Miscellaneous Masonic Writings - V

FREEMASONRY AS IT WAS AND AS IT SHOULD BE FOR ALL TIME: BY R.F. ELRING

The American Freemason - February 1912

In these days of modern rush and impatience, when the portals of Masonry are opened wide for the reception of candidates, and when quantity rather than quality appears to be the ruling desire in some sections, it may benefit us all to examine more closely into the teachings of Masonry. Probably few brethren have opportunity to read the Ancient Constitutions, Charges, etc., and the great majority may not be aware that much of what is written or printed is contrary to Masonic law. In Masonic controversy, especially relative to the Scottish Rite, it is not uncommon to notice the use of vilification and slander, coupled with falsehood, and we quote from the old laws, which are binding upon all Masons, as laid down in "Lockwood's Masonic Law and Practice."

"The old York Constitutions of 926," define the duties of a Mason as follows: "A Mason shall not be obliged to work after the sun has set in. the west. Nor shall he decry the work of a brother or fellow, but shall deal honestly and truly by him, under a penalty of not less than ten pounds. No man shall be false to the Craft, or entertain a prejudice against his Master or Fellows. He shall be true to his Master, and a just mediator in all disputes or quarrels. If a Mason live amiss, or slander his brother, so as to bring the Craft to shame, he shall have no further maintenance among the brethren, but shall be summoned to the next Grand Lodge; and if he refuse to appear, he shall be expelled."

"The Constitutions of Edward III. - 1327-1377," says: "That for the future, at the making or admission of a brother, the constitutions and the charges shall be read." Referring to Lodges, they say: "That at such congregations it shall be required, whether any Master or Fellow has broke any of the articles agreed to. And if the offender, being duly cited to appear, prove rebel, and will not attend, then the Lodge shall determine against him that he shall forswear (or renounce) his Masonry, and shall no more use this Craft," etc.

"The Regulations of 1863" show; "That no person hereafter who shall be accepted a Freemason shall be admitted into any Lodge or assembly, until he has brought a certificate of the time and place of his acceptance from the Lodge that accepted him," etc.

"The Ancient Installation Charges of James II. - 1685-'88," 9 say: "Ye shall be true to one another, that is to say, every Mason of the Craft that is Mason allowed, ye shall do to him as ye would be done unto yourself. .'. .'. .'. .'. .'. Ye shall call all Masons your fellows, or your brethren, and no other name. Ye shall not take your Fellow's wife in villainy, nor deflower his daughter or servant, nor put him to disworship."

"The Ancient Charges at Makings" say: "And that none shall slander another behind his back to make him lose his good name. That no Fellow in the house or abroad answer another ungodly or reprovably without a cause. That every Mason receive and cherish strange Fellows, when they come over the country," etc.

"The Charges of a Freemason," recognized by all regular Masons, compiled by Dr. Anderson, and "To be read at the making of New Brethren, or when the Master shall order it," say: "All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only; that so the lords may be well served, the brethren not put to shame, nor the Royal Craft despised: Therefore no Master or Warden is chosen by seniority, but for his merit. The Craftsmen are to avoid all ill language, and to call each other by no disobliging name, but Brother or Fellow. None shall discover envy at the prosperity of a brother, nor supplant him, or put him out of his work, if he be capable to finish the same. You are to salute one another in a courteous manner, as you will be instructed, calling each other Brother. You are to act as becomes a moral and wise man. You are cautiously to examine" (a strange Brother.) "But if you discover him to be a true and genuine brother, you are to respect him accordingly; and if he is in want, you must relieve him, if you can, or else direct him how he may be relieved. Finally. All these Charges you are to observe, also those that shall be communicated to you in another way; cultivating Brotherly Love, the foundation and cape-stone, the cement and glory of this ancient Fraternity, avoiding all wrangling and quarreling, all slander and backbiting, nor permitting others to slander any honest brother, but defending his character, and doing him all good offices, as far as is consistent with your honor and safety," etc.

The Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is composed of three degrees. There is no other Masonry, and no Grand Lodge has lawful authority to recognize the Scottish Rite, or any other organizations, as Masonic. Mackey states in his Encyclopedia: "A Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, for instance, is not, and cannot be recognized as a Masonic body, by a Lodge of Master Masons. 'They hear them so to be, but they do not know them so to be,' by any of the modes of recognition known to masonry. "

"Masonic Jurisprudence and Symbolism as interpreted by Grand Lodge decisions" in England, dated October, 1908, shows: "Another point in connection with the lodge-room needs attention. If there be but one Masonic Hall in town, and many of the further degrees are worked, the walls are to be found decorated with the handsomely-framed warrants of Mark, Templars, Rose Croix, Royal Order of Scotland, etc., etc., along with the warrants, also framed, of all the Craft Lodges working there. Masonic decency, as well as a sense of the Masonic unities, would seem to suggest that all these alien warrants should be taken down - at all events, whilst a Craft Lodge is working - by virtue of the warrant of a Grand Lodge, which has explicitly declined to recognize any of them."

Under the heading "Extraneous Orders and Degrees" the same authority shows: "June 1872. - It was alleged that certain clerks in the Grand Secretary's office were in the habit of transacting business in connection with the Ancient and Accepted Rite, The following resolution was therefore adopted by Grand Lodge: 'That, whilst this Grand Lodge recognizes the private right of every brother to belong to any extraneous Masonic organization he may choose, it as firmly forbids, now and at any future time, all brethren, while engaged as salaried officials under this Grand Lodge, to mix themselves up in any way with such bodies as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the Rites of Mizraim and Memphis, the spurious Orders of Rome and Constantine, the schismatic body styling itself the Grand Mark Lodge of England, or any other exterior Masonic organization whatever, (even that of the Order of Knights Templar, which is alone recognized by the Articles of Union,) under the pain of immediate dismissal from employment by this Grand Lodge.' This order still remains in force, but is practically inoperative, owing to a more enlightened conception of the exterior organizations referred to."

Some American Grand Lodges have changed the wording of the Tyler's oath for the purpose of preventing Master Masons in good standing from visiting Lodges under their jurisdiction if they are Scottish Rite Masons of some obedience not recognized by them. The Tyler's oath as printed in the above named authority on English Grand Lodge law is as follows:

I, A. B., do hereby and hereon solemnly and sincerely swear that I have been regularly initiated, etc., in a just and regularly constituted lodge of M. M., and that I do not stand suspended or expelled, and know of no reason why I should not hold Masonic communication with my brethren."

No Grand Lodge possesses lawful power to change the above, and in regard to visitation, the same authority states: "It should be understood clearly that, welcome or unwelcome, every Freemason has an inalienable right to visit any and every Lodge he pleases."

In legislating for the support and protection of certain Scottish Rite bodies, some of our American Grand Lodges even went so far as to enact retrospective laws, and to expel Master Masons from all the rights and privileges of Masonry in accordance with these retrospective laws. Relative to such legislation Mackey, in his "Masonic Jurisprudence," states:

"The legislation of every Grand Lodge must be prospective, and not retrospective in its action. To make an ex post facto law, would be to violate the principles of justice which lie at the very foundation of the system."

Mackey also states in his "Lexicon of Freemasonry" as follows: "To attempt to alter or remove these sacred landmarks, by which we examine and prove a brother's claim to share in our privileges, is one of the most heinous offences that a Mason can commit."

The following is quoted from the "Articles of Union between the two Grand Lodges of England. In Grand Lodge, this first day of December, A. D. 1813. Ratified and Confirmed, and the Seal of the Grand Lodge affixed,"

"II. It is declared and pronounced, that pure Ancient, Masonry consists of three degrees, and no more: Viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason (including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch.) But this article is not intended to prevent any Lodge or Chapter from holding a meeting in any of the degrees of the Order of Chivalry, according to the Constitutions of the said Orders.

"Ill. There shall be the most perfect unity of obligation, of discipline, of working the Lodges, of making, passing, and raising, instructing and clothing brothers; so that but one pure, unsullied system, according to the genuine landmarks, laws, and traditions of the Craft, shall be maintained, upheld, and practiced, throughout the Masonic world, from the day and date of the said Union until time shall be no more.

