THE PHILALETHES

March, 1948

Contents

A Message From the Easter Garden

"In the place He was crucified, there was a garden."

THE most beautiful love-lyric in all literature is that garden song in which Tennyson sings "Come into the garden, Maud." John Ruskin, in his comment upon the poem, calls attention to the fact that Maud is an English contraction of the name Magdalene. And then he proceeded in a beautiful way to picture that greatest day of history when Mary Magdalene, led by the higher spiritual love, is drawn to the grave in the garden by the magnetic spirit of the Universal Lover of all mankind.

In a garden stood the Tree of Life, from which man by his sin was expelled; in a garden the Lord of Life appeared restoring the lost gift. Between that mystic Paradise Lost and the coming glory of a Paradise Regained - divine symbols with which the Book of God begins and ends - lies this garden outside the Jerusalem gates where Jesus was buried and where the Christ arose. A garden is one of the most significant symbols with which man's idealism adorns the face of nature. It is a bit of ordered loveliness won from the wilderness and divided from the desert in which man expresses his prophetic hope of a world subdued from savagery and rebuilt through his divine dreams of beauty.

In all its history there were many gardens round about Jerusalem, owned by kinds and men of wealth, creeping close to its walls on every side. It is written of the supreme sacrifice of all time: "In the place He was crucified there was a garden." One can but wonder if through His eyes dimmed with blood and tears, the Suffering One had no glimpse of the garden and grave; if mingled with the memory of the perfume of the alabaster box broken upon His head by Mary of Bethany, there came no wafted fragrance from the flowers near by. Blossoms bloom their bravest about Calvary, and in the nearby garden he who is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley shall burst forth in perpetual beauty.

The date in the calendar is significant. It was the vernal equinox when the sleeping germs of the wintry months begin to feel most strongly the call of the conquering sun: "Awake and sing, all ye that dwell in dust." Spring is one of God's prophets; it is an annual resurrection in which he renews the face of the earth and the hopes of mankind. Not here more than in a garden can man find the symbols of recreated life. New life can also be noticed in the streams in the spring of the years when the ripples are exposed after the warm sun melts away the icy coat which protected it during the winter months.

Plants were the first living things made by God. The leaf is the chief crucible of nature when sunlight meets the sap of earth arid builds living cells. It is the supreme shield which protects man from atmospheric poison; it feeds on the deadly carbonic acid of the air, building its carbon into cellular tissue and returning its quickening oxygen for the inspiration of animal life. In October we bury the bulbs, which come forth at the call of the conquering sun - crocuses, tulips and daffodils holding their flaming torches in the triumphal procession of life. Paul makes the burial of the dead only a sowing in dishonor and weakness of that which shall be raised in glory and power. Jesus Christ is the free blossom that proclaims an immortal summer, the first fruits of the eternal harvest. He is the only real bridge between eternity and time. His empty grave is Joseph's garden in God's "Amen" to the plea of the lilies, the argument of the roses.

We are today to "walk in newness of life." It is part of God's plan for us. It is one of our obligations and privileges. We should "live and move in the new sphere of life." How then can we waste our life upon the gross things of the world? Paul is saying to us: "Set our mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth." We are to be "dead unto sin but alive unto God through Christ Jesus. The eternal hope is a challenge to live a better life now. Think what it means to try to live now like the Saviour lived. "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." Anything less than that, in our prayer and our purpose, is unworthy of our high heritage and calling. Drink deep of your cup of Easter comfort and hope! Rejoice in the joy of reunions and of life yonder! But match these with a sobering purpose, to live worthily ever more worthily, of such a hope!

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Spirit of Easter

"Christ the Lord has risen"

The Christian world celebrates the greatest festival

Christ the Lord gave the world a message.

"Whatsoever ye would test men should do to you do even so to them.

"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."

If the doctrine of Christ is professed it must also be practised, else it is but ashes.

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GOLDEN LEGENDS

By James K. Remick, M.P.S., San Diego, California

The more erudition a Mason attains during his search for Light concerning the esoterics of his Craft, the conviction of the antiquity of its legends and practices becomes more profound as the unfoldment continues.

The brethren in the yesterday of the years revered and memorialized by symbols the Great Benefactor and set up organizations of recognition and worship that are reflected in the dogma and practices of the Fraternity and religious groups of our day and time.

The ancient brother desiring enlightenment was not considered eligible to enter within the mysteries simply through election by his peers. Entrance was not gained by ordination, but was only attained after spiritual, mental and bodily preparation. As an initiate of his era he became proficient in the seven liberal arts and sciences, that he might know how to shape the rough ashlar to fit in harmony within the structure of his Temple of the future.

From the Egyptian civilization of antiquity, the oldest of which we have knowledge, we learn of the legends of Isis, Serapis and Osiris, the journey of the initiate through certain pathways of experience, his trials and obligatory oath of fidelity. The character of the neophyte into the ancient ceremonies seems to be also duplicated in the curricula of the Eleusinians, the Dionysian, the Mithraic and other cultures. There is nothing new under the sun, only varying forms of expression of the same truth.

