One of the sources which Masons seek in their efforts to establish the existence of organized Freemasonry prior to the year 1717, is certain old manuscripts or documents which have been brought to light and are now carefully treasured in the museums of England.

The painstaking Masonic student who bases his conclusions upon authentic historical information, accepts these documents as purely legendary and regards them as showing the existence of some crude form of Masonry, prior to the year 1717. They give no information whatsoever as to its character or the scope of its activity. While there is absolutely no proof of the genuineness of these documents and in some instances reliable critics have declared them to be forgeries, yet the impartial investigator concludes them to be interesting. While throwing no light upon the condition of Masonry in the remote periods when they were supposed to have been written, yet they indicate that there was in existence a crude fraternity which went by the name of Masonry, and whose members were referred to as Masons.

A study of Freemasonry would be incomplete without some reference being made to these old documents and the effect which they have had upon the modern society. It is without doubt that from these documents James Anderson gained much of the information which he collected when he formulated the ancient charges of a Mason, commonly known as Anderson's Constitutions. The basis of the present system of Freemasonry may be said to rest directly upon these old manuscripts, for it was from them and their vague and suggestive references to Masons and Masonry, their customs and traditions, that there evolved the present system of Freemasonry with its matchless arrangement of ritual and government.

The oldest manuscript extant is what is known as the Regius or Halliwell, which is now in the possession of the British Museum. Experts declare it to have been written between 1427 and 1445, and from certain covert expressions, it is claimed to be a copy of one prepared about the year 1390. It is a small manuscript on vellum about five by four inches, and bound in Russia. It was formerly in the possession of a collector of antiques of the Seventeenth Century, and not long afterwards was placed in the old Royal Library where it was catalogued as a Poem of Moral Duty. A man by the name of Halliwell while preparing a paper on the Introduction of Freemasonry into England, discovered this old manuscript and made known its contents from which time it has been known as the Halliwell Manuscript. At the suggestion of Robert F. Gould, the distinguished English Historian, the manuscript has also been called the Regius Manuscript, for the reason that the title was more in keeping with its dignity and importance. It bears no evidence whatsoever that the society or organization which was responsible for its promulgation was anything more than a guild of operative Masons, and if authentic is probably a correct exposition of Masonry as it was practiced at the time its author gave it birth.

Oliver Day Street has made a comparison of the Halliwell manuscript with present day Freemasonry which should prove so helpful to the student of Masonry that it is reproduced herewith:

"The Regius ms. is undoubtedly the oldest known record pertaining to the Craft of Freemasonry. It has been claimed that this, our oldest document, bears no evidence that the society which originated it was any other than a purely operative guild of Masons." . . . "It cannot be questioned that it truly reflects the condition and nature of Masonry at the time of its compilation, whatever may be thought of the account of the Craft given by it at periods anterior thereto."

"Belief in Deity. - This easily stands first among the teachings of present-day Freemasonry, and on it this old document also speaks in no uncertain terms. 'Most love wel God' (line 264) is its unmistakable though quaint command in the very first 'point' laid down for the guidance of the Craft."

"Immortality.-While references could be multiplied, the belief of our ancient brethren on this point is sufficiently attested by this couplet:

'But when y schal hennus wende
Grante me the blysse without ende.' (Lines 653-4.)

Or, modernized: 'But when I shall hence wend,
Grant me the bliss without end.'"

"Brotherly Love - No teaching of present-day Masonry is more emphasized than this, and we find the teachings of this ancient ms. no less emphatic. Let us quote these lines:

'And so each one shall teach the other
And love together as sister and brother.' (Lines 40-41. )

'No master shall supplant another, but be together
As sister and brother in all things that beseemeth a Master Mason.' (Lines 203, et seq.)

'He shall not decry his fellos's work, but with honest words commend it.' (Lines 234-236.)

'He shall love his master also he is with
Wheresoever he go, in field or frith,
And thy fellows thou love also,
For that thy Craft will that thou do.' (Lines 265-268.)

'Amiably to serve each one other
As though they were sister and brother.' (Lines 351-2.)

'For His sake that sit above
With sweet words nourish His love.' (Lines 405-6.)"

"Honesty - This virtue was prized by the authors of this ancient ms. no less than by us. We are assured that this Craft was organized that its members 'might get their living thereby both well and honestly.' It is repeatedly called `the honest Craft,' 'the most honest Craft of all,' etc. (Lines 20, 25, 30, 40.) It is declared that `he that was honest shall have more worship.' (Lines 31-34.) The Mason is admonished `as a judge to stand upright.' (Lines 101-104.) It is forbidden to clothe, feed or harbor a thief (lines 178-181), or to accept a bribe. And every member was sworn 'never to be a thief nor to succor such in his false Craft.' (Lines 422-3) The Master must not wrong his employer by taking for an apprentice the wages of a fellow craft (lines 161-176), and each is urged 'truly to labor, that he may deserve his reward.' (Lines 273-4.)"

