Contents
BLACK AND WHITE How Others See Us:
American Higher Degrees in China The High Priest's Vestments
East is East and West is West I Have A Dream
The Origin of Freemasonry The Man Who Wasn't
Dispensation Granted for Electronic Chapter The Festive Board
Pearson and Herbold Elected In Memoriam
Wolfie & Hiram and the Grand Master's Inspection Holy Writ, Blue Lodge, Old Age and Me
Sts. John, Solstices
and Freemasonry
Through Masonic Windows
the philalethes
The Journal of Masonic Research and Letters
Charles S. Guthrie, FPS Acting Editor
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OFFICERS
Wallace E. McLeod, FPS President
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Forrest D. Haggard, FPS 1st Vice Preside
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Royal C. Scofield, FPS 2nd Vice President
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Allen E Roberts, FPS Executive Secretary
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Henry G. Law, FPS. Treasurer
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Harold L. Davidson, FPS Librarian
The Philalethes Society 1903 10th St. W.
Billings, MT 59102 (406) 259-1552
LIVING PAST PRESIDENTS
Philalethes Society
William R. Denslow FPS
Robert V. Osborne, FPS
Dwight L Smith, FPS
Robert L Dillard Jr. FPS
Bruce H. Hunt, FPS
Allen E. Roberts, FPS
John Mauk Hilliard, FPS
CONTENTS
Rochester, New York the Scene for Fun, Unity, Education, Leadership
Black and White
How Others See Us: Civil Religion
American 'Higher' Degrees in China
The High Priest's Vestments
"East is East and West is West" and "Gunga Din"
I Have A Dream...
The Philalethes Lecture: Part II The Origin of Freemasonry - A New Theory
The Man Who Wasn't
Dispensation Granted for Electronic Chapter
The Festive Board
Pearson and Herbold Elected Fellows In Memoriam: G. Wilburn Bell, FPS
Wolfie and Hiram: The Grand Master's Inspection
Holy Writ, Blue Lodge, Old Age and Me
Sts. John, Solstices and Freemasonry
Through Masonic Windows
ON THE COVER
The entrance to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial building atop Shooter's Hill, Alexandria, Virginia. In the foreground is the beautiful statue of George Washington, a gift from the DeMolays to the Memorial. It was unveiled by then President, and Brother, Harry S. Truman.
Courtesy of the GWMNM Association: Photo by Arthur W. Pierson.
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Rochester, New York, the Scene forFun, Unity, Education, LeadershipFinger Lakes Chapter of The Philalethes Society will host the Semi-Annual Meeting for 1992. Its leader-ship has promised a day that will go down in Masonic history.
The meeting will be held in the Howard Johnson Airport Hotel beginning Friday evening September 11, and ending with a gala banquet on Saturday evening the 12th. All papers presented on the 12th will carry the upbeat theme of the Conference.
These papers will be presented by outstanding speakers. These will include: Wallace McLeod, FPS, International President of the Society; Harvey Eysman; William Pellow; Tom Teeter and Richard C. Friedman. Michael Toth and Craig Parsons will make a presentation about the making and reception of their film Unseen Journey, which will also be shown as part of the program. The Forum of questions and answers will be moderated by Allen E. Roberts, FPS, the venerable and inimitable Executive Secretary.
The Saturday luncheon message will be given by local newsman Gabe Dalmuth, a powerful speaker. The speaker for the Saturday night banquet will be Most Worshipful Sheldon K. Blank, Grand Master of Masons in New York, a dynamic speaker as well as a friend of all forward looking Freemasons.
There will be a special program for the ladies which may be attended by those not desiring to participate in the sessions. This will include the places mentioned in the opposite column.
The cost is $51 per person and is all inclusive (with the exception of the hotel cost which is $63.27).
OK! So how do you get in on the fun? Fill out the registration found in the opposite column. Send it to Wayne. We'll SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER IN ROCHESTER !
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"For The 90's"
Semi Annual Meeting of the
Philalethes Society
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK - SEPT. 11-12, 1992
HOWARD JOHNSON AIRPORT HOTEL
1100 BROOKS AVENUE - ROCHESTER, NY 14624
$63.27 Per Night, including tax
(Deadline for Hotel Reservations - August 30)
REGISTRATION FEE: $51.00 PER PERSON
Includes lunch, banquet, coffee, hospitality
LADIES PROGRAM
George Eastman House Tour - M. Woodbury Strong Museum
Marketplace Mall
Clip or copy coupon on the right. Mail with your check to:
A. Wayne Engbrecht
9 Dortmund Cl.
Rochester, NY
14624
Name ________________________
Address _______________________________
City _____________ State __________ Zip ______
Phone ______________ Lady's Name _____________________
Circle one for the banquet
Prime Rib - Chicken Cordon Bleu - Seafood Stuffed Sole
Will be staying: Friday Night - Saturday Night - Both Nights
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By Allen E. Roberts, FPS
"For more than two centuries this [Prince Hall Freemasonry] has been the most lied about organization in the world. Caucasian Freemasonry has misstated the facts about it; Black Freemasons and their supporters have exaggerated its history and its hierarchy." This is what I said on February 29, 1989 in my keynote address for the Conference of Grand Masters.
"Finally, reasonable men on both sides are searching for and finding the truth, " I added. A few other comments followed, then I strongly suggested it was time to put the universality of Brotherhood into action. It was time to recognize Prince Hall Freemasonry as legitimate -if Caucasian Freemasonry is. It was time to join hands with a body of men who were proud of their heritage as Prince Hall Masons; as proud as we are to be "regular" Freemasons.
There are many things about Prince Hall Masonry with which I don't agree, I told that Conference. To be fair, I added, "there are things about Caucasian Freemasonry with which I'm not in full accord. No organization, no association of men or women will ever be perfect. No human being will ever be flawless, although there are those among us who believe they are the exception. "
Gail N. Smith, MPS, Grand Master of Masons in Connecticut, shortly thereafter led his Grand Lodge into recognition of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in his jurisdiction. Several others have followed.
What I suggested didn't come lightly. I've been researching the various phases of Freemasonry since 1949. Unlike some of the critics and supporters of Prince Hall Freemasonry I have endeavored to study the subject as an unbiased researcher should.
The subject deserves far more space than can be devoted here, but I'll try to answer some of the most flagrant misinformation that continues to be perpetuated. Much of this misinformation was started or spread by men whose other Masonic work I admire. Many who are still spreading these fallacies are men of impeccable character but who continue to believe the falsehoods of the past.
Some continue to " quote, " or use as arguments, misstatements of the past that have long been discredited. Others have biased reasons for their false statements.
First we hear the initiation of Prince Hall and fourteen other men of color was illegal. This took place in Boston in the Colony of Massachusetts on March 6 1775. The presiding officer was one Sergeant John Blatt of the Irish Military Lodge No. 441, attached to the 38th Foot of the British Army.
If these men were illegal Masons, what constituted a legal Mason prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge system in this country? There were none before 1778 when the Grand Lodge of Virginia was instituted. Before then there were Provincial Grand Lodges--several of them. In Massachusetts there were two such bodies. One held allegiance to the "Modern" Grand Lodge of England; the other, the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
Studying the works of Henry Wilson Coil, Melvin Maynard Johnson, J. Hugo Tatsch, Harry Carr and many others we find there were hundreds of "illegal" Masons in the early days of Freemasonry in America. For example, where were the members of the lodge that met in Philadelphia in 1731 (and perhaps earlier) made Masons? Was Benjamin Franklin, who was made a Mason in this lodge, illegal? What about the legality of the organizers of the lodge that was formed in Boston in the Colony of Massachusetts in 1733? The Lodge at Fredericksburgh in the Colony of Virginia came into being with a slate of officers on September 1, 1752. Where were those men made Masons? When did they meet to choose officers?
When or where did the eminent compiler of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons, James Anderson, who in 1731 received the degree of D.D., become a Freemason? No one knows. He was, however, a member of the Lodge at the Horn, Westminster, in 1723. This was the year of the adoption of the Constitutions. And he was far from being in the minority.
These were the men who gave us Freemasonry in this country and England. If they were illegal, as the critics claim the men of color were, then all of us are illegally claiming to be Freemasons. As I understand the law, an illegal act cannot be made legal.
"African Lodge which the men of color formed was illegal, " some claim. Was it? We proudly proclaim the supremacy of the Grand Lodge of England. It was the Grand Lodge of England that granted a warrant on September 29, 1784 for African Lodge No. 459, and this warrant is still in existence.
Who gave the Lodge in Philadelphia a warrant before it came into existence? And let' s return to the Lodge at Fredericksburgh, now Fredericksburg No.4, in Virginia. This unwarranted lodge initiated Major George Washington on November 4, 1752, the first time (after minutes were recorded) it conferred a degree. It went even further. It Passed him a Fellowcraft on March 3 and on August 4, 1753 he was Raised a Master Mason. It was July 21, 1758, five years later, before the Grand Lodge of Scotland gave it a warrant making it a "legal" lodge. Who among us dares to claim Washington was a clandestine Mason?
"African Lodge had no right to warrant other lodges and form a Grand Lodge." Again let's return to the Lodge at Fredericksburgh. It warranted two lodges: Falmouth and Botetourt. Botetourt and Fredericksburgh helped form the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and both are still in existence.
What did the only lodge in Massachusetts do after 1733? Didn't it form a Provincial Grand Lodge and then warrant other lodges, and not only in Massachusetts? Why should African Lodge be refused the same privilege?
"African Lodge was erased by the United Grand Lodge of England, therefore whether or not it remained a lodge is moot." Partially true. After the two rival Grand Lodges in England ("Antients" and "Moderns") were united by two blood brothers who became Grand Masters, African Lodge was erased from the roster. So was every lodge in America still on the Z02 roles of either of the rival Grand Lodges. This included about half of the lodges in Massachusetts! Has any critic dared claim all other American lodges erased from the roster of the United Grand Lodge of England are clandestine?
"Exclusive Jurisdiction is world wide and must be observed. " Nothing could be further from the truth. Any researcher worth receiving Master's Wages can point out numerous exceptions to this statement. The Grand Lodges of Scotland, Ireland and England have many lodges working side by side in many countries. What about Massachusetts with lodges in Panama, Chile, Cuba and Japan? Then there's New York with lodges in Lebanon. Then we have the Grand Lodges of Washington and Alaska. Are there no other Grand Lodges represented where these lodges are located?
Exclusive jurisdiction, ironically, was a creature of the Grand Lodge of New York (not Massachusetts as at least one well-known critic has claimed). It's exclusively an American invention. But, as I told the Conference of Grand Masters, "Isn't universality more important than word games? Shouldn't universality reach out to all men of good will?"
"African Lodge was dormant for a number of years. " Perhaps. But so were numerous other lodges, including one of my favorites--American Union Lodge No. 1 of Ohio (of which I'm a proud Honorary Member). Research the antiMasonic craze beginning in 1826. Check out the vast number of lodges giving up their charters. Hundreds of them came back into the fold with no condemnation. Why should they be privileged and African Lodge not?
" Prince Hall Grand Lodge declared itself free from all authority in 1827." The first to so declare in this country was Virginia in 1778. Others followed. Why aren't they condemned and declared illegitimate?
The well-known critic to whom I referred based some of his "facts" about Prince Hall Freemasonry on a book written by Henry Wilson Coil (California), Alphonse Cerza (Illinois) and John M. Sherman (Massachusetts). I knew each of them well. Coil and Cerza were Fellows of The Philalethes Society and members of the Society of Blue Friars (Masonic authors). I highly respected them. I admired their Masonic research with the exception of the book they coauthored. It was bigoted and slanted to meet the needs of high ranking critics of Prince Hall Freemasonry.
"The only remedy is for these men to withdraw and petition a regular lodge, " claims the critic. This "solution" may have been possible 200 years ago, but it isn't today. These men are as proud of their Masonic heritage as most of us are proud of ours (I assume [always dangerous] the critic is proud to be a Freemason). They are not about to give up this legacy, and neither are we. The most honest solution, as I see it, is to do what the Grand Lodge of Connecticut and seven others have done -recognize Prince Freemasonry as legitimate.
Under Black Freemasonry in the revision of Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia I say this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as "black" or "white" Freemasonry. There are men of differing colors in "regular" and Prince Hall Freemasonry. Neither is all black or all white.
"Any Masonic organization that has stood the test of time [217 years now] must be considered legitimate." That's what I said at the Conference. I'm happy to repeat it.
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Civil Religion
by Bobby J. Demott, MPS
In 1967 Robert Bellah published an essay on civil religion, later the subject of a book by Richey and Jones. This is a situation in which the nation, its founders and/or persons in high political authority are looked upon as having aspects of the deity. Many other like terms have been used, the best of which may be that of Lemert, non-church religion.
Our Civil War President has often been described as having a natural religion, inasmuch as he was a prime example of doing good by deeds and not words only. Though Lincoln referred to God many times in his speeches, he never joined a church.
Because of the nature of President Kennedy's inaugural speech, he was considered by Jolicoeur & Knowles as having a civil religion. God is mentioned in all inaugural addresses except Washington' s second . However the mere mention of the deity in an address hardly constitutes sufficient reason to label the speaker or his oratory as being disposed toward civil religion.
Probably most of us would agree that a religious element lies at the core of democracy. C.K. Chesterson described The United States as "a nation with the soul of a church" (Mead). Lincoln described our nation as "an almost chosen people. "
Freemasonry is sometimes charged as being a religion despite the absence of a plan of salvation. Freemasonry has some religious characteristics in that meetings are opened and closed with prayer, and the teachings are for the purpose of instructing members to live a virtuous life. Freemasonry has rites, legends and a creed which express directly or symbolically a leading idea.
Jolicoeur & Knowles concluded that fraternal associations are not churches, but many are religious in flavor. Using the magazine The New Age as a guide to the interests of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, these authors examined eleven volumes published from 1964 to 1974 consisting of 834 articles. God was mentioned in 46.5 % of the articles; the Constitution in 19.2 %; Founding Fathers in 21.6%; George Washington in 12.7%; and the Declaration of Independence in 11.5%. From this they concluded that Scottish Rite Freemasonry has many of the characteristics commonly described as those of a civil religion.
For this we need not be apologetic, bearing in mind that we are neither a religion nor a mixture of religions. Our existence depends upon our members having a belief in God, though some members may not subscribe to the Christian Faith.
Wilson concluded that the primary endeavor of Freemasonry was to protect individual freedom, but states that it is more than a voluntary association, in that many principles in Freemasonry are congruent with most versions of civil religion. Other writers have concluded that fraternal organizations in the United States in the early part of this century were essentially morality institutions.
Though we may resemble a religion, in actuality we are a philanthropy, we are zealous patriots, and we are a morality institution. What Freemasonry stands for can be simply expressed, as in the creed of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction:
" Human progress is our cause, liberty of thought our supreme wish, freedom of conscience our mission, and the guarantee of equal rights to all people everywhere our ultimate goal. "
References
Bellah, Robert: 1967, Civil Religion in America, Daedalus 96 (Winter): 1-21.
