October-November, 1947
Contents
THE FIRST RUNG OF THE LADDER What Induced You to Become a Mason?
PROVERBS AND ECCLESIASTES STRENGTH
AMERICAN INDIAN FREEMASONRY JEAN ROUMILHAC, M.P.S.
From Our Contemporaries Overseas A NEW WORK ON ANDERSON'S CONSTITUTIONS OF 1723
SIDELIGHTS THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY NEWS
By Dr. Gottlieb Imhof, M.P.S., Basel, Switzerland (Translated from the German by Leo Fischer, F.P.S.)
AT A DISCUSSION of the principles of Masonry, a young brother recently posed the following question: Why is Masonry called the "Royal Art", and what is the origin of this designation?
Masonry, properly understood, is an art and not a science. Science is a matter of the intellect, a striving for knowledge. Art is an endeavor to give form to something experienced by the inner man. Masonry can not be learned out of books: it must be lived by each of its adepts in his innermost being. When the practice of this "art" does not awaken in an individual moral forces tending to lead his life into new channels, then he is not an adept of an art which we call "royal" because of its lofty aim; but is at the best a mere "Lodge member."
Anderson, in the historical part of his Book of Constitutions which first appeared in 1723, calls Architecture repeatedly the "Royal Art." He does so on page 5, when he speaks of the Chaldeans and Magi "who preserv'd the good Science, Geometry, as the Kings and great Men encourag'd the Royal Art," and on page 48, where he says: "The Royal Art duly cultivated and the Cement of the Brotherhood preserv'd, so that the whole Body resembles a well built Arch." The author of the Book of Constitutions considered Architecture as the noblest and most excellent of all arts. No older testimony of the comparison of Freemasonry with the "Royal Art" has been found; it is only through Anderson that this term has become the symbol of the highest moral and intellectual striving of the Brotherhood of Freemasons. One might ask if they could not as well have chosen some other symbol.
It is a well-known fact that already in the 17th century numerous members of esoteric philosophical bodies slipped into the disintegrating Lodges of Freemasons, because they hoped to find in these traditional exclusive social circles ready protection from the encroachments of the intolerant church, which bore them ill will. It is by chance that the societies of builders were chosen for this infiltration. Elsewhere these independent seekers of the truth probably found a retreat in societies of alchemists and rosicrucians. But in any of these places they were engaged in the same great occupations: the quest of the truth and active, beneficent brotherly love. We moderns are accustomed to logical ways of thinking and are thus prone to forget that esoteric experiences can be expressed ; just as well, if not better, by symbols and images. Such symbols can be taken from the most varied fields, which explains that we have in Freemasonry symbols derived front the building trade as well as from alchemy.
As regards the past, the designation "royal" has to be associated with certain royal families, such as the Stuarts, who play a certain part in the history of Freemasonry. However, this conjecture can not be proved. But the following must be considered:
In the remote ages when the wandering tribes united into larger bodies and the patriarch was replaced by the prince, there grew in the bearer of the power of state, with the possessions and might which he acquired, the desire to express his omnipotence in some visible manner and to create some testimony of it that would impress future generations with awe. Is there, and was there ever, a more effective way of expressing the might of a ruler than the builder's art? The erection of monuments which in the remote past was carried on with primitive means through the labor of large masses of human beings has, for this reason, always been a privilege of the ruling class. All the great monuments of architecture of the ancient times were, therefore, an expression of the power of the ruler: the tremendous tumult of the Hallstatt period, the alignments of thousands of monoliths in Britanny, the pyramids of the Egyptians, as well as the rubble heaps that were once the palaces of Troy and Babylon. But the most magnificent royal edifice of those past ages was reputed to have been the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, the construction of which was, according to the legend, directed by that master of many arts, Hiram Abif. Is it astonishing, then, that the esoterics who in later ages took refuge, as "accepted Masons," in the operative Lodges, in order to pursue their speculative labors there, represented Solomon's Temple as their highest symbol of humanity at its purest?
After the transmutation of operative into speculative Masonry had been accomplished, the "Royal Art" or architecture provided bountiful symbols for the quest of truth and the solution of Masonic problems, such as:
Self-knowledge and self-education, the work on the Rough Ashlar; harmonic conduct and membership in a morally conducted human community, the work on the Perfect Ashlar; humble subordination to the divine law of "Die and live again," the silent work in the Middle Chamber of the Invisible Temple of Humanity, as the central symbol of Symbolic Masonry. This arduous task, which each of us has to pursue within himself and for himself: that, my dear Brethren, is indeed the "Royal Art."
Every art is a mystery, a striving to give form to esoteric life and knowledge. And everything else that we do in our Lodges is not Royal Art, but constitutes activities with which we pass our time agreeably as amateurs of second-class arts.
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By Harry L. Haywood, Fellow Emeritus
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
THE TWO GREAT PILLARS of Solomon's Temple, one of which was called a 'jachin' and the other a 'boaz', were they a structural part of the facade of the building, or did they stand separately, some yards in front of it? And why were they called by those names .... why were they called by any names at all?