"Secrecy - This important feature of our present-day Masonry was strictly enjoined upon our ancient brethren in these words `That he keep the counsel of his master and fellows and the privities of the chamber he tell no man, nor whatsoever is done in the Lodge. (Line 277, et seq.)"

"Fidelity to Trust - No virtue is emphasized by modern Freemasonry more than this; it was equally valued by our brethren of A.D. 1390. This venerable document contains these injunctions:

The Master Mason must full securely, be steadfast, trusty and true. (Lines 88-89.)

'He shall not be false to his Craft, nor maintain error against it; shall do no injury to his Master or Fellows.' (Lines 288-292.)

For all Masons that are there will stand solidly together. (Lines 137-138.)

'Unto thy Master thou be true.' (Line 337.)

The sublimity of this virtue they taught, as do we, through a legend. We employ that of Hiram Abiff; they used that of the Quatuor Coronati, or Four Crowned Martyrs, who suffered horrible deaths rather than betray their trust."

"Equality - As do we, our ancient brethren met upon the level. It was ordained that a Mason should never, within the Craft, call a brother `subject' or 'servant;' and this, 'though he be not so perfect as another.' (Lines 47-51.) Other passages equally explicit could be quoted."

"Moral Qualifications - It is declared that the 'Master' must 'no bondman' prentice make (line 129); that the prentice must be 'of higher degree,' 'of gentle kind' (lines 142, 144); that he must be 'of lawful blood' (line 148), and 'come of ladies birth' (line 52)."

"Rectitude of Condact - The tenth 'point' emphasized a 'good life,' whereby one may 'live without care and strife.' (Lines 273-4.) It is declared that if a man live amiss and his work be false and slander his fellows without reason, he will bring discredit upon the Craft. (Lines 375-380.) He shall not support his fellows in their sin, nor stiffer them to take any false oath for dread of their soul's sake. (Line 255.) He shall not lie with the wife of his master or of his fellow. (Line 324.) All are urged to `stand well in God's law' (line 32), and to spare nothing in `covetousness after good' (line 559)."

"Self Esteem - We teach the candidate to advance body erect, as a selfrespecting man should walk, not in a debased or groveling attitude; so did this old document. The fellow is told when speaking with a superior tp 'hold his chin up' (or as we would say to 'hold his head up') and to loook him hindly in the face. (Lines 705-709.) "

"Learning - The discourse on the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences have a like significance. The study of all these is strongly recommended to the craftsman. It is declared that "who useth them well he may have heaven." (Line 576.) It is true that one of our greatest pleasures in life is that of acquiring knowledge.

The estimate placed upon learning in general by this venerable document is expressed in the following quaint lines:
`Now y pray you take good hede,
For thys ye most kenne need;
But muche more ye moste wyten
Thenne ye fynden hyr y-wryten.'

-Lines 581-584.

Modernized, that is to say, `You must know much more than you find here written.' Or as might be said to its: We must know much more of Masonry than we hear and see in the Lodge.

Lastly, as with us, the apprentice swore "a good, true oath" to be steadfast to his Master and his fellows, and true to the ordinances of the Craft. His oath embraced "all these points" set forth in this document.

The traditions current among the originators of this ms. (whoever they were and whenever it originated) were that the Craft of Masons had its beginning in an association of the children of "great lords and ladies," that they might through "good geometry," "get their living both well and honestly." This same tradition said that the place of their origin was that mysterious land called Egypt and that the famous geometrician, Euclid, was their founder. (Lines 1-36.) It was maintained by them that their Masonry was geometry, (lines 23-24), which was but to say that they consciously wrought and built according to the scientific principles underlying angles, triangles, circles, squares, cubes and other geometrical figures. In other words, they were architects and designers, rather than mere workers or builders, and they be adjudged felons, and those attending shall be imprisoned and fined."

The manuscript was discovered by John Locke, the celebrated author and philosopher in 1696, who after critically examining it sent it in a letter to the Honorable Thomas, Earl of Pembroke, in 1696. The manuscript contains certain questions supposed to have been proposed by King Henry and answered by the Masons. This manuscript is quite widely referred to at the present time, but it has little bearing upon Freemasonry, for several competent critics have pronounced it a forgery.

There are also in existence, about sixty other old manuscripts dating from the Halliwell to the beginning of the present system of Freemasonry in the year 1717. In all of these old documents there is a similarity, as they consist in the main of two parts; the first being a recital of legendary history, and the second, what are commonly known as the ancient charges or general regulations of the Craft.

These old manuscripts are written on strips of parchment or vellum, and from their generally worn appearance it is supposed that they were in the possession of prehistoric lodges or craft guilds and may have been read to candidates at the time of their initiation into the society. While these documents have no hearing whatsoever upon the present history or development of the Masonic institution, they do prove without question the evolution of the society and clearly establish the fact that from the crude fraternity and trade organizations which existed in those times, there has come through a long period of transformation - Freemasonry of the Twentieth Century.

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