Jolicoeur, Pamela and Louis Knowles: 1978, "Fraternal Associations and Civil Religion: Scottish Rite Masonry," Review of Religious Research, 20:3-22.
Lemert, Charles C., 1975: ''Defining Non-church Religion, " Review of Religious Research 16 (Spring): 186-197.
Mead, Sidney E: 1975, The Nation With the Soul of a Church, Harper & Row Publishers, New York. Richey, Russell E. and Donald G. Jones: 1974, American Civil Religion, New York: Harper & Row.
Wilson, John F: 1971, December 1980, "Voluntary Associations and Civil Religion: The Case of Freemasonry," Review of Religious Research 22(2). 125-136.
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Annual Assembly Feast Forum
February 19, 1992
Hotel Washington in D.C.
Phenomenal details to be revealed
in the October issue.
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American Higher Degrees in China
by Kit Haffner FPS
The Craft Basis
In my previous two articles about American Masonry in China, we saw how a single Craft Lodge, Ancient Landmark, established in 1864, had grown into eight Lodges in various cities of China by 1 929, by which time there were also two Lodges under dispensation. (Philalethes xliii:2 for April 1990, xliv:1 for February 1991). Three of these Lodges were in Shanghai, where there was the largest collection of foreign businesses and businessmen. Others were scattered over North China, mainly Manchuria, but the two latest were in the South Nanking (Nanjing) and Canton (Guangzhou) .
Just as in the Craft, American Masons in the early years were content to participate with their brethren in the so-called 'higher' degrees of other jurisdictions, notably the English and Scottish, which were somewhat precariously established. Before the First World War, the English had a Royal Arch chapter, a Mark Lodge, a Templar 'Preceptory' and a Rose Croix chapter in Shanghai, and a Royal Arch chapter in Tientsin (Tianjin); whilst the Scots had a Royal Arch chapter (with a range of degrees more similar to American chapters), a Rose Croix chapter and a Council in Shanghai. The Royal Order of Scotland had a Provincial Grand Chapter, still at labour in Hong Kong, by now the third oldest in the world. Some of these were already extinct, and others were to be formed in part to replace them.
But three Massachusetts Lodges in one city was clearly enough to be the foundation of a 'higher' degree superstructure, and this is what happened, to some extent to the detriment of the Brits.
Keystone Chapter
The first such body by many years was Keystone Chapter No. 1, this number following the customary procedure of what was then the ' Supreme General Grand Chapter of the United States of North America' of numbering its bodies separately in each country. The petition dated 9 May 1870 was signed by thirteen companions, six being from Rising Sun RA Chapter No. 129, Scottish Constitution, Shanghai, one being from a Scottish chapter in Calcutta, and the rest from the United States two from Massachusetts and one each from Tennessee, Rhode Island, Maine and Florida.
The chapter met under a dispensation dated 27 July 1870, and a charter was granted on 20 September 1871. Twelve officers were installed under the charter by E Comp Henry Murray, who was the Grand Superintendent under the English jurisdiction, being head of all English chapters in China from 1866 until 1874, when he resigned upon division of the District of China into two. It is evident that this foundation had the support of the Scots in the number of petitioners, and of the English in the performance of the first installation under the charter.
The chapter received a number of distinguished visitors from the States, the first being ME Comp Grafton M. Acklin, Past GHP of Ohio. An inspection was made by E Comp William Pettus in order to report to the GGHP the report was very favourable and it elected ME Comp Arthur D. Prince, Past GHP of Massachusetts, an honourary member on his visit China. The first visit by an official of General Grand Chapter took place in 1931; E Comp William Gallin was proxy for the GGHP in the Philippines. One of the most distinguished exaltees was the missionary, the Rt Revd Bishop William Charles White.
Keystone moved its meeting place from time to time. It had met throughout its early life in the Masonic Hall on the Bund (waterfront) owned by three English Lodges. In 1926 the Hall was sold and the chapter moved to the former Municipal Town Hall. It later settled into a new American Masonic Temple from 1928, but moved out to the Astor House Hotel the classiest in Shanghai for its sixtieth anniversary celebration.
The Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Rite was introduced to Shanghai by the establishment of Cathay Rose Croix Chapter No. 24 under the Supreme Council for England and Wales by a warrant dated 1869 . It soon became extinct and the warrant was surrendered in 1884
The Scots likewise chartered a Rose Croix chapter, Lily of the Valley No. 4, as well as Shiloh Consistory No. 3 (so recorded, but it should be a Council of Kadosh), both in 1874. The Christian basis of the Rose Croix was clearly illustrated by its meeting dates: the Tuesday after Easter, Ascension Day, St. John the Baptist's Day, All Saints' Day and St. John the Evangelist's Day with the annual meeting on Shrove Tuesday. Both charters were returned in September 1900, and Gratton & Ivy's History suggests that the Christian qualification for membership was the disability which caused this. In fact the last candidate for the 30ø was Bro the Revd J.R. Hykes, and the few members of the Council must have been disconcerted when he immediately resigned and journeyed to Japan to obtain the 31 and 32d in Yokohama.
There had been a somewhat unmasonic squabble over the Rite in Japan only a few years previously. There had been an overlap of The 15 March 1882 warrant issued by England for a Chrysantheum Rose Croix Chapter No. 94, which had been petitioned for the year previously, and the Southern Jurisdiction bodies of Yokohama, whose Dai Nippon Rose Croix Chapter's letters of constitution also bore the date of 15 March 1882, but which was not chartered until February 1883. Anyway, the Americans won and the English warrant was returned in 1900. It meant that the nearest Scottish Rite bodies to Shanghai after the closure of Lily of the Valley Chapter under Scotland were those in Yokohama under the Southern Jurisdiction. A petition addressed to Ill Stuart Eldridge 33d, Deputy of the Supreme Council and Legate for Japan and China, was received favorably, but on the way to consecrate the resulting bodies in Shanghai, he was taken ill in Kobe, Japan, and another brother had to perform the ceremony. Thus came into existence Yangtze Lodge of Perfection No. 4, Shanghai Chapter Rose Croix No. 3, Cathay Council of Kadosh No. 2 and Orient Consistory No. 1. Charters were issued on 2 October 1902.
These bodies remained under the jurisdiction of Yokohama until 1909 when the Revd John Reside Hykes was honoured as KCCH and made Deputy and Legat for China.
PEKING
No other city in China boasted more than one American Craft Lodge, but nevertheless a further set of Scottish Rite bodies was formed in Peking (Beijing). This formation was virtually contemporaneous with the formation of International Lodge, and they all met in the spacious Masonic Hall which had been the library of the London Times correspondent Dr. George E. Morrison. He was so famous that the street, officially 'The Street of the Well of the Prince's Palace' was nick-named Morrison Street. This multiple constitution was probably possible because there was another Massachusetts Lodge in Tientsin as well as English and Scottish Lodges, which could provide a flow of candidates, and Tientsin is only seventy miles towards the sea. The fact that the Lodge and Scottish Rite bodies were started together seems to indicate the importance felt by the American Masonic leaders of having an active Masonic presence in Peking.
The Peking bodies were constituted on 20 October 1917 by the Deputy for China: they were the Ming Te Lodge of Perfection, Tung Te Chapter Rose Croix, Hou Te Council of Kadosh and Chung Te Consistory. The names mean respectively Illustrious, Universal, Profound and Supreme Virtue quite an ambition for the membership! The listing of officers for 1937, the only one available to me, indicates a substantial Chinese presence amongst the expatriates, notably six names in the Council of Kadosh.
Both these sets of Scottish Rite bodies prospered and were still working at the time of the Communist 'liberation. '
Mizpah Sanhedrim
It is difficult to imagine a Masonic body taking longer to start than Mizpah Sanhedrim. In 1875, the High Priest of Keystone Chapter No. 1 wrote to the General Grand Secretary asking about the formation of a Council of the High Priesthood, but nothing further in known. Keystone' s minutes for April 1908 indicate that the chapter wished to issue PHP's diplomas and could not do so without such a Council. But only one member of the chapter was also in such a Council, and two more would be needed to start one.
In 1913, the HP of Keystone wrote to the General Grand Secretary asking about a dispensation to start a Council, saying that there were eleven PHP's in Shanghai who would seek membership. The General Grand Secretary' s reply was a model of vague permissiveness:
I have as yet been unable to learn of any authority for granting dispensations to organize new Grand Councils...I noticed in reading the proceedings of one of the Western Grand Chapters that several of its members have visited in adjoining jurisdiction and received the Order...Thereupon they got together and organized a Grand Council...without any other authority than the fact that they were in possession of the secrets individually.
By December 1916, there were three PHPs who had received the secrets, and they forthwith conferred the Order upon the three other PHPs who were present.
Although the Order met annually, only once is there a record in the minute book of Keystone, when four members conferred the Order upon seven companions, three PHPs of Keystone, three past Zerubbabels of the Scottish Rising Sun Chapter No. 129, and one PZ of the English Amoy Chapter No. 1806.
In 1922, doubts were raised about the jurisdiction of Mizrah Sanhedrim of Manila, claimed for the whole Far East, but by 1930, General Grand Chapter had stated that no objection existed to having another Council in Shanghai. Thus the Mizpah Sanhedrim was eventually formed with its own by-laws on 30 April 1930, fifty-five years after the first enquiry. The cosmopolitan membership continued, and by 1936 it is recorded that membership was fourteen from Keystone, sixteen for Shanghai's Scottish chapter, and three from Tuscan Chapter No. 1027 under England.
Knights Templar
In contradistinction to the situation in the Scottish Rite, the American and English Knights Templar behaved with the utmost decorum. But the gestation of Shanghai Commandery was almost as long as that of Mizpah Sanhedrim.
An English body called Celestial Encampment was chartered on 3 October 1862. Fifteen years later, in common with all such English bodies, its name was changed to Celestial Preceptory as part of an international agreement on ceremonial, regalia, etc., involving England, Ireland and Canada. The name 'Celestial' referred to a title given to the Empire of China. But it too ceased labour in 1900, obviously a very bad year for Masonry in the 'higher' degrees in Shanghai. Its absence was nevertheless felt, and a petition was sent to London in 1911 for the formation of Shanghai Preceptory and Priory (implying that it would confer the Templar and Malta degrees in that sequence), with our old friend, Em Kt the Revd J.R. Hykes, as the founding Preceptor and Prior. It was consecrated on 5 February 1912, and ten applications were received at the first meeting. Shanghai Preceptory No. 198 is still actively at work in Hong Kong.
Funnily enough, the first petition to open an American Commandery in the Far East came from Hong Kong in 1901. This was followed by four petitions from Shanghai between 1909 and 1931, but all were refused by the Grand Encampment. This it is presumed was on grounds of prior English 'occupation' of the territory. However, by 1931 it had been definitely ascertained that no opposition to an American Commandery would be forthcoming from either Great Priory in London or the Shanghai Preceptory and Priory. A 'Shanghai Templar Club' was formed by interested brethren, to be dissolved if a Commandery eventuated.
The petition for Shanghai Commandery No. 1 was signed by nine knights, three being from Far East Commandery No. 1 of Manila, one from Scotland, and the rest from Iowa, Ohio, New York Pennsylvania and Maine. The Grand Master, ME Sir Kt Andrew D. Agnew, arrived on 1 December 1936 to consecrate the new body. His first act was to attend a meeting at the American Club for all the past Preceptors and knights of Shanghai Preceptory, where he was able to ascertain at first hand the good relations which did and would continue to exist between the different jurisdictions in that cosmopolitan city.
On Monday 1 March 1937 the first conferral in full form of the Templar degree according to the American ritual, 'without a single line missing,' was held, with every knight in full uniform. The award of a full charter coincided with the start of Sino-Japanese hostilities, and as a result further dispensations were issued. The present writer is not aware if a charter ever was issued to this Commandery, despite its careful and well organized beginning.
It is very evident that the American 'higher' degrees in China had an exciting and vigorous life. We may regret their demise, but their true worth lay in the inspiration which their members obtained over the years, and in what they transmitted to those of all races and creeds with whom they came into contact in their daily rounds.
Bibliography
Gratton, F.M. and Ivy, Robt. S: Thc History of Freemasonry in Shanghai and Northern China Tientisin (various Masonic bodies) 1913.
Haffner, Christopher, The Craft in the East, Hong Kong (District Grand Lodge) 1977.
Masonic Year Book Historical Supplement (Second Edition), London (United Grand Lodge) 1969.
Nation, W: The History of Freemasonry in Northern China 1913-1937, Shanghai (various Masonic bodies) 1938.
Rules and Regulations. . . under the Supreme Council 33d. . .for England and Wales. . ., London (Supreme Council) 1982.
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by Robert L. Dockweiler MPS
I would like to address you on the garments of the titular head of Capitular Masonry, the High Priest of the Chapter. My primary source is the Twenty-Eighth Chapter of the Book of Exodus. I now read from my copy of the Holy Bible, King James Version, that I was presented with when I became a Mason. I challenge any Mason in this jurisdiction to claim he has no access to a Holy Bible. The High Priest of the Temple, arrayed in the stately garments of his office, methodically entered into the Tabernacle to begin his day of worship. Did it really make any difference how he was dressed when representing the Nation of Israel before God? Yes it did. Could he come in garments of his own choosing, style, or design? no, he could not! Each of his vestments bears a message! God vividly described to Moses each article of clothing to be worn by the Priests.
In the Book of Exodus, written by Moses from about 1450 to 1410 B.C., in Chapter 28, verse two, God said to Moses:
v. 2 "And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy Brother, for glory, and for Beauty. "
v. 3 "And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. "
v. 4 "And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. "
v. 5 "And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. " blue, purple, scarlet--The colors of our first three veils in the Holy Royal Arch. A coincidence? No not really!
You see my Companions, God spelled out how the High Priest was to dress and specified which materials were to be used for his garments. They were to be holy, for glory, and beautiful. holy, for these garments are set apart only to be worn during the service in the Tabernacle; glorious, because they exalted the priestly office in the eyes of the people; beautiful, for the colors harmonized with the tabernacle furnishings. The Priest's garments were to emanate the beauty of God's holiness as he worshipped Him. The priest's tailors were honored with the title "Wise hearted. " God had filled them with special knowledge and skill through the Holy Spirit to make these priestly clothes. In forty-three verses God described, in minute detail how each item of clothing was to be made. Each piece of clothing is full of divine truth and spiritual teaching.
Something to think about; Who were these artisans who made these garments? Also, when we put on a Holy Royal Arch Degree, do we not use a similar garment?
