May,1954
Contents
KINDNESS Are We 'Little Man' ?
The Hidden Message of 'Nursery' Rhymes ANNOUNCEMENT
THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO THE WORLD OF 1717
Dormit in Pace THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
BE GRATEFUL
BUREAU OF MASONIC INFORMATION
To this conclusion I have humbly come . . .
I'll give no place to hate or creed or race,
Such bitterness brings nothing but disgrace.
I've seen that senseless hates the heart benumbs.
I have no faith in loud outcry and noise,
In gaudy movements stirring up the crowd;
Too oft, I've found, the issue they becloud,
From quiet thought alone come peace and poise.
I know that kindness is the common key
That fits the heart and mind of every man.
I'll be sincere and never partisan . . .
From loud, bombastic argument I'll flee.
I'll speak no word that causes hurt or pain,
No fuel add when hate and passion flame;
To let the fire die shall be my aim,
From harshly spoken, bitter words abstain.
I know no plan to walk this traveled way
In quiet peace . . . no way to be content
In times of tumult which the soul torment . . .
Except to speak with kindness every day.
Charles G. Reigner, F.P.S.
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THE PHILALETHES
Volume 7 MAY, 1954 Number 6
PUBLISHED BY THE PHILALETHES SOCIETY
3637 Linden Boulevard - St. Louis, Missouri
Lee E. Wells - President
P.O. Box 111 - Canoga Park, Cal.
Alphonse Cerza - First Vice President
130 Akenside Road - Riverside, Illinois
Arthur H. Triggs - Second Vice President
2117 Funston Place - Oakland, California
Lawton E. Meyer - Executive Secretary
3637 Linden Boulevard - St. Louis, Missouri
John B. Vrooman - Treasurer
P.O. Box 402 - St. Louis, Missouri
The Philalethes is the official publication of The Philalethes Society, founded on October 1, 1928. All articles appearing in its columns express the ideas and opinions of their contributors only, and in no way need they express the opinion of the Society.
No advertising in any form is solicited or accepted.
All communications relative to the magazine should be addressed to Alphonse Cerza, Editor, 130 Akenside Rood, Riverside, Illinois.
Membership to the Society is by recommendation only. Inquiry relative to membership should be addressed to the president.
The joining fee is $2.00; annual dues are $5.00.
A limited number of subscriptions are available to non-members of the Society, lodges, study clubs, research lodges, and similar groups at $3.00 a year in the United States, elsewhere $4.00 a year, payable in advance.
When requesting a change of address, please give the old as well as the new address, including zone number, if there is one.
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(Editorial)
"There were giants in the earths in those days." - Gen. Vl-4.
THIS MONTH we celebrate the 176th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and as we reflect upon that group of patriots gathered in the old State House in Philadelphia July 4, 1776, a number of whom we are proud to claim as Masons, our hearts are filled with admiration for their wisdom, strength of purpose, and the beauty of the ideals embodied in the declaration of their rights as free men, and endowed by their Creator. They realized full well, should they fail, a signature on that parchment was equivalent to the penalty of death for high treason, yet with resolute courage and a reliance on Divine Providence they mutually pledged one another "our lives, our fortunes, and our Sacred Honor." This was the price they were willing to pay for Liberty.
It should be remembered that the colonies were not of one mind as to the policies for the new nation: that then, as now, many looked on complacently while a fearless few conducted themselves as to reveal the essentials of greatness, as possessing faith in God, in the ultimate triumph of right, with a willingness to serve and sacrifice whatever the cost. Such was the independent "Spirit of '76" that established our heritage.
Almost two centuries later the questions challenge us, "Do we measure up to that standard?" "Have we such concepts of the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God, as had our Masonic forbears?" "Have we the faith to rely upon the sustaining power of the Deity and pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our honor for principles we believe are right?" "Can we preserve our heritage for ourselves and defend it elsewhere in the world against tyranny?"
Had we heeded the prophetic words of Thomas Jefferson, "Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty," we might have prevented the problems of today and the fear of world-wide oppression. Had we shown the abiding appreciation of the moral and spiritual values evidenced by Brothers George Washington and Benjamin Franklin while engaged in the establishment of our freedom, we might not now be compelled to rely on the power of armaments to preserve it. Had we been less concerned with our own selfish interests and more ready to sacrifice for another's welfare, there might now be less suspicion and distrust abroad in the world.
We have only ourselves to blame for the encroachment of those ideologies that threaten our security, and for the taint of corruption and decay of morals that has always preceded the disintegration of the powerful nations and civilizations of the past.
As individual Masons we have known what was expected of us as citizens, for we are early enjoined to be "exemplary in the discharge" of our civil duties; that we "propose or countenance" no act that "might subvert the peace and good order of society"; that we "pay due obedience to the laws under whose protection" we live, and ever keep before our eyes "the allegiance due" to our country.
(Editorial note - The above editorial was found among the papers of the Society. It was prepared by our late Brother Harold H. Kinney for publication in The Philalethes. )
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The Masonic Service Association has just published Let There Be Light, A Study of Anti-Masonry, Alphonse Cerza, F.P.S.
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The man who knows how to read and does not, has no advantage over the man who has never learned to read.
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You can preach a better sermon with your life than you can with your lips. Oliver Goldsmith.
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The Hidden Message of 'Nursery' Rhymes
By LAWTON E. MEYER, F.P.S.