One naturally turns to the archeologists to see what they have discovered about other uses of such pillars in the ancient world among the peoples of the New East but their findings are almost always buried away here and there in notes and reports, and it is a year-long job to bring them together. Fortunately for us, there are two sources for our use in which this task of bringing them together has been largely done: one of them in translations of the laws of the Babylonians, especially of the codes of Khammurabi; the other in "The Ancient East and Its Story," by James Baikie, which is not to be confused with his earlier "The Life of the Ancient East." By sorting out the relevant data given in those two sources, and by piecing them together into a mosaic, we can get a picture which throws a not unimportant side-light on our question
The ancient cities in the Near East, Babylonian, Chaldaic, etc., were not cities properly so called, but city-states, like those which at a later time made up Greece. A city-state consisted of the city itself (Ur, or Babylon, or Jerusalem, etc.), of its suburbs, which consisted of settlements close to the walls of the city but outside them, and of a strip of cultivated country beyond the suburbs. A number of city-states might lie very close to each other. It was therefore necessary to make sure of the boundaries, and to mark them clearly, in order to avoid quarrelings and battles. This marking customarily was effected by setting up pillars of wood, stone, brick, etc., suitably inscribed; and it appears that there were in general two types or kinds of pillars. One kind was called by some form of an old Semitic root-term which meant civil authority, or power, or establishment, and denoted a pillar set by the civil government, whose spokesman was the king. The other kind was called by another root-term which denoted the power of the gods, of the priesthood, of the church. This was because there were two kinds of boundaries . . . the civil, and the ecclesiastical.
The names 'jachin' and 'boaz' by which the two pillars at Solomon's Temple were known, were in each instance a Hebrew form of those old Semitic root-terms. The Hebrews had their own language, religion, culture, but they all had come to them by inheritance, to a large extent, from the older peoples of the Near East, just as our own language, religion, and culture, thought it is peculiarly our own, came to us from Europe and Britain.
In the light of these facts it would appear reasonable to guess that the purpose of the two pillars was to mark the line, both civil and ecclesiastical, which separated the inner precincts of the Temple building from its outer precincts. Any member of the people worshipping Jehovah could come up to that line, but only the priests could pass beyond it. The officers of the civil government ruled outside the line, the priesthood ruled inside it. This was in accordance with very ancient Semitic customs.
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B y George Prentice, M.P.S.
Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland
FAITH is the foundation of justice, the bond of amity and chief support of society. We live and walk by faith; by it we have an acknowledgment of amity and chief support of society. We live and walk by faith; by it we have an acknowledgment of a Supreme Being. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for. Maintained and well kept according to our Masonic profession, Faith will turn into vision and lead us to the Blessed Mansion above where the just dwell in perfect bliss through all eternity.
Condensed from Old Lectures: Faith is a firm conviction of the existence of God. The Craftsman in search of truth studies Masonry in all its aspects, and, through a diligent search in its innermost recesses his general outlook is broadened, and his mind perceives all the details dovetailed together according to the Tracing Board of the Great Architect. He looks to the celestial heavens with wonder; even the sun, moon and stars obey the will of the Great Creator.
His mind wanders in the same path as that of early man when, in the grey dawn of the birth of the world, he stood transfixed, watching the glorious luminary rising to call all living things from sleep to activity and labor.
The moon and stars that guide the mariner through the tempestuous seas excite his curiosity with their symmetry, and he bows with humble reverence before the magnificence of the Grand Geometrician of the Universe.
The mountains and valleys arrest his attention, foaming cataracts and rushing streams portray nature in all her grandeur and magnificence and frail man worships on bended knees the God who created such beauty.
Here again to his searching mind is positive proof of God's majesty, giving to him a steadfast confidence in the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of the Deity.
Then, Brethren, let our faith be sincere and direct our conduct that it may be pleasing in the sight of God in whom we place our trust and live, move, and have our being.
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What Induced You to Become a Mason?
By Leo Fischer, F.P.S., Alhambra, California
THE REASONS for which the average per son asks for admission into our ancient Fraternity are many and varied. Many are prompted by the high esteem in which Masons are held in their community. Others are attracted by the mystery surrounding the Craft and its history and ceremonies. Quite a few seek among the Craftsmen an opportunity to improve their mind and form their character. A few merely follow the example of their fathers, grandfathers or brothers in "joining the Lodge." And, finally, there are those whose reasons for seeking admission are of a selfish and mercenary nature.
Many a Mason is able to remember some event or incident which turned his thoughts towards Masonry and decided him to seek admission into its mysteries. The writer of these lines, who had from his boyhood on always looked upon Masonry as something lofty and mysterious, had his desire to become a Mason awakened by a chance meeting with a member of the Craft half a century ago. The impression caused by that incident was such a deep and lasting one that when, five years later, an opportunity to apply for the degrees of Masonry presented itself, he took advantage of it and filed his petition in due form.
It happened as follows: In December, 1896, as a young man of 21, I was crossing the Andes on mule-back on my way from Mendoza, in the Argentine Republic, to Santa Rosa de los Andes, in Chile. That was, in those days and for travelers whose limited means compelled them to choose the hard way, an adventurous journey of five or six days. My companions were an American, a Turk, and our Argentine arriero and guide. We carried most of our own provisions and camped out at night. At night-fall on the day to which I refer we had reached a good camping-place, distant from any human habitation, near the trail and a small stream. A circular corral or inclosure of loosely-piled stones, such as storm-bound travelers are wont to erect in that mountain wilderness, offered protection against the bleak winds. Our guide had turned the weary animals loose to browse on the scant growth of grass between the rocks. We had lighted small fires of brushwood and the arriero was boiling his mate tea while we others were roasting a few pieces of beef and boiling our chocolate. It had become quite dark and everything was still when, suddenly, a hearty voice hailed us from the trail. To our surprise, the words used were English.