The Ephod
Continuing with verse six,
v. 6 "And they shall make the Ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. "
v. 7 "It shall have two shoulder pieces there of joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shalle joined together. "
v. 8 'And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. "
v. 9 "And they shall take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel. "
v. 10 "Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. "
v. 11 "With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the Children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold "
The word ouches, means a setting for a gem stone. It may be a solid gold holder, but usually means a finely made mesh or filigree of gold.
v. 12 "And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the Ephod for stones of memorial unto the Children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. "
v. 13 "And thou shalt make ouches of gold. "
v. 14 "And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. "
The first, or top, or outermost item is the ephod. The term ephod, although a general word for garment, is used here in a higher sense denoting a special garment of religious significance. It consisted of two pieces of material in which a thin thread of gold wire was skillfully embroidered together with blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen threads. One piece covered the chest and the other covered the back of the High Priest. The two pieces of the ephod were held together by gold braided straps which were clasped together on the shoulders of the High Priest. Later in Israel's history the ephod became the symbol of the High Priest's office. The fine twined linen was an Egyptian white byssus yarn woven tightly together. The white speaks of purity and righteousness. In the Entered Apprentice Degree at the Apron Presentation, we were first introduced to the color white. The blue color, probably that of indigo, was produced from a species of shellfish. The color of scarlet is a bright red dye and was produced from worms or grubs. The purple color was produced from a secretion of the purple snail. The ephod was held close to the body by a girdle, literally a belt, made of the same materials. It was wrapped around the body of the priest and hung down to his ankles. The girdle was always used to strengthen those who wore it, whether by the High Priest when he served in the Tabernacle or by the soldiers going off to war. The girdle was used by Christ who came to minister as a servant. At the end of his last passover, he girded himself with a towel and washed the disciple's feet leaving them a pointed lesson, on what it meant, to be a servant.
The two onyx stones had the names of the twelve tribes, six names on each stone, engraved upon them in the order of their birth. Each stone was placed upon the shoulder of the High Priest and attached to the gold straps of the ephod. We do not know what the stones were made of, but they could have been of two types. The Septuagint translation, the most ancient Greek Version of the Old Testament, states that the stones were emeralds. Yet Josephus, the Jewish Historian, believes the stones were the sardonyx, which is a three layered stone of black, white and red.
Josephus by the way, who lived 37 A.D. to 100 A.D., was a very well educated individual pressed into military service, rising to the rank of Commander or better, possibly General. Upon leaving the military he wrote some very exacting books on early Hebrew History.
The Breastplate
How many Companions can describe the Breastplate used in your Royal Arch Chapter? Is it metal or material? Three rows of four stones, or four rows of three stones?
I will continue reading with verse fifteen,
v. 15 "And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgement with cunning work; after the work of the Ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make
v. 16 "Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof and a span shall be the breadth thereof "
v. 17 "And thou shalt set in it, settings of stone: The first row shell be sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. "
v. 18 "And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. "
v. 19 "And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. "
v. 20 "And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a Jasper. they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. "
v. 21 "And the stones shall be with the names of the Children of Israel, according to their names, like the engraving of a signet; every one with his name shall be according to the twelve tribes. "
This passage of scripture describes the breastplate of Aaron. Unfortunately, it is no longer in existence. Replacement breastplates made over the years have varied in size, shape, material, jewels etc. as the ruler or High Priest ordered, or the craftsman crafted. In my rovings I have come across round, oval, square, rectangular and even shield shaped breastplates .
As stated the breastplate was made of the same materials as the ephod. It was square in shape and doubled over to form a pouch. Upon the breastplate twelve precious stones were set in gold and placed in rows representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Each stone had its individual character, beauty and glory.
Probable Stones on the Original (Aaron's) Breastplate
Sardius Topaz Carbuncle
brown/yellow/red yellow red
Emerald Sapphire Diamond
green blue/yellow/green/purple clear
Ligure Agate Amethyst
reddish smoke purple
Beryl Onyx Jasper
green/yellow/rose black red/green
The Urim And Thummim
v. 30 "And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgement, the urim and the thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord; And Aaron shall bear the judgement of the Children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. "
The word urim, is mentioned seven times, and the word thummim, five times in the Old Testament. Urim means "lights, " and Thummim means "perfection. " Both words are used in seeking divine counsel and guidance from the Almighty Lord. Many scholars have been puzzled over what the Urim and Thummim actually were or how they functioned in decision making. Their interpretations have varied greatly. Some say they were tablets, others say they were stones, possibly one smooth and one rough (sound familiar) or some other jewel for decision making. Even though we do not know exactly what the Urim and Thummim actually were, or how they functioned, we do know that they were used in finding the will of God for the Israelites and this is what is important.
The Robe of the Ephod
v. 31 "And thou shalt make the robe of the Ephod all of blue. "
v. 32 "And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of the habergeon, that it be not rent "
v. 33 "And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about. "
v. 35 "And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the Holy place before the Lord, and he cometh out, that he die not. "
The robe was a seamless garment with slits in the sides for arms, and a hole at the top for the head, which was reinforced so it would not fray or tear. The robe reached just below the knees of the High Priest and was trimmed with pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet to harmonize with the other pieces of the priestly garment. Each pomegranate was alternated with a pure gold bell. The sounding of the bells as the High Priest moved about the Holy of Holies, united the people as he ministered and they were able to follow his movements and be in prayer with him.
The Mitre
v. 36 "And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, holiness to the lord "
v. 37 "And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. "
The headdress worn by the High Priest is called a mitre. Mitre means to wrap or to roll around. Josephus tells us that the headdress was like a crown made of thick linen swathes wrapped around the head of the High Priest similar to a turban. A plate of gold engraved with the words "holiness to the lord " was placed on a blue lace and tied to the front of the mitre.
The Breeches & Undergarments
v. 42 "And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. "
The breeches made from the linens were to cover the nakedness of the Priest, from the loins to the thighs. The priests of many nations surrounding Israel would not be covered like their priests. In fact, much of the heathenistic worship in the ancient world was sensual and obscene, with services performed in nakedness by the people. But God demanded that the worship be carried out in modesty and decency. The Priest was to "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. "
This should be a message to all to make sure that our dress is glorifying to God when we come before him in worship. The scriptures give very explicit instructions to men and to women on how they should dress, which should be carried over to our present day mode of attending our own House of Worship.
And we too as Masons, have our own mode of dress. Business suits with shirt and tie may be all right for some off-evening Lodge, Chapter or Council meeting, but for degree work or special meetings, formal attire is in order. In fact, if in doubt, formal attire is always appropriate. Like the High Priest of the Temple, during his term of office, the District Deputy as well as the Grand Line Officers always appear in formal attire.
Bibliography
Britannica World Language Dictionary; Ephod, page 426; Josephus, page 689; Mitre, page 816; Ouches, page 895; Urim & Thummim, page 1381.
College Standard Dictionary, Funk & Wagnall; Ephod, page 393; Ouches, page 804; Urim & Thummim, page 1229.
Dauis Dictionary of the Bible, John D. Davis; Ephod, page 225; Mitre, page 529; Urim & Thummim, page 840.
Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKensie; Ephod, page 241; Josephus, page 457; Urim & Thummim, page 910.
Five Thousands Years of Gems & Jewelry, F. Rogers & A. Beard.
The Gem Kingdom, P. Desautels.
Halley 's Bible Handbook; Josephus, page 543.
The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version,
Oxford University Press; Exodus, Chapter 28, verses I to 43.
The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version, C.l. Scoffield; Exodus, Chapter 28, verses I to 43 + annotations.
Living Webster Encyclopedia Dictionary of the English Language; Mitre, page 612.
The New Commentary, Francis Davidson; The Robes of the High Priest, pages 126, 127.
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Baker Book House; Ephod, Vol. 4, pages 150-151 ;Josephus, Vol. 6, pages 234-236; Precious Stones, Vol. 9, pages 189-191; Priests, Vol. 9, pages 248-255; Urim/Thummim, Vol. 12, pages 107-109.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible With The Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press; Exodus, Chapter 28, verses I to 43 + annotations .
The Priest, Clothed for Service, David Levy; Israel My Glory, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Inc .
The Science of Gems, P.J. Fisher.
Smith's Bible Dictionary; Josephus, page 168; Ouches, page 228; Saradonyx, page 568; Urim & Thummim, page 318
Unger's Bible Dictionary, Moody Press; Ephod, page 317; Ouches, page 814; Priesthood, pages 881886; High Priest, pages 886-889; Urim & Thummim, pages 1128-1129.
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; Mitre, Vol. 4, page 254; Ouches, Vol. 4, page 553.
----o----
East is East and West is West & "Gunga Din"
By Laymnan J. Cox, MPS
Rudyard Kipling, a strong, dedicated and committed Master Mason, wrote:
"Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet"
He would be appalled and dismayed to know that his words were used to convey a meaning he never meant. The other words are:
"Till East and West stand presently at
God's Judgement Seat
But there is neither East nor West, Border,
nor Breed nor Birth
When two strong men standface to face, tho thy come from the ends of the earth."
Kipling tells a story about India when England was the power in India and a power in the world.
A "border thief" abducted a Colonel's horse from a secure area and from under the eyes of the foreigners (English). Kipling called him a "border thief." Nowadays we would call him a 'native' or 'local.' If any of you have served your country or worked in other countries beside your homeland, especially where the culture and skin are different, you know how easy it is to regard the 'natives' or 'locals' with disdain or contempt. so we have a "border thief" who wasn't English or British, was of a different culture and religion and who was a horse thief. Taking the Colonel's horse was a challenge and feat to the "border thief," but to the Colonel and his men it was an affront and insult.
The Colonel's son offered to retrieve the horse. Being young, brave and foolish he followed the "border thief" out of the English sector and into the territory of the "border thief." The 'native' was so impressed by the courage and horsemanship of the Colonel's son that the young man was not shot and was allowed to live. A face to face confrontation, without violence, occurred. The young man said, "Give me my Father's horse and I will fight my way back. " This was talk and an attitude that the 'native' liked and understood. His reply to a kindred spirit was that since the Colonel's son had come to him, his son would go to the Colonel. He called his son and told him to ride with the Colonel's son, eat the White Queen's (Victoria) food and that her foes would be his foes.
When the two sons arrived back at the fort, the soldiers under the Colonel's son objected because they had a feud with the 'native's' son. Their objections ceased when they were told that the two young men had taken the " Oath of the Brother-in-Blood. "
"Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at
God's Judgment Seat
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed nor Birth
When two strong men stand face to face,
tho they come from the ends of the earth. "
Gunga Din
Rudyard Kipling's 'Gunga Din' is an outstanding example of judging a man by his inner qualities and not by his external appearance.
Gunga Din's clothing was not fashionable.
"The uniform 'e wore
Was nothing much before,
An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind "
Gunga Din was a water carrier, which means his place in the social ladder was near the bottom. Also his skin was dirty unclean and of a different color than than of the soldiers he carried water for.
A British soldier serving Her Majesty the Queen (Victoria) was wounded during a battle.
"With a bullet where my belt-plate should 'a ' been "
Any internally wounded person develops an intense craving for water. Gung Din, with the battle still going on, gave the soldier water and carried him to safe place. Then a " bullet came an drilled the beggar (Gunga Din) clean. Just before he died, Gunga Din said to the soldier, " I hope you liked your drink "
Then the soldier says the following:
"Tho I've belted you and flayed you,
By the living God who made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! "
----o----
by Mark L. Jarvie, MPS
It seems that a good deal of print in 'The Philalethes' is being devoted to the subject of Prince Hall masonry and it's changing relationship to "mainstream" Freemasonry in this country. And that is as it should be. For, in my opinion, this is the most important issue facing our fraternities today. More important by far than our membership numbers. To which, by the way, it is related . This is a subject upon which I have dwelt in my mind for years. Since before I decided to petition my father-in-law's lodge for membership, in fact. It is something which I have read about. And which I discussed with many other people, foreigners, Americans, blacks, whites, Masons, non-masons, the ignorant and the knowledgeable.
As a result of my reading, discussions and contemplations I have formed a very definite body of opinions on this subject. And I hope that you will forgive me if I offend you, but I feel an overwhelming need to share a couple of them with you at this time. They are born of complex feeling and, at first appearance, may seem to contradict one another. Yet if you will bear with me to the end, I hope that they will be as clear to you as they are to me.
Let me begin by telling you that I do not belong to one of the Grand Jurisdictions which have recently taken the step of recognizing it's Prince Hall counterpart as being regular. The question was brought up at my Grand Lodge a couple of years ago, when only two other Grand Lodges had taken this action. At that time the Fraternal Relations Committee of my Grand Lodge decided that they would take a "wait and see" position on the subject. They said that they wished to see what other Grand Jurisdictions would follow suit, if any, and also what the consequences of this action might be, before taking any steps.
Now, from one point of view this action could be seen as cowardly foot-dragging, from another, wisely prudent. For myself, I will not judge these Brothers or their motives, for they are my friends. However, I will say this: You can only sit on a fence for so long before you must get off on one side or the other. And I entertain no doubt in my mind that we should join the other seven courageous Grand Lodges in the act of recognizing the legitimacy and regularity of Prince Hall masonry. It is the right step to take at this time!
But in looking at the bigger picture, is universal recognition between all Prince Hall and " mainstream " " Grand Lodges the final end to which we should aspire? Should we be totally satisfied when a white Mason can visit a "black" lodge and a black Mason can visit a "white" lodge? Will we have reached perfection when we have prepared banquets for one another and smiled for pictures to be printed in our respective Grand Lodge publications?
For me the answer is no! This is but one small step in the right direction. And those Brethren, both black and white who see it as the final solution are guilty of promoting the odious doctrine of "separate but equal" as official policy for splitting our fraternities along racial lines. If we are truly to become Brothers, not only must we recognize one another, we must make provisions for cross membership, and begin admitting one another to our respective ranks. For although "separate but equal" is better than the "apartheid" that we practice now, only with "integration" will we ever be able to fully practice the virtue of justice, whereby we render to every man his just due without distinction.
With these ends in mind I have no sympathy for those who are interested in preserving their own separate spheres of power. Neither do I buy into the argument, put forth by some, that you should preserve your heritage and I need to protect mine Brethren, it all should become our heritage. Let me give you a little history lesson as an illustration.
In the very early years of the 18th century there were Masonic lodges scattered all over Great Britain and Ireland. In the year 1717 a few lodges in the London area got together and formed the very first Grand Lodge in Freemasonry. This Grand Lodge would hold a get-together a few times every year when the members would eat, drink, elect Grand officers and generally have a good time. The whole idea worked out so well that within two decades there were Grand Lodges set up in Scotland and Ireland, as well as other parts of England.
These several Grand Lodges all got along fine with one another for the most part. Yap, everything was humming along just swell until bigotry reared it's ugly head.
By the middle of the 18th century Masonry had grown enormously. And London, being the cosmopolitan city that it is, was full of Freemasons from all over the world. Well, some of the more exclusive minded Masons of old London town decided that they did not like the idea of sitting in lodge and banqueting with those ill-bred and dirty Irish Masons that seemed to have become so numerous around London in those days. So the Brethren of that first Grand Lodge got together and made changes in the modes of recognition used to gain admittance into the lodges of that day. And they refused to acknowledge or admit any Masons who used the old forms. In other words, "No Irish need apply!"
