There are many Masons who seem to think that the chief glory of Freemasonry lies in the fact that it has come down through a long line of years. There are others who find pride in its numerical strength, and take pleasure in counting the fifteen thousand lodges and the two and onehalf million Masons in the United States of America. There are still others who boast of the poets, philosophers, statesmen, warriors, presidents, who represent that galaxy of brilliant names which spans Masonic history from its inception to the present time.
But the question of the hour is not how old Freemasonry is nor how strong it is nor who have embraced its faith, for these are conditions for which the present generation is not responsible, and are simply the result of the inherent value of the institution. It is the development of principles which makes true worth, and Freemasonry owes all that it is today to the fact that it is a society of exalted ideals. Truth and right, the landmarks of Freemasonry, are as eternal and unchanging as the stars which burn throughout the ages. Someone has said that the essence of any religion is to be right and to do right. The neophyte, as he ascends the mystic ladder of Freemasonry, sees truth everywhere veiled in symbolism and by applying this to his daily life and conduct, is enabled to arrive at that station beyond which no man can go further - that of a good man and true. As Freemasons, we are patrons of old truths which have stood the test of centuries and just in proportion as these master facts are kept constantly before the mind and made the basis for the development of character, just in that proportion does the individual evolve into the true Mason. Whatever may refine motive, quicken conscience, build character, and prompt the soul to pure and generous deeds, that is the philosophy, and such is the creed of Freemasonry.
Is Freemasonry a practical institution? Or, is it merely an idle philosophy dealing with speculative truths? Is there anything in the fraternity which would lead the impartial student to the conclusion that its teachings and its philosophy have a direct bearing upon human affairs? In order to answer this question it will be necessary to examine and analyze some of the vital fundamentals which have distinguished the society from its inception.
The first question which is asked of every man at the door of Masonry is, "Do you believe in the existence of God?" and upon an affirmative answer depends his admission into this ancient and honorable society. He no more than crosses the threshold of the Lodge than upon bended knee he acknowledges that God with reverence. When brought to light he beholds before him an altar upon which is an open Bible. Any institution or society of men which exacts a belief in Deity, which practices prayer and which spreads upon its altar an open Bible has a right to exist, and the teachings, the philosophy and the principles of such an institution are not to be underestimated in the social economy of our times.
But the Mason who is not bound by creed and narrow precedent believes that the teachings, the philosophy and the principles of this great Fraternity are yet many years in advance of the times; that the present Masonic generation which pride themselves upon their Masonic knowledge, which decorate themselves with costly insignia are but pygmies, groping in Masonic darkness.
A little over a century ago the Declaration of Independence announced to the world the doctrine that all men are created equal, and yet the Declaration of Independence was but a practical application in civil government of a principle which has long distinguished Freemasonry. From its very inception this Fraternity has been gathering men about a common altar, upon a common level, teaching the equality of all mankind.
Within recent years the world has come to recognize the value of the eight-hour system as applied to economic life, and today in shop, in factory and in all departments of activity, we find that the eight-hour rule obtains. And yet, for a couple of hundred years Freemasonry has been teaching the eighthour system as deduced from the lesson of the twenty-fourinch gauge, "Eight hours for the service of God and a distressed worthy brother, eight for our usual vocations, and eight for refreshment and sleep."
It has long been conceded that one of the greatest problems which confronts the peoples of the earth is that of intemperance, and vet Freemasonry long ago found the only rational solution of this question when it adopted as one of its fundamental lessons which every man must master in order to fulfil his highest mission, that of learning to subdue his passions, and it is the opinion of more than one student of human nature that the habit of intemperance will never be fully eradicated until men in their evolution have advanced sufficiently far to be able to put into actual practice that basic teaching of Freemasonry - taming their passions.
Scarcely a month passes that intelligence is not flashed throughout the country of a terrible disaster which has fallen upon the peoples of some portion of the globe. Within one hour after such news is received, measures of relief are organized, clothing collected, money subscribed, provisions gathered, and special trains loaded, to be rushed to the stricken district. And yet, the manifestations of relief, humanity, and good will which are so apparent in these dark hours of calamity are but the practical expression in civil life of a principle which has long distinguished Freemasonry as the greatest of charitable and philanthropic institutions.
Quite recently there has been much agitation on the subject of Sunday observance. Even the United States government has recognized the question and has closed many of its post offices on the seventh day, but the question of Sunday closing is by no means new to Freemasonry, because there is before the fraternity the example of our ancient brethren who labored six days and rested upon the seventh day.
For a long time there has been a growing tendency to place men in certain grades or distinctions according to their vocation, wealth, and social position. There has been a good deal said concerning the masses and the classes as if a great distinction should be made between the favored and less favored members of human society. Others talk about the common herd, referring to men and women as if they were cattle. Others prate about the rank and the file, and it is not unusual to hear Masons talking about the rank and file of the Masonic fraternity. It would be interesting to have someone explain just what is meant by the rank and file of the Masonic society because everyone who has entered the fraternity has been told that Masonry regards no man for his worldly wealth or honors; that it is the internal and not the external qualifications which form the basis of Masonic worth. One may search the great book of Masonry from cover to cover and not once will be found any reference to the masses, the classes, the common herd or the rank and file, because Freemasonry is predicated upon the oneness of humanity as expressed in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. It was the democracy of Freemasonry which so thoroughly appealed to that genuine Freemason, Bobby Burns, that he was inspired to write,
"The rank is but the guinea's stamp;
The man's the gold for a' that.
