Every reader remembers the story of the rainbow which was told him in the days of his childhood, of how on the end of the evanescent arch, which follows in the wake of a summer shower there was a pot of gold. He recalls the impression that the tale made upon his youthful mind and how he started out in his bare feet across the muddy road and thru the wet meadow, eagerly following the beckoning phantom in the sky in the hope that he might claim the precious prize. But the goal receded faster than his nimble feet could travel until at last the beautiful colors faded away and he returned home disappointed and chagrined. But every man who in his childhood followed the rainbow that he might possess the coveted pot of gold learned one of the most important lessons of life, something which should stay with him forever, the lesson of the receding goal.
And the story of Freemasonry is the story of the goal that recedes. The operative Freemasons of the middle ages dreamed of a workers' union, but the goal receded and the Craft guilds found themselves a universal brotherhood speculating upon moral truths. Again the goal has receded and at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, Freemasonry finds itself coming into a new relationship with world in which it exists.
Everyone who has traveled through the west has no doubt visited one of the Indian villages and witnessed some of the entertainments arranged impromptu for the benefit of tourists as well as the pocketbooks of the performers. On one occasion the author observed one of the spectacular dances of this peculiar people and listened to a song which seemed neverending. It was explained by some one who claimed to know that each verse contained but two words, the whole song being, Go on, Go on, Go on. Now this vocal demonstration probably would not succeed very well as a grand opera production among aristocratic society people, although it would be almost as interesting as some that the average man has dozed through, but as expressive of the philosophy of Masonry it is excellent for within the Fraternity is a tremendous impulse impelling it to Go on, go on, go on.
The rule and guide of Masonry declares that in the beginning. God created man but there is no evidence to show he ever finished him. He made him in the rough and started him on his evolution, a fact which becomes more and more apparent everyday of the world. A gentleman who visited the town of his birth after a long absence, strolled about the streets, looked over the business houses and residences and finally returned to the post office, where he found one of those guardians of the public welfare seated on a bench outside. He walked up and inquired "What is the matter with this town?" The old man stopped chewing tobacco long enough to reply, "Nuthin. This yer is a finished town." He was asked to explain what he meant by a finished town and replied, "They finished this yer town about twenty-five years ago and there hain't been nothing done to it since." Masonry is by no means a finished product. It is still in the process of its evolution and this will continue until the era of universal brotherhood is at hand.
Fifty years ago the Orthodox Mason believed that while the world moved and change was everywhere in evidence yet Freemasonry alone stood as a fixed, entity embodying the same essentials, elucidating the same formulae, illustrating the same symbolism as in the days of King Solomon. But the thinking Mason of the present, that is to say, the man who sees in Masonry something more than mere signs, tokens and words, believes that Freemasonry is the product of evolution. That it is the result of that change under natural and fixed laws which insures continual progress from the lower to the higher. He applies Masonry to the growth, development, and expansion of the moral life of man in all realms of human activity.
The novitiate is told at the door of Masonry that it is a progressive moral science. Notwithstanding this, however, there are those in the fraternity who zealously cling to the idea that the society does not progress and that unless it observes the same customs, ceremonials and practices, which distinguished it in its inception that it is not Freemasonry and cannot be regarded as such. With these men the fraternity is simply an heirloom of the past, membership in which carries a certain amount of business and social prestige. But in the light of the Twentieth Century men are coming to understand Masonry better and now recognize it as the call of the unattained which comes ringing through the soul lifting the individual to higher achievements and to loftier concepts of duty. Masons are fast, finding out that Freemasonry is not finished but that it has just commenced. For years much effort has been expended in perfecting laws and rules and getting ready to do something. As a result the fraternity has now arrived at that point in its evolution when it must move forward or forever lose its prestige as a vital force in human activity. When Morse connected two little instruments with a slender wire and caused one to talk to the other he did not stop there, but progressed until he perfected his system of telegraphy which has brought every portion of the world into instant communication.