The inner secrets of the ancient doctrine were carefully guarded by the Priests of the Temple from misuse by the ignorant and the unworthy. To those found to be qualified the philosophy was communicated from mouth to ear, and to those lesser evolved the lessons were conveyed through symbol and allegory, to be translated into true meanings as the neophyte was able so to do.

As progression is the law of life, the youthful apprentice became the fellow or young man of the Craft, laboring in the quarries of humanity as the Freemason does to this day. The initiate was instructed that the pillars of true balance sustain and create the harmonious positive and negative in manifestation; the terrestrial and the celestial; the time for the blossom and the fruit therefrom, and that the perennial circumambulation of the symbol of Life and Light is East to South, to West to North to East, the never-ending spiral of evolutionary unfoldment.

Beautiful were and are today the cryptic sermons in symbol of the winding stairs; the commencement of the ascend from earthly materialism to partial concept and proper use of the senses with which we are endowed, and in correct application of our talents we utilize the tools available to construct the Temple of our lives with the architecture of our choice. The spiritual arts and sciences in majesty open to our vision, to be placed in activity to the glory of God and the good of our fellow man. The inner chamber has been worthily entered, wherein we find abundant wages rewarding the beholding brother for the effort made, his heritage constantly guarded by Ceres as the shibboleth to his plenty.

Since the dawn of light upon this sphere, the perennial urge has been to revere a higher power and to search for the certainty of immortality. The paths toward unfoldment have been as varied as the civilizations that have flourished and vanished, and they have bequeathed to us a fabulous heritage of knowledge to be had for the searching. The Freemasonry of today, in all its ramifications based upon the golden legends and philosophical gleanings of ages past is in essence a modern exhibit of the ceremonials of our elder Egyptian brethren, the oldest of which we have authentic knowledge. The eternal search for Truth and Light is also found to be woven within the mysteries of the Magi of old, the Eleusinian of the Greeks, the Mithraic of the Persians and the Dionysian of Asia Minor. Within them all we find the exemplification of the journey from the apprentice youth, to manhood, to the mature age of the master. From the legend of the fall and resurrection of Osiris, the recovery of Persephone, the solar god Mithras, is echoed the anthem of the assurance of life immortal.

The legends maintain the geometric apron as the most ancient and distinctive badge of the ancient masters; the symbol of purification as worn by the King-Priests of the order of Meichizedek. The ancient acceptance of the triangle, symbol of the Trinity, or the mystic number three essential to adornment of a Master, has journeyed down to us out of the mists of antiquity as the mark of Diety; the Father - Mother - Son; of Brahma-Siva-Vishnu or Aum of the Hindoos; the Pythagorean sacred tetractys, and from plethora of additional sources.

From the legends and ancient lore concerning astronomy and astrology have been vouchsafed many of the allegories of the modern Children of Light; the solar orb as the symbol of light and life, the circumambulation through the equinoxes; the journey through the Zodiac, age to age into sidereal epochs, have been sequestered within the atmosphere of ancient and modern Freemasonry.

The stately Egyptian legend of the contest between Osiris and Typhon, of Ohrmuzd and Ahrimen, symbolizing the perennial conflict, and the domination of Truth over error, have been repeated in the practices of speculative Masonry throughout the aeons. The Egyptian monuments depict hieroglyphics of the drama of the widow's son, the lion and the mawl, and that symbol of life immortal the acacia, the sacred tree of the Arabs, and given to us by some authorities to be the thorny tamarisk, of which the crown of thorns was fabricated to adorn the brow of a great Master of his triumphant demonstration to all mankind of resurrected life unending.

So what have we in Masonry of today but the modern exemplification of ancient philosophies of transcendent beauty; an archetype of morality vouchsafed us by the illumined ones of the ages, expressed in symbol and allegory so sublime that even a master indeed gazes upon the majestic mosaic of the life beautiful in humility and in awe.

We have an avenue of travel within our Organization of Light that puts to shame the bewildered brother whose concept may be that to belong is only a convenience and somewhat useful in social relation. If of the really chosen ones, the youthful apprentice quickly follows the light that beckons and guides him up the stairway of knowledge. And if he be truly qualified he divests himself of all sordid preconceived complexes, and if found worthy he triumphantly passes the ordeal of sanctification to be raised in time into the Great White Lodge of Just Men made Perfect.

Masons of today are repeating in modern dress the ceremonials of long ago. The form has been transitory; the Principle immutable, and every initiate will eventually rehearse, some time, some where, the mystic journey of Khurum, and reach the Master's goal and the conviction that he, himself is the Philosopher's Stone.

Under the leaf of many a Fable lies

The Truth for those who look for it.

Omar Khayyam.

