APRIL - MAY,1950
Contents
HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE MASONIC RITUAL The Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
JOSEPH FORT NEWTON ANCIENT, FREE AND ACCEPTED
MASONIC STUDY Articles of Interest
Dormit in Pace THE VOICE WITHIN
By CALB YOUNG RICE
SPRING has come up from the South again,
With soft mists in her hair,
And a warm wind in her mouth again,
And budding everywhere.
Spring has come up from the South again,
And her skies are azure fire
And around her is the awakening
Of all the world's desire.
Spring has come up from the South again
And dreams are in her eyes
And music is in her mouth again
Of love, the never-wise.
Spring has come up from the South again
And bird and flower and bee
Know that she is their life and joy -
And immortality.
----o----
"I like you, Life - the joy, the strife,
And all that goes to make you, Life
The unrequited hopes, the fears
The laughter, and - ah, yes, the tears;
What though the hours with pain are rife,
In Spite of this. I like you. Life!"
"Do others fear? Do others fail?
My soul must grapple and prevail.
My soul must scale the mountain side,
And with the conquering army ride.
Stand forth, my soul!"
NOTHING is of more value than life. It cannot be bought or sold on the world's market. The heaped-up gold of the Klondike, the treasures of the diamond mines of South Africa, the stocks and bonds of Wall Street, these and much more consolidated in one great mass of immeasurable wealth, could not purchase one second of life or buy a moment of eternity. It is a gift from the great Father, which is not earned or merited, but bestowed because He loves the world.
This gift is given to all alike, and it is divided up into days, and months, and years. In a sense, we live only in the present, for if it were not so, the bitter words, the chilling want of sympathy, the wounds of tomorrow, would sadden our todays, and life would be a sorrow-song. But hope - that essence of true living - keeps the human heart strong, and fortifies it against disappointment. Lose hope in the future, or faith in your fellow men, end the light of your soul will go out, leaving you a mere existence.
Thousands have found this to be true. Perhaps the structure of their dreams wrought so carefully through the years, and planned with such minute detail, suddenly tumbles in ruins about them. They do not have the heart to "stoop, and build it up again with broken tools;" they are crushed and bitter with the sting of their failure. It leaves them the blank of what they were. Sad as it is to realize, there are many such persons in the world, from whom courage and hope have long since departed - a vast valley of discouraged hearts.
Away yonder, in the gleam of the rising sun, we see others who are on the mountain summits, above the valley. Perhaps they, too, have tasted failure and missed their way, but undaunted, unafraid, they fought back to the light. It is a great thing to have an unconquerable spirit, for only then can the battle of life be won, the goal reached.
What a clarion call is this, and applicable in its fullest sense to world conditions in this twentieth century. Men are fast losing confidence as they feel the foundations of society politics, and religion trembling under their feet. They scan the horizon of the future with anxious eyes for a sign of hope, and behold only the gathering clouds of a tempest. Truly, the call of the hour is a call for courage.
The world has long held out glittering phantoms of pleasure, saying to those who are playing the game of life, "Take these. They will bring you happiness." And men grasp them, only to find that they vanish away.
Go in fancy to the great metropolis of America. Look down, as only the One above can look down, on that great seething mass of human life. It surges under the earth in subways; it flows over the city in elevated trains, searching, searching, for happiness.
Cross the ocean and view another mighty city, Paris - Paris, where men go that they may learn to laugh; Paris, which has taught the world the meaning of tears. Its people rush badly hither and yon, searching for happiness, the ultimate goal of all humanity. But this precious treasure is not found thus, for the harder one runs after it, the faster it recedes in the distance, like the end of the rainbow, with its fabled pot of gold. Happiness - true happiness - comes from being in the service of the One who bestows the gift of life, from the One who is forgotten and pushed aside in the world's frantic search for that which can never satisfy.
Of the many threads which enter into the fabric of life, one of the most needful is friendship. "A true friend is the most precious possession a man can have beneath the sun." It is our privilege to choose friends under the guidance of One who never makes a mistake in his estimate of humankind, and thus have a life filled with that true happiness which comes from heaven.
----o----
HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE MASONIC RITUAL
By Robert J. Meekren, F.P.S.; Stanstead, Quebec, Canada
(The author reserves the right to republish this article in whole or in part)
CHAPTER IV.
IN many quarters it is still supposed, so we must judge from what is said, that Freemasonry now spread all over the world has all been derived from four old lodges in London, which, some two hundred and thirty years ago more precisely in 1717, met on St. John's Day in summer and formed themselves into a Grand Lodge. This historical myth is held in the face of numerous well established facts that obviously prove it to be entirely fallacious. As we are not here concerned with the external development of the Craft and its development I shall only mention a few of the more easily verified facts that show this conception to be fanciful and fictitious. First there is the old Lodge at York, with records beginning in the year 1705, and which continued in existence till the end of the eighteenth century, when it succumbed to the encroachments of the London body. There is also the Lodge at Alnwick, purely operative as appears from its records which begin in 1701. This lodge came under the London Grand Lodge in 1748.
But Freemasonry spread to other countries not only from England but also from Scotland and Ireland. And while we may suppose with the majority of serious students of our history that it originates, back in the Middle Ages - in England, yet it is certain that it existed in all three countries long before the pregnant convention at the Apple Tree Tavern in 1716. The late Brother Douglas Knoop has indeed argued that Freemasonry actually originated in Scotland and thence spread to England. But whatever judgment may be passed upon this hypotheses it remains that any statement implying that all present-day Masonry is derived from the original Grand Lodge of London must be taken either as an expression of ignorance or as a mere rhetorical flourish.
