 |
[176] Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry, by Oliver.
[177] "History of the Lost Word," by J.F. Garrison, appendix to Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry, by G.F. Fort—one of the most brilliant Masonic books, both in scholarship and literary style.
[178] Symbolism of Masonry, by Dr. Mackey (chap. i) and other books too many to name. It need hardly be said that the truth of the trinity, whereof the triangle is an emblem—though with Pythagoras it was a symbol of holiness, of health—was never meant to contradict the unity of God, but to make it more vivid. As too often interpreted, it is little more than a crude tri-theism, but at its best it is not so. "God thrice, not three Gods," was the word of St. Augustine (Essay on the Trinity), meaning three aspects of God—not the mathematics of His nature, but its manifoldness, its variety in unity. The late W.N. Clarke—who put more common sense into theology than any other man of his day—pointed out that, in our time, the old debate about the trinity is as dead as Caesar; the truth of God as a Father having taken up into itself the warmth, color, and tenderness of the truth of the trinity—which, as said on an earlier page, was a vision of God through the family (Christian Doctrine of God).
[179] The Bible, the Great Source of Masonic Secrets and Observances, by Dr. Oliver. No Mason need be told what a large place the Bible has in the symbolism, ritual, and teaching of the Order, and it has an equally large place in its literature.
[180] Read the great argument of Plato in The Republic (book vi). The present writer does not wish to impose upon Masonry any dogma of technical Idealism, subjective, objective, or otherwise. No more than others does he hold to a static universe which unrolls in time a plan made out before, but to a world of wonders where life has the risk and zest of adventure. He rejoices in the New Idealism of Rudolf Eucken, with its gospel of "an independent spiritual life"—independent, that is, of vicissitude—and its insistence upon the fact that the meaning of life depends upon our "building up within ourselves a life that is not of time" (Life's Basis and Life's Ideal). But the intent of these pages is, rather, to emphasize the spiritual view of life and the world as the philosophy underlying Masonry, and upon which it builds—the reality of the ideal, its sovereignty over our fragile human life, and the immutable necessity of loyalty to it, if we are to build for eternity. After all, as Plotinus said, philosophy "serves to point the way and guide the traveller; the vision is for him who will see it." But the direction means much to those who are seeking the truth to know it.
THE SPIRIT OF MASONRY
/P The crest and crowning of all good, Life's final star, is Brotherhood; For it will bring again to Earth Her long-lost Poesy and Mirth; Will send new light on every face, A kingly power upon the race. And till it comes we men are slaves, And travel downward to the dust of graves.
Come, clear the way, then, clear the way: Blind creeds and kings have had their day. Break the dead branches from the path: Our hope is in the aftermath— Our hope is in heroic men, Star-led to build the world again. To this event the ages ran: Make way for Brotherhood—make way for Man.
—EDWIN MARKHAM, Poems P/
CHAPTER III
The Spirit of Masonry
I
Outside of the home and the house of God there is nothing in this world more beautiful than the Spirit of Masonry. Gentle, gracious, and wise, its mission is to form mankind into a great redemptive brotherhood, a league of noble and free men enlisted in the radiant enterprise of working out in time the love and will of the Eternal. Who is sufficient to describe a spirit so benign? With what words may one ever hope to capture and detain that which belongs of right to the genius of poetry and song, by whose magic those elusive and impalpable realities find embodiment and voice?
With picture, parable, and stately drama, Masonry appeals to lovers of beauty, bringing poetry and symbol to the aid of philosophy, and art to the service of character. Broad and tolerant in its teaching, it appeals to men of intellect, equally by the depth of its faith and its plea for liberty of thought—helping them to think things through to a more satisfying and hopeful vision of the meaning of life and the mystery of the world. But its profoundest appeal, more eloquent than all others, is to the deep heart of man, out of which are the issues of life and destiny. When all is said, it is as a man thinketh in his heart whether life be worth while or not, and whether he is a help or a curse to his race.
/P Here lies the tragedy of our race: Not that men are poor; All men know something of poverty. Not that men are wicked; Who can claim to be good? Not that men are ignorant; Who can boast that he is wise? But that men are strangers! P/
Masonry is Friendship—friendship, first, with the great Companion, of whom our own hearts tell us, who is always nearer to us than we are to ourselves, and whose inspiration and help is the greatest fact of human experience. To be in harmony with His purposes, to be open to His suggestions, to be conscious of fellowship with Him—this is Masonry on its Godward side. Then, turning manward, friendship sums it all up. To be friends with all men, however they may differ from us in creed, color, or condition; to fill every human relation with the spirit of friendship; is there anything more or better than this that the wisest, and best of men can hope to do?[181] Such is the spirit of Masonry; such is its ideal, and if to realize it all at once is denied us, surely it means much to see it, love it, and labor to make it come true.
Nor is this Spirit of Friendship a mere sentiment held by a sympathetic, and therefore unstable, fraternity, which would dissolve the concrete features of humanity into a vague blur of misty emotion. No; it has its roots in a profound philosophy which sees that the universe is friendly, and that men must learn to be friends if they would live as befits the world in which they live, as well as their own origin and destiny. For, since God is the life of all that was, is, and is to be; and since we are all born into the world by one high wisdom and one vast love, we are brothers to the last man of us, forever! For better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, and even after death us do part, all men are held together by ties of spiritual kinship, sons of one eternal Friend. Upon this fact human fraternity rests, and it is the basis of the plea of Masonry, not only for freedom, but for friendship among men.