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No Room For Them

The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out into your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout your coming when you return from your daily victory or defeat. - Robert Louis Stevenson

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Jean Julius Christian Sibelius, M.P.S.

The venerable Brother whose portrait appears on the cover of this issue was born in Hameenlinna, Finland, on December 8, 1865. He first saw the Light of Masonry in Suomi Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M., of Helsinki, Finland. On May 5, 1927, he was elected an Honorary member of the Grand Lodge of Masons, F. & A. M., of Finland.

As a boy he played the piano, improvised and composed simple tunes. At 15 he began the study of the violin and soon played in school orchestras, but was entered as a student of law at the University of Helsinki, in 1885. Later he tired of law and in 1889 went to Berlin, Germany, for further music study, then to Vienna. He married Aino Jarnefelt and returned to his native country in 1892. For a while he taught music at the Helsinki Music Institute, but after 1900 received an annual stipend from the Finnish Government to devote himself exclusively to composing.

His later career has been one of increasing honors and he now stands forth in his true stature as one of the two or three greatest composers of our time, while for many he is the master spirit of all twentieth-century musicians.

The whole body of Brother Sibelius' (pronounced: se-ba-le-oos) work comprises an enormous quantity of music in a great variety of form. Aside from the eight symphonies, there are more than sixty orchestral and choral works, large and small; incidental music to a number of plays; dozens of piano pieces, more than one hundred songs and miscellaneous compositions of every type.

Brother Sibelius, an honored member of the Philalethes Society since February, 1947, has written special music to be played during Masonic ceremonies and is now working on further compositions for the use in Masonic Lodges.

Last year he presented to our Society, through Brother Valter W. Granberg, M.P.S., Wor. Master of St. Hendrick Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., of Helsinki, a bound volume containing manuscripts of ritualistic music composed by him for use within a tyled Lodge.

Worthy of a place in your library is a book, "The Music of Sibelius" (W. W. Norton, $3.00), edited by Gerald Abraham. It is exhaustive, consisting of chapters on Sibelius, the man, by Ralph Hill, and detailed analyses of all the Sibelius compositions. The book also contains a chronology of Sibelius' life, a biography, an indexed list of compositions and musical examples.

W.A. Q.

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A child takes his first step in real progress when he learns the meaning of good citizenship. In our public schools he learns that he is a common member of society and that he owes a responsibility to the other members of that society. Without prejudice as to race, creed or color and without parachial bias, he is given tools with which to determine fact, and a precept of citizenship with which to measure his extent of being his brother's keeper. - Godfried H. Lohrli, M.P.S.

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LET'S GO TO LODGE

By Willis J. Bray, M.P.S

Kirksvllle, Mo.

MOST MASONIC LODGES in this country are very active. Candidates are petitioning for membership in great numbers. We are most certainly getting more men Into Masonry. But to quote the bit of wisdom that appears on the weekly issues of "Masonic Historiology," ‘Our object is not to get more men into Masonry, but to get more Masonry Into men,' it is on just this point that I am most concerned. I rejoice with others in the Influx of good men into our beloved Fraternity. We are accepting their money, conferring the degrees, leading them to think that they are being prepared for some definite Masonic work, and then, when they have received the Master Mason's degree, we turn them out as being full-fledged Masons, more or less filled with enthusiasm for the work. Then what? In the case of most of our Lodges, nothing further happens. We go on conferring degrees on more and still more candidates, while the one who has been recently raised waits and wonders what he is supposed to do, and where he fits into the total picture.

I can not think that the Lodge has fulfilled its entire responsibility to a candidate when it has given him the three degrees and the proficiency lectures. We need to make a definite effort to assimilate the newly-made brother into the real spirit and life of the Fraternity. To be sure, he can now wear the emblem of Masonry, but, it he stops there he is little more than a nominal Mason. And he will stop there, in most cases, unless the members of the Lodge see to it that something definite is done to make it otherwise. If nothing further is done to help the candidate after he received the three degrees of the Lodge, the lessons of Masonry will not sink very deeply into his heart and conscience. Its meaning will be largely real to him, only in terms of the social contacts he has made, and not in terms of a very profound way of life to which he has received but the merest introduction.

There are several things, as I see it that might be done to help meet this situation. One thing which I have recommended in many lodges is a plan whereby the newly-made brother will be given a special invitation to attend Lodge each time it meets. This could be done very easily if, on the completion of his third degree, the Wor. Master were to assign one of the older brothers of the Lodge to be the sponsor, or big brother, as it were, of this new brother. When the time comes for meeting of the Lodge the older brother should call up the new brother and remind him of Lodge night, and tell him "Let's Go To Lodge Tonight." If this is done regularly for a while the new brother begins to get the idea that the members really do care whether he is there or not. At the same time he begins more and more to get the 'feel' of Lodge membership. He begins to see something of what it means to be a Mason, how the work of the Lodge is carried on, and where he might find a place in the program. At the same time he might be encouraged to do some reading and study in the library to broaden his scope of Masonic knowledge. This, too, might well be the function of the older brother.