In Dublin, Freemasonry, as an existing society composed of men in all stations in life, ranging from members of the University to humble tradesmen, was sufficiently well known to the general public in 1688 to be made the subject of a humorous skit, and there are other indications of its existence in Ireland prior to 1717. In Scotland there is a wealth of authentic records, much of it in the form of old minutes of still flourishing lodges, older than the eighteenth century. Among the better-known of these may be mentioned Edinburgh, Kilwinning, Aberdeen, Stirling, Glasgow, Melrose, and Aitcheson's Haven. The oldest minutes of the first and last of these begin in the sixteenth century, and in each case indicate the previous existence of the lodge. All these old lodges were independent and self-sufficient, while they recognized Masons from other lodges as true and lawful members of the Craft. In the case of the old lodge of Peebles we have the minute of its erection in 1716. Those who formed it, being Masons - the record is silent as to where they were made - decided it would be well to have a lodge in Peebles and proceeded to form one, by inherent rights. This lodge still exists, I believe. The Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland were organized without any reference to London, though it is very likely that the example of the London Masons was what suggested this action. Yet in the Schaw Statutes of 1598, and the St. Clair Charters of 1600, we have evidence that, independent though they were, the old Scottish Lodges on occasion agreed to concerted action - mostly on trade matters - negotiated between representatives of some of them, and apparently accepted by those lodges who did not send representatives to the meeting of assembly at which such action was agreed to. This comes very near to being an "occasional" Grand Lodge in effect. Nevertheless, when the project of forming a Grand Lodge for Scotland was mooted, it was far from easy to get some of these old lodges to agree to it, and some refused their consent. The old Lodge of Melrose indeed did not decide to come in under it until near the end of the nineteenth century. Others again after coming in seceded for a time, of which Kilwinning was the most notable example. Indeed the traditional sovereign independence of the lodge, and of the inherent right of five or seven Masons to form a lodge, died very hard and took a good many years about it. This was true for England as for Scotland. In Ireland there is very little information to go upon as all the records of the Grand Lodge prior to 1760 have disappeared, but such exterior indications as exist tend to show that the same thing was true there also. And when we come to think of it, it could hardly have been otherwise; neither individuals nor organizations give up their independence or rights save with reluctance, and it was only the pressing need for a more efficient organization under changed conditions - a need that was gradually felt even by the most obtuse - that led to final acquiescence in the Grand Lodge system of government of the Craft.
What this need was plainly appears in a personal letter of Benjamin Franklin to Henry Price, of November 28, 1734, which accompanied an official one as Grand Master of the (self-erected) Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. (Those readers of "Philalethes" who have the Encyclopedia at hand will find these given under the heading "Price, Henry"). The gist of the official letter is a request for a "Deputation or charter" to confirm the Pennsylvania brethren in their privileges "of holding annually their Grand Lodge" and electing their Grand Master. In the personal letter, Franklin gives the reason for making this request. There is evidently not the least idea that the Philadelphia lodge was irregular, or defective in its powers, but they wished to have moral support in their opposition to a lodge erected, or about to be erected, by certain "false and rebel Brethren" who made Masons for a bowl of punch, like the "leg of mutton" Masons in London, and whose operations were likely to bring the Craft "into disesteem among us." That is, presumably, among inhabitants of Philadelphia generally.
It is to be noted that Franklin does not deny the Masonic status of these individuals. Franklin, author, editor of the well-known Pennsylvania Gazette, was perfectly capable of saying exactly what he meant, and if he did not call them "importers," who had, directly or indirectly, gained Masonic information through the treason of some "false" Mason, we must take it that they were, under the old form of organization, Masons duly initiated, however unfit and unworthy they might be. They were "false" to the Fraternity in prostituting it to their own mean and petty interests. Further, as he calls them also rebels, we must infer that the members of the Philadelphia lodge regarded it, to use the old Scotch phrase, as a "head lodge," like Kilwinning, Stirling, and Edinburgh, and also the old Lodge of York, and as such inherently possessing a certain authority and right of control over all Masons in its area, or as we would say, its jurisdiction.
The point of all this for our present purpose is that under such conditions, while the new organization was still fluid and in great part still undefined, and while the old traditional ideas were still very much alive, variations in the esoteric tradition could hardly have failed to exist also. In the United States so many new Grand Lodges were erected during the nineteenth century that a body of precedents was created, amounting to an unwritten code of governing procedure in such cases. Undoubtedly this experience has been taken advantage of in Canada, and also in Australia, but elsewhere in the Masonic world it is known, if known at all, only academically as one might say. But when the earliest Grand Lodges were formed, and more especially the first one of all, there were no precedents. Those concerned proceeded, as far as it was possible, by such traditions as could be adapted to their purpose; and that purpose was, it cannot be too strongly emphasized, to find some remedy for abuses already detrimental, and which in their rapid increase threatened the very existence of the Fraternity.
Such a tradition was found in the Assembly upon which so much stress is laid in the old Manuscript Constitutions or Old Charges. These documents are to the average Mason today mere antiquarian curiosities, but at that period of which we speak they were very familiar to all the Craft. In all the versions the Assembly bulks very largely. Every Mason was obliged to attend it, sickness or absence from home were the only excuses allowed, and failure to appear made the individual liable to severe penalty.
This institution has been much discussed and many hypotheses have been offered as to its real character and under what authority it was held. In the legendary history of the Craft we are told of the famous (among Masons be it said) Assembly at York in the time of King Athelstan, which was presided over (so the legend runs), by Prince Edwin, variously said to be the son or the brother of the King. Historically this is obviously impossible, as King Athelstan had neither son or brother of the name of Edwin, but as the legend was put into writing centuries after the alleged event this need not surprise us. Some scholars have even doubted whether the Assembly, as peculiar to Masons only, ever existed. Gould was one of these. He argued that in reality it was only the annual Shire Moot, or "Sheriff's Tourne," at which every able-bodied man had to appear. This in the days of the Plantagenets was a kind of local parliament and county court. But it is really most probable that, whatever kernel of fact may underly the legendary Assembly at York, it was no more than a projection into the past of an annual meeting of obligation of a more or less permanent lodge, and greatly magnified in the process as such projections usually are. Of lodges in England we have for the most part only tantalizing glimpses - no more than enough to prove that lodges existed. But in the minutes of the old Scottish lodges we do find that an annual meeting was customary, at which every Mason within its district, whether a member or not, was bound to appear under penalty of a sufficiently heavy fine. At such meetings the subscriptions were paid, disputes settled, and offenses against the laws and regulations of the lodge adjudged and the offenders punished. The old Lodge at Alnwick, in 1703, had a "general head meeting day" on St. John Day in winter (Dec. 27), and the Lodge at York had an annual meeting described in the minutes as a General Lodge, the ordinary meetings being called Private Lodges.
It would seem that York had some kind of traditional control over all Masons in the county of Yorkshire at least, which in the dying out of the operative membership had come to be little more than a memory; and in that case its annual meeting was the same thing as the Assembly, which by the Old Charges every Mason was bound to attend. And it is very curious that Anderson, in the first Book of Constitutions (1723) seems very vague about what the new Grand Lodge really was, for in several places he calls it a "General Lodge," and in others "the Assembly." It would seem that when later York erected itself into a Grand Lodge it was doing no more than asserting its ancient prerogative as a "head Lodge" by appropriating the new designation that had come into vogue in London. And here it must not be forgotten that the Grand Lodge at London only claimed jurisdiction over London and Westminster and the surrounding district.