The wayfarer whom the light of the fire revealed to us turned out to be a sturdy young Englishman. He was crossing the Andes, but on foot and in the opposite direction from ours. We cheerfully gave him a share of our provisions, and he certainly appreciated both. It was very cold up there, at an elevation of close to 10,000 feet, and while the Turk and the Argentine wrapped in their blankets, managed to get some sleep, my American friend, the Englishman and I sat half the night about our scanty fire, exchanging experiences. Each of us had been in places which the others did not know and about which they were anxious to get first-hand information.
I had then a small store of British gold on my person and felt like a Croesus, but the stranger confessed that a sovereign or two constituted his whole wealth. However, said he, I have a good profession and wherever I go, I am sure to find friends ready to see that I am given a fair chance. When I asked him just what he meant, he drew from his coat pocket a sheet of parchment which he unfolded and which was nothing less than a Master Mason's diploma from an English Lodge somewhere in Chile.
The document which he displayed at the flickering light of the camp-fire up in the wilds of the Andes, under the shadow of mighty Aconcagua, appeared to me like some talisman, the best that a young man of a roving disposition could own, and the idea of finding brothers everywhere on my wanderings and of being helpful to them and at the same time sure of a friendly welcome and a helping hand wherever I went, seemed the most beautiful thing in the world to me.
Early next morning we parted, he descending towards the wide plains of Argentina while we continued our journey towards the Uspallata Pass, 13,000 feet above sea level. As we were jogging along the narrow trails on dizzy mountain-side, I made up my mind that I would some day become a member of the wonderful society of which our English friend had spoken with such love and admiration.
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By Rabbi Hirsh Geffen, F.P.S.
Savannah, Georgia
TWO BOOKS of the Old Testament which appeal the most to the Masonic reader because of the teachings in which they abound, and because they were for a long time believed to have been written by King Solomon whom Masonic tradition designates as the First Grand Master of Masonry, are the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Bible critics do not believe that the Book of Proverbs has been compiled by King Solomon. It includes the Proverbs said to have been translated or copied out by the Scribes of Hezekiah, King of Judah to restore the services and writing of the Jewish dispensation (Prov. xxv, 1); the instructions delivered by Agur to his pupils Ithiel and Ucal (Prov. xxx, 1 ); and the precepts of King Lemuel taught him by his mother (xxx, 1).
The whole book is a collection of concise maxims for the regulation of our lives, designed to admonish the young and urge them to the diligent study of true wisdom. It teaches us to walk uprightly and lead a strictly moral life.
As evidence that this Book is the work of Solomon, the fact could be cited that the desire expressed by that king at Gibeon when God appeared to him in his dream: that he be not given riches, wealth, and honor, but wisdom, has its counterpart in Proverbs (xxx, 8), in the prayer "give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me."
The Book of Ecclesiastes which tradition also attributes to King Solomon, seems to have been written for the purpose of demonstrating the eternal duration of the soul, the vanity of all earthly things and pleasures, and the inestimable advantages of religion. Bible critics are doubtful as regards the authorship of this book. Some ascribe it to Zerubbabel, while a few Talmudists consider Hezekiah to be its author. Kimchi claims it to be the work of Isaiah.
The purpose of Ecclesiastes is a Masonic one: that of circumscribing man's desires and curbing his restless and eager efforts to amass wealth and pursue pleasure. At the same time it admonishes its readers not to add to the burdens of life by denying themselves the enjoyment of the harmless pleasures which it offers. Masonically speaking, to alternate labor with refreshment.
Stuart writes that "the philosophical doubts and puzzles of Ecclesiastes, and the manner of discussing them, have no parallel either in Proverbs, or in any other part of the Hebrew Scriptures. They remind one of many things discussed by Socrates in the dialogues of Plato."
The Talmud says: "Our wise men were desirous to keep back or conceal the book of Coheleth (Ecclesiastes), because they found in it words which might lead to heresy." But they decided to take Ecclesiastes into the Holy Scriptures, because the beginning and the end of it are of a deep religious conviction.
Apparently Solomon composed the book in his old days, upon his recovery from the partial apostasy into which he had allowed his idolatrous wives to betray him. This may have been the result of serious reflection and, it is to be hoped of deep repentence.
From Ecclesiastes, finally, is taken the beautiful prayer, with its splendid oriental imagery the precise meaning of which has been pondered and discussed by many thousands of Craftsmen, beginning with the words "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
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By Frank R. Hobson, M.P.S.
Port Arthur (Ont.), Canada
There are many things contained in the First Degree that could be enlarged upon; but for this paper the subject is the word "Strength "
The First Degree is the Foundation degree. In some Jurisdictions Charter Members are known as Foundation Members.
We all know that a foundation has to be strong to carry the intended superstructure. Freemasonry is a superstructure of mental attributes or morals.
We are not concerned with great physical strength. A frail body may contain a powerful mind. Neither do we expect our candidates to be mental giants, but we do expect them to have the ground cleared and prepared for inspection and improvement.
Our Lodges are well equipped to make this improvement by the years of experience and devotion of our predecessors. We do not claim to have a monopoly of virtue, morality, or brotherly love; but we do own the peculiar system of teaching the same.
We derive our teachings from the V.S.L. which in this degree is opened at Ruth 4, 7, where it refers to slipshod, which has its own lesson.
But we get more than that out of the book called Ruth. We use the word and name of Boaz quite a bit in our ritual. The word means "in strength" and for my message here it means "Strength of Character."