The Formation of the Three Degree Structure

It is customary today for us to speak of the Three Degrees in Craft Masonry. We just accept this and think nothing about how this all came about. The Three Degree system has not existed from time immemorial. It all came about to our Order over a long period of time and in a somewhat laborious manner. The whole change was not an overnight arrangement, but rather grew up over a period of years. In fact, the early years of this change were times of great turbulence. Much of these historic events have been shrouded, in mystery and confusion. The eventual sorting out period by our Masonic historians was done in the face of minimal historical evidence, and a large amount of reasonable assumption. Even today, some Masonic writers still find it a common ground on which to agree to disagree. And because of this lack of historical evidence it would be safe to say that the perplexing questions of the existence and growth of the three degrees, will remain a Masonic discussion point for centuries to come.

One thing is reasonably certain - prior to the early eighteenth century, two degrees were worked, the Entered Apprentice Degree and the Fellowcraft Degree. To confirm the issue, one of the ancient manuscripts, the Edinburgh Register House Ms. of 1696 and the Sloan Ms. of 1659 refer to two degrees, whilst the Trinity College Dublin Ms. of 1711 and the Graham Ms. of 1726 refer to three degrees. And so the argument has carried on for years. In these observations then, we can only give a broad spectrum of the sequence of events that led up to the establishment of the three degree system in our Order.

As our Masonic historians have agreed to disagree on the interpretation of much of the evidence, there is of a consequence no over-riding authority available to say who is right and who is wrong. Let us first look at the word "degree". In its primitive form the word was used by the Operative masons as a method of acquiring different grades of skills, which usually consisted of Apprentices, Journeymen and Masters. (It is pointed out here that later in the sequence of events, one of the big events that caused confusion centered around the interpretation and use of the word Master). To the Speculative mason the word "degree" infers the use of some form of ceremony which would advance the candidate to a higher rank, after he had had communicated to him certain distinguishing words, signs, grip and tokens.

Thus it is reasonable to assume that the Speculative mason attained different ranks of speculative knowledge. Today, the word "degree" indicates a reward of advancing through an esoteric ceremony to a higher degree by the method of communicating words, signs, grips and tokens. A knowledge of the definitions of the words are necessary to make a good foundation towards the understanding of the history of the Masonic degrees.

Although we have a considerable amount of material available to us regarding Freemasonry generally in the pre-Grand Lodge era, there is very little information available to give us an idea of the internal workings of the lodges at that particular time. At this stage it may be as well to remember that at that time in history, when all of this was happening, it was a time of illiteracy. Very few people could either read or write. Hence the bulk of much that happened was handed down by word of mouth. This then was the basic cause of confusion in historical records which resulted. We have seen the results of this in many other aspects of the history of man. Quite a deal of our so called "facts" concerned with these early events have been handed down through the Gothic Constitutions of the seventeenth century. Many of these, fortunately, have been preserved. In some cases to be very valuable historically. But like a great deal of the worlds aging history, some of the confusion is brought back about by the matter of interpretation.

A further source of information is the various Exposures of Freemasonry, that have come to light from time to time. Exposures assumed great prominence after about 1723. Whilst these exposures furnish the historian with valuable historical evidence, as exposures they had little effect on the acceptance of Freemasonry. Other information that one would reasonably expect to carry unlimited historical events and data, is not as readily available as one would wish. This is Lodge Minutes.

Permit the writer to digress for a short time to emphasize the tremendous importance of Lodge minutes today. They will become the major source of the history of the lodge. Unlike many ideas of our present day, too much information cannot be placed in lodge minutes; and much more care should be given to the preservation of these records.

Lodge Minutes of the early days extend back as far as 1598 and are, in the main, of Scottish origin. Only two English Lodges have minutes preserved of the pre-1717 era, and they are from Alnwick 1701 and Yorke 1712. So much information in this regard is lost forever. So, the major source of information regarding the degrees within the Order were the Manuscripts and Charges. They quite definitely marked the existence of the Two Degree System; the First and Second Degrees. By looking at the dates of the Sloane and Dublin Manuscripts it would appear as though the Three Degree System began to appear somewhere between 1659 and 1711.