Thus friendship, so far from being a mush of concessions, is in fact the constructive genius of the universe. Love is ever the Builder, and those who have done most to establish the City of God on earth have been the men who loved their fellow men. Once let this spirit prevail, and the wrangling sects will be lost in a great league of those who love in the service of those who suffer. No man will then revile the faith in which his neighbor finds help for today and hope for the morrow; pity will smite him mute, and love will teach him that God is found in many ways, by those who seek him with honest hearts. Once let this spirit rule in the realm of trade, and the law of the jungle will cease, and men will strive to build a social order in which all men may have opportunity "to live, and to live well," as Aristotle defined the purpose of society. Here is the basis of that magical stability aimed at by the earliest artists when they sought to build for eternity, by imitating on earth the House of God.
II
Our human history, saturated with blood and blistered with tears, is the story of man making friends with man. Society has evolved from a feud into a friendship by the slow growth of love and the welding of man, first to his kin, and then to his kind.[182] The first men who walked in the red dawn of time lived every man for himself, his heart a sanctuary of suspicions, every man feeling that every other man was his foe, and therefore his prey. So there were war, strife, and bloodshed. Slowly there came to the savage a gleam of the truth that it is better to help than to hurt, and he organized clans and tribes. But tribes were divided by rivers and mountains, and the men on one side of the river felt that the men on the other side were their enemies. Again there were war, pillage, and sorrow. Great empires arose and met in the shock of conflict, leaving trails of skeletons across the earth. Then came the great roads, reaching out with their stony clutch and bringing the ends of the earth together. Men met, mingled, passed and repassed, and learned that human nature is much the same everywhere, with hopes and fears in common. Still there were many things to divide and estrange men from each other, and the earth was full of bitterness. Not satisfied with natural barriers, men erected high walls of sect and caste, to exclude their fellows, and the men of one sect were sure that the men of all other sects were wrong—and doomed to be lost. Thus, when real mountains no longer separated man from man, mountains were made out of molehills—mountains of immemorial misunderstanding not yet moved into the sea!
Barriers of race, of creed, of caste, of habit, of training and interest separate men today, as if some malign genius were bent on keeping man from his fellows, begetting suspicion, uncharitableness, and hate. Still there are war, waste, and woe! Yet all the while men have been unfriendly, and, therefore, unjust and cruel, only because they are unacquainted. Amidst feud, faction, and folly, Masonry, the oldest and most widely spread order, toils in behalf of friendship, uniting men upon the only basis upon which they can ever meet with dignity. Each lodge is an oasis of equality and goodwill in a desert of strife, working to weld mankind into a great league of sympathy and service, which, by the terms of our definition, it seeks to exhibit even now on a small scale. At its altar men meet as man to man, without vanity and without pretense, without fear and without reproach, as tourists crossing the Alps tie themselves together, so that if one slip all may hold him up. No tongue can tell the meaning of such a ministry, no pen can trace its influence in melting the hardness of the world into pity and gladness.
The Spirit of Masonry! He who would describe that spirit must be a poet, a musician, and a seer—a master of melodies, echoes, and long, far-sounding cadences. Now, as always, it toils to make man better, to refine his thought and purify his sympathy, to broaden his outlook, to lift his altitude, to establish in amplitude and resoluteness his life in all its relations. All its great history, its vast accumulations of tradition, its simple faith and its solemn rites, its freedom and its friendship are dedicated to a high moral ideal, seeking to tame the tiger in man, and bring his wild passions into obedience to the will of God. It has no other mission than to exalt and ennoble humanity, to bring light out of darkness, beauty out of angularity; to make every hard-won inheritance more secure, every sanctuary more sacred, every hope more radiant![183]
The Spirit of Masonry! Ay, when that spirit has its way upon earth, as at last it surely will, society will be a vast communion of kindness and justice, business a system of human service, law a rule of beneficence; the home will be more holy, the laughter of childhood more joyous, and the temple of prayer mortised and tenoned in simple faith. Evil, injustice, bigotry, greed, and every vile and slimy thing that defiles and defames humanity will skulk into the dark, unable to bear the light of a juster, wiser, more merciful order. Industry will be upright, education prophetic, and religion not a shadow, but a Real Presence, when man has become acquainted with man and has learned to worship God by serving his fellows. When Masonry is victorious every tyranny will fall, every bastile crumble, and man will be not only unfettered in mind and hand, but free of heart to walk erect in the light and liberty of the truth.
Toward a great friendship, long foreseen by Masonic faith, the world is slowly moving, amid difficulties and delays, reactions and reconstructions. Though long deferred, of that day, which will surely arrive, when nations will be reverent in the use of freedom, just in the exercise of power, humane in the practice of wisdom; when no man will ride over the rights of his fellows; when no woman will be made forlorn, no little child wretched by bigotry or greed, Masonry has ever been a prophet. Nor will she ever be content until all the threads of human fellowship are woven into one mystic cord of friendship, encircling the earth and holding the race in unity of spirit and the bonds of peace, as in the will of God it is one in the origin and end. Having outlived empires and philosophies, having seen generations appear and vanish, it will yet live to see the travail of its soul, and be satisfied—
/P When the war-drum throbs no longer, And the battle flags are furled; In the parliament of man, The federation of the world. P/
III
Manifestly, since love is the law of life, if men are to be won from hate to love, if those who doubt and deny are to be wooed to faith, if the race is ever to be led and lifted into a life of service, it must be by the fine art of Friendship. Inasmuch as this is the purpose of Masonry, its mission determines the method not less than the spirit of its labor. Earnestly it endeavors to bring men—first the individual man, and then, so far as possible, those who are united with him—to love one another, while holding aloft, in picture and dream, that temple of character which is the noblest labor of life to build in the midst of the years, and which will outlast time and death. Thus it seeks to reach the lonely inner life of man where the real battles are fought, and where the issues of destiny are decided, now with shouts of victory, now with sobs of defeat. What a ministry to a young man who enters its temple in the morning of life, when the dew of heaven is upon his days and the birds are singing in his heart![184]
From the wise lore of the East Max Mueller translated a parable which tells how the gods, having stolen from man his divinity, met in council to discuss where they should hide it. One suggested that it be carried to the other side of the earth and buried; but it was pointed out that man is a great wanderer, and that he might find the lost treasure on the other side of the earth. Another proposed that it be dropped into the depths of the sea; but the same fear was expressed—that man, in his insatiable curiosity, might dive deep enough to find it even there. Finally, after a space of silence, the oldest and wisest of the gods said: "Hide it in man himself, as that is the last place he will ever think to look for it!" And it was so agreed, all seeing at once the subtle and wise strategy. Man did wander over the earth, for ages, seeking in all places high and low, far and near, before he thought to look within himself for the divinity he sought. At last, slowly, dimly, he began to realize that what he thought was far off, hidden in "the pathos of distance," is nearer than the breath he breathes, even in his own heart.