The man Boaz was sorely tempted during the night by a woman of beautiful character. But the man of strong character resisted until the requirement of the law had been obeyed. There is another moral lesson here - the difference between holy and unholy matrimony. And under this heading there is a solemn thought for Masons. At the consummation of any marriage, the male is a Deputy Creator.
We read that Boaz having married Ruth, they had a child called Obed, which means "obey", a word peculiar to the First Degree at installation. Physical obedience may be a sign of weakness or surrender; but mentally it is a sign of Strength, especially with us who do all things Masonic of our free will and accord.
We again find the word "strength" in the Junior Warden's lecture where he refers to the Doric column, as strength to support us in all difficulties. Needless to say, he means mental difficulties. Neither does he mean the Doric column alone; but in cooperation with the other emblematic columns and all the equipment of our Masonic Art, we will find comfort, support, and strength in times of difficulty and danger.
The opposite of strength is "weakness" and we take good care that a candidate for initiation is made to appear weak in so far as rank and fortune may be concerned, by stripping him of his outer garments and divesting him of jewelry.
And, finally, Masonic strength does not lie in our numbers, (King David made that mistake) nor in the length of the history of our institution; but in our trust in the G.A.O.T.U., and in that it is to be used in the service of our fellow creatures throughout the world.
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By Arthur C. Parker, F.P.S., Naples, N.Y.
FREEMASONRY is universal and evolved from universal elements. It is not strange therefore, to find the elements that we have enclosed existent elsewhere. Yet Masons are often astonished that other groups of mankind in distant climes and remote from the disciples of our system have similar rites, legends and ceremonies.
It is as if within the great sea of ideas and morals, motion and mechanics, the Masonic idea had evolved as a cosmic integration and that many diverse peoples had seized upon portions of it. Looking at the subject in another way we should note that we who are Free and Accepted Masons of the Grand Lodge system, ourselves, at the very beginning of that system enclosed older and pre-existing elements and built our atol as the coral polyp does. Looking inward we see our own microcosmos and believe it original and unique. Looking outward into the great sea of human thinking and striving we shall also discover the same elements, wild and free and unrestrained and circumscribed. Our conclusion then should be that the sea did not evolve from us but we from the sea.
Yet, once the circle has been completed and a new entity formed it had every right to determine what should be regarded as a part and parcel of it, and consider all else beyond the pale as profane and extra-limital. As an order having a definite ritual and a certain uniqueness our Grand Lodges have a right to say that others like them are legitimate or not, clandestine or not, and to determine by inspection what shall be Delusive and in fraternal accord. Yet, even so, beyond the peripheries of our self-determination and avowal the sea exists. Our prized elements may be found elsewhere.
And, what are the major elements but a belief in the existence of Deity, the necessity of virtue and morality, the life of the soul beyond the grave, and a belief that all men are brothers, the sons of one ever living and true God? Upon this rock is built our edifice, and the Temple is formed thereon. Other groups and bodies of men may have these four basic beliefs and may build upon them. It may even be found that other peoples, ancient and modern, have symbolized these beliefs by signs and myths, legends and mystic teachings. Was not Osiris raised and resurrected by the hand of the lion, and was not immortality of the soul taught by ritualistic societies in all ages?
As the scholar entered America and began to deal with the aborigines whose towns and villages dotted the land, it was found that some of these had rites and ceremonies, associations and mysteries that were performed in tyled lodges. Among these natives of the soil were the Iroquois, the Ojibewa and Pawnee. All had strange orders, some of which were strangely reminiscent of the legend of Hiram. Osiris and Mithra.
Indeed, the Iroquois still have their Brotherhood of the Little Water or Ancient Guards of the Mystic Potence. They still hold their night ceremonies in three sections, and their culture hero, even as Hiram, is raised by the strong grip of the bear's paw, as native drawings prove. Not a few Freemasons have entered this brotherhood and possess the mystic potency This writer is a representative of this ancient order, and holds its symbols.
Explorers and archeologists tell of underground lodge rooms or Kivas among the Pueblo and Cliff Dwellers; ethnologists, like Brother Alanson Skinner, have written of rites among the Ojibewa and Menomini, and have endured their initiations. Some have learned of metempsychosis and of the reappearance of a soul to experience terrestrial life again. Missionaries have testified to this belief, as did Fra Cyrus Field Willard who served the Philalethes Society so long. Some observers have noted that there were words and signs similar to those deemed Masonic, but it cannot be expected that there are many of these, for our words were transmitted by the clergy to our early guild brethren, and they are Hebrew words. It cannot be expected that American Indians will have Hebrew words or legends. Yet their words and symbols may have the same import and meaning. One of these words used as an exclamation when addressing Deity is "Yah," the root of the ineffable name Yahweh. Indeed, with the Iriquois the very name of their own Deitya is "Ya-weh-ni-u," as if from Yah-weh-(n)io, sounds well-known to students of ancient lore.
It is not strange, therefore, that Freemasons entered New York and treated with the Indians they found special welcome. Thayendanagea of the Mohawks was baptised as Joseph Brant and became a British captain and colonel. His brother-in-law was Sir William Johnson. Brant became a Freemason of distinction, and others no doubt became at least Entered Apprentices in Military Lodges.