I feel certain that, if each one of the members whom we are receiving into our Lodges were accorded this kind of reception we would find, in a few years, when conditions of stress arise - as they are almost certain to arise for many - the brother will find other ways and means of meeting his problems without allowing his Masonic membership to lapse. I feel very definitely that much of the loss we suffered in the late depression was due to the fact that we had so much neglected the members after they had completed the degrees of the Lodge that they never really got Masonry into their hearts and souls.

If we would beat that problem before it arises in our Lodges we shall have to make the strongest efforts to make Masonry so real and vital a force in the life of each member that, no matter how strenuous the situation might develop for him, he will hold unto his Masonic membership. Let the officers of the Lodges think this problem over. I am convinced that we are doing a serious injustice to our newly-made brothers, probably without realizing lt. I know how busy the Lodge officers are, in most cases, but the job is worth doing and doing well; and it is not done well if we do not follow up and see that the new members are assimilated into the Craft, and made an integral part of lt.

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Opportunity

They do me wrong who say I come no more

When once I knock and fail to find you in;

For every day I stand outside your door,

And bid you wake, and rise to fight and win

Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,

To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;

My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,

But never bind a moment yet to come.

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OUR READING TABLE

By Leo Fischer, F.P.S., Alhambra, California

(Being Informal reviews of works of our Members which have recently come to our attention)

La Loge, Le Chapitre D'Arras Et La Bulle De Charles Edouard Stuart. By Nicolas-Andre Choumitzky, F.P.S., Paris (France). - In this 63-page pamphlet In French, the author throws additional light on a period in the history of Masonry which has never been completely elucidated. Did "Bonnie Prince Charlie," the Stuart Pretender, actually create a "Primordial Chapter of the Rose Croix" in the city of Arras, in France, by a "bull" said to have been issued by him in 1747? Did the "Grand Orient of London" charter a Lodge, "La Constance," in Arras, in 1687? Or was Prince Charles Edward Stuart never a Mason and was the Lodge mentioned created centuries later, by an authority other than the "Grand Orient of Condone which never existed? In looking into these matters, Brother Choumitzky consulted the archives of the Grand Lodge of Ukraine, and in his work he reproduces, in facsimile, one of the documents, a copy of the famous "Bull." It appears plainly from the facts brought out that some 200 years ago, there was an abundance of degree merchants, forgers and grafters to whom Masonry offered a fertile field.

The author of this interesting work, Brother Choumitzky, an architect in Paris, is a native of the Ukraine. He suffered a great deal during the last war and has but recently been reinstated as a Fellow of the Philalethes Society.

Claude Denechaud, First Canadian Grand Master of the Masonic Order in Canada. By Charles Ernest Holmes, M.P.S., Montreal, Canada. - A 20 page pamphlet in English, containing an address delivered before Denechaud Lodge No. 80, G.R.Q., Quebec, Canada, on October 5, 1944. In this biographical sketch, the author makes use of the opportunity to impart to the English-speaking Brethren the facts that Canadians became British by choice and not by conquest; that there were Masons in Canada during the French regime, and that the Roman Catholic Church's attitude towards Masonry has been subject to many variations in severity. Denechaud's father was a native of France established in Quebec as a surgeon and pharmacist, who married a French-Canadian girl, in 1752. We do not find the year of the birth of Claude, his youngest son. Claude went into business as a grain merchant and was soon the largest grain exporter to Great Britain in Canada. It is not known when he became a Mason; the first mention of his name in Masonic records was as of 1806, when he was Senior Gr-Warden. In 1811, he was elected Provincial GrMaster for Lower Canada. He officiated in many public Masonic ceremonies and was an enthusiastic Mason; but nevertheless he remained a good catholic all his life. He played a notable part in the Canadian politics and enjoyed the friendship of Royalty; but so boundless were his charity and generosity that he left but little of the wealth he had accumulated when he died, on October 30, 1836.

French Canadian Masons of Yesterday. By Charles Ernest Holmes, M.P.S. - In English, 10 pages. This is an address delivered by Brother Holmes on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of "La Loge des Coeurs Unis" No. 45, A. F. & A. M., at Quebec. "It took a great deal of courage, the author informs us, in 1870, when Coeurs Unis was founded, for a French-speaking resident of Canada to belong to Masonry, since our order was denounced from the Roman Catholic pulpits as 'a monstrous, impious and criminal associations dangerous to kingdoms, inflamed with burning hatred against religious and legitimate authority and desirous of overthrowing all rights, human and divine'." But the mental anguish which many of these pioneers suffered in their home life, in their business career, and in their relations with their neighbors, did not prevent the new French Lodge, which worked under the Grand Lodge of France, from growing and prospering. Yet prejudice and a certain amount of persecution still exist at the present writing, and in the Province of Quebec there is an established jurisprudence to the effect that accusing a man of being a Mason is considered a libel even if the fact be true!