But London was a metropolitan city. Small as it would seem to us, it was for those days relatively large, larger probably than any three other cities in the Kingdom put together. Like all capitals it was a magnet, drawing all kinds of people seeking larger opportunities for business, more secure employment or to realize their ambitions. Many of these sojourners became citizens. They were drawn not only from all over England and Wales, but also from Scotland and even Ireland. And by the law of averages alone some percentage of them must have been "admitted" or "accepted" Masons before they left their original domiciles. Thus in London there would have been exponents, more or less skilled, of most of the variant forms of the esoteric traditions of the Craft that were then in existence. Besides this, or possibly on account of it, instead of one lodge there were four of some standing and permanence, and very likely others of more ephemeral character. In these conditions it is obvious that no one of these lodges could claim jurisdiction over the city and its environs, or was in a position by itself to institute such reforms as the state of affairs made imperative if the Fraternity was not to be run into the ground, or rather into the muck of the gutter . . . or less figuratively, of being swamped by increasing numbers of unworthy applicants, who once they were admitted were free under the old loose organization to form lodges for themselves and to admit others like or worse than themselves, for the sake of a good dinner and plenty to drink. The old loose organizations worked very well when the majority of Masons were actually workers and builders in stone and had a common interest in the welfare of their occupation. But the old machinery had broken down and could not be made to fit the emergency. Yet with the conservative instincts and practical good sense that the English, whether Masons or not - have always shown in a crisis, the better element proceeded, perhaps blindly, feeling their way step by step, to revive the traditional Assembly, which was primarily an administrative organ, a "court" in the old Medieval sense of the term, and a legislative body when legislation was called for.
The revived Assembly for London and Westminster was definitely inaugurated in 1717, following a meeting of the members of the four lodges in 1716 at which, according to Anderson (our only informant) it was "resolved to hold the Annual Assembly, and then to choose a Grand Master from among themselves." The term "Grand" was quite probably borrowed from the English Orders of Knighthood the Garter and the Bath, it was at least entirely new in the Masonic vocabulary. Apparently at the preliminary meeting only the members of the four lodges were present aside from certain visitors, whom Anderson refers to "as some old Brothers." As the Assembly was composed of all Masons within reach, some steps would have to be taken to give them notice. No indication is given to us how this was done. Very likely Anderson did not know, and in any case his account was written more than twenty years after the event.
The leaders of the new movement proceeded slowly and cautiously, making sure in all that was done of having not merely a majority with them, but as nearly the whole body of the more respectable members of the Fraternity. The legal fiction that some resolutions were passed in 1717 by a small group and that thereafter, as at the waving of a conjuror's wand, the whole Masonic machinery was transformed, is historically ridiculous. What shadow of right would the London Masons have to legislate for the lodges elsewhere? They knew better than we do what the old organization was and what they had power to do under the old Constitutions and traditional laws.
In the third year of the new body, which was still an Assembly and not what we understand as a Grand Lodge, a new set of "Regulations" were proposed and apparently adopted. Here Dr. Stukeley's Diary confirms Anderson's account. And these, with a new and much modified version of the Old Charges were published in 1723, and in the meantime the actual authority of the Assembly had come to be vested in a smaller body - the representatives of the lodges in the persons of their Masters and Wardens. This arose naturally and inevitably from the mere unwieldiness of the Assembly itself in point of numbers. The precedent was an obvious one; the House of Commons. In their elected representatives the Englishman maintained his freedom; it was still fresh in memory how in the Civil war the Parliament had fought for freedom against a royal despotism. So, as Masons, they were content to have their elected officers attend to the administration of the Fraternity; legislation being, it would seem, still in the hands of the Assembly.
But what has all this to do with the Ritual? Today, a new Grand Lodge, on American precedents, would first proceed to legislate by adopting a Constitution, and at the same time would formulate and approve a standard ritual. It is looking back with our ideas in view that has very largely led to the elaboration of the myths about the ritual. The first Grand Lodge, it is assumed, must have done the same thing, must have appointed someone - Anderson, Desaguliers, Payne, or whoever - to prepare a standard formulary, although not one iota of evidence is produced to support the fiction. What was done is quite plain to see, but we have to try and look back with eighteenth century eyes, or in other words, divest ourselves of our modern preconceptions in order to understand. The London brethren were accustomed to variations in the esoteric tradition, and no idea had as yet emerged that uniformity was possible or even desirable. The variations were great, extending even to the pronunciation of the Master's word. Indeed two such variant forms have persisted in the Masonic world, not to speak of a new one that has been urged in America, which is based entirely on a false etymology.
What, then, was actually done? Not very much most of us would think. The matter is dealt with in the eleventh of the "new Regulations" in the first Book of Constitutions, and it is so short that I will give it in full.
"All particular Lodges are to observe the same Usages as much as possible, in order to which, and for cultivating a good understanding among Freemasons, some members out of every Lodge shall be deputed to visit other Lodges as often as shall be thought convenient."
Very inadequate I fear this would seem to our Grand Lecturers and Custodians of Work.
Fifteen years later, when the second edition was published, we find the Regulation stands unchanged, but Anderson adds this comment: "The same usages for Substance are actually observed in every Lodge; which is much owing to visiting Brothers who compare the Usages."
It was not rigid uniformity but substantial equivalence. We are reminded of the statement made by the Duke of Sussex, as Grand Master, in the newly United Grand Lodge of England, that so long as the same signs, words and tokens were used, and the same obligations "for substance" were administered, every Master of a Lodge could use any Lectures that he knew best, or any that he and his Lodge preferred.
When Dr. Desaguliers visited Edinburgh in 1721, he visited "Mary's Chapel," and the minutes of that venerable Lodge inform us that "the Deacon, Warden and Master Masons" of Edinburgh "finding him duly qualified in all points of Masonry" they received him "as a brother into their Society." The London usages certainly differed from those of Scotland, yet he who knew the one form was accepted by those who followed the other.
It was through intercommunication that the varying traditions were kept without due bounds and recognizably equivalent. Like a flock of ducks flying across a lake, first one leads and then another, one or two may swerve aside, but they come back, and finally all light on the water close together. It is kinetic, a living equilibrium. The Grand Lodge of Scotland has never adopted any form of ritual, and excepting the abortive efforts of the Lodge of Reconciliation, the United Grand Lodge of England has never interfered, indeed has positively refused to interfere in the matter. Most European Grand Bodies in practice leave their lodges equally at liberty. Are they unwise? I have no intention of attempting an answer, but it has to be pointed out that in spite of all efforts to standardize the ritual, variants in "usages" exist today as much as they ever did, only now chiefly as between jurisdictions instead of between lodges. But all the variations are "for substance" the same, and recognizably so, and they "all sound like good Masonry to me.'
----o----
The Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
By Noble Harry Hammond Beall, K.T.; Los Angeles, California
WHENCE CAME YOU? This question, in many varied forms, has often been asked of members of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. At present there are more than six hundred thousand wearers of the crimson fez and the scimitar and crescent lapel emblem in North America, but few of them, if asked, could give forth details concerning the origin and expansion of this great fraternity.
