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"There is scarcely a
case of difficulty can occur in the lodge
in which that book will not set you right" - so says
the
Installing Master to his successor on handing over a copy
of
the Book of Constitutions, but human nature remains quite
unpredictable and refuses to be confined within a given
set
of Regulations and, as any Past Master will tell you, the
case of difficulty not covered by that book was the one
that
happened during his year of office! Many cases of
difficulty
exist outside the scope of official Regulations and some
are
likely to remain unresolved throughout a Masonic career,
not only through lack of guidance but very often because
of
misdirection from those who, perhaps, should have known
better.
In this technological, computerised era of ours today, the
search for spiritual values and to make some sort of daily
advancement in Masonic knowledge must surely create the
earliest case of difficulty for the new entrant. With
daily
pressures from business, reasonable family demands on
time, unremitting repetition of ritual and procedure at
lodge
meetings (which become just demonstrations of varying
feats of memory or proficiency from brethren so engaged),
it
is quite understandable if the new entrant stifles a
natural
thirst for knowledge from the outset.
HISTORY
It is quite usual for the history of Freemasonry to be
brought
into question. What is the source? Does it have its roots
in
Mithraism? Is there a connection with the Essenes? Has it
anything to do with the building of the Pyramids of
ancient
Egypt? Did it really begin with the building of Solomon's
Temple? These are typical questions; and the early writers
on the background of Masonry have certainly not helped the
literal minds of today; they have traced the path of
Freemasonry through all stages of history, real, legendary
and imaginary, and we can look with amazement at the
sheer invention displayed in the list of Grand Masters
credited to it - starting with Adam!
Folk lore, creation legends, instruction by catechism,
ethical
standards, these things have not been the special property
of any one country or any one civilisation; parallels, in
whole
or in part, may be found in all ancient mysteries.
An examination of a few facts is probably the quickest and
most effective way of focusing Freemasonry of today, and
for this purpose I have listed seven:
Fact 1. That stonemasons practised a skilled trade
requiring
a standard of literacy and communication that would enable
them to execute the designs of architects.
Fact 2. That castles, cathedrals, and ornate structures
resulted from their combined efforts.
Fact 3. That the stonemasons took their meals and held
meetings in huts on sites where they worked.
Fact 4. That by the mid-14th century the working masons
had formulated a code of Regulations and produced a
system among themselves to protect their interests.
Fact 5. That in the mid-15th century two Livery Companies
of Masons were listed among the London Guilds.
Fact 6. That the working masons - or Operative masons -
later accepted among themselves others who were not
working masons but were known as Accepted or Speculative
Masons. Possession of a copy of the Old Regulations or
Charges was justification and a kind of self-bestowed
authority for such a group to meet together.
Fact 7. That organised Freemasonry, as we understand it,
had its modest beginning with the formation of the premier
Grand Lodge by members of four lodges, in London, in
1717.
This may be an over-simplification - but these are all
basic
facts and will clear the path for a better understanding
of the
development of our present system and to recognise the
elements it contains.
Many manuscripts of the Old Charges, originals and copies,
are still extant, amongst which are the Regius dated in
the
14th century; Cooke, 15th century. Common to the majority
of the Old Charges is the linking of Biblical characters
with
the Craft of the masons; the recording of Old Testament
legends and Biblical tradition; the Christian invocations
-
and in this sense literacy and liturgy were close
companions. Much of the basic ritual used in Freemasonry
has been built up from elements in these Gothic MS.
Constitutions. What better vehicle, and what better
setting
for the Mason craft could have been called into use than
the
Temple erected by Solomon "for the Glory of the Holy
Name"? Echoes of which have been continued no less
sophisticated to the present day.
Masonic historians of the 18th century were certainly not
disturbed by anachronisms; decades, even centuries could
be discarded quite freely if it suited their purpose to
make
Biblical characters contemporaries, and what was good
enough to record in the old MSS was later quite acceptable
for ritual compilers and writers on Masonic history.
THE WIDER MEMBERSHIP
If Christianity had such a strong influence in those early
days, how then did Freemasonry grow to such worldwide
proportions, opening its doors to men of other religions?
Students claim that this really springs from the erection
of
the premier Grand Lodge in London, the originators of
which
were quite unconcerned with Freemasons meeting together
in other lodges in England, or for that matter in any
other
part of London. They elected an overall Grand Master to
control the inaugural Four Lodges, and, with definite
leanings towards the convivial, expressed the intention of
having an Annual Feast and the hope that they would be
able to attract the patronage of a Nobleman as their Grand
Master. We have no record of their Proceedings until the
first Minute Book which commences with the meeting of 25
November, 1723 - six years after they banded together! The
only record of the inauguration of Grand Lodge in 1717 is
given to us in an account by Anderson in the Second
Edition
of the Book of Constitutions dated 1738-21 years
afterwards!