When The Nobility and Aristocracy of French Canada Favored Free Masonry (1760-1826). - 26 pages. - This is likewise an address by Brother Holmes, delivered before the Masonic Study Club of Westmount. Quite naturally, a number of the facts related in the address above reviewed "French Canadian Masons of Yesterday," are also touched upon in this talk. There are numerous mentions of aristocratic French Canadians who were active in Masonry during the period covered. In conclusion, the author cites as an instance of the attempts of the Roman Catholic Church to keep from the public everything favorable to Masonry, the fact that the Catholic Truth Society refuses to sell Father Herbert Thurston's rather fair expose of Masonry, instead of which they offer to the inquirer a libelous booklet on Masonry by one Father Clune, published by the so-called "Veritas" Society of Dublin, Eire.

Brother Charles Ernest Holmes, the author of the three interesting pamphlets last reviewed, has recently become a member of the Philalethes Society. He is managing director of the journal, "Masonic Light," of Montreal. Born in Canada, he has lived a number of years in France and is a knight of the Legion of Honor of France and an officier de l'Instruction publique.

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French Masonry Before The Non-Masonic World

By Edmond Gloton, M.P.S., Garches (S. et O., France)

Translated from the French by Leo Fischer, F.P.S.

IT IS NECESSARY to go back to the prewar period if one would understand the position of our Order in France with regard to the non-Masonic public.

The population of France may be divided into three groups: those that were opposed to Masonry, those who were indifferent to it, and those that were favorably inclined toward it.

Among the anti-Masons there was the Extreme Right which is traditionally opposed to everything representing social progress and liberty. The bitterest were the Fascists, the "Action Francaise," the "Croix de Feu," and a large proportion of the catholic clergy. The factions inspired by totalitarian ideas were subsidized by Germany and Italy. The warfare against our Order was carried on by means of tracts and posters and, especially, by books disclosing and ridiculing our ritualistic secrets. Our adversaries also included the Communists who prohibited their members from being Masons.

We had many sympathizers in the Radical and Socialist parties, in the lower middle class, and among the intellectuals. The popular masses were not interested in the question and paid no attention to us. We were looked upon as being a secret and mysterious society and were supposed to have great power and influence.

In 1940, the Vichy government, under the double pressure of the Nazis and the clergy, outlawed Masonry. A special section of the police was organized to run down our Brethren, and the persecutions began. The official Gazette published lists of Masons in order that they might be boycotted, and all Masonic officials were recalled. Campaigns were carried on in the newspapers blaming our Institution for the war and defeat. A large portion of the public, deceived by this propaganda, were hostile to us; but gradually there was a change of opinion as the people perceived that Vichy, in persecuting us, was playing into the hands on the enemy. The anti-Masonic literature did us much good; through it the public learned that men like Voltaire, Franklin, Lacepede, Littre, Monge, Proudhon, etc., had been Masons, and conceived quite a different idea of Masonry. Misfortune strengthened the bonds between the genuine French, and all, Masons and non-Masons, closed ranks without caring what the other man's ideas were.

When freedom was restored by the Liberation, our position became still stronger. There were no more attacks. The recent trials showed to the public that our foes were enemy agents, and we gained prestige.

The catholic clergy has not resumed its attacks against our Order; but we must not trust them, as this is but a truce. They realize that the moment would be poorly chosen for fighting us, so they are biding their time. We must keep on the alert. While we are no longer attacked in open day-light, we are still being denounced as disciples of Satan in the sacristies.

The Communist Party reversed its attitude a few months ago and now allows its members to join Masonry. How are we to take this change? We deem it wise to be circumspect. That party has a very severe discipline. Are its members free men as we understand that term? We must wait before we pronounce ourselves.

Masonry has grown in stature and gained in prestige since it underwent that ordeal. The country as a whole is no longer hostile to it and the large number of applications for the degrees that are pouring in proves that its fame is more brilliant than ever.

To the American Masons sojourning in France we would say this: As a result of the war many American Brethren have come to France and there have been frequent contacts between Masons of the two countries which have made it possible for us to better know and appreciate each other.

However, many American Masons hesitate to visit French Lodges because they do not know what reception awaits them. We can assure them that they need not worry in the least. All Brethren, regardless of nationality, are received most fraternally in French Lodges. All they have to do is to exhibit documents in legal form showing them to be regular Masons.

They will be admitted to Lodge meetings provided they are in possession of the degree in which the Lodge is working. They will not be required to pass an examination in the catechism of that degree because in view of the difference in the work the questions and answers can not be exactly the same. However, it is not difficult for a regular Mason to prove his regularity. Consequently, our American Brethren can present themselves without fear, as they can be sure of a fraternal reception. All they have to do is to knock at the doors of our Lodges and these will be opened unto them, whether they come accompanied by a French Brother, or alone.

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Man is not born to solve the problem of the universe, but to find out what he has to do, and to restrain himself within the limits of his comprehension. - Goethe.