St. Louis, Missouri
THOSE catchy verses so dear to every child are more than just pretty poems of simple beauty. They have a serious history and a hidden meaning that make an interesting study.
In their crusade against the abuses of the Church of Rome, the Albigenses found versatile workers among their fellow-countrymen: THE TROUBADOURS. The Troubadours were not simple singers of quaint whimsy and the faunsong of unrequited love. Rather, heretics under the ban of Rome, they were badgered and driven from town to town by their malignant antagonists for they were the press of their day, carrying messages under a succession of allegories with their main purpose to redress the wrongs of Rome and its priesthood and to arm with TRUTH the weak and oppressed thru-out Europe.
The influence of these minstrels cannot be over-estimated. Wandering from peasant’s hut to noble’s castle their verbal incisions swayed the mind of Peasant and King alike. Their rhymes were not fantastic nonsense nor poetic fancies; rather, they contained subtle wisdom. It was the kind of wisdom which resulted in Runnymede and the Reformation. In truth, the minstrel was Savonarola with a lute!
The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries were epochs of religious revolution, the striving of the Peasant for freedom. This movement was strongest in southern France, in the Provinces of Languedoc and Provence.
These Albigenses were devout Christians who practised a ritual-less religion of brotherhood, kindness, and patience, their motto was WORK IS PRAYER. Their aim was to curtain Papal authority and promote a purer de-ritualized gospel for the common man. The wealth of the Church, its greed for temporal power, was the object of sardonic denunciation by the Albigenses. Ironically they declared to be blasphemous the pompous ecclesiastic ritual of badgering and cajoling the Deity. They asked if the brains of the Church designed the Cathedrals, if the hands of the Clergy cut and laid the stones. They were also anxious to learn if the wealth of the Church was earned by the toll of the priests, and if the PRAYER of the Church was like that of the AIbigenses, that WORK IS PRAYER.
Nothing was more exasperating to Pope Innocent III, than these heretical vivisectionists, who could reason so trenchantly. This heresy depressed Innocent, and caused him, in 1209, to send his MISSIONARIES, with his sacerdotal benefaction, to stamp out the Albigenses spirit of unorthodoxy. So skilled were these missionaries in mass annihilation, that the civilization of the Albigenses was destroyed, their cities leveled, and some 20,000 men, women, and children slain. Yet the Albigenses survived, for the teachings which they gave the world lived to confront and confound their disconcerted persecutors. Now instead of one focal point of heresy, there were hundreds of proselyting spots of incubation springing up throughout all Europe.
Of a certainty, the Troubadours sang lines of a misleadingly, oversimplified mixtures of enigma and transparency. Yet, there was something tremendously appealing in these whimseys. They remained in the memory to disturb the listener, and whisper hauntingly to his pillow at night. Sometimes the clergy, who had reduced imagination to a safe minimum, began to doubt even the efficacy of their own most dependable platitudes. Even the Nobles were at times skeptical, but when they attempted to peer into the minds of the minstrels they had a vague idea that they were peering into the minds more nimble than their own. Nevertheless, the genuflecting voice and the antiseptic smile of the Troubadour was anaesthesia to smug, complacent Royalty.
Yet across all this minstrel-lore falls the grim shadow of the dungeon. One could easily find himself warped into the drafty sub-basement of a castle, to emerge a foot longer after a session with the RACK, or a head shorter after the benefaction of a visit with the HERDSMAN and his block. As a matter of fact, Claiborne was hanged because he was a bit too obvious in his treatment of Richard II, the humpbacked king, who lost his life and his crown at the battle of Bosworth in 1485. Here Is the Angle:
Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall;
And all the king s horses, and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty-Dumpty together again.
Now for a few rhymes about Henry VIII. Year by year the Royal revenues showed an alarming decrease and shrinkage, while that of the Church its holdings and assets advanced by leaps and bounds. The high mortality rate of the day kept the estates passing in rapid succession from father to son to the oldest male heir, but unfortunately the lives of the Testators were such that it was deemed necessary to hoist them from their tortures in Purgatory, so that the wills of the deceased usually carried a proviso that a large portion of the estate should be set aside for Church use.
Then, again, the Church might have had a perverted sense of Double-Entry Bookkeeping. Henry's mind was not altogether atrophied, and he set out to seize all Church properties.
Remember:
"Robin the bobbin, big-bellied Ben,
He ate more meat than three score men,
He ate the church, he ate the steeple,
He ate the Priests and all the people,
And yet complained his belly wasn't full."
Remember:
"Sing a song of six pence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing,
Now wasn't that a jolly dish to set before the King?"
The meaning is simple; the sixpence was the Church dole; the pocket full of rye were the plump friars' nelds of grain, and the Blackbirds were the marauding and grasping priests.
Remember:
"There was a little man, and he had a little gun,
And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead;
And he went to the brook, and saw a little duck,
And shot it through the head, head, head.
This jingle refers to Philip II of Spain, the spouse of "Bloody Mary." Philip II was a tiny man, and gave the impression of having been hurriedly strung together on a badly-twisted wire. The "ducks" referred to were the Protestants slain in the bloody inquisition instituted by Philip and Mary in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The grievances of the working classes gave rise to this:
"Baa, Baa, blacksheep, have you any wool,
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full;
One for my Master, and one for my Dame,
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane."