The First Edition, dated 1723, gives a clear statement of
the
attitude towards religion:
A Mason is Oblig'd , by his Tenure, to obey the moral Law;
and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never be a
stupid ATHEIST, nor an irreligious LIBERTINE. But, though
in ancient Times Masons were charg'd in every Country to
be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it
was,
yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to
that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their
particular
Opinions to themselves; that is to be good men and true,
or
Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or
Persuasions they may be distinguished whereby Masonry
becomes the Centre of Union and the means of conciliating
true Friendship among Persons that must have remain'd at a
perpetual distance.
This appears as one of the Charges, subtitled
"Concerning
God and Religion."
Rev. James Anderson, Junior Grand Warden, 1722, and
Doctor Desaguliers, Grand Master, 1719, have been
credited with the development of greater religious
tolerance
and wider scope for membership. Both played very
important parts in the formative years.
It is reasonable to say that Anderson's Book of
Constitutions
influenced the course taken by Ireland and Scotland. The
Grand Lodge of Ireland issued instructions that each lodge
under their jurisdiction was to obtain a copy and later
when
they compiled their own it was based largely upon
Anderson's work. Scotland was influenced by a visit of
Desaguliers in 1724 to a lodge at Dunblane, where he
presented a copy of the English Constitutions.
The course taken by the three Sister Grand Lodges was
mainly determined by the same publication. The first
Masonic book published in U.S.A. in 1734 was Benjamin
Franklin's reprint of the same work.
IRREGULARITY
The rapid spread of Freemasonry must have created its own
form of difficulty in management for their premier Grand
Lodge. Military Lodges and Colonists carried Freemasonry
into other lands and the second and third quarters of the
18th century became a fertile period for irregularities.
New
degrees, pseudo degrees, and new orders emerged, and in
this wider field a lucrative market arose for the sale of
broadsheets against the Craft and for so-called exposures,
some of which have greatly added to our knowledge of the
pattern of development of parts of the ritual. Among the
early exposures we have A Mason's Examination, 1723; the
following year The Grand Mystery, and in 1730 the
important Masonry Dissected; I say important because it is
the first printed account of the Hiramic legend. A spate
of
exposures appeared in the Continent between the years
1730 and 1760 but little if any in this country between
Prichard's Masonry Dissected in 1730 until Three Distinct
Knocks in 1760 and Jachin & Boaz in 1762. J & B
ran into
many editions and was often used by Freemasons as a
manual; we have many examples of this in our libraries all
over the country.
It was in an atmosphere of the earlier exposures that
Grand
Lodge took steps to protect its members and its funds from
imposition. Many clandestine lodges sprung into existence
-
access to ritual was no problem for the making of
irregular
Masons. Later on came the charges that Grand Lodge had
departed from certain Landmarks; that they had made a
change-over of certain words; had discontinued the
ceremonial for the Installation of Master in private
lodges;
and later still, their persistent refusal to recognise the
Royal
Arch Degree.
Prominent among the objectors was Laurence Dermott, an
Irish immigrant who had been initiated in Dublin in 1741,
reached the Chair of his lodge in 1746 and then exalted in
the Royal Arch, all prior to his arrival in London in
1748. A
rival controlling body-at first a committee which paved
the
way for another Grand Lodge - was set up for the purpose
of
preserving "Antient forms" of Freemasonry. So we
have the
anomalous term of "Antients" to describe a Grand
Lodge set
up 44 years after the original which they dubbed the
"Moderns." The progress of Freemasonry under
each
Jurisdiction, however, was strong indeed, but the
contradiction in terms persisted until 1813, when the two
Grand Lodges joined amicably and became the United
Grand Lodge of England as we know it today.
CRAFT RITUAL
Recognisable elements of the ritual can be seen in most
exposures, but the settled form that has come down to us
is
undoubtedly due to the influence of William Preston. He
was
initiated in 1762 - the period of the T.D.K. and J. &
B.
exposures - and ten years later published Illustrations of
Masonry after an exhaustive search and study of all phases
of Ritual. We owe much of our present ritual to his
syllabus
of Lectures which followed a co-ordination of the material
that he gathered.