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Idle men tempt the devil. - Turkish proverb.

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THE PILLAR OF BEAUTY

By V. M. Burrows, M.P.S.

Long Beach, California

WHAT is your personal opinion of Hiram Abif? What manner of man was he, and to what extent should we emulate his Masonic example?

History tells us that he existed as a man of exceptional ability to perform great tasks. Masonic tradition informs us that he accomplished the building of Solomon's Temple by promoting cooperation, by planning effectively, and by inducing co-ordination of effort under the stimulus of a definite purpose.

We believe that the true principles of Masonry have existed since long before the time of Solomon. But we can easily believe that Hiram Abif was the first to effectively organize lodges for the direct purpose of putting those principles to work. He was doubtless a man who had traveled and learned the true moral and philosophical teachings brought down from the old mysteries. He was apparently shot through and through with zeal to teach those principles to the workmen. One writer has pictured him as standing beside one of the Great Pillars, giving lectures in astronomy, mathematics, and botany, with interpretation of their moral significance.

He cared for his physical body, for his mind, and for his soul, so as to be represented as a Pillar of Beauty.

Do we give enough attention to our consideration of Hiram Abif? We see Solomon and Hiram of Tyre in gorgeous robes. We see them as men of high position. But we see Hiram Abif in the robe of a workman. We are easily led to consider him as a lesser character than the other Grand Masters.

But let us look upon him as 'That Celebrated Artist,' as that Great and Good Man. Let us see him as the pioneer in teaching use of moral qualities as a means of mental improvement. Let us learn from his example the wisdom of divesting our minds and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life. Let us learn from him the clarifying value of reverence. Let us learn, too, the lesson of fidelity to the true meaning of our obligations.

Let us learn from Hiram Able that real basic happiness is peace with God. That light signifies moral truth in its influence upon the soul; and that the strong are strong because of harmony with God.

As we listen to the prayer of Hiram Able, may we be impressed by the thought that man cooperates with God in transforming nature by the use of his hands, and that the wise man cooperates with God in transforming the spirit by the use of prayer.

Someone has said that the right use of knowledge is wisdom; obedience to the higher law of our being is strength; and that Love of righteousness is Beauty. Is not that the real reason why Hiram Abif is represented as the "Pillar of Beauty?"

Should we not follow more closely his celebrated example? Should we not strive to make the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man realities of everyday life?

He taught us that finding God in life means finding Light. That to find life in God, we must trust our life in the hands of God. He taught us to follow the guidance of God and fear not what man may do unto us.

He taught that we should not only do right, but that we should enjoy the doing of right. He taught that we should do right and leave the consequences with God. He taught that we should see God as expressing himself in all the good and pleasant and enjoyable things that come to us. He taught us to see this as a huge friendly universe.

He taught the advisability of morality.

When Hiram Abif died, Solomon had the body buried as close as possible to the Holy of Holies. It symbolizes a continuance of his earthly desire to live close to God.

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Freemasonry in Foreign Lands

By Leo Fischer, F.P.S.

Alhambra, Callf.

ENGLAND. Grand Master Caron of the Grand Orient of the Netherlands stated at the "Masters' Convention for 1947", held at The Hague, Holland, on November 23, 1947, that he had just returned from England from a conference on matters concerning Freemasonry as a whole, the conclusions reached at which were "that the Grand Orient of the Netherlands is at present the only recognized Masonic Grand Body on the continent of Europe. Besides it, the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia, to which the right of asylum has been granted in England and which will later return to Prague, is also recognized. They are also ready in England to recognize the Grand Lodge Alpina, after receiving certain written explanations from it.... Early in 1948, the Grand Lodge of England will call a conference to which the three Scandinavian and three continental Grand Lodges will be invited, to meet with the three British Grand Lodges. This confedence is to be attended by delegates with power to adopt resolutions. At it, rules will be established for future decisions concerning the non-recognition of Grand Bodies."

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FINLAND. A Finnish Mason, upon being asked what sort of relief would be most welcome to Finland, said that at present meat and breadstuffs are available but there is great need of dried and canned fruit, coffee, and milk. He also emphasized the dire need of clothing - underwear and topwear; stockings, and rubber overshoes. Children's clothing is practically unobtainable. Infants of poor mothers at the maternity hospitals are wrapped in paper because there are no clothes or diapers and no material for making them. During the war there was at least material and women's societies took charge of the sewing.

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FRANCE. There has been much political strife and unrest in France; but French Masonry as such has taken no part in it and has thus given the lie to the well-known slanderous charge of political activity so often brought against it. As one of our French Brethren says: "It is the duty of Masons to keep away from all party strife and to be citizens rather than party members. They may belong to any party they please; but the essential thing is that wherever they militate, they must be among the best and most disinterested."