Here lies the great secret of Masonry—that it makes a man aware of that divinity within him, wherefrom his whole life takes its beauty and meaning, and inspires him to follow and obey it. Once a man learns this deep secret, life is new, and the old world is a valley all dewy to the dawn with a lark-song over it. There never was a truer saying than that the religion of a man is the chief fact concerning him.[185] By religion is meant not the creed to which a man will subscribe, or otherwise give his assent; not that necessarily; often not that at all—since we see men of all degrees of worth and worthlessness signing all kinds of creeds. No; the religion of a man is that which he practically believes, lays to heart, acts upon, and thereby knows concerning this mysterious universe and his duty and destiny in it. That is in all cases the primary thing in him, and creatively determines all the rest; that is his religion. It is, then, of vital importance what faith, what vision, what conception of life a man lays to heart, and acts upon.
At bottom, a man is what his thinking is, thoughts being the artists who give color to our days. Optimists and pessimists live in the same world, walk under the same sky, and observe the same facts. Sceptics and believers look up at the same great stars—the stars that shone in Eden and will flash again in Paradise. Clearly the difference between them is a difference not of fact, but of faith—of insight, outlook, and point of view—a difference of inner attitude and habit of thought with regard to the worth and use of life. By the same token, any influence which reaches and alters that inner habit and bias of mind, and changes it from doubt to faith, from fear to courage, from despair to sunburst hope, has wrought the most benign ministry which a mortal may enjoy. Every man has a train of thought on which he rides when he is alone; and the worth of his life to himself and others, as well as its happiness, depend upon the direction in which that train is going, the baggage it carries, and the country through which it travels. If, then, Masonry can put that inner train of thought on the right track, freight it with precious treasure, and start it on the way to the City of God, what other or higher ministry can it render to a man? And that is what it does for any man who will listen to it, love it, and lay its truth to heart.
High, fine, ineffably rich and beautiful are the faith and vision which Masonry gives to those who foregather at its altar, bringing to them in picture, parable, and symbol the lofty and pure truth wrought out through ages of experience, tested by time, and found to be valid for the conduct of life. By such teaching, if they have the heart to heed it, men become wise, learning how to be both brave and gentle, faithful and free; how to renounce superstition and yet retain faith; how to keep a fine poise of reason between the falsehood of extremes; how to accept the joys of life with glee, and endure its ills with patient valor; how to look upon the folly of man and not forget his nobility—in short, how to live cleanly, kindly, calmly, open-eyed and unafraid in a sane world, sweet of heart and full of hope. Whoso lays this lucid and profound wisdom to heart, and lives by it, will have little to regret, and nothing to fear, when the evening shadows fall. Happy the young man who in the morning of his years makes it his guide, philosopher, and friend.[186]
Such is the ideal of Masonry, and fidelity to all that is holy demands that we give ourselves to it, trusting the power of truth, the reality of love, and the sovereign worth of character. For only as we incarnate that ideal in actual life and activity does it become real, tangible, and effective. God works for man through man and seldom, if at all, in any other way. He asks for our voices to speak His truth, for our hands to do His work here below—sweet voices and clean hands to make liberty and love prevail over injustice and hate. Not all of us can be learned or famous, but each of us can be loyal and true of heart, undefiled by evil, undaunted by error, faithful and helpful to our fellow souls. Life is a capacity for the highest things. Let us make it a pursuit of the highest—an eager, incessant quest of truth; a noble utility, a lofty honor, a wise freedom, a genuine service—that through us the Spirit of Masonry may grow and be glorified.
When is a man a Mason? When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage—which is the root of every virtue. When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellow man. When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins—knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds. When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself. When he loves flowers, can hunt the birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child. When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life. When star-crowned trees, and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters, subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead. When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response. When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin. When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope. When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellow man, with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song—glad to live, but not afraid to die! Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.
FOOTNOTES:
[181] Suggested by a noble passage in the Recollections of Washington Gladden; and the great preacher goes on to say: "If the church could accept this truth—that Religion is Friendship—and build its own life upon it, and make it central and organic in all its teachings, should we not have a great revival of religion?" Indeed, yes; and of the right kind of religion, too! Walt Whitman found the basis of all philosophy, all religion, in "the dear love of man for his comrade, the attraction of friend to friend" (The Base of all Metaphysics). As for Masonic literature, it is one perpetual paean in praise of the practice of friendship, from earliest time to our own day. Take, for example, the Illustrations of Masonry, by Preston (first book, sect, i-x); and Arnold, as we have seen, defined Masonry as Friendship, as did Hutchinson (The Spirit of Masonry, lectures xi, xii). These are but two notes of a mighty anthem whose chorus is never hushed in the temple of Masonry! Of course, there are those who say that the finer forces of life are frail and foolish, but the influence of the cynic in the advance of the race is—nothing!