In those days the workmen received but one-third of the results of their labor: My Master and My Dame taking a part, and the King confiscating the rest.
At Exeter, in 1549, more than 16,000 disgruntled workmen, under Ket the Tanner, waxed riotous prior to his hanging for treason by order of the Duke of Warwick, an obvious demonstration of the unrest and discontent of the times as typified by this rhyme.
Allegories, to be sure, are as old as Man and his traditions. To an illiterate, the letters 'M-A-N' are just a series of lines on a piece of paper. The Initiate, however, immediately sees a picture of a two-legged, upright Mammal of the male species.
Mackey defines Masonry as a science which is engaged in a search for Divine Truth, using symbols and allegories as a means of instruction. Pike sets out that "in all times, Truth has been hidden under symbols and often under a succession of allegories." Veil after veil must be penetrated to reach the Truth; it is the search after Truth, under whatever name, that is the goal of thinking Freemasons.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Encyclopedia Brittanica.
National History of England, Text.
Nursery Chap-Book Douce Adds, Bodleian Library, Oxford, Eng.
Popular English Rhymes, A. Halliwell.
Chap Books of the Eighteenth Century - John Aston, Bodliean Library, Oxford, Eng.
Harleian Miscellany 4690 full, Bodleian Library, Oxford, Eng.
Old and New London, Narration of its History - Walter Thornbury.
Richard III, by William Shakespeare, Act V, Sc.4.
Popular English Phrases and Nursery Rhymes, Kerr.
Letters relating to the Suppression of the Monasteries, Oxford.
Wolsey, the Cardinal, A. Howard; Oxford, Bodliean Library.
Hardwick State Papers Mary Stuart; Vol. XV; Bodliean Library, Oxford.
Life of Queen Elizabeth (1), Strickland.
Jacobite Minstrelsy, Bodliean Library, Oxford.
The Mystery of Mary Stuart, Andrew Lang.
A History of English Poetry, Prof. Courthope.
Lollardy and the Reformation, Dr. J. Gairdner, London .
(Editorial note - Brother Meyer has submitted the above article as his "masterpiece.")
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Brother William Moseley Brown, F.P.S., has just completed a book entitled From These Beginnings. It is a biography of Rennie L. Arnold, Imperial Potentate of the Shrine.
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We are happy to state that there are still available some old issues of The Philalethes as well as a few bound volumes. There are very few complete sets left and each year they become scarcer. Before too long they will be collectors' items.
If you wish to complete your set of the magazine, or secure any of the bound volumes you are urged to act at once.
If you are interested write to:
Alphonse Cerza
130 Akenside Road
Riverside, Illinois
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Introducing The Editorial Board
The magazine of the Society is being issued by a board consisting of Alphonze Cerza, as editor, William H. Knutz, Albert L. Woody, and Ralph Davis. We are happy to present the three brethren who are assisting the editor.
Brother William H. Knutz resides in Evanston, Illinois and is a member of all the bodies that meet there. For years he has been active in his lodge, the chapter, and the Cryptic rite. Since its first issue he has been the editor of the Illinois Enlightner, official publication of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. For years he has been the editor of the Illinois Cryptic Mason. He has written many articles on Masonic subjects. He is a famous engineer whose work has been recognized throughout the country.
Brother Albert L. Woody, an engraver, resides in Berwyn, Illinois. He is a member of Parian Lodge, Chicago, Illinois. Some years ago he and several other members started a study club within the lodge and many valuable papers on Masonic subjects were read there. For years he has made valuable contributions to the literature of Freemasonry. Since its first issue he has been the associate editor of the Illinois Enlightner. The candidate booklets published by the Illinois Committee on Masonic Information were edited by him and demonstrate his great skill. Brother Woody is a careful worker, a deep thinker, and a poet of outstanding ability.
Brother Ralph Davis resides in Oak Park, Illinois, and he is a member of every appendant order of the Craft. For years he has studied the literature of Freemasonry, and in recent years has written some fine articles that have appeared in various periodicals. He was educated in the Chicago schools as well as a high school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Upon his return to Chicago he made a study of the banking business and for years was employed in various financial organizations. In recent years he has been employed by the United States Treasury.
Presenting The Constitution Committee
The three members of the constitution committee need no introduction, as they are well known throughout the United States. We would like to present them, however, so that our younger members may know that the constitution which is being prepared for presentation to the Fellows and Members of the Society is in the hands of able Masons.
Brother Elbert Bede, chairman, for years, has been the editor of the Oregon Freemason. He has been active in all the appendant bodies and has rendered outstanding service to the Craft. Prior to moving to the state of Washington, Brother Bede was active in Minnesota and several other states. He is also the author of a number of books that have enjoyed a wide circulation. His most popular book is a little volume of short and interesting speeches suitable for Masonic occasions.
Brother William Moseley Brown is the most famous living Masonic historian in the United States. He is a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia and is one of the few men in his state who has presided over every Grand Body in Virginia. He has written a history of Freemasonry in Virginia, a number of lodge histories, the best biography of George Washington as a Mason, and a biography of Rennie Arnold, present Imperial Potentate of the Shrine.
Brother Laurence R. Taylor has been editor of the Indiana Freemason for many years. He has made it the model of what a good Masonic magazine should be. The articles which he writes for the magazine have been a valuable contribution to the literature of the Craft. In addition to his work as Editor he is constantly working with the Masonic Educational Committee of his state. He has made the Masons of Indiana conscious of the fact that there is a world of fine Masonic literature and that the informed Mason is a better Mason.