Marconi raised two flag poles and passed an electric spark from one to the other. But he was not satisfied. He progressed until today wireless telegraphy carries its burden of thought from land to land and from ship to ship. The achievements of Mr. Edison in the field of electricity are known to all. Not long ago someone suggested to the distinguished scientist that electricity had reached its triumph. No, said Mr. Edison, it is yet in its infancy. Morse, Marconi, Edison have but answered the call of the unattained with the result that the world owes them a debt which can never be repaid by reason of the perfection of the wonderful scientific instruments, which bear their names.
The first man lived in a cave, or in a rough hut. Had he been satisfied with this primitive structure there would have been no pyramid, no Colosseum, no pantheon, no St. Pauls, no modern sky scraper; while architecture would have been unknown and Freemasonry undreamed of. Had the wandering poet who went from place to place singing the simple lines of his crude conception been content, poetry would not be known, and the songs of Milton, Chaucer, Tennyson and Shakespeare would not be here to charm the soul.
The early man drew his pictures on the sides of rocks with charcoal. Had he been satisfied with his crude conception of art no Michael Angelo would have come to catch the glory of nature and transform its beauty to the canvas, to delight the artistic eye of generations yet to come. Had man been satisfied to take the rough stone from the quarry and change it into the ashlar no Thorwaldson would have come to release from the block of marble the beautiful image he saw within. These men but answered the call of the unattained. These men strove to progress because before them was an ideal and to reach it they put forth their best endeavors.
And such will he the story of Freemasonry.
Every institution is judged upon the ground of its inherent character and its relation to its environment. That thing only is valuable in the busy lives of men which demonstrates its ability to touch society with a vital influence. That practice which as it takes shape in the mind and heart has no service to render to mankind is not worth while. The world is recognizing only those forces which as they possess the human soul give an impetus which carries the individual forward to the accomplishment of better things.
There are men in the masonic Fraternity today who honestly believe that Freemasonry is a thing of the past for the reason that the lessons which it teaches are couched in ancient symbolism and because it deals in eternal verities. It must be granted that those who set up this claim are simply superficial Masonic students who see in human life only those elements which contribute to their own selfish pleasure and advancement.
The idea which they hold concerning Freemasonry is that it has no practical value; that its purpose is merely to set before each member of the Craft an ideal and then leave to the individual, his own discretion as to its application.
The fact that Freemasonry adheres to certain old regulations must by no means be construed as evidence that the society does not advance. It has only been through a long process of evolution and development that the institution has attained its present position among men. It has progressed just as has the world, and whenever Masonry shall stand still while the world about it moves forward just that moment it will become an obelisk in the shifting sands of time.
Everything which is valuable owes it origin to some crying necessity of the human soul. With the necessity for education was born the public school system. Because of the necessity for spiritual uplift, churches prosper. Because of the necessity for some means of circulating information the printing press was built. Because the highest social conditions are only obtained through coordinated effort, Freemasonry sprang into existence.
Simply because Masonry employs rites and ceremonies is no reason why it should be judged as the mummied form of a dead and superstitious past. Freemasonry is a fact and not a passing fancy. It is not the dream republic of Plato in which all things are perfect, but a Masonic republic in which are met the necessarily imperfect conditions of human society. It is not the Utopia of Sir Thomas Moore, in which all things of the future are unattained but a commonwealth in which goodness inspires still greater achievements for man. It is not the Atlantis of Sir Francis Bacon where culture and the power of law control men but a practical philosophy, inspired by the force of love, morality and truth.
The whole purpose of the institution is to teach the science of humanity, the fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. It seeks to impress the relation of man individually to man individually. The intention of the Masonic school is not to teach the art of making money, but its function is to make men, not as members of any particular lodge, but as units of society as a whole. The operative Masons of the middle ages built great temples for worship but the Masonic institution builds worshippers for temples.
The man who is raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason is by no means a completed Mason. He is merely started on his career, for in all the world today it can be truthfully said there is not a completed Mason.
Freemasonry then is by no means a finished
product. Its history is still unwritten. It is in the process
of growth and development and so it must ever continue until sympathy
shall blossom, hatred die away, prejudice disappear, and charity
possess the earth.
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