June 16, 1871, is the recorded date when William Jermyn Florence, a distinguished actor, and Dr. William Miller Fleming, eminent physician and Civil War veteran, founded the order in New York City.
They met with eleven Masonic friends, some Scottish Rite 32nd Degree Masons and some Knights Templar, and formulated and adopted the fundamental solemnic ritual that gave to the Shrine events the background with Arabic glamour, colorful spectacles and the aura of the Orient, which permeates the ceremonials and costumes worn in parades and pageants.
These thirteen Freemasons became charter members of the mother group, Mecca Temple of New York City, and from that has grown the Shrine of North America with Temples throughout the United States, Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Panama Canal Zone.
The initials used in abbreviation are A.A.O.N. M.S., and if you rearrange them you will have the words "A Mason." Tradition does not inform us whether this was deliberate or purely coincidental, but many believe it was planned that way.
There are now 160 Temples actively carrying the guidon of Shrinedom, the so-called "Playground of Masonry," and the majority of these will be represented when the 76th Imperial Council Session is held, June 20-21-22, in Los Angeles. Ground breaking ceremonies for the seventeenth unit of the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, to be erected on a city block bounded by Fourth, Geneva, Virgil and Commonwealth Streets, in the Wilshire-Westlake district, will be held some time during the year 1950, according to Virgil F. Frizzell, Potentate of Al Malaikah Temple, which has raised more than a million and a quarter for the $1,500,000 project, under financial directorship of Past Potentate Stanton A. Bruner. Past Potentate Elmer P. Bromley is chairman of the Hospital Board.
In 1922 the Shrine launched its Childrens Hospital project, having decided that it was time the Nobility had a major objective for its philantrophies, in addition to annual charities for underprivileged children, and aid for distressed families of their respective community. W. Freeland Kendrick, Past Potentate of Lulu Temple, Philadelphia, also Past Imperial Potentate, conceived the idea, with the first Hospital dedicated, in 1922, at Shreveport. Louisiana, with sixty beds. Then followed similar havens of mercy at St. Louis; Philadelphia; Portland; San Francisco; Montreal; Springfield (Massachusetts); St. Paul-Minneapolis; Greenville (South Carolina); Spokane; Winnipeg; Salt Lake City; Lexington (Kentucky); Honolulu, and Mexico City.
The total value of Hospital buildings represents $7,378,566.91, and endowment funds now held by the Hospitals total $26,950,655. Amounts left to the Hospitals by wills now in process aggregate in excess of $22,000,000.
When a Noble pays his dues, two dollars is added for his annual hospital contribution. He has the privilege to purchase a hospital life membership, involving sixty dollars, which obviates his annual contribution.
More than 150,000 children have been cured or greatly benefited by these Hospitals which operate without discrimination between race, color, or creed. Not one penny is ever paid by parents, and to obtain admission for crippled children their parents must prove their inability to finance the cost of their childrens' rehabilitation. The child's age limit is 14 years.
Syria Temple, of Pittsburgh, and Al Malaikah Temple, of Los Angeles, run almost neck and neck as to membership. Syria having 20,000; Al Malaikah more than 18,000.
The Potentate is the supreme officer of a Shrine Temple. Then come the Chief Rabban; Assistant Rabban; High Priest and Prophet; Oriental Guide; First and Second Ceremonial Masters. The first five officers are elective, and the last two are appointive by the will of the Potentate. Other appointive divan members include: the Director; Orator; Captain of the Guard; Outer Guard, and Marshal. The Recorder and Treasurer are usually re-elected year after year. Other electives include the representatives attending the Imperial Council Sessions, the first of which was held in New York City, during 1876. In addition to the delegates which always include the Potentate, the Uniformed Organizations more than often form an important entity in convention caravans to glorify their Temples in the day and night parades or pageants. Imperial Council regulations provide for three uniformed bodies for each Temple - Patrol, Band, Chanters - but the uniformed bodies are not all uniform so far as the various Temples are concerned. For example, Al Malaikah Temple, of Los Angeles, has five groups: Patrol; Band; Chanters; Temple Guard, and Stagecrafters, as well as the recently formed Mounted Patrol. Other Temples may have a Legion of Honor, to which only war veterans may belong; or a rifle team; oriental band; wrecking crew; drum and bugle corps, and other miscellaneous groups. The larger Temples charter Shrine Clubs in key locations of their jurisdiction, which help weld the unity of each Temple by the smaller city activities.
Harold Lloyd, this year's Imperial Potentate, was elected at Chicago in July, 1949, and will complete his term in office at the close of the 1950 convention in Los Angeles. He started up the Imperial ladder at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1940, when he was elected Outer Guard. Normally, this is the only office for which there is competition, as certain Temples sponsor their favorite sons for this starting point in the Imperial "line." Usually it requires a decade, or longer, for reaching the top spot. The "Black Camel" or resignations because of ill health often take their toll and lessen the progression period. Smaller communities, of course, have equal opportunities with the larger cities for representation in the Imperial Council. A glance at the 1949-1950 divan reveals a college professor at Wake Forest, North Carolina, as Deputy Imperial Potentate, to succeed Harold Lloyd for 1950-1951. Following him in "line" is a Shriner from Jacksonville. Petersburg (Virginia); Little Rock (Arkansas); West Orange (New Jersey), and Deadwood (South Dakota) are also listed along with Saint Louis (Missouri); Kansas City; Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee (Wisconsin), while the Imperial Recorder, George M. Saunders, maintains international headquarters at Chicago, Illinois.
Nationally and internationally, the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine include very important personages in public activities. President Truman is a member of Ararat Temple, Kansas City; Governor Warren of California is Past Potentate of Aahmes Temple, Oakland. Governor Dewey of New York State, and Governor Earle Clements of Kentucky are Shriners. Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Warren G. Harding, and William Howard Taft were among the Presidents of the United States who proudly wore the fez.
War heroes who carried Allah's Shrine blessings into conflict include: Eddie Rickenbacker, of Aladdin Temple, Columbus, Ohio; General Douglas MacArthur, of Nile Temple, Seattle, Washington; General Mark Clark; Jimmie Doolittle, who, led the bombing of Tokyo, and General Jonathan Wainwright, of the siege of Bataan. In the Navy we find Admiral Ernest A. King, Commander-in-Chief of naval operations during World War II.
Senatorial Shriners include Tom Connally, of Texas; Claude Pepper, of Florida, and Clinton P. Anderson, of New Mexico.
Ty Cobb, of the horsehide sphere; Eddie Guest, the versifier, and Sigmond Romberg, the composer, all wear the crescent and scimitar.