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By JAMES SKUFAKISS, M.P.S.
Champaign, Illinois
MAYBE Thomas Jefferson was a Mason; maybe he was not. This has been a debatable subject for many years. Yet many of the things he did and the words he spoke show that he was a Mason in spirit and thought. Certainly, the third President of the United States typifies the lofty principles that distinguished our Fraternity during the crucial years in which a new nation was dedicated to liberty in the New World.
For all generations to see, his tomb at Monticello is inscribed with this simple epitaph, just as he willed it: "Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826. Author of the Declaration of Independence, and of the Virginia Statutes of Religious Freedom, and Founder of the University of Virginia." The simplicity of these words emphasizes the profoundness of his accomplishments.
Jefferson, like all Masons, believed in the importance of the individual. He wrote again and again that the grounds for freedom of expression were the "natural rights" of man. His revered words concerning equality that appear in the Declaration of Independence represent the fundamental principles of his philosophy. His championing of religious freedom and public education are basic Masonic doctrine.
Jefferson's belief of the freedom of the press makes him one of the early defenders of individual rights. He has been hailed as the "foremost exponent in history of the necessity of a free press in any system of popular democratic government. Perhaps Jefferson's convictions can best be understood by examining two quotations from his voluminous writings. The first gives his views on the relationship of the press to government. It reads: "No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free, no one ever will." The second quotation relates to the position of the press in relation to popular opinion and education. Jefferson said: "Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe."
The pleas of Jefferson for individual education have been heeded by posterity. However, in this era of uncertainty it would be well to reflect on these Jeffersonian words about the ideals of education:
"The first elements of morality too may be instilled into their (student) minds; such as, when further developed as their judgments advance in strength, may teach them how to work out their own greatest happiness, by showing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the result of good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all such pursuits."
The indifference of the modern citizen towards his duty as a voter is criticized by Jefferson in words that are immortal: "(The people) are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty . . . History by apprizing them of the past will enable them to judge of the future; it will avail them of the experience of other times and other nations; it will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men; it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views.
"In every government on earth is some trace of human weakness, some germ of corruption and degeneracy, which cunning will discover, and wickedness insensibly open, cultivate and improve. Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree."
It is obvious that the Sage of Monticello, not only knew the people of his time, but had a prophetic sense that hoisted storm warnings for future generations.
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Last month Brother Allister McKowen, F.P.S., our former Secretary-Treasurer, had a long visit with Brother Cerza and acquainted him with the work of Society. Many of the books and records of the Society have been sent to Brother Cerza to be kept until the permanent officers of the Society have been elected.
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Brother Harry L. Haywood, F.P.S., is at present working on a one-volume edition of The History of Freemasonry in the United States. It will be completed in about a year.
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We are sorry to report the passing of Mrs. Gabriel Ruscitti. For years there has hardly been an issue of our magazine without a fine short article by Brother Ruscitti. His articles are being missed, and the officers of the Society pray that the Grand Architect of the Universe will comfort our Brother and give him strength and time to resume his labors in the quarries of the Craft.
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The Craftfellow Library Service, 1453 Maple Avenue, Evanston, Illinois has issued a book entitled "What Masonry Is," a talk given on March 27, 1953, and later printed in the Indiana Freemason.
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Altar Lights, published in 1952, is a little booklet containing articles by our late Bro. James K. Remick F.P.S. Some of them originally appeared in The Philalethes.
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By ALPHONSE CERZA, F.P.S.
Riverside, Illinois
(Editorial Note: In accordance with an ancient custom, every Member of the Philalethes Society upon becoming a FELLOW is required to present his "masterpiece" within a reasonable time. Accordingly, Brother Cerza has submitted this article as his "masterpiece.")
THE YEAR 1717 is an outstanding one in the history of Freemasonry, because on June 24, 1717 four of the lodges of London met at the Goose and Gridiron tavern and formed the Grand Lodge of England. Prior to that time lodges existed in England, Scotland and Ireland but they had no charters or warrants and are now called "time immemorial" lodges; after 1717 lodges associated themselves with a Grand Lodge and secured charters. In a sense, modern Freemasonry starts with the year 1717 because our modern Masonic organization began at that time.
Masonic historians in their zeal to tell about this important event tell us little of the background of world history; they assume that we remember our lessons at school. But do we, or do we lose sight of other events in following the story? A consideration of the social, political, and economic conditions of the times is interesting. We should know as much as possible about the background of this momentous event in the history of the Craft. Since events do not occur with respect to the calendar, we cannot restrict our study to the year 1717 alone. Life goes on day by day, and things keep happening in a chain of circumstances. Therefore, we must look at some things that happened a few years before and also study some things that happened a little after that important year. Truly, it may be said that the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century marks an age of transition. Those who lived in the early days of this new century were facing a new age of hope and were turning their backs on darker days.
The Social Scene
The year 1666 was a bad one for London for it was the year of the Great Fire and of the Great Plague. The fire burned for four days with a wind constantly fanning the flames; 263 acres within the city walls were burned and 63 acres outside the walls; 13,200 houses were burned and only one-fifth of the area within the wall of the city remained intact. The Great Plague which also occurred that year claimed 68,596 lives within the city. These two catastrophes caused hardships that were felt throughout England for many years. In addition to poverty and lack of work, disease was rampant. It took many decades for the country to emerge from the resulting evils.