After the Revolution not a few Iroquois and Algonquin leaders became regularly initiated and raised Freemasons. Among these was Chief Konkapot of the Delawares and Captain Cusick who was a lieutenant under Lafayette. We must remember, however, that Freemasonry of the Grand Lodge system was rather new when colonial expansion began and that its form and tenents were not too well crystalized in the minds of even those who caned themselves Masons. Indian membership grew only when Masonry clarified itself and developed its rites.
As soon as lodges were formed, regularized Indians were raised. In New York several great leaders of the Iroquois became prominent, among them Dr. Peter Wilson (Waawanaouk), Grand Chief of the Cayugas, and Ely S. Parker (Donehogawa), the Grand Sachem of all the Six Iroquois nations. General Ely S. Parker was a civil engineer and became General Grant's military secretary. He founded Miners Lodge No. 273, F. & A. M., at Galena, Illinois, and Akron Lodge No. 527, F. & A. M., at Akron, New York. Brother Ely Parker was raised in Batavia Lodge No. 88, F. & A. M., New York, then affiliated with Valley Lodge, No. 109, of Rochester (N.Y.) in 1850. He demitted from the latter after founding Miners Lodge and became its first Wor. Master. Brother Parker was a Royal Arch Mason and an active Knight Templar. In Illinois a Council of R. & S. M. is named for him and, in Buffalo, New York, Ely Parker Lodge No. 1002 bears his name. He was M. E. High Priest of Jo Daviess Chapter, R.A.M., from 1859 to 1861, and the Grand Representative of the GrLodge of Iowa near the GrLodge of Illinois, also the Grand Orator of the GrLodge of Illinois, in 1860. General J. C. Smith, who was one of Parker's engineers, later wrote when he was Venerable Chief of the Masonic Veterans Association .... "Brother Ely S. Parker was my father in Freemasonry."
One of Albert Pike's Generals was Gen. Stand Watie, an Indian of the Five Civilized tribes, and many frontier Indians became members of the Craft. Most of the leading Indians of Protestant faith are Freemasons, and there are not a few Catholics who enjoy our rites as brethren. One of these was the Peoria Charles E. Dagenett, long an official of the U.S. Indian office.
During the earlier years of the last century it was the custom of Indian Masons to get together in groups and open an occasional lodge in which only Indians were present. Cole in his early work tells of one at St. Regis on the St. Lawrence. Sometimes they held outings and discussed the charities that they might carry out quietly. Even now, especially among the New York Iroquois, most of the leaders among the Seneca people are Freemasons, and some have been Masters of Lodges or High Priests in the Royal Arch. Many are members of the A.A. Scottish Rite and are often prominent in the activities of that rite.
In Oklahoma, today, are hundreds, if not thousands of Indian Freemasons. We have sat in lodges with them and experienced the solemnity with which they take their vows. But all of this is of the organized and legitimate Freemasonry that we recognize as the recognized circle.
Beyond in the vast sea of humanity and among tribes that still hold their ceremonies intact, are other forms of the universal brotherhood. These meet in convocation for the same ancient purposes that their brethren did in preEuropean times. Upon the four basic beliefs they fix their attention and to them they dedicate their loyalty.
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The Brother whose portrait adorns the coverpage of this issue has been a faithful worker in the Philalethes Society for many years.
Born on November 2, 1892, at Compreignac, near Limoges, France, of an old family of peasant land-owners who can trace their ancestry back to the 14th century, he has been a Freemason since 1920, when he was initiated in Lodge "Les Artistes Reunis," of Limoges. He received the Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees in Lodge "Parfaite Union," of Marseilles, of which he was the Wor. Master in 1935.
In 1937 he was elected a member of the Council of the Order of the Grand Orient of France, to represent the Lodges in the South of France. As an affiliate member of Lodge "Humanidad," of the Grand Lodge of Spain, Brother Roumilhac took an active part in relief work for Spanish Masons and their children driven out of Spain by Franco and his Hitler-Mussolini associates. He also helped with the organization of Spanish Masonry in France.
During the German occupation, Brother Roumilhac was at first confined in a concentration camp in France; but later he was able to take an active part in the Resistance movement and in the co-ordination of secret Masonic activities and subsequently, in the revival of the Lodges. In 1946 he was re-elected as a member of the Council of the Order of the Grand Orient of France.
Brother Roumilhac has traveled and lived in England, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany. He is married to an English woman. His excellent reports on Masonic events and other contributions to "The Philalethes" are always highly welcome.
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God's Rosary
God counts His beads throughout the firmament; Each splendid star is His, He counts no loss; Each sphere upon His chord of love is blent, And then He counts the burning earth - His cross!
- Milford E. Shields, M.P.S.
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I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural, clean in mind and body, unaffected, ready to say "I do not know," if so it be, to meet all men on absolute equality, to face any obstacle and meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid; to cultivate the hospitable mind and the receptive heart - Elbert Hubbard
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If you will keep in mind that this magazine is not simply type, ink and paper, but that it is a living and inspiring testimony designed to waken the interest of Freemasons everywhere in the greatest work in the world, the desired end will be attained.
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There is no such thing as a stationary point in human endeavors; he who is not worse today than he was yesterday, is better; and he who is not better, is worse. - Selected.
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From Our Contemporaries Overseas
By Leo Fischer, F. P. S.
LE SYMBOLISME (Levallois-Perret, France). The June number of this very interesting Masonic journal contains a very good review of Bro. Voorhis' book on "Negro Masonry in the United States." The author, our learned Brother Marius Lepage, F.P.S., handles the delicate question of the relations between the Caucasian and African races in the United States with intelligence and tact. That question does not exist in France and it takes a thorough knowledge of social conditions in the United States to understand it, hence our Bro. Lepage did very well when he withheld or tempered his judgment on a number of points.
