholesale, but great souls, faithful and generous hearts are made one by one. A commonplace statement and yet it contains a wealth of meaning. Bread, meat, sunlight, night and day are commonplace, but by such things men live. The difficulty with the most of us is that we fly so high that we frequently overlook what is nearby. We build air castles without foundation.
Once for all the greatest man who ever trod this earth set forth this fact with unforgettable vividness in a story that one can read in two minutes. He told of a certain man - it might be any man of any race - who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was set upon by thieves who robbed him, beat him, and left him half dead. One can see the hard faces of the robbers silhouetted against the rocks - low-browed, dark faced, with cruelty in their eyes - the plagues of society, desperadoes by calling, murderers by vocation.
There are the priest and the Levite who journey that way. They pass by the man in his distress. They are not hypocrites. They are simply men who separate religion from human service. Many do that today. They thought God lived in the temple, listening to songs and prayers, not knowing that he is out on the highways of life where men faint and fall. It is the old atheism which divides piety from humanity, and thinks of religion as a sweet, dreamy emotion, rather than a matter of practical service.
There is the Samaritan - an outcast - with divine instincts, quick and keen sympathies, responsive to human need, asking no questions, but doing the thing that needed to be done. He gave him temporary relief by applying first aid remedies and then placed him on his beast of burden and arranged for his care at the tavern. There is the inn-keeper, kindly but business-like, glad to welcome the man who has been unfortunate, but glad also to have a paying guest, and happy to be assured that everything will be settled on business principles. It is an immortal picture of human society, and in the living wisdom of the world there is nothing to surpass it alike in vividness and comprehensiveness.
It was a daring thing on the part of Christ to bring into His story as its hero a good Samaritan. The Jews and the Samaritans thoroughly and unsparingly hated one another. Here was race hatred burning with all of its unquenchable fires. Here was racial antagonism that was as wickedly persistent as cancer. Here was a condition wherein neighborliness between the two races was as remote as signaling with Mars. But the great-hearted and broad-minded Christ, the universal man, brings a neighborly Samaritan into the story just at the point where the climax is overwhelming and capturing and unescapable.
The men from whom the world has every right to expect the milk of human kindness, looked upon the poor, unfortunate victim and described the arch of a large circle in their effort to get by and went on into the everlasting contempt of all who love their fellow men. From the most unexpected quarter came the help that the robbers' victim so sorely needed.
What a stinging rebuke was this to the lawyer's narrow mindedness! What a pulverizing blow to racial hatred ! What a keen thrust at exclusiveness. No wonder the lawyer could not flee from the pitiless logic and the sunlight obliviousness of the story. No wonder that the lawyer gave the answer that he did to the question of Jesus ! No doubt he gave it grudgingly and haltingly. It is human nature not to confess to one's utter defeat. But when there is no other way out, then we go that way limping and with drooping spirits and possibly thinking deep down in the secret places of our souls that we are not half as anxious to know the truth as we tried to make it appear we were. Our doing not unfrequently comes trailing far behind our knowing.
The story of the Good Samaritan is a constant rebuke to mere religiousness, to that cold and formal professionalism that is bare of heart and helping hand on the great highways of life. It is a story that should send the religion of the temple, warm with the love of God, out into the everyday of life as a minister of mercy and kindness to all that are in need. It is a story whose fine spirit should capture the mind and heart of the twentieth century with the hatreds and racial antagonisms. It is one of those stories that should make our sympathies as broad as human need and as deep as the heart of Jesus and as high as the limits of heaven. It is a story that should find for us a neighbor across the street or across the continent. It is a story that reveals our neighbor, not in race, not in color, not in social standing but in real human need. It is a story that is so universal in its application that it rises above time and place and peoples. It is needed here in America and out in far Africa, or China, or Japan, or India, or Arabia, or any of the other far off countries.
----o----
If you want to get a favor done
By some obliging friend
And want a promise, safe and sure,
On which you may depend,
Don't go to him who always has
Much leisure time to plan
But if you want your favor done,
Just ask the busy man.
The man unity leisure never has
A moment he can spare,
He's always "putting off" unto
His friends are in despair.
But he whose every waking hour
Is crowded full of work,
Forgets the art of wasting time
He cannot stop to shirk.