Reaching across the Pacific we find Les Petrie, Past Potentate of Aloha Temple, serving several terms as Mayor of Honolulu; and into our sister Republic to the south, President Aleman, of Mexico, an active member of Anizeh Temple, of Mexico City.
The Shrine is not a Masonic body, but to be eligible for membership, one must be either a Knight Templar or a 32nd Degree Mason of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Karl Rex Hammers, the Imperial Potentate, in his annual address to the officers and representatives of the Imperial Council, A.A.O.N. M.S., in its 74th session, described the basic philosophy of the Shrine in this way:
"As men, we are boys grown up . . .
We like to play, We have sympathetic hearts,
We like to share our toys and happiness with others."
To enlighten the readers of "Philalethes," we compiled from authentic sources the derivation and significance of names adopted by some Shrine Temples:
AAHMES - "the moon is born."
ABBA - "Father."
ABDALLAH - "servant of God."
ABOU SAAD - "good fortune."
AINAD - "spring of Ad."
AL BAHR - "the sea."
AL KADER - "the Mighty."
AL MAlLAIKAH - "the angels."
BEN All - "son of Ali."
BENI KEDEM - "Sons of the East."
BOUMI - "owl."
ELF KHURAFEH - "1,000 gathering fruits."
EL JEBEL - "the mountain."
EL MAIDA - "the table"; title of the fifth Sura of the Koran.
EL MINA - "The Port." Name of place in the hills of Mecca.
EL RIAD - "the luxuriant gardens."
HADI - "calm, or still." One of the names of Allah.
IREM - a place mentioned in the Koran (Sura 89:6): "Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with Ad."
ISLAM - Mohammedans or individuals who believe in Mohammed; technically those who have surrendered to Mohammed.
KAABA - "sacred stone."
KALURAH - "gleanings of corn."
KEM - "how many."
KHEDIVE - Title of Turkish viceroy in Egypt from 1867.
KISMET - Commonly regarded as meaning "fate."
KOREIN - "little horn."
LU LU - "pearl."
MECCA - Sacred city of the Mohammedans; the capital of Arabia.
MEDINAH - Sacred city of the Mohammedans.
MIRZA - "Sir."
MOOLAH - Title for one learned in the teachings of the Koran.
NAJA - "Saved."
NEMESIS - Goddess of retribution.
OLEIKA - "true love."
PYRAMID - Stone structure which served as a tomb for ancient Egyptian rulers.
RAMESES - Name of several Egyptian Pharaohs in the last quarter of the second millennium B.C. The first Rameses founded the nineteenth dynasty.
SALAAM - "peace."
SALADIN - "the good in religion."
SYRIA - Country in Asia, north of Palestine and south of Turkey.
TADMOR - Ancient name of Palmyra, a city of the Syrian desert built by King Solomon.
TEHAMA - The narrow strip of lowland along the coast, which runs from the Sinai Peninsula along the west and south sides of Arabia. The name is connected with the Assyrian dragon "Tiamat" and with the related Hebrew "Tehom," the 'primeval abyss.'
YAARAB - "Oh, Arab.'
ZA GA ZIG - A city in the Nile delta, northern Egypt.
ZEM ZEM - A famous well near the Kaaba, opposite the corner where the holy black stone is inserted. As a common noun 'zem zem' means "Aboundant Water."
ZORAH - "a visit."
ZUHRAH - "flower."
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By Charles G. Reigner, F.P.S., Baltimore, Maryland
On Tuesday, January 24, 1950, there passed from our mortal sight one of the truly great Freemasons of our time - The Reverend Dr. Joseph Fort Newton. On three occasions during the last ten years Brother Newton came to Baltimore to speak under Masonic auspices. The last time was in May of 1949, when he was the preacher at the annual St. John's Day Service held under the auspices of the Grand Lodge. Those who were privileged to be present on that occasion will never forget his simple, eloquent, and moving talk on "Our Brotherland."
For many years - in Masonry and out of it - I have lived under the spiritual and intellectual influence of the great mind and heart of Joseph Fort Newton. He touched life at many points. His Voice and his words were potent influences for good throughout two continents.
He carried on his work up to the end. On the Sunday before his death he had conducted the Service as usual at the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of which he had been Rector since April of 1938. On Monday evening he had had dinner with his vestry. On Tuesday he was at the Church office. After dinner that evening with his wife and daughter at their home in Merion, he was reading the proofs of his forthcoming book, Everyday Religion. He suffered a heart attack. The physician who was called administered a hypodermic, but by nine o'clock he had passed from the realm of the seen to the glory of the unseen.
For breath of vision, for clearness of thought, for simplicity and directness of expression, he stood head and shoulder above all other Masons of our time. He knew the inner meaning of Masonry. He shared the breadth of his knowledge with his Brethren in a number of books and in articles almost innumerable. Through every sentence he wrote there shines a transparent sincerity of thought, as well as love of the Brethren everywhere.
I want to put down here a brief paragraph from an address which he delivered at the laying of the cornerstone of the Masonic Temple in Detroit on September 18, 1922. He called that address "The Cornerstone of the Future."
Dr. Newton had been speaking about the Three Degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry. He concluded that section of his address with this sentence: "Morality, intelligence, and a sense of the Life Everlasting, these three things Craft Masonry seeks to teach us, training us in the eternal verities which are the basis of a noble, refined, and valiant manhood."
In the paragraph which follows that sentence, Brother Newton put into a nutshell the faith and the philosophy which are Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry. Here are his noble words: "As Craft Masonry deals with the making of individual character, so the Scottish Rite has to do with the development of society, the organization of personal righteousness into social ministry and world order. It is philosophy taught in picture. It dramatizes the ultimate truth, so far as man can know it, bringing parable, symbolism, and emblem to the service of that ineffable vision which gives growth and meaning to mortal life. For richness of suggestion, for beauty of poetic imagery, it is difficult to imagine anything more resplendent than the Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. It is a great temple where truth is divested of superstition, and men learn in fellowship what none may know alone."
To be a Scottish Rite Mason is a privilege that carries with it a deep and far-reaching responsibility. "Personal righteousness" ought to characterize every Mason. Scottish Rite Masonry seeks to bring personal righteousness to bear on human and world problems. Everywhere it insists on the maintenance of that "wall of separation" between Church and State which our forefathers set up. It stands for freedom of thought, speech, and conscience. The lessons which it seeks to teach are conveyed through drama and pageantry. It utilizes parable, symbolism, and emblem in the constant effort to bring before our minds and hearts a vision of eternal truth.
Without vision man doth perish
Neither peace nor progress flourish.