But, being a zealous lot, those old Irish Brethren were not about to give up their Masonry just because they happened to live in the jurisdiction of the London Grand Lodge. So in 1751 they formed their own Grand Lodge and proceeded to charter lodges all over England and it's colonial empire. All this to the consternation and dismay of the older Grand Lodge.
Thus the two ran a bitter rivalry that was to last for the rest of that century and into the next. And although both organizations prospered separately, the division was eventually recognized for what it was. An aberration, contrary to the tenants of Freemasonry, which had been created through the faults of an earlier generation.
In the early years of the l9th century Brethren from both camps began to explore ways to repair the damage. And in 1813 the two joined and formed the United Grand Lodge of England. Now those old Brothers could have just recognized each others legitimacy, shook hands and smiled for the portrait painters, held a big feast and little sphere of power and heritage. But fortunately those old Masons were much wiser than that.
Sure, one Grand Master had to selflessly step aside for another. And articles of Union had to be drawn up to insure that the union would be a merger, and not a takeover. These were difficult things to do. But they were accomplished. And as for that bunk about heritage being lost? Nothing was lost by anyone, and everything was gained by all involved. The history of the two preunion Grand Lodges, both so rich, now belongs to all Freemasons through the stewardship of the United Grand Lodge of England.
Will the leaders of the Craft in America ever be so generous and Masonic with one another? Not anytime soon, I think! Undoubtedly we will spend a generation or two merely recognizing one another and patting ourselves on the backs for ending racial bigotry in American Freemasonry. But as for me, I have a dream. . . I dream that someday I may be allowed to give the strong grip to a black Brother for his first time, and raise him to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in my own lodge, and in so doing I will salute and address a black Brother presiding as the Master. I dream that one day a black Brother will don the purple of the fraternity and preside as the Grand Master of our Grand Lodge.
And when these things have come to pass. Then will all freemasons, red, yellow, black and white be able to lift their voices and sing together in that spirit of unity so long taught by our brotherhood.
"Freemasons at last... Freemasons at last... Thank God Almighty we're Freemasons at last... "
----o----
A new Theory
The Philalethes Lecture for 1992 (Part 2)
by Cyril N. Batham
"We are all prisoners of our own environment, and can think and reason only in terms of the conditions in which we exist. It is virtually impossible to think in terms of the environment of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but the effort must be made if we are to understand, even in general terms, the theory I am putting forward. As the late Professor Huxley once said, "It is not possible to understand, only to think that one understands. "
Try, therefore, to put yourself in the position of a senior member of a monastic order in the mid-sixteenth century. You are a devout Catholic, and your whole life revolves around your faith, the supreme authority of which is the Pope. The King is about to destroy that authority and place himself at the head of the church in England, solely because he wishes to divorce his Catholic wife and marry a Protestant heretic. Your monastic order is about to be dissolved, and you are to be deprived of the time-honored customs that are so vital to your faith.
Would you not be determined to preserve those cherished customs, those sacred rites, so essential to your faith, even despite the extreme penalties that faced you?
You would know of the executions of so many Catholic priests who had celebrated Mass in secret, and of the Catholic laity who had befriended them. According to Owen Chadwick (The Reformation), 123 of the former were executed, and 60 of the latter. You would be aware of the constant danger of betrayal, even by members of your monastic order, who might well break down when subjected to torture of the most inhuman kind. These were risks undergone over the centuries by many martyrs of your faith, and you would not wish to be any less worthy.
Thus would secret cells be formed, though eventually, in less dangerous times, it would be essential for them to emerge and attract other adherents if they were not to disappear entirely. But how could this be done? It would be suicidal for the cells to emerge in their original form as extreme Catholic units. It was imperative to find some disguise, but what?
Many trade guilds had grown out of religious fraternities and were concerned more with the salvation of souls than with craft matters. They had initiation ceremonies, and often had elaborate religious rites in honor of their patron saints, ceremonies that were decidedly masonic in content. Here was a perfect means of cover, but precisely what form should it take?
The construction of monasteries and other religious buildings throughout the country meant that the clergy were always in close contact with operative stonemasons. Some monks acted as Architects, as Masters of the Works, and it is known that some actually worked as operatives along with their lay brethren. ( The Origin of Freemasonry/Batham) .
Rules for the conduct of masons were laid down or at least approved by the monks, and it could well be that some of the surviving masonic documents from those times, the Old Charges, were written by them. Indeed it is probable that monks read them at the admission of craftsmen, as very few operative stonemasons in those days could read or write.
At Canterbury, early in the fifteenth century, the community of masons is often referred to in the accounts of the local Priory, and was apparently attached to it in the form of a technical school of masonry intimately connected with the clergy.
The Hall of the London Company of Masons stood on land owned by the Priory of the Holy Trinity, to which it attached itself, and even as late as 1665, a banner of the Holy Trinity was carried in all its processions, a symbol that might well have had reference to the ancient motto of the Company, " God is our Guide. "
Many other examples could be quoted of the common interests and the close relations existing between masons and the monks. What is more natural then than that they should take on the guise of being a society whose members were essentially interested in architecture? The study of architecture, after all, was universally accepted as being a pastime of gentlemen, many of whom went on a grand tour to study continental aspects of the art.
Added to this is the fact that, as religious fraternities concerned with "that house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," it would be natural for them to incorporate in their ceremonies references to that great building project mentioned in the Bible, King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem.
Granted this, why should men who had no connection with religious fraternities have joined such a newly-emerging movement?
Man is a social animal, but in the Middle Ages, the only unit had been the family, and there had been no scope for social activities outside it. In the sixteenth century the winds of change began to blow in more ways than one, and ideas began to emerge that, in the next century, would completely change the social scene and produce an entirely new society. For England, the Middle Ages were quite definitely a thing of the past, and life would never be the same again.
There was a social awakening that would lead to the establishment of clubs and coffee houses, in which there would be animated discussions on matters concerning the newly-discovered world, and, for the first time, men would be able to express opinions, social, religious, and political, that would have been impossible in the restricted circle of the family.
This was so revolutionary that even those involved in it could hardly comprehend the full implications. It was the beginning of a new era, the like of which had never before been known.
One could guess what lay ahead in that social, religious and economic turmoil, but intelligent clear-thinking men were anxious to take part in it. This, however, was for the future and, for the time being, there were dangers.
Freemasonry in an elementary form certainly began to emerge at that time. According to my theory, it evolved from the secret monastic cells. To be sure, there are no records of them dating from that time, for strict secrecy was still a paramount necessity. It was dangerous to put forward views that were not in accord with official policy. Many who did so were put to death, and anyone of any persuasion whatsoever who wished to indulge in a political or religious argument would have been well advised to make certain that the person to whom he spoke was of the same mind.
Thus there was an obvious need for secret societies in which opinions of this kind could be fully expressed, societies having carefully guarded signs for recognizing other persons of similar persuasion. Religious fraternities would not be immune from this tendency, for they, in particular, had much incriminating tradition behind them, and lost much as a result of the Reformation. As a matter of fact, such secret societies were to be a feature of European life until the midnineteenth century, or even later.
It is not suggested that underground cells emerged in this precise form; only that these facts must have exercised the minds of their leaders at that time and must have influenced their plans for the future.
Is there any reason to think that this was what happened? I suggest that there
The first record of an initiation in an English lodge is on 16 October 1646, when Elias Ashmole and Colonel Henry Mainwaring were made masons in a lodge at Warrington. This quite definitely was a meeting of non-operatives. Obviously the members present on that occasion must have been initiated some time previously, but where and when is unknown. Speculative Freemasonry was certainly not invented by them.
Moreover there is no official record of that meeting, nor of the existence of a lodge at Warrington at that time. It is known only through an entry in Ashmole's diary, which means it is probable that many previous meetings went unrecorded for the simple reason that the candidates did not keep diaries or, what is even more likely, that the absolute secrecy imposed on monastic cells was still paramount.
Something that has a bearing on this problem is the existence of what are known as the Old Charges. They are manuscripts that set out the regulations for the operative masons' trade "and are such as a diligent and learned priest of the Middle Ages, devout, credulous, apparently well acquainted with the mason craft and craftsman, . . . might have been expected to compose for the special purpose of being read at meetings of craft masons. " Here again we have the suggestion of a close connection between a religious fraternity and the masons 'trade .
It is known that these texts were read at such meetings, and indeed later on, in lodges that had no connection with the masons' trade. Bro. Colin Dyer (AQC 95) wrote: "Records which can be shown to relate to speculative Masonry can be found which date from before 1600. " He was referring to the Melrose No. 1 MS (1581) and the Grand Lodge MS No. 1 (1583). I hesitate to think that these copies of the Old Charges were read in lodges of speculative freemasons quite as early as that, though it does seem that operative lodges began to disappear with the cessation of religious building towards the middle of the sixteenth century.
However, the Grand Lodge MS No 1 in particular does indicate religious and possible monastic influence in its invocation, and does imply the need for secrecy: " The mighte of the Father of heaven and the wysdome of the glorious sonne through the grace and the goodness of the holy ghost that bee three persons in one God, be with us at our beginning and give us grace so to governe us here in our living that wee may come to his bliss that never shall have ending. Amen."
In seventeenth century lodges, a copy of one of the Old Charges was looked upon as being equivalent to a present-day Warrant, authorizing the meeting to be held.
The oldest surviving such documents are the Regius Poem (circa 1390) and the Cooke Manuscript (1410-25), both based on an older unknown manuscript, the next one surviving, Grand Lodge No. 1, did not appear until 1583.
In more than one hundred years following this there are fifty copies (in all there are some one hundred and twenty). But despite their basic operative content, they do not prove that operative lodges were still in existence. There is no evidence whatsoever of the existence of operative lodges in England in the seventeenth century. In fact, their functions were being taken over by the newly-emerging trade unions.
This enormous surge in the production of such manuscripts most certainly cannot have arisen from an operative demand, so what was the reason for it?
Certainly there were other early versions of the Old Charges, perhaps ten of them, written before 1583 and now all lost. But the fact that there are only ten during the better part of two centuries, as compared with fifty in the following century, and possibly others now lost, cannot be fortuitous.
In the seventeenth century there was no centralized control, and no question of regular meeting of lodges. At a time when men were beginning to join clubs, for reasons already explained, those who had never been connected with the religious fraternities from which the cells emerged would be admitted as members. It would have been the custom for a few brethren to meet together informally in order to admit one or more friends to their circle.
Thus lodges, possibly only temporary ones that had no connection whatsoever with the masons' trade, would eventually evolve. Certainly, and indeed inevitably according to my theory, some members would have been masons by trade.
Probably employers, but this would have been incidental to the speculative and social purposes of those lodges.
It seems likely that the meeting at Warrington on 16 October 1646 was of this type, and that the Sloane version of the Old Charges, completed on that day by Edward Sankey (presumably a relative of one of the brethren who was present at Ashmole's admission), was written for this particular ceremony.
It also seems likely that from a small number of cells, a substantial network soon evolved, for Robert Plot, in his The Natural History of Staffordshire, published in 1686, refers to the Society as "spread more or less all over the Nation, " and he adds, "I found persons of the most eminent quality, that did not disdain to be of this Fellowship. '' He further states: "Into which Society when any are admitted, they call a meeting (or Lodg [sic] as they term it in some places) which must consist of at least 5 or 6 of the Ancients of the Order. " This again suggests that meetings were held at irregular intervals and only when the need arose.
Exactly what their ceremonies were like is unknown. At first, no doubt, they would be basically religious, with a cloak of masonry, but as the movement grew and as men were admitted who had no connection with any religious fraternities, the emphasis on religion would diminish.
This tendency would be encouraged by the danger already stressed of expressing religious views contrary to official policy. Thus it is not surprising that eventually all discussion of religious matters would be prohibited, a ruling that undoubtedly would have been welcomed by men who were anxious to escape from the troubles and dissensions of the past century. Moreover, it would be a development that would encourage even more of the newly-emerging "clubable" type of individual to seek initiation.
Nevertheless, traces of a religious inheritance lingered for a long time. As Bro. Harry Mendoza pointed out ("The Words of a Master Mason," AQC 102), "Some masonic catechisms before 1730 show a very strong Christian influence. "
The actual ceremonies would probably have been quite brief, and soon the sermon or meditation on the scriptures or other religious works would be replaced by talks, discussions and catechisms. This, in fact, was the custom even as late as the eighteenth century -a short ceremony followed by a catechism or lecture.
One of the problems that has always exercised the minds of Masonic scholars is, What caused antiquarians such as Elias Ashmole, Randle Holme (Deputy Garter King of Arms), and other intellectuals, to join the Craft? That question would be answered if, as suggested, seventeenth-century Freemasonry was the result of cells of intellectuals emerging from the religious fraternities of the previous century.
Once they were initiated, it would have been natural for them to have introduced mysticism and the philosophy of such movements as the Rosicrucians into the ceremonies; in other words, to bring into existence the first traces of symbolic Freemasonry, evolving from the operative and non-operative form.
Without any central authority, these new features would be introduced into only a few lodges, but gradually no doubt they would spread to others and would be grafted onto existing ceremonies. This would be further complicated by the considerable borrowing that there undoubtedly was from the ceremonies of Scottish operative lodges.
The result would be a peculiar mixture of operative and speculative practices that, in the words of Bro. Eric Ward, were "so absurdly irrelevant to a society independent of the building trade that to read them to an initiate would only instill doubt in his mind as to the sanity of the organization he was about to join. "
Apart from the Warrington ceremony, what indication is there of masonic activity in the seventeenth century? Very little, and none of it is primary evidence. It seems likely that, within the Worshipful Company of Freemasons of the City of London, there was a Masonic lodge into which members were accepted as early as 1621, but this is not definite.
There is a list of twenty-seven members of a lodge in Chester in 1673, and a certain Edward Hall claimed that in 1695 he was initiated in a lodge in Chichester, but there are no records of either of these lodges.
After Ashmole wrote down the details of his initiation, there is no other Masonic reference in his diary for nearly thirty-six years, when it is recorded that he attended an initiation ceremony at Masons' Hall, London, on 11 March 1682.
The York No. 4 manuscript of 1693 gives the names of six members of a lodge of which nothing is known. In addition there were references to Masonic meetings from time to time in the press. There was a scurrilous pamphlet of 1696. There was mention of the Craft in Plot's The Natural History of Staffordshire (1686), and in Aubrey 's The Natural History of Wiltshire (1691), but there were no official records whatsoever.
This is not a very inspiring list. It gives the impression of an uncoordinated group anxious not to attract public attention. There is an atmosphere of intense secrecy such as could have been an inheritance from the secret cells of the previous century.
The theory I have put forward provides an answer as to why, in some of the Old Charges written in the seventeenth century, new clauses were introduced that could only apply to operative masons. The compilers were falling into the temptation that so many have found irresistible, the desire to improve the ritual. They were following the long-established custom of an operative cloak, something that Dr. Anderson perpetuated in his Constitutions of 1723 and 1738.
They were preserving the tradition of absolute secrecy, as Laurence Dermott, the Grand. Secretary of the "Antients" did in his Ahiman Rezon of 1756, and as the members of the Lodge of Reconciliation did as late as 1816, when they left no record of the new ritual they had compiled.