Then let us pray that come it may
As come it will for a' that
When man to man the world o'er
Shall brothers be and a' that."
In this money-mad age, when men are bowing down before the golden calf and worshipping the god of mammon, the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is teaching a most important lesson. Every candidate who passes through the forms and ceremonies of his initiation is confronted with a symbol, a sheaf of corn suspended near a waterford and is told that it represents plenty. Plenty, according to the standards of Masonry, is corn and water, or in other words, bread and water. Did anyone ever stop to consider that if he is provided with these essentials, he has just what the Creator of heaven and earth intended that he should have, and whatever else he may acquire are merely accidents and incidents? For, with bread to eat and water to drink, man has the sustenance of life.
But men are fast losing sight of the bounds of plenty, and it is today a term without limitations. The luxury of one moment becomes the necessity of the next, and men go on from day to day endeavoring to add to their material possessions, overlooking the higher things of life. Plenty has become like the fabled pot of gold on the end of the rainbow. We rush madly forward thinking that we have found it, only to discover that it is farther away on the horizon.
The sum total of human happiness is expressed in the wages of a Fellowcraft - plenty, health and peace. If a man has plenty - which means bread and water-health and peace, he has drawn the wages of life according to the standards of Masonry. For no matter what his bank account may be, no matter what his accumulation of stocks and bonds may be, no, matter what his acreage of lands may be, if he hasn't health and peace, human life offers but very little.
But the trouble is that very few know the value of plenty, and thus they go on from day to day seeking to take on everything about them without stopping to consider whether or not it contributes to the development of mind and soul. Take the cabbage of the garden which grows in the back yard of many Masons; that common ordinary cabbage which finds its finale in the sauerkraut barrel; be it known that the cabbage teaches mankind a most important lesson; for, that cabbage will take unto itself just those elements which nourish it and contribute to its growth and development and nothing more. In this age of boasted enlightenment, the world needs a little more vegetable sense. Now, when anyone is called by another a cabbage head, he should not become angry, but take it as a compliment, particularly if he possesses the virtues of the cabbage, because the cabbage knows when it has enough, and in this respect outclasses man.
What is the lesson of the world in this matter of plenty? One morning twenty-five centuries ago, a figure clad in mail and wearing a regal crown could be seen standing on the western shore of the Indian ocean, gazing with intense longing across that waste of waters, wondering whether in those unknown spaces there were not other worlds peopled with mighty nations. There is no more pathetic spectacle in all history than that of Alexander the Great weeping and wailing and beating upon his breast because there were no more worlds to conquer. Alexander conquered the then known world, but it brought him neither peace nor health, because he did not know the value of plenty, and he died in a drunken revelry in the streets of Babylon.
Napoleon Bonaparte did not know when he had enough. After subduing France he started out to conquer the balance of Europe. He met his Waterloo under Wellington and learned the lesson of plenty upon the lonely island of St. Helena.
There is a story of a miser in an old Fifth Reader. This man, by extortion and penury, had amassed a fortune. He refused to lend it or make any use of it whatsoever, but kept it in a vault under his house. Access to this secret chamber was had through a trap door with a spring lock on the outside. One day the miser went down into his vault to gloat over his treasure and forgot and left the key in the spring lock on the outside. While jingling his precious coin, making sweet music in his ears, the trap door fell and the miser found that he was locked in with his treasure, with no means of escape. Then what did he say? "A thousand ducats for a glass of water; ten thousand ducats for a loaf of bread." But the mockery of his own voice was his only answer, and he perished a miserable death with all his precious treasure. He learned the lesson of plenty too late.
There is not a passing day that one does not read in the newspaper of some official misappropriating funds intrusted to his care. Many of these men drew princely salaries, but, not knowing when they had enough, not knowing the value of plenty, they sought to enhance their fortunes with other people's moneys. The Federal prisons of the land are crowded with men, health gone, peace ruined, learning the hitter lesson of plenty.
If Masonry taught no other lesson than that which it teaches in reference to the matter of plenty, it proves its right to existence, for the lesson is one which the world must sooner or later learn.
A mere hint of what the world owes Masonry is shown in a statement of the highest authority that the late awakening in Persia commenced with the introduction of Freemasonry into that country. That nation which seemed hopelessly benighted and without any desire to rise to a position of self-government with the advent of Freemasonry began to grasp the idea of the value of the individual and of the common right of all to stand upon the same level.
Senator James Hamilton Lewis, in an address before the Grand Lodge of Illinois on his return from Europe in the Fall of 1918, stated that one nation which, as a result of the war, was passing from a monarchial system of government to that of a republic was formulating its constitution after the basic principles of Freemasonry.
It would be folly to assert that Freemasonry
has in any way been responsible for the progress which the world
has made along social and economic lines. Yet, it is fair to declare
that the teachings, principles, and philosophy of the Society
are in direct accord with the advancement which has been and is
being made today. Masons are by no means the only pioneers in
social and moral uplift. There are other instrumentalities to
each of which Masonry has ever been a zealous handmaiden. This
fact cannot be denied. The Craft of Freemasonry is a center of
light and influence throughout the world, casting its radiance
upon humanity in whatever condition found, pointing ever upward
to higher ideals of character and government, to more perfect
concepts of fraternity and progress, heralding the coming of that
glorious era of peace on earth and brotherhood among men.
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