In 1787 Preston instituted the Grand Chapter of Harodim
which had the dissemination of knowledge as its main
purpose. Its title is not to be confused with the Royal
Arch
use of the word chapter; in effect, it was what we call a
prominent Lodge of Instruction. In the Freemasons' Vade-
Mecum dated 1797, it is listed as follows:
Chapter of the Order of Harodim, Freemasons' Tavern,
Great Queen Street, Lincoln-Inn Fields, 3d Monday from
January to April and from October to December. Dine at
Five exactly Chapter opens at seven. Visitors admitted by
Tickets, which may be had by applying to any Member of the
Chapter. See Preston's illustrations of Masonry. 1796 Edn.
p. 342.
It is interesting to note that this entry is followed by a
list of
Lodges of Instruction which are classified under days of
meeting and that Sunday is divided into afternoon and
evening meetings.
Preston's Lectures had many Christian references but most
were deleted when the Lectures were revised in 1813 by
Doctor Hemming. This work forms the basis of the Craft
Lectures that are taught in Emulation Lodge of Improvement
and sometimes "Worked" as demonstrations in
lodges or
Lodges of Instruction. Their value is in the explanation
of
much of the ritual and it is from the reasons supplied we
can
understand the thinking of the compilers.
KNOCKS
A ready example of association may be seen in the
following
snippet of catechism which has this to say of knocks:
Q. How did you gain admission?
A. By three distinct knocks.
Q. To what do these three distinct knocks allude?
A. An ancient and venerable exhortation Seek, and ye shall
find; ask, And ye shall have; knock, and it shall be
opened
unto you.
This explanation is directly inspired from St. Matthew
7:7,
although there has been a small amendment.
Knocks are referred to in the Sloane MS c. 1695:
Another sign is knocking at the door two little knocks and
the third a big one.
Knocks are also quoted in A Mason's Examination (1723):
When you enter a lodge you must knock three times at the
door, and they'll challenge you.
An interesting variation occurs in the Wilkinson MS
(1727):
Coming to a house where masons may be, he is to knock
three knocks on the door; a lesser, a more and a more.
Recognisable differences in rhythms existed before the
development of a three-degree system but all are quoted
within a Masonic context; they were there waiting for
adaptation.
FIRE
The staggered rhythm of the knocks and the rhythmic
clapping in Masonic "Fire," however, have only
rhythm as a
common basis. The "Fire" is attributed to a
military or
regimental source and was adopted as a form of applause
for after-dinner toasting. A lucid account of Masonic
"Fire" is
given in the French ritual exposure, Trahi, 1745:
They first strike two blows close together but they leave
a
slightly longer interval between the second and third, the
latter being somewhat louder too. All this is repeated
three
times. The same graduations of force and speed are
observed at table, when they clap their hands after
drinking.
ROYAL ARCH
Another case of difficulty for many brethren is the
placing of
the Royal Arch in the Masonic system. As the Third Degree
grew out of a two-degree system so the Royal Arch emerged
as a logical development from that and should be viewed as
an integral part. It was practised by the Antients under
the
authority of their Craft Warrants as it was, to them,
literally,
a Fourth Degree. The premier Grand Lodge, however,
doggedly adhered to a stand of non-recognition of the
Royal
Arch; although most of their senior Grand Officers were
members of it and they had to set up a Grand Chapter to
control it; they were able to enjoy the best of both
worlds.
The Royal Arch was just another point of official
difference
between the Antients' and Moderns' Grand Lodges and,
even though it was described in the Articles of Union when
the two became the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813
as "part of pure and Antient Masonry," it was
nearly four
years before its place could be resolved and a union
effected between two Grand Chapters.
IMPORTANCE OF ROYAL ARCH
Many a Masonic career has been marred, or limited
unnecessarily, by misdirection on the question of entry to
this Supreme Degree. "Don't bother about that until
you
have been through the Chair of your lodge" is
probably the
worst but by no means uncommon advice. I take an entirely
different view and say that the time to enter is when a
brother has a sound view of the construction of the three
Craft Degrees and, in retrospect, can estimate for himself
what the Masonic exercise set out to do. He may well
question why certain substituted "secrets" were
adopted: he
will then have reached another stage of being
"properly
prepared" and thus be ready to appreciate the part
that is
played by the Royal Arch - that of completing the Master
Mason's quest; seeking for that which was lost.
The difficulty of putting the Royal Arch in its proper
perspective is not new; it has been happening since its
development. But just as the Third Degree grew out of a
two-degree system so the Royal Arch emerged to
complement the whole and it must be viewed as an integral
part of the construction of the Freemasonry of today.
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