[182] The Neighbor, by N.S. Shaler.
[183] If Masons often fall far below their high ideal, it is because they share in their degree the infirmity of mankind. He is a poor craftsman who glibly recites the teachings of the Order and quickly forgets the lessons they convey; who wears its honorable dress to conceal a self-seeking spirit; or to whom its great and simple symbols bring only an outward thrill, and no inward urge toward the highest of all good. Apart from what they symbolize, all symbols are empty; they speak only to such as have ears to hear. At the same time, we have always to remember—what has been so often and so sadly forgotten—that the most sacred shrine on earth is the soul of man; and that the temple and its offices are not ends in themselves, but only beautiful means to the end that every human heart may be a temple of peace, of purity, of power, of pity, and of hope!
[184] Read the noble words of Arnold on the value of Masonry to the young as a restraint, a refinement, and a conservator of virtue, throwing about youth the mantle of a great friendship and the consecration of a great ideal (History and Philosophy of Masonry, chap. xix).
[185] Heroes and Hero-worship, by Thomas Carlyle, lecture i.
[186] If the influence of Masonry upon youth is here emphasized, it is not to forget that the most dangerous period of life is not youth, with its turmoil of storm and stress, but between forty and sixty. When the enthusiasms of youth have cooled, and its rosy glamour has faded into the light of common day, there is apt to be a letting down of ideals, a hardening of heart, when cynicism takes the place of idealism. If the judgments of the young are austere and need to be softened by charity, the middle years of life need still more the reenforcement of spiritual influence and the inspiration of a holy atmosphere. Also, Albert Pike used to urge upon old men the study of Masonry, the better to help them gather up the scattered thoughts about life and build them into a firm faith; and because Masonry offers to every man a great hope and consolation. Indeed, its ministry to every period of life is benign. Studying Masonry is like looking at a sunset; each man who looks is filled with the beauty and wonder of it, but the glory is not diminished.
* * * * *
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(The literature of Masonry is very large, and the following is only a small selection of such books as the writer has found particularly helpful in the course of this study. The notes and text of the foregoing pages mention many books, sometimes with brief characterizations, and that fact renders a longer list unnecessary here.)
Anderson, Book of Constitutions.
Armitage, Short Masonic History, 2 vols.
Arnold, History and Philosophy of Masonry.
Ashmole, Diary.
Aynsley, Symbolism East and West.
Bacon, New Atlantis.
Bayley, Lost Language of Symbolism.
Breasted, Religion and Thought in Egypt.
Budge, The Gods of Egypt.
Callahan, Washington, the Man and the Mason.
Capart, Primitive Art in Egypt.
Carr, The Swastika.
Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "Masonry."
Churchward, Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man.
Conder, Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masonry.
Crowe, Things a Freemason Ought to Know.
Cumont, Mysteries of Mithra.
Da Costa, Dionysian Artificers.
De Clifford, Egypt the Cradle of Masonry.
De Quincey, Works, vol. xvi.
Dill, Roman Life.
Encyclopedia Britannica, art. "Freemasonry."
Fergusson, History of Architecture.
Findel, History of Masonry.
Finlayson, Symbols of Freemasonry.
Fort, Early History and Antiquities of Masonry.
Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks.
Gould, Atholl Lodges.
Gould, Concise History of Masonry.
Gould, History of Masonry, 4 vols.
Gould, Military Lodges.
Haige, Symbolism.
Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion, art. "Freemasonry."
Hayden, Washington and his Masonic Compeers.
Holland, Freemasonry and the Great Pyramid.
Hope, Historical Essay on Architecture.
Hughan, History of the English Rite.
Hughan, Masonic Sketches and Reprints.
Hughan and Stillson, History of Masonry and Concordant Orders.
Hutchinson, The Spirit of Masonry.
Jewish Encyclopedia, art. "Freemasonry."
Kennedy, St. Paul and the Mystery-Religions.
Lawrence, Practical Masonic Lectures.
Leicester Lodge of Research, Transactions.
Lethaby, Architecture.
Lockyear, Dawn of Astronomy.
Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.
Mackey, Symbolism of Masonry.
Manchester Lodge of Research, Transactions.
Marshall, Nature a Book of Symbols.
Maspero, Dawn of Civilization.
Mead, Quests New and Old.
Moehler, Symbolism.
Moret, Kings and Gods of Egypt.
Morris, Lights and Shadows of Masonry.
Morris, The Poetry of Masonry.
Oliver, Masonic Antiquities.
Oliver, Masonic Sermons.
Oliver, Revelations of the Square.
Oliver, Theocratic Philosophy of Masonry.
Pike, Morals and Dogma.
Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride.
Preston, Illustrations of Masonry.
Quatuor Coronati Lodge, Transactions, 24 vols.
Ravenscroft, The Comacines.
Reade, The Veil of Isis.
Rogers, History of Prices in England.
Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture.
Sachse, Franklin as a Mason.
Sadler, Masonic Facts and Fictions.
St. Andrew's Lodge, Centennial Memorial.
Schure, Hermes and Plato.
Schure, Pythagoras.
Scott, The Cathedral Builders.
Smith, English Guilds.
Stevens, Cyclopedia of Fraternities.
Steinbrenner, History of Masonry.
Tyler, Oaths, Their Origin, Nature, and History.