Resplendent in the truth and beauty which it represents to our minds and hearts, Scottish Rite Masonry is indeed, in Dr. Newton's words, "a great temple where truth is divested of superstition, and men learn in fellowship what none may know alone."
It is true, now, as always, that the truth shall make men free-free to think, free to practice the religion of their convictions, free to uphold and advance those principles which underlie the rights of the common man in a world where tyranny lurks just around the corner.
Joseph Fort Newton was born in Decatur, Texas, on July 21, 1876. He was educated at the University of Texas and was graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1893, at the age of 17, he was ordained to the Baptist ministry. After a brief pastorate in Illinois, he accepted a call to the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Universalist Church, the name of which he changed to the Liberal Christian Church, and now known as the Peoples Church. Having been made a Mason in 1902 in Friendship Lodge No. 7, A.F. & A.M., of Dixon, Illinois, he affiliated with Mt. Hermon Lodge No. 263, A.F. & A.M., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1909, demitting therefrom in 1944. He served as Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Iowa in 1911, 1912, and 1913. His book, The Builder, was published in Cedar Rapids in 1914, twelve years after he had been made a Mason.
In 1916 he was called to fill the pulpit of the City Temple in London, England, where he remained for four years. He made many trips throughout the British Isles and even to the front-line trenches on the continent. Always his voice was raised on behalf of good will and understanding as the basis of world order and abiding peace.
On his return to the ignited States, in 1921, Dr. Newton became minister of the Church of the Divine Paternity in New York. In 1925 he resigned his pastorate of that church to enter the ministry of the Episcopal Church.
In a national poll among the clergy held some years ago, he was selected as one of the five outstanding preachers in the United States.
Universities conferred four honorary doctorate degrees upon him. He was a frequent lecturer and preacher at college convocations and on hundreds of other occasions. His published books number more than forty. His autobiography, River of Years, published in 1946, is one of the great human stories of our time.
He, though he be dead, yet ever liveth and speaketh.
With such a comrade, such a friend,
I fain would walk till journey's end
Through summer sunshine, winter rain.
And then? Farewell, we shall meet again.
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By Percy P. Barbour, M.P.S.; Georgetown, Colorado
LET US DISREGARD, for the present, all of the definition of Freemasonry heretofore made and assume that we here mean the Ritual and Monitor. We will separate them because the Ritual is more or less secret and the Monitor is not. Nor is there too much relationship between them. The Ritual is active while the Monitor is inactive, or may we say static, while the Ritual is dynamic and each potent, in its way.
To determine, or trace, the origin of Masonry, in this sense, and as we know it, we shall have to go back almost to the "beginning" and speculate, since our Masonry is speculative rather than operative.
So, in the dim and distant past, before the massing of people into cities, there were families roving, more or less, about the landscape of nature; mostly, not roving far and generally returning to a locality.
Their principal occupation was finding food. In the course of time their methods improved; perhaps a great length of time elapsed before much improvement might be seen; but with a developing brain they learned, remembered and taught their children. The beginnings were slow but with each generation additions were made and after enough generations had passed the brain had to respond; that is, its functioning increased with use, not uniformly, but in spots, or in individuals in families.
Families united with others for greater security and for division of labor.
Quite early in this process of evolution they learned that certain actions were desirable and that others were not; this was the beginning of morals. Thus, after a time, some thinking mind expressed them in words and they became precepts to be passed on to other generations. Some accepted these precepts; some accepted them with reservations and others did not accept them as a rule of action.
Words having come into use, things were given names; children were named, some of which still remain with us: Stone, Clay, Wood, Rose, Daisy, Fox, Wolf, Lion, Green, Black, White, Gray, High, Low, Swift, and how many others have become family names !
We are now about to enter the traditional stage, still more or less inferential; that is, we have a hazy notion of how it was.
Under the division of labor, some men had a better opportunity to observe and contemplate the regularity of occurence of the periodic return of the moon's appearance; the difference in position of the planets as compared with the fixed stars; the periodic return of spring, summer, fall and winter, and their contrasting temperatures, all of which they sought to explain.
The clouds were like the sheep of some great personification (a god) driven by some other personified natural element (wind); the thunder, as the voice of another - in the same manner as it is with the mass of people today, more interested in persons than ideas, these ancestors of ours gave personality to the forces of nature together with names - which was perfectly natural for them to do because they had learned that the effort and actions of man produced certain sequences of result; and so, it must be that the sequence of greater events in the natural world must be due to the will and pleasure of greater, if invisible persons.
Thus began all the stories of Mythology.
In the early stages of this development, at least among some all of the people took part in the observance of acts (worship) intended to favorably impress these greater Personages, win their favor or ward off the disfavor of others.
Certain individuals became more adept than others at, say, chanting or producing fire (part of the ceremonies); hence it became more and more their function and in time became their special and only duty to the community. In other words, they became experts and when the population became great enough they formed an exclusive society. They invented stories to explain the processes of nature and made discoveries which they retained as secrets of the order, all of which added to their importance. With their discoveries and secrets and superior intelligence, they became a "society with secrets" (priests).
While, at an early period, the people worshipped in the open, on the summit of some not too high hill; later, as the prestige and wealth of the select society grew, so the importance of the gods grew in their minds. This found expression in as magnificent a building as could be afforded together with vestments and consecrated vessels suitable to such a building.
In the design and construction of these buildings (temples in a strict sense), the members of the societies learned technical and mathematical matters to be added to the secrets they already had. Eventually, some of these secrets had to be imparted to some of the workmen engaged in erecting the building. Then, as building became more general, the services of these better workmen, architects, stone cutters, wood worker, metal workers, weavers of cloth, and jewelers were more in demand. So they, in turn, banded together in societies with secrets to which they added social features and means of recognition of their status (grade) so that they might expect to be conveniently placed at work on some other construction.
The priest-craft, sensing the advisability of interesting the more intelligent of the people in the perpetuation of their ideas, founded another society with secrets; disclosing some of their secrets enhanced by including the precepts which they had preserved and thus sought to have practiced. And these societies became quite popular. (Mysteries). The entrants were required to pass certain tests, physical mental and moral, before being advanced to a higher grade. They were bound by a solemn oath not to reveal anything that took place in any of the ceremonies which were often performed in an underground room or grotto. It is possible that part of the ceremony was designed to afford amusement for the onlookers as well as to impress the victim and one may presume that the candidate also paid in coin of the realm for the privilege of being conducted through an embarrasing situation or one to test his moral courage and teach him a lesson.
Although these societies, in t me. seem to have become dormant, perhaps extinct, yet vestiges of their forms and teachings must have persisted to be recalled later in other situations.