My theory also provides an answer to the following questions:
1. Why is Speculative Freemasonry based on operative masonry, and not on one of the other trades?
2. Were non-operatives admitted into operative lodges in order for them to survive?
3. Does it follow that what happened in Scotland, a transition from operative to nonoperative masonry, also happened in England?
4. Did the religious fraternities disappear entirely when they were disendowed in 1547?
5. Why was there a dramatic increase in the number of the Old Charges from 1538 onwards?
6. Why is there a lack of records in the seventeenth century when it seems there was so much Masonic activity?
7. More importantly, why did men of considerable learning join the Craft?
If my theory is correct, it may then be asked why the premier Grand Lodge of England was founded in 1717, and publicity was given to the Craft. To give a complete answer to that would require another paper, but, briefly, by the turn of the century, under its cloak of secrecy, Freemasonry was expanding, men of quality such as the Duke of Richmond were beginning to take an interest in it, and it was obvious that some effort would be needed if order was to be brought out of chaos.
The first attempts may have been of a social nature, the holding of an annual feast, but that there were serious intentions underneath is proved by the command given to Dr. Anderson to produce a Book of Constitutions, the efforts of Dr. Desaguliers (Grand Master 1719-20) to introduce persons of quality, the election as Grand Master in 1721 of the first nobleman, John, 2nd Duke of Montagu, and the subsequent increase in the number of lodges.
Even so, it was not until nearly 275 years later (in other words, only last year), that the last shackles of secrecy were finally broken.
There I rest my case. Have I persuaded you? Proof I did not promise, but remember that there is no proof of the Transition Theory.
If you are still unconvinced, will you do something?
Will you go along to any large building site you care to choose and look at the men working there?
No doubt they are good-hearted men who are fond of their wives and children, excellent husbands and fathers, but can you imagine them accepting Antiquarians, Garter Kings of Arms, University graduates and other learned individuals as members of their trade union branches, accepting them in increasing numbers until they achieved a majority over the workers, and so were able to take control of those trade union branches, and change them completely in character so that they no longer had any connection whatsoever with the building trade?
That is what you must accept if you Still believe in the Transition Theory. Can you believe it? I cannot.
I thank you for your kind attention; and now I am prepared to be burned at the stake, or hung drawn and quartered, as you wish; or, in modern terms, to be shot down in flames.
NOTE. In only a few cases have l quoted my sources. That is because this paper is based on notes I have accumulated over the years, and on odd thoughts that have occurred to me from time to time as a result of reading books on the subject, the number of which is legion -as anyone will discover who asks the British Library for a list. I am deeply grateful to all those, known and unknown, who have thus helped me. If I have misquoted or misinterpreted anyone, I apologise and am very ready to admit my fault.
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By J.D. Rietzke, MPS
There are those of us who have been in Masonry for many years who have had the experience of not accepting a petition from someone who we feel does not meet the qualifications required for Masonic membership. I remember very well, some 30 years ago, when I was Junior Warden of Wood County Lodge No. 112, being approached for a petition from someone I didn't know. I raised the question of this potential applicant at a Lodge meeting and found that this man had applied elsewhere and been turned away. It seems that he had a long history of drinking and wife abuse. Other instances could be related but by now you have the idea what is being implanted--that Masonry is not for everyone--even though they may desire membership. What has such a long introduction to do with the subject at hand--The Man Who Wasn't--this man also wanted to join but was also declined membership. Who is this man that he rates an article in a Masonic publication? He is no less than Richard Wagner, the great Germanic opera composer. When the field of opera is explored Wagner rates along with Puccini and Mozart at the top. Even so Masonic membership was denied him. Why? What could there be in the life of this great figure of music that Masonry didn't want to be associated with him?
Even the paternity of Wilhelm Richard Wagner, who was born May 22, 1813, is surrounded by intrigue and mystery. His mother was Johanne Rosine Wagner, the name of the father of the birth certificate is Carl Friederich Wagner. However there is some evidence to support the historical assumption that Richard's father may actually have been Ludwig Heinrich Geyer. In any case Carl Friederich Wagner died November 23, 1813 and eight months later, on August 28, 1814, Johanne Rosine, the "grieving" widow, married Ludwig Geyer, bearing him a daughter six months later. Whatever the circumstances of his birth and paternity young Wagner received a good education. He was a sickly child and was very weak as a result. Geyer, his stepfather (?) died when Richard was only 8 years old. Wagner's first exposure to music was through an acquaintance of his stepfather, Carl Marie von Weber. This relationship ended upon the death of von Weber when Wagner was 13 years old. Young Wagner, unlike many other musicians and composers, did not display any early musical leanings. He was interested in Shakespeare and was greatly intrigued with Greek mythology. When he was 14 he dropped out of the school he was attending and returned home to his mother and siblings in Leipzig. During the next several months he heard the music of Beethoven and Mozart, relating Beethoven to Shakespeare.
Gradually music replaced drama and literature as Wagner's main interest. In April 1829 he heard Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio. This had a great effect on him. He seriously studied composition, musical theory and all the symphonies of Beethoven. During the summer of 1829, at age 16, he composed his first works: an aria for soprano, two piano sonatas and a quartet modeled after Beethoven. He would later attend the University of Leipiz as a music student but did not graduate. He appeared more interested in student activities, including gambling and drinking. He fell heavily into debt. He stole his mother's pension check, lost it all gambling except for one thaler. He was desperate. Before staking this last thaler he made a promise that if he won he would "turn his back on the world of cards forever." The cards fell his way and within a short period he paid off his outstanding debts, including his mother to whom he made a complete confession, promising her of his resolve. This was a resolution that he maintained the rest of his life.
So far we have covered just a bit of Wagner's early history but our concern is "what did he do that no Mason would accept his petition?" In 1848 Wagner was living in Dresden; Germany was in a state of political crisis. Internal conflict was dividing the nation with revolution occurring in various states of the nation. In June 1848 Wagner joined the revolutionary Communal Guard. He wrote two revolutionary poems and an article praising the Austrians who had displaced their emperor. Two months later Wagner departed Dresden for Vienna which was the hot-bed of the revolutionary activity. During this time there was much that emerged from the musical Wagner including his developing friendship with Brother Franz Listz. Wagner developed plans for reorganizing the Vienna theatres. While involved with the theatre and music Wagner still sided with the revolutionary forces. In March 1849 two anti-state poems were published anonymously but bore the style and eteric of Wagner. A month later another anonymous article appeared glorifying the revolution, again in the style of Wagner. On April 30, 1849 he became the editor of the revolutionary paper, the Volksblatter. At the same time he became very close to the leaders of the movement, printing some pamphlets which were intended to turn government troops against the state. He left Vienna and returned to Dresden where, on May 5, 1848, fighting broke out between the loyalists and revolutionary forces. According to accounts Wagner ascended the tower of the Kruezkirche and acted as a lookout for the revolutionary forces and came under constant fire. What his total involvement with the movement was can be left to speculation. On May 19, 1849 a warrant was issued for his arrest, with the possibility that he might be charged with treason, an offense that carried the death penalty. Listz advised Wagner to go to Paris by way of Bavaria and Switzerland. On May 24 Wagner left Germany under the name of Professor Warder of Berlin. Travelling through Switzerland he reached Paris on June 2, 1849. Wagner left his wife, Minna, behind in Germany. It would be 11 years before he would return to Germany. During his stay in Switzerland Wagner, who had a reputation as a womanizer, became acquainted with a married woman, Jessie Laussot. Her marriage to Eugene was shaky with Wagner contributing to its shakiness. They, Wagner and Jessie, talked of running off together, forsaking their unhappy marriages.
Wagner remained in Paris only a short time. He was most impressed with Switzerland and within a short time he left Paris, returning to Zurich. Many political refugees found a haven in this country. Meanwhile in Germany Wagner had been tried in absentia, found guilty of revolutionary activities and sentenced to death. The affair with Jessie Laussot became known, his plans to runaway with her were shattered and then she terminated the relationship by returning to her husband. Wagner quickly repaired his own marriage, begging forgiveness of Minna. Certainly being a patriot, even in a losing cause, should not have been a reason for Wagner to be refused Masonic membership. There is no historical evidence to support that Eugene Laussot was a Mason so, in this sense, Wagner would not have been in violation of the 3rd degree obligation. Even so no one offered to accept his petition.
In an article of this nature space does not allow for relating the developing of Wagner's music. Suffice to say he was or did develop into one of the world's great operatic composers. Tannhauser had been accepted with mixed reviews; Die Meistersinger, Lohengrin, The Flying Dutchman and the development of the epic Der Ring des Nibelungen (4 operas linked together with a common story based on German mythology) were developed during this time of exile. To make a long story short after twelve years of exile the death warrant against Wagner was lifted and he was allowed to return to Germany.
A turning point in Wagner's life occurred in October 1853. It was at this time he met Cosima Listz von Bulow. She was the illegitimate daughter of Franz Listz by the Countess d'Agoult. Cosima's marriage to von Bulow was very unhappy. Cosima, like Wagner, was very antiSemitic. von Bulow was a noted conductor and a close friend of Wagner. At first meeting Cosima was not attracted to Wagner. However their paths kept crossing and by late 1861 Wagner left his wife Minna and entered in a relationship with Cosima that was to last for the rest of his life. Both of them had strong Germanic political leanings with Wagner writing in 1869 that it was Germany's destiny to overrun and rule France. His political views put him at odds with many supporters of his music. Georges Bizet, the French composer wrote, for example: "Wagner is not a friend of mine.. .but the fascination with his music is indescribable. " Wagner wrote a series of articles in the Munich Suddeutsche Presses entitled "German Art and German Politics" extolling the virtues of German life and how this life was to extend its blessings beyond its own frontiers. This series was to extend over 15 articles but they became so inflammatory that the editor canceled the last two. In March 1869 Wagner wrote a lengthy appendix to the book "Judaism in Music" in which he blamed the Jews for personal attaches of himself. It was during this same time that Wagner became acquainted with Friedrich Nietzsche whose writings, some 60 years later, formed the foundation of the Nazi movement as well as being the favorite writer of Hitler. Nietzsche was violently antiSemantic and strongly in favor of a master race. In time though even Nietzsche turned against Wagner, writing that Wagner was overly strong in his support for German rule and in his antiSemitism.
On June 6, 1869 Cosima gave birth to a son, fathered by Wagner. She was still the wife of von Bulow, not securing a divorce until 1870 after which time she and Wagner married. The liaison between Cosima and Wagner, for a time, strained the friendship of Wagner and Listz. Cosima left the Catholic church to marry Wagner who was Lutheran. While Wagner continued to write music he continued also to be actively involved in political writings. The final twelve years of his life were devoted primarily to the establishment of the opera theatre at Bayreuth and the staging of the famous "Ring" cycle.
One of Wagner's desires, that of joining the Masonic Lodge was never fulfilled. History records that he talked Masonry with his father-in-law, Brother Franz Listz, on many occasions but neither Listz nor any other of Wagner' s Masonic friends would accept his petition. Wagner's political views, his strong antiSemitic feeling, his illicit relationship with Cosima and several other women, were factors that helped keep Wagner from ever becoming a Mason. He was famous as a composer but infamous in his private and social life. Some even feel that his music is inflammatory. Is it any wonder that Wagner was Hitler's favorite composer, for in him he found support for the Nazi movement. Wagner was a Nazi long before there was a Nazi movement.
Wagner died in 1883 and is buried at Bayreuth. Cosima lived until 1930--she was born in 1837, twenty-four years younger than Wagner. She is buried beside Wagner. Each year thousands visit his home and grave. Today the Wagner home is a museum honoring the music of Wagner. The four operas comprising the "Ring" cycle are performed annually at the Bayreuth Opera House, drawing listeners from all over the world and attracting the world's greatest operatic singers as participants. Knowing now what you know about Wagner's background could you, in good conscience, accept his petition for Masonic membership? Could his great musical accomplishments offset a radical life? Only you can answer.
References:
"Richard Wagner, A Biography" by Derek Watson, J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., Toronto, 1979
Music Lovers Encyclopedia, Rupert Kerr, Garden City Publishing Co., Inc., Garden City N.Y., 1947
The Wagner Companion, edited by Peter Burbidge and Richard Sutton, Faber and Faber, London 1979
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Dispensation Granted for Electronic Chapter
Under the leadership of Neil Shapiro, MPS, a new New York Master Mason, CompuServe has authorized a Masonic section on its network. The formation of an Electronic Chapter of The Philalethes Society was authorized by the President, Wallace McLeod.
After an on-line meeting the members selected the name: Cornerstone Computer Chapter "Cornerstone" was selected because it expects other Chapters to be formed on other such services.
The Masonic section is an outgrowth of the "New Age Forum" that Neil Shapiro headed (and still heads). Even before Neil became an Entered Apprentice he became interested in the philosophy of Freemasonry. While still an EA he was granted membership in the Philalethes Society (by special permission).
Compuserve is considered by many to be the leading electronic service. It now provides a golden opportunity for open and candid discussions about Freemasonry. It gives knowledgeable Freemasons an excellent chance to answer the bigoted critics of this fraternity that firmly believes in the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God.
Any member of The Philalethes Society may join the Electronic Chapter, even those who are members of local Chapters. All Master Masons who access the Masonic section may join the Cornerstone Computer Chapter after they have joined The Philalethes Society.
Neil has gone even further. He has made it possible for Freemasons to join in discussions on CompuServe. Call 800/848-8199 and ask for representative number 378. This will entitle the subscriber to a free introduction subscription, plus several hours of free access time.
To access the Masonic section, subscribers to CompuServe type GO MASONRY at any exclamation-mark prompt. It's that easy to join in the discussions.
Let us not forget that Hiram's Oasis, the pioneer of Masonic Modem Bulletin Boards, can be reached at 703/938-4990. It has hundreds of Masonic items to download. It's managed by Preston Burner, MPS
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by Tom Mote, MPS
[An annotated bibliography offered in honor of the "Second Annual Table Lodge" held on Februaryl2, l991 by Albert Pike Lodge Number 1169, San Antonio, Texas. It is most sincerely hoped that many Lodges will re-institute the festive board as a means of increasing interest and Lodge attendance.]
Campbell-Everden, William Preston "Freemasonry and its Etiquette." New York: Weathervane Books, 1978. (pp. 344-365) A very detailed discussion of the etiquette associated with the "festive board. "
Carr, Harry "The Early French Exposures. " London: Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076, 1971. (pp. 52-53) An "exposure" suggesting excessive drinking, etc., during Masonic banquets. (p. 57) A more reasonable reference to "table" activities. (pp. 73-78) A more detailed description of the "After Lodge" festivities. (pp. 444-447) A description of the "Table Lodge" and (p. 468) a parting shot at the "Table Lodge. "
Carr, Harry "The Freemason at Work. " London: Lewis Masonic, 1976. (pp. 124-127) An explanation of "Masonic Fire." (pp. 174-184) Detailed discussion of "Masonic After-Proceedings, " ie, the table lodge or festive board.