Stop and ponder for a short while - think of the many similarities of the present First and Second Degree. Think of their general structure and language. The consider the tremendous difference in the structure and language of the Third Degree. The Hiramic Legend, surrounded by the Third Degree, did not happen overnight. This came to fruition over a period of time. There is no cut and dried date for this period of time. The acceptance of the additional degree was not accepted on bloc - for some time it caused great turbulence amongst the Fraternity. In the years prior to the formation of the First Grand Lodge, Lodges were answerable to no central point or control, and consequently they had no uniformity in ceremonial workings.

According to the Graham Manuscript the Third Degree Legend was known in some form in the 17th Century. The phrase "Sublime Degree of a Master Mason" was used on a Grand Lodge Certificate of Ireland in 1754. There is also record that it was used in 1767 by the Lodge of Friendship No. 6. But it does not seem to be in general use until the end of the seventeenth century. The earliest known reference to the degree in Lodge Minutes in London occurred in 1727. So, taking a broad view of the confusing material available, and the reasonable assumptions made due to the lack of historical evidence, it would be, again, reasonable to assume that the Third-Degree System grew up by a gradual process between 1717 and 1730. That is about as precise as we can be.

As a matter of interest, the Third Degree System is said to have been a "fact" in

France in 1731

Scotland in 1735

Sweden in 1737

This proved to be a very unstable period in the History of Freemasonry. As one would expect some lodges were openly against the re-arrangement of the Degrees, particularly in Scotland. This of course made the fixing of a precise date of change even more hazardous.

THE FIVE NOBLE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE

By: Perce J. George

Brother Perce George is a member of Mannum Lodge #97, Grand Lodge of South Australia.

Our rituals, as a general rule are reasonably straight forward and self explanatory, but on occasion some matters are only touched upon briefly and in consequence, can leave one puzzled about their full meanings. One such matter is the phrase, "FIVE HOLD A LODGE IN ALLUSION TO THE FIVE NOBLE ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE, NAMELY THE TUSCAN, DORIC, IONIC, CORINTHIAN AND COMPOSITE." But what are the peculiarities of these different orders? First, let us look at the term, "Noble." A diligent search through many encyclopedias, dictionaries, books of knowledge and books specifically relating to architecture, has failed to reveal the term and this suggests that it is only used in Masonic literature, but is not conclusive. However, Mitchell Beazley's Pocket Guide to Architecture refers to these five orders as "Classical Orders", so it can be assumed that both of these terms are synonymous. Even though it is the peculiarities of the separate orders which will be the main subject matter of this article, it is first prudent that we make a study of their similarities. Some columns, but not all, are supported by a Pedestal, usually of square section. This can take the form of a square, shallow, plain block, but where a higher pedestal is used, say up to a third of the height of the complete unit, it consists of a Base, a Dado, which can be plain or ornamented and a Cornice. The column proper is also divided into two or three named parts. First the Base, which is a series of annulets or ring-like moldings, the Shaft and the Capital, which by its design, is the manner by which each order is recognized. It is interesting to note that the Greeks were the first to establish the orders and the Romans followed suit, making some alterations, modifications and additions.

We will begin by examining the details of the Doric Order, because it was the First to be established by the Greeks. It was the one which they employed predominantly in their buildings. The general consensus is that the column was developed from earlier wooden forms. This, from the resemblance of cornice details to the forms used in early carpentry. By the seventh century B.C., the type had arrived at a definite form and subsequent improvements led to the production of the perfected order of the fifth century B.C. Examples are to be found in the Parthenon and the Propylaea at Athens, and was in continual use by the Greeks until the second century B.C. An outstanding feature of the Greek Doric column is that it has no base and a more substantial shaft than the other orders. It is generally treated with twenty flutes and it terminates in a simple capital of a group of annulets, a convex curved molding which is referred to as the Echinus and a square slab called the Abacus on top. The Roman Doric was derived from the Greek, but the design was probably influenced by the appealing aspect of a more slender shaft developed by the Etruscans. This column was not frequently used, but examples may be viewed in the Coliseum and the Theatre of Marcellus. The Roman Doric also differs from the Greek in that it incorporates a base and has some changes to the profile of the capital.

Although departing from the principle of explaining the orders chronologically, it is fitting to introduce at this point, the Tuscan Order. Established by the Sixteenth century Italians, it is of comparative recent origin. A much simplified example of the Doric, it is unfluted and has no adornments on the capital. It is also known as the Roman Doric order referred to earlier.