These early people, or some of them, through increase of numbers and limitation of available land, or being forced by hoards of pillagers, at times, split into bands, some migrating to far distant parts, have eventually set foot on the entire earth; and as they traveled they carried with them their forms, ceremonies, customs, and speech to be modified, amplified, or forgotten in the place of their new abode. Although spreading far and wide, their ideas and teachings could not have been entirely lost; if they were not servicable or applicable in one circumstance they must have fitted in some other place, modified to suit the situation.
Thus, there must have been available (in 1717), here and there, a multitude of parallel stories, fables and traditions with symbols to explain them, or refresh the memory of those who knew, that had been adopted by divers societies, guilds, or however named, for someone to select, amplify and adapt into a system. (Anderson).
We should remember that the Masonry we are considering was not a new invention but was the appropriation and re-editing of matters then very old.
The mysteries of Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome cannot have completely disappeared from the face of the earth; they were too widely Spread and too well revered to have vanished into thin air. Being bound to secrecy its devotees were careful not to commit to writing much that applied to it. This but adds to the difficulty of tracing its progress, but just as we reason that there must have been a Creator, so we reason that our Masonry is bound to the past. We call this Masonry "Ancient" and we admit it is.
It is reasonably certain that the association of operative masons, which may have included the architects were dominated by the Bishops of the Church; but the organization of 1717 was not, and it was therefore "Free." There is no Christian, Mohammedan, Jewish, or any other theology expressed in it and only two dogmas - belief in Deity and Immortality.
Finally, as the applicant must have been unanimously elected, he is therefore "Accepted."
Hence, "Ancient, Free and Accepted."
Cum grano salis.
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The Altar is the holy place in our great Masonic Order. In the early religious services it was the custom of the priests and the people to move about the Altar as the sun passed about in its orbit, rising in the East, passing to the South by way of the West, and as they passed they sang their songs of praise, chanted their psalms and poured forth their peons of thanksgiving to the deity that they worshipped. Thus it is with Freemasonry, we pass from youth to our meridian glory into the mellowing twilight to meet our God at His Altar.
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Every man gets on the wrong road at times. He comes upon hills, rough going and dangerous detours. What he does when he meets these obstacles determines his destiny. The world never hears from those who look for a place to sit down. - The Educator.
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Are you planning the formation of a Masonic Study Group? Get a few brethren together and see that they are congenial. Encourage them to submit questions, and assign these to well-informed brethren. Verify the answers or make them stand upon their own feet, so to speak; distinguish between speculation and knowledge. Ask for evidence, taboo all fiction and half-baked replies.
A few hints regarding the study of Masonry might be in order.
Masonry can be divided into five departments, Ritual; History; Philosophy; Symbolism, and Law.
Ritual may be discussed in its relations to the Old charges, folklore, mystery plays of the middle ages, survivals of tribal ceremonials, building customs monitorial divergences, development, etc. Your source of information can be: "Historical Notes on the Masonic Ritual," by Robert J. Meekren, F.P.S., now running in serial form in the issues of "Philalethes."
History should be examined as of any Lodge (where for example all members of a study group belong to one lodge), Grand Lodge, and their source of authority. Local and state historical records are of value as sources of information, with Gould's "History of Freemasonry"; Albert Mackey's "Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry"; "The Little Masonic Library,' 5 Vol's (New Edition), etc.
Philosophy can be studied with the aid of "The Builder," by the late Joseph Fort Newton; "The Men's House," by the same author; Oliver Street Day's, "Symbolism of the Three Degrees," etc.
Symbolism. All the symbols of Freemasonry are treated authentically in Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia.
Law. The Masonic Code of one's own State has first choice, of course. Then there are Mackey's Volumes on Masonic Jurisprudence.
Consult your Masonic Library to furnish you a list of references to the Masonic books it possesses. Assign as many of the foregoing subdivisions to as many brethren and give to each the references bearing upon his chosen allotted topic.
As knowledge is the solace of the intellect, each Masonic Study Group should own its own library of Masonic works. Few as these may be, they are always at hand for convenient and frequent reference. The list of books mentioned above, because they are authentic and trustworthy, giving the results of best Masonic research, should be augmented from time to time. A subscription for "Philalethes," being a storehouse of Masonic knowledge, will prove helpful for reference anal otherwise.
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In Symbolic Masonry we encounter reference to three colors, the alternating black and white of the Mosaic pavement denoting the "dual principle"; the pure white of the Lily and the blue color attributed to the Lodge and the Heavens which it is said to imitate in certain particulars. From the latter consideration we derive various notes of blue in lodge regalia and decorations. The green of the acacia though not dwelt upon, supplies the final note on Immortality.
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To a real man every bump is boost
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"From the Chaplain's Chair"; (Mason Star and Spire, January, 1950)
"The Patriarchs," by the late Joseph Fort Newton (Grand Lodge of Iowa "Bulletin," January, 1950).
"Is He Worthy and Well Qualified," by John W. Hall, Grand Master of New Mexico (The New Mexico Freemason, August, 1949)
"The Golden Rule," by Philip H. Coad, F.P.S. (Lake Erie Zephyrs, February, 1950).
"Darkness and Light," by Roland Obenchain (The Indiana Freemason, February, 1950).
"A Place of Darkness," by Bliss Kelly, M.P.S. (The Oklahoma Mason. February, 1950).
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Books Received
"The Designs Laid Down Upon the Trestleboard"; (Wall Lodge No. 73, F. & A.M., Manasquan, N.J.).
"The Story of Carthaginian," 1904 to 1949, by Harry A. Williamson, P.M.; (The Carthaginian Study Club, Brooklyn, N.Y.).
"History of Union Lodge No. 7, A.F. & A.M., Grimsby (Ont.), Canada; compiled by E. J. Marsh, on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Lodge (1799-1949).
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For beyond the grave there lie
Brighter mansions in the sky!
Where, enthroned, the Deity
Gives Asian immortality.
SHERMAN SPENCER SMILEY, M.P.S.
Brother Sherman Spencer Smiley, born at Gardiner, Oregon, on October 10, 1900, died on December 18, 1949, following an illness of several months.
He saw the light of Freemasonry in Aurora Lodge No. 59, A.F. & A.M., Gardiner, and for many years served as its Secretary. He held many committee appointments in Grand Lodge and was D.D.G.M. in 1945 and 1946. He was a member, Past High Priest, and Secretary of Aurora Chapter No. 49, R.A.M., and was active in Occidental Council No. 12, R. & S.M.; Pacific Commandery No. 10, K. T.; Marshfield Lodge of Perfection, and Eugene Consistory No. 2, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He was elected to membership in the Philalethes Society on March 28, 1947, upon the recommendation of Brother Elbert Bede, F.P.S.
CARL ABRAM MIDDAUGH, M.P.S.