In the early years of the Eighteenth century there was a sharp class distinction in England and Europe. The age was one of great formality among the upper classes. The fashionable public of London took pride in polished manners, polite restraint, no display of emotions, and the exhibition of the delicate manners of the French in the ballrooms and parlors.
Beneath all this cold formality, however, cruelty and inhumanity reigned. The laws were harsh; cruel punishment was imposed for the slightest violations. As late as 1702 there was a witchcraft case in England! Drunkeness was a national vice. There existed an unbelievably large poor class that lived under the most miserable conditions. The individual, as such, was lost in the maze of poverty, disinterest by the leaders and the ruling class, and the woeful lack of opportunity. As the century unfolded this all changed by the emergence of the principle of the dignity of man, his shaking off of the shackles of unfair rule with the American and French Revolutions, and with a complete change of attitude towards the "common man." Freemasonry was a vehicle for the expression of the idea of the dignity of man. Later in the century Voltaire and Rousseau with their pens sought the rights of man and his enlightenment. And it was an age of religious revival; John Wesley (1703-1791) met the challenge of the day with his dynamic personality and preaching these things were a revolt against the conditions of the times; all of them prepared the stage for modern society.
In the midst of all these movements there was much immorality. For example, Colonel Charteris and Philip, Duke of Wharton, were the leading rakes of the day; Lord Chesterfield is still remembered for his famous letters to his illegitimate son.
In the Seventeenth century the English countryside was a large waste land. With the century that followed, much of this land was brought under cultivation; farms appeared everywhere; large country houses appeared on the scene. Most travelling was by water, but roads began to be built. The fashionable watering places of Bath and Tunbridge Wells became famous.
There were other important social changes that occurrent at the turn of the century. In London the coffee-house made its appearance. Coffee had been brought to England from Turkey during the days of Cromwell. But it was not until the turn of the new century that the coffeehouses appeared in any large numbers. These establishments became important because people met there and discussed the news of the day. The various coffee-houses appealed to different groups for their patronage; the upper classes frequented White's Chocolate House; the literary men visited Will's of Button's. Clubs were formed for eating and drinking. Outside the city pleasure gardens were established. They had all sorts of special attractions such as fireworks displays, masked balls, and sporting events. Meals were served amid such cruel sports as bull-baiting, bear-baiting, and cock fights. In 1717 it is reported that two leopards were pitted against one another. Theaters were established and the crowds went to see Garrick, Mrs. Siddons, or Peg Woffington.
The dress of the period was distinctive. Men wore full-skirted coats with elaborate waistcoats, knee breeches, fastened with buckles, clocked stockings, shoes with large buckles. The three corner hat was typical. In Queen Anne’s day the full bottomed wig was fashionable, but later the hair was tied in a queue. A dude of the day wore a crimson cape, a feather in his hat, a small cane hanging from a button, and was generally accompanied by two greyhounds.
The ladies of the period powdered their hair and wire elaborate head-dresses decked with ribbons, feather, toy ships, and coaches. Little lace caps were worn indoors. Outside they wore the milkmaid style straw hats tied under the chin. Later large ostrich plumed hats were worn. The dress had a pointed bodies and a skirt full at the hips which reached the ankles. The sleeves were long or elbow-lengths. A patrician lady would carry long gloves, a muff, a fan, or parasol. The popularity of beauty spots and patches on the face was widespread. Hogarth painted many pictures satirizing the artificiality of the times; Swift wrote satire with his pen.
This change all came about as a result of the increase in trade and colonial commerce. In the prior century trade was conducted by chartered companies; these were primarily enriching the ruling classes. The new century brought a change in that trade was largely conducted by private persons. The increase in commerce filled the air with speculation. In 1716 John Law, in France, planned his dazzling Mississippi scheme by which all Frenchmen were to become millionaires; by 1720 the scheme failed dismally in England the speculation known as the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720 and brought financial panic in its wake.
The Political Scene
Between 1701 and 1713 Europe was torn by the War of the Spanish Succession. The childless King of Spain died in 1700 and willed his throne to the grandson of Louis XIV of France. The political and commercial implications of combining the thrones of France and Spain disturbed the rest of Europe. The Grand Alliance was formed between England, Holland, Prussia, and Austria. The purpose was to prevent the uniting of France and Spain. As a result, war came to Europe. The resulting Peace of Utrecht (1713-1714) changed the map of Europe completely. England emerged with great gains: it secured Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay region, from France; it secured Gibraltar and the island of Minorca from Spain.
In the year 1714 George I assumed the throne of England. He was the ruler of a small German state and came to England without knowing how to speak a word of English. His ministers spoke no German. As a result, the minister took over the rule of England. The downfall of Bolingboke in 1714 ended the Toryism of the Seventeenth century and was the beginning of a new political era in England. It was the real beginning of present-day government in Britain.
In the year 1717 the Triple Alliance was formed between England, France and Holland.
These political maneuvers were part of the game to take over and control certain colonies in the New World. All this resulted in the shifting of population, increased population, and expanding commerce.