Underhill, Mysticism.
Waite, Real History of Rosicrucians.
Waite, Secret Tradition in Masonry.
Waite, Studies in Mysticism.
Watts, The Word in the Pattern.
Wright, Indian Masonry.
* * * * *
INDEX
/$ Aberdeen: lodge of, 161
Acadamie Armory: 166
Accepted Masons: 147; earliest, 160; not in all lodges, 160 note; first recorded, 161; and Ashmole, 162-4; at Warrington, 164; in the London Company, 165; and the Regius MS, 166; at Chester, 166; Assembly of, 168; quality of, 168
AEneas: referred to, 44 note
Ahiman Rezon: 216
Alban, St: in Old Charges, 116; a town, not a man, 117 note; and the Masons, 120
America: advent of Masonry in, 206; spirit of Masonry in, 222; influence of Masonry on, 223
"Ancients, The": and Moderns, 212; Grand Lodge of, 216; growth of, 217; merged into universal Masonry, 221
Anderson, James: his account of Grand Lodge of England, 180; and the Old Charges, 186; sketch of, 187 note; on Masonic secrets, 192 note; on growth of Masonry, 203; publishes Book of Constitutions, 204
Andreae, J.V.: quoted, 157; his Rosicrucian romance, 163
Anti-Masonic political party, 228
Apprentice, Entered: requirements of, 129; moral code of, 130; masterpiece of, 131; degree of, 144
Architects: early, 14; of Rome, 72; initiates, 73; honored in Egypt, 74; College of, 82; Comacine, 88; churchmen, 114
Architecture: matrix of civilization, 5; spiritual basis of, 6; Seven Lamps of, 7; moral laws of, 8; mysticism of, 9; and astronomy, 77; gaps in history of, 86; Italian, 87; and the Comacines, 88; new light on, 89; churchmen learn from Masons, 114; Gothic, 120; essay on, 136; influence of Solomon's Temple on, 191; no older than history, 241
Ashmole, Elias: Diary of, 162; not the maker of Masonry, 163; student of Masonry, 167 note; and Walton, 259 note
Assembly of Masons: at York, 117; semi-annual, 118; initiations at, 131; before 1717, 167
Atheist: does not exist, 261 note; would be an orphan, 267
Athelstan: and Masons, 116
Atholl Masons: Grand Lodge of, 216; power of, 217; end of, 221
Aubrey, John: 166; on convention of Masons, 167
Augustine, St: and Masons, 116
Babel, Tower of: 7
Bacon, Francis: 110; his New Atlantis and Masonry, 179 note, 190
Benevolence: Board of, 188
Bible: Masonic symbols in, 32; and Masonry, 265
Book of Constitutions: 187
Book of the Dead: 40
Booth, Edwin: on Third degree, 197; a Mason, 232
Boston Tea Party: 224
Brotherhood: in Old Charges, 133; creed of Masonry, 134; make way for coming of, 282
Builders: early ideals of, 12; tools of, 26; in China, 31; forgotten, 34; orders of, 74; in Rome, 79; of cathedrals, 87; servants of church, 101; of Britain, 113; traveling bands of, 135; rallying cries of, 191; Longfellow on, 260
Building: spiritual meaning of, 6, 7, 8; ideal of, 15; an allegory, 154; two ways of, 158 note; of character, 275
Burns, Robert: 226; a Mason, 232; poet of Masonry, 233
Cantu, Cesare: on Comacines, 142
Capart: quoted, 6
Carlyle, Thomas: quoted, 4
Cathedral Builders: 87; and Masons, 91; greatness of, 121; organization of, 136-7; genius of, 158 note
Cathedrals: when built, 121
Charity: and Masons, 134; a doctrine of Masonry, 172
China: Masonry in, 30
Christianity: and the Mysteries, 50, 51 note; and the Collegia, 85; and Masonry, 221 note, 251
Churchward: on Triangle, 13 note; on symbols, 20 note
Circle: meaning of, 27
Clay, Henry: 228
Cleopatra's Needle: 33
Collegia, the: 73; beginning of, 80; customs of, 81; and the Mysteries, 82; emblems of, 83; and Christianity, 85; and cathedral builders, 87; in England, 112; on the continent, 113
Column: Wren on, 9; Osiris, 45; "brethren of the," 82
Comacine Masters: 87; privileges of, 88; migrations of, 89; symbols of, 90; tolerant of spirit, 101; and Old Charges, 111; in England, 113; Merzaria on, 114; and the arts, 115; degrees among, 142.