Carr, Harry "The Transition from Operative to Speculative Masonry." [Anson Jones Lecture for 1979] in "Transactions, Texas Lodge of Research, Vol. XV, 1979-80." (pp. 78-79) The section of the lecture which is specific to the convivial phase of the transition.
Carr, Harry "Harry Carr's World of Freemasonry. " London: Lewis Masonic, 1983. (pp. 67-68) A discussion of the social or convivial phase of the transition from "operative" to "speculative masonry. " (pp. 277-278) Rudyard Kipling's poem, "Banquet Night."
Carter, James David "Masonry in Texas." Waco, Texas: The Committee on Masonic Education and Service for the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. and A.M., 1955. (p. 35) "The drinking of all kinds of spirits was universal in the colonies. ..The social life for men in the colonies, like that of the mother country, centered in the tavern, and a surprising variety of clubs for convivial purposes were organized. Nothing was more natural, or in tune with the times, than that Masonic lodges should meet at a tavern and accompany the more serious work of Masonry with meat and drink. "
Coil, Henry Wilson, Sr. "Freemasonry Through Six Centuries, Vol. I." Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1967. (p. 155) "...the most customary use made of lodges by the nonoperatives appears to have been social intercourse, including in many instances conviviality, tendencies which obviously were not discouraged by the use of inns, taverns, and ale houses for meeting places. Feasting and drinking were probably common as approved by the vogue of the times. "
Coil, Henry W., Sr. "Conversations on Freemasonry." Richmond, Va.: 1976. (p. 10) "The increasing revulsion of society against the liquor evil gradually expelled King Alcohol from the lodges and even out of the banquet halls and other parts of the buildings housing the lodges. "
Cook, Lewis C. Wes (Editor) "Colonial Freemasonry. " Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research, Vol. 30, 1973-74. This historical text does not shed much light on actual "Table Lodge" practices. Names of specific taverns, the meeting places of our earliest American Lodges, are scattered throughout the book. (p. 57) In at least one case the "Festive Board" was a source of anger to outsiders. "A great complaint went up among the colonists about the inflated prices being charged by the Carolina merchants. It was suggested by some that the exorbitant prices were due mostly to the high and profligate living in the Savannah clubs and by Freemasons at their banquets. "
French, George H.T. "Masonology, an Anthology. " Texas Lodge of Research, 1988. (pp. 5-7) A discussion of "conviviality" in the evolution of Freemasonry. (pp. 245-254) An expanded discussion of "conviviality."
Gotch, Christopher "The Role of the Innkeeper in Masonry." [The Prestonian Lecture for 1987] in "Ars Quartuor Coronatorum, Vol. 101, 1988"(pp.213223) A discussion of the evolution of the lodge and its relationship to the tavern and the eventual development of the lodge hall.
Hamill, John "The Craft, A History of English Freemasonry." London: Crucible, 1986. (pp. 77-85)A discussion of the social or "convivial" side of Freemasonry.
Haywood, H.L. "More about Masonry." Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1980. (p. 179) Suggests that the election, in 1721, of John the second Duke of Montague as Grand Master was a very real turning point in the evolution of Freemasonry. "An opportunity to sit in the same room with a blood relative of the King, and even possibly to enjoy with him the intimacies of the table, made so powerful an appeal to the socially aspiring that Freemasonry began to multiply. "
Henderson, K.W. "Masonic World Guide. " London: Lewis Masonic, 1984. (p. 11) Excellent advice on advance preparation for visiting Masonic Lodges in foreign jurisdictions. (pp. 120-122, 132133, 141, 190-191, 208, 223, 369, 370, 372, 374) Lodges in most countries of Western Europe have some form of "Lodge After proceedings--The Festive Board. "
Jackson, A.C.F. "English Masonic Exposures, 1760-1769." London: Lewis Masonic, 1986. (pp. 41-42) Reference to "drinking customs" and (pp. 82-83) "The enter'd Apprentices Song, which is sung after grave Business is done, or after making a Brother. "
Jones, Bernard E. "Freemasons' Guide and Compendium." London: Harrap, 1956. (pp. 474-484) A detailed discussion of the lodge at refreshment including the drinking of appropriate toasts .
Kipling, Rudyard "Banquet Night." in "A Treasury of Masonic Thought" (edited by Carl Glick) New York: Crowell, 1953, (pp. 98-99).
Lennhoff, Eugene " The Freemasons." London: Lewis Masonic, 1978. (pp. 42-43) Concludes that the entry of non-operative members went hand in hand with "...the fact that round about the year 1717, these Lodges no longer held their meetings in 'Masons' Halle,' but in taverns, and that every initiation was followed by a sumptuous repast...it was chiefly a 'special form of noble companionship surrounded by ancient usages. " '
ù MacKenchnie-Jarvis, C. "Grand Stewards 1728-1978." [The Prestonian Lecture for 1978] in "Ars Quartuor Coronatorum, Vol. 91, 1987" (pp. 168196) A discussion of the office of Grand Steward and the evolution of the table lodge in England.
Morse, Sidney " Freemasonry in the American Revolution" in "Little Masonic Library, Vol. III" Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1924. (p. 237) "Both eating and drinking in the lodge room, and even in the Grand Lodge, were customary in England until late in the eighteenth century. And the minutes of the Colonial lodges afford abundant evidence that the call from labor to refreshment was literally interpreted. "
Robinson, Russell R. "The Lodge at Refreshment" in "Miscellanea, Vol. XI, Part One, 1976"The Grand Council of The Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States of America (pp. 33-34). A paper on the historical background of the table lodge. Sarachan, Herman A. "Dear Brother Herman, " Rochester, N .Y.: Masonic Service Bureau of Rochester, New York, Inc., 1979(p. 13).A discussion of the use of alcoholic beverages within Masonic Temples in the New York Masonic Jurisdiction .
Shepherd, Silas H, "The Landmarks of Freemasonry, Book One" in "Little Masonic Library, Vol. I" Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1924 (p. 18). "You may enjoy yourselves with innocent Mirth, treating one another according to Ability, but avoiding all Excess, or forcing any Brother to eat or drink beyond his Inclination. . . "
Wells, Roy A. "The Rise and Development of Organized Freemasonry, " London: Lewis Masonic, 1986 (p. 2). "The architect, often the employer of the craftsmen and therefore master of the work, would meet the skilled workers in their huts, or 'lodges,' to discuss the plans and problems common to all and a close affinity would become an automatic process; it would be no small step for all to eat together and continue with their discussion and that to take on an even wider scope beyond the limitations of the building and construction. Men of letters would have had much to contribute in such gatherings and an introduction to the liberal arts and sciences may well have been topics among their deliberations (p. 4). A 1692 diary entry of the first known "speculative " member, Elias Ashmole, states that, after an initiation "We all dyned at the halfe Monne Tavern in Cheapeside, at a Noble Dinner prepaired at the charge of the New-accepted Masons," (p.12). Meeting places of the four founding lodges of the Premier Grand Lodge were the "Goose and Gridiron" Ale-House, the "Crown" Ale-House, the "Apple-Tree" Tavern and the "Rummer and Grapes" Tavern.
Wilson, C. Danny "Conviviality" in "Transactions, Texas Lodge of Research, Vol. XV, 1979-80" (pp. 124130). A discussion of the historical background of the "Table Lodge " and a suggestion that it be used as a means of renewal of our lodges (p. 130). He closes by quoting H.L. Haywood: "A dinner is nothing but a meal; a banquet is an occasion where dinner is nothing but a preliminary to a program; a feast is not a dinner or a banquet but is an occasion! " What more needs to be said?
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Fellows of the Philalethes Society
Fred Lamar Pearson, Jr., and Ralph A. Herbold have been elected Fellows of The Philalethes Society.
F. Lamar Pearson has been Editor of the Masonic Messenger for the Grand Lodge of Georgia for several years. He, along with William H. Rosier, wrote the History of the Grand Lodge of Georgia, 1786-1980. Because of his literary work he was chosen a member of the Society of Blue Friars (Masonic authors). He has written numerous articles for Masonic and educational journals. He is a professor of history at Valdosta State College, and has been a member of its faculty since 1965.
He is a Past Master, Past High Priest, Past Commander and a Past Illustrious Master, and a KYCH . He is also a member of the Scottish Rite, the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Allied Masonic Degrees, and several other Masonically related bodies. He has received the highest awards of his Grand Lodge. He is still serving his Grand Lodge on several committees.
Ralph A. Herbold is the catalyst that has made Southern California Research Lodge one of the most famous in the world. Over the years he has prepared and mailed tons of Masonic material throughout the world. As a result he has become among the best known Freemasons in North America.
Ralph was born in Los Angeles, California, June 25, 1915. In 1935 he married Agnes Mae. He's a Navy veteran of World War II. He worked as a purchasing agent for a plumbing supply firm for 27 years. His community work earned him Lynwood ' s Man of the Year in 1964 . He received his Masonic degrees in Lynwood Lodge No. 600 in 1949 and served it as its Master in 1959. In 1963 he served as Master of Southern California Research Lodge, became its Secretary in 1965 and served in this capacity twice. Since 1983 he has been its Corresponding Secretary.
He served on several committees for his Grand Lodge. For the Scottish Rite he has spent years in various important capacities. In 1971 he was rewarded with its 33d.
Ralph now works "full time" for Freemasonry.
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G. Wilbur Bell, FPS
September 12, 1912 – March 25, 1992
In 1968 G. Wilbur Bell was elected a Fellow of The Philalethes Society. This was one of the latest of the Masonic honors that he had earned. He had served as Master of his Lodge from 1943-45; Grand Commander in Illinois in 1956; Grand High Priest, 1956,Thrice Illustrious Master, and in many other leadership positions.
In 1964 the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite awarded him the 33d. In 1970 he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, serving a three year term. In between and later he became a member of dozens of bodies attached to Freemasonry. He presided over most of them. He made his mark as Executive Director of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.
Without question Wilbur will be missed during the annual meetings of the Allied Masonic bodies meeting in February in the District of Columbia. It was there that his wisdom and counsel was paramount. But, as Ned E. Dull recited in his eulogy on March 26:
I cannot say and I will not say
That he is dead. He is just away.
With a cherry smile and a wave of his hand,
He has wandered into an unknown land,
And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be since he lingers there
Think of him still as the same, I say;
He is not dead he is just away.
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Wolfie & Hiram and the Grand Master's Inspection
by Elliot A. Saron, M.P.S.
The Lodge was holding a general business meeting. Every one seemed to be in a good mood. It was an air of self congratulation following the meetings in which the principal work was conferring degrees. The Lodge-sponsored events proved successful. The widow, Helen, whom the Lodge had helped out had written a " thank you" note to the Lodge in which she said how much better she's feeling and how attending the dinner dance had really picked up her spirits. And Arnold, by now, was able to walk without aid of crutches as well as drive his own car to the meeting. And as the Secretary read some of the laudatory letters, he was applauded. Then the Secretary said "Worshipful Master, I have an important communication from the Grand Master. He will visit our Lodge at our next meeting for his official inspection ! "
The Lodge fell very quiet. But Dominic stood up. Solomon recognized him. He said "Worshipful Master, the Grand Master is a very important man so if he' s coming to our Lodge, we've got to treat him right. So my brother Tony and I can make him a spaghetti dinner with the same recipe that mama learned in the old country. "
Solomon said "That might be a good idea." Arthur then stood up, and after being recognized by Solomon, offered to provide veal for veal scallopine. Lou, who was a greengrocer, offered to provide the mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes for the spaghetti and scallopine. The Treasurer asked if this was all to be " donated." Solomon banged the gavel and said that the Lodge can and should reimburse these brothers who are extending themselves. He also pointed out how often Lou donated fruit baskets as raffle prizes at picnics so that the proceeds could be given to charity. Solomon then asked John, a Past Master skilled in managing dinners, picnics and entertainment programs, to co-ordinate the "entertainment" of the Grand Master and the Craft.
Bill, a Senior Past Master and Ritual Instructor, then stood up and after being recognized by Solomon, pointed out that although "belly Masonry" is a pleasant accoutrement, the "bottom line" is the Ritual. He further pointed out that the Lodge works by virtue of a charter issued by the Grand Lodge which authorizes it to confer degrees, and that since the Grand Master was visiting the Lodge not only to inspect the Lodge's books and minutes, but to see if the Lodge can do the Ritual Work with the proficiency Grand Lodge requires. Finally, he strongly recommended that the Lodge schedule at least two rehearsals to ensure proficiency of the officers. Wolfie stood on his hind legs to signify his approval. It gave him another opportunity to show Hiram that he was proficient in the Work! Solomon agreed with Bill and Wolfie and requested Bill to schedule the rehearsals and, at the collation after the meeting, to make the Work assignments. The collation wasn't the usual noisy celebration it usually was when Bill went around writing down the names of the officers and the work each was to deliver. Wolfie went around the room with Bill to see who was doing what, particularly what Hiram was to be doing. Although he did manage to keep the meaty bone Arthur gave him in his mouth as he walked around. Finally the brethren began to leave the Temple to return to their homes.
On arriving home, they found Marian sitting in the den watching television. She looked at them and said "Why are you boys so serious? Anything wrong?" Hiram then told her what was going on at the next meeting. She then suggested that he take Wolfie out for a walk and start practicing his work so that he wouldn't disgrace his Lodge nor make a fool of himself in front of the Grand Master. Out they went and Wolfie made sure that Hiram was really proficient. And so every day, Wolfie looked forward to the many walks with Hiram and, of course, teaching Hiram the Ritual Work.
The day of the meeting soon arrived. Hiram was nervous. Wolfie, however, was confident that everything would turn out all right and that the Grand Master would be pleased. Before they left, Marian told Hiram to calm down and relax, listen to Wolfie, and don't make things any worse. Wolfie and Hiram arrived at the Temple in time for the dinner Dominic and Tony had prepared. Arthur and Lou were there already. Henry the baker provided the bread and baked a great big cheesecake, one of Wolfie's favorites. When Arthur gave Wolfie the great big meaty bone, Wolfie also sauntered over to Tony who put down a little dish with some spaghetti in it. Wolfie then knew everything would be all right. Solomon was a bit nervous too. When the Grand Master arrived accompanied by the Grand Marshal and the Senior Grand Deacon, Solomon jumped right up to greet him and he announced " Brethren. . . the Grand Master. " All stood up including Wolfie who stood on his hind legs out of respect to the Grand Master. The Grand Master shook a few hands and Wolfie ran right up to him and the Grand Master was delighted to see his old pal Wolfie who jumped up and gave him a big kiss. Solomon then ushered the Grand Master and his retinue to seats of honor at the dinner table. " Smells good" the Grand Master exclaimed. John saw to it that the Grand Master and his party were served immediately. He then tasted the spaghetti and asked Solomon if they had a restaurant cater this meal. Solomon told the Grand Master about Dominic and Tony; and about Arthur, Lou, and Henry. Said the Grand Master "That's real teamwork, just what Masonry is about. " John then approached the Grand Master and told him that Dominic and Tony prepared a special package for him to take home to his wife, Margie. "Boy, I can see where this Lodge is really on the ball" he exclaimed. He asked if perhaps there were doggy bags for the other brethren too and John answered that Dominic and Tony came from large families and there was plenty more where that came from.