The year 1717 was marked by a number of important political events. In this year the Septennial Act was passed by which it was provided that the existing Parliament extended its term to seven years; this made for continuity of existence and increased the power of that body. At this time George I took advantage of the Whig schism and removed his opponent Townsend and Walpole from the ministry. A law was passed permitting the sending of persons convicted of crime to the colonies for seven years and they were employed by anyone who would pay their passage.
Prior to 1717 It was believed that the King could call upon anyone to serve the government and that he served at the pleasure of the king. However, in that year Walpole resigned as First Lordship of the Treasury although the king implored him not to do so. Walpole was bitterly attacked in the press as well as by the members of Parliament for his unorthodox attitude. But Walpole persisted and helped establish one more link in the chain of belief that the people are not the slaves of the king. The long ministry of Walpole (1721-1742) did much to form the present English system of rule by the ministers of state rather than by the king.
In France we find Louis XV ascending the throne in 1715. He reigned until 1774 and did much to create the unrest and poverty in France that culminated in the French Revolution.
The Literary Scene
The years before and after 1717 were fruitful for their literary men. Sir Richard Steele was knighted In 1715. He issued The Tatler (1709-1711) and The Spectator (1711-1712) popular periodicals that were the talk of the coffeehouses. Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was finished with his work in 1717. Jonathan Swift (1670-1745) published his Gulliver’s Travels in 1726. Daniel Dafoe (1661-1731) wrote his Robinson Crusoe in 1719 and Moll Flanders in 1722. Henry Fielding (1707-1754) wrote his masterpiece Tom Jones in 1748. Alexander Pope (1688-1744) published a collection of his poems in 1717 in which "Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady" and "Eloise to Abelard" appeared for the first time.
In 1717 David Hume (1711-1776) was still a child. Buffon (1707-1788) the French naturalist who was to become famous for his Natural History was also a child. Edmund Halley (1656-1742) the great English Astronomer and mathematician secured an important appointment in 1720 and started his eighteen year study of the moon.
Voltaire (1694-1778) was a young man in 1717. Yet he had already begun his night and in the year 1717 spent eleven months in the Bastille. While there he wrote Oedipe his famous epic poem which was made into a play and produced the following year; this play made him famous. In 1726 he went to England and spent two years there. By 1740 he was the most outstanding person in the world. For fifty years his gifted pen brought forth dramas poems essays and pamphlets all of them witty and satirical. Always he preached enlightenment discredited ecclesiastical authority and pictured the Roman Catholic Church as an instrument of clerical corruption. In his later years he joined the Masonic Craft.
In 1717 Rousseau (1712-1778) was a mere child. But he too in due course became a leader of the enlightenment.
The Arts and Sciences
In the field of music Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) stands out as the leader of the period. George F. Handel (1685-1759) came to England in 1710. He had a air for the stage and his forty-six operas had a tremendous influence on the theater of his day.
In the year 1717 Rich invented the pantomine a most harmless and amusing pastime in an age of recklessness. In 1728 John Gay devised a medley of satirical lyrics called the Beggar’s Opera. And in 1719 the Royal Academy of Music was established.
The most illustrious scientist of the period was Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). This was the age of Fahrenheit (1686-1736) who invented the thermometer; Thomas Newcomen who in 1712 constructed a steam engine to pump water out of a coal mine; Lelbnitz (1646-1716) who invented the calculus. In 1721 innoculation against small-pox was introduced into England. And in 1733 the flying shuttle was invented by John Kay. Later in the century other inventors laid the foundation for the industrial revolution destined for the next century.
Conclusion
Freemasonry existed long before 1717. But the time was ripe for a coordination of the lodges into one organization. The formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 was a vehicle which induced many members to join Masonic lodges. The restless spirit of the age the social activities with the coffee-houses and clubs the awakening of the spirit of fairness the emergence of the dignity of man all played a part. That the Craft supplied a means of expressing the spirit of the age is apparent from the great increase in the number of members the forming of many lodges and the existence of a successful competing Grand Lodge the Antient Grand Lodge.
That the Craft has been a great influence for good is beyond question. Prior to 1717 the Craft partly operative and partly symbolical helped build the cathedrals of Europe. With the passing years it instilled in the hearts and minds of men the purity of purpose of good men the Idea of freedom and the principle of the dignity of the individual. We might well ask ourselves: without the gentle principles of the Craft what kind of world would have developed? We do not know of course but we can certainly state that the Craft with its fundamental principles of brotherly love relief and truth made substantial contributions to the progress of society.
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JOHN KINSMAN REMICK
Brother John Kinsman Remick was born in Ogden Utah, on October 26, 1877. He attended high school in Ogden and later went to business college in St. Louis, Missouri. After he had completed his education he went to live in San Luis, Mexico, where he operated a business for many years.
Brother Remick received his Masonic degrees in 1906 in George Washington Lodge No. 6 F. & A. M., then working under the jurisdiction of the York Grand Lodge of Mexico. He served his Lodge as Worshipful Master for three years and was Secretary for many years. In 1918 he moved to San Diego, California; and later affiliated with S. W. Hacket Lodge No. 574.
The May, 1946, issue of The Philalethes announced that Brother Remick had joined the Society. His first article "The Hour Glass" was published in the July, 1946 issue of our magazine. Over the years Brother Remick was a regular contributor to our pages. In recognition of his valuable work he was made a Fellow of the Philalethes Society in the early part of 1951.