The next Noble order to emerge was the Ionic which attained full development by the sixth century B.C. Primarily a creation of the artisans of Asia Minor, which is the Asian portion of Turkey, where some partially developed examples of the order have been located, it appeared in Greece in the fifth century B.C. The one complete example of Greek Ionic can be seen in the Erectheum. This is a temple built from Pentelic marble on the Acropolis in Athens. Greek Ionic columns are slenderly proportioned, their height generally being about nine times their lower diameter and usually having twenty four flutes. The capital is characterized by spiral scrolls known as Volutes. These scrolls are viewed at front and rear of the capital. The Roman Ionic differs from the Greek in the manner that the volutes protrude from the capital forming four corners. In both the Greek and the Roman, echinus moldings are used in conjunction with the scrolls and are generally highly ornamented.

The Corinthian is the most elaborate and highly decorated of all the orders, attaining its period of full development around the middle of the fourth century B.C. Strangely enough, the Greeks made very little use of it by comparison with the other orders. However, an excellent example is the circular Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens which was erected in the year 335 B.C., but the most notable of the Corinthian temples is that of Zeus, also at Athens, the construction of which was begun in the second century B.C. and was completed by the Emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D. The Greek Corinthian column, except for its distinctive capital, is similar to the Ionic, but is even more slender. Legend has it that the design of the beautiful capital, devised of Acanthus leaves, can be attributed to Callimachus, who was a Hellenistic Greek poet and critic. This is remarkable because his actual stock in trade was schoolteacher and library worker at Alexandria. The Romans made use of the Corinthian Order in many works of imperial architecture. They gave it a special base, made carved additions to the cornice and made various innovations in the capital with more flamboyant leafage than the Greek, and in some cases using human and animal figures. The Pantheon in Rome, built by Agrippa in the year 27 B.C., rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian in the second century A.D. and now a Christian church, embodies the prevailing examples of this order.

Hailing back momentarily to the manner in which the volutes or scrolls of the Ionic order protrude from four corners, this configuration lent itself to the addition of the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order and it was thus that the Romans devised the Composite Order as early as the first century A.D. However, it was not until the sixteenth century that the codifiers actually named it Composite. It has since been employed extensively in public buildings worldwide.

We, as freemasons, are accustomed to seeing the Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns in a free standing situation representing Wisdom, Strength and Beauty alongside the pedestals of the principal officers, but it must be realized that columns in their normal situations as parts of buildings, as well as being aesthetically pleasing, perform the function of supporting the upper portions of the structure. These upper parts are called Entablatures and can take several forms. In a building such as the Temple of Apollo at Didyama, the long rectangular entablature is around all four sides, whereas in the Pantheon, a triangular portion is added at the front of the porchway or entrance. This triangular entablature is used where a raked roof is employed and is consistent with the roof line. Entablatures, like Columns, are divided into named parts, such as the Architrave, which is directly above the columns. The portion above the architrave is called the Frieze, usually ornately ornamented. Above the frieze is the Cornice. In the case of a triangular portion being used, it also has named parts. The Cornices completely surround the triangular facade, which is called the Pediment, the upper, angled cornices being referred to as Raking Cornices.

Apart from the Noble or Classical Orders, many adaptions and departures from orthodoxy can be observed when traveling around cities or the countryside. For instance, at the entrance to the Town Hall in Angaston, (a town north of Adelaide) there are two pillars which look like extended Australian Rules footballs topped with the volutes of the Ionic order. Also, many false columns which are really parts of the walls, display the characteristics of the capitals of all the orders.

It is also interesting to note columns or pillars derived from the architecture of countries other than Greece and Italy, such as Egypt. The sculptors of this country depicted many conventional designs inspired by such plants as palms, lotus and papyrus, mainly in the Ptolemaic period. The Egyptians and also the Greeks made use of Caryatids which are columns sculpted in the form of women. A wonderful example is to be viewed in the ruins of the Erechthion on the Acropolis in Athens, where the Caryatid columns are completely preserved. It is interesting to note that these figures are completely clothed, but the arms are terminated above the elbows.