In the July-August number of the same review we find another essay by Brother Lepage entitled "Initiation and Regulation," discussing the three points in which he considers the regulations are liable to violate the ritual and with it the spirit of Masonry: the status of Mason, Lodge autonomy and Masonic justice. There is much food for thought in what the author has to say on these subjects.
LA CHAINE D'UNION (Paris, France). The April, May and June numbers of this review offer letters and excerpts of speeches of the famous "Chevalier" Andrew Michael Ramsey (1680-1743), that inventor of degrees and promoter of a chivalric Masonry who is of special interest to our Brethren of the Scottish Rite.
In the June number we note especially an address on President Franklin D. Roosevelt pronounced on April 12, 1947, in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lodge, of Paris, by Jules Regenstreif, the Master of that Lodge. "The work accomplished by this great citizen of the world constitutes a glorious chapter in the history of our Order," says Bro. Regenstreif in the closing paragraph of his splendid eulogy of our great Brother.
We frequently find interesting news concerning the men and activities of Masonry in Europe in "La Chaine D'Union" and borrow from its columns quite occasionally.
ALPINA (Basel, Switzerland). This review which is the official organ of the Swiss Grand Lodge "Alpina," is in its 73rd year. Written in German, French and Italian, it always contains notable contributions from the pens of profound students and thinkers. In the April (1947) number we read with great interest a 17-page article by Ernest Rochat, entitled "Greece, Rome and Freemasonry," and a 10-page "Plauderei" (chat) in German by Hermann Wassmuth, on "The Roots of Freemasonry."
The May number of "ALPINA" is dedicated to the Masonry of Holland. A short article on that subject by Past Grand Master Kurt von Sury is followed by German and French translations of a paper by A.F.L. Faubel, the Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge "Alpina" near the Grand Orient of the Netherlands, entitled "Freemasonry in the Netherlands before, during and after the German occupation." Bro. Faubel concludes his simple but impressive account of the suffering of the Dutch Masons during the terrible years from 1940 to 1945 by mentioning the enthusiasm with which the work of reconstruction has been undertaken, and pays the following tribute to the British and American Brethren: "The help which we received from our Brethren in England and the United States of America was uncommonly important and beneficent.. They sent us hundreds of cases of victuals, clothing, shoes, and articles for Lodge use which enabled us to resume labor in a solemn manner and was to us inspiring evidence of a true Masonic spirit and brotherly affection."
ALGEMEEN MACONNIEK TIJDSCHRIFT (Voorschoten, Holland). This is the "Organ of the Order of Freemasons under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands," of which Bro. J. G. Slothouwer, M.P.S., is editor-in-chief. It is published semi-monthly, except in the month of August. In the last number received by us (July 25th) we note an article by Bro. A. F. L. Faubel, entitled "Some Recollections," in which he speaks of his experiences with the International Masonic Association of Geneva, Switzerland, of which the Grand Orient of the Netherlands was one of the founders (in 1921). As representative of his Grand Orient on the "Consultative Committee" of the I.M.A., Bro. Faubel attended most of the important gatherings of that body, and in his article he relates the reasons for which his Grand Orient finally decided to sever its connection with the Association.
Under "Foreign Lands" there in a translation in Dutch of an article published by "LA CHAINE D'UNION" (Paris) in April, 1947, and reproduced in English translation by "The Philalethes" for July, 1947, entitled "Universality - Views of a Belgian Brother." The article mentioned was a reply by Bro. E. Troch, of Ghent, Belgium, to an article by our Brother Philip H. Coad, M.P.S., which appeared in "The Philalethes" for December, 1946.
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Do not be afraid of your generous emotions. If you trust a friend, trust him unto death. You may be deceived in him, but better be humiliated by betrayal than to be incapable of perfect faith. Do not be afraid to forgive. The object of your forgiveness may be unworthy, but that should not mar the finesse of your pardon. Do not be afraid to show yourself friendly, for only by this virtue do you show yourself worth of friendship. Do not be afraid of being too kind. In this world one must be a little bit too kind to be kind enough. - Walter A. Quincke, F.P.S.
A NEW WORK ON ANDERSON'S CONSTITUTIONS OF 1723
BY LEO FISCHER, F.P.S.
Mackey relates in his "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry" that on September 29, 1721, the Rev. James Anderson, a Presbyterian minister in London, England, was ordered by the Grand Lodge which had been established in that city in 1717, "to digest the old Gothic Constitutions in a new and better method." His work, which was completed on the 27th of December following, was approved by a committee of fourteen learned Brethren three months later and was printed for the benefit of the Lodges in 1723. This was the famous Book of Constitutions of 1723, which contained the history of Masonry, the Ancient Charges, and the General Regulations. It is considered as one of the most important historical documents of Masonry.
In 1938, the Grand Orient of France resolved that - "The Book of Law upon which the Candidate must take his obligation comprises, with the Constitution and General Regulations of the Grand Orient of France, the first Charges of the Order digested by Brother Anderson and approved by the Grand Lodge of England in 1723."
Two complete French translations of the Constitutions are known to exist: one by Bro. de la Tierce, and the other by Rev. E. Jouin; but it appears that neither of them is anywhere near perfect.