Our Brother went to his eternal reward on May 12, 1952. He will be missed because he was an able Craftsman who worked for many years in the quarries of Masonry.
Now the laborer's task is o'er,
Now the battle's day is past,
Note upon the other shore
Rests the voyager at last.
Father in thy gracious keeping
Leave as now Thy servant sleeping.
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To all Fellows and Members of the Philalethes Society:
This is the second issue The Philalethes and marks another step towards re-activating the Society. We had hoped to publish the new Constitution and By-Laws as approved by the appropriate committee. But as of this writing (and there may yet be time for it to be included) the Committee is still busy at work on it. Perhaps time is not of the essence for so important a document. It must be as nearly perfect for our needs as good craftsmen can shape it.
It might be well to call attention at this point to a necessary change in the structure of the Society; and, in order to understand it; we must review some of the past history of the Society. Cyrus Field Willard and George Imbrie were our founders. Looking over some of the old letters that passed between those worthy and illustrious brothers, it is quite apparent that the Society started out to be a loose-knit correspondence group. Gradually others came into the circle and it was not long before Brother Willard had the idea of the Forty Immortals," the basis for our present Fellowships.
The Society was then for Masonic editors, writers and students, all of standing and importance. In the main this continued, even after Brother Willard died and Brother Shephard became the president. When Brother Quincke took office, he infused an entirely new idea into the Society. He made the qualifications for member ship very liberal so that even the beginning Mason who was interested in his Fraternity could join with us in receiving Light. Brother Quincke instituted the magazine. We became international and gained the respect of the best Masonic minds around the world. Our growth in membership was phenomenal. Brother Kinney continued the excellent work of Brother Quincke.
Qualifications for membership was stated simply that the applicant be a Master Mason, and no question was ever raised as to the jurisdiction to which he belonged, or whether he was "regular, irregular, or clandestine." There was an Executive Committee but, essentially, the organization was the same as it had been under Willard and Shephard - a loosely knit group under the direction of one man.
The present officers assumed their pro-tempore stations with a clear understanding that the Society must no longer have "one-man rule", that it must have definite organization, and that the Fellows and Members must have a voice in the election of officers and the actions of the Society. In line with this thinking, a Constitution is being formulated and shortly you will have your choice of regular officers to govern the Society. But when we become a definite, organized body, we hit upon a problem never faced by the officers of the past.
We have members all over the world, but the greater number is in the United States, Canada, England, and the British Commonwealth. It is against the basic laws of these jurisdictions that a member beholden to them should be in Masonic communication with members of jurisdiction declared irregular or clandestine by a majority of these jurisdictions.
This problem has been faced by your pro-tem officers. We have canvassed the best authorities on the subject. The answers have sometimes been vague and slightly contradictory as to definition of terms, as to what constitutes "irregular." The term "clandestine" is of course, fairly clear in meaning.
We are assured, however, of two major facts: (1) in the United States a Grand Jurisdiction is "irregular" where it is not recognized by a majority of the Grand Lodges of the United States; (2) that if the old system of the Society were continued, all of the American Members and Fellows might be criticized by their lodges.
As I have said, there is much confusion on this subject and many opinions. Some of the Fellows and Members consulted on this question took the view that the activities of the Society did not constitute having Masonic communication with one another and therefore this question of "regularity" should not be considered; but they agreed to the change in the interest of harmony. It is the feeling of the officers pro-tem that perhaps a clarification of this point of Masonic jurisprudence and meaning should be a future project of the Society.
But it is the here and now that we must deal with. The Executive Committee has therefore made the following decision, and as President pro-tem, I hereby make it Directive for the use of all Fellows and Members until such time as the constitution is adopted:
(1) This clause stating that a Member must be a Master Mason shall mean one in good standing in a lodge beholden to a Grand Lodge recognized by the majority of the Grand Lodges of the United States and of England and the Commonwealth. The Constitution Committee is recommended to consider such a requirement in the draft being prepared.
(2) This clause shall be considered our rule and guide until accepted or rejected by the vote of the majority of the Members of the Society.
(3) That all applications now on file of all Fellows and Members be reviewed to see whether they qualify under this rule. Those present Fellows and Members belonging to Grand Jurisdictions not recognized by a majority of the Grand Lodges of the United States must, perforce, be considered as applicants only, until their final admission is determined by the regularly elected officers and under the provisions of the Constitution regularly adopted.
I am happy to report that Brother William Major Brown has supplied me with the names of those Fellows and Members who have sent their dues and contributions to him. They will receive from the Executive Secretary cards acknowledging their privileges as Fellows and Members provided none come under the classification of applicant as outlined above.
In the light of the report by Brother Brown the funds collected by him will remain in the Oklahoma City bank in the name of the Society until such time as the regularly elected officers shall take their seats.
It is hoped that by the next issue of our magazine we shall be in the final stages of reorganizing YOUR Society.
Let none of us slacken or cease his endeavors now. We the officers pro tern look to your continued support guidance and suggestions that we may place in your hands a vigorous and active Society.
LEE E. WELLS F.P.S.
President pro-tempore.
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BE GRATEFUL for your blessings - the privilege of work, the joy of life, the opportunity to give and to serve.
Robert Louis Stevenson, a lifelong invalid, was the personification of gratitude.
He stayed in a boardinghouse in San Francisco. The landlady's daughter contracted an infectious illness. The other boarders left, but Stevenson remained and helped to nurse the girl back to health.