Companionage: of France, 118 note; and legend of Hiram, 149
Conder: historian of Masons' Company, 165
Confucius: 30
Cooke MS: 106; higher criticism of, 107
Cowan: meaning of, 138 note
Coxe, Daniel: 207
Craft-masonry: morality of, 134; lodge of, 135; organization of, 136; routine of, 138; technical secrets, 147
Cromwell, Oliver: and Masonry, 179 note
Cross: antiquity of, 24; of Egypt, 25
Cube: meaning of, 27
Culdees: 189
Da Costa: quoted, 72; on Dionysian Artificers, 77 note
Deacon: office of, 217
Death: old protest against, 40; triumph over, 41; wonder of, 278
Declaration of Independence, signed by Masons, 225
Defence of Masonry: quoted 152
Degrees in Masonry: 141; among Comacines, 142; of Apprentice, 144; number of, 145; evolution of, 149
De Molai: 101
De Quincey on Masonry, 179 note
Dermott, Lawrence: and Ancient Grand Lodge, 216; industry of, 219; and Royal Arch Masonry, 220 note
Desaguliers, Dr. J.T.: "co-fabricator of Masonry," 195; sketch of, 195 note
Diocletian: fury of against Masons, 85
Dionysian Artificers: 72; builders of Solomon's Temple, 76; evidence for, 77 note; migrations of, 79
Dissensions in Masonry: bitter, 213; causes of, 214; led by Preston, 217; helped the order, 219; remedy for, 222
Doctrine: the Secret, 57; resented, 58; open to all, 61; reasons for, 63; what it is, 68
Drama of Faith: 39; motif of, 41; story of, 42; in India, 44 note; in Tyre, 76
Druids: Mysteries of, 49
Druses: and Masonry, 78 note
Dugdale: on formality in Masonry, 143
Eavesdroppers: their punishment, 138 note
Egypt: earliest artists of, 9; Herodotus on, 10; temples of, 11; obelisks of, 13; Drama of Faith in, 41; and origin of Masonry, 105, 109 note
Elizabeth, Queen: and Masons, 123 note
Emerson, R.W.: 39, 57
Euclid: mentioned in Regius MS, 105; in Cooke MS, 107
Evans: on sacred stones, 9
Exposures of Masonry, 210
Faerie Queene: quoted, 155
Faith: Drama of, 39; philosophy of, 270
Fellowcraft: points of, 128; rank of, 131; degree of, 146
Fichte: a Mason, 232
Findel: list of cartoons, 99 note; on Apprentice degree, 145
Francis of Assist: quoted, 173
Franklin, B.: on Masonic grips, 200; Masonic items in his paper, 207; Grand Master of Pennsylvania, 207; his Autobiography, 207 note
Frederick the Great: and Masonry, 205 note
Free-masons: 87; why called free, 88; Fergusson on, 90; Hallam on, 96; free in fact before name, 98; great artists, 99; cartoons of the church by, 99 note; early date of name, 104 note; not Guild-masons, 118; contrasted with Guild-masons, 119; organization of, 136; degrees among, 142-4
Friendship: Masonry defined as, 240; genius of Masonry, 284; in Masonic literature, 285; the ideal of Masonry, 288; as a method of work, 291
Fergusson, James: 90; on temple of Solomon, 191
G: the letter, 159
Garibaldi: 230
Geometry: in Old Charges, 108; Pythagoras on, 154; and religion, 154 note; mystical meaning of, 159
Gladden, Washington: quoted, 285
Gloves: use and meaning of, 137 note
God: ideas of, 22; "the Builder," 29; invocations to in old MSS, 108, note; Fatherhood of, 134; the Great Logician, 157; unity of, 176 note, 264; foundation of Masonry, 261; the corner stone, 262; Masonry does not limit, 263; wonder of, 267; kinship of man with, 270; friendship for, 284
Goethe: 232
Golden Rule: law of Master Mason, 133; creed of, 256
Gormogons: order of, parody on Masonry, 209; swallows itself, 211
Gothic architecture: 120; decline of, 185
Gould, R.F.: on Regius MS, 106; on York Assembly, 116 note; on early speculative Masonry, 160
Grand Lodge of all England, 218
Grand Lodge of England: 173; meaning of organization, 174; background of, 176; its attitude toward religion, 177; organization of, 180; Lodges of, 181; facts about, 182; usages of, 183; regalia of, 183 note; a London movement, 184; leaders of, 185; charity of, 188; growth of, 202; prolific mother, 204; article on politics, 208; rivals of, 213
Grand Lodge South of Trent, 218
Grand Master: office of, 182; power of, 202
Green Dragon Tavern: 223; a Masonic Lodge, 224
Gregory, Pope: and Masons, 113
Grips: in the Mysteries, 47; among Druses, 78 note; among Masons, 140; antiquity of, 149 note; number of, 141; Franklin on, 200; an aid to charity, 244
Guild-masonry: 98; invocations in, 108; not Freemasonry, 118; truth about, 119; morality of, 144
Hallam: on Freemasonry, 96; on Guilds, 118
Halliwell, James: and Regius MS: 104
Hamilton, Alexander: 225
Hammer, House of: 28
Handbuch, German: on Masonry, 241
Harleian MS: quoted, 126; in Holme's handwriting, 166
Hermes: named in Cooke MS, 108; and Pythagoras, 110; who was he, 194
Herodotus: on Egypt, 10; referred to in Cooke MS, 107
Hiram Abif: 77 note; not named in Old Charges, 109; esoteric allusions to, 110; legend of in France, 118 note; and the Companionage, 149; and the temple, 192
Hiram I, of Tyre: 75
History: Book of in China, 30; like a mirage, 100; no older than architecture, 241
Holme, Randle: 166
Horus: story of, 42; heroism of, 45
Hutchinson, William: on Geometry, 154 note; on Christianity and Masonry, 251 note; on Spirit of Masonry, 258