Bro. Maurice Paillard, a member of the Philalethes Society residing in London, England, has recently completed a splendid piece of constructive work: a reproduction of the Book of Constitutions in facsimile, with a revised French translation. Bro. Paillard explains that
"The complete work of the 'Reproduction of Anderson's Constitutions,' published in English and in French, has 284 pages. The first 86 pages contain the Foreword, the Introduction and the Index in both languages. In the following 198 pages 'Anderson's Constitutions' are reproduced, in extenso, in facsimile, and in the form and size of the original book, with a French translation, in similar print, on the opposite pages."
We have seen only the draft of the pages containing the Foreword and Introduction in English; but they give evidence of intelligent and painstaking work on the part of the author and we congratulate Bro. Paillard upon his enterprise and wish him success with the publication of his book. His work is dedicated to the Grand Orient of France, which in view of its importance to French Masonry and of the little-known historical information which it contains, is highly pleased with Bro. Paillard opus.
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The ancient Landmarks and laws of Freemasonry are time-tested and tried. Though we cannot always appreciate their "why and wherefore" we may never set them aside. To find reason for their single exception is to invite trouble, to set them aside is to change and to destroy our order. - Godfried H. Lohrli, M.P.S.
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Christmas Shopping Is Just Around the Corner
When you start making up your Christmas list, include subscriptions to "The Philalethes" - the magazine designed for Freemasons everywhere.
For Christmas shoppers a special rate of "four-subscriptions-for ten-dollars" will become available October 15 until December 15.
Order as many gift subscriptions at this rate as you care to, but send us your list early. All gift subscriptions will be started with the January, 1948, number, and your friends will be advised of your thoughtfulness before the eve of Christmas.
Mark your list "Christmas Gifts" and make your check payable to: THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY.
Walter A. Quincke, President
THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY
274 So. Burlington Ave. Los Angeles 4. California
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It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't. - Martin Van Buren.
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If you are going to jump to conclusions you can't always expect a happy landing.
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Let me but do my work from day to day
In field or forest, at the desk or loom
In roaring market-place, or tranquil room;
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray -
"This is my work; my blessing, not my doom;
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way."
Then shall I see it not too great, nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours
And cheerful turn, when the long shadows fall,
At eventide, to plan and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.
- VanDyke.
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New Members
Charles Ernest Anderson; San Francisco 22, California
Glenn Oscar Beilsmith; Portland 6, Oregon.
Clifford J. Benson; John Day, Oregon.
Alexander H. Campbell; Portland 5, Oregon.
Charles Edward Caswell; Concord, New Hampshire.
Robert E. Dodge; Ashland, Oregon.
Hoyt E. Dow; Cortez, Colorado.
Robert Erickson; Portland 13, Oregon.
Charles Adam Fry, Portland 13, Oregon.
James S. Gay, Jr.; Portland 11, Oregon.
Elgin B. Kirkwood; Gresham, Oregon.
J. Guthrie Ludlam; Lincoln 8, Nebraska.
Harold Thomas Millward; Portland 5, Oregon.
Lyman H. Reddaway; Portland 11, Oregon.
John Wesley Simpson; Portland 3, Oregon.
James Arthur Welch; Milwaukie 2, Oregon.
James Walter Welch: Tucson, Arizona.
(To prevent the unauthorized use of the names of our new members, street names and numbers have been omitted. However, upon request, any member in good standing of "The Philalethes Society", desiring to correspond with our new members, will be informed of their complete addresses. - The Editors).
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Change of Addresses
Rev. Sidney E. Harris, M.P.S.; Aurora, Oregon.
Marius Lepage, F.P.S.; 23, rue Andre de Loheac; Laval (Mayenne), France.
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The Philalethes - October - November, 1947; Volume 2, Number 5. Board of Editors: Walter A. Quincke, F.P.S.; Leo Fischer, F.P.S., and Lee Edwin Wells, F.P.S. - The official publication of The Philalethes Society, 274 South Burlington Ave., Los Angeles 4, California, where all communications should be directed. - Publication schedule: Eight (8) Issues per year, or volume; during January; February; March; May (April May); July (June - July); September (August - September); November (October - November), and December. No advertising in any form is solicited or accepted. Annual subscription: $3.00, payable in advance (at par) to the Philalethes Society. Editor-Members of Craft magazines, here and abroad, are privileged to reprint, in part or in full, any articles first published in "The Philalethes," provided due credit is given as to its source. - The Philalethes Society was founded October 1, 1928, and is an International Body for Freemasons who seek more Light and Freemasons who have Light to impart.
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Recent visitors at the home of the President Walter A. Quincke, F.P.S., included: George R. Harvey, F.P.S., of Berkeley, California; Allister J. McKowen, F.P.S., and Mrs. McKowen, of Los Angeles, California; Chan L. Rogers, M.P.S., Los Angeles; Lee Edwin Wells, F.P.S., and Mrs. Wells, of Canoga Park, California, and George B. Clark, M.P.S., of Denver Colorado.
When in Los Angeles, run out and get acquainted. This is a standing invitation, Brethren!
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According to Edward Conder in "The Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masons," (page 54), the foundation of the Masons' Company of London may be placed at about the year 1220, or eight years after London Bridge was finished and the round church of the Templars was started by the Masons whom Richard, the Lionhearted, brought back from Palestine.
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Ideas bring in nothing unless carried out.
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A man is measured by the size of the thing it takes to get his goat.
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Learn to like life for its own sake.