Brother Carl A. Middaugh was born at Topeka, Kansas, on November 1, 1867, and died at Kansas City, Missouri, on January 16, 1950.
Our Brother saw the light of Freemasonry in Ivanhoe Lodge No. 446, A.F. & A.M., October 3, 1925, and had the honor of being designated (by ballot) as its "Outstanding Member" for the year 1946.
Brother Middaugh was elected to membership in the Philalethes Society on May 24, 1948, upon the recommendation of Brother Harold B. Watson, M.P.S.
DAVID PARKER REESE, M.P.S.
Brother David P. Reese was born at Briton Ferry, Glenmorganshire, Wales, on November 16, 1883, and died at Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, Penna., on October 21, 1949.
Masonic services were held October 24, at the Reese Funeral Home, Niles, Ohio, Brother Wayne King, Worshipful Master of Lathrop Lodge No. 676, F.&A.M., conducting the service. Masons drove fifty miles and more to attend the services.
Our Brother served as Editor of the "Masonic Bulletin" since 1942, writing most of the short poems used in the Obituary column. In addition to his editorial work, he served as organist for Lathrop Lodge No. 676, of which he was a member, and Trinity Lodge No. 710. He also was a member of the York Rite Bodies; Canton Chapter No. 84, R.A.M.; Canton Council No. 35, R. & S. M.; Canton Commandery No. 38, K.T.; Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; Nazir Grotto; Delta Chapter, O.E.S., Oddfellows, and various musical organizations.
Brother David P. Reese was elected to membership in the Philalethes Society on January 29, 1947, upon the recommendation of Brother Allister J. McKowen, F.P.S.
(signed) ALLISTER J. McKOWEN
Secretary
"The Philalethes Society"
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By V. M. Burrows, M.P.S.
Long Beach, Calif.
THE CONSCIOUSNESS of a revelation of God within the soul of man is the basis of all vital religion, and the acceptance of the reality of such revelation leads one to many important conclusions. It must be that God wills that we should know Him. He is not a God who dwells in a far-off heaven indifferent to what takes place upon earth and regardless of the needs of His human children, but He is a self-revealing God.
Freemasonry teaches us to follow the guidance of God, always heeding the better judgment of the still small voice of conscience, and to fear not what man can do unto us. By divesting our minds and consciousness of the vices and superfluities of life, and by heeding the directions of our conscience, He speaks to our souls and calls us to fellowship and communion with Himself.
The existence of God, the immortality of the soul, the kinship of the human spirit with the Divine Father - not one of these concepts is capable of proof in the ordinary sense of the word. Yet men and women have in every age found working hypotheses which have stood the crucial test of experience.
Anyone that will, may make the test. Follow the intimations within your soul that point to the path of duty, and you will find that the path of duty becomes continually clearer. Listen to the voice of God, and you will grow continually more sensitive to that voice. Cultivate the habit of seeking to realize the presence of God, and God will seem continually nearer, and the sense of His presence will grow continually more and more real to you. It is the highest duty and privilege of man upon this earth to seek God. Freemasonry carries down through the ages the old instruction: "Seek, and ye shall find!"
But if, on the contrary, we do not seek God, do not listen to the Divine Voice within the soul; if we bury ourselves in the sordid business of money-getting and money-spending; if we shut ourselves up in the prison-house of our own selfishness, we shall just as surely find it more and more difficult to hold to a faith in the higher realities, and shall be more and more prone to look upon this as a Godless world.
It is characteristic of the higher experiences of life that we enter into them most fully when we share them with others. For that reason it is a great privilege and blessing to be enabled to attend lodge, and there listen to the instruction or ponder on the symbolism of Freemasonry. It is a higher blessing to read and search out fundamental truths for imparting to our less-informed brethren. Coaching of candidates brings the rare gift of opportunity - their personal questions may be answered; they may be properly advised and guided in their thinking, and they may be given the benefit of your heartfelt confidence in the higher experience of life.
If you cannot coach candidates or cannot attend lodge meetings, you should give periodical attention to Freemasonry by some of your reading. Visit a Masonic Library. Subscribe for a good Masonic weekly or monthly magazine which is not supported by advertisements. Get a thought and pass it on, as a daily effort apart from the business of moneymaking.
Put yourself to sleep with thoughts of Love. Love for close friends and the members of your family. Love for your fellowmen, and Love for your personal God. Appreciate Freemasonry and "Think on These Things."
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New Members
Howard H. Arnold; Los Angeles, California (Recommended by the late Walter J. Young, MPS)
Charles Barrett; Hayward, California (Recommended by Harry H. Leavitt, MPS)
Joseph W. Kane; Detroit, Michigan (Recommended by J. Fairbairn Smith, FPS)
Alfred S. Lee; San Francisco, California (Recommended by Dr. C. H. Mei, MPS)
John A. Mirt; Chicago, Illinois (Recommended by Cecil H. Ellis, MPS )
George J. Nikolas, Jr.; Chicago, Illinois (Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, MPS)
George J. Nikolas, III; Chicago, Illinois (Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, MPS)
Judge Cecil C. Smith; Chicago, Illinois (Recommended by Alphonse Cerza, MPS)
Laurence R. Taylor; Franklin, Indiana (Recommended by Dwight L. Smith, MPS)
William A. Thaanum; Conrad, Montana (Recommended by Francis G. Hulburt, MPS)
George V. Tudhope; Oakland, California (Recommended by Carl R. Moore, MPS)
Frank E. Van Demark; Cut Bank, Montana (Recommended by Francis G. Hulburt, MPS)
* * *
Recent visitors at the home of President Walter A. Quincke, F.P.S., included: Lee Edwin Wells, F.P.S., Canoga Park, Calif; Allister J. McKowen, F.P.S., Los Angeles, Calif.; Avery Dean Curl, M.P.S., Palo Alto, Calif.; Charles P. Barrett, M.P.S., Los Angeles, Calif.; Chan L. Rogers, M.P.S., Los Angeles, Calif., and Mrs. Rogers; Oscar R. Schlag, member of "Sapere Aude Lodge," Zurich, Switzerland.
* * *
The Philalethes - April-May, 1950, Volume 5 Number 4. - Walter A. Quincke. F.P.S., Editor. - 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. No advertising in any form is solicited or accepted. When requesting a change of address, please give the old as well as the new address, including your postal zone number, if you have such. - Annual subscription, in the U.S.A., $3.00, elsewhere, $4.00, payable in advance, at par in Los Angeles. The columns of "Philalethes" are reserved for the literary contributions of the members of the Society, and the material is selected for its quality and timeliness rather than upon name. - The Society's current 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 and giving the name, number and location of the Symbolic Lodge in which he holds membership.