Idealism: soul of Masonry, 269; no dogma of in Masonry, 269 note; basis of, 270
Ikhnaton: city of, 12; poet and idealist, 14
Immortality: faith in old, 39; in Pyramid Texts, 40; allegory of, 46; in the Mysteries, 49; creed of Masonry, 134; held by Masons, 179; how Masonry teaches, 277
Instructions of a Parish Priest: 106
Invocations: Masonic, 108 note
Isis: story of, 42; and Osiris, 43; sorrow of, 45; in Mysteries, 47
Jackson, Andrew: 228
Jesuits: and Masons, 210 note; attempt to expose Masonry, 211
Kabbalah: muddle of, 67
Kabbalists: used Masonic symbols, 156, 157
Kennedy, C.R.: quoted, 238
Kipling, Rudyard: 232
Krause: on Collegia, 79
Legend: of Solomon, 75; in Old Charges, 111; of Pythagoras, 112; of Masonry unique, 128
Lessing, G.E.: quoted, 56; theory of, 179 note; a Mason, 232
Lethaby: on discovery of Square, 10
Liberty: and law, 7; love of, 122; of thought, 178; civil and Masonry, 224; in religion, 252; of faith, 255; philosophy of, 271; Lowell on, 272; of intellect, 273; of soul, 274
Litchfield, Bishop of: 175
Locke, John: 232
Lodge: of Roman architects, 82; of Comacines, 90; a school, 129; secrecy of, 132; enroute, 135; organization of, 136; degrees in, 146
Longfellow: quoted, 260
Lost Word: 67; Masonic search of, 263
Lowell: on liberty, 272
Mackey, Dr: on Craft-masonry, 251 note; definition of Masonry, 240
Magnus, Albertus: 156
Man: the builder, 6; a poet, 19; an idealist, 26; akin to God, 270; divinity of, 292; thoughts of artists, 294; ideal of, 297
Markham, Edwin: quoted, 282
Marshall, John: 225
Martyrs, the Four Crowned: 86; honored by Comacines, 90; in Regius MS, 105
Masonry Dissected: 212
Masonry: foundations of, 15; symbolism its soul, 18; in China, 30; symbols of in obelisk, 33; and the Mysteries, 53; secret tradition in, 66; and the Quest, 69; and Solomon's temple, 79; persecution of by Diocletian, 85; and the Comacines, 90; not new in Middle Ages, 97; and tolerance, 100; and the church, 102; antiquity of emphasized, 110; legend of, 111; and Pythagoras, 112; in England, 116; in Scotland, 123; decline of, 124; moral teaching of, 128-134; creed of, 134; degrees in, 142-4; not a patch-work, 149 note; an evolution, 150; defence of, 153; symbols of in language, 155; and Rosicrucianism, 164 note; parable of, 173; transformation of, 176; and religion, 177; theories about, 179 note; democracy of, 183; more than a trade, 185; mysticism of, 189 note; and Hermetic teaching, 194; universal, 201; rapid spread of, 204; early in America, 206; not a political party, 208; parody on, 209; attempted exposures of, 210-13; growth of despite dissensions, 219-20; unsectarian, 221 note; in America, 223; and the War of Revolution, 225; and Morgan, 227-8; and Civil War, 228; in literature, 232 note; defined, 239-40; as friendship, 240; best definition of, 241; description of, 242; has no secret, 244; misunderstood, 245; more than a church, 250; crypt, 253; temple of, 260; philosophy of, 262; and unity of God, 273; its appeal, 283; and friendship, 288; spirit of, 289; wisdom of, 295; ideal of, 297.
Masons: and Comacines, 90; Hallam on, 96; denied their due, 99 note; culture of, 100; and Knights Templars, 101 note; first called free, 104; persecuted, 122; technical secrets of, 147; customs of, 166
Masons' Company: 104; date of, 123; and Accepted Masons, 165
Mason's Marks: 131 note
Maspero: on Egyptian temples, 11
Master Mason; and Fellows, 128 note; oath of, 133; dress of, 135
Masterpiece of Apprentice: 131
Master's Part: 148; in Third Degree, 193
Materialism: and Masonry, 268
Mazzini: 230
Mencius: 30
Merzaria, Giuseppe: on Comacine Masters: 114
Metamorphoses, by Apuleius: 51
Montague, Duke of: elected Grand Master, 185
Morgan, William: and Masonry, 227; excitement about, 292 note
Mysteries, The: origin of, 46; nobility of, 47; teaching of, 48; spread of, 49; and St. Paul, 50; corruption of, 51; Plato on, 52; and Masonry, 53; temples of, 59; Moses learned in, 76; and Hebrew faith, 77; and Masonic ritual, 110; and the Third Degree, 196, 203
Mystery-mongers: 60; fancies of, 164
Mystery of Masonry Discovered: 210
Mysticism: 60 note; of Hermetics, 164; its real nature, 189 note
Mueller, Max: quoted, 253; parable of, 292
Nathan the Wise: quoted, 56
Numbers: use of by Pythagoras, 48 note; and religious faith, 153; in nature, 154; and mysticism, 159
Oath: in the Mysteries, 48; in Harleian MS, 126; of Apprentice, 129; of Fellowcraft, 132; of Master Mason, 133
Obelisks: meaning of, 13; Masonic symbols in, 33
Occultism: 60 note; and Masonry, 164
Old Charges: 102; number of, 103; the oldest of, 104; higher criticism of, 107-9; value of, 111; and English Masonry, 116; moral teaching of, 128-34; collated by Grand Lodge, 186
Oldest Mason honored: 181
Operative Masons: degrees of, 142; and speculative, 144; lodges of, 148; and Wren, 167 note; still working, 201 note
Oracles: Cessation of, 28
Orient, Grand of France: not atheistic, 261
Osiris: in trinity of Egypt, 23; history of, 41; and Isis, 43; death of, 44; resurrection of, 46; in Tyre, 76
Paine, Thomas: 225 note