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ITALY. The Masonic situation in Italy continues in the state of indecision and confusion which has prevailed since the liberation of the country from the Nazi armies. In the contest for recognition and supremacy between the Grand Orient of Italy at Via Giustiniana, Rome, and the "Orthodox Masonry" headed by Liborio Granone, of Bari, the former seems to be getting the best of it, as it has not only been successful in obtaining recognition by the Grand Orient and Grand Lodge of France, but it is now reported that the Grand Lodges or South Carolina, Alabama, Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and North Carolina have recognized it and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has recommended its recognition. This is the Grand Lodge headed by Dr. Guido Laj and the Supreme Council of which Tito Signorelli is the Grand Commander.

The Grand Orient of Italy has brought out the first issue or its official review, "L’Acacia," a well-appointed illustrated monthly which makes an excellent impression.

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JAPAN. At a ceremony held at the American Embassy in Tokyo, General Douglas MacArthur was coroneted a 33rd degree Mason by Ill. Brother Frederick H. Stevens, Deputy of the Supreme Council for the Philippine Islands.

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NETHERLANDS. Dutch Masonry has again grown to 3,500 members, after dwindling to 2,700 during the war. On September 6, 1947, It consecrated the Masonic Temple at Amsterdam which has been devastated during the war.

The "Algemeen Maconniek Tijdschrift,'' organ of Freemasons under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands, in its issue of November 15, 1947, has an interesting article on the reaction of the Dutch press to a Masonic press conference held on September 12, to which all Dutch newspapers had been invited, and which was conducted by Grand Master Caron and Brother J. O. Spaan. Thirty-seven representatives or domestic and foreign papers responded to the invitation and were received at the Temple at The Hague by the Grand Master. In his address of welcome, Dr. Caron related what the Order had suffered at the hands or the Nazis, who looted and destroyed all Masonic buildings and the historical and artistic treasures Masonry had accumulated in nearly two centuries. Upon the liberation, the American occupation authorities turned all libraries that were recuperated over to the Grand Orient, which distributed those not belonging to it to its rightful owners, such as the Rotary, Odd Fellows, The Theosophical Society, etc. Dr. Caron described the task of rebuilding the temples and spoke of the financial aid received from the United States of America and England. He was followed by Brother J. O. Spaan, an able and convincing speaker, who explained the aims, nature and history of Masonry. The visitors were taken through all parts of the building, furnishings and symbols were explained to them, and light refreshments were served to afford an opportunity for asking questions. Not by all means all newspapers carried reports of this conference, and some of those reporting it abstained from comment. But sixteen commented on what had been explained to them, and all seemed to be impressed by what they had seen and heard. This is the second press conference by Dutch Masonry. The first, held seventeen years ago, was also successful.

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SCOTLAND. The Grand Lodge held its Quarterly Communication in Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh, on August 7, 1947, the Grand Master Mason, The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Galloway, presiding. A number of important amendments to the Constitution were adopted; among them was the insertion of a clause limiting the number of special meetings, as follows: "The number of meetings, whether emergency or special, which may be held by a Lodge for conferring Degrees or the Mark, during any period of twelve months shall not exceed the number of its regular meetings held during the same period." With a total of two hundred and fifty thousand Masons apparently not in living touch with the Mother Lodge, this Grand Lodge finds that it is time to curb the "degree mill" practice which has been the cause of much alarm in other countries.

Brother Alexander Fairley Buchan, Master of Canongate Kilwinning Lodge No. 2, was chosen as Grand Secretary from a list of 175 applicants. The office carries an entrance salary of fifteen hundred pound sterling per annum.

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SPAIN. A few months ago, the Spanish government resumed its persecution of Masons, a Lodge in active operation having been discovered in Barcelona. The Masons implicated and others on the suspect list were incarcerated in the "Model Prison" of Barcelona and thence transferred to Madrid, for trial by the "Special Court" in Madrid. On the date or the letter conveying this information, December 3, 1947, some thirty Masons were under arrest in Madrid and Barcelona, the majority of whom had no means to subsist and dress themselves, the food they received in prison being insufficient. In order to remedy this situation, the Federation of Masonic Leagues of N. E. Spain, headed by Grand Master Franclaco Canadas and Grand Secretary Ramos, asked the directors of Freemasonry in exile for aid. A first remittance of money has been received in Barcelona.

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In reading "The Travels of Marco Polo," it was interesting to note that the great Kublal Kahn, Emperor or China requested from the Pope of that time (probably Clement IV) a 100 men or learning, thoroughly acquainted with the principle of the Christian religion, "as well as the seven arts." This led to investigation or the antiquity of the Seven Liberal Arts, and it was interesting to discover that claim is made that Charlemagne (742-814) at his castle at Aix-la-Chappelle set apart a separate place where the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences were taught. And still more ancient were the works of one Maximus Tyrius, a philosophical writer of the latter half of the second century who wrote: "Come then, let philosophy approach after the manner * * Let one of these be that art which prepares the body to be subservient, as a prompt and robust vehicle, to the mandates of the soul." And then he variously lists the Seven Liberal Arts of those times, which he identifies as follows: - "gymnastic; rhetoric; poetry; arithmetic; logistic; geometry, and music.", (GrLodge of Colorado Service Letter No. 101).