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It takes courage to say ''No" squarely and firmly when those around you say "Yes."
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A NATIVE laborer helping to dig up a long buried Egyptian king or European peasant looking after his crop is likely to speak the English language more or less. He may have picked it up by association or have been a temporary resident of America. Anyway, he is doing his bit to make our speech the world language, say advocates of this ambition.
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THE story is told of an American balloonist who landed in a Russian forest. The first Russian he met had lived in the United States and could talk with the suddenly arrived stranger. Two Englishmen attempting to cross the Atlantic landed in midocean. They were picked up by a Danish sea captain who spoke English.
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ADVOCATES declare that no matter how fast any other language travels it cannot catch up with our mother tongue. One reason, says Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly, is that inflections must be mastered before you can use any of the European, Asiatic or African languages correctly. English is governed by many rules, but equally governed by exceptions to the rules. Grammarians may insist on the accuracy of one form according to rules, but about as many other grammarians will assert that, according to exceptions and usage, the rules are all wet and it is not necessary to o serve them. Which makes English an easier language.
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ENGLISH once was strong for inflections, but these were broken up long ago. Inflections of the AngloSaxon period were booted out in the first century of the middle English period. More or less order was achieved as to spelling and use of words, but the language retained a good deal of grammatical freedom.
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OUR language is declared to have been found more direct for broadcasting information of international interest. Italian, Spanish, Russian and Scandinavian languages are not widely enough known. Italian, Spanish and French may be ideal for song, but when it comes to broadcasting they are accused of having too many cumbersome forms. Furthermore, as English has been spread all over the world it is not likely to yield to any other speech. A case in point is that of Arthur Elliott Sproul careful student of English. Traveling in France, Italy and Greece he had difficulty in talking to the natives in their own languages because in each instance they were determined to converse in English.
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SWEDES early settled in Pennsylvania and for several years it is recalled the Swedish speech dominated, although the Dutch got possession for a time. English secured the territory and that language prevailed. French was the speech of Louisiana, but English largely succeeded it and while Spanish is used in some parts of the United States today it is a vanishing tongue as far as general speech is concerned. United States purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark. Now our version of English is widely spoken and is taught in the schools. Spanish was the speech of Porto Rico not so many years ago. Our language predominates now. Native Hawaiian speech lost out and that of Samoa is passing in favor of English.
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AMERICAN speech is pushing its way into Latin America where Spanish and Portuguese have predominated for centuries. Our commercial activity makes an opening wedge for our language, notwithstanding the advisability of commercial and political representatives speaking the tongue of the country, for substitution of one language for another is a matter of long development.
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GREATEST borrower of any language in the world is our mother tongue. Even our word "slang" has been traced to a Norse origin, sleng, slinging. More than 500 Norse terms have been appropriated by us. Many of our seafaring terms have been derived from Dutch or low German. In fact there are few languages from which we have not appropriated words. Consequently it is pointed out that American speech and the English language contain many words already known and understood in countries using different tongues than our own. Another boost for international English.
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A N interesting feature of Canton, China, is a school where the classic language and literature are taught to Chinese born in other countries but who have returned to the homeland. These students on entering speak English, Spanish or one of several other languages. Recent registration of such students at the foreign students' department of Ling Nam university, as the school is officially known, was from five continents.
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"IRISH" is the nickname of one of the students who hails from America. He started studying Chinese three years ago, but he gets excited and reverts to English. Lum came from Havana and spoke only Spanish. Another student from Australia has a cockney dialect and does not like rice. Students at this school are given opportunity, besides learning better Chinese and its intonations plus the Celestial classics, to decide whether they shall remain in China or return to the countries where they were born. The choice is said to be about even.
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IT IS both amazing and amusing how some individuals and organizations attach themselves to the wheels of progress and then call on the world to watch hoar they are making the wheels go round.
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PSALM 95
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us Worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
THUS a thousand years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, and before ever the devout pioneers harvested their first crops, did men sing praises of Thanksgiving. Habitually we look upon Thanksgiving Day as a heritage from the Massachusetts Bay colony. So the designated date for such worship may be credited. But the spirit of this occasion goes back to those earlier days when men like unto us bowed down and gave Thanks to their Creator.
Essentially, Thanksgiving Day is a religious holiday. How else can we give thanks unless we recognize a Supreme power from whence come the blessings for which we are thankful?
This year, as every year, there will be some who cynically will ask: "For what should I be thankful?" And, in honesty, we must recognize that among us are families whose bounty of material goods is small; who even may be uncertain from whence their traditional Thanksgiving dinner will come. Yet, recognizing even that condition, may we - and they, too - not give thanks? Conceding the lack of material blessings, how vast are the other blessings of which few, indeed, are bereft - the blessings of health, of loyal friends, of loved ones, of the beauty that our eyes may see, and the multitudinous boons to which all of the human race is heir.
No man, perhaps, has better expressed the true Thanksgiving spirit. than Arthur W. Newcomb:
"I give Thee thanks for the heavy blows of pain that drive me back from perilous ways into harmony with the laws of my being; for stinging whips of hunger and cold that urge to bitter strivings and glorious achievements; for steepness and roughness of the way and staunch virtues gained by climbing over jagged rocks of hardship and stumbling through dark and pathless sloughs of discouragement; for the acid blight of failure that has burned out of me all thought of easy victory and toughened my sinews for fiercer battles and greater triumphs: for mistakes I have made, and the priceless lessons I have learned from them."