Payne, George: Grand Master, 187
Philosophy: "blend of poetry, science and religion," 259; of Masonry, 264-68; of faith, 270
Pike, Albert: on symbolism of Masonry, 18; on Regius MS, 106; error of as to Guild-masonry, 158 note; on symbolism before 1717, 159; on Third Degree, 193; on atheism, 261 note; on old men and Masonry, 296 note
Pillars: origin of, 28; meaning of, 29; Isaac Walton on, 259 note
Plott, Dr: on Masonic customs, 166
Plutarch: on Square, 28; an initiate, 42; and the Mysteries, 46; on Pythagoras symbol, 143
Pole Star: cult of, 24
Politics: and Masons, 179; forbidden in Lodges, 208; relation of Masonry to, 245, 248
Pompeii: collegium in, 83
Pope, Alexander: Moral Essays quoted, 210; a Mason, 263
Popes, the: and Masonry, 113, 122; bull of against Masonry, 211
Prayer: in Masonry, 179, 244
Preston, William: 182; defeated, 218
"Protestant Jesuits": Masons called, 210 note
Pyramids: wonder of, 13; loneliness of, 28
Pyramid Texts: quoted, 40
Quest, The: aspects of, 65; analysis of, 67; in Masonry, 69
Reade, Winwood: quoted, 172
Reconciliation, Lodge of: 221
Regius MS: oldest Masonic MS, 104; synopsis of, 105; Pike on, 106; Mason's points in, 128; and Accepted Masons, 160
Religion: of light, 14; decline of, 176; and Craft-masonry, 176; and Grand Lodge of England, 250; what is it, 251 note; in which all agree, 255; of nature, 258; what we practically believe, 293
Ritual: Old Charges part of, 128; growth of, 142-4; evolution of, 219 note
Rome: secret orders in, 81; college of architects in, 86
Rosicrucians: use Masonic symbols, 156, 157; and Ashmole, 163; distinct from Masons, 164; and De Quincey, 179 note; and Third Degree, 190
Royal Arch Masonry: 220 note
Ruskin, John: quoted, 7, 8; on light, 14 note; on the church, 250
St. John's Day: 181; origin of, 183, note
Sayer, Anthony: first Grand Master, 182
Schaw Statutes: 123
Sciences; the seven, 195; in Cooke MS, 108
Scott, Leader: quoted, 72; on Cathedral Builders, 87; on Comacines and Masonry, 111
Scott, Sir Walter: on the word cowan, 138 note; a Mason, 232
Secrecy: of the Mysteries, 48; of great teachers, 57; as to the arts, 74; not real power of Masonry, 212; reasons for, 243 note
Secret Doctrine: 57; objections to, 59; open to all, 61; reasons for, 63; what is it, 68
Secret Sermon on the Mount: 47
Sectarianism: Masonry against, 254
Seven Lamps of Architecture: quoted, 7
Shakespeare: 155; and Masons, 259 note
Shelley: 14
Signs: in the Mysteries, 47; Franklin on, 200; and charity, 244
Socrates: on unity of mind, 21; and the Mysteries, 46
Solomon: and Hiram, 75; and the Comacines, 89; in Cooke MS, 109; sons of, 149
Solomon: Temple of, 75; style of, 76; legends of, 77 note; and Masonry, 79; influence of on architecture, 191
Speculative Masonry: in Regius MS, 106; growth of, 123; meaning of, 144 note; Lodges of, 148; before 1717, 167
Spenser, Edmund: Masonic symbols in, 155
Square: discovery of, 10; in Pyramids, 13; eloquence of, 26; emblem of truth, 28; in China, 30; in obelisk, 33; throne of Osiris, 46; "square men," 155; an ancient one, 159; of justice, 275
Staffordshire; Natural History of, quoted: 166
Steinmetzen, of Germany: 118 note; degree of, 145
Stones: sanctity of, 28
Stuckely: Diary of, 203
Swastika: antiquity of, 23; meaning of, 24; sign of Operative Masons, 201 note
Symbolism: Carlyle on, 4; early Masonic, 11; Pike on, 18; richness of, 20; unity of, 21; Mencius on, 30; in Bible, 31; of Collegia, 93; of Comacines, 90; in Masonry, 143; of numbers, 154; in language, 155; in Middle Ages, 156; preserved by Masons, 159
Taylor, Jeremy: 175 note
Third Degree: legend of, 149; confusion about, 189; purely Masonic, 193; Pike on, 193; not made but grew, 196; and Ancient Mysteries, 196; Edwin Booth on, 197; and immortality, 277
Tiler: 135; origin of name, 138 note
Tolstoi: 232
Tools of Masons: 26; old meanings of, 29; in Bible, 32; kit of, 132
Tradition: of Solomon, 75; of Masonry unique, 128; of degrees, 144
Triangle: probable meaning of, 13 note; used by Spenser, 155
Trinity: idea of old, 22; in Egypt and India, 23; not opposed to unity of God, 264 note
Unity: of human mind, 21; of truth, 58; of God and Masonry, 176 note, 264
Universal Prayer: quoted, 263
Unsectarian: the genius of Masonry, 221, 250, 252, 253, 258
Waite, A.E.: 38; tribute to, 64; on the quest, 65; studies of, 66; "golden dustman," 67
War: and Masonry, 225; Civil, 228, 229 note; cause of, 287; end of, 202
Warren, Joseph: ardent Mason, 224
Washington, George: a Mason, 225; sworn into office by Mason, 226
Watts, G.F.: 174
Webster, Daniel: on Green Tavern, 224
Weed, Thurlow: and Masonry, 227 note; dirty trickster, 228
Wellington: a Mason, 232
Wesley, John: 175
Wharton, Duke of: traitor, 224
Wiltshire, Natural History of: quoted, 166
Wren, Christopher: on columns, 9; and Masonry, 167 note; not trained in a Lodge, 186
York: Bishop of, 113; Assembly of, 117; old Grand Lodge of, 204; Mecca of Masonry, 205; revival of Grand Lodge of, 215; no rite of, 216 note
Zoroaster: faith of, 22 $/
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