He uprooted the thorn of anxiety from a mother's heart and planted the flower of sympathy - prompted by his gratitude for many kindnesses shown him.
Gratitude is a constructive, health-giving power. It beautifies and enriches life not only for ourselves, but for others with whom we come in contact.
An inspiring case of thankfulness is that of George Hayden of Quincy, Massachusetts. Some years ago while unloading a heavy truck, he lost his balance and seriously injured his spine.
He hasn't walked since that day. But he sits in his modest home, whittling away at the gnarled stumps and roots of timber salvaged from a nearby hurricane dump, fashioning souvenir Indian war clubs, knickknacks, and sundry other articles.
Grateful that he has the use of his hands, he works to support his small family and to earn enough for medical treatment.
"I am thankful it was not worse," he says, and smiles as he works away, having faith that some day he will walk again.
Happiness is a by-product. We find it when we are looking for something else. It comes from within, not from without. It lies not in receiving, but in giving.
Gratitude brings the best things we know into our mental storehouse and sets them before us in our daily fare. It brings into action experiences that are good and ennobling.
If we are to plant roses for others, we must first grow them in our own hearts.
The gratitude we feel and express today will bring forth in time to come a harvest of soul-satisfying results.
----o----
A CLEARING HOUSE FOR MASONIC STUDENTS
Conducted be JOHN BLACK VROOMAN. F.P.S.
WORDS AND THE RITUAL
In the MSA Short Talk Bulletin for July, 1936, the matter of essential differences in ritual among the Masonic Jurisdictions of this country is discussed in some detail. "The forty-nine Grand Lodges of continental United States," says this article, "live in peace, and harmony together . . . in minor details, ritual is different in all; larger matters differ in some, but in all essentials are the same."
"As sons and daughters inherit from both father and mother and are exactly like neither," says the MSA Short Talk Bulletin for April 1936, "so Masonic Grand Jurisdictions, formed from Lodges of several origins, are exactly like none of their several ancestors."
Thus stated, the question of origins can be considered in the light of the movement of Masons from one place to another, each bringing some of the essentials of the ritual which he first learned, combining it with the differences of ritual found among those who, with him, united to form the new Lodge, and peeking those words, phrases and ceremonies which most appealed to a combination of ideas suited to the place in which the new Lodge takes its being.
Again referring to the wording of the ritual, and the strangeness which greets the candidate as he is led through the mysteries of the several degrees and in language that is utterly foreign to anything that he has ever heard before, we may point to the fact that the words of the ritual are taken almost in toto from the language of the eighteenth century, when England was emerging from the fusion of the many races and peoples which had combined to make it a united nation.
"You are all familiar with the pairing of words in Masonic work," says R.W. Brother A. H. G. Jacobson, in the Service Letter (March 1953) of the Grand Lodge of Colorado, "'Worthy and well-qualified,' 'duly and truly prepared,' 'aid and assist,' and so on. A mental conning of the ritual will bring others to mind. The reason for this peculiar treatment takes us back a thousand years."
"Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Builders' Guilds in England spoke Norman-French and Anglo Saxon. In order that there might be no mistake, key words were given in both languages. The word RiGHT stems from the Anglo Saxon, PRIVILEGE from the Latin. Except for pronunciation, the word PRIVILEGE in French today is the same as ours. Perhaps that gives the answer."
Getting back again to the matter of origin of words and ritualistic procedure, let us think of the Lodges formed in this country during its formative period, and later, the Grand Lodges which were constituted as a sequel to the establishment of these individual Lodges.
The primary sources of Lodges were first, the original Grand Lodges of England, "Antients" and "Moderns," which were finally united and became the "United Grand Lodge of England." Each of these bodies had a peculiar ritualistic language and procedure. Because of the looseknit form of the Lodges under each of these bodies, there was, of course, a difference in wording even in England itself.
When Lodges were established in America, they used the ritual that was closest to that used in their prior state. When one of these Lodges found it convenient to change the ritual formerly used, they adopted such variations as they deemed proper. When several Lodges united to form a Grand Lodge, they also took the most pleasing parts of the several rituals that were used by each of the Lodges, and incorporated them into the ritual which was then adopted by the newly-formed Grand Lodge.
This extended further, for after Grand Lodges were formed in this country. the population extended westward, and new Lodges were formed, which In turn, imitated and adopted combinations of ritual from the several Grand Lodges from which the officers and members of the new Lodges had come. It was a continuous and extended process of expansion and adoption to local needs that led our early Brethren to use that part of the ritual best suited and most pleasing to them.
Today we have as large and varied a gamut of ritualistic language in our forty-nine Masonic Jurisdictions as is possible. To travel from one state to another and make observations on this difference of ritual is not only as interesting a hobby as could be attempted, but it is an education in itself to try to fathom the depth of meaning in the varied interpretations of the same lessons and tenets.
To one who does not have opportunity to travel and personally see for himself these differences in ritual, another way in which a mead of understanding of these differences can be studied, is by a careful reading of the several MONITORS or written work, published by most of the Jurisdictions. There are, of course, some exceptions, and there are some states which will not permit any of the work to be printed, but for the most part, these Monitors are available in many of our Masonic libraries and museums.
But Masonic language, as used in our ritual Is only a means to an end - it is not the ne plus ultra of our Masonic study.