So when you want a favor done
And want it right away,
Go to the man who constantly
Works twenty hours a day.
He'll find a moment sure, somewhere,
That has no other use,
And fix you while the idle man
Is framing an excuse.
----o----
MELLOWNESS, contentment, and repose should mark the advancing years of a well-planned life. It is characteristic of youth to be alert, expectant, and energetic, but as one advances along the pathway of life, experience and knowledge should bring a sense of inner peace, power, and confidence. The lessons of life are intended to confer the ability to secure right results without undue haste. In later years, when there comes a deep realization of life's values and rewards, one should listen and meditate much, because only through quietness is it possible to come into intimate touch with the spiritual. Thus may life be beautifully rounded out into fullness, and thus one may wait with confidence for the sweet benediction of God.
Beware of prejudice. It closes the doors to truth and knowledge. It is a subtle foe to mental growth and progress. Prejudice is a prolific cause of harsh and unsound opinions. The best way to clarify your ideas, and to verify your judgments, is to bring them into conflict with other minds. It is a good thing to believe you can learn something from everyone you meet. It is more profitable for you to look for faults in your own judgment than in that of others. It is of prime importance that you put your own mind in order before undertaking to set other people right. Wisdom is the power of true and just discernment. Solomon says that man is happy who finds it. Therefore apply your heart diligently to wisdom.
Your life is like a book. The title page is your name. The preface is your introduction to the world. The pages are a daily chronicle of your efforts, trials, pleasures, discouragements, ambitions, and also achievements. The principal subject of your book may be business, romance, tragedy, comedy, poetry, science, literature, or religion. Day by day your thoughts and acts are being inscribed as evidence of your success or failure. What you will record on the remaining pages of your book is of vital importance. Hour by hour the record is being made which must stand for all time. One day the word "Finis" must be written. Let it then be said of your book that it is a record of noble purpose, generous service, and work well done.
Serve and Trust God. Keep His commandments. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are His. Fight the good fight of faith. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Responsibility precedes reward. Do your part faithfully, that you may be worthy of the crown of righteousness promised to those who are obedient. You are the temple of the living God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.
----o----
THIS is a day of exploration and adventure. Men are eagerly searching earth, sea, and sky. To find the unknown, to solve the mysterious, is the goal of multitudes the world around.
But there is still one vast realm largely unexplored and unknown, and that is the boundless realm of prayer. Here immense yet fruitful regions invitingly await the man who seeks them on bended knee.
Expensive stratosphere flights have recently been made in attempts to discover conditions in the atmosphere a few thousand feet above the earth. Men are also attempting to establish wireless connections with the planet Mars. A two-hundred-inch telescope is being perfected to enable astronomers more thoroughly to sound the depths of the skies. But the saint can see farther from his knees than can a sinner from a mountaintop observatory. Prayer pulls the bell rope of heaven. It shakes down fruit from the tree of life.
Large sums of money have been spent, and lives lost in efforts to find the Poles. Men have endeavored to keep up radio connections with these explorers, with only partial success. But prayer connections are always good, and prayer is no more mysterious than radio.
Cablegrams, telegrams, radiograms, air mail, and long-distance telephone messages are all expensive. Only those of some means can enjoy these conveniences. But a moneyless Magdalene, dying on a ragged mat in a dingy garret, may send a skygram that instantly leaps past stars, suns, and systems, and touches the very heart of God. Storms may break telegraphic connections, and waves may sever the ocean cables, but no winds or waves of earth or sea can disconnect man from his Maker.
Almost every foot of this old earth has been discovered, mapped, and charted. Every sea, lake, and river has been navigated. Earth's lofty mountain peaks have been scaled, dense jungles penetrated, and dark caves found and explored. In many ways, there are "no more worlds to conquer." Yet in the vast domain of prayer there is ample opportunity for the most adventurous character to embark on extensive tours of discovery. Children launch forth in confidence. Youth will find no ultimate in the immeasurable fields of prayer. The aged will discover fathomless fountains within easy reach of faltering steps.
So, to our knees! Let our prayers bring down mighty blessings from God. Let them penetrate heathen darkness, and literally envelop the world in a mantle of mediation. Let us throw strands of supplication about the lost of earth, and turn their feet toward God. In saving others, our own souls will be sweetened, and our homes made havens of rest.