Solomon and Bill asked the Grand Master if they could be excused from the dinner table. He nodded, and they and the Officers went up to the Lodge room to open the Lodge. Soon the moment came. There was an alarm at the door and the Junior Deacon announced the Grand Marshal. He entered the Lodge, saluted the Master, traveled to the East, raised the Lodge, and announced that the Grand Master was about to enter. The Grand Master then entered, Solomon removed his top-hat, the Grand Master saluted and travelled to the East where he was given Grand Honors. The Grand Marshal handed the gavel to the Grand Master who in turn returned to Solomon with the instruction that he seat the Lodge and commence the Work. Wolfie all this time stood respectfully as the Grand Master made his entry.
The Ritual Work was delivered. When it concluded, Solomon said "Brethren, the Grand Master. " He was given a standing ovation by the Craft and Wolfie stood on his hind legs wagging his tail!
The Grand Master began his speech. He said "Worshipful Master" and Solomon rose respectfully and sat down. He continued: "Brethren, it is indeed my pleasure to be in this Lodge. Your Ritual Work was letter perfect. " The Brethren cheered, the Grand Master smiled, but Bill the Senior Past Master frowned and started a fake cough. The Grand Master looked at Bill and said "Bill" and Bill stood up. The Grand Master continued "If there were any mistakes, I didn't catch them. Or as that song goes 'then again, too few to mention. ' I wish all the Lodges in this State do Work the way you do it. Then my job would be a lot easier. Ritual Work is very important. It's the way we make good men into better men through Masonry. If it weren't for the Ritual, none of us would be sitting here. . . None of us would have visited the sick people in the hospital, none of us would have helped George' s widow, Helen, and none of us would've rallied to support Arnold when he had the accident. And it is the Ritual which binds men of every country sect and opinion together to work for common good as we did in the big parade to raise money for charity.
As Grand Master, I'm sure you know I've had to make some very agonizing decisions in two Lodges in this State. Coincidentally, not only were these Lodges unable to deliver the Work, but they are also unable to sponsor a social event such as a dinner dance. Their meetings, though sparsely attended, often degenerate into second-rate 'group-therapy' sessions in which the few who are present have nothing better to do but prattle on about personal and family business better left discussed outside the Lodge. And all too often these Lodge meetings also degenerate into protracted petty squabbling over such matters as whether or not the Lodge can afford collation and if so should they serve hamburgers and french fries or stick with cake and coffee. I didn't really enjoy sitting through a 30 minute debate on how the parking lot should be paved! Worse yet was when they received a request from a widow for assistance and behaved like they were to start another debate on paving the parking lot. But neither you nor I should be expected to permit or suffer a deterioration of our standards, no less a departure from our established landmarks. Should that, hopefully never, happen, we wouldn't be able to claim for ourselves the great rank and title of Free & Accepted Masons. We'd just be another second-rate social club. Whether or not we realize it, everything we do emanates from the Ritual. You show me a Lodge that does good Ritual Work, I'll show you a Lodge that looks after its widows as you did with Helen, a Lodge that gets together to visit the sick people in the community hospital. You know many community activist people here told me that your Lodge's participation was the greatest of all the local organizations. That says something for Freemasonry and every other man who dons the apron. And I heard the story of how Aubrey had to 'kick' a few of you out of Arnold's hospital room while he was recovering from the injuries sustained in the accident at the construction site. Yet I'm happier that there were too many of you there than too few. And your Lodge gave me the most support of any Lodge at the big parade. It starts with the Ritual because that is a formal bonding of Brother to Brother. I know a few of you accuse Bill of 'cracking the whip' with you at rehearsals. But the results are very much in evidence. Your effort and dedication, starting with attendance at rehearsals are very much in evidence too...And finally, the dinner you served this evening was an outstanding example of Brethren pulling together. Two provided the pasta and cooked the spaghetti, another Brother provided the veal, another the vegetables, and another the bread and the cheesecake. I'm looking forward to afterwards. " At this point the Grand Master was interrupted by a thunderous ovation. Solomon had to bang the gavel real hard to call the Lodge to order. The Grand Master continued: "Your support and concurrence is indeed gratifying, particularly when I mentioned cheesecake at the collation." This engendered a few "yuk-yuks" from the sidelines. And he then said "I charge each and every one of you to keep up your good work, keep up your dedication, and maintain your standards. In that light, it now becomes my duty to ask your Worshipful Master to rise." Solomon then rose. The Grand Master then pulled out a certificate with the inscription "Lodge of the Year" on it and presented it to Solomon the Master. He then asked Solomon if he had anything to say. Solomon responded that he "Was proud to be Master of his Lodge and considered himself fortunate to have such fine Officers and Brethren who put aside their piques, quarrels and prejudices to work together...and in the final analysis, all of us enjoy it. " The Grand Master said to Solomon, "Worshipful Master, well said and you do indeed have every right to be proud of your entire Lodge. " But that was not all. The Grand Master hadn't had all of his final say yet. He then said
"This Lodge will be pleased to learn that the Mason of the Year award recipient is also a member of this Lodge. He was active when you visited the sick people in the community hospital. He participated in the big parade. He served on the committee to investigate what assistance and support Helen needed, he not only was instrumental in finding Arnold under the wreckage at the construction site after his accident. . . " By now the entire Lodge started cheering since they all figured out who he was talking about. The Grand Master let them cheer for a few minutes and as the Lodge respectfully quieted down, the Grand Master went further and said "I know that Hiram doesn't need Bill to 'crack the whip" with him in learning his Work, indeed our honoree keeps him on a short leash. By now every man in the Lodge was sure who was talking about whom and was on his feet. Seeing this the Grand Master came right to the point and ordered " Right Worshipful Brother Grand Marshal, escort Wolfie to the East and you Right Worshipful Brother Senior Grand Deacon, escort Wolfie's friend Hiram to the East too. " And so it was ordered and so it was done. The Grand Master approached Wolfie from the East and presented his right hand in token of friendship and Brotherly love and Wolfie extended his paw as he stood erect with his tail wagging. He shook Hiram's hand too. Then he presented Wolfie with his Mason of the Year jewel as the Lodge accorded Wolfie a standing ovation. The Grand Master ordered Wolfie seated in a place of honor in the Lodge, right up in the East and to have Wolfie seated next to him at the collation too.
Now all of you can figure out what happened at the collation. Not only did Wolfie manage all that was available to him with great aplomb, but the Grand Master had a couple of "doggy bags" to bring home to Margie!
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Holy Writ, Blue Lodge, Old Age and Me
by William H. Yarnall, Sr. MPS
The 26th of October 1964, I just could not believe what I was doing. Yet, I truly wanted to be there. My brother, Chuck, was a Mason. My Dad, too, and most of the other men in our family were Masons. Well by golly, it's my turn, and I'm ready--I think! Wow! I wonder if everyone is dressed up like me--that should be something to see! Hmmm, I wonder when they'll take this thing off my face so I can see!
What was that? Kneel for prayer! Oh boy! Oh God help me. What was that? Who do I trust? Who do I trust??? The company gunny--that's not right. What did he say? Follow what? Oh! Who' s that now? What did he say? "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! " (Psalms 133).
Well, that was it for me. I think I remember something about Aaron--oil that ran down his beard or something. I just don't remember. I can, however, state that the Scriptural readings for the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason Degrees did for twenty-four years of my Masonic life elude me. Or, it may be that I was listening and did not hear, nor was I knocking on the door. Therefore, the door did not open.
I am much older now. I have faced death. I like to think that I have made my peace with my God, to the best of my ability, and that after twenty-five years of Masonic life, I am finally ready to learn the secrets of Free-Masonry that I thought I knew.
My first project was to learn and truly understand what the Scriptural reading for the first degree was telling me. I found that in my own library, I had no less than five translations of the Holy Scriptures. I also found that some translations were more understandable than others . For example, in Bahnson' s North Carolina Lodge Manual, the Scriptural rendering is thus: "behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalms 133:1).
From the Good News Bible, (Roman approved), we have the following rendering: "how wonderful it is, how pleasant, for god's people to live together in harmony!" (Psalms 133:1).
From the Moffatt translation of the Holy Bible, we have this rendering: "how rare it is, how lovely, this fellowship of those who meet together! " (psalms 133:1).
From the Jerusalem Bible: "how good, how delightful it is for all to live together like brothers. "(Psalms 133:1).
And finally, from the Peshitta, the authorized Bible of the Church of the East (Greek): "behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! " (Psalms 133:1).
OK, I know it's good to dwell in unity, to live like brothers, to meet in fellowship. Is the first verse of Psalms 133 saying more to me than I am not hearing.
My next stop was Abingdon' s Interpreter's Commentary. This wisdom psalm was intended to combat a practice which threatened to destroy the traditional structure of Israelite society. If brothers continued to dwell "together" after the death of their father, the estate remained undivided and the family's inheritance in the Holy Land was KEPT intact.
The development of commerce and the urbanization of society induced many young men to sell their share of the (their) inheritance and go off on their own. the psalmist urges that the old custom is good and pleasant, decreed by the Lord, and followed by his blessing, the continued LIFE and VIGOR of society (not personal immortality).
At this point, I must ask myself, "Just what have I learned from Psalms 133:1?" My answer to myself is easy. If I have failed to live in faith with God, hope in the resurrection of the dead, and charity to all mankind: if I have failed my family, my employer, my friends, my fraternity, then I have failed my Creator, and I have failed myself.
So I have explained to you what I have learned from the first verse of Psalms 133, so I continue with Verses 2 and 3 of Psalms 1-33, starting with the Bahnson's (KJ) North Carolina Lodge Manual, Verse 2. "it is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments"(Psalms 133:2). Verse 3, "as the dew of hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of zion: for there the lord commanded the blessing, even life evermore. " (Psalms 133).
Again, from the Good News Bible, Verse 2: "it is like the precious anointing oil running down from Aaron’s head and beard, down to the collar of his robes " (Psalms 133) . Verse 3, "it is like the dew of mount hermon, falling on the hills of zion. that is where the lord has promised his blessing--life that never ends. " (Psalms 133).
Take special note of the wording of each translation. Continuing with the Moffatt rendering, Psalms 133, verses 2 and 3. Verse 2, "sweet as the sacred oil poured on the head, that flows down Aaron’s beard, down to the very collar of his robe. '' (Psalms 133). Verse 3, "vital as dew of hermon, that falls on the hills of zion. for in their fellowship has the eternal fixed the blessing of an endless life. " (Psalms 133).
And from the Jerusalem Bible, Verse 2: ' fine as oil on the head, running down Aaron's beard to the collar of his robes." (Psalms 133). Verse 3, "copious as a hermon dew falling on the heights of zion, where yahweh confers his blessing, everlasting life. " (Psalms 133).
We are now seeing a real difference in translations, but there is much more to come, so our last work is the Peshitta. Verses 2 and 3 are rendered thus: Verse 2, "it is like the precious ointment upon the head and upon the beard, even Aaron's head, that went down to the collar of his robe. " (Psalms 133). Verse 3, "like the dew of hermon that falls upon the mount of zion: for there the lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. " (Psalms 133).
Did you notice that the reference to "the collar of his Robe?" Well, now do you know where I went? Right back to Abingdon, the old interpreter's one-volume commentary. I'll just continue where I left off. Two metaphors illustrate the beauty of the ancient way: the holy "OIL" of anointing "running down " the hair and "beard " of the High Priest, the successor of Aaron and the "dew " gathering copiously on the slopes of Mt. Zion.
Mt. Hermon in the far north was a region of heavy dew, and the expression "dew of hermon " had become proverbial. Some commentators delete Verse 3 as an interpolation not fitting the poetic meter, and thus make the metaphor merely a reminder of the beneficial effect of olive oil on the hair.
Some, also regarding the flow of dew from Hermon to Zion as a geographical impossibility amend one letter in Verse 3B to give "which flows down on the arid highlands. " It was not a big thing. I found no problem with it, but, "the collar of his robe" got in my way: "down to the skirts of his garments, " or "down to the collar of his robe"--was that important? What did it have to do with how I lived--in unity or not? I decided to find out. So I looked, read, looked, looked, and kept on looking! Finally, thumbing through George M . Lamsa' s Old Testament Light, I found some interesting words of wisdom. I impart to you now from Old Testament Light, page 539, "Collar of His Robe: " "it is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard. that went down to the skirts of his garments. " (Psalms 133:2).
The Aramaic word BAR SORA means "the collar." The Eastern text read: "...the beard...that went down to the collar of his robe. " In biblical lands, the collar of some of the robes comes down to the man's breast.
The Aramaic word of " skirt" is SHIPOLA. No man could grow a beard to reach the skirt of his garment. Most beards are trimmed short. But the priests grow long beards which came down to the COLLAR of their robes, as a token of dignity. Even today, the beards of the elderly priests reach to the collar of their robes.
Precious oil, oil on the head, oil running down a beard, running down to the skirt or collar of Aaron's garments; the dew of, or on, Mt. Hermon, coming down on the Mount of Zion, the Lord commanding a blessing, Life forever. As I sat back in my study room, I noticed one book on my bookshelf that I had not checked. The book I retrieved from the shelf was the "Holy Scriptures" according to the Masoretic Text, the Jewish Scriptures (Pentateuch and Prophets). Well now, I find that not five, but six, translations of God's word are in my possession. Without delay I went to Psalms 133. (Note the usage of words). "behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (psalms 133.1). "it is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard: even Aaron's beard, that cometh down upon the collar of his garments. " (Psalms 133: 2) . "like the dew of hermon, that cometh down upon the mountains of zion: for the lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever. " (Psalms 133:3).
Well now, what next!? Well, the most obvious is meditation. So that's what I did--I thought about all that I had learned walking through Psalms 133. I had no trouble understanding Verse 1 (for myself only). The two words, "Brethren" and "unity" go hand in hand, and if brothers are in unity, the Most High is well-pleased.
Standing at Verse 2, I had to wonder, "it is like the precious ointment or oil upon the head " "Oil--just what did it mean? How does it apply? In the Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Second Edition, Edited under the direction of Father Xavier Leon-Du-Four, 1973), I found the following information on pages 20, 21 and 22. "anointing"--For the Hebrews, oil penetrates deeply into the body (Psalms 109:18) and it gives the body strength, health, joy, and beauty. On the religious level, it is understandable that anointings of oil were considered as signs of rejoicing, or of respect. They were also utilized as rites of healing or consecration.