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The Philalethes Society News

New Members

Alvin Louis Crump; Evanston, Illinois

Cecil H. Ellis; Chicago, Illinois.

Austin Donald Olson; Spokane, Washington.

William B. Schwartz; Atlanta, Georgia.

Burl Emery Taylor; Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Change of Addresses

Dennio Koach, M.P.S.; 273 California Street; Bellflower, California.

Daniel L. Miller, M.P.S.; 27 Paine Ave.; Cranston, 10, Rhode Island.

Willis E. Roe, M.P.S.; 823 West Chicago Ave.; East Chicago, Indiana.

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The Philalethes - March, 1948; Volume 3, Number 3 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 is solicited or accepted. Annual subscription, in the United States of America, $3.00, elsewhere, $4.00, payable in advance. - Member-Editors or 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 of Freemasons who have Light to impart and Freemasons who seek more Light. The Society's year book, "The Informant," tells the story since its inception and a copy will be mailed free of charge to any Freemason requesting the same.

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MAUNDY THURSDAY

Maundy Thursday is observed by services in the churches in commemoration of the partaking of the Last Supper by Christ and His disciples. Its rightful name is chiefly derived from the words of the ancient antiphon sung in the churches and starting with ''Mandatum novum do vobis." Mandatum later came to stand for the main ceremony of that day, the washing of the feet of the catechumens.

Of the many customs featuring this day in ancient times, perhaps the most important was this "washing of the feet." It was prevalent in many parts of Europe in the middle ages, and there is mention of its performance in Spain as early as the Fourth Century. Gradually the custom developed into the ceremony of the king's washing the feet of as many poor men as there were years of his age. In England the practice continued in that fashion until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who directed that the feet of the poor men should be bathed by her servants in warm water and sweet herbs. James II was the last English monarch to perform the ceremony, for his successor, William of Orange, instructed his almoners to execute the duty, and the custom was discontinued in that country in the year 1754. However, it was carried on until quite recently in several other European countries, and perhaps even is, in a few, to this day.

There were other ceremonials connected with Maundy Thursday, one of which was the reconciliation of the penitents, mainly achieved by long periods of prayer. Another was the consecration of the chrism, or baptismal oil, which was used abundantly in Easter week. By the Fifth century it came about that all the chrism likely to be needed during the year was consecrated on Maundy Thursday. One more ceremony was the celebration of the Eucharist. Originally this was taken fasting, but later many began to take it in the evening after meat. By the reissuance of some old laws evening communion was forbidden, but gradually it came back into favor.

Apart from these maj or celebrations there were some minor ones, such as the stripping of the altars after vespers and the silencing of church bells from Wednesday midnight until the morning on Easter day.

The bodies of the A.A. Scottish Rite will observe Maundy Thursday on the evening of March 25 by solemn services in their Cathedrals throughout the land.

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"Look to the East," is a term familiar to all Freemasons; the dawn of civilization, and the cradle of the race. - Burl E. Taylor M.P.S.

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THE JOY OF SPRING

The coming of spring, although it seems as inevitable as the rising of the sun, is always an event. One must be blind and deaf, not physically, only, but mentally and spiritually, not to feel, to the very core of one's being, that something wonderful, miraculous, is happening.

A thousand things that had seemed dead for months are showing signs of vigorous life. Nature is responding in no uncertain fashion to the warmth of the wooing sun. There is a universal sense of awakening, a stirring, a brightening, a new hope and expectancy.

I can only liken it to reading a great book, one of those books which are so rare, but which, when found, are never lost again, which make a deep and lasting mark upon the mind.

There are things like that. It is hard to account for what they do in us and for us. I can only soy that they seem to add new vistas to life's landscape, new views of duty and privilege and responsibility and joy. They leave the mind and heart forever enriched.

Well, the book of Nature is a good book to read, and I think its most inspired pages open upon spring sunshine, the glittering of sudden showers, the song of mating birds, the green of fields and woodlands, and the flowers which, perhaps because they are the first of the year, have always appealed most to poet and painter, as well as to such as, having no skill of brush or pen, have yet an eye that sees and a memory that records and treasures.

Not much of a memory? I don't know. When life's spring-time is left for behind, and the returning seasons, with all their renewed beauty, have lost something of the old-time glamour for us, may we not treasure the more the memory of those little things of the long ago which were pure joy?

Shakespeare said hard things about people who hod no music in them. He said they could not be trusted. Whether he was right in so large a generalization I doubt.

But I do think that no greater disaster can happen to anyone than to become so immersed in making a living, as to hove forgotten how to live. A modern poet puts it simply and well:

"A poor life this, if, full of core,

We have no time to stand and stare "