So we now have a definition of anointing. That is to say, we can understand the purpose of, or for, anointing with oil. Let us look at some examples:
1. Anointing, Sign of Joy or of Honor. Oil, especially perfumed oil, being a symbol of joy (Prov. 27:9: CF Eccl. 9:8) was used particularly in festivals (Amos 6:6). To have to deprive oneself of all anointing was a misfortune (Deut. 28:40; Micah 6:15). This privation, joined to fasting, was a sign of mourning (DAN. 10:3;CF 2nd SAM. 12:20).Jesus prescribed, however, that one who fasts should anoint his head as for a banquet (Matt. 6:17) in order that his penance be not displayed before men. The image of anointing served to express the joy of the people of Israel, assembled at Jerusalem for the great festival (Psalms 133:2), or the consolation brought to the afflicted of Zion after the exile (ISA. 61:3): it also played a part in the description of the Messianic banquet: "on the mountain they will drink joy, they will drink wine. they will be anointed with perfumed oil upon this mountain" (Isa. 25:6F Lxx* Septuagint, Greek Version).
It is especially in this context of Messianic joy that there recurs the formula, "oil of gladness. " (Isa. 61:3, Psalms 45:8, Heb. 1:9). So, "dwelling together in unity " is as the " oil of gladness . "
Before going on, I would like to make note that there are two other areas of anointings:
II. The Anointing of the Sick and Possessed and,
III. The Anointing-Consecration of Priests, the temple, Kings, etc. I do not feel that it is necessary to cover these two items, as I feel that Psalms 133, a wisdom Psalms, shows us that obedience to, or of, God's law, or system of, or for, living together, is "joy, happiness, and gladness. "
The psalmist likens all of this to a reward for all those who did not sell their inheritance. They showed the personal glory of obedience through the anointing of Aaron (the personal glory). The psalmist also likens the heavy dew of Mt. Hermon, to the dew that falls on Mt. Zion.
You might at this point ask yourself, "Well, just what is the reward for or of Dew Falling on Mt. Hermon?" The answer is very simple, the Holy Land, Palestine, is not blessed with a great deal of rain, it is well known that in that area, Palestine is blessed with a heavy dew year round. Therefore, the two metaphors, oil and dew, become proverbial, a Great Blessing from the Lord. Our inheritance for obedience to God's Law, for following God's way of life.
Sitting back in my chair, I looked at all my work, all this labor, and I was proud of what I saw. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I had learned nothing to this point, save a lot of custom and tradition. The question was still there, what does all of this mean to me personally, as a Freemason? What does, or should it mean to a Candidate who hears this Psalms, while blindfolded, and being led around the Temple (Lodge room) room? And, most likely the first time he has had scripture read aloud in his presence and condition. Will he understand? Will he ever understand? Will he ever take the time to understand or will he be too busy traveling other roads? How many Brethren in our Fraternity understand? I was shocked at the thoughts going through my mind. It was as though an inner voice called to my heart, write your feelings, write your heart, but remember, "you are not perfect! "
With this in mind, I thought of all the many times I've heard gossip in and out of the Lodge, from a Brother, concerning another Brother. I thought of the many unnecessary remarks made about the Master(s) of my Lodge or other Lodges. I thought of the bad language I've heard over the years in the lounge room, and yes, even in the Temple Room of my Lodge and others. I thought of the coldness of heart that I have seen from time to time among the Brethren. My heart has cried out in pain watching the Brethren of the Fraternity in unnecessary, heated, dispute.
At this point I was suddenly reminded of Psalms 111:10, "the reverence of the lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do his commandments; his praise endures forever. "
For me, the first verse of Psalms 133 says it all, "behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! "
I believe that we must teach each candidate just what these scriptural readings mean and why said readings are necessary to the Degree and Freemasonry. We must promote filial love, filial obedience, faith to honor our vows, but above all love, Love of our Lord God, Love of our Nation and Community, the filial Love we should have for our fellow man, and last, and MOST important, our fraternity, to love each other, as we do ourselves.
Secondly, as Freemasons, if we are going to improve our Masonic life, we must study, educate ourselves about the Blue Lodge Rituals. I believe that the foundation of all of Freemasonry, is the Blue Lodge. The Blue Lodge is the fraternity, it is love, it is brotherhood!
"ask, and it shall be given to you, seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. for whoever asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door is opened. " (Matt. 7:7-8).
So mote it be.
Bibliography
1 . Holy Bible, King James Version, Psalms 133.
2 . Thc Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, translated from the Peshitta, the authorized Bible of the Church of the East, Psalms 133. Translator: Mr. George M. Lamsa.
3. Old Testament Light, A scriptural commentary based on the Aramaic of the Ancient Pashitata Text, Psalms 133 (Collar of His Robe). Mr. George M. Lamsa.
4. Good News Bible with Deutcrocanonicals and Apocrypha (English Version, May 15, 1978). Imprimatur: John Francis Whealon, Archbishop of Hartford. Censor Deputatus: The Reverend Kenneth H. Shiner.
5 The Holy Bible, A new translation containing the Old and New Testaments, Psalms 133. Dr. James Moffatt, Hon. D. D.; D. Litt (St. Andrews: Oxford).
6. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its kindred sciences Reading(s) of the Scriptures. Brother Albert G. Mackey, M.D., 33rd Degree.
7. The Holy Scriptures (TORAH) according to the Masoretic text. A New Translation with the aid of previous versions and with constant consultation of Jewish authorities, Psalms 133. Philadelphia, The Jewish Publication Society of America.
8. Westminster Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by: Henry Snyder Gehman.
9. Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by: Father Xavier Leon-Dufour.
10. The Interpreters One-Volume Commentary of the Bible Abingdon Press., Edited by: Charles M. Laymon .
11. Coil’s Encyclopedia.
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Sts. John, Solstices and Freemasonry
by Leon Zeldis, MPS
In many foreign countries, Freemasons follow an ancient tradition and celebrate twice a year the so-called Solsticial feasts, also known as Festivities of St. John, the Evangelist in winter and the Baptist in summer.
As is well known, the inclination of the earth's axis of rotation in relation with the plane of its orbit around the sun originates an apparent upward and downward movement of the sun. That is, during six months of the year, the sun rises and sets at points on the horizon a little to the south of those of the previous day, and in the other six months the movement is reversed, the sun slowly ascending back towards the north. This is the cause of the seasons. The dates when the sun stops and reverses its apparent movement are called solstices (from the Latin for " sun" and "stopped"). The winter solstice, in the northern hemisphere, falls between December 21 and 22, and marks the sun's lowest point above the horizon. It is like the death of the sun, which in many ancient cultures was marked by special ceremonies destined to prevent the continued descent of the sun, ensuring its rebirth, that is, the beginning of its northward journey. To this effect, fires of different kinds were lit, sometimes accompanied by human sacrifices. Presumably, the Jewish "feast of lights" or Hanuka, which falls in December, as well as the lights of the Christmas tree, have their origin in ceremonies of this kind.
Freemasons, however, do not celebrate solstices for astronomical reasons, nor in remembrance of a pagan rite. Our purpose is both more elevated and more involved. It is important to understand it, for in these celebrations, much of Masonic philosophy is contained.
The invariable course of the stars in heaven, the eternal cycle of yearly solstices and equinoxes (annus, the year in Latin, is related to the word for ring or circle, the anulus), constitute the most striking demonstration of the order that reigns in nature.
This order, however, must reflect an act of creation, Ordo ab Chaos. In other words, the act of creation is in itself an act of ordering.
Let us give a few examples to make this concept clear. Let us imagine an artist, holding in his hand a palette with the colors he intends to use. All the colors are there, but if the painter does not impose a certain order, placing dab after dab of paint upon the canvas, the colors are an incoherent collection of pigments. Only thanks to the order imposed by the artist, is the work of art born.
Let us take another example. Should we imagine an orchestra, the best in the world, where we instruct the musicians to play each one according to his heart's desire, what would be the result? An intolerable cacophony ! Only through the order established by the composer and interpreted by the conductor and the players, are the sounds transformed into music.
A last example. Our English alphabet is composed of 26 letters. Other alphabets have a few more letters, or a few less. The point is, with less than thirty graphic signs, we can represent all of man' s literature, philosophy and history. What distinguishes one idea from another, one word from the others, is simply the order in which the letters are placed.
Order, then, lies at the basis of reason, logic, all sciences, all creation. That is why we represent the divinity in our Order (Note the name of our organization!) as The Great Architect of the Universe. The great builder who introduces order instead of chaos. Disorder is the law of madness. A disordered mind is the antithesis of reason.
Let us return for a moment to the alphabet. Let us assume that all of Shakespeare's works comprise a million letters. It makes no difference if the number is not accurate. Let us assume, also, that we have a computer program that selects letters and spaces at random and sends them to the printer. According to the laws of probability, at a certain point the computer would print the entire works of Shakespeare, in the right order. Fine, but any reader who has elementary knowledge of statistics will at once appreciate that the number of permutations involved is so huge that we have no way of expressing the time required to perform them (1).
Random combinations, then, could not have produced Shakespeare's works. The works of one writer, a few books among the many thousands that have been written. What shall we say, then, of the permutations required for designing a cell, a living organism, a human being? How many aleatory chance combinations would result in the atoms and molecules that compose the millions of stars and galaxies dispersed in the universe? Is that really a rational hypothesis?
In my opinion, order in the universe is the irrefutable evidence that a superior reason does exist, inscrutable for us, which we call the Great Architect. That is why we celebrate the solstices, in homage to the immutable order of nature which reminds us, day after day, year after year, that our lives must not be left to the rule of chance, the law of madness, but to that of order, reason, the logic of mathematics, the queen of sciences, represented in our Temples by the letter G placed in the center of the Lodge.
Everything else in our institution arises from that fundamental premise. Tolerance, fraternity, equality, are but partial aspects of the inevitable conclusions that a well-formed soul must draw before the stupendous spectacle of a world ruled by order.
Order is the mark of the Mason. Order in his manner of standing, walking, speaking, in the course of the ritual. Do we not say that a Lodge is regular when it is truly Masonic? Regular, that is: following a rule, an order.
Order, however, implies something else. It implies an objective, an end. The work of art is born when the artist orders the colors in order to produce a certain result. The sounds of the instruments are ordered by the composer to get the sound he wants.
If all creation implies introducing order, and all ordering implies an objective, our world is not a theatre of the absurd, but the expression of an intention, an objective which we may be unable to conceive or explain, but which must necessarily exist because of the very fact that the world is in order and not in chaos.
(1) For those who are curious, taking the space as an additional character, the number of permutations would be 27 raised to the millionth power: 271,000,000
Just to get an inkling of the size involved, it has been calculated that all particles existing in the universe number between 10 to the 80th and 10 to the 87th, an insignificant fraction of the number given above.
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by Allen E. Roberts, FPS
Members of the Society continue to work for the Craft long after they could rest on their laurels. Albert T. Amos, MPS, is Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Conference of Grand Masters; Stewart W. Miner, MPS, is Secretary-Treasurer of the Conference of Grand Secretaries; Richard E. Fletcher, FPS, is Executive Secretary of The Masonic Service Association; Charles A. Brigham, MPS, is President of the GWMNM Association; E. Arthur Haglund, MPS, is Chairman of the Masonic Renewal Committee. Keep pluggin' gentlemen!
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EMESSAY NOTES of The Masonic Service Association tells us the inventor of the traffic light was Lester F. Wire, a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 2, Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1912, he tried to control the messy traffic automobiles and horses and buggies were making. He dipped Mazada arc lights in green and red water colors. He then placed them in a wooden box atop a ten-foot pole. Of course his idea was laughed at, and of course it was gradually accepted. What would we do without this control today? (The MSA found this item in the Philatelic Freemason.)
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Earlier we reported the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was doing something about improving Masonic leadership. In the May issue of The Pennsylvania Freemason we learn the five-year plan has been started. The entire Grand Lodge line and almost all of the DDGMs have completed the twenty-four hour course. Now it's training the prospective trainers (something necessary but far too often neglected). They're being called "Facilitators " (a high-faluting term for "teachers"). Excellent! We'll keep you posted.
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Wallace S. Johnson, MPS, Editor of the Lodge of Research Transactions of Idaho, wrote an article called "On the Level. " He notes: "The notion of 'meeting on the level' is expressed in every Craft Lodge meeting.... But what happens to that important idea of meeting on the level as a Brother enters into and makes progress in the various appendant and concordant bodies?" He adds: "If he progresses far enough he will reach a point at which he may not be able to meet on the level even if he wants to. " Why? "Several ... bodies have exclusive degrees or orders or other internal groups which are not accessible, even by petition.... Master Masons may not meet on the level there. " He closes with an admonition: "[W]e are propagating a small hypocrisy which works to subtly erode something at the very foundation of our structure ..to meet on the level. "
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The Prince Hall Sentinel of New York ran a better than two page spread on the making of Louis Sullivan, Secretary of Health, Education an Human Resources, a Master Mason at Sight. The same journal carried a story about "Lawrence Douglas Wilder, First Black Governor of Virginia" (actually the first black governor -period), who is a member of a Richmond Prince Hall Lodge. The article closed by noting: "He has demonstrated that if a man is judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin he can achieve great things. "
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Robert "Bob" Feller congratulated The Masonic Service Association and the volunteers in the Hospital Visitation Program for the continuing work for veterans. Feller is a "plank owner" of the U.S.S. Alabama, BB 60, (so am I). He received the EA degree in Iowa in 1942, then enlisted in the Navy. To date he hasn't received the other two degrees.
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Joseph E. Bennett, MPS, has become a prolific Masonic writer. In addition to two books he has written numerous articles, not only for The Philalethes but for several other Masonic periodicals. His latest is "Play Ball, Brother" in The Northern Light. He has selected a "Masonic Dream Team" based on the research of the late Jerry Erikson, FPS. All but two of them are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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From the Biblical Recorder of North Carolina (and other sources) we learn James "Larry" Holly, "a Texas physician" wants Freemasonry banned by the Southern Baptist Convention. In what appears to be a one-man crusade he has mailed a 58-page booklet claiming "Freemasonry is a religion antagonistic to Christianity and of pagan and, ultimately, satanic origin. " Holly claims he once was a Mason but " resigned his membership after a Christian [actually would-be Christian] who had researched Masonry confronted him with some of its teachings. " Frankly, I wouldn't want him as my physician or a leader in my church. Anyone this weak-minded, who can't tell the difference between evil and good, is a danger to people in need of help. Perhaps there's some excuse for those who have never experienced the teachings of the Craft to be anti-Masonic, but absolutely none for those who have received the degrees. Holly parrots his ilk by claiming Masons worship "lucifer" (meaning satan), but they don't realize this. He knows this is an outright falsehood. How stupid do the antis think Freemasons are? And along with his breed he claims: "We're not saying that individual Masons are wicked, godless, anti-Christian people, " the culprit is the Lodge! !
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One Paul A. Fisher, an anti-Mason, has taken "Papal Encyclicals" to "prove" his concept of Freemasonry. It's called "Their God is the Devil." We'll comment on this at a later date. It' s good to know, though, that according to Fisher the Society of Jesus (Jesuits--the most intelligent group in the Roman church) have tried to "establish a rapprochement between the Catholic Church and Freemasonry." Let's pray the Jesuits continue -and are successful.